"When are Sabrina and Stef going to be here?" I heard Alison ask. Stef Summers was our cheer coach and Sabrina was her daughter. It was our first day of stunting practice this season, and neither of them had shown up yet.
"Yeah, where are they? I'm bored!" Bethany complained. We all nodded, agreeing with her.
Something was off about this. Stef and Sabrina were usually early, but it had already been around a twenty minutes since we were supposed to start.
"I'll call Sabrina," I offered. And so I did. "Pick up, pick up, pick up."
"Hey, you've reached Sabrina Summers! I'm busy at the moment, so leave a message after the beep and I'll try to get back to you!" As the phone beeped. I quickly hung up and threw my phone onto my cheer bag.
"No answer," I told the girls, scowling.
We waited in the gym another ten minutes before I heard a door open. Stef walked in, followed by Sabrina. Except, Sabrina wasn't in practice clothes and Stef looked like she was dressed for a business interview. "What's going on, Stef?" Marisol asked, cocking her head to the side. "Did something happen?"
"Girls, we have to talk about something important," Stef announced. "Take a seat please." Confused, we all took a seat on the gym floor. Well, all of us except Sabrina. She just stood behind her mom looking at the ground.
Stef continued. "I know you were looking forward to this season, but something came up. I got an opportunity to coach for the North Stars cheer team."
The room fell dead silent.
"You're leaving us?" Alison asked
"It offers a better pay and it's just better financially. I can't pass it up."
We all shot glances to our other teammates. "So who's going to be our new coach?" I dared to ask.
Stef sighed, and I knew the answer wouldn't be good. "That's the problem. There's no one to take on the job. I'm afraid the cheerleading program will have to be cut unless you can find a replacement."
I heard a quiet whimper. Looking to be side a saw a sight that almost broke my heart. It also caused me to be even more provoked. One of the freshman, Paisley Jennings, was starting to cry. She and all the other newbies had worked their butts off to get on this team. All of that was going to go to waste.
"Unless we can find a replacement? Shouldn't you be doing that?" I raised my voice ever so slightly.
Alison put her hand on my shoulder and whispered, "Ariana, breathe."
I took a deep breath and stood up. I was about to explode. "So you mean to tell us, on our first day of practice for the new season, nonetheless, that you're leaving? Your quitting on us? Just like that? What about Sabrina? You know how much she talked about winning state her senior year!"
"And she still can," Stef replied as calmly as possible.
"Not if the program gets cut!"
"She's not part of this team anymore. She's a North Star now. They allowed her to switch teams this year. Besides, you only did any good in the past because of the outstanding cheerleaders before you. Now, I'm sorry to say, but your last hope of a perfect captain is gone now."
My jaw dropped and I looked at Sabrina in shock. "Y-You can't just quit on us, Stef!"
"I can if it means my daughter wins state again!"
I resisted the urge to slap the woman right then and there. "Maybe we could win again!"
"Please, the only good cheerleader on this team is Sabrina, and you all know it! You won't get anywhere without her."
