Chapter 61 Chapter Sixty One
He gave me an encouraging nod, and somehow, impossibly, I found my voice again.
"I know I may not look it," I said, hating how my voice shook, "but I've always wanted to be a cheerleader. To represent our school this way. I always thought you all looked so—so cute in your uniforms, and it hurt when I would get told no year after year without even being given a chance to apply."
"That's because you don't meet the requirements, nerd." Allison's voice was sharp, cutting. "How the hell are you gonna do a backflip with glasses on? You'll break your neck and sue the school."
She turned to Noah, her expression shifting to something almost apologetic. "I'm sorry, Noah. You're cute, really. But I'm not putting that girl on my squad." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Please get rid of her. She's making me uncomfortable. I think I might throw up."
Something inside me cracked.
I pulled my hand out of Noah's grip and turned toward the exit, tears burning in my eyes. Angry, humiliated tears that I refused to let fall in front of them.
Behind me, I heard Noah's voice, tight with annoyance. "Allison, be reasonable—"
"I am being reasonable! She's not squad material and she never will be—"
I stopped at the threshold, my hand on the door.
Something in me—some small, stubborn part that had survived years of this treatment—suddenly refused to take another step.
I turned around and walked back inside.
This time, I looked Allison square in the face.
"It's my right," I said, my voice steadier than I felt, "just as it's the right of every student here, to try out for any extracurricular of my choice and receive a fair shot."
Allison's mouth fell open. "Excuse me?"
"Year after year, you've said no to me and denied me for no real reason. But that won't happen this year."
My hands were still shaking, but I pulled out the application form I'd filled out last night—the one I'd almost thrown away a dozen times—and set it down on the bench in front of her.
"You have to let me apply."
I braced myself for the slap I knew was coming. Allison had hit me yesterday for less. I could see the fury building in her eyes, could see her hand twitching.
But the blow never came.
Because Noah was standing right there, and she was still playing the role of sweet, innocent girl in front of him.
Instead, she laughed in my face. "No, I don't."
"She's captain," Tracy called out from behind her. "She can let in whoever she wants. Give it up and go find a library to die in."
The other girls snickered.
"You do, actually," Noah said, his voice calm but firm as he supported me.
Allison's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"Tryouts have to be open to all students, Ally. It's school policy." Noah's tone was conversational, like he was just pointing out a fact. "I saw it in the student handbook this morning. Any student can apply for any extracurricular activity and must be given a fair evaluation."
Allison's jaw tightened. "That's for clubs, not competitive teams—"
"It applies to cheerleading too. Says so right in section four." Noah pulled out his phone, scrolling casually. "I can pull it up if you want. Or we could just walk down to Coach Ellis's office right now and ask him to clarify the policy?"
The mention of Coach Ellis made several girls shift uncomfortably. Allison's face flushed.
"Fine," she bit out. "She can try out. But don't expect any special treatment just because you're asking, Noah."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Noah said smoothly. "I just want her to get a fair shot. That's all."
He turned to me with an encouraging smile, then back to Allison. "So when should she come back? What does she need to do?"
Allison's smile turned sharp and dangerous. She looked me up and down slowly, like she was cataloging every flaw.
"Tomorrow. Right after school. And Lena?" Her voice dripped with false sweetness. "You'll need to demonstrate the standard skills. Back handspring, toe touch, herkie, pike jump. And if you can't keep up with the routine we're performing at Friday's game..." She shrugged delicately. "Well, then you're just not squad material. Fair is fair, right?"
My stomach dropped. Back handspring? I'd never done a back handspring in my life.
"Sounds reasonable," Noah said before I could panic. "She'll be there."
Allison's smile widened, triumphant and cruel. She knew exactly what she was doing—setting me up to fail publicly.
"Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then, Lena." She turned back to her squad, clapping her hands. "Alright girls, from the top! And this time, stick those landings!"
The music started up again, dismissing us.
Noah took my hand and led me toward the exit. I was in a daze, barely processing what had just happened.
I had a tryout. An actual tryout.
And absolutely no idea how I was going to pull off a back handspring by tomorrow.
We stepped out into the hallway, and Noah turned to me with that confident smile. "See? Told you she'd say yes."
"Noah," I said, my voice small. "I can't do a back handspring."
His smile didn't falter. "So we'll teach you."
"We? There's no we—I don't even know if I can do a cartwheel properly, and she wants me to—"
"Lena." He took both my hands, making me look at him. "Do you trust me?"
I stared at him—at this boy who'd known me for barely twenty-four hours but had already stood up for me more than anyone ever had.
"Yes or no?"