Page 3

“Bye, D!”

“Bye, Roni.”

Then came the fateful moment when my boyfriend wrapped me in his arms. Derek had already gotten into the car to give us a bit of privacy.

“He's going to kill me on the way to the dorm...” MJ joked, which made me laugh. My brother might have seemed angry, but he wasn't. And I really doubted that he would hurt one of the people I loved most in the world.

“He won't, I promise.”

MJ pulled away and I was able to look into his eyes before saying goodbye with a gentle peck on his lips.

As soon as the two left, I went back into the building, already feeling the unpleasant sweat taking over me. Texas was much hotter than South Dakota. Hotter as hell and I hated it.

I went back to my room and set out to organize my things in the space that was left for me. It wasn't a very big room, but there was a window that had a great view of the campus and I loved it.

I took a deep breath and stared at my bags and boxes of belongings.

“This isn't going to tidy itself...” I muttered to myself, starting to move. There was a small walk-in-closet, but it would handle my things along with the closet. And the desk was perfect to do college assignments.

Time passed and I kept busy with my tasks until, around 4pm, I heard knocking on my bedroom door. I ordered them to come in.

“Hi, Veronica...” it was Emily. Her face looked more rested than it had earlier. Apparently, while I was packing my things, she took the opportunity and slept. “So... we're leaving for the Training Center in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay, I'll get ready.”

“OK.”

She closed the door on her way out.

Emily seemed very restrained, as if she calculated absolutely everything she said or did. At least that was my first impression.

Alone again, I changed my clothes, putting on short leggings, a top and a t-shirt. I tied my hair into a high ponytail and put on my training shoes.

Upon arriving at our living room, I found Troian lying on her stomach, on her cell phone while Emily stretched, minimally facing the window.

“I'm ready!” I announced.

They both looked at me at the same time.

Troian smiled and Emily just said:

“So, let's go.”

Since none of us had a car, we ended up walking to our destination. It was about fifteen minutes from our dorm to the training center on foot, but that wasn't a hassle. It was even good to keep our muscles moving before we got on the platform.

“Are you excited?” Troian asked as soon as we started walking.

“Yes!” Emily and I answered at the same time, but without as much excitement as Troian's.

“I still feel like I'm dreaming, you know? We got in Venenum, having a monster like Karlee Novais as coach. It's insane!” Troian just had to jump around while he spoke.

But I understood her. And Emily too, I was sure.

Karlee Novais was simply the best cheerleading coach in the entire country. She was a living legend and owner of fourteen consecutive cups. Anyone in their right mind who was a cheerleader, and wanted to be the best, would go join her. Would join Belinda Stone University, in a tiny town in Texas and embrace the Venenum, because it would give us the vision of a winning woman ahead of her time.

“Being here is like a dream come true.” Emily added.

And she was right.