Chapter 41 - "Cheer is stupid."

It was triumph that Courtney felt as she walked into the school's broadcast room. Victory was hers. A victory that no one knew about and was against the inanimate wires that lay across the floor but still! Victory was hers.

No longer would they be able to threaten to trip her and her crutches. Now she walked free and she'd won the battle. Take pleasure in the small victories to give strength to win the war.

What war she was fighting, she didn't know. The war of life? That just made life sound brutal. The war of high school? Less intense but still not encouraging.

She was thinking too much about this. She walked into the broadcasting room and claimed a spot at the wall without interacting with the wires on the floor. A small detail in her life but she still felt the relief of not having crutches.

"Feeling smug about your victory?" Miguel asked as he joined her.

Okay, so maybe her overly cautious steps with her crutches and the wires hadn't gone unnoticed. That was either gratifying or embarrassing. How stupid and timid had she looked?

"I am," Courtney said. "Life is a battlefield and I vanquished an enemy."

"A brutal view of life," Miguel said. "Also the wires are completely unaffected and so I hardly call that vanquishing your enemy."

"You're stealing my victory."

"And therefore making my own victory by doing so." Miguel grinned at her with a triumphant glint in his eye. Which was unfair, that glint was rightfully hers. "It's a good day."

"Go away."

With his stolen glinting eyes, Miguel walked off to talk with Shelby, who was giving off flustered broadcasting manager vibes. Safe in her place at the wall, the proverbial fly as one would say, Courtney watched as everyone went about their jobs, all aware of the clock ticking down to showtime. True it was only a high school broadcast but they worked with focus. Though Courtney was conscious of the whole team, only one member held her attention.

"Hey," Lynn said, coming to stand next to Courtney.

"Is it just me or are the cameramen more attractive than usual today?" Courtney asked.

Courtney sensed as Lynn tried to understand what Courtney was talking about as she scanned the line of camera operators.

"Cameramen or cameraman?"

"Oh definitely cameraman. I mean look at him. Is it hot in here or is it just me?"

"It's hot in here but you can still be feverish if you want to be."

Micah glanced over to Courtney and started at seeing her watching him. Someone next to him said something and he turned away.

"I mean look at him work," Courtney said. "Have you ever seen anything more attractive than a cute guy who knows what he's doing?"

"You're ridiculous?"

"Because I'm attracted to competence? I don't see how that's a bad thing."

Micah glanced over at her again and Courtney hooked her arm around Lynn's and rest her head on her shoulder, grinning unabashedly.

"Goodness me! He's cute."

At her sparkling eyes, because they definitely had to be sparkling with one of the overhead lights angled towards her, Micah ducked his head.

"One look and you have him flustered," Lynn said. "Either he's smitten or you're just that powerful."

Micah sent a look toward her and she waved.

"He blushes," Lynn said. "Wow, you are good."

"I know."

"If you keep staring at him though he won't be able to do his job."

"You're right. I'll tone down my own allure so he can focus."

Lynn laughed as Courtney straightened. Her timing was perfect since Shelby called everyone to be quiet and counted down. After the opening greetings, Miguel made announcements and Courtney took her place at one side of the anchor desk, directly across from the camera Micah stood behind.

"Now," Miguel said. "I'll pass it over to our Senior Class President, Courtney."

Micah pointed to Courtney as a little red light on his camera blinked on.

"Hey everyone!" Courtney said. "I'm here to tell you that Homecoming tickets are on sale starting today. You can either buy them through the school app, at the office, or during lunch. There will be a table set up in the quad if you want a physical ticket. I'll be working the table today so stop by, say hi and I'll convince you to buy a ticket."

She smiled as a few people let out chuckles. They might think she was joking but her power of persuasion, backed by a lot of smiles, should never be underestimated.

"As you know, the week leading up to the Homecoming game is Spirit Week! That means each day has a theme and you can show school spirit by joining in on the theme. Tomorrow is Super Tuesday. Come dressed as the secret identity of a superhero. If you come dressed in your regular clothes then I will have to assume you are already a superhero and that is your secret identity. So to throw me off the scent, I would suggest dressing up."

"That made no sense!" someone laughed from somewhere in the dim studio.

"Sure it did, to anyone who is super. Last announcement, this week the voting for Homecoming court nominees is open. Anyone can be nominated and anyone can campaign for a nomination. The top four nominees for each grade will be announced during Friday's broadcast. Those nominees will walk on the field during halftime of the game. At the dance, the royal court will be announced. That's all. Happy campaigning." She winked at the camera, knowing it would make Micah smile. "Let the battle for the throne begin!"

When the broadcast cut back to the main anchors, they were both trying not to laugh as they closed out the show. Even Micah had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh. That wasn't why Courtney had made the joke but definitely the best result of it.

When the cameras shut off, Courtney made a beeline for her beau. No one used the word beau anymore when talking about their significant other but she didn't care. It wasn't like she'd said it out loud for others to give her uncertain looks and therefore she felt fine using it in the safety of her own mind.

Before she reached Micah, Miguel cut into her path. Ah, thwarted by my superior, come to take me away to a business meeting.

"Come on," Miguel said, turning her towards the exit. "We have a meeting to get aligned on this week."

Courtney peered over her shoulder at Micah as Miguel continued to steer her away.

"You understand eighty percent of the project is finished, right? Reaffirming deliveries and decorating is all that actually remains."

"Great, then you can repeat that to me as we sit around a table and I feel like I have some semblance of power."

"Oh, this is for a power trip. Fine, anchors away, let's sail into the waters of your too large ego."

At the door, Courtney waved at Micah.

"Lunch?" he mouthed.

She made a face. "Selling tickets."

He nodded and she left, towed away to the Council room along with Lynn. The lifeboats to Miguel's cruise liner. Courtney had to admit as she sat adjacent to Miguel, he did look more leader-y at the end of the table.

Maybe it was the clasped hands and piercing stare. He was one day going to terrify hundreds of employees with that stare. Clearly he was getting in practice. She respected that. Especially since she'd grown up with that stare and it didn't bother her.

"Okay," Miguel said. "Take me through what you've done and what is left to do."

******

"Here you go and enjoy Homecoming!" Courtney said.

The girl nodded as she took her ticket and left the table, leaving an opening that didn't fill. As Lynn finished handing over another ticket, the pair found themselves at the end of the influx. The type of influx that came from people being on two feet, the table being readily in their line of sight as they entered the quad, and the lunch lines being just long enough to prompt a want to avoid them for the time being. Now most students were equipped with food and a spot that made movement an undesirable option.

Since Courtney no longer had anyone she needed to smile at, she found the one person she wanted to smile at. Micah sat with his friends at a table across the quad, eating and completely ignoring the cute blonde that was checking him out.

"I take it by the way you were making the cameraman flush," Lynn said. "And the way you're staring at him now that you're not going to go with me to homecoming?"

Tearing her eyes away from the boy in question, Courtney looked at Lynn for signs of disappointment. But her best friend merely returned her look with a teasing raise of her eyebrows.

"Yeah, are you okay with that?" Courtney asked.

Lynn gave a dramatic sigh. "Yeah, I will take this betrayal, internalize it and let it be the bases of my villain origin story."

Courtney gasped and put her hand on Lynn's arm. "Oh, but if you become the villain then I'm the superhero and then we both fall into cliché appearances of those roles."

"Okay, I overcome my betrayal but you are the bad guy."

"Another stereotype with me being a blonde cheerleader. Also, I feel like there are greater instances to spur on your journey to greatness."

"Yeah, it does seem like a weak situation to cause me so much distress. If you stole my man that would be different."

"But currently you don't have one," Courtney said.

"So then I let this whole thing pass by and not make a big deal of it."

"But by doing so it shows wisdom. I think this emotional growth will really impact you positively later on in life."

Lynn flipped her hair. "Thanks, it feels good to have worked through all that and come out the other side stronger than before."

Courtney put her hand over her heart. "I'm proud of you. I will learn from your example."

"As you should."

The girls grinned at each other and for a moment Courtney almost wished she wasn't going with Micah so her friend wouldn't be alone.

"Okay, do you want to stay here or make the rounds?" Courtney said.

"Stay here," Lynn said. "Though you don't have to make the rounds. If people want a ticket they'll stop by."

"Lynn, a key to marketing is accessibility. They might want a ticket but their want to remain sitting and talking with friends will outweigh the want. Coming to them increases the chance of them buying."

Lynn grinned as Courtney picked up one of the money packs for change and a stack of tickets.

"Made a bet with Miguel that you could break the record of ticket sales, didn't you?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement. Though I feel like saying that actually does confirm it."

"I've always had the same thought. Okay, happy hunting!"

As Courtney walked to the closest table, she causally tossed her hair back. Who knew if it still looked good, but making the gesture at least gave her the sense of making it look better. Either way, she was still armed with her smile. A weapon easily wielded and always underestimated.

"Hey, guys," Courtney said, stopping at a table full of, if she had to guess from their wide eyes and shocked expressions, freshmen.

None of them responded, besides the stunned looks, until one guy broke from his dazed state.

"Hi!" he said.

At the overlay excited greeting, his table mates all sent him looks and he shrank in his seat, but Courtney's encouraging smile seemed to pull him out of the hole he wanted to hide in.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Courtney and I'm here to see if any of you are interested in buying a Homecoming ticket?" When they all exchanged looks, Courtney knew it was time to bring out her marketing skills. "I get it. A Homecoming dance seems like the last thing you want to go to. But it is a chance for girls to see you in a different light." She leaned in like she was sharing a secret and watched as the boys edged forward with her. "You should never underestimate the power a neat hairstyle paired with slacks and a collared shirt can have on a girl."

"Really?" one of them asked.

"Definitely. Plus there will be a dessert truck if you want to treat a girl to something sweet."

"I don't have cash," one of them said.

"No worries," Courtney said. "I'll show you how to pay on the school app. You can either get a digital ticket or I can give you a physical one to keep as a memento. Here."

She took a seat next to the boy and held out her hand for his phone. He handed it over and Courtney stretched out her arms, allowing the others to see what she was doing and follow along, which she noted half of them did.

When the tickets were bought, Courtney waved and left for the next table. She approached with the same warm smile and saw how it stopped conversations and turned heads.

"Hello hello everyone!" she said.

"Hey, Courtney," a girl said.

For a second, Courtney wracked her brain. I know you, I know you. Name. Name. Name...

"Hey, Whitney," she said. "Cute shirt!"

Whitney perked up and a boy across the way stood, stretched his chest making his shirt tighten.

"Do you like my shirt?" he mocked.

"I do, Dylan. It compliments your skin tone."

Dylan relaxed and grinned, his joke forgotten. "You know me?"

"Cross-country runner, right?" Courtney said.

Dylan nodded.

"What are you here for?" Whitney asked.

"I'm selling Homecoming tickets." When she received mixed reactions to the statement, she smiled, her lines at the ready.

Table by table, Courtney made her way around the quad, tailoring each greeting and Homecoming selling speech to the audience. Though she felt her smile never wearing out, the same couldn't be said for her ankle, which began to twinge with the extended period of standing. Deciding to leave the outer rims of the quad for another day, she headed back to Lynn, but a voice called out to her.

Pausing, she found herself before Micah and his table. He was the first to receive her smile but she quickly shared it with the others as well. Everyone responded in some way, though Max's was the strongest, which was to look away and ignore Courtney.

Oh, yay! A reaction that clearly means something and has a strong scent of drama with a strong dollop of pointlessness. A terrible concoction that always tastes bitter.

"What are you doing?" Micah asked.

"Making the rounds to see if people want to buy Homecoming tickets," Courtney said.

"You didn't look like you were going to stop at our table," Adam said.

"Ah..." She hadn't planned to. She smiled but felt her ankle throbbing, its pain tugging her to sit down. And not at a table with people who... Didn't like her? Didn't know her? Didn't want to know her?

"Are we not good enough for Homecoming?" Garrett asked.

Smile, Courtney, keep smiling, don't look as confused as the statement has every right to produce.

"You know," Courtney said. "From your talk on Saturday, I figured you wouldn't want to hear my speech on why you should go to Homecoming."

"I want it," Adam said.

"Yeah, I'm curious to hear how you will win us over to buy tickets," Philip said.

"Same. What do you got?" Austin asked.

Hundreds of eyes, Courtney had handled being stared at by hundreds of gazes so why were a dozen unnerving? They weren't. She was fine. It was fine. Every marketing expert had to try and win over a contrary crowd at some point, this was her moment. She merely had to tailor her speech to Micah's friends. Friends who had all but bashed and mocked Homecoming in front of Courtney two days ago.

No problem. It was no problem. Don't look at Micah, he might see the terror in your eyes. Ha! Terror. She'd literally crashed and burned in front of an entire auditorium and had that mishap uploaded to Youtube, this was nothing. Nothing, nothing at all.

She smiled wider. Nope, tone it down, you were already smiling, don't want to seem like a crazy person. Don't want to give them ammunition to make jokes later.

There, a relaxed smile, that's good. Hold that.

Now tailor your speech, you can do this.

"I know how you talked about Homecoming Saturday, but are any of you interested in going?" she asked.

They all exchanged looks and Courtney stole a glance at Micah who gave her an encouraging smile, then at Max who stared at her food. Right, something going on there that is not worth thinking about.

"We thought about it," Juan said, nodding to Sophie. "Since we are doing the decoration."

"Shouldn't they get free tickets since they did work on it?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, seems like it would be a good tradeoff for their work," Austin said.

Everyone, except Max, stared at Courtney, waiting.

Courtney shifted, really wishing her ankle wasn't acting up. Also, the sun's overbearing heat in October was not appreciated right then.

"Yes, both of you will get free tickets for your work," Courtney said. "Anyone else want to go?"

For a second, no one said anything and Courtney wished the sun would knock it off. It was rude to make a girl sweat when her boyfriend was right there.

"I plan to go," Micah said.

All the guys at the table made loud noises and jostled Micah playfully. Micah smiled as he met Courtney's gaze. So she was facing off with a dozen gazes that unsettled her, at least there was this one that steadied her.

"I'm afraid just because you're taking me," Courtney said. "You will have to buy a ticket."

"Oh! That's cold, man," Garrett said, shaking Micah again.

Courtney let out a little breath. You can do this. "If you want to go to Homecoming, you can buy a ticket from me now or buy one on the school app. I know it might seem stupid to go to a place that you visit each day and stand around with people who you hang out with all the time but this time are forced to dress up.

"But as inconsequential as it seems Homecoming is a break from the routine of high school. It's a chance to have one distinctive memory. It can be a chance to take pictures that you can take with you as you leave high school. It's not one pointless night, but one night to set apart from the hundreds of others that will be forgotten."

Oh, a silent reception. Either I've stunned them with my eloquence or they are all contemplating how I could think highly of something so vapid.

Adam looked around. "Uh, that almost sounds like something worth doing. Still not going but I thought about it for half a second."

Not a rousing endorsement but could be worse. At least there was no laughter.

"Which is your choice," Courtney said. "If any of you change your mind, the ticket table will be here the entire week. And there's always the app."

With a small wave, Courtney left. Victory! Okay more like general survival of the battle but still! Probably too small and not an eventful enough occurrence for the history books but definitely one for the diary! Now to celebrate, I shall sit down and give my ankle the hero's treatment it deserves.

"Courtney," Max said.

Ah, a tone that is not as pleasant as one would hope from a girl you're helping with cheer.

"What's up?"

Max crossed her arms. A delightful sign. She surveyed the surrounding tables and then took off for a secluded spot. Guessing I'm supposed to have received her telepathic message to follow. I could always be vicious, leave it on read but not respond. Nope, too cruel better get this over with.

"What's up?" Courtney asked, resting against the wall, easing weight off her ankle.

"Look," Max said. "I don't know why I accepted your help. Cheer is stupid and I'm not going to get involved with something so pointless."

Ah, is that all? I'm glad this isn't something that will cause needless drama in my life. What a relief, I almost thought she'd say something really cutting about the thing I absolutely love.

Courtney took in a breath and let it out slowly, watching Max. For her part, Max sold the whole image of indifferent girl well: jutted out chin, cocked hip, defiant eyes.

"Okay," Courtney said. "My ankle hurts, I'm overheated, I need something to eat, and honestly I'm a little annoyed. Can we skip past the part where we have a back-and-forth about what you just said and you tell me what is actually going on? I don't want this to be an issue that is drawn out. I don't have time for that."

There is it, the defiant, rebel facade falters.

"What...What do you mean?" Max said, dropping her arms but then crossing them again tightly.

"I mean this doesn't make sense with the girl I saw last week who worked hard, didn't complain... didn't complain much, when I was pushing her to her limits. That girl was determined to join the squad. I don't believe she disappeared over the span of a weekend. And you didn't like Micah long enough for this to be an issue about that. So what is it?"

"I'm serious, I don't want to cheer."

Courtney said nothing, deciding to use her mother's tactic. She simply looked at Max, waiting for her to crack under prolonged scrutiny.

"I mean it, cheer is pointless. I don't know why I wanted to do it in the first place."

Still, Courtney remained silent. Please spit it out soon, Max. I wasn't joking about my ankle and the whole need-to-eat thing.

Max turned away from Courtney, her jaw tense. Courtney nodded like Max had said something insightful and Max flicked her gaze to her. Courtney raised her eyebrows in question and tilted her head. Max broke eye contact but relaxed her shoulders.

"My parents... I can't afford to join cheer," she said. "I told my mom about wanting to... But she knows about the costs of a uniform, shoes, pompoms, and everything. And we can't..."

Finally, Max faced Courtney again though this time her defiance seemed to come from silently daring Courtney to poke fun at her. Where, Max? Where does this notion that I'd poke fun at you come from? Yeah, not going to dive into that well.

"I see," Courtney said. "I'm going to say something and you're going to think I'm getting back at you for what you said but I'm not. Maybe cheer isn't for you." Despite how she framed the statement, Max still stiffened. "Cheer is about teamwork, it's about trust. But if you don't trust the members of the squad it could lead to dangerous situations. You didn't trust me to understand or even find a solution to your problem. Instead, you lashed out. You want to know the stupid thing?"

Max said nothing but Courtney could tell by the way she held herself, like she no longer crossed her arms to seem strong but to hold herself together, that she was waiting.

"The thing is, Miguel is starting a sponsorship program. A program that means families help pay for equipment that an athlete might need but can't afford. I'd love to have my family be the one to sponsor you. But even if we did that wouldn't change anything. See, you have to decide to not go all lone wolf and trust girls that you've told yourself aren't trustworthy. And I don't know if you're up for that."

The bell rang and Courtney straightened. So much for getting rest and something to eat.

"I have to go take care of the ticket table," Courtney said. "I don't have anything else to say. You need to figure out what you want to do. Whatever you decide I'd appreciate it if you'd simply tell me without insulting me first."

Courtney walked away unsure if she'd see Max again. But with the week she had in front of her, it was not something she could worry about. This week was going to be long without added problems.

**********************************************************************

What's up,  poppin Pumpkin! 😎

(Does they kinda sound like the pumpkin is going to explode? I was thinking more of a pumpkin looking swag with sunglasses and a stick as a hand throwing up the peace sign)

Okay! A lot of things happened! You know what that means? It means that you better write me a paragraph with your thoughts. Haha! Actually I don't care. You can share if you want. 💬🗯💭

I'm not going to ignore what just went down with Max and her stupid attitude and completely derail this author's note. Not like I don't usually do that. At least I know how to keep us all safe as I derail this train!

Words, specifically words to describe a person's attractiveness. I have very specific views of what each word means and I'm curious if you feel the same way.

Hot: Honestly, I feel like this one is just physical/objectifying. It's solely based on a person's looks. It has nothing to do with personality.

Beautiful: This one is both in looks and personality. To me it says that the person's personality is equally as beautiful as their looks.

Pretty: This one is mainly looks, but looks that could be understated. Someone could look pretty even with wearing something simple.

Gorgeous: This is hot expect classy.

Cute: I had a view shift with this word since getting into more Korean content. It's no longer just for little kids. Instead, this word could apply to anyone, even if they aren't necessarily attractive. This word means something about them whether that's their laugh, smile, personality  their  is endearing to you.

Hey! We survived this derailed author's note! Woohoo! Safety first!

Let me know if you agree or have different views on the words!

*waves pompoms* Vote! Comment! Follow!! Woo!!