We decided to just let practice go that day. We all just needed a little time to cool down. When I walked in the door, my house was empty. A lot had changed in the past few months. My mom switched jobs, so she had to be out of the house earlier in order to get to work on time. My brother graduated and would be going to college in two weeks, and he was currently on a road trip with a few of his friends. Some things, hadn't changed though. My two dogs, Clover and Poppy, still greeted me as I walked in the door. My dad was still teaching and helping out at his brother's bakery.
I set my cheer bag down and gave Clover and Poppy each a quick pat on the head before heading to my cupboard. I hadn't had time to make myself a proper breakfast this morning, so I took out a box of pancake mix and started mixing the ingredients together. After the stove was done preheating, I poured some batter onto a frying pan. While the first half was heating up, I quickly searched a shelf and grabbed a bag of M&Ms, dropping a few onto each batter puddle. I proceeded to flip my pancakes and repeated the process.
After all the pancake batter was used up, I set a few flapjacks on a plate and fished out our squeezable frosting tubes. If you must know, I decorate my pancakes. My dad loves baking and decorating cakes, and one year for my birthday, he forgot to make me a cake. Instead, he made a stack of pancakes with M&Ms (my favorite candy) and put everything but the kitchen sink on top of it. Frosting, gummy bears, sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, the works. Now, whenever I make pancakes I decorate them. Nothing too extravagant; just some frosting is enough for me.
Before I started to decorate, I opened up my fridge and pulled out a can of lemonade. Big mistake, Ana. As soon as the door closed, I saw a picture of us winning state last year. It made me remember everything that happened. I grabbed the picture, threw it on the floor, and kicked the refrigerator. Not my best move. "Ouch!" I shouted in pain. Yeah, today was obviously not my day.
All of the sudden I heard my phone start to ring. Without bothering to look at the caller I.D., I answered, assuming it was probably just Lexa, and yelled, "What do you want?"
"Whoa, there. Someone's cranky," a masculine voice answered. Definitely not Lexa. I face-palmed myself. "Should I call back later?"
"No, no. Sorry. You're fine," I apologized to Blake.
"You sure? You sounded like you wanted to scream at something."
"Oh don't worry. I already got that one covered."
"Is everything alright, babe?" Blake questioned. "Did something happen?"
I didn't want to dump all my problems on him right now. I didn't want to think about them, let alone talk about them. I quickly decided to come up with an excuse. "No, I just burned a pancake. No big deal."
"Ana, I know you and your perfect pancakes. You don't burn them. And you certainly wouldn't freak out over it if you did. What's really the matter?"
I sighed, knowing that my boyfriend wouldn't believe I would get worked up over a burnt pancake. "It's nothing. I've just had a long morning."
"Wanna talk about it?" Blake asked.
I smiled at his offer, but frankly, I didn't want to talk about it. "I'd love to, but I have some pancakes I have to decorate. They're going to get cold. Talk to you later."
"Ana-"
"Bye!" I cut him off, hanging up. I tossed my phone onto my counter, groaning. How on Earth could I get a coach before tomorrow? And even if we did, how could we win state against the Bolts? They were practically an unstoppable team. The only reason we didn't compete with them at state was because they had a different, bigger, competition. In Hawaii. But the biggest thing wasn't that.
The fate of our cheer program was in my hands.
Oh. My. God. What did I get myself into? I let out a quick scream.
I heard the door open. I scrunched my face a little in confusion. It was only eleven. My mom or dad wouldn't be home from work. My brother wouldn't be back for a couple of days. My sisters don't usually pop by without telling us first. Lexa was probably figure skating. I would guess it was Blake, but he's too polite to just walk in the door without knocking.
"Yoo-hoo! Sister dearest!" I heard a singsongy voice. My twin older sisters, Kim and Kitty popped their heads into the kitchen.
"Surprise!" Kim exclaimed. "Did you miss us?"
They gave me a quick hug. "Ooh. You made pancakes! Yummy," Kitty grinned.
Then it hit me.
Kim had just finished taking classes to coach and had gotten her stunting license. Kitty had helped with our competition routines since they graduated high school.
"Um, can I ask you two a favor? Like, a really big favor," I asked.
"Sure. What do you need, baby sister?" Kim responded.
I explained the whole crisis to them. "I know it's a lot to ask, but would you be able to coach us? There's no guarantee of a paycheck, but it's the only way to save the team."
"I don't know, Ana," Kim started. "I only just finished my courses and testing. I haven't even been an assistant coach, yet."
Kitty sighed. "Well, I would love to, but if Kim won't, I can't coach you by myself. I don't meet the qualifications."
I looked at Kim. "Please. You won't even have to do a thing if you don't want to! Just be there and play the part. Please, please, please!"
"Come on, Kim," Kitty probed. "How would you feel if Stef quit unexpectedly when we were still on the team?"
After a few moments of silence, I heard the five most amazing words to ever come out of my sister's mouth. "Okay, fine. I'll do it."
Then I screamed and attacked Kim with a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best sister ever!"
"Wow, hurtful," Kitty laughed.
I pulled her into the hug too. "You're the best sister ever, too!"
She laughed again. "Oh, I know."
"Eat some pancakes as a thank-you present!" I told my sisters, getting them some plates.
As we ate, I had some answering to do.
"How many do you have on your team this year?" Kim asked.
"Twenty exact," I responded, "now that we don't have Sabrina anymore."
My sisters nodded. "Good number."
"So you think you can come up with a routine?" I asked hopefully.
Kitty and Kim exchanged looks. Kitty turned to me, smiling. "Oh yeah. We can definitely come up with something."
I grinned. "You two are the greatest."
"We know," they agreed in unison."
"Now get away from us so we can figure a routine out. Go outside and do something with yourself," Kim ordered.
I let out a small laugh, grabbing my phone and keys. "Alright, alright, but you better come up with something good. And you get to do the dishes."
Before they could protest, I was out the door.
********************
Okay, it's been forever. But I've had this chapter practically finished for months and I decided it would be a good idea to post it finally.
So in the next chapter there's going to be a time jump. Just pointing out to ease confusion. But I'll probably put a note in there anyway so... Most of the chapter takes place in the winter season, but I feel like there needs to be stuff in the beginning of the school year, too.
Well, seeya!!!! :)
