twelve
"alright. this is absolutely ridiculous"
mackenzie shuffled on her feet, feeling so nervous she nearly dropped her phone in the toilet. it was not a pleasant experience. how could she be so easily convinced to do such foolish and uncomfortable thing?
the girl glanced at her reflection, she felt the urge to cover up her exposed shoulders and pull down the yellow and red mini skirt that was way too short for her liking. uncomfortable and awkward were the only things she felt, staring at herself and frowning at her own baked face.
"who made me do this" she muttered in disbelief, her voice was frantically desperate and frustrated. "oh right, that bitch ashton"
"ugh" she groaned and sat down in a very unladylike position, then immediately closed her legs and folded her arms in front of her chest. she mentally slapped herself -for the thousandth time in half an hour- for agreeing to this, she cursed her stupid friend for convincing her and sat there waiting and internally screaming.
never in a hundred lifetimes would she ever have thought of auditioning to be a freaking cheerleader. mackenzie ziegler, who despised those girls in an indescribable way, become one of them? just torture me eternally, she thought.
something painfully aching clicked in her head and she shut her eyes closed to push that thought away.
what if i run away, i can still avoid this, she forced herself think. but for what purpose? she wasn't going to let down her only friend and the possible friends she could make. that, she was sure of.
"mackenzie ziegler" called a girl from outside the changing room, the door opened and the brunette from two days before -who sat beside emily at lunch, the sidekick- sent her a smile, "come on"
her performance was disastrous. absolutely unbearable.
she kept waving her hands up and down like she was chasing flies. her skirt made her legs wobble around awkwardly, not wanting it to lift up and expose her butt. she turned her head a few times to see the utterly embarrassed expression on emily's face, despite her reassuring fake smile. other girls in cheerleading uniform were standing beside the blonde, all of them wore a mortifying frown.
"alright. thank you mackenzie" said emily in an uneasy tone, mackenzie let her arms 'flop!' at her sides and blowed a strand of her out of her face. she nodded and made her way out of the gym, her shoes 'blobbing' in the silence.
the next day she tried avoiding the cheerleaders as much as she could, though she failed. as she walked down the hall she spotted a blonde and two brunettes making their way towards her, their hair flowing and their hips swinging, making it seem like a movie scene. "oh shit" she whispered to herself. she didn't even have time to pretend and turn around that she was approached by the queen bee herself.
"hey kenzie"
"hi emily"
"soooo, you're in"
mackenzie opened her mouth and stared dumbfounded at the blonde, blinking a few times and taking a step back. "i'm what?"
emily took a brand new uniform from her bag and handed it to mackenzie, who held the way too short skirt and the shoulder-revealing top in her hands. "are you serious? i probably looked like a monkey-" she blurted out after a few seconds, though she couldn't even finish her sentence because the blonde girl interrupted her. "absolutely not. you were.. delightful" if she hesitated, mackenzie was too shocked to notice. "i.. what.. thanks.. but why?"
"because i like you kenzie." she deadpanned, "and with a little practice i'm sure you'll soon get it"
"wait, you're favoriting me just because you like me?"
emily shot her a knowing look, as if she was master planning a bigger project that involved mackenzie wearing a cheerleading uniform and swinging her hips around. "don't worry. it's not favoritism"
with that, she whipped around and swung her hips away.
"i'm going to freaking burn these letters one day" the woman snatched the envelope from the table and didn't even read it, marched up the stairs and pushed open with force the door to her bedroom, her heels click clacking along the way. she sat at the edge of the bed, ripped open the envelope and read it quickly, looking for signs that her 'crime' had been discovered.
the letter
to mackenzie ziegler, from johnny orlando.
hi love
do you remember this?
a photo of her daughter and the boy she so despised was glued to the paper. their smiles were heart melting, they looked so spontaneously in love. she ruined that.
i do as if it was yesterday. i had printed it out the evening of that day, of that special day. i miss this, i miss you. i miss your crooked smile, your hair that smelled of lavender, your flawless face, your adorable dimple.
melissa forced herself to stop, for the first time she felt a pang of pain in her heart, for the first time she felt aware of destroying her daughter's happiness.
she folded the letter, not able to read it all.
yeah, maybe this is a very cheesy and embarrassing way of saying it, i just miss you. you don't even have to read it, you already know everything.
my heart aches because you're not here, with me.
i love you
john.
ps: it was a short letter, i didn't want to rant about my miserable life, and thought that maybe gripping on the memories i would feel better. i was wrong, i felt even worse. but i'm still holding on the hope that one day you'll respond to these letters.
the woman sighed, got up and left.
