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Chapter 40
The result of the match between Victoria and Lucy’s teams wasn’t revealed until the weekend had passed.
When the new week began and Sian went to school, she finally received a text from Lucy summoning all the cheerleaders.
“So it’s finally happening.”
The match results were out.
Sian took a deep breath and headed to the designated meeting place, the cafeteria.
“Hi, Siana.”
“Welcome.”
The cheerleaders who had arrived early greeted her warmly.
Their expressions weren’t much different from Sian’s own—anxious, uneasy, yet, on some level, expectant.
Scanning the group, Sian asked,
“Where’s Lucy?”
“Not here yet.”
Another cheerleader, overhearing their conversation, chimed in.
“Why are they keeping it a secret from us too?”
“I just can’t sit still any longer. I’ll go get Lucy myself.”
At that moment, someone, unable to contain themselves, jumped up from their seat.
The cafeteria doors swung open, and someone entered confidently, radiating presence.
“No need for that.”
“Lucy!”
“Why are you only coming now?”
“What happened?”
Despite the barrage of questions, Lucy calmly removed her sunglasses.
“Has everyone ordered drinks? If anyone hasn’t, I’ll cover it.”
“Lucy, this isn’t the time to be so casual.”
Lucy smiled lightly, seemingly enjoying seeing the cheerleaders drying up from nervousness.
Wait—enjoying it?
“Did we win?”
“If not, why would we need drinks for a celebration?”
Kyaa! The moment Lucy finished speaking, cheers erupted.
“So, who hasn’t ordered a drink?”
When Lucy asked again, Kylia grabbed Sian’s hand and lifted her high.
“Siana!”
“What do you want to drink?”
“Oh, I’ll pay.”
Sian quickly reached into her pocket for her wallet, but Lucy firmly refused.
“Don’t worry about it. How much can one drink cost?”
“Then… thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
It seemed silly to argue any further. Sian ordered steamed milk.
Once they received their drinks, the two joined the waiting cheerleaders.
“As of this morning, I’m officially the new captain of the Wharton School Cheerleading Club.”
Lucy declared it formally.
The reactions were mixed.
“New captain!”
“I knew we’d win!”
Some were purely happy.
“Impeaching the president failed twice, but you managed to overthrow the cheer captain.”
“Well, at least that’s a success.”
“At least Victoria won’t be in office again.”
“She’ll graduate before that, I hope.”
Some made cutting jokes.
“Why is the president even being mentioned here?”
Some were distracted by the conversations bouncing around.
Sian felt a small relief realizing she wasn’t the only one overwhelmed.
“It’s all thanks to you believing in me.”
When Lucy spoke, the chatter quieted down.
“Whenever I doubted myself, seeing you all believe in me kept me going.”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to us.”
“Be sure to thank us properly.”
A playful response sparked a round of laughter.
“So what about Victoria?”
As the laughter subsided, the question hung in the air, and everyone silently looked at Lucy.
Her smile faded slightly.
“Victoria… won’t be cheering with us.”
“Did she quit or was she expelled?”
Lucy shook her head. Neither was the case.
Victoria hadn’t done anything serious enough to be expelled. And she likely wouldn’t voluntarily quit just to make others happy.
“She must be pretty hurt in her pride.”
Victoria had only one choice left: be listed as a club member but not participate.
Lucy let out a small sigh at Victoria’s ambiguous presence, then quickly changed her expression.
“Victoria aside, all the cheerleaders who followed her are welcome to stay. Treat them kindly.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Anyone else curious?”
“When do we even get to toast? Class is about to start!”
Laughter erupted once more.
“I can’t make you late on my first day as captain.”
Lucy raised her coffee cup with a smile.
“Who rules the world?”
The cheerleaders answered in unison.
“Girls!”
Their voices echoed loudly through the cafeteria.
“Oh, what a shock. So dramatic…”
A passing male student complained as if he were on the verge of spilling his drink.
But the cheerleaders weren’t about to let that slide.
“You men have dominated the world for thousands of years, and you can’t handle this?”
“Exactly. Who’s being dramatic now?”
The boy’s face turned red as he shot back.
“Victoria is way more of a cheerleader than you.”
“Not surprising.”
Kylia responded nonchalantly.
“Guys go crazy just watching someone shake their hips. How would you even understand what being a real cheerleader is?”
The boy, lost for words, fled like a startled animal.
Sian wanted to learn Kylia’s rhetorical skills.
Other cheerleaders, not much different from Sian, even clapped for Kylia.
“I’ll nominate Kylia as the next captain candidate.”
“Thank you.”
Kylia curtsied politely, and everyone laughed heartily.
Lucy, laughing as well, dismissed the group.
“You know we have the homecoming game this Friday, right? We’ll practice every day until then. No scheduling anything else for the next week.”
Groans erupted around the room.
“We’re not even a football team.”
“But we’re cheerleaders.”
Lucy neatly concluded.
“And one more thing: don’t even try to excuse skipping practice because you haven’t picked your homecoming dress yet.”
She clapped her hands, cutting off any escape route.
“Disperse.”
Under Lucy’s command, the cheerleaders returned to their classrooms.
Despite the grueling schedule, everyone’s expressions were bright.
It’s been a while since I practiced with Janice.
Sian headed to her classroom in high spirits.
Not only had the war between Victoria and Lucy ended, but Sian also reconciled with Janice, making time seem to fly even faster.
She was even surprised by how quickly she received the DNA test results from Aaron.
“Congratulations. Now you can finally reunite with Ian, just like you wanted.”
The results clearly confirmed that the two were biologically related.
Although she already knew this, seeing it documented gave her mixed feelings. Half worried: what if my brother still doesn’t believe me? Half excited: I can finally reunite with him.
And as for Blay…
If things went as planned, Blay would soon find out that Sian is Ian’s sister.
Would he want to pursue a relationship, or would he just let it go as if nothing happened?
Sian would soon find out.
“Siana.”
“Hm?”
Aaron’s call brought Sian back to reality.
Here I am, thinking about Blay while my brother is on the back burner.
She forced a smile, hiding her thoughts. Fortunately, Aaron didn’t notice. His mind was just as complicated.
“You once said your goal was to reunite with Ian.”
“Yes.”
“After you’ve achieved that, I have something I want to tell you.”
“What is it? Just say it now.”
Sian widened her eyes, curious.
Aaron shook his head.
He knew how important Ian was to her and didn’t want to interrupt that significant moment with his own desires.
“Later.”
He postponed his confession, thinking:
I think I like you.
His feelings for Sian were exactly that. Enough to wait patiently. That was his pride and foolish stubbornness, which he only realized much later.
Friday arrived, the day of the homecoming game.
The autumn sky was clear, with occasional cool breezes.
“Even without looking, I feel like we’ll win.”
Temperature, humidity, atmosphere—everything favored Wharton School.
Unlike Sian’s cheerful tone, Janice and Kylia didn’t look as bright.
“But the opponent is Pansworth.”
“So what? Are they better than our school?”
Sian’s newcomer status showed here.
Kylia lowered her voice, aware of the visiting cheerleaders from Pansworth School accompanying their football team.
“Our skill is obviously the best, but they know it too, so every year they use underhanded tricks against us.”
“Underhanded tricks?”
Kylia made a face as if she didn’t even want to say it.
Janice continued for her.
“Instead of competing fairly, they target our key players to weaken our team. Quarterback, wide receivers, for example.”
Sian’s face went pale.
Ian is the wide receiver…!
Kylia, noticing Sian’s white face, sharpened her words.
“If anything happens to Blay, I won’t stand for it.”
“Hopefully they won’t touch Williams if they have sense.”
Janice carefully replied, still wary of Kylia.
“No guarantees. When my dad was in school, Mr. Price got seriously injured and was hospitalized.”
“Mr. Price? That’s insane!”
Sian now knew who Mr. Price was—the wealthy man who built her 10th-grade building.
If he could be seriously injured, both Blay and Ian were at risk today.
They mustn’t get hurt…
Sian watched Ian warming up on the field, in uniform and protective gear. She planned to show him the DNA test results after the game, but more than that, she just didn’t want her brother to get injured.
At that moment, as if hearing her thoughts, Ian looked back at her.
