Pay the Price

Chapter One: Blondie

"One! Two! Three! Four..." I counted to ten, then back down as the team followed Siena's and my lead. We finished off with one last jumping jack, then Siena dismissed everyone. The cheerleaders dispersed in a fit of panting and sweating.

I turn to Siena after watching the team leave. "You know, Si, we shouldn't be so hard on them. Maybe we could give the rest of the week off."

Siena scoffed. "Are you kidding? Regionals are at the end of the month. If we take a break, we won't be ready. Jenn, this is our last year to win for the school." Without waiting for my reply, she whipped her dark hair over her shoulder and hurried to meet Blair.

Blair had dark brown hair, very long and wavy. It was the same colour as her eyes and she was extremely tall, making her a great basket ball player. She had been the captain of it's team every year since she attended Abbey Lee High.

I left to find Karen who had stayed and watched the cheer practice. She was sitting with her burgundy hair tucked behind her ears, her face stuck in a book.

"Karen, ready?" I ask.

Karen quickly shut the book, not wanting me to see she was enjoying a mushy romance. I smirked and she stood to walk with me back into the school.

"Lunch is almost over, but we might have time to find Zoya." Karen led the way to the cafeteria and we searched for our friend.

Zoya was African and she had just come to school at the end of last year. She was very well known in our school, and city for her track and field records. Karen and I had been the first to talk to her when she was new, which is why we are now the best of friends.

"Jenn! Karen, over here!"

I hear Zoya's rich African accent from the other side of the cafeteria. Just as we caught up, the bell rang to go to third period.

Karen sighed. "Well, I guess we'll meet up after school." She turned and hurried away. Karen had never been the one to show up late.

Zoya and I continued to our class, which luckily we have together. It was math, my favourite, and Zoya often asked me for help since it wasn't her best subject.

As I turned into the hall, I bumped into a large, solid body. You would swear I just ran into a brick wall!

I looked up to see a tall, dark haired guy looking down at me. I instantly knew who it was.

Tony Anderson.

Tony was, what everyone else called him, the "Bad Boy." I didn't like giving people labels, but this one seemed about right. I guess some could call him the player, but that was mostly his friend, Easton. Then there was Lane, the quarterback on the school's football team.

"Sorry." I say, pushing past. Lane was with him, Easton must've been with his girlfriend of the day.

Lane, not extremely tall, had bleach blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His smile was perfectly white.

Easton looked almost the opposite. He was light brown haired, with hazel eyes that locked almost at once. Of course, I had never been with any of these guys.

I walk away as Tony checked me out and Lane offered a slight smirk. I didn't have time for boys, with cheer leading, and school, and my dad trying to find a job. Most of all, being the most popular girl in school.

Yes, I was. Siena was the cheer captain, and lots of people liked her, but, honestly, she wasn't as popular as me. She wanted to be, but she just wasn't.

I never really understood why people liked me so much, including the guys. Getting hit on all the time wasn't as fun as you'd think it'd be. I could barely get through a day without a boy trying to slip their number into my pocket! Some of the other girls say people admire me because I'm pretty, or that I'm nice, or friendly. I didn't really realize it was giving me so much attention.

"Jennifer." A male voice sounded from behind me. "Jenn." He repeated when I didn't turn.

I slowly turned to see Dante Mahal standing with his books for science. Dante was Siena's younger brother in grade eleven. He had had a huge crush on me since the beginning of the year.

"Hey." I smile sweetly. I always thought it was kind of cute that he had feelings for me. It always drove Siena nuts, considering she doesn't like me very much, only because I'm more popular.

Dante stared at his dress shoes. "Hi. I just wanted to tell you that most of the girls on the cheer team are saying they want a new election for cheer captain."

"What?" I asked, surprised. "Why? Does Siena know?"

Dante shook his head. "I wanted to let you know first. They want you to become full captain, not just assistant. Apparently my sister is pushing them too hard."

"Oh," I say, contemplating what to do next. "I guess I'll talk to Siena later. Thanks, Dante. I gotta get to class."

I hurried to meet with Zoya as we entered the math room. Mr. Holmes was writing questions on the board. I began writing them down when I got to my seat near the back of the room, and saw Tony saunter in and slide into the desk behind mine.

"Hey, Blondie." He rasps, extending his legs to hit my desk.

I sighed. "Please don't call me that. And, for your information, it's dirty blonde." I informed, continuing to write. "Could you stop that?" I say, as Tony makes no attempt to leave my desk alone.

"Fine, but I'll have to make up for it next period." He answers, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. Yes, unfortunately, I had three classes with the Bad Boy; first, third, and fourth.

I ignored him for the rest of class, shooting Zoya annoyed glances every so often to show my irritation. When the bell rang, I quickly snap back to look at Tony.

Tony was doodling a picture of a hot girl on the side of his work sheet and wrote the name, Jennifer, on the top. I sneer and grab my books.

-

I slammed my locker shut and headed outside to the parking lot. Today Karen had volunteered to drive me home, since Zoya took the bus and I usually walked.

As I went to meet her by the old car at the back of the lot, a hand grabbed the back of my cheer jacket. "Hey!" I shouted, turning to realize it was the last person I wanted to see.

Tony was wearing an amused grin and I glared at him. "Hey, Blondie." I sighed, knowing I was never going to get him to stop calling me that. "Want a ride?"

I huffed. "Yeah, no thanks, Karen's giving me a ride. And, you don't even know where I live."

"279 Winston." Tony answered confidently, not letting the smirk slip from his long face.

I raised an eyebrow. "How did you know that? You haven't been stalking me, have you?" I asked, now joking.

He shook his head. "No, I'm 272. I see you walk sometimes."

Great, so he is watching me. "Okay, well thanks anyway, but I already have a ride."

Not letting go of my jacket, Tony nods. "Exactly, me." I can see the determination in his eyes and know that there is no way I'm getting out of this. Finally, I agree. "Great. Let's go, Blondie."

.....

Hey, so that was the first chapter. Not too exciting, only a brief intro and introducing the some of the main characters like Jennifer, Siena, Karen, Zoya, and Tony and his friends. I hope you enjoyed it and make sure to comment, vote and follow!