Page 6

Daytona might be just another beach in Florida for some, but for the little world of cheerleading it was the only thing that mattered. It was there that the biggest university competitions took place and I was excited to get my turn on that platform.

“For now, let's focus on getting you all together and figuring out what you're good at and what you need to improve on.” That woman was so charming. Damn, it was like facing a Goddess and every time she opened her mouth, she just wanted to say:amen.

I was never one to fear the presence of anyone, no matter who it was, but Karlee Novais was simply my biggest idol. I truly admired all of her work and was more than pleased when I was able to join the Venenum team. But I was aware she onlyaccepted me because she knew I was good, so the last thing I could do was disappoint her.

“I'm going to call you one by one and I want you to show me what you got, and I want the others to pay attention. We are a single team, not to point fingers, but I know that everyone can improve, and we will do it together.”

With that cue, we all left the platform.

Karlee did what she said she would do, she started calling us. However, there was no right order. It seemed pretty random, actually.

One by one, we entered the stage, which was nothing more than a thin layer of tatami almost on the floor, nothing more. I had to confess that the most interesting presentations were those of the tumblers, as always. But it was fun to watch thestunslifting the girls up while Karlee gave orders on what she wanted from each one and took notes.

When it was Colleen's turn, I was excited to see my cousin doing what she did best: shine. She was incredible. To be completely honest my cousin was, in fact, my biggest inspiration. And I loved that she supported me in following the same paths as her.

“Perfect, Colleen!” Karlee praised her before returning her eyes to the call. “Well, now… Veronica Torres.”

And the sewer rat got up and walked to the center of the stage.

Veronica was aflyerand, if well positioned, could be atop girl, she had known that for years, but Karlee, in addition to asking her to see all of this, dared to ask that insufferable girl to do pirouettes like atumbler.

At the same moment, I felt my teeth almost grinding, but I kept quiet. She did some not-so-perfect pirouettes, but they could improve if she worked on it.

When Karlee called me, I felt a twinge of nervousness, but it would never cross my mind to show it. So I just stood up and did what I was supposed to do. Showing them how to jump, how to spin and, most importantly, how to land gracefully.

I received a smile from Karlee and Evans, soon after came the name of the next person to take the stage.

Two and a half hours later, we were finally released. I felt my body covered in sweat, but I was satisfied with what had been done. It was just the first day and we just had to get to know the team. What no one expected was that the team was almost completely renewed. There were a lot of new people, according to Colleen, few were there for the second year and this was a sign of almost tripled work for everyone, because we needed to get along.

“Come on, I'll leave you in your dorm” my cousin declared, stretching out her hand to help me get up from the floor, where I was laying, too tired and lazy to exist.

I left with her and faced Veronica leaving with two girls. I walked into the huge SUV that Colleen owned and faced the backseat with our stuff. We had come straight to practice and now we would need to unload things with our muscles sore from the amount of physical exercise.

We put the location of the dorm on the GPS and headed there. As it was just the two of us, we got out with as much as we could carry, as we would need to make another trip. I got my keys from the building monitor and, apparently, I was the last one to get the key in that place.

We went up to the second floor and, luckily, my room was the third one on the corridor.

Out of politeness, I knocked on the door and opened it, but there was no one there.

I stared at Colleen, confused, but my answer seemed to quickly fall from the sky.

“So that means our roommate is Kendra Winfrey...” the voice came from the stairs with a challenging look. There were two girls I had seen at the training center.

The one who had spoken had black skin and straight hair, while the other was tanned and had wavy hair with blonde strands attached that, even so, almost reached her butt.

“I'm Sidney Arket” added the one who had already spoken. “Welcome.”

“And I'm Jazmine Doyle, but you can just call me Jaz. Welcome.”

Jazmine seemed to be more friendly, while Sidney had an aura I could relate to, because it was like looking in a mirror and that, as insane as it seemed, made me like her right away.

“Nice to meet you, girls!”

Colleen ended up dropping the box on the floor, making a bit of a noise, but it wasn't like I'd thrown my stuff too, so I didn't complain. Sidney noticed, as did I, and opened the door, letting us in.

“You can take the room on the right; Jaz and I already occupy the other two” she warned.

I agreed and went there, finding a relatively small bedroom. In fact, it was very tiny, my bathroom in Chamberlain was bigger than that, but it wasn't like I could complain much. It was what I had. And I needed to deal with the situation instead of complaining.