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Raya stood in front of the mirror trying to clear her mind of everything that happened between her and Chad. She had detention with him, which was not a good situation, especially since she was one of the coach's star players. Troy had warned her that detention could only make things worse and push Coach to anger. Nervously, she looked outside to see the other girls stretching with numbers on their jerseys. Angelina, her best friend, was tying her hair back in a high ponytail and asked, "Raya, are you coming? We're getting ready for tryouts."
"Sure," she nodded as she emerged from behind the curtains, surveying the crowd. They all looked tired and drained as if what she was about to do was a piece of cake. She scoffed at their ignorance and walked over to the bleachers, handing Angelina a clipboard. "Who here thinks this is easy?" she asked. Suddenly, every single hand in the room shot up. They had no idea what they were in for.
The tryouts began as she got everyone started.
Raya: Listen up, it's not so tough, I'll tell you how it's done, There's nothing better, Then to hear your number one, And I know how to get a crowd,
Right up and on their feet, So if you want them in it, I'll show you how to get it.
Angelina and Raya stepped forward and began their routine, executing three clasps, a hurdler, and a thigh stand. While Raya and Angelina viewed the tryouts, the same moves were repeated.
Everyone: Ain't no mountain we can climb, Nothing keeps us down, Got that fire in our soul, Never count us out, We have things on our minds, Call it victory, Yeah, that's where we're headed, And we know how to get it.
Several individuals were eliminated as they progressed to the following round of cheerleading auditions. The subsequent round involved demonstrating their flexibility by executing moves such as splits, high kicks, and standing toe reaches. This would determine whether they could advance further in the selection process.
Raya: We were made for this, There's nothing we can't do, We came to play, We're here to stay and win the day, Cause we were made for this, I didn't come here to lose, We came to play, we're here to stay, What's left to say when we know?
In frustration, Angelina fought with her pom poms to get out of the auditorium after being eliminated.
Everyone: Nothing's going to get in our way, No! So get out of our way, We're fired up, we're fired, We're fired up. Nothing's going to get in our way, No! So get out of our way, We're fired up, we're fired up, We're fired up.
Raya attempted a climb, using a thigh stand to support her while holding one leg up. Unbeknownst to her, her friends were watching from inside the gym.
Raya: Been waiting for this day to come, And it was all so clear, Since I was a little girl, I saw me standing here.
Angelina: And all the times they told me, "walk away," I said, "Forget it," I knew where I was headed, And I was gonna get it.
They led a group cheer, encouraging everyone to enjoy a moment of happiness before facing hardships.
Raya observed the boys on the bleachers enjoying the tryouts but was annoyed by their distracting her team once again.
Everyone: Ain't no mountain we can climb, Nothing keeps us down, Got that fire in our soul, Never count us out,
We have one thing on our minds, Call it victory,
Yeah, that's where we're headed, And we know how to get it.
We were made for this, There's nothing we can't do, We came to play, We're here to stay and win the day.
Cause we were made for this, I didn't come here to lose, We came to play, we're here to stay, What's left to say when we know?
Nothing's gonna get in our way, No! Come on, let me hear you say.
We're fired up, you're fired up, We're fired up.
While everyone stood on the side, they selected individuals to demonstrate their new tricks. The chosen ones were numbers 18, 21, 56, 89, 2, 75, 33, and 28.
Nothing's gonna get in our way, No! Come on, let me hear you say, We're fired up, you're fired up, We're fired up.
After finally selecting their final team members, they decided to test their cheerleading skills in front of a large crowd. Everyone was crowded on the bleachers, eagerly waiting to see the new team. Raya smiled, lining the girls up in a row.
"Okay, in this competition, you must win over the judges and the audience. You have to impress them with your cheerleading skills and make them adore you. It's all about getting the attention and admiration you want, just like how they admire me," Raya said, as everyone cheered in agreement. Suddenly, she pushed another girl onto the field. Number 8 didn't perform well and started crying. The crowd began to shout at her, and Raya felt bad, but she knew it was just part of the game.
Number 11 executed four front flips, prompting the crowd to cheer louder. "Welcome to the Mighty Shrimp!" they both exclaimed, handing her bomb bombs. In the crowd, Number 22 started cheering for the rejects and the crowd cheered for Number 22.
Number 22: We are the mighty shrimp, We wanna hear you shout, From the left and the right, Turn the volume now, We wanna lift you high, You'll never feel the ground, We'll get you up, We'll never stop, This is a hometown.
We are the mighty shrimp, We wanna hear you shout, From the left and the right,
Turn the volume now,
We are the mighty shrimp,
It's time to show you now, We got the stuff to light you up, It's getting hotter now, We're getting hotter now, It's getting hotter now.
She urged the rejected ones to join her, smiling as the crowd cheered even louder for them. Raya was impressed, she'd never thought she would have courage. She would see her around school acting shy and everything but never thought anything of it.
We were made for this, There's nothing we can't do, We came to play, We're here to stay and win the day, Cause we were made for this, I didn't come here to lose, We came to play, we're here to stay, What's left to say when we know?
Nothing's gonna get in our way, No! Come on, let me hear you say,
We're fired up, you're fired up,
We're fired up.
Nothing's gonna get in our way, No! Come on, let me hear you say, We're fired up, you're fired up,
We're fired up.
While Angelina and Raya walked around handing out pom poms to those who deserved them, everyone in the crowd cheered.
"Looks like we've found our team," Angelina mumbled, looking around.
Raya announced, "Congratulations to those with pom poms, you've made the team. Unfortunately, not everyone did. But all good things must come to an end." As she looked at them, Raya knew this team would go unbeaten. Her happiness ended when Chad left her for another girl, breaking her heart.
"And there goes my heart," Raya whispered, looking down at the ground.
