𝐌 𝐎 𝐓 𝐈 𝐕 𝐄 - 𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐚𝐜 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒 ✬

Once they got home, Genie changed into some of Jackie's comfier activewear, and they went outside to start practicing.
They started with some of the school's cheers, and Jackie took Genie through some exercises that the cheerleaders did before routines.

A few other Walter children were also outside. Isaac, Parker, and Cole were practicing football, Lee skated around and Jordan was filming it all.

During the hour and a half she stayed over, Genie and Jackie had finished their practice and grabbed some snacks in the kitchen. However, a lot of her time at their house was spent staring at Isaac, which Lee noticed.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

* ISAAC GARCIA *
Last night Jackie told us that Genevieve would be coming over, and this morning Danny told us he'd be catching a ride with his theatre friends, so I assumed that Genevieve would be riding with us instead.

After I thanked her for the notes, Lee and I kept walking and we bumped into Kaia Newton, who was waving. She's pretty hot but I've never really been too fond of her.
She's the type of girl to be super sweet to like teachers and parents, but pretty rude to her friends. I've always just left her be, without really paying too much attention to her.

This morning in Bio, Kaia and her friend sat next to Lee and I. Not sure why, but she seemed super happy to see me today. She wouldn't stop laughing at whatever I said, and kept telling me I'm so funny.

It was kinda weird, but I tried not to make a big deal out of it.

After school, Genevieve got in the car in between Lee and I. She looked pretty awkward, maybe she was just nervous. To be honest, I was feeling pretty awkward as well. I'm not usually awkward with girls, but we don't spend much time together.
I decided to make some small talk about her joining cheer, to interrupt the tension. Jackie even joined in, and called Genevieve 'Genie'. I haven't ever called her Genie before, but it sure was a nice nickname.

When we got home, her and Jackie started some cheer practice or whatever in the front yard. I decided to join Cole and Parker who were playing football, while Lee skated around.

I'll admit, I stole a few quick looks at Genevieve.

I've never really looked at her, but she had quite a nice smile. Compared to a lot of the other girls at school, hers looked really pure.

Unfortunately, Lee caught me looking at her and of course, didn't shut up. "Mr. Playboy's changed targets has he?" he teased. He's so annoying.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

As the sky faded into a light amber shade, Genie and Jackie finished with their practice and headed to the car, which Cole drove Genie home in.
"Thanks a bunch Jackie, seriously," Genie said as she hopped out of the car.
"No worries! You can always text me if you need."

The two hugged, and Genie unlocked the door and watch Jackie and Cole drive off. As soon as she set foot inside her room, she had to take a few minutes to process the last hour.
She was at the Walter house.
Like, HANGING OUT at the Walter house.
It felt like an absolute fever dream, because she'd always wanted to be there.

What a long way Genie had come. She started thinking about her past attempts, many of which failed.

In 8th Grade, Genie tried to ask Isaac to go the movies, but she was too flustered and ended up asking Lee by accident. She still enjoyed herself though. At the start of high school, she planned to ask him out at Alana Edeeson's freshman party, but she found him making out with a random girl in the kitchen.
From then on, she decided to scrap the big moves and focus on small gestures, like compliments and hello's.

But with Sophomore year came a new Genie, a bold and determined one. And look at what's happened! She rode next to him in the car, and she went to his house. She wasn't there for him, but it still counted.

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

Throughout the following week, Jackie and Genie continued to have a few cheer practices. From routines to chants, Genie had it pretty much under control. The last step was the tryouts themselves. That day, after the bell rang, Jackie caught up with Ivy and Genie as they were on the way to the  to the field.

"Shit guys... I don't feel ready," Genie sighed.
"I've seen you practice, you'll be fine Genie!" Jackie smiled, trying to be encouraging.
"Even I've seen it, you've been doing your goofy routines on call all week," Ivy added.
"You guys are right. And even if I forget like everything, I'm just gonna wing it."

As they got to the field, the girls were greeted by the coach and the rest of the cheerleaders, which included Kaia. Even though she dreaded to have to tryout in front of her, Genie tried to her best to ignore her.

The tryouts weren't all that bad, it was a few cheers and routines, just like Genie had practiced with Jackie. Although she had no history in gymnastics, she was a regular figure skater, so she was pretty flexible and agile.

After she finished, the coach thanked her for trying out and told everyone that results will be announced the next day.

"See, it wasn't so bad! And you did great, by the way," Jackie said, hugging Genie.
"Still can't imagine you being a cheerleader, but you did good Genie," Ivy said.
"Not too shabby Adalee!" a voice called out. Genie turned around to see Isaac, who was smiling at her with a wink from afar. Unsurprisingly, he had came to visit the cheerleaders post-tryouts.
"Thanks!" she exclaimed. Not like she needed the validation, but Isaac's comment had her confidence levels higher than before.

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

The next day, Ivy and Adalee sat at a lunch bench, busily chattering away at their weekend plan. A few metres away from them, the cheer coach was pinning up a piece of paper to the a bulletin board.
"IVES!" Genie nudged.
"Hm?" Ivy replied, turning to face what Genie was staring at. "Oh shit! Let's go check," she said.
The two quickly ran to the board, scanning the list for Genevieve's name.