Michelle Ryker

Chapter Four: Tryouts

Friday morning I rolled out of bed early and slipped my uniform on. Tailing Samantha had been easier than I'd thought given the fact that she lived in the limelight and I'd discovered quite easily that she wasn't a spy per say. Nope, Samantha was just a Russian citizen who had made her work schedule look extra busy while she tried to get her papers signed to become an American citizen. The busy schedule was to distract her manger and posse so that she could slip out with them being none the wiser while she took the required steps to get a visa, insuring that she'd be able to continue to stay in America while working towards being a permanent citizen. Apparently her home life wasn't the best and she was just trying to get away from it all.

Pulling my hair into a high pony I slipped out of my bedroom and headed to the kitchen to pick up something to eat for breakfast. Matthews was sitting at the counter and he smiled when he saw me. "Ready to go Little Miss?"

Leave it to Matthews to be wide awake at six in the morning.

I smiled. "We're actually going to Ravenwood today so I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

He laughed. "Let me go get your biology project from the den and I'll meet you at the car."

"Thanks Matthews," I said heading for the car. It had been hard finding time to work on the project but with very little sleep, plus a lot of help from Matthews and my mother, I was actually able to get it done.

Once I was in the car I proceeded to curl up into a ball and try to catch an extra minute or two of sleep. While it was easy for me to wake early when I needed to, it wasn't something I enjoyed doing.

I woke up when Matthews pulled the car in front of the school. "Michelle, we're here."

I cracked my eyes open and stifled a yawn. "Thanks, Matthews."

"Good luck today," he said with a smile as I climbed out of the car.

I smiled and waved as he drove off. It may be a couple days later than Celeste had planned but it seemed like today was the day I was finally going to audition for the squad. If she still wanted me to, that is.

I hurried to the gym where I knew Celeste would be. She'd told me that practice started at six thirty every morning but knowing what I did about her - and I'd done my research before coming back - I knew that she'd be there early. Although it was only quarter after six, as I neared the gym I could already hear music blasting from the gym telling me that, if it wasn't Celeste, somebody was there.

Celeste turned to look at me as I walked in the door and a huge smile appeared on her face. "Michelle! I was starting to think you'd transferred back to Clarabelle Academy or something."

I laughed and dropped my bag on the bench. "Nope. I just had something I needed to take care of. Is it too late for me to try out for the squad?"

"For you?" she asked as her smile widened. "Of course not! Hurry, change out of your uniform into the clothes I know you brought and we can get started before the others arrive. Everyone is going to be so psyched when they get here. I just know you're going to mesh so well with everyone."

She ushered me to the change room and I knew she was more excited about this than I was.

As soon as I'd gotten changed I made my way back into the gym where Celeste had spread out a couple of mats. With Aaron's advice I'd brought a pair of black booty shorts and a black sports bra since that's apparently what they wear other than their cheer shirts during practices. While I wasn't necessarily comfortable showing so much skin, one of the first things Clarabelle teaches is how to blend in.

She looked up when I got to where she was sitting. "Good, you brought the right kind of clothes for this. Some people think it's okay to wear sweatpants to a cheer tryout. Crazy, right?"