“Wow. You’re really being considered for Captain?” Nikki asked as she approached me at my locker following second period English. I hadn’t breathed a word of it to her yet since in my mind, I had already decided I wouldn’t accept nomination.

“Oh, yeah, but it’s just Chelsea. She doesn’t want the Captain slot this year so it’s up in the air,” I answered as I closed my locker and pulled her into a hug.

She grinned. “Mmm. That was nice. What was that for?”

“I need a reason to hug you?” I teased, leaning up to kiss her. “C’mon vampire. Walk me to the gym? You’ve got Chem this hour so it’s on the way.”

Nikki giggled, wrapping her arm around my waist. I lay my head on her shoulder as we started down the hall together, but she suddenly stopped and whispered. “Hey, who’s the new girl with Jenn?”

---

The first week of school last year, I had managed to completely embarrass myself on multiple occasions, starting with the first day, when I had completely gone overboard, expecting the same kinds of silly traditions that I’d watched other girls go through back in San Francisco. I thought I had it figured out this year. I wore my favorite pair of comfortable jeans, a cute purple top, and paired the silver ring Nikki gave me with a celtic knotwork pendant on a chain: simple, elegant.

Imagine my surprise when, as Allison and I rolled into the parking lot in my convertible, everyone else looked like they were dressed for school picture day - the girls, at least. Allison giggled as I turned to look at her.

“You started something,” she teased. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

“At least this year I won’t have to deal with anyone calling me-”

“Valley girl!” Brittany called teasingly as she walked up behind me. I turned to face her, and she grinned. At least she hadn’t dressed like she was attending a wedding. “I’m kidding. Jeeze,” she said as she walked with us toward the main building. “So can you do me a solid and talk to Chels? Please?”

“Um, sure, but what about?” I asked. Allison frowned.

“You haven’t heard?” she asked.

I glanced between the two of them, shaking my head after. “The last time I talked to Chelsea was when the cheer squad came out to help work on the asylum.” And then suddenly it hit me. “Oh... So she’s really refusing the Captain position this year?”

“Worse,” Brittany whined. “She’s not even going to play.”

“What?!” Allison and I both asked in unison. She nodded.

“Don’t get me wrong; I think we have a strong team this year, but we need Chelsea’s leadership skills.”

“She’s like the tallest girl in school!” Allison added. “Katelyn’s awesome on D, but Chelsea was the heart of our offense.”

I heaved a sigh as we entered the main building. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a girl wearing dark sunglasses, struggling with her books, but before I could go talk to her, Brittany exclaimed, “There she is!” and pointed to Chelsea, coming down the opposite hall.

She froze in her tracks and tried to duck into the girls’ bathroom, but Brittany followed her, dragging me along in the process. Allison helplessly followed, trying not to giggle.

Chelsea stood by the mirror, lip gloss in hand, pretending not to know why Brittany had just barged into the room. She smiled brightly. “Hi Brit, Robin. What’s up?”

“Don’t ‘what’s up’ me!” Brittany whined. “I heard from Maria that you’re not playing this year!”

Chelsea blinked, stunned. “What? No, I’m not going out for the VOLLEYBALL team this year.”

Now it was Brittany’s turn to look stunned. Chelsea giggled.

“You didn’t even know we had a volleyball team did you? Tryouts are in the Spring, but since we’re probably going to get invited back to Cheer nationals again this year, I just don’t have time for three sports. Volleyball’s fun, but it’s not my passion.”

I glared at Brittany, but only playfully, before asking Chelsea, “So what about the Captain position?”

Chelsea grinned. “I was thinking of putting your name forward.”

“Me?” I asked, surprised.

“Her?” Brittany asked, just as surprised. “No offense,” she added.

I laughed. “None taken. I’d sooner pick Ally over me, but Maria and Katelyn are our real star players.”

“Katelyn wants to go out for cheerleading this year,” Chelsea replied. “I’ve been talking to her about it, and she doesn’t feel she can keep up with basketball, cheer, and choir plus teaching piano and taking singing lessons. We need to think about who our cheer captains will be this year, too.”

“Don’t. Even. THINK about it,” I replied, causing her to laugh.

“I was thinking about Jenn, or one of the seniors. Maybe Tracy?” Before I could answer, the first bell rang, and she sighed.

“We’ll pick this up later. I really want you to think about the basketball captain position though. If not you, then who you think would be a good captain.”

Allison lay her hand on my shoulder as we walked to our first class together. “Don’t. Even. Think about it,” she echoed my comment with a broad grin. “I love you, but if you tell Coach Wilson to consider me for captain, I will kick your butt.”

~oOo~

“Wow. You’re really being considered for Captain?” Nikki asked as she approached me at my locker following second period English. I hadn’t breathed a word of it to her yet since in my mind, I had already decided I wouldn’t accept nomination.

“Oh, yeah, but it’s just Chelsea. She doesn’t want the Captain slot this year so it’s up in the air,” I answered as I closed my locker and pulled her into a hug.

She grinned. “Mmm. That was nice. What was that for?”

“I need a reason to hug you?” I teased, leaning up to kiss her. “C’mon vampire. Walk me to the gym? You’ve got Chem this hour so it’s on the way.”

Nikki giggled, wrapping her arm around my waist. I lay my head on her shoulder as we started down the hall together, but she suddenly stopped and whispered. “Hey, who’s the new girl with Jenn?”

Jenn was standing by the dark olive-skinned girl wearing sunglasses that I had seen struggling this morning. Curiosity piqued, we walked over to say hi and welcome the new student.

“Hey Jenn,” I called cheerfully. “Who’s the new girl?”

“Speak of the devil! Robin, Nikki, this’ my new friend Shelly,” Jenn answered cheerfully. I hadn’t seen her smiling this much since camp. Something was definitely up, but I decided not to ask. I’d swear the girl was staring daggers at me from behind those dark glasses, though, as she grabbed a white cane from her locker.

“You didn’t come to laugh at me too did you?” she snapped.

“Um, no? Why would we? Just ask Jenn. Outside cheerleading I’m kind of a clutz.”

“Like that time you walked right into your locker door because you forgot to shut it first,” Nikki chimed in, giggling.

“So, are you new here?” I changed the subject. She shrugged.

“Yeah. Just moved here last month.”

“Oh, well if you need anything just ask Jenn or me. I was the new kid last year, but Jenn and my other friends really made me feel welcome, so I try and pass it on.”

“You know I don’t need you to feel sorry for me,” Shelly snapped, scowling at me again.

I didn’t really know what to say to that. I was just trying to be nice, but it seemed this girl just wanted to be insulted. “I’m sorry if it came out like that. It’s just when I transferred here, I was kind of terrified of reliving life like my last school so I try to be nice to new people. Anyway, I’m obviously making you uncomfortable, so I’ll leave you alone, but I meant what I said, if you change your mind.”

Nikki started to say something, but I squeezed her hand and shook my head. Jennifer frowned apologetically as we walked away.

“What a cow,” Nikki growled. “Some people just look for persecution.”

I shrugged, trying not to let it get to me. “Maybe Jenn’ll calm her down. She’s obviously pretty rattled about something.”

“Y’think so?” Nikki asked. “Yeah, maybe I’m just being overprotective.”

I giggled, stopping and turning Nikki around to kiss her again. “Can’t fault you for that,” I teased.

“We’d better get to class before we draw a crowd,” she answered. I looked around at the empty hallway and blinked.

“Oh. Nikki speak?” I asked. She laughed as she pulled me along toward our next class.

“Nikki speak,” she answered. “I haven’t used it in awhile.”

~oOo~

The rest of the day progressed fairly normally. Jennifer apologized for the way Shelly acted. Apparently I was right, that something had rattled her pretty badly. I talked to her at lunch to let her know there were no hard feelings. She was actually a really sweet girl, and Jennifer seemed to like her.

I wasn’t really surprised to see Trent, instead of Trina, at school that day, and I couldn’t help noticing he seemed absolutely miserable. He barely said two words to anyone, but it was a decision that I knew he had to make for himself. All I, all anyone could do, was to support him.

After school, last year’s cheerleaders - those who wanted to be on the squad again this year anyway, met in the gym for an informal meeting to discuss the year’s schedule. If we were going to be attending competitions this year, we wanted to start on our routine as soon as possible.

“Okay, so here’s the deal,” Chelsea stood up in front of the rest of us, gathered on the gym bleachers. On the basketball court, a couple of boys were playing a game of one-on-one. “As you guys all know, we had to scrap our first routine last year due to one egotistical judge.”

Stacey interrupted her, “Who, by the way, is no longer in the employment of ESPN.”

That raised a giggle from all of us as Chelsea nodded. “Yeah. Don’t feel too bad for him though. I heard he’s taken a job reporting for some local news station in Ohio. Anyway, because of that our routine wasn’t as good as it should’ve been. That’s not any of our faults, but this year we need to start early.”

“But isn’t practice before tryouts like, major bad mojo?” Tracy asked.

Chelsea nodded. “Yeah. That’s why we’re moving cheer tryouts to next Monday. In the meantime, we’re going to work on fundamentals during our tumbling class tomorrow night.”

Coach Greer stepped out of her office. Apparently she had been listening the whole time. “By the way, for those of you who haven’t heard, our sister school and former rivals, Sunshine Academy, are finally fielding a full athletics program including cheerleading. I’ve invited them to hold their cheer tryouts here after we have ours so their girls can get a feel for how it’ll go.”

A few girls whispered among themselves, but for the most part the announcement was met with indifference, until I asked, “Who’d they get for their cheer coach?”

A chorus of gasps followed Angela’s response. “Elizabeth Esquirer.” She grinned. “I knew that’d get your attention. If anyone can whip those girls into shape, it’s Liz. Don’t worry. They’re not a direct threat to your chances at going to Nationals. I expect you to treat them as equals. Victoria will also be teaching their tumbling classes, if anyone wants to volunteer to help.”

“Do we get extra credit?” Stacy teased. Before Coach Greer could answer, she held up her hands “It was a joke.”

“Does this mean we can’t practice at Liz’?” Chelsea asked.

“You’ll have to talk to her about it, but I don’t see why it would be a problem. If both squads meet at the same time, you could probably help each other out.”

“Like a mini cheer camp,” Jenn giggled, flashing a grin at me.

“Exactly,” Coach Greer replied cheerfully. “I’m glad you girls are on board for this. Strictly off the record, I’ve been talking to Liz, and she regrets ever leaving for that Platinum’s Gym job. Anyway, unless there’s anything else you girls want to discuss, you’re free to go.”

Chelsea held up her hand before anyone could get up. “Actually there is one thing. We need to discuss Captains. I like the two co-captain system we tried out last year. It worked great for basketball, and even better for cheer.”

Coach Greer nodded. “I agree. I’ll be honest. I don’t want to accept anyone who hasn’t had at least one full year of cheerleading experience for captain, but if you can make a strong enough argument, I’ll take it under advisement.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “That leaves me out.”

“Not necessarily,” Chelsea answered. “She did say ‘strong argument’. I’m pretty sure the fact that you helped me and Victoria with two very different Nationals-level routines counts for something.”

I quickly shook my head. “No, seriously. I’m trying to take it easy this year. I’m taking a bunch of AP classes, including Trig, plus cheer and basketball. I nominate Tracy.”

“Bwah?” Tracy exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. Everyone giggled.

“Yeah, Tracy’s the most experienced girl on the squad,” another girl added.

“I agree,” Chelsea answered, winking at me. “That still leaves one slot open though.”

“What about Jenn?” Tracy asked.

“I nominate Chelsea,” Jennifer shot back. Chelsea shrugged.

“I’m willing to take the position if no one else wants it, but I don’t mind stepping aside either. Like Robin, I’m trying to take it easy this year.”

“Well, we don’t have to decide right now,” Coach Greer replied. “Nominations will be open until next Monday. Remember though, that being captain doesn’t just mean you tell everyone what to do. It means you lead by example in all aspects of your life. I’m looking for girls who can show their confidence in and outside school and in competitions, who can really show the judges something special.”

“Robin,” Tracy answered. I stuck out my tongue at her.

“No,” I shot back, causing another chorus of giggles.

“Hey,” I asked, as we stood to leave. “Anyone seen Sasha?”

Tracy nodded. “Dentist appointment. She checked out at two. I promised I’d let her know what we discussed.”

“Oh, coolness. So, ready to go work on the asylum?” I asked, glancing at Tracy. She grinned.

“You know it girl! I’ll meet you out there. I just need to check on Trent first. If you see Laura, give her a hug, okay? They’re... having problems.”

I frowned, grabbing Tracy’s hand and pulled her into the Coach’s office. I didn’t even notice Coach Wilson sitting at her desk.

“What’s going on? They were at the mall Saturday, and everything seemed fine.”

“You saw Trina at the mall,” Tracy answered with a frown. “Laura’s upset because she acts like a completely different person at school, and it’s starting to scare her because he won’t even talk to her.”

“That’s... not good.” Sure, it was stating the obvious, but I didn’t really know what else to say. I sighed softly. “I’ll talk to Nikki. Maybe she can talk to him and find out what’s going on.”

“Thanks Robin,” Tracy answered, hugging me. “Laura’s like my best friend. Us theater dorks gotta stick together, y’know?” she winked, turning to step out again.

“Everything okay?” Coach Wilson asked, causing me to jump. She laughed. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, just high school drama,” I trailed off, approaching Coach Wilson’s desk and sitting across from her. “You know Trent Scott?”

“Sure. Quiet kid. Great dodgeball arm,” she answered with an amused smile.

“Trent’s … kinda like me.”

“Like you-” she started, but realization dawned, and she nodded. “Oh...”

“Yeah. Trent lives part time as Trina. I think he wants to transition, but if he did, he’d have to deal with the problems that come with it, like everyone knowing who he is already. I had the luxury of stealth.”

“That would be a problem,” she answered quietly. “Does he - sorry, she - have a therapist?”

“The best,” I answered. “And a small circle of support. Everyone in the GLBT student alliance already knows Trent cross-dresses, plus she knows I’m transgendered.”

“Then the best thing you can do for her is continue to be there for her,” she replied with a reassuring smile. “Ultimately it’s Trina’s decision to make, but what you can do is let her know that you’ll shoulder the burden. In the end, it’s which set of consequences she’s willing to live with.”

“At least I won’t have the stress of having to change in the coaches’ offices anymore,” I answered with a wry smile, causing her to laugh.

“Yeah, I read the school board’s report. Personally I thought it was kind of crass for them to ask, but I understand their intentions, trying to protect other students as well as yourself.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I should get going, but thanks for listening, Coach.”

“Anytime,” she answered as I stood. She waited until I got to the door to add, “Do me a favor though?”

“What’s that?” I asked, glancing back.

“Reconsider the Captain position?”

I sighed. “Okay, I’ll THINK about it, but no promises.”

She grinned. “You and Katelyn would make a heck of a team,” she called after me as I left, shaking my head.

“Easy for you to say,” I mumbled, but chuckled quietly as I left the gym, heading out to the parking lot to head home. First day of school, and I already had homework.

---

Author's Note:
Sorry this took so long to get out. Long story short, I had plans this summer that didn't involve being near a computer, and other drama happened that left me seriously considering just stopping altogether.

But I'm back now :-)