[Monday, Apr 8th]

The alarm wakes me at 6:00 and I drag myself upright in bed. Truthfully, I’m still a little depressed over the whole situation. I know it wasn’t real, but I finally had friends and people actually treated me nicely. Two boys had asked me out and I had a girl that actually cared about me. Finding out it was nothing but a dream… Well, who wouldn’t be depressed?

After thinking about it all day yesterday, I did come to a few decisions. So, today when I talk to Mia, I’m going to ask to join the cheer squad. Based on that decision, I went shopping after church last night and bought a couple of practice outfits. I also bought some mock stockings to replace those hateful pantyhose and a few sports bras.

As far as Alla is concerned, I’m going to take that as it comes, do as Eris suggested and not jump back into a relationship with her. The sex aside, I loved having her as my best friend and hanging out with her, so maybe I should concentrate on that while I figure everything else out.

Sighing at the injustice of having to go back through this last week again, I get out of bed, walk over to my dresser, open a drawer and take out a bra and panty set, along with laying out a pair of mock stockings. In the bathroom, I start the shower and undress. After showering, I put on my panties and bra, then blow dry and brush out my hair.

Once that’s done, I go out into my room, slide on the mock stockings, dress in my uniform and slip on my school shoes. I put my wallet, phone and keys in my purse and double check to make sure my practice outfit is in my school bag. Then I pick up my school bag and head downstairs. After I eat and help Mom clean up, she puts my hair up for me and I head out early to school, hoping to catch Mia before class.

On the way to school, I turn the music to an 80’s station and sing along, hoping to improve my mood a little. Look, having to relive the past week is seriously depressing. I had friends for the first time in I don’t even know how long and I finally found somewhere I belonged. I truly hate that I have to start all over. The best I can hope for is that everything comes out like it did before. I had so much fun with Alla and the other girls on the cheer squad.

Once I arrive at school, I park my car and make my way to the entrance, looking for Mia as I do. Spotting her under a tree, I make my way over to her and say, “Good morning, Mia.”

She does a double take when she looks at me. Smiling, she says, “Good morning, Andie. I thought you withdrew?”

I nod and reply, “I was going to, but then things changed, so I didn’t have to.”

“Well, I, for one, am glad you didn’t.” She looks at me a little closer. “Andie, did you change something? You look different than usual.”

I shrug. “Not really. Other than keeping my hair out of my face.”

“Hmm, that might be it. I will say you look different, better even. You seem to be a lot cuter than normal.”

I smile at her and shrug again, “I really haven’t done anything all that different, although I suppose I’m glad I look a little cuter. Thank you for the compliment.”

She smiles at me. “You’re welcome. Hey, would you like to join us for lunch today?”

“I’d love to, thank you… Umm, Mia, I know you’re short a girl on the cheer squad. Would you mind if I try out?”

She looks a little surprised for a moment, then says, “Really? That would be great! We’ve been trying to find someone for quite a while now. Andie, I’m happy you want to try out, but if you don’t mind my asking, why?”

I shrug and reply, “I suppose the biggest reason is my mom and I talked and I’ve decided to make some changes. I’m going to try to be more sociable and stop hiding in the corner.”

She smiles and says, “I’m glad to hear that. You know, I’ve always told you if you just get your hair out of your face and talk to people, you could have any number of friends you want. You’ve always been a beautiful girl, but now that you’ve gotten your hair out of your face, others can see that too.”

I nod acknowledging her point. “I know. That’s one of the reasons why I did this.”

“Well, I like the change. I hope you keep it up. About trying out, why don’t you meet me in the gym after school?”

“Sure. Sounds like a plan. Okay, I’ll see you in class, then.”

She smiles and says, “See you there.”

I wave and head to class. Once again, Ms. Edison says, “They told me you withdrew.”

I again reply, “I was going to, but my situation changed, so I’ll be staying here instead of leaving the state.”

She smiles at me and says, “Good, I'm very happy to hear that. I’d hate to lose a good student like you.”

Smiling back at her, I say, “Thank you. I’ve always enjoyed having you as my teacher.” Turning, I make my way down the aisle to sit at my desk in the back. I place my textbook and notebook on my desk, take my seat and watch as the rest of the students slowly filter into the classroom.

History repeats itself since class is perfectly normal, but Chris is again looking at me on and off the entire period, which makes me uncomfortable. When the bell rings, I gather my things and walk over to him.

“Chris.”

He looks up at me and smiles. “Hi Andie.”

Frowning, I adamantly state, “Don’t call my that, only my friends are allowed to call me Andie.”

“Uh, sorry. What can I do for you, Andrea?”

“For one, you can stop staring at me. You’ve ignored me for sixteen years, so why do you want to pay attention to me now?”

He shrugs and says, “I dunno. I can’t explain it myself. You’re different somehow and I find it attractive, so I’d like to get to know you.”

Keeping to the previous script with a few minor changes, I tell him, “Chris, you’ve had a laundry list of girlfriends since the beginning of the year, and I have no desire to be added to that list. Look, you’re a nice enough guy, but I’m never going to go out with you. I’d prefer if we keep things as they have always been. You staring at me like that creeps me out, so please, leave me alone.”

He again nods while looking a little sad and says, “Alright.” I turn on my heel and head to my next class. Alla is already seated when I enter the class and take my seat.

After I set out my notebook and textbook, she turns to me and says, ”Wow! Mia always said you were pretty, but damn, girl, you’re gorgeous! Why did you ever try to hide yourself?”

Smiling, I look at her and say, “Thank you. I’m not really sure why I hid myself, but I’m trying to make some changes.”

She grins at me. “I can see that, keep it up. I love the new look.”

Smiling, I reply, “Thank you, I plan to do so.”

“Hey, would you like to hang out sometime? My boyfriend, Brian, stays so busy he rarely has time for me, plus most of my friends have boyfriends, so another friend to hang out with would be great.”

I smile and say, “Sure, sounds like fun. I’m not all that girly though. I’ve always preferred reading and watching anime, rather than a lot of things other girls seem to enjoy.”

Her eyes glitter as she asks, “Which anime do you like? I loved the new Sword Art Online they came out with and The Ancient Magician’s Bride was awesome.” I fake looking shocked to continue the talk and she giggles as she says, “What? Do you think you can’t like anime along with shopping and other things girls like?”

I shake my head and chuckle. “I never gave it much thought.”

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. “Let’s exchange numbers.”

Removing my phone from my purse, we exchange numbers and she asks, “Do you want to do something this weekend?”

I hoped this was coming, so I grin and say, “Sure, sounds like fun.”

“Good because I love to do cosplay, but no one else wants to do it with me. This weekend they are holding Florida Supercon and I’ll be going in costume.” She looks me up and down and says, “You’re about the same size as me and I have a lot of costumes. I have one I think would work extremely well with your hair color and features.”

I quirk an eyebrow as I ask, “Who’s that?”

“Moka Akashiya from Rosario + Vampire.”

“I love that anime and she’s cute as hell.”

“Would you go with me and cosplay too? I can go as the pink-haired version of her and you can go as the silver-haired version. I think we’d draw a lot of attention and have a lot of fun.”

Nodding, I tell her, “Alright. Let’s do it.”

“Awesome! Thank you so much! I never thought I’d find another girl here that likes anime and who would cosplay with me. Oh, umm, do you have a car?”

I nod and say, “I do.”

“If you’ll drive us, I’ll buy both of our tickets.”

“Sure. I don’t mind driving us.”

“Thanks Andrea.”

I grin and tell her, “It’s Andie to my friends.”

She grins back and says, “Andie it is then.”

The rest of the morning pretty much follows the same script as before since Alla again almost drags me from class to class. As the lunch bell rings, I tell her, “Mia invited me to eat lunch with her today.”

“Great, I’m one of the girls who eats lunch with her everyday,”

Taking my arm again, we walk down to the canteen. After we get our lunch, we make our way to Mia’s table, where she introduces me to the girls there. They again play twenty questions with me. Mia then tells them about me wanting to try out for the squad and tells everyone to meet in the gym after school.

The rest of the day goes by like normal with Alla sticking close to me. After the final bell rings, we make our way to the gym. As I undress to change into my practice outfit, she says, “Damn Andie! You have a rockin’ body!”

Grinning, I reply, “Thank you.”

“You’re going to make one hell of a Moka.”

I smile, shrug and say, “I just might at that.” I finish changing and then we make our way out into the gym to see the cheer squad there laying out mats.

We head over to Mia, who says, “Hi Andie.” She looks at the others and calls out, “Okay ladies, clear the floor and take a seat.” She leads me onto the mats. She turns to me. “Let’s start with something basic and see how flexible you are. Do a front to back split for me.”

I’m sure you remember what she had me do before, so I won’t bore you recounting all of it again since it pretty much went exactly like last time. Again, she’s impressed by my gymnastic abilities and how good I am with the jumps and stunts.

She sends me to get something to drink as she talks to the other cheerleaders and then calls me back over to tell me, “Welcome to the squad, Andie! We finally have all twelve members.” Everyone claps, and they come over to hug and welcome me. I’m smile as they do.

She again asks for my measurements and writes them down. Then she tells me, “I’ll have your uniform by Wednesday. We have practice after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Games are Friday evenings at 7:00. For home games, we have to be here at 6:30. For away games the time depends on where they are since we have to take a bus to them. I’ll tell you what time to be here several days ahead of time.”

“Sounds good.”

“Go get cleaned up. You might want to call your parents and tell them you’ll be late because we’re going to have a welcome party for you tonight.”

“Okay.”

I head into the locker room to take a quick shower and get dressed.

I call Mom and tell her that I tried out for the cheer squad and made it. Of course she’s happy and I tell her about the welcome party. She tells me to be back by ten. I gather up my things, walk back out into the gym and we divide up into cars to head to Romano’s Pizza.

Everything pretty much happens as it did last time, except I studiously avoid going to the bathroom when Brittany and Mia do. I stay and talk to the other girls until 6:00 when I announce I need to get home. I again have Alla and Hannah that come with me. After we drop off Hannah, Alla asks me over, which I accept.

At her house, she again has me try on innumerable costumes. I never really looked at myself the first time around. This time I do and I have to admit, I’m damn cute in them.

After I hand her back the Julie Sigtuna costume, she asks, “Andie, can I ask you something personal?”

I shrug and say, “Sure.”

“Have you ever had a boyfriend?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Okay. Now you don’t have to answer and I don’t care one bit if you are or aren’t, but are you a lesbian?”

I shrug again. “I have no idea.”

“How do you feel about people that are lesbians or are bisexual?”

“Our pastor says they are mentally ill and need help, but personally, I don’t care if someone is or isn’t. Who someone likes or loves is no one else’s business. Why?”

I hand her back the costume and she takes it to the closet to hang up. When she comes back, she says, “No real reason, other than trying to get to know you better.”

Turning around, I start dressing as I tell her, “Like I said, I have no idea what I am right now. Although, I have to say, at school I thought several of the guys were good looking, but I also thought the same thing about a lot of girls too.” Once I’m dressed I turn to look at her. “Of course, I think you are beautiful too.”

She smiles at me as she says, “Thank you. Andie, I’m curious, have you ever kissed anyone?”

“Of course I have.”

“I suppose you would have seeing how gorgeous you are.”

When I turn back around, I say, “Thank you, I appreciate the compliment. I believe most girls have kissed someone by the time they are at our age.”

“That’s most probably true.”

Changing the subject, I ask, “Alla, since you don’t have a car, would you like to ride back and forth to school with me?”

She smiles and replies, “Hell yes! I hate riding the bus. It takes forever to get to and from school.”

I grin at how vehement she said that and say, “Okay, I need to get home.” She walks me to the door and I say, “I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Alla.”

“Goodnight, Andie.”

I wave from the side of my car and she waves back. Getting in, I head for home thinking, ‘Even though I felt as I’ve pretty much already lived through today with a few changes, it was a good start on getting things back on track.’