Chapter Two – Rebekah

“So, Farrah just, like, left and we have no idea why!” Tia says in a bright, fake sounding voice as she flips her long, perfect blonde hair over her very slim shoulders. “That’s why we need another girl. Base of the pyramid!”

I could tell you why she left, I think with a slight curl to my lip. Because you’ve just spent the last half an hour telling me how you ‘helpfully told her about her fat ankles’. What is this, high school?

“Oh, well, I’m happy to be here,” I say aloud instead. Tia might not be the most pleasant of girls but I really want to be a cheerleader for the Pistons. The girls on the team are at the top of their game and I love what they do. I can handle some bitchiness anyway, I managed to navigate my way through a very toxic squad in high school four and a half years ago and I just about survived it, so I can go through it again. Honestly, I thought this lot would be more grown up, focused more on the sport than on gossip and nastiness, but I’ll get used to it. “I’m happy to be at the base.”

“Good, good.” Tia narrows her eyes and she runs them critically up and down me. My instincts want to shuffle uncomfortably, but I have a feeling that’s what she wants so I force my chin to jut out confidently and my body to remain very still. “Your audition was good and you do have the broad shoulders that we need. Plus, I think your mousy hair will look good next to Mya. She’s got flame red hair that needs to be near someone duller.”

That was a thinly veiled insult, but I won’t rise to the bait. I grit my teeth together and grin. “I have the passion as well. I absolutely love the team and I’m a massive basketball fan. I will give it my all!”

“Basketball, or basketball player? Because I know what I’m a fan of.”

“Yeah, Tia has all the players after her,” Flo, seemingly Tia’s side kick, jumps in. She gives her friend an adoring look which screams of desperation. A please like me look. “Even the one’s with girlfriends.”

“So much for feminism.” Oops, that just slipped out. I let out a little laugh to try and show that I’m joking but I don’t think Tia and Flo get it. I think it might be for the best if I change the subject. “So, erm, I take it there’s a lot of socializing? Is that a part of the job or just a perk?” Urgh, I sound like an idiot.

“You can’t just, like, get with one of the guys.” Tia narrows her gaze at me as if I’m the one who brought this subject up. “You have to be on the squad for a while before they’ll even notice you. It’s, like, a thing.”

Not what I meant at all! I’m not joining the cheerleading team to find a guy, I can find one on my own, thank you very much. Not that I have for a while, I suppose. Not since Wes cheated on me with the intern at his office which put me off a bit. To be fair, I should have seen it coming. Everyone told me that dating a CEO, ten years my senior wouldn’t end well, but I buried my head in the sand because naively I thought I was in love. That was over a year ago now, it might be time to take myself off the shelf before I end up stuck on there. But I don’t mean with any of the guys from the team, just a normal, nice guy who wants to take care of me and not cheat!

“Erm, I actually meant going out and stuff.” My cheeks are heating up and I don’t know why. “Do you have a lot of parties? Because I’ve heard that’s what the Pistons are famed for.” Shit, I’m going to talk myself out of a job in a minute! I have to reel it in. “Not that I’m here for that. I’m just, you know, wondering…”

Tia and Flo share a bemused look that I don’t care too much for. “Yeah, we do,” Tia muses. “But they aren’t for the uptight sort, so you might actually have to let your hair down. Can you do that?”

“Err…” What have I walked into? I don’t know what she means! “Sure, I can let my hair down.”

“Well, not tonight, of course. You can’t be expected to come out with us when you haven’t even been to a training session yet, but maybe at the weekend once you’ve gotten used to everyone a bit.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief, glad that I’m not about to be dragged into this world already. Maybe once I’ve gotten to know some of the other girls I might find a common ground that I’m not going to get here. Then I’ll feel much more comfortable. “Okay, yeah, that sounds great. So, when do you want me to start?”

“We have training on Tuesday so you’ll be expected to come in then. The team train at the same time, so we’ll cross paths a bit but obviously we need our own space to make sure that we kick ass at the next game. If our boys can keep going in the way that they are, we might actually be seen at the finals which is good stuff!”

Tia almost makes me want to burst out with laughter. She’s acting a little like the cheerleading is the main event and the basketball is just there to boost her career along. She might not be my sort of person, but I can’t help admiring that attitude. I could use a bit of it myself, instead of always blending into the background.

“Wonderful, okay well I’ll see you then, and you have my cell phone number…”

“I do and I will put you on the group text while we see how you get on. It should be a lot of fun!”

As I walk out of the hall where Tia has decided to speak to me about my position on the team, I accidently manage to walk into a guy who’s walking at a determined pace with his eyes fixed on the floor. He has a goal in mind and he wants to get there as quickly as he can. I cannot believe in my idle daze I stopped him.

“Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry,” I stammer as we stagger apart from one another. “I was in my own little world there.” I’m babbling nervously, why can’t I stop? “I just got out of an interview with Tia and…”

Oh my God. As my eyes run up and down him, I realize that I know who this is. This is Bryn Whitting, one of the Pistons newer signings who’s been playing up a storm. He’s notoriously private as a person but the media has gone wild for him anyway. The sports reporters keep going nuts for him and as I stare at his tall, muscular body which towers over mine, I can see why. There’s something inexplicably magnetic about him, I can feel myself turning to jelly as I stare at him. Damn I’m all star struck and I feel a little breathless. Please, be cool!

“Don’t worry about it,” he drawls back giving me a genuine smile. “I should have been looking where I was going. This is my fault too. Are you coming to work here or something? Did you say interview?”

“I’m going to be one of the cheerleaders. Go Pistons!” I reply, very lamely. Internally, I cringe.

“Oh, wow.” Is it me or are his eyes lighting up? “That’s pretty cool. So, you’ll be around a bit then.”

“Yeah I sure will.” I stick my hand out. “My name is Rebekah, by the way.”

He takes it, and as his warm skin brushes against mine I fell tingles racing all over my body. I guess I haven’t ever met someone famous before so this is what it must feel like. Everyone must experience this strange sensation. It’s their charisma, isn’t it? And the fact that they’re exceptionally good at something. That’s why my mouth feels bone dry and my heart is hammering against my rib cage as if there’s no tomorrow.

“I’m Bryn,” he tells me modestly as if I don’t already know that. “I play for the team, so I suppose we’ll see a lot of one another.” Is there a glint in his eye? Oh God, am I falling over? “I’ll see you around.”

I watch as he walks away, frozen to the spot. Did that just happen? Am I going insane? I’m going to have to get more used to being around people in the public eye if I’m going to do this. It’s going to be my new life. I’ll be around players and the people in their lives a lot. I need to be so much cooler or I’ll crumble.

“Hey!” another voice calls, causing me to spin backwards. “Who are you?”

My eyes drink in another player, James Baxter, one of the most notorious guys. He certainly doesn’t share Bryn’s desire for the quiet life. He seems to fall head first into media attention happily. I know his face so much better than Bryn’s, so I pause for a moment, waiting for that sensation to flood me again. I search for the racing pulse, the cotton mouth, the desire to say something incredibly stupid… but it doesn’t come. This is like seeing just another normal person. Maybe it’s because his face is more familiar to me.

The guy behind him, Andrew Jones, is someone else that I know. He’s known for being dead sweet. He doesn’t whip up a storm inside of me either. So, I don’t know what’s going on. Why just Bryn? What’s special about him? I dig deep into my brain but it’s still a bit mushy from speaking to him so I can’t land on an answer.

“Erm, my name is Rebekah Swartz,” I reply quietly. “I’ve just joined the cheerleading team.”

“Oh, wow that’s awesome!” To be fair, the basketball players seem much more pleased to have me than the cheerleaders. I actually feel welcome as I stand out in this hallway to talk to them. “Good to have you.”

I part my lips, ready to make a similar remark, but before I do, Tia’s shrill voice rings through the hallway. “Oh, James, thank goodness you’re here.” She’s adopted the raspy damsel in distress tone. “I need you for… oh!” Her eyes flash angrily as she spots me talking to James. “I see you’ve met our new cheerleader.”

James doesn’t pick up in the tension, or perhaps he doesn’t want to see it. Either way he smiles inanely and nods. “Yeah, Rebekah. She seems awesome. You’re lucky to have her.”

I already know that comment isn’t going to go down well. Tia’s already rubbed up the wrong way by me so I think it might be time to make my escape. “I have to get going guys,” I interject. “But I’ll see you all soon.”

I give an apologetic grimace and wave before practically running out of the door where I can finally breathe easily. It isn’t going to be the easier job in the world, Tia will make sure of that, but I’m sure I’ll be able to win her around eventually. As long as I keep away from all the guys in the team, I don’t think she’ll have a problem with me. She seems more worried that I’m going to be a threat than anything else, which is crazy. I have a much plainer look than her. She’s a stand out beauty.

Anyway, I’m not going to get bogged down in the potential negatives. I’d rather think about the positives instead. My brand new life is about to begin!