I take that as my que to leave. Clearly, they are having an intimate friendship moment and I'm not one to intrude. I give Grace one last smile and pat her on the back before I walk out of the practice room. I decide to make my way to the cafeteria so I can get some food for Grace.
As I walk inside the cafeteria, I pick up some fruits and sweets to get her blood sugar up, another thing that biology tutoring has thankfully taught me.
My phone begins buzzing in my pocket so I pick it up and hold it toward my ear. “Hello?”
“It's Mark. I was just calling to let you know that Ben will be formally charged tomorrow.”
Mark Richie, a world-renowned prosecutor. When Adaline told me about Ben that day, I knew I had to take action. I told my mother about his treacherous acts and she instantly called in some favours.
I didn't tell her the full story, only that Ben is a sick rapist. The drug play was smart, I'm not sure who planted them, but they did a good job. It was the only way to ensure he would go to prison and Mark has been headlining the whole thing.
They've moved at a very fast pace, thanks to my mother's money and standing. Ben will never see the light of day again. His parents might be powerful, but not like my family.
No one is as powerful as my family.
“I want him to suffer. Put him in the worst prison you can find.” I sound like a psychopathic villain, not an eighteen-year-old girl, but that’s the thing about having a lot of money; it matures you.
I learned that at a very young age when my mother used to hand me money and told me to use it anytime someone bothered me.
“Of course,” he responds.
I hang up the phone and smile, my mood is much more chipper after hearing that news.
I wonder how Adaline and Adam will feel hearing the news, I hope they're elated. Not that I care what they feel.
I pay for all the food and carry it back to the practice room, ready to kindly lecture Grace on how perfect she is and feed her. God! Being a captain is hard work.
***
It's game time. We're all in the gymnasium, which is about the size of a football stadium. Our team is up first, the girls are all adorned in our colours—blue and white.
As I tighten my ponytail, I look up at the crowd and see Kai smiling and cheering me on. I have a rule where I only look up at the crowd once, my gaze never lingers after that.
I never let myself get distracted.
The buzzer goes off and before we see the red light signalling us to start, I clap my hands, signalling the girls to get in a hurdle.
“Remember to stay focused and no matter what, you never get distracted!” I say loudly to the girls around me and they nod excitedly as we all put our hands in the middle.
“Go team!” we shout in unison, our hands back up in the air.
We get into position and the music begins.
One.
Two.
Three.
In the world of cheerleading, there's no stopping to savour anything, it's always onto the next move. That's what we're doing right now; moving left and right to the beat and shaking our hips methodically.
I can't even count how many times I do a backflip or something dangerous that could possibly snap my neck, but it's so exhilarating and I love it.
I love the way we cheer loudly and we can hear people screeching for us. It's not like cheering for a team, it's an actual city-level tournament, only for cheer.
I smile brightly and painfully every time I move my legs or hands.
It's going so fabulously. Our moves are sleek and controlled and its finally time for the extravaganza move—the final flip.
