“I mean, the selections are going to be very hard. But if you get in, you’re going to get paid for as long as you’re at training camp. And they also offer room and board within the training facilities since training will be a full-time gig,” Talia explains.
Jodie and I look at each other again, but this time there’s excitement in our eyes.
“That changes everything.” My best friend says. “It’s perfect for us.”
I nod. “If things work out, we just need to find a place to stay until Monday.”
Talia intervenes. “If it’s your first time in Star Cove, I think I can help. I’m a townie, born and bred, and I know everyone. The hotels in town will rip you off in the summer. But I know a few locals who rent their extra rooms during high season.”
I smile at Talia. “That would be amazing. We come from the East Coast and we blew through most of our budget to get here.”
“I could text a few people or, even better, you might be in luck. Hey Sam!” Talia yells at someone a little ahead of us in the line.
A blonde, willowy girl waves her hand. “One sec.”
We watch as she says something to the girls in line with her and then she comes to join us.
“Sorry, I was making sure I didn’t lose my spot in line. What’s up?”
Talia makes the introductions and explains that we need a room for at least a couple of days.
“You’re in luck.” Sam smiles. “My mom has been renting out my old room since I moved into the Zeta house on campus. Her last guests left this morning. Let me see if it’s still available.”
While Sam types a message to her mother, Talia explains.
“I hope you get that room. Sam’s mom is lovely, and her house isn’t far from the pier, and it’s right on the beach.”
I cross my fingers behind my back, hoping that the same lucky star that made me run out of gas right in front of the cheerleading tryouts will find me a nice, cheap room until I get selected for training camp.
“You’re in luck.” Sam smiles once her phone pings with a reply. “I told my mom to give you the friends and family discount. And since your car is out of gas, I’ll give you a ridethere once we get our numbers and then I’ll bring you here again with gas so you can get your car back.”
I can’t resist the urge to hug Sam. “Thank you, thank you so much. You don’t have to do all that, but Jodie and I are extremely grateful.”
“So, so grateful.” Jodie chimes in.
Sam’s smile lights up her entire face. “Don’t mention it. Fellow dancers should help each other, and we might even get to be teammates.”
“Sam is right.” Talia agrees. “The two of us are in the same sorority, but I think sisterhood should extend beyond that. Women should help each other whenever possible. Especially if they’re united by something powerful like art. And dance is an art form.”
The line advances, and we all move a few steps forward.
“Hey girls,” Sam says. “I’m gonna go back to my spot in line. I’ll wait for you when you’re done, and we’ll go to my parents’. This is the weekend of the annual Star Cove County Fair, and Talia and I are going out later with the rest of our Zeta sisters. You two should join.”
Before I can say anything, Jodie agrees. “It sounds like fun. We had a Zeta Theta Beta chapter at our college too. It would have been fun to pledge, but between dance and classes, my schedule was pretty tight, so I never did it.”
“Then you have to come.” Talia beams. “A few of the girls are also trying out for the team. Most of our sisters are really nice. And like this, come Monday, you’ll feel right at home.”
“Yes!” Sam squeals. “We can be honorary sisters until we all make the team.”
A giggle comes from a tall, dark-haired girl in designer jeans and high heels who stops by our little group. “You shouldn’t listen to these two.” She says, giving me and Jodie a once over and twisting her nose as if she didn’t like what she sees. “Carole,the team’s director, and the chief choreographer Lexi are my mom’s Zeta sisters. I just went to the director’s daughter’s wedding two weeks ago. Take it from me, there must be five hundred women here and they’re taking forty, maybe forty-two trainees. Carol told me that the final team roster will be thirty-two. The selection and training camp are going to be brutal. So I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”
Talia rolls her eyes at the newcomer. “That’s rude, Gen. You don’t know Taryn and Jodie; they might be better dancers than all of us.”
The girl laughs, throwing her head back, as if Talia had just cracked the funniest joke ever. “I seriously doubt it. Besides, you should watch out rather than help people you’ve just met. We’re all competing for those thirty-two spots.”
“Worry about your own odds. Gen. Talia and I will worry about our own. I’m a Zeta legacy too, and my mom saw Carole at the latest alumni dinner last month. Carole told her about these selections and that she hopes to bring the same values of sisterhood she learned in Zeta Theta Beta into her new team. So I would check the bitchy attitude at the door.”
Two more girls dressed in Gen’s same style walk up to us. “Gen, don’t waste your time with these two. They’ll never make the team, anyway.” The first one says.
