Mom Forced Me Into Pom-Poms - Part 6

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We will have our first full practice today, but there are a couple of housekeeping things we need to do before we start. The most important thing is to tell you who the cheer captain is going to be for this season.

After consulting with the principal, Mrs. Dalton, and among ourselves," she motioned to Cindy and Tiffany, who, as usual, were sitting on either side of her.

 "I am happy to tell you that Brittany Jameson is your cheer captain for the 2014-2015 season."

Tiffany smiled and waved as they all clapped. 

Jesse didn't really know her, except to see her around the school. She was pretty, with big blue eyes and long blonde hair. He knew that all his friends—his old friends—thought she was really cute.

"Brittany has been on the cheer team for two years now and is an excellent cheerleader. We know she will be a super captain," Crystal continued. 

"I'm sure you're all familiar with the role of the cheer captain, but, just in case, Tiffany will remind you of her role and your part in it.

" Tiffany stood up and, pushing some stray hairs from her face, glanced at some notes she had scribbled on a page. "First and foremost," she began, "the captain's responsibility is to set a good example for the rest of the team. 

The team looks to the captain as a role model and follows her lead. This brings me to the second most important job of the captain: being a leader! 

Brittany is your leader here in the school. She is the one you are to follow and look up to when Crystal, Cindy, and I aren't around. 

You are to obey her as you would us. Her word is final." The third most important task of the cheer captain is this: a positive attitude. 

She always displays a positive attitude and encourages her fellow cheerleaders to do the same. 

Her job is to ensure that you always have a big smile on your face, always show spirit, and never let your team or the school down.

"The cheer captain ensures discipline in the squad. In other words, you turn up on time for practice, know your cheers and routines inside out, always look and dress your best, and behave in a manner appropriate for a cheerleader. 

The captain knows that she can't ask the rest of the team to be on time, in uniform, hair neatly done, and smiling in place if she doesn't do all of that herself.

"As I already said, the captain sets the tone that she—and we—want you all to project. 

That means following her example in everything—from how you dress to how you treat others to how diligently you do your schoolwork.

"The captain is the contact person between the coaching staff and the cheerleaders. 

We don't want any cliques to develop within this group or any disagreements to occur, but if any do arise, the captain will sort them out or let one of us coaches know what is going on. 

The captain never shows any favoritism but treats everyone the same." Bottom line: the captain sets the tone. Try to be like Brittany, and you all will do just fine.

"Tiffany sat down, putting away her notes, and then Crystal spoke again.

"Brittany wants to say a few words, so, Brittany, go right ahead." She gestured to the new cheer captain, who was already getting to her feet. 

Brittany had a huge smile, which displayed her recently perfectly straightened teeth, and her blue eyes sparkled.

It was clear she could barely contain her delight. "I'm, like, so super excited to be cheer captain," she gushed. 

"Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be a cheerleader and to be made captain is, like, a dream come true for me.

I can't describe just how super happy I am right now. 

I just want to say that I know we are going to do a super job this season. I was at tryouts, and I saw how brilliant our new team members are. We are, like, so lucky that you guys all tried out."I want to promise you all that I will do my best to be the best captain in the world, like ever. 

And I want this team to be, like, the best team ever in the history of our school. 

We will be the perfect cheer team, and each of us will be the perfect cheerleader. We are going to make our school and our players proud, and we are going to have such a super fun time together.

"Team unity is, like, so super important, and so I would like to give each of you a little gift as a symbol of our togetherness."Brittany signaled to Tamara, the only black girl on the team, who was sitting beside her, and Tamara opened a plastic bag that was sitting on her lap.

"I got a cheer bracelet for everyone on the team, and I want each of you to wear it, like, every single day to show pride that you are part of this team and to show that we are all like one family," Brittany continued. 

Tamara began to distribute the bracelets. 

Each charm bracelet was in royal blue with shiny metallic silver beads and spacers and had the metallic silver charm of two cheerleaders with pom-poms. 

Jesse gulped a little on receiving his. They were girls' bracelets; no doubt about it, he thought. He had never worn anything like it before.

He watched as his companions enthusiastically slipped on their bracelets, turning their wrists this way and that, admiring their new acquisition. Then, reluctantly, he put it on his left wrist. It felt a little heavy, and it sparkled, too, and the little dangling cheerleader charm swung wildly when he moved his wrist about. 

He saw how it matched their school colors. I can take it off when I'm at home or not doing cheer stuff, he thought, but what about school or other times? 

How will I hide it? Brittany answered the question he hadn't the courage to ask."Aren't they so cute?" she gushed. 

"So, make sure to wear these, like, 24/7, so everyone can see you are a Madison. 

Heights cheerleader, and that we twelve are there for each other always.

"Ashley and Megan could scarcely contain their excitement, and they insisted that he place his wrist next to theirs so that they could compare and squeal and gush. 

Brittany sat down, her speech concluded, and when Jesse saw everyone begin to applaud, he joined in, too. 

Even though what he had heard from Brittany and from Tiffany scared him, and even though he definitely didn't want to wear a bracelet, it was difficult not to get caught up in their infectious enthusiasm.

"Right then, girls," Crystal said. 

"We also need a vice-captain, someone to assist Brittany and step in for her if ever, for some reason, she cannot fulfill her obligations. 

We are happy to announce that, after consulting with Mrs. Dalton and with Brittany, we have chosen Cassie Harding to be vice-captain. Cassie has been on the team for two years now and is an excellent all-round performer. We know he'll do a fantastic job.

"Everybody clapped, including Jesse, weakly, though he felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He didn't like Cassie. He never liked her in the past, and most definitely not now. The thought of her as vice-captain was just too horrible to contemplate. It was weird clapping with a dangling bracelet on your wrist.

And then he heard Cassie speak. 

"I'm just, like, so happy to be vice-captain. I promise to help Brittany in every way I can and to help all of you, too. 

We, cheerleaders, are the most important girls in the school; we are the girls all the other girls look up to and want to be like, and it's so important that we remember how lucky we are to be cheerleaders. 

So many girls would die to be in our position, so none of us must mess up or let our team down. I know none of us will.

"The group applauded again, but Jesse couldn't help wondering if she had chosen her words deliberately with him in mind or if he was just being paranoid. 

He resolved that he would try to avoid Cassie as much as possible in the future, even if that meant sticking closer to Ashley and Megan and even to Brittany, too.

"Okay," Crystal said, "just one more piece of information before we get out on the floor and do some work. 

Remember to wear your uniforms to our next practice in two days because we are going to have our individual and group photos taken. 

This is for the photo that will be put up in the hallway alongside the group pics from all the years past, and, of course, it will go into the school yearbook, too. 

So you need to look your best. Wear your uniform, and remember, no jewelry or too much makeup." Jesse wanted to ask what wearing the uniform meant. 

Did it mean having to wear the skirt, or would his shorts do it instead? But he felt so crushed after all that had happened that day that he decided to say nothing. 

As his eyes darted around the group, he saw Cassie smiling at him. 

But it wasn't a friendly smile. It was more like a smile that said, I can't wait to see you in your uniform."Okay,"

Crystal announced again. 

"Now that all that's been taken care of, let's everyone stand up and move to the other side of the hall, and we'll have our first formal practice session together."Jesse learned his first team pride cheer that night. 

It was kind of like one his mom had taught him.

It went: Go, team! Go, team!? What do we mean? We'll say it loud,?Because we're proud.

SPARTANS! Spartans pride! Spartans pride!?

We're steppin' up, so step aside!? 

We're the best; we're here to win. Spartan Power's here again! 

The chant played around in his head on the way home in the car with his mom. It played around in his head as he fingered his bracelet, which his mom thought was just so pretty. It played around in his head all evening as he watched TV. 

It still played around in his head long after he got into bed under his One Direction duvet at the end of what had been a long, confusing, and worrisome day. 

But, along with the chant and the bracelet, he saw the faces of Brian and his friends all laughing at him, jeering him, mocking him cruelly, and Cassie and her friends joining in, too.

The next morning, Jesse helped his mom with chores around the house. 

He didn't want to go to the park to meet his friends, and she didn't insist on him doing cheer practice, though he was wearing a yellow tank top and white coffee shorts, as was the norm now. 

His mom had insisted that he shave his legs that morning, too, though they had no fuzz on them, and that he put on his cheer bracelet, which she said he had to wear at all times in keeping with Brittany's instructions.

They were both in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Jesse's mom looked up and then told him to go answer the door. It took Jesse a minute to recognize who was standing there, a big smile on her face.

It was the girl from McDonald's, whom they had encountered a few days before. 

"Hi, Jess," she greeted him brightly. "It's Sarah, the cheerleader from McDonalds. Your mom said it would be okay for me to call around." She wore a baby pink tee with blue jeans and short shorts, her blonde hair held in a high ponytail with a pink scrunchie. 

Her makeup was light, and her boobs were prominent under her tight top. She was so pretty that Jesse's jaw dropped a little. 

"Who is it, Jess?" His mom called from the kitchen. "It's... it's Sarah, from McDonald's," he stuttered, stepping back to let the smiling high schooler in.

His mom was at his shoulder in an instant, extending her hand to greet Sarah.

"Delighted you could make it," she said. "Jess is so looking forward to meeting you." 

This was news to Jesse, who had no idea Sarah was coming over or that he would ever see her again.

"And I couldn't wait to meet Jess, either," Sarah replied, "my new favorite little cheerleader." She beamed at him, and Jesse blushed deeply as his mom led them to the kitchen.

"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked. 

"A soda, maybe, or coffee?"

"No, I'm good, thanks," Sarah replied, her eyes studying the blushing boy before her. "I love your outfit, Jess," she said, "and your bracelet. 

A cheer bracelet, right?" He nodded shyly. She reached out to examine it, and he felt a shiver run through him as her hand touched his. "It's so pretty," she said. 

"I have lots of charms I could give you if you like. I'm the only one in my family who cheers, and I have, like, so much stuff I don't use anymore."

"That would be wonderful," his mother said. "Wouldn't it, Jess?" He nodded. He found it hard to speak in front of this girl."Well, then, are you all ready to go?" Sarah asked, looking at Jesse.

He blinked blankly. He hadn't a clue what she was talking about. "Sarah is doing some practice at her house this morning and has invited you to join her," his mom informed him. 

"Isn't that so exciting?"

"Yeah, you get to practice alongside varsity cheerleaders from high school. 

That's a real privilege, you know," Sarah laughed. 

"Your friends are going to be like, so jealous." 

Jesse didn't want to practice alongside high schoolers or to be sucked any deeper than he already was into this cheer life, but at least it would mean he would get to hang out with Sarah, and that was good.

"I'll drop him back in a couple of hours if that's okay," Sarah said, putting her hand on Jesse's shoulder and guiding him towards the hallway door.

"Oops, Jess, you almost forgot your cheer bag," his mom called after them. 

"The girls would love to see you in your new uniform." She picked up his new cheer bag that was sitting by the foot of the stairs, where she must have placed it earlier, and handed it to the blushing boy. Jesse was in a daze as he sat in front of Sarah's shiny baby blue Volkswagon Beetle. 

Her house was about ten blocks away, and he was still giving monosyllabic answers to her questions even as they pulled up outside the large detached building. 

Her parents were at work, she explained, so there would only be the two of them plus a couple of her cheer friends, who were due to arrive any time now. 

She grabbed his checked bag from the back seat and carried it into the house.

It was a super nice house, he thought, bigger than his mom's, and the furniture and fittings looked really expensive. "Come on, we can hang out in my room till my friends arrive," Sarah said, taking him by the hand to lead him upstairs.

. He had been in Ashley's room just a couple of days before, but he had never been in an older teen girl's room. Her room was way bigger than Ashley's. 

It wasn't as pink, and it had no One Direction posters or other pop paraphernalia, but it was still a super girly room. It had the smell of perfume and was quite untidy.

 Piles of make-up lay heaped on a vanity by the far wall. 

The door to her en suite was half-open, a towel hanging from the handle, and clothes were scattered amongst the comforters on her bed and on the large soft chair across from it. 

The door to her walk-in closet was ajar, too, and it seemed to be crammed full of all kinds of stuff. 

She placed his cheer bag on the floor, then gave him another big smile.

Welcome to my palace," she announced, gesturing around the room with her hands. 

He was still tongue-tied, uncomfortable in this alien environment, but also delighting in his proximity to her.

Wait, let me show you my jewelry," she said, disappearing for a moment into her closet, then re-emerging, holding a large, leather-bound, trunk-like case. She placed it on her desk and beckoned him to join her. 

It was crammed with jewelry, and Sarah began to riffle through it. "I have so much I've gathered over the years. 

I can't even remember half of what I have. 

Then she produced a ring, which she held up and inspected. I've got a couple of these," she said.

 "These are cheer rings. Sometimes you get them if your team wins a competition or something, but you can wear them even if you haven't won anything. 

Here, try it on." S held it out, indicating that he was to slip his finger through it. Unable to say no or to think of a way out, he allowed her to put it on the middle finger of his left hand. 

It fitted him just about perfectly. It was a silver ring with the word CHEER engraved in capital letters on the top. 

It kind of matched the metallic silver on his bracelet. It looks super cute on you," Sarah beamed. 

"Look, I'm wearing one just like it. She flashed a finger at him, and there, amongst several rings, was one just like he now sported.

Promise me you'll wear it every day," she said, looking him in the He nodded and muttered yes, he would.

Like I said, I've got so much stuff," she continued. "I've got one sister, Aleena, but she's moved away from home, so there's just me now. And all my cousins are in California, and, anyway, they don't even cheat, so I've got no family to share my stuff with.

Hey," she smiled, her eyes opening wide as if she'd got a sudden flash of inspiration, "I could be like your big sister, and I could share my stuff with you. Would you like that? Again, he nodded, but he thought, he'd much prefer if he f he were older, and she liked his girlfriend and not his big sister. And, anyway, how could she share her stuff with an eleven-year-old boy? "It's going to be such fun," she declared, "having another cheerleader in the family.

Just then they heard a car honk, and she ran to peer out the window, which faced the front of the house. Great, Rachel and Candy are here," she squealed, opening the window to stick her head outside. Come on upstairs," she hollered at the girls below. "The door is open." 

A couple of moments later, Rachel and Candy were standing in her room. They were both in tank tops and short shorts; their hair, like Sarah's, was also in high ponytails. Both were also strikingly pretty, though not as pretty as Sarah, he thought. His new 'big sister' introduced him to her friends, and they swooned over him, telling him how cute he was, admiring his clothes and his jewelry, just as Sarah had done earlier. He noted ruefully that his clothes were similar to theirs, made of much the same material, and that his shorts showed just as much leg as theirs did. 

"I guess we should get some practice in," Sarah said. Then, she stopped short, her eyes fixed on his cheer bag by her bed. Hey, Jess, why don't you put on your uniform for us? We'd love to see how you look in it.

He was hoping she'd have forgotten about his stupid cheer bag. He didn't want to wear his uniform for them. What he had on him was bad enough. 

But she took his bag and pointed towards her bathroom. You can change in there, sweetie," she said. He knew he had no option but to do as instructed, and so he took the bag from her and went into the en suite, pushing the door behind him. He was horrified when he opened the bag. 

He rummaged through it; then rummaged through it again, but his new cheer shorts and pants were not inside. 

There was just the shell top and skirt. He was afraid he'd start to cry. 

The stupid skirt, he'd have to wear the stupid skirt for them. This must have been his mom's plan all along; to embarrass him, he concluded. There was a gentle tap on the door. 

Are you okay, Jess?" he heard Sarah ask. Yeah," he gulped. "Just coming. Seeing no way out, he took off his top and his shorts. At least there were no spankies in his bag, so he wouldn't have to change out of his new white cotton briefs. 

Slowly, he put on his shell top, then stepped into the skirt and pulled it up. He couldn't bear to have these three gorgeous girls see him dressed like this, especially Sarah. 

He wanted her to think of him as a boy, a guy. 

This image would only reinforce her view of him as a female cheerleader. 

Another knock on the door forced him to face the music. Slowly, crimson with embarrassment, barely able to breathe, he stepped out into the room. 

All three screamed in delight when they saw him. Oh my god, you're so pretty," Sarah exclaimed. "I could eat you up.

"I remember when I got my first Spartan uniform," Candy recalled.

 "I was so excited I wore it for days. It looks awesome on you," Rachel opined. If any of them were surprised that he was a boy in a skirt, they did not pretend otherwise. 

They acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Their reaction made Jesse feel a little less self-conscious. I've got so many bows," Sarah said, "it's a pity your hair hasn't grown out enough yet.

He was ready to change out of his uniform now, but it was clear that that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Okay," Sarah announced, "let's go do some practice. 

They went downstairs to a room at the back, which had been kitted out as a kind of gym. Jesse noted, ruefully, that of the four of them, he was the only one in a skirt. 

The girls went through some routines while he stood and watched. 

These involved some tumbles and were too complicated for him to join in, so Sarah told him to just observe them and tell them what he thought. 

He thought the routines were awesome and that they were awesome, too, especially Sarah, though he didn't tell her the last bit. It took him a while to realize that he had been playing with the hem of his skirt as he watched. 

After about thirty minutes, the girls decided they had done enough for that day, and they went to the kitchen to grab some ice-cold water, the three of them slightly breathless.

Think you'll be good enough to join in our cheers soon?" Sarah asked him between sips. He shook his head. 

He doubted if he would ever be—or want to. Be "I don't know. I think you're going to be an awesome cheerleader, Candy said, tossing his hair playfully. A few minutes later, Rachel and Candy said their goodbyes, and he was left alone with Sarah again. 

He thought she might let him change back now, but she said he looked super just the way he was. Like I said earlier, I've got loads of stuff I can give you," she said as he followed her back upstairs to her room. 

She led him to her closet, which was huge and full of clothes and shoes. 

He had never seen so many shoes. "I guess I'm kind of a clothes horse," she laughed. "Plus, I got lots of hand-me-downs from my sister. I really need to pack some of this stuff away. 

I have lots of tops and shorts and stuff that I think would fit you and would look super cute on you. He recoiled at those words but said nothing. What was she, he wondered. A dumb blonde? 

How could she think that he would want to accept any of her stuff, much less wear it? 

"Don't worry. I can have a word with your mom about it if you like. She kept talking to him like she was his sister all the way home in the car, he still in his uniform, scared that any of his neighbors would see him. 

Sarah was super sexy and nice and all, but he was beginning to think she was just as crazy as his mom. He wasn't looking forward to cheer practice the next day. Practice was bad enough, but he really didn't want to have his photo taken. 

He didn't want to be trapped on film forever, immortalized as a Madison Heights cheerleader, the group picture on the wall of the school hallway alongside those of cheerleaders going back the years.

At least his mom didn't make him wear the skirt, which he was afraid she'd do, but she did insist that he wear his shell and shorts together with his cheer ring and bracelet. She also made sure that his legs and arms were perfectly smooth before she dropped him off at the school.