School Daze
Chapter 4
I said no, Justin thought parked out in front of 323 Lexington Ave. partaking in idle activities with his seat belt and left hand as he waited patiently for Trace and Quinn to exit out of her house. It was natural for him to be in a state of anger and impatience so early in the morning, but what had set him further on edge that brisk Monday morning was that he had been called upon to complete Trace’s devious task in doping a poor innocent new comer into cheerleading tryouts. Justin knew full well that Trace would rely on him to make the impossible possible, so it was no surprise to find Trace leaning against his mother’s red Mazda convertible at 9:30 a.m. that morning. In fact, Justin was banking on it. So he had no reason to pretend that he didn’t expect this same order of events, however it didn’t make him too happy about it either. He could just picture Trace, all smiles and jovial for no other reason than that in just a few short minutes he would be able to enjoy his contribution to this year’s cheerleading tryouts. When you really took the time to examine the situation, it wasn’t like there was no reward for Justin’s labor. Being the captain of the basketball team, and also having a choice say in the matter of who’s who on the cheerleading squad, there wasn’t much room for complaints. However, the fact still remained that he didn’t have to like being up at the crack of dawn, spandex shorts curved over tight glutes or not! Glancing at his watch, he looked towards the door just in time to see Quinn stepping out with a royal blue duffle bag hanging from her shoulders and dressed in an oversized t-shirt and basketball shorts. Squinting his eyes, Justin thought that maybe his mind was deceiving. Maybe he had dressed her in a basketball outfit in reflection of his desire of actually shooting hoops instead of wasting away a morning and open gym to watch a bunch of girls exercise their puberty influenced bodies.
“ Hey.” she cooly threw her bag into the backseat then slid the rest of the way in, her nonchalant greeting only heightening his shock. She really was dressed in basketball gear with the attitude to match.
“ Hey.” Justin replied slowly leaning his seat forward to prepare to drive. Jumping in after waving once more to Tabitha who hung halfway out the door, Trace turned to Justin. His boyish grin had been replaced with a look of confusion. Justin smirked to himself, Quinn wasn’t going to be as easy as the girls of Pendleton County to figure out. She was one of a kind, Justin thought starting the car and glancing at her through the rearview mirror. She was chewing softly on a piece of gum and staring out the window, her mind seeming to be focused on something other than the present. Before pulling off he turned back to Trace who mouthed “ What in the world” and laughed, Justin had no idea himself.
Walking into the gymnasium, Quinn couldn’t believe she hadn’t expected the sight before her. Of course she expected to find a plethora of girls prancing around in little speedos and sports bras, in fact the scene did embody a familiarity to Barbie’s Workout video, however she didn’t expect to see the two full rows of bleachers holding what had to be the entire jock population of Stoneybrook High. Since when did boys sit in on cheerleading tryouts, Quinn thought in dismay. Swallowing hard, she felt her resentment towards her mother escalate from something-to-get-over all the way to unforgivable.
“ Good luck.” Justin placed a hand on her shoulder, gave her a wink, then walked off towards the bleacher. Quinn didn’t have time to dwell on the brief physical contact before Trace surrounded her, his mouth right next to her ear. Rolling her eyes, Quinn missed the glaring jealous eyes of the girls throughout the room. She had to admit, Trace was a very attractive boy. He had a very nice appeal about him with his dark hair and features, it also didn’t help that he was older. Quinn figured it wasn’t so bad to have him drooling over her, after all it didn’t happen that often to her. Crossing her arms over her chest she listened as he whispered words of encouragement and wondered if encouraging ever involved soo much heavy breathing. For a 13 year old new comer, she was sure racking the guys in. She couldn’t wait to call Simone later that night.
“ Thanks.” she finally laughed starting to walk off towards the group that was forming around the center of the room. Looking over her shoulder, in response to a shrill whistle, she turned and saw Justin wink and wave. Maybe it wasn’t going to be that bad, not if he sticks around.
“OKAY girls!” Quinn squinted at the high pitched sound of Coach Beverly Newman’s voice. It took all she had not to burst out into a fit of laughter by just the mere ensemble of the elderly woman. Quinn predicted that Coach Newman was somewhere in her mid fifties, sporting a very orange tan that matched her miniature swish shorts. She had a white polo shirt with a small orange and navy logo on the pocket of it. Her blonde hair was by far her most comical feature standing at least three feet high in an unnatural bouffant turned ponytail. Yes, Quinn was holding on for dear life amiss all the girls who had either been evoked into the rambles of Coach Newman or batting their eyes at the jocks on the bleacher.
“ I am so pleased to see such a wide turnout.” with each word she had a different expression amusing Quinn all the more. It was like watching a mime, but one with a voice box possessing the energy of the energizer bunny and the sound of Betty Boop.
“ And you girls all look so lovely. NOW!.” she clapped her hands as if signalizing that she now meant business, all though she had yet to capture the strayed attention of those who found greater entertainment in the stands. Quinn giggled and almost peed her pants when Coach Newman pointed towards her and motioned for her to come to the front. Suddenly the laughter ceased and silence seemed to fill the once preoccupied room.
“ Come!” Coach Newman encouraged and Quinn slowly stood. Stepping out of the circle she looked towards the bleacher as she heard Trace and Justin, above the others, howling at her. She imagined that they were playing off her shyness and pretended not to notice them or the evil sneers as she made her way towards Coach Newman.
“ Well, you are a pretty one.” the elder woman cooed touching the side of her cheek and looking over her face. “ But what ever do you have one?” Quinn looked down and for the first time felt totally out of place with her oversized tee and ball shorts. Truth be told, she left EVEYTHING to the imagination. It didn’t seem to make a difference, up until now that it was brought to the grand attention of an audience, that she vaguely resembled any other candidate for cheerleading tryouts. If there was one thing she had realized at that moment, it was that little league cheerleading was nothing like junior varsity cheerleading. Waking up that moment, she had no idea what to put on. Her mother had mentioned something about wearing whatever was comfortable for her and it just so happened to be her basketball gear.
“ Uh, shorts and a tee.” she shrugged and cringed under the harsh laughter of the girls in front of her. Noticing her discomfort, Coach Newman leaned in and whispered into her ear.
“ Child, you have a frock on. Take these clothes and change in the locker room.” Quinn took the clothes into her hand and knodded. Following Coach Newman’s lead, Quinn started towards the locker room eyeing the orange pair of shorts and small white tee strangely. What had she gotten herself into?
“Who’s the new girl?” Justin ignored the question, first because it was posed by Joshua- commonly known as JC to friends which is probably why Justin always referred to him as just Joshua- and second because he didn’t really want to be the one that introduced him informally to the ‘new girl’. For some reason, Justin wished Quinn would just be overlooked by all of them - especially Joshua. Something about her was different, untainted, and he didn’t want the likes of Joshua or any of his friends to change that about her.
“ TBT.” Trace piped leaning back against the second bleacher, seeing as he was sitting on the first next to Justin and Christian Lewis- defense lineman for Stoneybrook Tigers.
“ TBT?” Christian asked looking questioningly at Trace. Justin rolled his eyes and mouthed the words as Trace said them.
“ Taken By Trace.” the group around them laughed and Justin just sighed shaking his head, the boy was on a roll. He had just settled on ignoring Trace when he noticed Quinn emerging from the side entrance of the gym, directly from the girl’s locker room. He had only moments to take in the remarkable view of her slim and fit body as adorned by her new ensemble. It didn’t take seconds for the rest of the guys to notice her, and before he was actually allowed to appreciate the solitaire moment of just watching her- the howls began.
“ Ouch, now thats what I’m talking about. Now why would she go and hide all that!” Justin turned and glared at Joshua, how dare he harp over Quinn like that. She was just thirteen, if there was to be anybody that she was too young for it was definitely Joshua Chasez- as according to Justin.
“ Remember...TBT.” Trace replied smugly whistling over at Quinn who gave him a bashful wave. Justin leaned up, not too much liking the way everyone’s attention suddenly was drawn to her. It was alright for him to have his own thoughts about her, he could trust that he wouldn’t act on them- unless of course there was a will and a way on her part. As for the other guys, he knew without doubt that whether she was consenting or not, they would be after her. Looking at her now, as she made her way back into the group of girls, he wondered why he even bothered with such thoughts. It wasn’t like she was the friendliest girl he ever met, in fact she was the exact opposite. It wasn’t like she treated him with more respect than Trace because he wasn’t breathing down her neck or making it quite known of his interest in her, a matter of fact it was the exact opposite. So why was he, the chauffeur of Trace the Fraud aka freshman team captain and maidservant to all his mess ups, the one fretting over whether any guy had cruel and indecent intentions for her. Just when he thought he came to the conclusion that there is no reason why, she turned and looked back at him from her butterfly position on the floor. With a faint smile, his hardened heart was softened and he suddenly forgot all his before mentioned reasoning. He had all the reason now.
“Keep walking.” Trace encouraged as Joshua and Dale Smith slowed behind Quinn who had been walking toward the car he and Justin had been posted against. Justin smirked to himself, Trace really played his role well. Turning to see who his orders were directed to, Quinn noticed the two guys she had heard some of the girls whispering about in the locker room. Right off the back she could tell which one was Joshua, the senior who had also been star quarterback for the football team. She could instantly see why the girls made such a fuss, even if the head cheerleader Scarlett, was his girlfriend. She almost tripped over her own two feet when he winked at her, so thrilled was she by his gesture. She couldn’t believe it. Fresh out of New York, a week before school started and she already had two freshmen boys chauffeuring her around and apparently the most popular guy at school winking at her. If only she had a walking talking device that would give her girls at home a play by play of every detail of her daily events, she knew they wouldn’t have much to say to her that would bring her down from her cloud nine. She had finally found her shine, finally found her glory. Even if she had to do it alone, to witness it all by herself, she was growing up. She was growing up and soon she would have more than just silly fabrications to talk about, she’d have real to life stories.
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