Then It Hits Me

Chapter 9: My Twin Cousin

"The newest member of the cheerleading team is..."

The gym is so quiet you could hear a mouse's peep. Everyone is on the edge of their seat, wanting to know who this lucky girl is. 

Being a cheerleader at my school means fame, but being head cheerleader means being queen. The old captain was constantly bombarded with her wannabes and always had a girl by her to help her with all her needs. It was annoying, but you couldn't help but envy her life.

Wiping her hands on her cheerleading skirt, Ashley screams, "Caitlin Mays!"

Someone behind me pats me on the back‒–more like slaps–‒ and the crowd around me goes beserk. Everyone is either cheering or crying, with the exception of Ella who is steaming. I barely make my way down to Ashley to accept my role without tripping over my pure shock.

The whole cheerleading squad engulfs me in a huge team hug. They throw balloons and streamers around and the audience comes down to join this mini-celebration. 

The newspaper team take pictures and want to interview me, but I can no longer speak. Nothing like this ever happens to me, it's was always Ella's job to be the successful one. She was always good with people and I was just her no good side kick.

"STOP!" 

Every single head turns to the direction of the  voice. Ella is standing on top of the bleachers with Ashley's microphone at hand and a smirk at face. Oh no.

I raise my eyebrow at her as a warning to not do what she is about to do, but she waves me off. Tapping her hand evilly against the grip of the microphone, she speaks distinctively into it, "Hello fellow students. My name is Ella Louise Anderson and I must tell all of you something. As much as I love my friend Caitlin Mays, the students who deserve respect comes first."

What the hell is she saying?

We aren't friends. She certainly doesn't love me, she barely thinks of me as a human being. She has something to tell the student body? This can't be good.

"Recently, I have heard Caitlin talking with her cousin, daughter of a Hollywood choreographer about this try out. Her cousin looks a whole heck lot like her; they could be faternal twins! Caitlin asked her cousin to do the try out for her. So tonight, instead of seeing the clumsy Caitlin Mays perform, you have seen her cousin Rebecca who has just put on a face of makeup to look like Caitlin. As soon as Rebecca finished the performance, she and Caitlin switched back so that the real Caitlin couls accept something she doesn't deserve," Ella's heels clonk as she walks down the bleacher to stand in front of me with a horrible glare gracing her face.

I can't count the number of glares sent in my direction with my fingers and my toes. The formerly happy crowd seems to have changed within seconds.

Rebecca? My cousin Rebecca. does look a whole heck lot like me, but she us not a good dancer. She is her state spelling bee champion and a proud softball player. Besides, she's too much of a goody goody like me to pull something like that.

A girl I recognize as Miranda spits out, "I thought that twitter hashtag was balony, but they were right about you, Caitlin. You are the biggest bitch this school has ever seen!"

Every time someone says something rude about me or to me I try to explain, but no one wants to hear it. They are so caught up in Ella's stupid story that they don't have time to listen to mines.

"Once a bitch, always a bitch," Ella raises both of her eyebrows as she walks towards me.

All this time, I've been trying not to crack, but it happens now faster than the speed of light. I run with my to the washroom as tears pour out of my eyes by the bucketful. I hear a faint voice yell my name just as the washroom door closes, but I don't care.