~* Girl Power *~ “Wow,” Allison mused as she took in her surroundings. “This is so not what I expected.” I had been busy putting the first of my luggage, my purple duffel bag containing my cheer things, up on the overhead compartment, and glanced back at her. “What were you expecting?” She rolled her shoulders, stepping closer to help me with my small suitcase. “I dunno. Bench-seats facing each other like in the movies? This feels more like an airline. Seats look comfortable though.”

---

“Hey Robin,” Elaine called from her usual place at the computer, deep in the bowels of the Journalism department. “How did you like the student activities spread in the yearbook?”

“I can’t believe you guys used that photo of us from the Girl Scout Halloween party for the center photo,” I teased. “But the layout looks great. I’m guessing since it’s your byline that you designed it too?”

Elaine nodded simply. “Yeah, we were really short-handed this year so newspaper and yearbook staffs doubled up where we could. Mrs. Ellis says we’ll have a few more writers coming up next year though, and she’s personally handpicked some people to do spread layouts.”

“She asked me if I’d be interested in learning too, but I had to decline. I’ll probably be playing basketball again next year, and I might try out for cheerleading again. I’ll probably drop one or the other so I can take a Drama course though.”

“You’d be great at it. Way better than I ever would,” Elaine sighed almost whimsically. “Anyway, did you need something? I haven’t seen Kathy or Trent today.”

I smiled as I shook my head, holding out my yearbook. They had gone with a simple purple base, with a gold script font bearing the words “Best Years of Our Lives” for a design this year. Elaine’s smile brightened as she pulled a dark purple ink pen from her purse.

“Spirit, it’s been an awesome year hasn’t it? Looking forward to seeing you at camp! Love, Ellie.” She pushed the book closed, but before she passed it back to me, she placed hers on top. “Would you sign mine too?”

“Sure!” I answered warmly, opening it. The inside cover and first page were completely blank. I tried not to stare, but Elaine laughed.

“Oh, relax! My locker broke so it’s been stuck in there. You wouldn’t believe how many people thought I locked it in there on purpose though.”

“Did you?” I teased. She stuck her tongue out, and I had to laugh. “Just teasing. Let’s see. Ellie, you made me smile and feel good about myself even when I wanted to limp back to my cabin and cry. You’re a great friend, and I can’t wait to hang out at camp this year. Love, Spirit.”

“Awww,” she answered as she accepted her yearbook, pulling me into a hug. “At least nobody laughed at you,” she advised with a smile. “I’ll probably miss the first session because I’m seeing a new therapist about … um … you know,” she bit her lip, nodding and lowering her gaze to indicate her stomach.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. Just take care of yourself. We’ll keep a saddle warm for you.”

As I turned to start out, I nearly bumped into Mrs. Ellis. She smiled warmly back at me. “Hi Robin. Care to take a walk with me?”

“Sure,” I responded warmly. “Is everything okay?”

“Mm? Oh, yes, quite well.” She waited until we had left her classroom to continue. “It’s just that with finals in a couple of days, I knew this would probably be the last chance we’d have to talk until next year.”

“I hadn’t thought about that. I’m really going to miss having you as a teacher.”

She laughed, a bright, warm sound that made me smile brightly. I couldn’t help myself.

“I’m honored you feel that way. I’m going to miss you as well. Your recital of The Raven, complete with period costume and props ranks as one of the high points of my teaching career, and I’m just a little bit jealous of whoever gets you next year. Are you taking advanced placement classes again next year?”

“Probably, yeah. Calculus scares me, but if at least one of my friends takes it with me, I should be okay. That way we can both fail together,” I giggled. “This has been a crazy year though. When I first came here I was terrified people would make a big deal out of, you know, my dating another girl, but it’s been pretty tame mostly.”

Mrs. Ellis nodded softly. “I suppose there was that one incident at Homecoming though.”

“But you put a stop to that pretty fast,” I answered. I knew students and teachers had certain rules about contact that shouldn’t be violated, but I decided to make an exception just this once, and I hugged her. “I still remember how I felt when you walked me to the office. I was so upset, so scared I couldn’t see straight, but somehow I knew everything would be okay. You’re not just a teacher to me. You’re a good friend, and I respect you deeply.”

“Robin, I don’t know what to say,” Mrs. Ellis whispered in reply. “I’m honored you feel that way, but I just did what any teacher would have done in that situation.”

“But it wasn’t just any teacher. It was my favorite teacher,” I added with a smile. “Part of me wants to become a teacher so I can touch lives like you have, but I don’t think teaching is really ‘for’ me.”

“There are a lot of ways to touch lives though,” she answered with an equally bright smile. “I’m confident that you’ll find your path. Does that mean you’re thinking about college though?”

“I toured Yale University campus with my step-dad a couple of times now. He’s a Yale graduate himself, so with his and Bob Morgan’s endorsements I might have a chance. I haven’t really tried to give it any serious thought yet though. Maybe next year though.”

“It doesn’t hurt to start thinking about it now; just don’t let it get in the way of being a teenager, either. You’ll have plenty of college and job fairs in the next couple of years to help you decide - believe me,” she chuckled. “I never thought I’d end up teaching English here. I wanted to study meteorology.”

“You’d have made a great weather person. You’ve got the right kind of personality for on-air broadcasting.”

“I studied broadcast journalism in college for awhile, but when I started to realize just how much math was involved in meteorology, I decided to focus my efforts on teaching instead. I don’t regret it one bit though. Oh, I’m not keeping you from another class am I?”

“Not at all. I have P.E. right now but because the school year’s almost over Coach Wilson’s giving us a free pass to take it easy, so I came over to get Ellie to sign my yearbook. I guess I should be getting back to the gym though.”

“Well, you take care of yourself, and good luck this weekend,” Mrs. Ellis offered with a spirited smile.

“Thank you. I’m so nervous, but we’ve done the routine hundreds of times, so there’s not much more we can do to prepare. Final exam’s Wednesday isn’t it?”

Mrs. Ellis paused in thought briefly then nodded. “Yes. Your class’ finals are scheduled for Wednesday morning.”

“Perfect,” I answered warmly as we parted ways.

I had only just disappeared down the hallway when I heard Allison call after me. “There you are! We were wondering if you got lost or something,” she teased, strolling up beside me.

“Nah,” I giggled. “I was just saying goodbye for the summer to my favorite teacher.”

~oOo~

I can honestly say I didn’t know what to expect with Union Station in New Haven. I’d taken short commuter trains and even the cable cars around San Francisco when I lived on the west coast, but I’d never taken a ‘proper’ train. Just seeing the outside took my breath away, though. Through the arched windows we could see chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings.

The school loaned us a bus and driver so we wouldn’t be abandoning our cars, and counting chaperones and guests, we were able to get a group discount on tickets that made a train more economical, and comfortable, than flying. Actually it took very little convincing to talk any of us into the idea on Coach Greer’s part. I was surprised to learn most of the girls on the squad had never taken a train either, but at least it made me feel better.

“God I’m nervous,” Chelsea whispered as we entered the main lobby. Both Jennifer and I glanced back at her at the same moment, and she shrugged. “What? I... I get motion sickness, okay?”

“Aww,” Jennifer responded. “You should’ve told me sooner.”

She reached into her purse, producing what looked vaguely like a small piece of candy, and pressed it into Chelsea’s hand. Chelsea stared blankly down at it for a moment. Jennifer smiled. “I used to get motion sickness when I was a kid. Ironic huh? I could be out there on a big wave and ride it like a champ, but put me on a bus and I’d lose it every time. It’s ginger candy. It helps settle your stomach.”

“You’re sure you don’t need it?” Chelsea asked hesitantly.

“Nope. I just carry some in case I ever get sick again, but that hasn’t happened in years. It’s all yours.”

“Thanks Jen,” Chelsea answered warmly. “I owe you one.”

“SPIRIT!” a group of girls suddenly shouted from close by, and suddenly I found myself caught up in an enthusiastic hug. I turned to see Rachel grinning back at me.

“Oh my God, you guys aren’t taking the 11:18 too are you?” She paused on seeing Allison and Nicole with us, and giggled, hugging them next, along with Jennifer. “Hey, you’re here too!”

“We tagged along to help boost the numbers for the group package deal,” Nicole answered. “Us plus the adult chaperones - Robin’s mom and sister, Ally’s sister, and Victoria’s mom makes just over twenty.”

“I wish we’d thought of that,” Rachel mused. “So are you excited about camp yet?”

“It’s going to be weird without you this year,” Allison answered. Rachel simply grinned.

“Uh oh,” Jennifer teased. Rachel giggled.

“Yeah, uh oh. You can’t get rid of me that easy. I talked to Director Meredith earlier this year. She’s cleared it so I can come back second session, and still attend my normal camp for the first one. She’s so awesome.”

~oOo~

“Wow,” Allison mused as she took in her surroundings. “This is so not what I expected.” I had been busy putting the first of my luggage, my purple duffel bag containing my cheer things, up on the overhead compartment, and glanced back at her.

“What were you expecting?”

She rolled her shoulders, stepping closer to help me with my small suitcase. “I dunno. Bench-seats facing each other like in the movies? This feels more like an airline. Seats look comfortable though.”

“They’d better be,” Nicole mumbled as she approached. “It’s like a five hour trip. We’ll barely have time for sightseeing by the time we get to the hotel, and get checked in.” She eased herself down in one of the well-padded blue seats, and grunted. “Eh. They’ll do.”

I couldn’t help laughing to myself as I sat next to her. “It beats getting stuck on a plane for an hour after having security rifle through our carry-on.”

Nicole smirked. “I guess, but I still wish I had gone a little less Goth today. I swear that security dude was just looking for an excuse to detain me.”

“Well you did step on his foot,” I advised. She blushed lightly and shook her head.

“Hey, I apologized. Besides it really was an accident. I guess getting a three inch heel buried in your toes would make anyone’s day lousy, though.”

Jennifer leaned over from across the aisle and giggled. “Yeah, but like you said, you apologized. You can only stretch the olive branch so far before you lose your balance, you know. Don’t worry about it too much. Besides, did you see those ugly boots he was wearing? I doubt he even felt it.”

~oOo~

The trip was, for the most part, quite relaxing. I couldn’t help feeling restless though, and more than once got up to stretch my legs. I had just seated myself in the mostly-empty cafe car with a can of ice cold red cream soda, when the train suddenly rolled to a stop though.

“What’s going on?” I asked a passing attendant. She shook her head. “I’m not sure. The conductor should announce something shortly if there’s a problem though.”

As if on cue, an older male voice spoke up over the train’s intercom system. “Attention passengers, we’re going to be experiencing a slight delay. I’ve just been informed that another train further down the line has had to stop to make an emergency repair so for safety reasons, we’ll be here a little while. On behalf of AMTRAK I’d like to apologize for the inconvenience.”

The door to the dining car slid open, and Jennifer, Nicole, and Rachel stepped through. Nicole and Rachel immediately joined me at my table while Jennifer approached a moment later with a diet cola in-hand.

“Oh man,” Rachel mumbled. “I was hoping I’d have time to visit my aunt and uncle this evening.”

“Maybe it won’t be very long,” I offered reassuringly. “They can’t just keep us sitting out here forever, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Rachel answered more cheerfully as Allison appeared in the doorway next, sleepily stumbling closer.

“Wha’happened?” she mumbled, fighting a yawn as she sat down at the table.

Nicole covered her lips to stifle a giggle before answering, “Train’s stuck for awhile. There’s another one just up the tracks that had to stop for emergency repairs.”

“Oh great,” Allison whined. “You know, nobody ever stops an airplane in mid-air for repairs.”

“No, they just fall to the ground if something breaks,” Jennifer advised. Allison blinked soberly back at her. “It was a joke!” Jennifer teased. “They make emergency landings usually, but you’re right. At this rate we’ll have to split up our sightseeing into tomorrow and Saturday afternoons. High School competitions and award ceremonies should be done by then.”

“So what are you guys doing for your routine?” Rachel asked as she glanced between Jennifer and me. “We’ve got a big acrobatic routine, but we’re doing a World dance theme with Latin and South American, Asian, and European music and dance, divided into fifteen or twenty second intervals.”

“Wow. That must’ve been a nightmare to choreograph,” Jennifer offered. Rachel nodded.

“You have no idea. Finding ways to transition from one style to another and making it look seamless was really hard. We almost gave up a couple of times.”

Jennifer and I glanced at each other. “Should we tell her?” Jennifer asked first.

I nodded. “I think we can trust her. We’re going to ask that they bring down the lights for us because we’re borrowing a lot of our inspiration from the kind of stage magic Heedless Despair use in their professional shows.”

“You’re not going to have a fog machine and stuff, are you?” Rachel asked nervously. I giggled.

“No no, nothing like that. We’re doing everything strictly by the book this time.”

“Yeah. They canned our last idea because it wasn’t ‘in the spirit of the competition’,” Jennifer added, complete with finger air quotes, “So we cleared everything in advance this time.”

“So, tell me!” Rachel insisted with a grin.

~oOo~

The sun had already gone down by the time we arrived in D.C., but we were all completely wired, either from the sodas or the excitement of being in the nation’s capitol. We all had so much we wanted to see, but so little time to see it. As we stood outside, waiting for the shuttle service to pick up our group, Sasha approached Coach Wilson.

“Come on, Coach,” Sasha begged. “The night’s still young! Can we do something fun after we get checked into our hotel?”

Coach Wilson glanced between the other adult chaperones - Elizabeth, my mother, and Margie, the latter standing off to one side giggling with Kelly about something-or-other then finally nodded.

“Okay, I suppose we can split off into groups. What do you think Liz?”

Elizabeth nodded her agreement. “Just remember you have to be up early tomorrow. It reflects better on your squad when you’re there to cheer on the competition,” she added with a wink.

Sasha squealed and hugged them both. “Ohhh thank you! We don’t have a LOT of time, so I was thinking we could do a little shopping tonight.”

Jennifer gave Sasha a mock-stare. “Anything for a shopping spree, eh?”

Sasha laughed and swatted at her shoulder. “Oh hush you. No, I promised my family some cool souvenirs since they can’t be here to cheer us on. After that we can hit a couple of under-eighteen clubs.”

Jennifer laughed. “Yeah, I figured. Well, I’ll go with you. Anybody else?”

Nicole glanced at me, and I smiled. “You want to go?”

“I dunno. You?”

“Yeah. I don’t really care about shopping, but it’d be fun to check out the night life.”

~oOo~

“Anything?” Victoria asked, looking over my shoulder. Sasha, Nicole and I had spent the last ten minutes searching our smart phones for something fun to do together. Most of the night club scene seemed geared toward eighteen-and-over or twenty-one plus, leaving us completely out.

“Nothing here,” I shook my head.

“Me either,” Nicole added. Sasha slid her phone into her purse.

“No dice. I guess we could still catch a movie. What time is it anyway?”

Kelly glanced at her watch, shaking her head. “Half-past nine. Your coach wants us to roll you girls out of bed bright and early.”

“Oh well,” Allison answered with an accepting tone. “There’s always tomorrow night.”

Without missing a beat, Nicole grinned. “Why, Brain? Wot are we gonna do tomorrow night?”

Sasha giggled. “The same thing we do every night, Pinky.”

Even Margie and Kelly started laughing as we made our way out to our waiting shuttle bus.

~oOo~

I woke up in a bit of a fog the next morning. It wasn’t so much that I minded getting up early, but Nicole and I had stayed up late talking. The worst part was that we weren’t really talking about anything important as much as just enjoying each other’s company.

I didn’t actually see her again until I was on my way to the bathroom. Thankfully I’d already showered the night before, and just needed to relieve myself. Nicole was already set, clad in her spaghetti-strap black top, black jeans, and boots. A bright smile crossed her lips as we exchanged a hug.

“Morning cutie. I didn’t keep you up too late did I?”

I laughed quietly as I shook my head. “It was worth it. You look cute. Are you sure you want to dress down though?”

“I’m already going to cause a scene when we inevitably get caught up in the moment,” Nicole teased, but shifted her gaze, staring at her feet. I carefully tilted her chin to look her in the eye.

“I love you. If people have a problem with that, it’s theirs to deal with or get over. I’m a cheerleader, yes, but it’s not all that I am, and if I thought for even a moment that it would cause problems or make you feel uncomfortable, I’d quit the squad in a heartbeat.”

“No you’re not,” Nicole answered quickly. “You’ve worked too hard. Besides, it’s not that I’m ashamed. I just don’t want to cause problems for you or the squad.”

Victoria timidly stepped out of the bathroom. “I tried to wait until you guys were finished, but I hate eavesdropping more than interrupting. Can I give you some honest advice?”

Nicole slowly turned to Victoria and nodded. “Sure.”

Victoria placed her hand gently on Nicole’s shoulder. “I’m not saying this as Robin’s co-captain, but as her friend, and hopefully as yours. Normally I don’t like public displays of affection from anyone, regardless of who they’re dating, but I also understand the adrenaline rush she was feeling that day. I felt it too, and if my boyfriend had been in the stands, I probably would’ve done exactly the same thing.”

Victoria’s smile remained as smooth and even as her tone, but she had a certain wisdom about her that reminded me so much of Jennifer that I had to smile a little as she continued.

“But it’s how you guys handled the fallout that impressed me the most. You didn’t hide. You didn’t act like you had done something wrong, and really, you didn’t do anything wrong. You shouldn’t be afraid to be yourselves. No one’s going to remember who Victoria Esquire or Robin Smith or Nicole-”

“Nikki,” Nicole corrected.

“Nikki Morgan are in ten years. If we win, it’ll just be another trophy in the trophy cabinet at school by then, and if we lose, it’ll be a footnote in a school paper nobody bothered to save.”

“Thanks, Victoria,” Nicole finally answered, though I don’t think our illustrious leader expected the hug. “That really means a lot to me.”

“And me,” I added, and hugged her myself.

“I’m jealous, honestly. What you guys have is the kind of relationship I want with my boyfriend, but all he can talk about is which college has the best athletics program. He doesn’t care that I’ll probably be getting into an Ivy League school while he’s partying in Texas or wherever.” Victoria paused, clearing her throat and quickly changing the subject. “Anyway, bathroom’s all yours.”

“I just need to get my brush,” Nicole answered, nodding toward me. “You go ahead.”

~oOo~

I didn’t bother with my makeup since I knew I’d have to change it anyway. We had gone to great lengths to make absolutely certain no one would see us until we were ready, and while it bent the rules of the competition just a little in terms of how teams are to present themselves, we cleared it with the organizers, with the promise that if invited to future competitions, we wouldn’t make a habit of it. It didn’t hurt that Coach Greer reminded them that they had already shot us down once for reasons that had nothing to do with the competition itself.

Of course we had our regular cheer uniforms, but it was more complicated than that. The first half of our routine would be very Goth themed. We made up masks, plus Margie and ‘Aunt’ Jane made sure they would be easy to get out of, revealing our normal uniforms underneath for the second half of the routine, which incorporated less dance, more traditional moves.

It was a bold plan, and a lot could go wrong, but we’d rehearsed both the routine and the transition so many times that if we weren’t ready by now, we weren’t going to be.

For the first couple of hours, we sat together to watch the other squads perform. We were good, but some of these groups were better. I could feel my stomach roll. I couldn’t take it anymore and jumped to my feet. My ribbon-laden ponytail bounced just like it was supposed to, but unfortunately it added to my self-consciousness. I quietly excused myself and made a bee-line for the nearest bathroom.

“Hey?” an unfamiliar voice called from the door as I stood, staring at myself in the mirror, trying to control my nerves so that I wouldn’t need to ‘occupy’ the pristine white bathroom stall behind me. I slowly turned to see an older girl dressed in a long-sleeved red on white uniform smile back at me, her dark hair and skin contrasting her uniform beautifully.

“Hey,” I answered softly, turning back to the mirror.

“I saw you run in here, so I thought I’d come check on you. Is everything okay?”

I slowly shook my head. “I can’t believe I’m even doing this. I can’t believe I’m really here, at the cheer nationals. I don’t belong here.”

“Hey, now. A lot of girls can only dream of being in the Nationals. You’re just nervous.”

“It’s not just that. I’m only here because Amy, one of our seniors, had to drop out. I knew most of the routines because I was practicing with a friend on the squad to try out next year. Some of the teams here are just so amazing. It’s so overwhelming.”

“Ohhhh I get it now,” she answered. “Listen, for what it’s worth, I’ve been doing this for three years in a row and I still get nervous, but don’t you think Amy would want her successor to do her best out there? To make her proud that the squad chose the right girl?”

“I-I guess so, yeah. She pulled one of my squad-mates aside before she left, and she told them she was really excited that they picked me, but I’m still just a first-year girl. And I still think I’m going to be sick.”

“Oh no you don’t,” she answered quickly, gesturing with her hand. “Yawn. Just, take a really deep, long yawn.”

“Okay,” I replied a little skeptically, but did as she asked.

“Feel better?”

“Yeah, I do actually.”

She giggled. “Do that just before you go on, too, but don’t let the judges see. I don’t know why it works, but there you go. I’m Tanya by the way.”

“Robin,” I answered. Her eyes widened slightly.

“I know this is a weird question, but you wouldn’t happen to be Robin Smith, Alpine Springs Northside squad?”

“Um... Yes? How did you know?”

She smiled brightly, just as Nicole and Jennifer stepped through the door. “Andrea talks about you sometimes, how you saved her. She said if I saw you at Nationals to tell you hi for her.”

“Oh, wow. That’s so cool. Hey Jen, Nikki, this is Tanya, one of Andrea’s friends from back in San Francisco.”

“Hey,” Nicole replied warmly as she waved, and Jennifer nodded.

“Nice to meet you,” she added, then turned to me. “Everything okay? You were looking a little green when you got up.”

“Yeah, I’m okay now, thanks to Tanya.”

The new girl shrugged her shoulders. “It’s no big. Even I get nervous when I’m about to compete. Speaking of which, my squad should be on deck soon. Good luck out there!”

“Small world, huh?” Nicole teased, wrapping me in a hug as she kissed my cheek.

“Very. Let’s get back out there and cheer on the competition.”

“I’ll leave the cheering to you two,” Nicole responded with a quiet laugh.

~oOo~

Since we had already gotten dressed before leaving the hotel that morning, I didn’t have to worry so much about getting ready with the other girls. Part of me felt, not so much guilty, but out of place among them though, but they seemed to think nothing of my presence.

“Robin, help me with my makeup,” Sasha insisted as she pulled me off to one side. “I’m just glad we only have to wear these masks for a few minutes,” she continued. I’d only gotten about halfway through helping her with her stage makeup when she finally stated what had been on my mind the entire time.

“It’s nice having you around.”

“How so?” I asked, feigning ignorance. She smiled and shrugged.

“I dunno. When you’re not in the locker room it just feels like something’s missing, like the squad isn’t whole. I know you have your reasons for getting ready alone and all, but … I’d really like it if you could start hanging out with us after you’re ready.”

I stopped to stare at her a moment, but smiled. “I’ll talk to Coach Greer about it. Thanks Sasha. I think I needed to hear that right now.”

“Hey, we’re teammates. We stick together.”

“Ten minutes girls,” Coach Greer advised, poking her head in the door. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn she was smiling at me as I let Sasha do my stage makeup.

~oOo~

I wish I could say that we executed our routine flawlessly, and as far as the crowd was concerned, we may as well have. The Goth Zombie Rave portion went off without a hitch, as did our costumes, though for whatever unfortunate reason, Chelsea’s mask didn’t travel quite as far as it was supposed to when we threw them to the sides to collect our pompoms for the next portion. During a high kick, her foot caught the edge, sending it flying off to the side.

I felt so bad for her. I knew the kind of pressure she put on herself, and I knew what was going to happen the second we rushed off the mat. The crowd, including several other squads, cheered us on as we departed. Maybe they felt sympathetic for us? It was an accident that could’ve happened to any one of them, and probably had before.

Nicole and Allison hurried over from the stands, though Nicole and I managed to keep it low key this time, sharing a long, perhaps overly friendly hug instead of a kiss.

“You guys were great,” she insisted. “God, that was so amazing.”

“And Heedless Despair even let us use their music royalty-free,” I joked, causing her to laugh.

Chelsea smiled meekly as she turned to walk away. I let go of Nicole to follow her.

“It could’ve happened to anyone,” she remarked as I caught up with her. “That’s what you were going to say right?”

“Actually I was going to say I wish it’d been me.”

“What?” She turned to stare at me with mild surprise.

“Chelsea, you work your butt off for the rest of us.” I wanted to say ‘ass’, but I couldn’t be sure there weren’t judges watching us like last time. What I said next though, was just for Chelsea’s ears. “You go above and beyond, push yourself so hard. Things like this shouldn’t happen to people like you. It’s not fair. It should’ve been me that screwed up.”

“But it wasn’t, and as co-captain I have to take responsibility for it. All we can do is hope that they won’t dock us too many points for it.” She exhaled softly as she leaned forward, her taller frame easily dwarfing mine as she hugged me. “I’m sorry Robin. I let everyone down.”

“No you didn’t,” Sasha insisted. “You pulled us together.”

Tracy spoke up next, adding to the chorus with a surprisingly cheerful tone, “It was your and Victoria’s choreography that got us this far.”

Victoria rested a hand on Chelsea’s shoulder. “I told Robin and Nikki something this morning that I’m going to tell you now, not as a co-captain, but as a friend. Nobody’s going to remember this competition in ten years. If we win it’ll just be another trophy in the trophy case by then. What’s important is the friends we’ve made.

“You’re a natural leader, and you’re going to go far. Yes, things didn’t go the way we planned, but that’s life, girl. Sometimes all you can do is pick up and move on, and you’ve got an entire squad here that’s ready to dig in and try again next year. You can bet I’ll be cheering you on from the stands when you do.”

Chelsea, by now in tears, hugged Victoria close. “Thanks Vicky. I needed that. Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything, Chels. You know that.”

“Promise me you’ll invite us to the college nationals.”

Victoria laughed. “You’ve got it.”

~oOo~

Needless to say, we didn’t place first, but twenty-ninth overall was practically unheard-of for a first-year squad so I think we did pretty well. Rachel’s squad placed twenty-third, and Tanya’s much higher at eighth. By the time we left Saturday’s awards ceremony, we were all ready to get out of there and do some sightseeing, though. We only had that afternoon left, so Jennifer and I decided not to bother changing out of our uniforms.

We felt pretty safe to travel on our own since we were just visiting the National Mall - which, by the way, isn’t a shopping center, but I won’t name names as to who among us thought it was. It wasn’t me, anyway. Jennifer, Allison, Nicole and I spent a great deal of time just wandering around until Jennifer wisely found us a brochure about the area.

As we approached the Lincoln Memorial, I leaned closer. “Hey Jen, what does it say about it?”

Jennifer giggled as she opened the pamphlet. “The long version or the short?”

“The short. We have to get back to the hotel before dark.” I didn’t really notice the mousy young girl standing midway up the steps in front of us until we were nearly on top of her, so I gave her a polite smile and waved. “Oh, hi there. You sightseeing too?”

The girl nodded nervously. “Um, yeah.”

Nicole looked the girl over briefly before asking, “Don’t I know you from somewhere? Robin, doesn’t she look really familiar?”

“Robin?” she asked, sounding a little stunned. “Spirit?”

I immediately recognized her, but I had to ask. “Sarah?” I answered, and when she stepped closer, I couldn’t help doing the same.

“Oh my God, it IS you isn’t it!”

“Sarah! Guys this is her! This is the girl Kelly sort of introduced me to, the one I’ve been emailing with back and forth for awhile now.”

Sarah smiled nervously as she waved back. “Um, hi,” she offered meekly. I giggled, practically bubbling as I introduced her to everyone.

“Sarah this is Jennifer, Allison, and Nikki, my best friends.”

“I kind of feel like I already know you guys. Spirit’s told me so much. Er, I mean Robin,” she corrected herself. Jennifer laughed.

“Hey, they’re interchangeable. You wouldn’t believe how often we’ll be visiting somewhere and hear somebody scream,” Jennifer paused, shouting, “HEY SPIRIT!” Both Allison and I jumped, and Nicole just laughed.

“Gawd, yeah. Hey, is that your mom over there?”

“Oops, yeah, that’s her. How could you tell?”

“It’s the glare,” she answered with a giggle. “Better go let her know we’re not harassing you or something, hey?”

“Good idea. I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute okay?”

I nodded, and we proceeded up the Memorial steps to give her a few minutes.

“Reeeally small world,” Jennifer teased. I had to laugh.

“I know right? Two in two days. I’m just waiting for some long-lost relative to show up and recognize one of us or something.”

We giggled and chatted amongst ourselves, but the realization that we were standing in the shadow of the great Emancipator hadn’t been lost on me either. I felt at once humbled and in awe as I stared up at the statue, as Sarah returned with LeAnn and another woman. I immediately moved to hug LeAnn.

“Hey you, long time no see.”

“Not since that day on the roof, eh?” she responded, smiling brightly. “Oh, Robin this’ our mother, Margaret. Momma, this is Robin Smith, AKA Spirit.”

Margaret eyed me warily. “Ah ha. So you’re the young miss who’s been putting ideas into Sarah’s head all this time, inspiring her with stories about your life in … what was it, Alpine Springs?”

Her mock glare faded as she pulled me into a hug. Her voice cracked as she whispered, “Thank you so much.”

“I really didn’t do much beyond encourage her, to let her know girls like us can be accepted.”

I turned to Sarah as Margaret stepped back again. “Everyone present knows about me, about the life I used to live, so if you think people recognizing you will stop them from accepting you, it won’t. You just have to be selective about who you talk to about it. It’s nobody’s business but those you choose to share it with. Just remember that.”

Sarah nodded as she smiled. “I’d just as soon forget about it entirely.”

“You and me both, girl,” I laughed, leaning into Nicole and resting my head on her shoulder.

“We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover. You’re more than welcome to join us,” Jennifer added.. “I’d love to hear more about your life Sarah.”

Sarah looked hopefully up at her mother. Margaret nodded. “I don’t see why not.”

“Yay!” Sarah cheered. “Oh, I love you guys’ uniforms by the way.”

~oOo~

We spent the better part of what was left of the afternoon exploring, getting lost, laughing, and chatting about our very different lives. Sarah really seemed to latch onto us, and I couldn’t help feeling like I’d gained a little sister, someone who understood what I was going through in ways that even my closest friends couldn’t.

“So you haven’t decided yet?” I finally asked.

“It’s just so hard, y’know? This afternoon’s been so much fun, but I just know I’d miss Chris and Emily too,” she answered. I felt for her. I didn’t really have anything to lose when I moved to Connecticut.

“I guess I was lucky like that.” I paused to smile at Nicole. “When I left San Francisco, I wasn’t leaving anyone behind, really. There’s Andrea, but we didn’t really become good friends until after I moved here.”

“And after she showed up in a McDonalds in the middle of nowhere, on the way to a basketball game,” Jennifer advised. I had to laugh.

“Yeah, um, that was … that was a weird day for me all around. But listen, for what it’s worth, you won’t jump head-first into the unknown if you do decide to come stay with your sister.”

Sarah stopped in her tracks to stare at me. “I’m not sure I follow.”

I smiled as I motioned to the others, still holding Nicole close. “I love my friends, and there’s no way I’d have had the courage to be myself without their strength and support. You don’t think we’d just abandon you to the wolves, do you?”

“But I hardly know you,” Sarah answered.

“You did say you felt like you already knew us,” Allison offered reassuringly. “Besides, we’re all Girl Scouts. We do know a few girls your age we could introduce you to, plus you’d be welcome to hang out with us anytime you wanted.”

“We’re not trying to push you to a decision,” Nicole concluded, “But Robin’s damn special to us, and anyone she’s willing to go out on a limb for like this, we are too. Plus we’ve been following the news reports ever since you were made a media darling. Like it or not, we care about what happens to you.”

“Thanks guys. I really dunno what to say.”

I smiled, letting go of Nicole to hug Sarah. “Say you won’t let fear decide what you want. You’ll have a place here, and you’ll have a place back in Arkansas. It’s up to you. If you decide to go back we can still stay in touch, email and stuff so you’re not losing anything. We just want to help.”

“I’ll let you know what I decide,” Sarah responded simply, but added a moment later, “But … it would really help if I could see what Alpine Springs is like.”

LeAnn laughed. “I’ll let my roommate know we’ll have company in a few days. I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“Thanks sis; you’re the best!” Sarah answered excitedly. Margaret chuckled.

“And I’ll let Ashleigh know about the change of plans so she doesn’t book our suite for too long.”

“Wait a minute. You guys got a suite?” Allison asked, surprised, though I couldn’t blame her. Even with the group discount our rooms were hardly deluxe accommodations.

Sarah nodded. “It’s a long story. Can we give y’all a ride back to your hotel?” she added as she motioned to a point just up the street, where their limousine, and driver, awaited.

Nicole laughed to herself, glancing at me. “Haven’t been in one of those in awhile. Sure, why not?”