One True Father Figure

Chap 3 "Challenged"

A/N: the next couple of chapters creds to Bring It On: Worldwide Showdown. Happy reading! Xoxo ~Alexis

Natalya's POV
The first day of school was right after Bryant's seventh birthday. My team and I had a big performance after school. I sighed as Mom walked up to me. "Hi," I smiled.
"Are you nervous?" Mom asked.
"I'm ready," I nodded. "They're live streaming this performance and I'm excited." I looked at Mom. "This is my only class. I focus on cheer and the rest of my classes are for the workforce." I smiled. "I got an easy day."
"Good," Mom smiled.
My team, the Hornets, and I got on the mat and started out routine. I, of course, am the cheerlebrity in chief. We're three time world champions and I'm wiling to do what I can do win us another. I walked to the front. "Hey cheer fans and wannabes," I smiled. "It's that time again. What you've all been waiting all summer for. If you're ready for the Hornets, give me those three magic words." I smiled as I got into my spot. "Ready, spirit groupies? Three, two, one!"
"Bright it on!" the crowd exclaimed.
"Woo!" I exclaimed as the music started. We started our routine and kept going with our performance. We kept going as our music was no longer playing. "Great."
"Natalya, what happened to our music?" Leah asked as she was next to me.
"I don't know, but we're fine, Leah," I nodded as we kept going.
"Hey, this isn't our song," stated Paige.
"I can hear, Paige," I sighed. The music stopped as the screens showed another team. We looked at the screen. Mom ran onto the map and right next to me. "Mom."
"Garcia," Mom stated. I looked at her and she was on her phone. "Garcia? Now?"
"Tell me this is a nightmare," I sighed.
"You're not dreaming," Leah nodded.
We watched the video of the other group until it ended. "We are the Truth, and we're here to tell that so-called cheerlebrity, Natalya, and her weak-ass Hornets that you've been challenged," said the leader, obviously wearing a voice modulator. "You call yourselves champions? Well, your tired, stale routines won't cut it anymore. And you will be dethroned. Hornets, this is only the ---"
"Cut it," Mom stated. The video got cut off. "Thanks, Garcia." She hung up. "She can't find a trace."
"They suck!" exclaimed a boy and he threw a pretzel at Paige.
"Carbs! Carbs!" Paige exclaimed. "Get it off of me."
"It's a pretzel, Paige," I stated. "Get over it."
"Ew!" Paige stated as she flicked it off of her. "Oh. We're  like a joke."
"What are we gonna do?" Leah asked.
"Run! I stated as I started running.
"Morgan, she's on the move," Mom stated as I took off.
"No,"' I sighed. I grabbed my bag on the way out. I ran until I knew for sure I was away. I kept walking. I stopped to take a breath when I knew I was away. I heard hip-hop music and I saw a couple of guys dancing and one guy with a camera. I started walking. "Keep it cool, Natalya."
"Hey, girl," said a guy. I stopped. "Don't leave." I looked at him. "I mean, it's free to watch."
"Watch out, Jeff," said another guy, after he did a move. "Let me show her something." He did a move as well. "Wanna join?"
"Now I know I'm dreaming," I nodded. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened my eyes. They were still there. "Great."
"Yo, Didit," Jeff stated. "Why was the cheerleader mad when she got her driver's license?"
"Shit," I sighed.
"I don't know," Didit replied. "Why?"
"Well, she got an F in sex," Jeff stated and they started laughing. "What's a cheerleader's favorite nursery rhyme?"
"I don't know," Didit stated as I walked up to him. "I don't know."
"Hump me, dump me," I stated as I looked at them. "What else did you learn today in the third grade?"
"Whoa. She's scarier up close," Didit looked at me. "She's pretty but scary."
"Thanks. I was going for fem-timidation," I replied.
"You alright?" asked a guy as he walked up to us.
"What makes you think I'm not alright?" I asked.
"Well, you're either lost or on your way to a costume party," he looked at me.
"This isn't a costume," I stated. "I am a cheerleader." I got out my phone from my bag. "Now, smile." I took a picture of them. "Thanks."
"Wait, you didn't get my best side," Jeff stated.
"That's okay because you don't have one," I smiled.
"That's cute. Is that for your Man Crush Monday?" Jeff asked. "'Cause I get that a lot."
"No. I have over a million IG followers," I replied. "I'm going to post this to show them Neanderthals still exist." I sighed. "Hashtag get a life. Hashtag grow up. Hashtag cheermilitated." I opened up my phone and looked at all the notifications coming through. "That's weird."
"What?" the guy asked. "You realized cheermiliated wasn't a real word?"
"What? No," I nodded. "Don't be cheer-diculous. I have to go."
"Wait," he stopped me. "Why beef when we can settle this right here?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Let's battle," he nodded. "You and me. Dancer versus cheerleader." I smiled. "If I win, you don't post the picture. If you win --- well, why even discuss it, because you won't."
"You've been watching way to many dance flicks," I chuckled. "You see, in the real world, we handle our battles on social media. Unless you're some law enforcement officer." I looked at him. "So, get ready to use up all your data, 'cause my plan's unlimited."
"I got her," I heard my Daddy's voice.
"Great," I sighed.
"Who's that?" the guy asked.
"My father," I replied.
"Sweetheart," Daddy walked up to me. "Mom and I have been looking for you."
"I promise, I'm fine," I looked at him.
"Just get home or to grandpa's at a certain time, okay?" Daddy nodded as he handed me his car keys. "You can drive the civic but we're still not buying you a car yet. I have to get to work."
"What about Mom?" I asked.
"She's on special assignment," Dad replied. "She'll be in the city or town if you need her."
"Okay," I sighed as Daddy left. "Great."
"What does your dad do to carry a gun?" the guy asked.
"He's an FBI agent," I replied. "I gotta go." I found the car and I drove home. The next day I met my team at our gym. I practically begged my parents to transfer me to a high school in DC. I parked in the parking spot that was reserved for me even though I didn't have a car. It was convenient for my parents when they picked me up. I walked inside and straight to my locker. I opened it and put my bags inside. I changed into proper workout attire. I looked at my family picture alongside Cheer Goddess' picture. "Cheer Goddess, grant me the strength I need to deal with the nasty comments and the embarrassment. I've learned from your teachings to lead by example. Still, you and I both know the Hornets would be nothing without me. And that's not me being conceited. I'm just a natural born leader." I smiled. "Like my mom or Jesus with a high pony." I closed my lockers and walked to our cheer area. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on, or do you expect me to guess?"
"What are we gonna do about being cheer-smacked?" Leah asked.
"Nothing," I nodded. "It was a prank. A practical joke." I crossed my arms. "We can't take it seriously. People probably already forgotten about it."
"I don't think so," Ella nodded.
"Mm-mm," Paige agreed. "My IG followers are way down today." I looked at her. "People have always hearted my pics. Especially since I started taking butt selfies."
"Yeah, my followers were down too, but that happens,, right?" i asked. "I mean, my mom had the video cut before it ended."
"It's because we're unda viral assault," Leah replied.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"This," Leah replied as she handed me her iPad. I looked at the posts she showed me. Squads from around the world were challenging us. "This is crazy."
"So what?" I asked. "A few teams challenged us. That happens on a daily."
"Uh, no," Leah nodded. "There are dozens."
"Yeah, we're cheer chum in the water, and there's a feeding frenzy," Paige nodded.
"It's not that bad," I stated.
"Don't act like you're not sweating through your sports bra over this," Leah looked at me. "Natalya, we need to shake things up. Throw out our old routines and start fresh."
"Okay. First of all, I don't sweat. I glisten," I moved some hair out of my face. "And we're not gonna throw out all of our winning routines just because some teams challenged us, Leah."
"We've been doing a version of the same stuff for years," Leah added.
"I'm the one who lead us to number one, so why would I want anything to change?" I asked.
"For starters, we lost four of our boys," Ella stated.
"What?" I asked.
"Natalya, we're sinking," Ella added. "And the boys are jumping ship."
"Like rats who will drown without me," I sighed.
"We're all gonna drown if we don't do something," Leah replied.
"It's simple!" I looked at her. "We'll replace the boys we lost."
"The season's started," Ella stated. "All the good ones are already taken."
"Who would turn down an opportunity to cheer with me?" I asked. "That's cheer-diculous."
"We're doing the same old routines," Leah sighed. "That's gotta change."
"Okay, I'll come up with new choreo if that's gonna make you feel better," I replied.
"I was thinking we could all ---"
"You're my bestie," I cut Leah off. "But when it comes to the routines, we're gonna do it my way." They all looked at me. "Now, let's go get some boys." We all went to the smoothie shop. I asked a couple of boys and I was shot down. We went back to the gym and I looked at social media. "They hate me. The entire spirit world hates me." I basically stared at my phone. "First the cyber-attack, then the boys, now this mean meme."
"No," Leah nodded. "Hate's a strong word." I looked at her. "They just don't ever want to cheer with you in life."
"There's a difference?" I asked.
"Not much but, well, we love you," Paige nodded.
"Which is why we believe we can avoid being cheer-smacked again if we step up our game," Leah smiled.
"Listen to Leah," Ella nodded. "Cheer is changing."
"Our old routines don't cut it anymore," Paige agreed. "If we're not prepared, a better team will beat us."
"You saw how the crowd reacted to the Truth," Ella looked at me. "They were eating it up."
"So, look, here's my plan," Leah nodded as she got up.
"I've got a better one," I nodded.
"Okay. You are seriously testing the boundaries of our friendship," Leah replied.
"I hate tests," Paige randomly stated. "My dad gave me one for DNA before he left, and I think I failed, because, well, now my uncle lives with us."
"Let's go," I sighed.
"Why?" Ella asked.
"You'll see," I nodded. I drove us to the place where I met the three guys. We took two cars to bring a couple more girls with us. I walked up to them. "Hey, can I talk to you?"
"See? I told you, guys," Jeff stated. "This cheerleader was feeling me."
"No, not you," I scoffed as I crossed my arms. "Him. You're in charge here, right?"
"Of what?" he asked.
"This little crew," I smiled.
"We just hang out," he chuckled. He looked at us. "I guess this is your crew."
"Yeah, we're not a crew," I nodded. "We're a squad."
"And she'd kind of a big deal," Paige replied.
"Whoa, you're the Rebels," he pointed.
"Oh, so you've heard of us?" Paige asked.
"You have it written all over you," he nodded.
"Oh," Paige sighed as she looked at our clothes."
"I'm Matt," he nodded. "This is Jeff and Didit."
"Paige, Leah, and Ella," I nodded.
"Wait, I thought all cheerleaders were named Amber and Britney," Didit replied.
"Really?" Leah asked. "Every cheerleader?"
"What?" Didit asked. "It's a theory."
"Anyway, what's up?" Matt asked.
"We were wondering if you wanted to join our squad," I sighed.
"And do what?" Matt snickered. "Fight crime?"
"Nat, that's crazy," Leah nodded.
"Yeah, I'm even smart enough to know that," Paige added.
"They're not even cheerleaders," Lean replied. They're like, parking lot dancers."
"That's if they can dance," Ella nodded.
"Can you give me a sec?" I asked.
"Yeah, take your time," Matt nodded. "Parking lot isn't going anywhere."
"Thanks," I sighed. I turned to face my squad. "Look, we need more boys on our team. Here they are, ready for the picking."
"They don't know anything about stunting or spotting," Leah looked at me. "If we cheer with them, we could die."
"And the Oscar goes to ---"
"Hey, that stuff's important too," Leah cut me off.
"Then, we'll teach them. I've seen them dance," I nodded. "They're fearless. This is exactly what we need right now."
"I was kidding about taking your time," Matt stated. I turned to look at him. "This is cute, but, uh, we got things to do."
"Okay, well, we need guys on our squad," I nodded. "So, I got to know. Are you guys man enough to be cheerleaders?"
"Wait, is that a trick question?" Jeff asked.
"No, she's serious," Didit snickered. "On a scale of manliness, there's astronaut, firefighter. And then cheerleader."
"Instead you guys spin around on your head all day and let the asphalt bake your brain," Leah replied. It got quiet. "Nat, this is a waste of time."
"You're not serious, are you?" Matt asked. "Even if you were, there's no way we're gonna do it."
"Not even if we battle you?" I asked.
"So, now you're calling us out?" Matt asked as he walked up to me. I nodded. "If you win, my guys will cheer with you?"
"And if we lost, I'll post another picture on social media giving you props," I replied. "Hashtag dance gods, hashtag cheer crush, hashtag..."
"I'd hit that," Jeff pointed. "I mean, you got to let people know you want some of this."
"Ew, hashtag disgusting, but hashtag fine," I nodded. "Not that I'd really do that because of my purity promise." I looked at Matt. "So?"