Am I Pretty Yet?

Chapter Ten

"There's a rumor that the glass they used for the buildings is bullet proof," Faith whispered.

I laughed it off, but I wouldn't be surprised if that rumor turned out to be true. We all began to get off the bus in a single line formation, with the girls chattering loudly, tightening their ponytails, gripping their gym bags and taking sips from their multicolored Gatorade bottles. We stepped onto the lawn and I almost expected for an alarm to sound off like in The Princess Diaries, but nothing of the sort happened. I sighed in relief and tiptoed the rest of the way. When we neared the double doors to the gymnasium, I felt my heart pound. This was it. I had made the decision of joining the volleyball team, and now here I was, about to play my very first sports game in all of my sixteen years.

As soon as we entered, the first thing that came to my attention was how loud it was inside. Every time someone spoke, it seemed that the voices were carried across the room and echoed along the walls all the way up to the ceiling. There were volleyballs being dribbled against the floor, girls yelling "Mine!" as they practiced passing the ball and hitting it to one another. The Trinity players looked like soldiers: straight faced expressions, sleek and tight ponytails, red and white uniforms. Some of the girls even had black lines smudged across their cheeks. They all eyed us as we stepped inside. The Trinity Coach seemed even more menacing, considering the fact that she was over six feet tall and held a whistle between her teeth, blowing it every five seconds. I cringed.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick," I whispered to Faith, feeling myself grow smaller as we passed by a volleyball player who was glaring at me. If looks could kill, I would've been in a stretcher heading to the E.R.

"You're the one who gave me a pep talk the other day. Now it's my turn," she said, sending me a comforting smile. "You've got this. You've come a long way. I know your main priority has been the beauty pageant, but for just one day, place all your focus on winning this game. Think of it as a distraction. Take a break from the dresses and mascara."

"I don't wear mascara, and I haven't worn a dress yet," I pointed out.

"Whatever it is that Richel has you putting on your face, none of that matters here. All that matters is what you can bring to the court," she continued, brushing off my remark. "Focus. And don't be intimidated by them. They're just a bunch of bean stalk bullies."

I let out a small laugh, then faltered in my step as my eyes fell on two familiar figures sitting in the bleachers, one of them clutching a hot dog. "Is that -"

"- Parker and Richel?" Faith finished, her jaw dropping. "What the hell are they doing here? So much for you taking a break!"

"Hold on," I mumbled, moving my way past the volleyball net and climbing up the bleachers carefully, one step at a time. When I finally reached them, Parker was on the last bite of his hot dog. "What are you two doing here?"

Richel grinned, taking out a large glittery poster from her purse. "To cheer you on! You don't think I forgot about this game, did you? I am going to be your Number One cheerleader for today!"

"Parker?" I pointedly asked, turning to him. He crumpled up the silver foil in his hand, rising to his feet.

"I'm here for the food," he said before sidestepping me and walking down the bleachers, heading for the trash can. I sighed, shaking my head and turning my attention back to Richel.

"Thank you for coming but," I paused, trying to put it as gently as possible, "don't go hardcore cheer on me, alright?" Richel was very much the type of person to go into screaming, fanatic mode. I could only imagine how she was at concerts.

"I'll try not to act like a proud mother," Richel promised, smiling at me.

I jogged back down the bleachers, checking my phone for the time. The game started at eleven o'clock. It was ten thirty now. The clock was ticking. I moved towards the bench on the other side of the gymnasium, where Michelle sat wearing earphones, tapping her foot and nodding her head along to the music. I made a daring move and took a seat beside her. Ever since Faith had told me about her unfortunate relationship experience, I couldn't help but feel my heart go out to her. She may have been on the top of the food chain in terms of being athletic and much taller than me, but when it came down to it, we were one and the same. Lost. Confused. A little bit broken.