“Thanks, Bri, we’re all glad you’re here. Now, I have asked Bri to teach us the routine she performed at her audition, and we are going to use it as our dance routine this year. We’ll start learning next Monday. Now, since Bri wasn’t here to learn the military routine we worked on this summer, I need one or two of you to volunteer to teach it to her and get her caught up. Anyone?” Belinda eyed the team.
For a moment, nobody moved. But then, a hand went up in the back, from one of the few girls who hadn’t been glaring at Bri.
“Layla, thank you! We’ll be starting our evening practices this Wednesday, from six to nine. You two can stay after and work until ten. It shouldn’t take you long. Okay, everybody finish stretching. We have our first halftime performance in two weeks, and we need to get to work.”
Belinda walked over to the stereo system to get the music ready. As Bri began to stretch, the girl who’d volunteered to help her walked up.
“Hi,” the tall brunette said, smiling sincerely. “I’m Layla Monroe. And before you ask, yes, that is my real name and not some stripper name I adopted!”
Bri laughed. “I’m Bri. Layla... that’s really pretty. Like the song.” Bri hoped she didn’t come off as too eager, but she could really use a friend on the team. Someone who didn’t automatically loath her.
“Yep, my parents are huge Eric Clapton fans. In fact, it’s quite possible I was conceived at an Eric Clapton concert,” Layla smiled. “So, how are you liking California?”
“It’s nice,” Bri paused as she was hit by the shoulder of one of the girls walking by. The fake blond turned and smirked at Bri over her shoulder.
“Real nice, Natalie,” Layla yelled at the girl. “Don’t worry about these guys, they’ll get over themselves eventually,” she smiled at Bri sympathetically. “Just show them you really meant what you just said, and they’ll come around.”
“Thanks,” Bri smiled, gratefully.
Belinda announced it was time to start, and practice got underway. The two hours flew by, and before she knew it, Bri found herself walking out of the gym and into the school. Ready or not, it was time to face her first day at Santa Monica High.
She didn’t have time to stop at her locker, as her first, technically second, class of the day was on the other side of the school. She took a deep breath and started down the hall. She kept scanning the throng of students, looking for a particular face, but she didn’t see him. She knew she and Cole had fifth period History together, and also seventh period Ceramics. She was unsure if she’d be able to find him before that.
Sliding into a seat in her AP Calculus class, Bri pulled out her schedule. She groaned as she looked over it again. Dance, AP Calc, French, AP English, History, AP Biology, and Ceramics. What had she been thinking? She must’ve had a death wish when she’d signed up for classes. She was going to be drowning in homework, and then had night practices on top of it. She’d be lucky if she survived until graduation. But, it would be worth it. It was all about getting into Stanford.
Her French class was back on the other side of the school, the scheduling gods having a hay day with her, so it wasn’t until after third period that she was finally able to stop at her locker and unload her backpack. She had just opened her locker door when she heard something that made her pause.
“Coleston, my man!” a voice shouted. It came from the bank of lockers around the corner from Bri’s. “How’s it hangin’, dude? I didn’t see you all summer.”
“That’s because I was working. You know, making money? Something I don’t expect a rich boy like you to understand!” That was definitely Cole’s voice laughing. Bri quickly began putting her things away, wanting to pop around the corner and say hi to him.
“Well, at least tell me you found time for a little action, since you refused to come have fun with us all summer,” the other voice said.
“Maybe a little,” Cole replied smugly.
That comment stopped Bri cold.
“Dude, I knew it! So...? I’m gonna need the details.”
“Well, I met these cousins...” Cole began.
“Cousins, huh? Were they hot?”
“What do you think?” Cole asked. “One was tall, blond, and leggy. The other was shorter, auburn hair, and a body to keep you up at night!”
Bri’s heart stopped. Cole was talking about her and Carly. But it was the way he was talking that shocked her. The smugness in his voice, the way he was openly bragging about his supposed conquests, it didn’t sound like Cole at all.