My squads crowd the bathroom. While a few are on their phones, I and the others are touching up our makeup."Our cheering video has already garnered 5 million views on Instagram," Sookie jumps excitedly."Let me see." I close the lid on my red lipstick right after kissing myself in the mirror.Sookie hands me her phone, and I look at it."2 million in 1 hour is poor," I say disappointingly, giving her phone back."Well, it's still good, though." Sookie is content with the video's performance."Whatever," I re-checked the lipstick on my lips, making sure it was okay.My personal Instagram account had acquired more than 5 million views in 1 hour for just showing my feet. I expect our cheering videos to do more.A nobody entered the bathroom, and I glared at her. She nervously halts at the door, staring back at me."I really need to pee," she said, her voice trembling with nervousness."Like, I care." "Go and use the boy's bathroom or the janitor one," I command, and immediately she goes
Knowing his heart belongs to someone else, it hurts whenever I see Nate at school.I struggle not to stare at him whenever he's going into his locker or walking the corridor. It's not good for me; every moment of his presence feels like a pinch to the heart.As I see Nate coming my way, I head to the bathroom, fighting every ounce of desire in my body not to look at him. With every attention I give him, I fall deeper in love with him. It will be impossible to climb from such depths.Loving someone so much and knowing there's no chance of him ever loving you back is unhealthy for the heart.As I'm walking to the mirror to fix my hair, I see the reflection of Samantha exiting the bathroom stall. We both stop staring at each image in the mirror. Samantha goes to wash her hands at the far end of the bathroom countertop. Sadly, I'm still staring at her."I miss you, Samantha," I sob. She's washing her hands as if she doesn't hear me."Please say something to me." I'm crying even more."Sa
I'm leaving biology class when I feel a grasp around my wrist, and my head turns to see Nate's hand holding mine.He leads me into an empty classroom."Why did you agree to go on a date with Lucas when I warned you about him?" As he releases my hand, he inquires.I'm trying not to smile at his overly concerned expression, so I bite the inside of my lower lip, stopping myself from smiling."I'm a big girl, Nate. I can take care of myself," I say, trying to make him even more jealous."Lucas has a sex video of every girl he sleeps around with that he shows as entertainment to his friend, and I don't want you to be one of his sick videos as well." Nate reveals.I'm still not changing my mind about going on a date with Lucas after hearing about his sick videos.Nate calls my name "Jaylee" as he places my hand in his palm, and my body feels like a lit candle, melting slowly with his flaming touch.I'm softening in his hand as he calls my name again, "Jaylee, I know you're a virgin, and I w
At cheerleading practice, I can't stop staring at the scarf around Amber's neck, knowing what she's hiding.At the end of the practice, I'm leaving. Amber calls me on one side.She says, "I know you saw my wound yesterday," leaving me speechless."I swear I wasn't spying on you. I thought it was Sophia using the bathroom, and I-"Trying to explain myself, Amber stops me. She then checks to ensure we are alone before responding to me."No one shall know about this," she warns.I nod."Is Lucas the one who hurt you?" Eager to know who gave her the scar, I ask as she's leaving."That's none of your business, and if you ever question me about my personal life anymore, I swear, I will have you kicked out of this squad." "Got it." She quickly returns to me and speaks.I nod fearfully.Amber walked, angry, from the gym and slammed the door, and I wish I didn't care about what happened to her.As I'm leaving the gym, Nate walks past me, going down the hallway. He holds his head straight, and
My phone rings as I throw myself backward onto the bed. Seeing that Travis is calling me, I immediately sit up.Travis is the swim team co-captain from my previous school, Cavalier High. He's also my best friend. We haven't talked since I left Canada for Richmond, America.I don't have the guts to speak to him after joining a new swimming team.I watch the phone as it rings for the third time until I've garnered enough courage to answer it. I decide not to tell him I'm on the Effney High team yet."Hey, Travis," I answer."You're a sellout for swimming for our rival," Travis yells over the phone.I'm left speechless at how he found out."I thought you were better than teaming up with our rival Nate. But now I see that you're not.""How did you find out?" I say this as I rise to my feet."Your new school Facebook sport page."Immediately, I go for my laptop and search for the page, and I'm stunned to see a picture of me while training with a long paragraph of coach Brimworth bragging a
I'm at a nearby gas station, sitting on the hood of my car, drinking. As I'm halfway through the first beer I'd bought, Sophie, the HotShot cheerleader I remembered ripping Jaylee's clothes at Amber's party, comes up to me. She is holding a little girl's hand, and they both have a cone of ice cream.Sophia is still in her cheerleading gear. She is licking a strawberry-flavored ice cream, and the little girl is blueberry, I guess."Hey Nate," Sophia says as she stops to lick her ice cream and greet me.I nod, not in the mood to speak to anyone."I spot you from the glass window in the convenience store, and I thought it would be good to say hi to you since we both go to the same school."I stifle a smile at her move at flirting with me. I know she likes me; Jaylee told me so. I remembered she attacked Jaylee at the party because she believes she and I are together.Seeing that I'm in no mood to talk, she says, "Well, see you around at school.""Yeah," I say.I wave back at the little g
As Nate drives off, I'm jumping in the hallway that I had his number. We've exchanged numbers before he left. I stand, staring at his contact number on my phone. I could not wait to go out with him tomorrow.A few minutes later, I receive a notification from Instagram stating that my newly added contact is on Instagram. Immediately, I open the notification, and it takes me to Nate's profile. I walked to my room, admiring his profile picture. Shirtless picture of him, with one hand running through his wavy black hair and the other holding the phone while he faces a mirror in the bathroom. He's so hot that I lay in bed, staring at it for a long while, before searching for more pictures on his profile.I'm surprised to see only pictures of him and none of his girlfriends, leaving me with the realization that Jaylee had lied to me. I feel foolish for ever trusting Jaylee; I should have realized at Amber's party that she was not to be trusted. I should have known it was another of her plan
I'm in bed crying. I feel so stupid forever believing that Nate was interested in me, and the saddest thing is that, though he made it clear that he'd never be interested in me, I love him more.Placing my face on his handkerchief. His handkerchief was soaking up my tears.I hear a knock on my door."Jaylee, are you okay?" When my mother speaks, I stop crying.I say nothing, wanting her to go away."You haven't left your room since you came from school. So, I'm just checking on you."Irritated, I yell back, "Go away, mom. Just leave me alone."Angrily, she yells back, "When will you ever forgive me for not allowing you to go to Amber's party?"I roll my eyes at how clueless she is about everything."Fine, keep locking yourself in your room; at least I won't have to deal with your stupid behavior."I'm so enraged by her words that I sit up and shout, "Great. I too won't feel as if I'm suffocating around you, because every moment around you feels as if I am."I hear angry feet walking b
Tristan had been my biggest crush since the first time I laid eyes on him in class during our first year at Effney High. I recall stealing glances at him when his attention was glued to his book, wishing it was me he was so focused on. I used to be overwhelmed with wonderous feelings whenever he walked past me in the school's corridor, until he no longer had that same effect after sharing my first kiss with Nate.Tristan's head remained lowered as I walked over to him.Even when he's drunk, I still get nervous around him."Tristan," I call as I stand before him.He slowly raises his head, and as he does, he rakes a handful of hair from his face, brushing them backward, like a hot character from a teenage romance movie—making my heart skip a beat, which I find attractive, despite the fact that he was extremely intoxicated."What do you want?" His bewitching blue eyes looked at me for a second before drifting all over the place, unable to stay focused.I never had a conversation with hi
It's the weekend; I should be hanging out with a friend instead of laying in bed mulling over a guy who doesn't want me. It's almost evening, and I'm still in my pajamas.Forcing myself out of bed, I go to stand before the mirror. Combing a handful of hair out of my face, I notice myself in the mirror.Why didn't Nate fall for me instead of Sophia? I think downheartedly.Weren't I beautiful enough for him? Walking away from the mirror, I fall backward on the bed.I believed being a HotShot cheerleader and walking among the popular ones would give me the privilege to get any guy I wanted, but it didn't. If Sophia hadn't gotten in the way of Nate and me, things might have turned out differently for us.What am I thinking? I reach for the pillow covering my head.Nate had admitted he had no feelings for me, so there was no hope of us getting together if Sophia wasn't in the picture.But why Sophia, though?Out of all the girls at school, he had to choose her. I wish it was someone else,
I'm coming from Mom's car when Amber shouts my name. Amber is at the side of the school building; her phone is at her right ear; she is talking to someone; and Sookie stands beside her.I approach her, and she hangs up the phone. Amber smiles at me, and it doesn't feel right. She's up to something, and I know it."How is everything about getting Nate to be your boyfriend?" She asks, then places an arm around my shoulder, drawing me to her side.I caught Sookie with a smug on her face, and I was certain that Amber was up to no good.The aching memory of Nate turning me down after I had confessed my true feelings to him struck my mind, and I lowered my head."He has a girlfriend," I tell Amber."And so, you decide to give up," says Amber.Keeping my head lowered, I give a sad nod."Well, his relationship didn't stop Sophia from chasing after him," Amber says, maintaining a straight gaze.I lift my head to see what she's looking at, and my eyes widen to see Sophia sitting in the front se
It's Saturday, and I'm outside mowing the lawn when Mom pops up with a cup of water.Stopping, I turn to her and take it, quenching my thirst."Thanks," I say, handing her back the cup.She takes it and starts to play with the end of her hair, twisting it around a finger, and her eyes, as dark as mine, scrutinize the areas I'd mowed.She does this when she's nervous, and I find out she wasn't just there to give me a cup of water; there was more to it."Mom, is there something you want to tell me?" interestedly, I ask.Quickly, her eyes jump to me, and worries mixed with fear take over.Finding out what she wanted to say, I angrily resumed mowing, refusing to hear anything.She runs in front of the lawn mower. I stop, almost running her over."I could have hurt you," I growl."We have to talk about this, Nate," she says, standing firmly before me."I don't want to hear anything you have to say about that man!" I'm walking away."Nate," she chases me down."How long have you been talkin
For an hour, I had Sophia in my arms; she'd fallen asleep.My phone vibrates. I retrieved it from my pocket.Training late, Mom texted.No, I'm with a friend; I'll be there soon. I texted back.Okay, come home soon.I put my phone down and watched Sophia sleep. She's beautiful when she sleeps, and I find myself developing feelings for her.I wish I could let her sleep more in my arms, but I must go."Sophia." I gently touch her shoulder."Hmm," she moans, her eyes open."I'm sorry, but my mom needs me," I say."It's okay," she says, sitting up and rubs her eyes."Should I take you home or leave you at the gas station?" I ask.I'd hate to cause any more trouble for her and her mother."At the gas station," she says.I nod.As we arrive at her stop, she says, "Thank you, Nate, for being here for me.""My pleasure, and feel free to call me whenever you need someone to talk to again," I say with a smile.She's about to open the car door to leave."When are you coming back to school?" I as
It's Tuesday, and I'm at swimming practice. Brimworth, the coach, approaches me as I get out of the pool."Nate, your phone has been ringing like crazy for about an hour. Go and see who it is. It must be something very important for someone to be calling like that," he says, walking off.I was worried something might have gone wrong with Mom like Dad finding out where we lived. I ran to the locker room and burst open my locker with the wildest thought that Dad had her lying on the floor, choking her.There's a possibility it can happen. I left her at home, not feeling too well, and she probably heard him at the door, though it was me.Fishing my phone from my backpack, the worries fade away when I see it was Sophia calling thirty times, and no missed call from mom, which means she's okay.I return Sophia's call. After the incident with the sex buyer, I haven't heard from her, nor has she been at school. It's good to hear from her now."Hey Nate, I'm sorry I haven't answered any of you
"Jaylee, it's time for us to leave," I hear mom call downstairs.I remained to sit on the bed, not wanting to go."Jaylee, I said I'm ready!"With an ache in my heart, I get up, stamping my feet angrily, and leave the room.Mom looks at the top of the stare, and she's furious.I stop."Can't I go to the school at Dad?" I say."Jaylee, I don't have time for your childish behavior anymore. I'm late for work, and we need to leave now," she says, walking to the front door to open it.I sigh and start running down the stairs.On the road, all I can think about is not seeing Nate at school.When I arrive, I look around for his car. Thankfully, there was no sight of his car. Which means he wasn't here yet. I remove my seatbelt and dash from the car."Goodbye," I heard my mom say as I did."Yeah," I say.After confessing my feelings for Nate, I plan to hide him whenever I see him. I am still humiliated after he turned me down.The first session of school is going great until the second class.
It's Saturday, and Sophia still hasn't replied to my Instagram message. I'm worried something might be wrong with her. The guy may have come back and hurt her.Exchanging numbers before I left her house yesterday, I called her. The phone kept ringing and went straight to voice messaging.Thinking she may be busy with some Saturday chores, I decided not to call her again. After all, I was going to pick her up at her house this evening. She was supposed to show me around town since I'm new here.Hours have passed, and it's almost time for me to pick her up, and she still hasn't returned my missed call. The worries grow."Where are you going?" As I'm coming down the stairs, Mom asks."I'm going out.""With whom, a girl or a boy?" She studies my outfit. A blue long-sleeve shirt, black pants, and a grey and white Jordan.Playfully, she sniffed my Calvin Klein cologne, and I laughed.Her face then turns serious as she finds out for herself that it's a girl."You know I don't like cheating m
Pulling up into the driveway, I spot my mom's car.She's here early, I thought.I park the car and go to the front door, opening it. I hear Mom in the kitchen, and I go to see her with some papers while she uses the calculator."Hey honey, swimming practice kept you late at school today?" She turns to ask as she senses me."No, I was out for a while," I say, and my attention is kept on the papers as I approach her.Mom gathers the papers, along with the calculator, before I can see what they are."I bought your favorite chicken pizza for dinner; it's in the oven," she says as she walks out of the kitchen."Mom, what are those papers?" I stop her, and she turns around."Nothing I can't handle, son. Just focus on your school and swimming," she says with a smile, and I spot worries in her eyes.I nod, and she hurriedly walks away.My mom has never had to worry about money because my dad is wealthy. I know it's going to be hard for her to learn how to handle everything on her own. I need