Page 8 of Fire Dancing For Icey Dragons

ZARA

The members of the Sapphire Sparks mill about, some of them giving me odd looks as if they're trying to work out what I'm up to. I pace back and forth and try to ignore them, hoping that Blaze and the rest of his Fire Tumblers turn up soon and that they're not planning on standing us up. I don't think he'd do that, but I did walk off on him in the coffee shop, so maybe that'sexactlywhat he's going to do as some kind of twisted revenge.

A group of five people head this way carrying big black boxes and talking amongst themselves. I let out a sigh of relief as I realise that all of my worries are unfounded.

I make my way towards them, giving a weird half-wave. Blaze peels away from the group and heads towards me.

"Thank you for coming," I say.

"You're paying us to be here, Zara," he responds.

"I know, but you could have said something came up."

He shrugs. "We want some more batons, and this should get us the funds for them. Wouldn't you do the same if you needed more pom-poms or something?"

"There's more to cheer than waving pom-poms," I mutter, not adding that most of the team choose to buy their own, myself included.

"I assumed as much, or why else are we here?" he asks. "So, shall we get started?"

I nod, turning back to the squad. "In formation!"

Immediately, they leap into action, getting into two neat lines and waiting for my instructions. I'm a little nervous, especially now that Blaze has made it clear that my reputation as cheer captain has spread beyond the sports teams and is just common knowledge amongst the students of Obscure Academy. I'm not even sure what to make of that. I know I shouldn't care, but there's so much more to me than just being a cheer captain.

"These are the Fire Tumblers," I say, gesturing to our guests. "They're here to give us a couple of masterclasses in fire dancing. We've got some of the other societies and clubs from around the academy coming over the next couple of weeks too."

Several of the squad whisper between themselves, probably saying something about this being a bit cliché, but I don't care. If we're going to win the competition, then we need to do something, and I'm clearly creatively stuck, even if I'm not about to admit that to any of the others. If this can help unblock me, then it's a good thing.

I nod to Blaze and gesture for him to take centre stage. I don't know if he's the one actually leading the workshop, but he said he was co-captain, so it's safe to assume as much.

"Hi everyone, I'm Blaze," he says. "We're going to take you through some basics in groups of five or six, that way it's easier to make sure everyone is getting the instructions they need."

The squad immediately breaks into groups, and I'm not even slightly surprised by the ones that form. The bonds between cheerleaders run deep, and I know many of the squad spend time together outside of practice.

I stand to the side, not really knowing what to do with myself. I could go join one of the groups of five, but I don't think the squad would actually appreciate that very much.

"Not taking part?" Blaze asks as the members of his team go to talk to the cheerleaders.

"No one will want me in their group," I respond. It didn't used to be this way, not when I was just one of the squad and not the captain, but I'm aware what they think of me, and that they'll be on edge if I join one of them.

For a moment, I think Blaze is going to tell me that I'm being ridiculous, but he just nods. "I'm mostly here to supervise," he says. "And be the fire crew if needed. You got the sand buckets we asked for?"

I gesture to the side of the practice area. "Fifteen of them."

"Great. Though if one of your squad is a water dragon, that could also help."

"None as far as I know," I respond. "But there are a few members of the squad I don't know about."

"Surprising."

I shrug. "If they don't want to tell me, that's their business. Makes no difference to cheerleading."

"I suppose not. I should go and check that everything is going as planned." He walks off without saying anything else and I feel a little disappointed that he isn't staying to chat longer. It's ridiculous, especially when he's here to help with the squad and nothing else.

I watch the various groups, seeing several members of the squad drop the batons they've been given. It's a good thing that none of them are actually lit because we'd probably have a fire on our hands sooner rather than later if they were.

But watching is already helping. Especially by the time some of the squad have gotten the hang of it and are already being taught some of the more advanced tricks. I'm not sure if it'sgoing to be useful to be able to use the exact moves in the routine I'm putting together, but some of the ways in which the team moves together can be improved with it.

"You look like you're thinking," Yuri says, making me jump.

---