Confident

Tryouts

Song: Hey Mickey by Toni Basil

September 12, 1993

Friday's are usually a day to be thankful for. It means that every mistake you've made throughout a week will be long gone. Friday's are meant to be celebrated. They're the start of a new life. No stress, tears, or homework. It's a day to relax.

But today is not any normal Friday. Not for Eddie and the other fifty girl's trying out for Derry High's cheer squad. Usually he wouldn't be so nervous. Eddie is almost always confident. And he definitely would be if his own two best friends were the one's judging. But instead it's three random stranger's from a couple towns over.

It definitely doesn't help that it's an open crowd. Anyone could waltz in and watch if they really wanted to. In fact some are indeed up in the bleacher's waiting for the girls and boy to show off their stuff. A few include Henry Bowers and his goons, the school principal, a few select teacher's, random kids from key club, a few football players he doesn't recognize, and finally the entire Loser's club.

This eases Eddie's mind a small bit. Their smiling faces and thumbs ups send Eddie's confidence through the roof. He shouldn't be afraid. It's just a stupid tryout. If he makes it then good, but if he doesn't it's not the end of the world. Either way he'll still have his best friends.

Eddie takes a shaky breath and makes his way back with the rest of the girls. Eddie wonders if this is what it's like for actors when they audition. The nervous sweats is new for him. He's never been so stressed out in his life. He's been preparing all week for this. Greta and Beverly has told him time after time that he was going to kill it.

So that's exactly what he's going to do. He's going to kill it.

The line moves closer and closer. Groups of three after groups of three make their way to the court. Eddie can hear them all cheer. He can hear their heavy breaths, meaning they're really giving it their all. Eddie's starting to think he doesn't have a shot at all.

He wants to back out, but he's out of luck. Because before he knows it, he's stumbling out behind two other girls. Each have their own number. This makes Eddie even more nervous. That's all they are right now. Eddie is usually able to steal anyone's heart away once they spoke. But now he doesn't have that.

Still Eddie smiles to the best of his ability. He smoothes down not only his black shorts, but also the orange shirt he's borrowing from Greta. Eddie walks quickly and confidently out onto the mat. The judges eye them curiously.

"Tigers! On the right get up and yell fight! Fight! Tigers yell go, fight, win! Go, fight, win! Go, fight, win!"

The three of them yell loud and proud. Eddie's moves are stiff and powerful. He hopes that the other girls have messed up. Eddie knows this makes him a bad person, but he can't help it. He wants this spot so bad.

Next comes the dance portion. Eddie gets ready and takes his position. An awful cheer mashup plays through the horrid gym speakers. Still, Eddie smiles. Dancing is what he does best. It's his passion. Surely he'll be able to show up a few girls who probably haven't taken a dance lesson in their entire life.

Eddie moves with the beat. He keeps up easily while changing his facial expressions the whole time. His moves are sharp, but graceful at the same time. It's almost like he's meant for this. Eddie becomes more and more confident as the dance continues. He finds comfort in the encouraging smiles that his friends share with him.

Soon the dance portion is over. This only leaves the jumps and tumbling. The girl on his farthest right is up. He watches patiently. The girl steps up nervously. Soon she's going into a toe touch and then a herkey and then into a tuck. She lands out of breath and hard. They're not the best jumps, which gives Eddie hope. The next girl comes up. She's more confident, but her jumps aren't anything special. Finally it's Eddie's turn. He steps up with a large smile and sends his friends one last glance. His hands clap together as he bends down before going straight into a side hurdler. Next comes a pike and then finally a toe touch.