After I park, I check my phone, hoping for a message from Mason-nope.
Looks like I’m facing this alone.
LILY
In homeroom, Ava heads to our usual seats in the back, but I stop around the middle and go sit by the window.
“Why are we sitting here?” she asks, slipping into the seat in front of me.
“I’m not a cheerleader anymore,” I shrug like it’s no big deal.
“I’m quitting.”
“What!” she exclaims loudly, gaining the attention of the few students already here.
“I hate it. I only joined for Mom,” I tell her honestly.
“But you were going to be the captain!”
I hear the other students begin to whisper about what she’s just said, making me inwardly groan.
I’m going to be the main focus of gossip on the first day.
“You shouldn’t have to drop cheer because of him,” she counters.
“It’s not because of him,” I state coldly.
I want to text Mason so badly to see how his first day is going.
But I know I can’t-Ava will be on me right away, asking who I’m texting.
Cheerleading and Olly are enough drama for the moment, thank you.
“Babes!” Harry’s voice fills the room before I see him.
“Why are we sitting here?” he asks, sliding into the seat next to me.
“Lily’s giving up cheer,” Ava announces.
“You are?” he asks, looking at me with a small frown.
“Apparently, she hates it and only did it for her mom,” she answers for me.
“I’m only dropping cheer. I’m not dropping track and field or volleyball,” I say with an eye roll.
“It’s really not such a big deal.”
“Fair enough then,” Harry nods, holding out his fist.
I give it a bump, thankful for the lack of judgment.
My morning classes go by fairly quickly, thankfully.
But in every single class and between classes, at least five different people ask me if I’m really quitting cheer and if me and Olly actually broke up.
By lunchtime, I feel like I’m going to snap if another person asks me the same fucking questions.
Harry and I walk to the cafeteria together, and as expected, he goes straight for the table full of the usual footballers and cheerleaders.
And then I see him for the first time-Olly’s sitting at the far end of the table, laughing at something one of his friends said.
He looks up, and for a moment, our eyes meet.
It’s like he almost nods for me to join out of habit, then remembers.
I feel frozen.
Before I can figure out what to do, Leah slides into the seat beside him, her arm instantly looping through his like she’s claiming him for the whole cafeteria to see.
Her hair’s perfectly curled and she has on bright pink lip gloss.
I bet she spent like two hours getting ready for her big debut.
She notices Olly is looking at me.
She whispers something in his ear that makes him smirk.
No doubt it was about me.
I turn away before they see my cheeks turn red.
I go to sit at a two-person table, hoping like fuck Ava sits by me.
I pull out my lunch and phone to text her but see I have a text from her already saying she’s on her way.
“I still can’t believe Leah took his side,” Ava scowls, looking over to the table in the middle as she sits down across from me.
“There’s no side to take, Ava. You can go sit with them if you want,” I sigh, looking over and seeing Leah laughing at something Olly just said.
“You know I’m here for you. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on,” Ava offers, squeezing my hand.
“Thanks. But I’m actually feeling fine,” I fake-smile.
“What happened, Lil?” she asks, giving me her perfected puppy-dog eyes.
“It just wasn’t going to work,” I shake my head, wanting to tell her about Mason.
“Will you tell me one day?” She sighs, picking at her food.
“One day,” I agree, knowing I probably never will.
It’s too embarrassing.
My afternoon classes are pretty much just like my mornings until I get to last period.
Gym.
The girls are chatting and the guys are goofing around as we wait for Coach Burns, the PE teacher, to start class.
But it all fades the moment I see Coach Lindsey heading straight for me.
Her expression isn’t angry, exactly-it’s more concerned.
“Lily,” she says, stopping me near the bleachers.
Her voice is firm, but not harsh.
“Is it true? Are you quitting the team?”
I sigh, already tired of this conversation.
“I just don’t want to cheer anymore.”
Coach Lindsey frowns, crossing her arms.
“You’re meant to be the captain, Lily. You’ve worked so hard for this.”
“Make Anastasia captain. She deserves it.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.