Chapter 17

While walking across the hall with a cheerful and skipping Ann by her side, Akira dreaded each step she took towards the gym. She asked herself why she is even doing this, when she can practically just don’t care about anything at all. But she didn’t want to disappoint Ann, she seemed determined about what she’s doing.

      “Ann!” someone yelled from a distance. Stopping at their paths, both decided to look at the source of the voice. “It’s your teacher, Yuki! She’s asking for you to come in the music room right now! She said it was urgent!”

      “What?” she looked up at Akira, who nodded encouragingly at her.

      “You could go on, Ann. I’m sure I can track my way to the gym on my own.” she told her, smiling.

      “Are you really sure?” she asked.

      “Of course. Go on.”

      “I’ll catch you later then!” she advanced towards the person who called her and they both headed towards a single direction. Once Ann disappeared from Akira’s line of view, she immediately dropped her smile and sighed hopelessly.

      “How exactly am I going to do that?” she asked herself, scratching her scalp. She trotted towards a random direction, stopping right when she encountered a junction of three different passages. Looking between her left, right, and front, she started asking herself which way she was going to take. “This isn’t good. I’m not good with directions.” she muttered to herself.

      “Let’s see.” she rubbed her chin and pointed to her left. “Eeniee miniee minie moe, which direction shall I go?” she ended up pointing at the direction in front of her. “No. Certainly bad. The last time I did this . . .” she smacked her forehead in frustration as she remembered the last time she did that when trying to find the direction where she ‘guessed’ her father had followed.

      “Hey, are you okay?” she lifted her head and saw a girl standing in front of her. She was wearing a big smile on her face, seemingly friendly.

      “Oh, uh, yeah. I think so.”

      “Well, in my opinion, I think you’re lost. You were looking between here and there since a while ago. Which way are you going exactly?”

      “I’m going to the gym.” she responded.

      “Great. I’m going there, too. You know,” she raised some pompoms in the air, causing a slight sound to bubble. “Cheerleading tryouts.”

      “Oh, great. If you don’t mind taking me with you.” Why am I even doing this?

      “No problem. This way.” she said, guiding her to the right.

      “Thanks.”

      They passed by busy students running around or simply walking nonchalantly either with groups or individually. Akira was surprised to even find how energetic this school was being. It was full of life you wouldn’t even notice them being . . . different.

      “It’s so infuriating.” the girl muttered.

      “What?” Akira craned her neck slightly and looked at her at the corner of her eyes.

      “Pardon my rudeness. My name’s Ruby.” she told her, taking her hand and shaking it. “I’m sorry about my mumbling a while ago. It’s just that because there’s this new girl and suddenly, the entire school’s hyped up. It’s not that uncommon for us to receive a new student. But . . . seriously, just because she’s the mate of Alpha Adam, doesn’t mean they should get all this . . . excited.”

      Akira raised her brow. Was she talking about me? She kept herself quiet and decided to listen on to her ramble. “I heard her first impression was troublesome. There are rumors circulating that she even kissed Alpha Adam in front of everybody in the middle of the hallway! She’s got no shame.”

      Akira’s face heated up. Is that really how fast the rumors around here circulate? It’s even faster than fire! It’s like a tornado! “That’s not true! I didn’t—I mean . . .” she cut her sentence short when she realized she was stuttering. Ruby was staring at her questioningly. “I mean . . . sorry,” she sheepishly smiled. “I was thinking about something else.”

      “No problem.” she shrugged. “Anyways, as I was saying, this is her first day of school. Someone said the teacher read out her records aloud because she doesn’t even want to lift her lazy bum out of her chair.” Akira clenched her fist beside her. What is it about those rumors? They always are annoying . . . and they aren’t even true! Is she really that famous, just because she was his mate and all?! “She was transferred from here and there because she was expelled in every one of the schools she entered. Still, they said she had a good background. She was the head cheerleader, pfft. They even said she made all of the schools she entered win in the interschool competitions they joined. Really, can’t anybody think that it was a major coincidence? It’s not only her. Can’t they even think of the other cheerleaders out there who participated, too?”

      “You’re right. They’re giving her too much attention.”

      “I even heard she got this special privilege by Jessica—the head of the cheerleading team—from the tryouts this afternoon. I bet she’s a hussy from the side of the street who’s just climbing her way to the social ladder. I even bet she’ll be wearing those short, skimpy skirts and skin-tight blouses with plunging necklines and all . . . just like those sluts always wear to barely cover up themselves. What was her name again? Akara? Amara? Adira?”

      “It’s Akira.”

      “Right.”

      What a harsh judgment coming from her. Is that how bad her impression to the people are? Just because she made friends with Jessica and got invited to the cheerleading team? She must admit that she was pretty good at almost everything she does, but she isn’t the type of person to boast about some things. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing. When she woke up this morning, Ann brought in bags of clothes that according to her, was bought my Adam for her to wear. She was covered up in skinny jeans and long-sleeved blouses that she can barely see any skin. She even thought it was a bit unusual, but with Ann’s help, she was able to sort it out. It doesn’t matter, although, she can’t perform in this kind of clothes, can she?

      “That’s kind of one-sided, don’t you think?”

      Finally, they hallway they were walking through came to an end. They went out of the door and was greeted by phenomenal view of the gym. It wasn’t exactly the ‘gym’ but more like a paradise. In here, Akira has a clear view of the waterfall. The sight was exquisite. Just the vista was enough to ease Akira of the troublesome thoughts running inside her head. Her annoyance and frustration were washed away, replaced by the feeling of peace and astonishment.

      She could clearly hear the water crashing down until it reached the base. Ruby came next to her, her sports bag slung on her shoulder. With her other hand holding the pompoms placed on the side of her waist, she stood beside Akira while staring at the panorama herself.

      “Beautiful, isn’t it?” she smiled. “This place was chosen as the gym not only because it has wide grounds. The view and the surrounding area always calms student and help relieve them of their uneasiness.”

      “I think it is genius.”

      “Don’t you?” she chuckled. “The school was started by Alpha Adam’s grandfather and everything around here was planned out perfectly.”

      “I guess Adam is really famous around here, isn’t he?”

      Ruby cringed away from her. “What did you just say?”

      “I just said that Adam was famous around these parts.”

      “Oh, no!”

      “What?”

      “You said Alpha Adam without the Alpha!”

      “Huh?” she gave her a look of confusion. “It’s not that big of deal.”

      Ruby sighed. “You don’t really get it, you know.” she whispered. “Alpha Adam came from a long lineage of powerful werewolf blood. His great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was an alpha and so were all his descendants before him. The alpha blood strengthens each generation it’s mixed with another pure, alpha blood. So considering Alpha Adam’s ancestors were all alphas, even all of his grandmothers, that makes him like . . . one of the strongest werewolves in the whole world.”

      “Wow. So that’s it.”

      “Even so, despite the lineage, he accomplished many great things even though he is that young. So that’s why I’m against this ‘Akira’ girl. I heard that she was a half-breed. Messing up that kind of power with half of her human blood, it won’t be that much of a good outcome in the future.”

      Akira’s worries came back to her in an instant. She gradually placed both of her hands behind her back, angrily clutching the end of her top. She clenched her fist and remembered the ring Adam gave her this morning. Should she take it off? If Adam is that great . . . if Adam is that powerful . . . why is he saying that they are mates?

      She was right, wasn’t she? She was right to leave him at the first place. Someone was against that. But . . . what is this feeling? She was hurt. Why would she be hurt, anyway? Didn’t she say it herself that she doesn’t feel anything about him at all? Why is this happening to her then? Why does she even care?

      She isn’t worthy enough of being . . . together with him? Was that was she was upset about? No. That can’t be. It’s impossible. She can’t be . . . It’s clear that she’s only insulted. Sure, Adam can be that powerful and he can be that influential. Why would people think of her as not worthy? It’s not like she has any interest of taking the position, it’s just very . . . rude. That’s it. That’s got to be the feeling.

      “Akira!” Jessica’s voice brought her of her line of thinking. She lifted her face towards Jessica and acted like nothing happened, like all of those emotions she previously felt were nothing. She put on a big smile and waved at Jessica.

      Ruby probably looked like she had seen a ghost, but despite that, Akira faced her with a friendly face. “Thank you for helping me. I appreciate it.” she told her. She wanted to get angry, but her rational side was telling her not to get involved in troubles once again. As Adam said . . . no. She isn’t doing this for him. She’s doing this for herself. It’s only clear that some people would be against it. Hell, she is, too.

      The ‘gym’ has a grassy floor. Akira ran to one of the corners where Jessica and a few other girls were performing and tried to push those thoughts away.

      “Hey, Jess.” she greeted.

      “Don’t you have anything particular to wear for this sort of event?”

      “No. Not really. I just came to tell you that I won’t be joining.” she told her.

      “What?” she whined and stomped her foot. “Why not!”

      “I want to try something else besides cheerleading.” she said. “If you want to have a new cheerleading mate, I recommend that girl over there.” she twisted and pointed at Ruby, who was staring at her like she was a piece of artifact that has fallen from the sky. Mouth hanging open and eyes wide, she was frozen on her place like a statue. “Give her some chance. I bet she has some potential.”

      “That’s too bad.” Jessica stated. “I was looking forward on seeing you perform.”

      “It’s not like I couldn’t perform when I am not on the cheerleading team. If you’d like, you can ask for my help anytime.”

      “That doesn’t solve the problem here! Don’t you even know you’re required to join a club?”

      “I know there are other clubs out there. It’s just . . . I don’t have the motivation to join this team right now.”

      “Okay. Here’s my proposal, no matter what I still want you to audition! There was this video uploaded on YouTube about the performance of Gegenhuber High. It was by far, the best presentation I’ve ever watched in my entire life. All of the tactics, all of the planning was incredible . . . and don’t you know who I saw in that video?!” her glare looked like it will bore through her head. “The head cheerleader—“ she pointed at Akira with her forefinger and placed her hand over her forehead like a Victorian heroine. “Akira.”

      She scratched her chin. “I must admit, I was pretty satisfied with my team’s performance on Gegenhuber High. It was one of the best presentations I’ve ever prepared. Still, that doesn’t make legendary.”

      “Are you crazy! You don’t have to be so humble about it! I was fascinated with that performance that when I suddenly recognized you from the video, I nearly fainted!”

      “Oh, please, Jessica. You’re such a drama queen.”

      “No, Akira!” she yelled. “Girls! Take Akira to the changing room and dress her into our uniform! I will not stop until you perform! You get me! NOT UNTIL YOU PERFORM!”

      Everybody in the gym was looking at Jessica like she was a crazy person. Akira had cringed from the tone of her voice as she was grabbed the Jessica’s teammates and was dragged into the girls’ closets. Regardless of her protests, she was stripped from her clothes and was forced to wear the usual skirt with a skin-tight top that showed off her stomach. She wore a pair of white shoes that would be appropriate for the task, then after that, forced to walk out.

      What shocked her the most is that stadium seats had been arranged and people filled them. She cursed mentally. It was like she came out on another place. But she couldn’t be mistaken. The waterfall was still there, which made it clear that it’s really happening.

      Jessica suddenly popped out of nowhere and approached her. “We all know how it works. All you need to do is lead and fly like you did last year.”

      “Are you seriously going on about this? It actually feels like I’m on an actual competition. Considering the amount of people out here.”

      “Don’t worry. We’re dead prepared for this.” she winked.

      “But I’m not.”

      “Nothing to worry about, Akira. You’ll know it when you do it.”

 -*-

(Presentation Time)

Akira stood in the front of the lined cheerleaders and faced the audience. She took steps to the front and started shaking her pompoms. Later on, she heard Jessica yelling to the bleachers about doing what they had practiced. As the familiar beat echoed on her ears, she got herself ready for the opening. She then dropped her pompoms, kicking her leg around on a perfect, straight circle. Immediately after that, she clapped her hands in a harmonic rhythm. She started yelling out the words she remembered she did from the presentation on Gegenhuber High. But she wanted to make it different—she isn’t performing for Gegenhuber after all.

       “Were—” she clapped her hands four times before dissolving onto the next syllable. “—wolf Haven!”

      Two girls in front did multiple back handsprings until they reached the opposite side from where they started. The others were doing their own stunts that Akira remembered choreographing. This was the beginning.

      Jessica’s team had perfectly imitated her team’s routine last year. First, there was a bit of dancing to spice up the performance, then, the gathering and displaying out the cheers along with individual stunts that perfectly blended with each other. They built up the pyramid, basically putting up a real show—better than the performance of the original performers—when they shifted into different forms until they reached the ‘Wolf Walk’. This was one of the hardest part. Almost everybody thought that the Wolf Walk was the end of the show—but it isn’t. This was one thing that Akira had feared she couldn’t do. She could feel the blood pumping into her veins, the feeling of the adrenalin coursing all throughout her body.

      And then she did it.

      Ruby rose from her seat in shock. “That can’t be . . .” she whispered. “Jumping from the top of a three-level pyramid while doing numerous flips in the air! Instead of landing back down to the hands of her teammates, she went straight for the ground and landed perfectly on her own two feet.” she sank back down on her seat. “Amazing.”

      Adam was watching among the crowd. The minute where he saw Akira starting to plunge back down to the ground, he stood in alert and was about to run into the field. Although when he saw that it was done on purpose and she landed on the ground perfectly, he breathed in relief and sat back down.

      “Hey!” they cheered, ending their performance with back-bending poses.

      Everyone on their seat clapped in joy. Their production was astounding. It mesmerized the audience and you can hear them cheering on their seats. Akira was certain that that performance was even better than she last remembered. She was sweating profusely, her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest.

      Jessica came forward and screamed like a huge fan girl. “Woo! I never expected you to yell Werewolf Haven! You were so cool! How were you able to handle that jump?! I wasn’t expecting you to do that like you did before! Seeing it before my eyes was awesome! No words can justify my feelings!”

      Akira laughed sheepishly. What happened to the evil witch? Did she cast a spell on herself and turned into some sort off . . . lovesick teenager? Jessica looked like she was going to faint from overexcitement.

      “How did this even happen?” she asked.

      “Simple! When you were in there dressing, I went to the broadcasting room and announced about a special performance from their one and only Luna. That’s why, I had the seats arranged and in no time at all, people filled in!”

      “That fast? How?”

      “Oh, come on, deary.” she winked. “We’re werewolves.”

      “Geez you sound like Jamie.”

      “Well then! What do you say people!” she yelled aloud. “Is this girl gonna be on the team or what?!”

      All the students—even teachers and the faculty members—screamed in their seat about their approval. Akira felt herself smile, and she eventually burst out laughing. Jessica gave her a puzzled look as Akira clamped her hands over her shoulder.

      “Jess, you’re crazy.”

      “What can you say?” she smiled. “I’m finding a replacement.”

      “What? A replacement?”

      “It’s people’s choice!” she screamed. “You cannot escape from this now, Akira. When you back out, you’re going to disappoint.”

      “What did you mean by replacement?”

      “It’s finally decided,” she declared. “You are this team’s new head cheerleader.”

      “Now, what is this about?”

      Jessica reached out her hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. “A few hours after we became friends, I finally decided on something.” she said, despite the loud noise in their background. “I’m going back to my home in Pennsylvania.”

      “What? Pennsylvania?”

      “Yes. I’m going to decide my own fate. Unknown to my parents, I gained a rank as a werewolf.”

      “Okay, this is confusing. Would you mind explaining?”

      “During my days here with the Bourne Harlem Pack, I was first known to be a fragile and delicate wolf since I came from a very abusive family. That’s what pushed me to train myself hard and grow strong each day. When werewolves get connected to their inner spirit, they gain the highest possible level of control and power. For the last few years, there was something lacking in me that I failed to become one with my inner spirit. When you came, that all changed. Because the moment you befriended me, that change happened in just a few seconds it seemed like a miracle. Now, I’m more powerful than I was, and I’m ready to stop evading my past and face it. Thanks to you. You’re inspiring words had set my crooked path straight and convenient.”

      “Is that what you think you must do?”

      “Yes. There’s no turning back.”

      “You’re right about me not wanting to disappoint.” Akira pulled her into a hug. “I promise to do my best into handling this team for you.”

      “You don’t know how much it means to me.” she whispered, hugging her back. Once they both pulled away, Jessica had tears flowing down from her eyes. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning—even before you know it.”

      “I wish . . . you could stay longer.”

      “I wish so too, but this can’t wait. Even so,” she grabbed her hand affectionately and raised it in the air like Akira was the defending champion. “Let’s welcome the new Head of the Cheerleading team!”

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