Upside Down

Ten

The last bell of the day rings. I jump out of my seat like the rest of the other exhausted seniors and bolt to my locker to grab my things and get to the car as fast as I can. I don't want to waste another minute here.

I turn around after grabbing my things from my locker and I am met with five faces surrounding me.

Oh god.

I've made it eighteen years without being beat up at school or anywhere else. Please don't tell me that today is the day I break my perfect record.

I throw my hands up into fighting position, ready to defend myself from these girls. "I have to warn you, my parents sent me to take karate lessons to protect myself. So I know what I'm doing. I suggest you back off before all of you get hurt." I bluff. Yeah I could probably hold my own in a fight for a little while but I am nowhere near skilled enough to take all of them at once. I'd be lying if I said I actually paid attention to the karate classes my parents sent me to as a child. I mostly just stood next to the wall and watched the other kids.

"Relax!" The girl in the center drops her hands down at her sides and smiles like her life depends on if. "We aren't here to beat you up sweetie! You're in my seventh period. I saw you and I just had to talk to you! I'm here to invite you to join the cheer team!" She squeals and claps her hands, the other cheerleaders joining in.

"Join the cheer team?" I drop my hands. I don't need to defend myself here. This can't be real? "In the middle of the school year?"

"Yeah. You've got the perfect face and body! And we are down a girl she got hurt last practice! You would totally be perfect to fill her spot."

"Well isn't that convenient!" I scoff. "You are kidding me right?" I ask rhetorically. She cocks her head to the side. I can tell she doesn't understand. "I'm sorry, did I miss the memo? Are we in a movie right now? This just doesn't seem like something that would actually happen in real life."

The girl grabs my phone right out of my pocket and smiles as she types something in it. She hands it back to me. "There, now you have my number." I look down and see her name in my phone along with a whole bunch of unnecessary emojis.

Leigh.

I stare at the screen as I receive a text.

From: Logan
I'm here to pick you up

I glance away from the screen and see that the girls are still all standing there and waiting for me to say something. I don't think they are going to go away without an answer.

But what do they expect me to say? 'Sure! I'll join your team for a whole three weeks before the season is over! It totally won't be worthless! See you at practice, sisters!' That would be ridiculous. Absolutely insane. I would have to be held at gun point before I even considered an outrageous offer like that. I'm not here to make friends. I'm just here to finish school.

From: Logan
Peter says he saw you talking to cheerleaders? They are all bad news. Get out of there!!

I roll my eyes. What does he know about cheerleaders? Until one of them throws a punch or something at me, I don't really consider them to be threats to my wellbeing.

I continue listening to the cheerleaders' plea for my answer. I'm not going to give in but it's nice listening to them beg. I've never been wanted like this before.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see someone marching towards us. Logan and Peter. Logan storms over and pushes through the girls to get to me. "You ignored my texts."

"I was talking." I reply. He's not my father. He doesn't get to control how I behave or who I talk to. Frankly, my father doesn't really get to tell me how to act either. He hasn't exactly been the best role model himself...

Logan grabs my arm and pulls me away from the girls. "Let's go Avery." I rip my arm away from his grasp.

"I'm not a fucking child. Don't grab me like that!" I growl as he turns back towards me.

"We will talk about this later. Let's go."

"Oh, are you my dad now? Are you going to take my phone away and ground me?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Get in the goddamned car. Now."

"You have my number, Avery. Call me when you've made a decision!" Leigh calls out to me and waves as I exit the school.

Authors note: what did you think?

Meet the bubbly cheer captain of Avery's high school, Leigh Forrest played by Minka Kelly! She has officially been added to the list of characters! What do you think of her so far?