CLMO 04

Chapter 4

---

He didn’t mind the boldness of a girl who hoped he’d like her after only a day of knowing each other.

In fact, for someone as remarkable as himself, such boldness was practically a requirement.

“Should I help her?”

It wouldn’t be difficult for him.

If he didn’t step in now, this girl would surely come looking for him again tomorrow morning—and the thought of her waiting around outside bothered him a little.

At last, Blay made a decision and casually spoke.

“We might be in different classes, but our club activities could overlap.”

“We? Why do you keep saying ‘we’…?”

The girl mumbled something, but Blay ignored her and continued.

“How about joining the cheerleading team?”

“Cheerleading?”

“Yeah. I’m on the football team.”

“Oh…”

“And you know, cheerleaders and football players kind of go hand in hand.”

The girl’s dark eyes sparkled.

For a fleeting moment, Blay felt as if he’d witnessed the birth of a star in the vast cosmos.

While he was briefly caught in that strange feeling, the girl beamed brightly.

Her face, free of clouds, now glowed with hope.

“Thanks for the advice!”

She dug around in her jacket pocket, then pressed something into Blay’s hand.

“Caramel?”

“It’s a thank-you.”

With that, the girl walked away. But the sweet scent of sugar that clung to her still lingered in the air.

“She carries these around, huh?”

Blay chuckled and popped the caramel into his mouth. It was sweet.

He headed to class, thinking it was a good start to the day.

---

Sian arrived at the Price Hall, where the 10th graders had their lockers, and immediately looked for Aaron.

He had just arrived and was organizing his bag in front of his locker.

“Good morning! Did you finish reading The Iliad already?”

Aaron was holding a different book than yesterday.

Sian peeked at the cover—it was quantum mechanics this time.

“What kind of standard is that?”

Yesterday it was classical literature. Today, physics.

Sian tilted her head at the wildly varying genres, and Aaron, as if worried she might snatch the book, quickly pulled it behind his back.

“What now? I already told you everything I knew yesterday.”

That Ian was the wide receiver of the football team.

And that he was best friends with the most popular guy in school, Blay Williams.

“I thought I could finally read in peace today.”

Aaron had no idea Sian’s bright face was oblivious to his frustration.

Wherever she had run off to so early, her cheeks were flushed pink.

“Did something good happen?”

When he looked at her curiously, Sian burst out eagerly, as if she’d been waiting for him to ask.

“I stayed up all night thinking about how to approach my brother. And I got some great advice!”

“Don’t care.”

Aaron tried to brush her off coldly and walk away, but Sian followed him like a duckling.

“I’m going to join the cheerleading team! That way, I’ll get to meet football players more often.”

“….”

Aaron halted and gave her a once-over.

Seeing her soft, muscleless frame made him sigh.

Cheerleading.

People assumed it was just about waving cute pom-poms, but in reality, it was a full-blown sport with its own league.

“Who gave you that advice… Do the cheerleaders even want you?”

“Blay Williams told me. He seems kind of weird, but he was nice.”

“What?”

She already recruited Blay Williams?

Aaron stared at her in disbelief.

“Then she doesn’t need me anymore, right?”

Blay could probably help her much more than he could.

Which meant there was no reason for her to keep looking for him.

He should’ve been relieved… but oddly, he wasn’t.

As he was lost in that strange thought, Sian asked:

“Aaron, do you know anything about how they pick cheerleaders?”

“Do I look like a vending machine to you?”

“You’re the only one I can ask.”

Her reply made Aaron flinch. He frowned and muttered,

“Go ask Blay Williams. Problem solved.”

“But why should I, when I have you?”

For the first time in his life, Aaron was at a loss for words.

He stood there, mouth open, unable to speak, while Sian tilted her head at him.

“Aren’t we friends? Didn’t we agree to be friends yesterday?”

They absolutely did not.

Aaron’s jaw clenched at her one-sided declaration of friendship.

He was good at drawing lines and shutting people out. But for some reason… he couldn’t do it this time.

“…Make a good impression on Victoria Nelson. She’s the cheer captain.”

“I knew you’d know!”

Sian exclaimed a little too loudly, then quickly covered her mouth.

But it was too late. Students nearby were already glancing over.

“Hey, newbie. Don’t hang out with a loser like him. You’ll ruin your whole life.”

Sian didn’t care about nameless voices. She was going to ignore it.

But when she saw Aaron clenching his lips in frustration, she changed her mind.

“Thanks for the advice. But I’ll choose my own friends. Let’s go, Aaron.”

Sian beamed as she grabbed Aaron’s arm.

This time, he didn’t shake her off.

As they walked past the hecklers proudly, Aaron silently admitted the truth:

That he had somehow become friends with this reckless girl who only knew how to charge ahead.

“So what does Victoria Nelson look like? Give me details.”

…Yeah, they were friends now. Probably.

---

Fortunately, Victoria Nelson wasn’t hard to find.

She and the other cheerleaders were gathered in their uniforms in the cafeteria, making them easy to spot.

Victoria stood in the center of the group.

Sian gathered her courage and walked up.

“You’re Victoria Nelson, right?”

“Yeah. And?”

“I want to join the cheerleading team.”

Victoria, with her healthy tan skin and rich brown hair, crossed her arms and looked Sian up and down.

It was the same critical gaze Aaron had used on her before.

“Can you do a back handspring?”

“Not yet… but I’ll practice!”

“Hmph.”

Victoria stared at Sian’s twig-like wrists with a doubtful expression.

She looked ready to reject her right then—when a tall shadow fell beside her.

“New cheerleader?”

“Hey, Blay.”

Victoria smiled brightly as she greeted him.

Sian didn’t take offense at the sudden change in her attitude. Smiling at a handsome guy was only human nature.

Even though she’d just seen him that morning, Sian found herself momentarily dazed by Blay’s face again.

He casually slung an arm around Victoria’s shoulder.

Seeing Victoria light up wordlessly with joy, Sian’s heart settled back down.

“So they’re dating, huh?”

She snapped out of it quickly.

From what Aaron told her, this guy was Ian Morgan’s best friend.

“If Blay is here, does that mean my brother is nearby too?”

She looked around quickly, but Ian was nowhere to be seen.

“Well, they can’t be together 24/7, right?”

Still, shouldn’t he eat lunch?

As Sian grumbled internally, Victoria and Blay kept chatting.

“She’s not a cheerleader yet. Just an applicant.”

“I see. She’s cute.”

Blay, noticing Sian’s slumped shoulders, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

She had followed his advice diligently, and for some reason, that made him feel proud.

“If I’m helping her, might as well go all in.”

He leaned closer to Victoria and whispered in her ear with a grin.

“If it were me, I’d pick her.”

Victoria forgot how to breathe as his face came that close out of nowhere.

“You said everyone complains the team’s too white? She’s a perfect shield.”

Their school was predominantly white. In the past, no one cared—but times had changed.

If the cheer team was still all white, there’d be backlash.

“If she’s just there for appearances, no harm.”

Victoria decided to take his advice.

“Tryouts are this Friday at 4 p.m. in the gym. Prepare an intro and don’t be late.”

Sian’s eyes widened. She’d expected a firm rejection.

“Thank you! I’ll learn how to do a back handspring by Friday!”

“…Sure.”

Sian glanced at Blay beside Victoria.

She hesitated—should she thank him too?

Before she could decide, Blay winked at her.

“See you again.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Sian had a mountain of things she wanted to ask him.

Why he kept saying “we,” if he was really close with Ian, where her brother was, and what had happened to him.

But Victoria was staring at her like, Why are you still here?, so she had no choice but to leave it for later.

She smiled politely, turned, and walked away.

She couldn’t wait to find Aaron and tell him everything was going according to plan.

As she hurried away, she turned back once—and saw Blay watching her with a big grin.

“So… you know her?” Victoria asked nonchalantly, though she’d been sneaking glances at his profile the whole time.

But Blay knew the truth: if she truly didn’t care, she wouldn’t have asked.

“Something like that.”

He offered her a dazzling smile, as if to smooth it over.

“I’m really looking forward to your new cheer team.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

Even while watching Victoria’s confident grin, Blay found himself thinking again of the girl with black hair.

“Come to think of it… I still don’t know her name.”

He smiled faintly.

Next time they met, he’d be sure to ask.

 

Because Blay was already looking forward to seeing her again.