holy ground [j.h]

Chapter 6

For me, Friday nights in fall have only ever meant one thing: football. Whether it was going to a game to watch my older cousins or cheering, football was a huge part of the Cameron family. I adjusted the bow I tied to the back of my head for game day, the cheerleaders and football team are supposed to wear their uniforms every home game, especially the first game and home opener. The sky was practically black as I headed down to my car an ass crack of dawn practice, this should be illegal if you ask me. I waved a silent goodbye to my parents as they laughed at my downtrodden demeanor before making the short but horrifying drive to school for a quick morning stunt clinic to make sure pyramid would hit on the sidelines. I was deep in a straddle stretch to warm up when Hally Mitchell, a girl I've cheered with for three years, came to sit with me. 

"Can't believe you made it Captain." She joked, making me laugh.

"Honestly me either." I responded honestly, switching into a right split. After a few more minutes of stretching and waiting for the rest of the team, I stood up to use my Madame President Captain voice that the boys loved to make fun of. "Okay ladies, get in your groups! Let's have this hit the first time so we can be out of here in like a half hour and still have time for Starbucks before homeroom!" 

I spent the next hour throwing back tuck baskets and perfecting the complicated transitions on our pyramid, ready to impress the spectators and hopefully have fun. I made my way back out to my car and was applying my lip gloss in the mirror when the passenger side door swung open and I was joined by none other than Caroline Mae.

"Good morning sunshine!" She beamed, knowing I wouldn't be able to match the same energy.

"Please get out of my vehicle." I said in a monotone voice, screwing the lid back on my Pillowtalk tube.

"You are the least cheery cheer captain I've ever met." She laughed, causing me to roll my eyes.

"I will be cheery in like, an hour. And at the game when it counts. So pipe down." There was a pause before we both started to giggle, life coming back into my body as I woke up slightly. We listened to 3 songs from my banger playlist before leaving the safety of the Jeep to join the growing group of our friends. I reached around to the backseat to grab my jacket and backpack, tossing on my cheer bomber jacket over top of my uniform. As soon as we approached the group, Trevor burst out into a boisterous yell.

"What team?"

"Wildcats!" The rest of the boys chorused back.

"What team?" He repeated.

"Wildcats!" They echoed.

"That means nothing to any of you. Not one of you participates in a PCEP sport." She laughed, knowing they ate up the fact that we were the Wildcats like High School Musical. 

"I still attend this school, Carrie. I get to be a Wildcat." Trevor responded defensively. "That is one thing you can never take away from me."

"Okay? My bad?" She sighed, turning away from him with a giggle.

"Say I'm a Wildcat, Carrie." He said, stepping closer to her, causing my jaw to drop.

"Pardon me?"

"Tell him he's a Wildcat, you've got him all upset. He's gonna have an exstental crisis." Johnny said, urging his sister to feed into Trevor but butchering some pronunciation there.

"That would be 'existential crisis' buddy." I rolled my eyes.

"Leave me alone! Stop with the correcting words. It's 7:38 AM Elena!" He screamed, stomping away to have his dramatic moment in peace.

"He's so dramatic." Jack laughed to me, making my heart skip beats in my chest. 

"It runs in the family." I glanced over to Caroline and Trevor going back and forth about his standing as a Wildcat.