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“I do, I'm just… taking some air.”

Veronica smiled smugly. The sadness of the last few minutes seemed to have drained from her.

“You should stay with your team…” She suggested, but the truth was that I couldn't stay close to them.

“I would, if I knew how to give a pep talk. But I don't know...” I shrugged, getting a laugh from her. That curly-haired viper was making fun of me! “What?!”

“Nothing…” And she continued laughing.

“If you can tell me how to give a good pep talk to my team, be my guest. Otherwise, you'd better leave me alone here.” I was already very annoyed, much more than when I left in search of fresh air.

Veronica laughed again, but there was no malice this time.

Her arms wrapped tighter around the bouquet of flowers that her idiot boyfriend had brought her, and she seemed to analyze me for a moment.

“They don't need a big speech, they just need to be sure of themselves. And they will only achieve this if you are sure of yourself.” I snorted in response.

“Great, we're probably going to lose then...” Nervousness was gaining on me fervently there.

“Look, it's not that I think it's bad to win against you, but I like to win fairly.” Veronica continued to look at me carefully. “We've always been elite competitors, we both know that, and I refuse to win the championship just because you don't know how to control your nerves. That's pathetic and I won’t win on those terms.” I crossed my arms, already getting irritated by that project of a person, measuring five feet tall. “They don't need a speech, they need you to be secure!”

I felt the slightly cold wind hit us and goosebumps ran through my entire body as her fucking perfume invaded me. It was as good as it was poisonous.

“How do you do it?” The question came out genuinely.

I didn't have a problem with low self-esteem, but there were problems within me that were bigger than I could ever put into words. And Veronica Torres seemed like the type who knew how to understand some problems. She would probably never understand me completely, but it would be nice to talk to someone who had at least a bit of empathy and could understand the situation.

“Do what? Keep calm?”

“Yeah… and… like, sure of yourself.”

Veronica laughed and took two more steps closer to me, stopping with her face right next to mine. A wide smile took over her.

“I pretend...” She whispered exactly as if we were exchanging a secret. It was my turn to laugh. “We all have insecurities and fears, we just can't show them to anyone.”

That bitch was right. And I knew that better than she could imagine.

“Kendra!” Delilah's voice resonated through the parking lot and her eyes looked at me intently. “We need to go.”

I nodded and faced Veronica one last time. I reached out my hand, touching hers gently. It was probably the only contact we'd had in years, and one that wasn't exchanged out of mutual hatred.

“Thanks!” I felt vulnerable, but not in a bad way.

“Good luck!”

I had woken up in a good mood and earlier than usual. This wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. The best part was that I wasn't hungover, and I felt well rested. I had already taken a shower and went down to the entrance hall to get a cereal bar before heading to cheer practice. That morning, Troian and Emily had decided to go for a run, but... honestly? I hated doing cardio, so I passed.

As I was waiting for the machine to give me my order, I faced Kendra coming towards me.

“Good morning...” She ignored me and walked straight past, heading towards the machine where there were only drinks. “Okay... someone woke up in a bad mood.” I mocked quietly, but I knew she had heard.

Since the day before, I wanted her to fuck off. I was being nice, but she didn't seem to know how to be kind enough.

“You're so cynic, you know that?!” She complained, turning to face me.

I sighed.

“Oh, God, Kendra! It's too early for me to put up with your neuroses.” I replied, picking up my granola bar.