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“It seems like you know what you're talking about...” I mocked and sipped my drink, delighting by the extra cinnamon flavor.

Kendra just stared at me, there was mockery there and she looked unimpressed, but deep down there was also a big warning like:don't ask too much about it. Out of laziness, I respected her in this regard.

“So I’ll come by your room at 7pm?”

“I'm not going to the party.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re going!”

“That’s not up for debate, Kendra. I'm not going to a party, and I'm definitely not going to a partywith you!”

Her being a few inches taller than me came in handy, when she straightened her posture she stared at something behind me, then pointed with her chin. I instantly turned around, finding my ex-boyfriend basically devouring a girl under a tree. He kissed her as if the girl were the damn air he whispered .

“You can sit there in self-pity, but he's a piece of shit and you should, yes, drink until you forget about him and all this feeling of betrayal.” Kendra sounded almost like an ominous voice-over in my ear. “Otherwise, it will consume you and affect all other areas of your life.”

I felt my eyes filling up with tears.

“Why are you trying to be friendly?” I didn't look at her, in fact, my gaze remained fixed on the scene of the tree, on his big hands all over the girl's body.

“I'm not being friendly, I'm just playing my role as a teammate. That's all we are and that's all we're going to be.” She sighed and so did I. I was exhausted. Classes had barely started and my problems were getting worse. The demands too. And I felt like I couldn't handle everything. It was suffocating.

“Then be a good colleague and pick me up at 8 pm.”

I didn't look at her, I just left there, preparing to face Troian and Emily in our room. I had some sense of self-criticism. I had been cruel to them and, even though I was hurt, it wasn't my right to hurt them back. We needed to talk and apologize, I just hoped it would happen peacefully.

2 YEARS AGO

My pom poms bounced in my hands as I choreographed the performance we had decided to do for the school football team. I hated these games, but I saw them as an opportunity to practice and improve teamwork for regional cheerleading competitions. The only real problem that afternoon was that the opposing team was from Royal Prep and they were there with their recently promoted captain: Kendra Winfrey. Since we were twelve, Kendra and I have hated each other. And at sixteen, I knew things hadn't gotten any better. In fact, the chances of them getting worse were enormous.

Last year, she won the regional competition cup and that made me very angry. I couldn't comprehend how our stuns hadbeen so mediocre, so that was the part we were going over the most.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be in that football game that I’d show that creature what she would be up against in the competition at the end of the year.

“You look like a psychopath looking at her...” Candace, one of my best friends from school and teammate, said to me while we waited for a team to score to celebrate or to encourage our team not to give up. Even though they were losing.

“I don't understand how she managed to be captain, she’s not even that talented”.

“Never underestimate your opponent!” Candy replied.

“I'm not underestimating, she won the last championship, I'm just saying that I don't think she's all that.” I shrugged and got up from the bench. “I'm going to the bathroom... if they score, you know what to do, right?!”

My friend agreed. Candace was second in command of the team and was great at it, so I trusted her.

I dragged my feet through the corridors towards the bathroom outside the school. They were only used during halftime and in sports games, but they were still good. I entered the place and came across some Royal Prep fans and smiled cynically before heading into one of the booths.

After doing what I needed to do, I went back to the sink and, while washing my hands, I ended up hearing laughter outside. Laughter at whoever was up to no good. I wanted to laugh, but I controlled myself.

I dried my hands and left the bathroom. The low laughter continued and my curiosity got louder, so I carefully checked who it was and, to my complete surprise, there was the fuckingpastor's daughter from our quiet town, Delilah Reigan. And next to her boyfriend, who I thought was tacky and wore a chastity promise ring until marriage. However, what those two were doing was anything but chaste.

I wanted to laugh at that. The so-called saints were always the worst.

However, my good mood turned sour when Kendra appeared there.

“Delilah?!” She called her friend, but there was on disappointment in her voice.

“Kendra...” The girl with black curly hair pushed her boyfriend away, pulling her leotard back into place while he... well, put his little friend back into his pants. “We... we weren't doing anything...”

Nothing? Sure...