Dark Beauty

C H A P T E R 9 : Lola

Monday

December 19th, 2011

3:59 p.m.

"I know y'all can move faster than this?" My older sister Layla yelled as she stood on top of the pink section bleachers. The other captains who stood with her snickered. "I wanna see less talkin' and more running," she demanded. "LaToya you keep talking you gon' have another lap." Layla threatened. "Let's make these last two laps quick ladies," she yelled as I passed by her.

   One of the girls in front of me stopped and caught her breath before gazing up to the bleachers. "Why y'all not running with us?" she questioned my sister.

"Because we're the captains." one of the other captains said. "Now get back to running," she demanded.

    I shook my head in disagreement as I paused to catch my breath. I bent over and planted my hands on my knees. I inhaled deep and exhaled out my nose. But we're all a 'family' though? I mumbled to myself as I rolled my eyes. I took one last deep breath and then stood up. As I stretched my legs, one of my friends caught up to me.

"Come on, shorty." she encouraged. "Let's get this shit over with."

"I had to catch my breath, Moriah," I stated as I finished stretching. I started to jog casually; Moriah began to do the same. "All this running shit better be worth it," I stated.

   It was apparent that my sis had a vendetta against the team today. She only made us run an absurd number of laps when we did something wrong. I could only imagine what she had us running for today. We had only begun training three weeks ago, and already she had us bustin' laps like we were preparing for the Olympics. I can't talk for the rest of the team, but I, for sure, can say that I can't wait for this dancing shit to be over with. Never in my life had I thought it would take this much just to dance.

 I'm seriously thinking about quitting.

   Don't get me wrong, I ain't no quitter or a punk ass bitch, I just don't like all this exercising shit that comes along with dancing. Hell, I'm already skinny enough, the fuck I look like keep doin' all this running? Besides, who wants to spend every day for about three to four hours listening to a bunch of juniors and seniors curse them out and belittle them? Not to mention, my sister, BeenABitch Layla, was the worst of them all.

   I mean, don't get me wrong. Having my sister as one of the captains has its perks. I guess when I look on the bright side, it's a perk only when I need help with the choreography, other than that fuck her. In reality, I had it worse than all the girls solely because Layla was the head captain and my big sister. That means she was always around and always confused the two titles when we were at home.

   I'm not gonna sit here and make y'all think that my sister is all bad, cause she ain't. She's a hit and miss typa' person. Layla's actually a sweetheart and can be a really dope ass captain when everything's going her way. She's also an excellent dancer, one of the best in the school (besides me), and when she graced the floor, she made sure to give the people a show. Hell, had it not been for her, we wouldn't have made it to nationals last year. Coach K had made an excellent choice making Layla as lead captain.

   As I completed my last lap, I watched as my sister and the other captains started to step down the bleachers in sync. They all paused and stood on the hardwood gym floor as other girls began to stop running and stand around them. Layla and I locked eyes, and she gave me a half-smile; I rolled my eyes and continued my run until I met up with the circle. The smirk on Layla's face grew wider as everyone stood in front of her. This bitch always thinks shit sweet. I thought.