Prom Queen of Disaster (15 page)

“Over it,” Char said, walking on, hauling me on the side of her arm.

There were two elevators, and lines to both of them. Char bypassed everyone, telling them they didn’t want their captain to be tired for the morning. We could’ve waited the extra couple of minutes while people used them, they had a limit of five people, not because of weight, but because of how compact they were.

Room 909. Most of us were on separate floors. Importantly, the teachers who were chaperoning were on a different floor. The hotel room was large, we had a huge glass window overlooking Los Angeles.

There were two king-size beds to share. “I want to live here,” Char said, jumping from one to the other before bouncing back. She laid, looking up at the ceiling. “Forever.”

“In this room?” I asked.

“This city.”

“Isn’t your mom always here anyway,” Ava asked in a yawn.

Char hummed and threw a hand to her face.

“Why don’t you move here?” I asked.

She laughed at the question. “I need to follow in my mom’s footsteps,” she said. “I need to be prom queen, it’s everything I’ve grown up to want.”

It was everything I’d ever wanted. I didn’t care about anyone; all I wanted was to feel the crown in my hair and to find myself center of attention with Dylan. It was also
the
night
I’d been thinking of for a long time.

Alarms sounded at 7 AM. I’d been awake for 5 minutes lost in thought before the alarms began; an alarm from my phone, a second from Char’s phone, and the loudest from Ava. I stayed still as they groaned. Ava was at my side, and Char had a king bed all to herself. They fidgeted with their legs and arms, reaching out to slap their phones.

“Getting a shower first.” I threw myself out of bed.

They jolted upright. “But I need to do my hair!” Char said.

I grabbed my open gym bag and rushed to the bathroom. Flicking the light switch on. The bathroom was bright, it stung the corners of my eyes. I undressed and turned the shower on to find the perfect balance of hot and cold

“You’ve got 5 minutes,” Char shouted.

“Right, whatever,” I laughed, “I’ll leave the shower running.”

I’d only washed my hair the night before, it took way too long to dry, and we didn’t have enough flat irons to go around.

My phone buzzed on the counter. It was either my mom or Dylan, probably both. I towel dried as I read the supportive texts on my phone.

Char knocked on the door. “Move it.”

I grabbed my belongings and walked out with a towel wrapped around my body. Ava sat on the end of a bed in a bath robe, waiting for her turn.

“How are you doing your hair?” I asked. “I’m thinking of pulling mine all back in a ponytail.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Boring. I have my curling iron.”

“In a ponytail still?”

“That could work.”

The bathroom door swung open. “What could?” Char asked, smoothing lotion into her arms.

“Curling Zo’s hair,” Ava said.

“I want loose curls, nobody with
flat
hair.”

“Flat hair, flat performance,” I said, repeating something Char once said.

I dressed in sweatpants and a red crop top with the school logo for practice. I packed my outfit on a hanger inside a garment bag. Ava wore hers but Char was worried she’d spill something on hers at breakfast.

Char applied a light concealer and foundation to my face. “I only bought four lipsticks. So once we’ve eaten we can wear it.”

Everyone was already in the lobby. Dylan pulled me into his arms by my waist. “You look amazing,” he said.

“I’m starving.” I said, kissing his neck.

Half the girls were in their outfits, the other half in their practice clothes. Before Mr. June could announce anything, Char took center stage. “I have a matte red lipstick, and all the girls will be wearing this after breakfast. The guys,
well
you’re doing your own thing anyway,” she said. “Oh, and loose curls.”

Monique laughed. She had a thick black afro of curls, alongside Damaris, they were as diverse as our squad got. “You know I love curls,” Monique said.

“You’re on curling iron duty then?” Char said.

“Happily!”

The competition was in a convention center 5 minutes from the hotel. We walked, the morning sun shining and the breeze snipping at us. We were used to it, northern Cali wasn’t always the warmest, but better than the four seasons everywhere else went through each day.

Two-time Olympic world medalist and cheer champion, Alexa Bergdorf was one of the organizers and the face of the Golden State Cheer Championship. She was thirty, but you couldn’t tell by looking at her, only from her Wikipedia page. She welcomed each group into the convention individually.

I left Dylan with a kiss. They weren’t allowed in unless they were part of the team, so they went out for breakfast. We were shown to a room with MARIN PANDAS plastered on the door and told to wait for Alexa’s arrival. I bit the inside of my lip in anticipation, I’d only ever watched her on YouTube videos.

There was a knock at the door as she walked in, tall and slim in her fitted red dress. “Good Morning Marin Pandas!”

“Morning!” We said back, almost like pre-school kids at roll call.

“You all look so refreshed and beautiful,” she said, closing the door. “Have you all eaten breakfast?” she asked.

“We were told to wait for you,” Mr. June said.

“That’s silly.” She waved her hands in large gestures. “I don’t know why they told you that, we have a huge breakfast on down in the hall. You’ll get to meet a few other cheerleaders you’ll be competing against this afternoon too.”

“What food?” Mrs. Jennings asked. “Because I’m starving!”

Alexis stifled a laugh with her perfectly manicured hand. I glanced at my own, they were second-rate compared to Char’s. “It’s all high energy and high protein,” she said. “So, who’s the captain? Who will be leading your squad to victory today?”

Char stepped forward. “Me,” she said. “I’m the captain, and I—
we’ve
been preparing since the start of the semester for this competition. We’re more than ready.”

Of course, she told every squad they’d be winning today, and she was probably right, about one team at least. But she had me believing that of all the cheer squads here, we would take away the prize. We were only competing in the senior category.

“There are ten other squads in your category,” Alexa said. “Each from high schools across the state. We have a few younger squads competing in other categories too. So, professionalism is asked for at all times.”

“Exactly,” Mr. June said. “I know Alexa herself is very professional. We were both in the 2008 Olympics.”

“You’re looking well, Jack,” she said. “I heard you were teaching now. Only happy to return the favour and let you compete.” She pulled him into a hug and kissed him on both cheeks.

“It’s a pleasure, these students have been working around the clock.”

“Fantastic!” she said. “Do any of you have questions?”

I desperately wanted to ask for an autograph, or at least a selfie.

“A selfie,” Char said.

She beamed a white smile. “Sure, but I only have a few minutes before I have to go.”

Mr. June stood, taking each of our phones to take pictures. I had my arm around her waist, hugging her close. She smelled like fresh flowers but I couldn’t get my words out to ask her what it was.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Have fun now,” she said.

The convention center was full of children and their parents. I regretted not inviting my parents to watch, but like every performance, I never invited them, and they were probably too busy anyway. It was more about the arts and less about the short skirts and crop tops.

I ate a small bowl of scrambled eggs and a bagel. There was a lot of food, feeding over 400 people in a large buffet style cafeteria. It was between the greenrooms and the performance halls. There were three large rooms for each of the categories, and each group was performing twice, once in their category and a second for the grand title, but only the squads placing top three could compete in the final.

It was 10 AM when we were given our schedules. Char had handed over the music for the routine. We had a five-minute spot at 11:30 AM. We’d already stretched ourselves out and changed.

“Lipstick!” Char called out, holding her hand high in the air.

“Don’t forget the hair,” Monique said, waving the curling iron around.

Benny and Kaleb walked in with Dylan following behind. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck.

“I’m so nervous,” I said.

“I saw your picture with Alexa,” he said. “Did you bring that poster?”

I’d kept a poster of her in a box beneath my bed, one of her 2008 Olympic pictures with her and the gold medal.

“I wish I had,” I said. “I was so nervous. I’m playing it cool.”

“So you’re not going to spam her Twitter with your selfie?”

“I’ll be doing that,” I laughed, kissing him again. “You have fun in LA?”

“Well, we need more stuff for the party tonight,” he said. “Turns out Kaleb has a pretty good fake ID.”

“It’ll be fun.”

“They have a rooftop pool,” he continued. “It’s closed because it’s November, but we’ll figure that out.”

“That’s gotta be freezing,” I said.

“We’ll see.”

The teachers walked in. Mr. Brooks had kept quite quiet during the trip, probably using it to get away from his family. “Didn’t realize you were bringing in the entourage,” he said.

“Everyone not part of the squad should leave now,” Mr. June announced, leaving the door open. There were several people, some of them friends, but mostly boyfriends.

Through the speaker a voice boomed. “
Good Morning Los Angeles,
” the voice announced. “
We’re here for the third annual Golden State Cheer Championship, after reviewing all teams over summer, we’ve brought you, forty of the finest cheerleading teams from across the schools and colleges of California.
” They explained we were in the second largest convention room with the other high schools.

“
There’s a five-thousand-dollar reward for each school coming in first, including the first place trophy. Two-thousand-five-hundred-dollar reward for second place, including second place trophy, and for third place, you will receive a thousand-dollar reward, including third-place trophy. For the school or college that comes in first place for the championship, you will win a spread in the upcoming issue of SPIRIT, the leading cheer magazine and a further cash prize of five-thousand dollars.
”

“You know you only move to the championship round if you place top three,” Mr. June said. “I expect you to come in top three. If anything, I’m looking at first place. I know, I know, I’ve said in the past, we’re wanting you to have fun, but now we’re here, we’re winning.”

“I couldn’t have said it better, Mr. June,” Char added.

“Also.” Bex pushed through to the front of the group. “Winning will mean we can upgrade equipment!”

“Or a party,” Ava said.

“What about a cheer camp, or at least the money to go to one,” I said.

Mr. June’s smile widened. “Let’s not talk about spending money we don’t have yet,” he said. “Although, I will give you this, if you win, I’ll look the other way for the party you’re planning.”

Everyone turned to see the burning grin on Quentin’s face. “If that’s not motivation enough,” he said.

“Like we didn’t know,” Mr. June said. “Besides, it’s not your birthday until midnight.”

We moved from the greenroom to the waiting room where all the other groups in our category were. We knew a few of the other groups by name, we’d never performed against most of them, mainly because they cheered for football teams. The Vipers were a squad from San Francisco, they were close, so we knew who they were. We’d competed against The Roseville Reds and The Napa Sharks before.

The different groups were practicing their timings, counting their steps. The smell was overpowering, a mixture of cheap perfume and desperation. We were in a circle, Mr. June stood in the center.

“I’m gonna have to go soon,” he said. “I’ll be on the sidelines watching, with the other coaches, so this is down to you, and listen to your captain—I believe in you.” He moved aside as we put our hands in the middle. “Go, Pandas!”

Nobody looked. Everyone was involved in their own thing, but it was usually the same thing. One of the assistants came around to us 15 minutes before we were set to perform.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I said. “Where are they?”

The woman pointed out the hall. “Down there.” She pulled her wrist watch around. “You have 5 minutes before we need you all ready.”

I always needed a nervous bathroom break at the most inconvenient of times, and true to girl code, Hannah and Brianna came along.

“I’ve been bursting,” Brianna said. “They shouldn’t have given us all that juice.”

“You didn’t need to drink it,” I said.

The bathroom was full of girls puking their guts up and crying. Some older, some younger. All but one stall was full, and there appeared to be a line forming. I took a deep breath and put my best Char impression on. Hannah and Brianna followed.

Straight to the front of the line. “I need to go next,” I said. “We’re up in five, and if I don’t go now, I’m going to going to personally see to it you lose, okay.”

The girl didn’t say a word, she hopped back slightly to make room for us. I turned slightly with a smile to see the celebration on Hannah and Brianna’s faces.

It was almost time. We were at the curtain ready to perform. I’d done smaller competitions before, but the sweat on my palms collected out of nervousness. I was glad I wasn’t a base for any of the flyers. I couldn’t even hold myself up. I wiped my hands on a cloth in the waiting room.

“Zo,” Char called me forward, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me through the group. “We’re on in a minute.”

We had perfect view of the group currently on the mats performing their routine. They jumped and twirled, giving back handsprings and somersaults. They were one of the larger teams and could cover more of the mats. It squeezed knots in my stomach.

“We’re gonna kill it,” I said. “Don’t you think?”