Page 2 of Fire Dancing For Icey Dragons

She laughs. "You know I would anyway, even if you are a bit of a cheer dictator."

"Someone's got to do it."

"I pity the cheer squad that ends up with you as a coach. They'll win, but they'll be miserable doing it."

I frown, not really sure how to respond to that. I don't want to make people miserable, but I do want to lift the trophy, and those things seem to be at odds with one another.

"I'm going to get ready," my best friend says, getting up. "We'll leave in an hour." She doesn't give me any time to reply as she makes her way out of the room.

I lean back in my chair and sigh. She's not wrong about me needing to get out of here. Spending more time agonising over the routine isn't going to make it magically fixed, even if I want it to be.

I look over at the photo of my mum with an eight-year-old version of myself with my very first cheer trophy, a pang of grief going through me even if it's been nearly ten years since I lost her. "What would you do, Mum?" I ask.

I can almost hear her laugh in response and tell me that life was about more than just cheer in the same breath as telling me all aboutherdays as part of the Obscure Academy cheer squad and how she met my dad while here. She's the reason I became a cheerleader in the first place. Dad says that I was already tumbling at three, and at five I wanted pompoms of my own.

A tear runs down my cheek and I wipe it away. Mum was always my biggest supporter, and cheering makes me feel close to her in a way that's just not possible any more. She'd understand why I'm so determined to win the competition this year, but I know she'd also tell me that I need to relax a little bit, especially when I'm clearly blocked on the routine I'm supposed to be putting together.

"All right, I'll relax," I say to no one, getting up and starting to get ready to go into town. Hopefully, I'll see something that will unblock me and let me get to the end of my routine while I'm out with Yuri. It won't be the first time that's happened, and I just have to hope that it'll be true this time.

Chapter 2

ZARA

The square is full of people milling around and chattering to their friends and families. Some of them have food trays from the various vans and stalls around the square in their hands and are either making appreciative faces or throwing them away unfinished. An empty stage is set up at the other end of the courtyard, which I assume will have some entertainment on it in a bit, but for the moment, music is blaring out from the speakers, a little louder than is comfortable, making me wish I had some way to filter out the noise to a more manageable level.

Yuri and I pass a truck selling burgers and my mouth waters at the smell of cooking onions even if I know I'll only be disappointed if I get one for myself. If I'm going to stray from my strict diet during competitive cheer season, then it's going to be for something really good rather than a burger that will only disappoint me after a few bites.

We get ourselves some drinks and do a lap of the stalls to see what's what and decide what we're getting.

"Are you really not going to have anything stronger than Earl Grey?" Yuri asks me, nodding to the cup in my hand.

"No. And you shouldn't either, we've got practice tomorrow," I respond.

"Yes, at four, I'll be over my hangover by then."

I raise an eyebrow but don't point out how much a lie that is. I've known her for long enough to be aware that her hangovers last at least a day. And my own aren't much better, especially when there isn't enough space in my dorm room to shift into my dragon form to get rid of the lingering effects of the alcohol.

"You take life far too seriously," Yuri says, hooking her arm through mine. "We're here to have a good time, not just drink tea."

"I can have a good time drinking tea," I murmur.

"Mmhmm, sure you can. I'm going to get some cheesy chips, do you want some?"

"Definitely not."

"Your loss." She grins and heads over to the truck selling the chips. I roll my eyes. She's in great shape and some chips aren't going to make a difference to that, but I still can't bring myself to do that. I have to set an example for the rest of the squad.

Yuri finds one of her other friends and starts chatting, meaning that it will be a while until she gets back. I know she doesn't mean to, but she's so easily distracted by everything.

I look around, seeing a small crowd in front of the stage. I send Yuri a quick message to tell her that I'm going to check it out and go take my place, leaning against the fence and waiting for the show to begin. She'll be fine so long as she knows where I am once she's finished chatting to her friend. I'm used to it. She's much more sociable than I am, and certainly more likeable.

The crowd around me goes silent as two women dressed in black take their positions on the stage, each with two equally black sticks in their hands. They bow their heads and wait until music starts to play.

The woman on the left starts swinging her stick around, and brilliant fire sparks from the top of it. My eyes transfix on it, enjoying the flickering even if it's more yellow than my own flames. She moves with elegance, constantly twirling the stick with the flames. Her movements are smooth, and I have to admire the artistry with which she moves.

She switches places with the other women and they go through some basic moves, passing the fire sticks back and forth while moving increasingly quickly. It's impressive to watch, but I can tell from here that this is just a warm-up act, both for the dancers and the audience.

The song comes to an end and I clap along with the rest of the people surrounding me. The women hurry off the stage, being replaced by a guy with dark hair and a close-fitting black shirt that makes it clear he's got the body of someone who is constantly practising. If I had to guess, I'd say he's the same age as me, but it's hard to tell without being closer to him.

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