One Perfect Year at Stevenson High

Chapter 26

"All I'm saying is regionals might feel like it's still a long ways off, but winter break is going to be here before we know it." Adora was talking a mile a minute, her hands gesturing wildly as she tried to emphasize her point. Glimmer and Bow strode along at her side as they made their way through the busy hallway. "And you know what's after winter break?"

"January?" Bow said, even though it clearly wasn't the answer Adora was looking for.

"Regionals!" Adora tossed her hands in the air and Bow stifled a laugh.

"Okay, Adora, I get it!" Glimmer huffed. "I know the competition schedule, okay? I just thought it would be a good idea to let the new team have a bit of time to get used to each other before we started building our routine."

An uneasy silence fell around the friends. Glimmer wasn't wrong, nor was she lying — it had been a good idea to give Vocal Rebellion a couple of weeks to get used to their three new members. Having Catra, Scorpia, and DT on the team shifted the groups' dynamic, what with their big personalities and dubious intentions. Adora had spent every day since the Valkyries' audition waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was perpetually on edge, watching for some sign that something was off. As much as she wanted to believe that Catra had joined the glee club in an effort to mend their friendship, Adora couldn't shake the fact that something just didn't feel right.

That was the part that Glimmer was leaving out: Adora's insistence that something was amiss had them so spooked that they decided to wait and see if the Valkyries were really up to no good. And, though things between Adora and Catra were just as tense as they had been before, even she had to admit that everything seemed pretty... normal.

"We'll start planning today, okay?" Glimmer said, breaking the quiet. "We can spend the entire practice— ugh!" She came to a dead stop mid-stride, tossing her head back in frustration.

Adora and Bow craned their heads and saw what had Glimmer so irritated — a group of senior students was loitering in front of her locker, including her neighbor who had the door of his wide open, making it impossible to reach hers. He leaned casually against it as he talked with his friends, completely oblivious to the fact that Glimmer was waiting impatiently to get by.

"He always does this," Glimmer growled under her breath. "I am not in the mood to deal with this jerk today.

She wasn't wrong — the kid was a bit of a jerk.

"We'll just ask them to move," Bow said, giving Glimmer's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Right," she scoffed. "Like that ever works." Usually when Glimmer's locker neighbor was holding court with his gang, the Best Friends Squad had to stand aside and wait until he and his goons moved on.

Adora glanced at her phone — the break was almost over.

"Don't worry." She smiled at her friends. "'I've got this."

Before Glimmer or Bow could talk her out of it, Adora pressed forward and wedged herself into the raucous group of seniors. When they turned their attention to her, Adora lit up with a dazzling smile.

"Hey there! My friend needs to get to her locker," she said brightly, pointing at the space where the ringleader was leaning. "Would you mind?"

The senior let out a snort of laughter. He shoved off the locker and leaned menacingly into Adora's space. "I would mind, actually. You kids can wait until we're done."

Adora rolled her eyes. She wasn't afraid of this guy, but there also wasn't much she could do. Even though it had been months since she was kicked off the cheer squad, Adora couldn't believe how rude kids could be if you weren't in a set of reds.