Third Wheel | EDITING

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The bright lights that shined down during the routine made me thankful that I had packed on a shit ton of powder on earlier. The game had already started and by the end of the first quarter, we were 17-12.

Coach Taylor called a cheer and as a flyer, I basically prayed that my bases could support my shitty ankles. My knees stayed locked and there were no major accidents as we called out the cheers and the crowd went wild with Hailey's tumbling stunt.

"Girl, you ready to go up?"Renee asked as she patted my back. 

Nathan laughed, "Whether she's ready or not, she doesn't have a choice. Let's set." 

Before I knew it, I was up in the air pulling a lib into an arabesque. 

I waved into the stands, our student section going wild. 

The stands were decked out in blue, white, and silver. With all the students in spirit shirts, chanting along with us. 

Watch out, we're here!
Everybody stand clear!
Let's shout, let's cheer!
Our victory is near!
Colts! C-O-L-T-S!
That's our name; we are the best!
Yes! Colts are the best!
Colts are the best!
We're in control!
Colts can't be beat!
Victory how sweet!

The crowd went wild and we all let down in a cradle before all the flyers rushed our way up to the bleachers picking up our pom-poms in the process.

We fluffed them against our hands before starting our second quarter chant that only got everyone more excited.

"Let's go Clearwater Colts! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"Blue and white! We put on a fight! Blue, white, and silver! This looks so familiar! Silver and blue! We're going to beat you!"

The students went wild and the excitement radiated to our players. Our team scored touchdowns after touchdowns and before you knew it, it was time to do the collaborative stunt.

Two cartwheels, one round off, a rudy, a latched on flip, into a back handspring.

Hailey and I had both been in competitive cheer and despite being on different teams, we had similar skillsets. Still, the routine was obviously hard and could easily harm either of us but to show we were the best, we had to be out there with the competition.

I nodded and clapped the moment I was ready, signaling Hailey to do the same. We hopped right into the tumbling drill, making sure we had latched onto each other's hands for the flip. The back handspring was enough for the student body to let out gasps before breaking out into cheers.

We both dropped to the splits before standing back up to head back into the tunnel and get ready for the halftime show. As we took the lead, the rest of the team lined up and followed as well, making sure to wave off to the bleachers. 

"Girls, good execution." Coach Taylor complemented. We smiled and threw a 'thanks' in between our water breaks.

"I thought you broke your back." Nathan joked, "Couldn't be me, my back hurts from touching my toes, let alone doing whatever you just did." 

Shelly laughed, "Nate, you don't do shit. Be honest."

He shrugged before unscrewing the top off of his water and taking a sip. 

Our halftime dance routine was next, then it would be my own solo routine before I was let off the hook early for the day to take some pictures. Coach gave me a full 10 minutes a game for whatever shot I could manage before I would have to go back out again for the end.

"Remember to take good shots of us." Renee warned, "You'll catch these hands if I see a page with my mouth weirdly being open." 

"Agreed, I'd rather not be in the damn book than look ugly." Nathan shivered at the thought, "The embarrassment I would get if I remembered that every senior could look back and have access to an ugly picture of me, I would literally come for you."