Thorns

18 - Whitney

Whitney

I avoided Rai for days. He never once talked to me, or looked at me, for that matter. Good. I could breathe and relax. He wasn't gonna blabber and, truth be told, I wasn't actually surprised at that. He didn't look like the kind to spread gossip. Like he said, he honestly doesn't care what I do with my life.

We didn't have threats or bad words sprayed over our house for over two weeks, now. That could be either a good or a bad sign. Good being Rai actually stopped with the stupid joke. Bad... he was just working on something way, way worse.

"I don't think he'll do anything," Portia said, while we were taking our poms from our lockers, our white and navy blue cheer outfit on.

The light halls of our high school were full of students eager for the Holidays to come. Too bad for them, it would be a whole month for them to come. On the other hand, Portia's big eighteen birthday was only a week away!

The guys and I were planning a surprise party at Ian's place. He was super excited about throwing his girlfriend a party, and I was excited for my BFF to finally turn into an adult – and that her boyfriend actually cared about her, to the point of calling me every God damn second to make sure our plans were going smoothly.

"How do you know that?" I growled as I pinned my hair up in a bun, taking a look into the mirror in my locker.

"Well, first, 'cause he's got better things to do with his time. Rumor has it, his criminal brother is coming out of jail in a matter of months."

"Get out!" I whispered, my eyes wide with shock.

"And, he's been doing so many deals and jobs for his precious gang, that I'm sure he completely forgot about whatever you said and/or done" Portia ended, proud of herself.

"Great" I muttered, closing my locker.

Coach Reyes was already waiting for us in the big gym. The inside was full of navy blue and white chairs, and the basketball team was training in one half of it. The tall guys were in a line, running to the net and slamming like Jordan... maybe not exactly like Jordan, but close.

"Ok, ladies." The tanned woman with caramel hair in a high ponytail called, as we all gathered around her "As you well know, the District Championship this year will be tough."

"We won last year" – Nina – yeah, Nina, the slut, was in the poms squad... go figure – teased.

"Exactly because of that, Nina." Coach Reyes said, not even bothering to look up "And then we lost in the state finals. Can't happen this year, ladies. We have to work our asses off, this time. Most of you are seniors, which means it will be your last chance. Keep that in mind while practicing. And listen to your captain." Reyes looked at Portia, who smiled.

We started practice. Portia was a good captain 'cause, one, she didn't care about friends once we got into the gym, and two, she was tough.

"Girls, if you want to live to Christmas, we gotta give more than that crap." Portia groaned, as five girls were trying to do backflips, but they kept slamming face first on the blue mattresses "Geez..."

"That's just racist, Captain." Nina said as she and two of her friends came to stand by us "Your precious BFF doesn't celebrate Christmas. You have to include Henuka."

"It's Hanukah, you idiot. With an 'a'. But, you know, I get it. You probably dropped a few IQ's when you jumped over the border."

"You fuckin' bitch!" She groaned and shoved me.

Ok, that does it!

We started tangling in the floors, and the basketball team was whistling and encouraging us. I know I grabbed a handful of her hair, 'cause I heard her screaming, and trying to do the same to me. We fought well. She was a violent Mexican girl that probably learned to fight against boys, and I had a baby sister that got on my nerves a little more than occasionally. That and I had to stick up to my family all the way to middle school.