Beautiful Bedlam (10 page)

“Yes?” Rose queried dubiously and put her hands on her hips.

“Bear?” Sienna offered meekly barely convincing herself before she thrust herself in to a fistful of forced hearty coughs.

“Riiiight.” Rose replied skeptically. Her face was the perfect picture of clueless.

“I mean what would we be doing, me and Jackson, I mean Logan Jackson, duh,
obviously
, who else? I mean Logan and I?” Sienna blathered on futilely and wiped her hand across her brow. Was she sweating? Maybe the secret Russian spy lifestyle didn’t suit her after all. Dammit, she figured she’d have made a great Natasha Romanoff.

“Okay, I don’t have time to figure out why you’re being so weird. It’s time for your cheerleading tryout. They’re all waiting.” Rose said to Sienna with her eyes on Logan. Sienna then took in Rose’s outfit that consisted of a grey t-shirt and green shorts and sneakers.

“Yes.
Cheerleading
. I love cheerleading. I’ve got to go.” She said weakly trying to muster up some, any enthusiasm but her resources were running a little low just then. She had completely forgotten about the damn cheerleading tryouts. She wasn’t even planning on going but she’d have gone to Timbuktu just then only to get away from the growingly awkward moment between her and Logan. She could barely look at him without blushing. Her mind barely had the time to process what had just happened, or lack thereof.

“I seem to recall a certain conversation we once shared about two years ago where you professed adamantly for thirty minutes straight how the entire thesis behind a scantily clad girl, throwing her bare limbs in the air, sometimes in a rather too sexually provocative position for a young adolescent in front of a large crowd of onlookers, chanting basic letters of the alphabet that you could teach to a primate, cheering on the sidelines for the so called superior male gender was a direct insult to women everywhere and was continually setting back feminism decades and how appalled you were that it still existed in the twenty-first century and that cheerleaders were nothing more than demoralized gymnasts with hairspray.” He said quoting her word for word with efficient fluency and articulacy. 

“You remembered that? I thought you never listened when I went off on one of my rants.” She said softly and gazed at him dotingly.

“I always listen.” He said with a small dimpled smile with a wistful almost poignant look in his smoldering dark eyes that completely melted her inner chest cavity leaving her feeling a rush of emotions.

“You said that about cheerleading?” Rose retorted angrily, clearly offended because she must have assumedly made the squad she had always wanted to be a part of.

“What? No.” Sienna gulped and tucked her hair behind her ear avoiding eye contact.

“Because cheerleading is a sport. You like…have to practice and everything.” Rose explained oversensitively as she paused to gather her thoughts in between.

“You’re right, Rose. I’m sorry. I was just a very opinionated fourteen-year-old. Cheerleaders are really underrated athletes.” She apologized guiltily and snuck a glance at Logan who was rubbing his nose as he smirked at her openly. She quickly covered her nose as she realized her flaring nostril problem was on display again. He was such an ass. He had the unique ability to make a girl want to smack and kiss him with one single gesture.

“Right, well, we should go.” Rose said urgently.

“See you later.” Sienna said quickly over her shoulder as Rose ushered her out before Logan could say a word.

“What the hell was that?” she hissed as soon as she cornered her in the hallway.
“What?” Sienna yelped.

“Do you still have a crush on Logan?” Rose asked suspiciously.

“No!” she cried. Rose frowned at her skeptically.

“No, Rose.” Sienna said slowly and calmly despite the fear that was overwhelming all of a sudden. She had gotten so used to harboring this great goliath of a secret. She just wasn’t ready to admit the truth to anyone just yet, not even her so called sometimes-best friend.

“Good.” Rose said affirmatively and they began walking down the hallway again.

“Can’t we just go home? I really don’t-“

“Sienna! You throwing away this opportunity will be like spitting in the face of god! You won’t get this chance again. It’s a miracle Bethany even personally invited us to join. You just have to audition in front Courtney Cross and if she says you’re in then you’re in and we can go to practices together and-“

“Wait? Courtney Cross, the senior bitch that hates my guts for no apparent reason known to man? Hell, no. This was a bad idea. Lets go home.” Sienna said irritably as they reached the gym.

“Oh Sienna, what did you expect? She’s the head cheerleader! It doesn’t matter we all know Beth’s going to be queen bee next year, as long as you’ve got her in your corner, you’ll be fine. Beth is so amazing, isn’t she? She’s so funny, and pretty, literally all the guys flock to her. She goes to college parties. Her parents are so rich. Her dad’s like a plastic surgeon or something!” Rose sighed with a mixture of awe and jealousy.

“Geez, I get it. Somebody’s got a girl crush! Fine, I’ll do the damn audition but I’m not making any promises! Don’t expect me to come shooting and cartwheeling down the hallways tomorrow screaming give me an F and give me a U, okay?” Sienna said sternly as they negotiated terms.

“Deal!” Rose confirmed as they sealed it with a handshake just before shoving Sienna in to one of the locker rooms where she promptly changed in to a white tank top, a pair of black shorts with sneakers. She tied her hair up in to a high ponytail as the duo went along their not so merry way to the gymnasium. Before Sienna got the chance to even open the giant double doors, Rose grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“Promise me one thing! Whatever you do, please, for the love of Channing Tatum will you please not bring up any of your feminist rants? Save that crap for college. This is high school!” she chided with an anxious look on her face. Sienna could tell Rose really wanted this for her. She sighed. There was only one reason she was going to go out and perform like a circus animal in front of those polished preppy mean girls and that reason was pleading and standing right before.

“Fine, but you so owe me for this. Big time. I’m talking triple scoop, mint choc chip, fudge brownies, nuts, whipped cream, bananas, the whole lot!”

“I love that you’re a little fat girl trapped in a twig’s body. It makes it so much easy to bribe you.” Rose chuckled softly as they entered the pin drop silent gymnasium. Sienna wondered how much of the conversation they had just overheard? Sienna stood before the ‘panel’ of ‘judges’ that consisted of four of Haven Falls’ best but most certainly not brightest. There were at least ten other girls from her year group standing besides her who all looked somewhat terrified as if they were lined up to get strip searched and not trying out for the cheerleading squad. Sienna got the distinct feeling as if they had all been waiting for her specifically. This did not sit well with her at all and she already knew something was not right. Rose stood near her and smiled at her reassuringly. Sienna scowled back at her already regretting her decision.

“Names?” Courtney called out. She sat with her legs crossed, her platinum white blond hair in a high ponytail, her bright red talon like nails tapped against the table she sat behind impatiently. “You know my name, Court.” Sienna said patiently as she dumped her jacket and backpack on the floor.

“Names?” she repeated irritably. “Sienna Rivers.” Sienna stated clearly.

“Rose Matthews.” Rose quickly answered.
“Age?” Courtney asked even though they all knew the answer. She lived a couple of blocks away from half of them and had attended all the same schools.

“Really? I’m a year younger than you. Do the math?” Sienna said sardonically.

“Excuse me?” one of the other blondes sitting near her retorted cantankerously.

“Sixteen. We both are.” Sienna sighed as she saw the crazy panicked faces Rose was making to her.

“Weight?” Courtney asked and chewed at the ballpoint pen in her hand.
Nasty
.

“What does that have to do with our athletic performance and ability to recite the English alphabet?” Sienna asked perplexedly before she felt Rose pinch her ever so slyly in the back. “One hundred and fifteen pounds.” She replied hesitantly. She could’ve sworn she’d heard someone mutter “anorexic bitch.”

“Well, that’s five more than I’d like but I guess you’ll have to work on that. Maybe stop stuffing your face in with those Doritos you Mexicans love?” Courtney quipped with the most obnoxious inconceivably loud chortling laugh imaginable as she scribbled something down in on a piece of paper. Sienna would bet her life earnings, basically seventy dollars that there was nothing on there except an I heart me inscription.

“She’s half Colombian.” Rose corrected apprehensively as if that was the most offensive part of what she had just said.

“Puerto Ricans, Indians, natives, whatever you all merge in to a pile of brown.” Courtney said carelessly as she waved her hand in the air oblivious to the shocked appalled reaction of those around her. Even her friends who seemingly would follow her to the pits of Tartarus itself seemed to bristle at her comments.

“Okay, seriously. I feel like I’ve just walked in to a Hitler youth commercial. Let’s go. We don’t have to take this.” Sienna whispered to Rose irritably.

“Stop it, Sienna. You’ll ruin everything.” Rose hissed under her breath,

“One hundred and forty pounds.” Rose lied tentatively after clearing her throat uncomfortably to the head cheerleader with a god complex, her answer although perfectly normal caused a couple of titters of laughter from her cronies.
Damn, just when I thought they weren’t that bad
.

“Okay, seriously? Isn’t Coach Raymore supposed to be here, you know watching?” Sienna asked brazenly as she looked around the large room. She was nowhere to be found. The other girls who stood near her, all of whom she knew her entire life all look at her in awe before quickly shooting glances at Courtney’s forbidding face and looked down in almost fear? Some of the girls were overweight and not exactly what you’d class as the typical cheerleading type. She wondered what Courtney had said to them to get them so shaken up and quiet. She slowly stood up and leaned her hands against the table before her. She squinted her baby blues at her and tightened her ponytail before coming to stand before her. Sienna would be an absolute liar if she said her heart didn’t race a little as Courtney came for her.

“Are you questioning my authority?” she asked indignantly and put her hands on her tiny narrow hips. Now the old Sienna, the one with the long sweater jumpers, book constantly in hand, and metal wires attached to her teeth would have most definitely burnt holes in to the ground by now from staring at it so much and would’ve answered with a trembling quivering ‘no’. Sienna didn’t know if it was because of her father leaving, or seeing Logan again after so long or the magic qualities his breath possessed or it was just her finally snapping and strapping on a pair that caused her to smirk and actually stick up for herself. 

“Only always.” Sienna retorted with a tightlipped fake smile.
“Sienna, you promised.” Rose hissed as if she were a desolate helpless single mother stranded in the middle of a shopping aisle with her unruly evil bedwetting fire-setting tantrum throwing insidious child.

“Oh start already.” Bethany called from her seat on the bleachers. She had her feet up and was clearly bored of the shenanigans. It strangely occurred to Sienna that Bethany Simmons of all people had somewhat saved her?
Gosh, this really was a weird day
.

Courtney turned to glare at Bethany for a moment before shrugging and putting her IPod in its dock.

“Lets see what you got!” she yelled over the sound of Iggy Azalea. Almost instantly all the girls around Sienna broke out in to a choreographed danced and began chanting their chants that they must have practiced whilst Sienna was off canoodling, or trying to canoodle Logan.

“Just copy me.” Rose hissed as she jumped up with a big smile with her arms in the air. “Oh, okay.” Sienna stammered and fell short of copying most of the moves always one step behind. She swung her legs in the air and spun and clapped her hands in the air. Some of the girls began lifting the others in the air before the music finally stopped. Oh. Dear. God. Sienna would have taken a pop quiz on quantum mechanics right now instead of this! Or classical mechanical, she really wasn’t that picky. This was
not
what she had expected. She had grossly underestimated the art of dance combined with gymnastics. She was pretty sure she’d have been great if she were here for the cheer chant at the very least. 

“What do you think, girls?” Courtney chuckled maleficently as she paced around them like a vulture savoring the visual taste of the carcass that lay before it defeated.

“You all did so well! A round of applause!” she yelled and clapped her hands hard as her eyes gleamed with joy. Geez, she was one creepy chick.

“Well, some of you did better than others.” She said with a low chuckle as she circled Sienna like a vulture.

“We’ll inform you of our decision in a couple of days although I’m sure most of you know whether you’ve got in based on your…performance.” She purred the last part at Sienna.

“I just want you all to know that I am not doing this for you. I’m doing this for me.” Sienna said in a low ominous tone before walking to a considerable distance away from the rest of the girls.

“Oh boy,” she heard Bethany sigh behind her.

“Hit it, Blondie!” Sienna yelled to the girl next to the IPod.

“What?” she yelped and looked around helplessly. Sienna sighed and massaged her temples.

“Play the song please.” She said courteously mustering up every ounce of patience she had left in her core. “Oh!” Blondie exclaimed and did just that. Sienna cracked her neck, stretched her arms and legs.