One Perfect Year at Stevenson High

Chapter 9

Adora spent the weekend sneaking texts to Glimmer and working up the courage to tell Catra the news. After their heart-to-heart on the garage roof, things quickly went back to normal: joking, goofing off, and spending every moment together. These were the fun and easy days Adora loved the most. Even the hours they spent on Sunday sprawled out on Adora's bedroom floor doing homework—at her insistence, of course—was time she enjoyed. Adora didn't want to rock the boat by bringing up glee club, so she put it off. She put it off so long that suddenly it was Monday morning and she and Catra were standing at their neighbouring lockers getting ready for homeroom, and she still hadn't told her.

Which is precisely when Glimmer and Bow showed up.

"Adora!" Glimmer's bright voice soared over the hallway noise.

Adora's body tensed. She could feel Catra's mismatched eyes cut to her, boring into the side of her head, but she refused to meet them.

"Oh my god," Catra muttered under her breath. "Are they coming over here? Oh, yep, here they come..."

At this, Adora finally turned. The scene in the hallway seemed to slow as students watched Glimmer and Bow close the distance, thus committing the most egregious Stevenson High faux pas: approaching a Valkyrie without an invitation.

"Stop." Catra raised her hand, creating a barrier before the peasants could get any closer. She dragged her glare—the chilling one she was frighteningly good at—over Glimmer and Bow from head to toe. "What are you doing?"

To anyone else, that would have been all the warning they needed.

Glimmer, it seemed, did not care.

"Just wanted to say hey to the newest member of Vocal Rebellion!" she exclaimed. She swerved around Catra's hand and wrapped Adora in a tight hug. "Eeeee! I'm so excited!"

Bow beamed over Glimmer's shoulder. "Congrats, Adora! This year's glee club is going to be awesome."

Out of the corner of her eye, Adora could see Catra watching her expectantly. She was waiting to see if Adora was actually going to go through with this crazy idea. What Catra didn't realize was that Adora had already said yes — enthusiastically.

"Thanks, guys," Adora said, giving Glimmer a quick squeeze. All around them, people were watching and whispering.

With her hands on Adora's shoulders, Glimmer pushed her back and flashed a wide, delighted grin. "And don't worry, we can totally work around your cheer schedule. It's gonna be so great! Aaaand, now that you're an official member of Vocal Rebellion, we wanted to invite you to Bow's birthday party!"

Adora glanced at Bow. "When's your birthday?"

Bow shrugged sheepishly. "Technically, it's tomorrow. But the party is this Saturday because who wants to celebrate on a Tuesday? We're going to the beach and then everyone's coming back to my place for pizza and movies."

"Don't forget the slumber party!" Glimmer cheered, punching her hands in the air.

Catra crossed her arms and scoffed. "Who goes to the beach in September?"

"We do," Bow said, proudly planting his hands on his hips. "The forecast is calling for a beautiful day. Do you want to come too?"

As Catra recoiled, Adora held her breath. She knew there was no way Catra would say yes, but she couldn't help but hope.

True to form, Catra laughed. "Um, I don't think so."

Adora opened her mouth, ready to admonish her for being rude, but Bow just shrugged.

"Suit yourself. But the offer still stands if you change your mind."

Catra gave Adora an incredulous "can you believe this nerd?" look, but said nothing.

"I'll text you the details, okay?" Glimmer said, turning away and waving over her shoulder. "We'll see you around!" She and Bow disappeared into the crowd, squeezing passed Scorpia and DT as they made their way over to their squad mates.

"Did I just see that little gremlin hugging you?" DT asked, over-dramatically scandalized. "The audacity."

Adora looked to Catra. Her best friend's expression was closed and impossible to read. For a single, terrible moment, she wondered if Catra might blow her glee club ambitions right then and there. She wasn't stupid—she knew everyone, including Coach Weaver, would have to find out eventually—but she hoped to have a bit more time before that happened. She wanted to prove she could manage both lives before trying to blend them. But if Catra said something now, there was no doubt in Adora's mind that Coach Weaver could be calling her into her office for a reprimand—and maybe even to take back her ribbons—before the lunch bell rang. All she could do was hope Catra knew this too, and that she wasn't so upset that she would sell her out just to be spiteful.

"Oh, you know how it is," Catra grumbled, dropping her gaze to the floor. "Just some of our cheer force captain's fans paying their respects."

"Aw," Scorpia said. "That's sweet."

Adora forced out a laugh that sounded more nervous than she wanted it to. Catra slammed her locker closed and pushed past the others. "Come on, let's go."

*

The rest of the week was tense and exhausting. Between cheer and glee, Adora didn't have a single free night to herself. She crammed in her homework before classes and during lunch, and by the time she got to bed each night she was usually too tired to obsess over the slight chill that seemed to have settled between herself and Catra.

Adora had expected an argument. She had expected Catra to call her out and give her shit for not telling her she'd gotten into Vocal Rebellion. But Catra hadn't said anything about it all, and Adora didn't have the guts to bring it up either. At worst, Adora figured Catra would stay mad for a while, and then it would blow over the way their fights always did. She just needed to let Catra see that there was nothing to be upset about — that everything was fine.

By the time Saturday rolled around, Adora was more than ready for a break. She woke up early and packed her bag, changed into her swimsuit, and pulling a pair of shorts and a t-shirt over top. It wasn't until she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror that she realized she was smiling. The truth was, Adora was excited — more than she expected and definitely more than she'd ever admit. The Valkyries rarely did anything like this together, which struck her as weird now that she was thinking about it.

Catra was still asleep when Adora's ride pulled up outside. She briefly considered dashing upstairs to say goodbye—after all, this would be the first time they wouldn't be spending the weekend together—but she paused. Catra didn't like being woken up at the best of times, and Adora definitely didn't think her going to spend the next 24 hours with her new glee friends would qualify as one of those times anyway.

And so, she sent a quick text that read, 'Have a great Saturday, sleepy head! See you tomorrow!' and hurried out the door.