Page 64 of The Prom Queen Project
All the blood drained from my face at the realization of what I had just said. It would never cease to amaze me the way that standing up for myself often made me feel like I was having a heart attack. Kendra’s voice dripped with irritation as she spoke.
“You’ve met her, right? I’m pretty sure it would.”
Some of the girls chuckled with amusement, their laughter almost contagious.
I would’ve joined in if my nerves weren’t gripping my entire being like a snake coiling around my ribs, squeezing the air out of my lungs.
“Shut up, Kendra!” Meredith snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut through the chatter.
“Whatever,” she mumbled back.
I sighed before speaking again. “Okay, everyone, ready up! We have one chance to get this right, so don’t fuck it up.”
I ripped open my bag and threw on my uniform, trying to push aside thoughts of imperfection and self-doubt. It was a pretty impossible task, though, as my mind flooded with more improbable scenarios that, at that moment, seemed all too plausible. Game day—or in this case—pep rally day, was always the fucking worst.
As several girls came in and out of the locker room, my eyes were locked onto the horrifying sight just beyond the door. With every squeak of the hinges, the door swayed back and forth, each time painting a clear picture of what was waiting on the other side.
So many people. So many eyes. So much pressure. So many differing opinions. So many expectations.So much fear.
My hands started to tremble. I ran them through my hair and tried to hide my unsteady fingers. All of a sudden, my legs began to lose feeling. With minutes left to spare, I excused myself, rushing to the nearest stall to avoid being caught looking like a jittery ball of nerves. I took a few steadying breaths as I stared up at the ceiling. A sharp ringing grated against the inside of my skull, sawing through my inner ear, causing me to lose focus. It was the sound of a muffled sob slowly fading into the foreground that pulled me from my panic. There was crying coming from the stall next to me.
“Hello? Are you okay in there?” I ask.
“Clarke?” I heard Camryn’s broken voice reply. “Is that you?”
“Yeah. Are you okay? I just thought I heard—”
“Yeah, no, I’m fine.” She coughed while clearing her throat. “I just think I’m getting a cold or something.”
I nodded while rubbing my hands on my uniform. The rise and fall of my chest slowed. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“You sure?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Okay. Um, I’ll see you out there, yeah?”
“Yep.”
When I stepped back into the world of chaos and perfume-masked body odor, my mind held a thought that differed from the previous fears that had occupied it before.
What was going on with Cam?
I didn’t have time to ponder the question for long as Coach Smithson rushed to give us a few last-minute pointers before ushering us out into the gym. It all happened so fast. I tried to keep steady as we rallied into groups, breaking out into the proper formation with all eyes hyper-focused on our every move. My eyes flicked from face to face in a never-ending sea of students occupying the bleachers. The room began to spin, my vision becoming blurry.
Then, I saw Elliot. His arms were high in the air as he gave me an emphatic thumbs-up. A smile tugged at my lips as I took a deep breath. I glanced at the other girls, making sure we were aligned properly as we all stood side by side in a straight line. The routine started with me calling out a single cheer.
“We buzz, we sting, we never fall, the Honey Bees will rule them all!”
Without missing a beat, Meredith and Kendra simultaneously yelled, “Five, six, seven, eight!”
All twelve of us sliced the air with razor-sharp arm movements while stepping in sync with one another as we chanted, “We arethe Honey Bees, we’ll take you down with ease! If you fight us back, we will attack! We are the Honey Bees!”
Switching up our formations, we moved seamlessly between each other, weaving our bodies through gaps until we rearranged ourselves into three groups, each one organized in a diamond configuration. Just as Meredith and Kendra were hoisted into the air by their supports, my group in the center performed a jump split, which transitioned into a backflip the moment our toes touched the ground.
Once we stuck the landing, I bounced on my heels as Camryn and Kalani raised me onto their thighs while Emory acted as spotter. I threw my arms above my head, executing a double-thigh stand in the center, flanked by two thigh-stand hitches from Meredith and Kendra, their legs angled toward me to complete the formation. Being thrust higher, the flyers—including myself—switched into an elevator stunt, as the girls supporting Kendra and Meredith rotated them 180 degrees, keeping them raised in the air as they slowly pivoted to face the opposite direction. As they spun, I transitioned into an arabesque, balancing on a single leg, before easily flowing into a scorpion, pulling one foot behind me and stretching it to my head. Once fully rotated, Meredith and Kendra called out, “Let’s go, Honey Bees, let’s go!”Clap, Clap.“Let’s go, Honey Bees, let’s go!”
The final basket toss was an X-out formation, as we twisted our bodies mid-air with arms outstretched before landing back in the arms of the bases. By the time we were lowered to the ground, the crowd was going wild. My cheeks felt heavy as I held a stiff smile.
