Deep Down • Archie Andrews [DNF]

05 | tick tick boom

CHAPTER 5

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"We're blue and gold. We're dynamite. We'll take you down, and fight the fight!"

Betty and Veronica jumped up and down in their lemon-colored baseball shirts. Each held two large sticks covered in yellow and white stretched plastic strings, shaking them all around to create any kind of noise to go along with their cheer.

Three senior River Vixens sat a few feet away from the two with beating gazes, Cheryl being one of them. Her fiery hair had been pulled back tightly into a neat ponytail. A crisp blue and yellow Vixens cheer uniform replaced her navy blue sweater and miniature blue poms decorated the clean white sneakers on her feet. The other two wore the same uniform with their hair pulled back in the same fashion, only the poms adorning their feet were gold.

Florence sat among them right next to the girl on Cheryl's left. Her silky dark hair had been pulled up like the rest of the Vixens into a neatly made ponytail. Loose waves were still apparent from the morning that Josie curled Florence's locks to perfection.

The shell of the cheer uniform hugged her upper body perfectly as white triangular cutouts and yellow lines from the blue fabric narrowed inward. What showed Florence as a true River Vixen was the bold 'R' standing out at the center with a large megaphone.

Being Cheryl's best friend and a national champion automatically guaranteed her a position on the cheer squad. She was the only one out of the four who had a bright and warming smile on her face, encouraging the shaking girls who wanted a spot as well.

Veronica pumped one pom in the air and moved around enthusiastically while Betty stood in the back. The blonde smiled, but didn't act as peppy as the second one of the bunch. Florence smiled at her success in making them look somewhat entertaining and gave them a thumbs up for their efforts.

Crossing her legs, she leaned her head outwards to catch a glimpse of Cheryl's face. By the way she creased her brows and pursed her lips, the senior captain was nowhere near impressed.

The encouraging shouts in the background died down into awkward silence. The red headed cheerleader kept her dull gaze on the two sophomores with a clipboard in hand. "Hm." She hummed to herself.

Veronica dropped her arms to her sides and Betty fiddled with the sweaty poms still clutched in her hands. "Ladies," Cheryl's voice was flat and bored. "Where's the heat? Where's the sizzle?"

Veronica looked back at Betty. "Well, you haven't seen our big finish yet." Florence raised an eyebrow and sat back in her seat with arms crossed in front of her chest. This wasn't in the plan.

Betty felt puzzled as she tried to remember if there was anything else to the cheer routine that Florence taught to them. Veronica grabbed her arm lightly and pulled her close. "Don't freak out," she whispered. "Just trust me."

Betty opened her mouth slightly to speak, but then Veronica shushed her
by smashing their lips together. Florence had her mouth hung open
without realizing it. "This was definitely not the plan." Her friends were now lip-locked in a heated kiss in front of the head cheerleaders.

The boys that just finished basketball practice were shouting cat calls at them as they filed into the locker rooms. Cheryl crossed her arms and waited for the girl's to finish whatever they were doing.