Oh man I am a cheerleader | EN version

Prologue

We all have the same bad habit of calling "ordinary mornings" those days when we know our lives are about to be turned upside down by something uncommon. And that's exactly one of those mornings. I'm getting ready to leave for college, and I have to confess, ever since I was a little girl, it's been one of my biggest dreams.

I used to dream of going to college to study foreign literatures and becoming a writer. Then, as I grew older, I stopped feeling good enough. I started to see myself as somehow "less" than those who had bigger ambitions. I put my dreams aside because the people around me forced me to face reality, and in the real world, dreams are often replaced by responsibilities. So, like any average adult, we lock away our deepest desires in a drawer, living only with their distant memory and a few too many regrets.

So, if you're wondering what I'll be studying, certainly not literature, but medicine. Avery, my young sister, thinks I've been too rational in my choice, but she's still fourteen.

"Rachel, Dad already loaded the bags in the car. How's your suitcase coming along?" Avery shouts from upstairs.

"I'm trying to close it! Maybe I packed too many clothes!" I shout back. A moment later, I hear my father's footsteps approaching my bedroom door.

"You're going to study medicine, not fashion," he teases.

"Yeah, but I'd like to be a cool doctor, not one of those who spend so much time buried in books they end up wearing oversized sweaters and smelling like garlic chips and barbecue sauce," I reply, gripping my trolley. He rolls his eyes. Says I'll never change.

I get into the car and sit in the back seat cause it helps me think, and also keeps me away from Avery, who always insists on watching one of her favorite TV shows during road trips. Naturally, none of them are free from clichés: the bad boy who falls for the least popular girl in school, the one with braces that make her even more of a "loser" than she already is. Or the tired trope where anyone who studies hard is automatically a nerd, ugly, pimply, and of course, sporting a giant wart on their forehead. Meanwhile, the quarterback is impossibly hot and has the kind of sculpted body that makes everyone swoon. Oh, and let's not forget: he's always dating the slimmest, most attractive cheerleader at college who, cherry on top, is rich and lives the life everyone wants.

"Rachel, can I tell you what happens in episode four of Love & Lost?" my sister asks, excited.

"Is that the one where Connie kisses Josh on the football field during a storm, after he dumps Savannah?" I reply, bored.

"How do you even know that?" she gasps, flabbergasted.

"Maybe because all these shows are exactly the same?" I retort, annoyed.

"You're so cynical and disillusioned," Avery mocks me.

"Better that than naïve. I'm realistic, human, okay? These shows are all copy-paste fantasies that only fool people like you to imagine things like that actually happen. They should be banned, censored, even. They're a total distortion of reality." I conclude.

"That's what you think, because you've already turned into a boring adult," she says, tapping play on the screen to start the show. "You know what I think? That you should end up inside one of these stories to understand the characters' depth."

"I don't need to. I'm perfectly satisfied with my life. I have a dog—"

"And nothing else," she interrupts. "You're not studying what you love. You don't have a boyfriend because you think everyone's out to lie to you or hurt you. You don't have a best friend since middle school because you're scared to open up and let anyone see your weaknesses. You've lost your inspiration because you're convinced nothing matters except getting a decent job to pays the bills. You've lost the magic of dreaming."

"Avery, that's enough," I say, knowing she's hit a nerve, though my pride won't let me admit it.

"Wake up!"

"I am awake! What else am I supposed to do? Pretend to be one of the characters from Love & Lost just to be happy? Life isn't like the movies, though I wish it were. Everything would be so much easier," I snap, and a deafening silence fills the car. Even Dad turns down the music and looks at me. He parts his lips as if to say something, but suddenly a black car cuts us off at the intersection.

I catch a glimpse of the driver and feel something strange, like we've met before. Dad swerves to the right, and in seconds everything around me starts spinning. The houses and buildings stretch and twist like rubber, while the rest of the world vanishes into a whirlpool. I reach out to grab Avery, who's motionless beside me, but another violent jolt throws me against the window. Darkness. Nothingness.

Hi everyone 💗

It's been a while, but I'm finally back with a new story—I hope you'll enjoy it.

Happy reading, and nice to meet you!

If you want to, obviously, I'll be glad if you let me know what do you think about this intro💗