Chapter 1: Forced To Join The Cheer Squad.

Lila.

The whistle blew, sharp and final, and the crowd roared.

The hockey team had scored the last point, and the energy in the field was explosive.

Students shot up from the bleachers, clapping, shouting, high-fiving each other.

Everyone seemed to belong.

Everyone except me...

I pulled my bag a little bit closer to my side and pushed myself to my feet. The game had been fun to watch, sure… but sitting alone while the others laughed in their groups and gangs made the noise feel emptier, like I was an intruder at someone else’s home.

Maybe that was my fault, but then… it was safer this way.

I slowly moved towards the exit with my head down as I tried my best to act invisible as much as I could when the air around me shifted. A collective gasp rippled loudly through the field.

And I turned… just in time to see the hockey ball flying towards me. Fast…. Too fast.

My body immediately reacted before my brain could register my next move. A sharp sidestep, a half-turn, my hand brushing the air as the ball grazed past.

My feet stumbled into a spin, and somehow I landed in a crouch, balanced and unhurt.

The ball slammed into the bleachers with a loud thunk.

For a moment, silence.

Then…

“Whoa! That was amazing” someone from the hockey team shouted.

A rush of heat spread through my chest as I straightened, my pulse thundering. Relief… yes, for avoiding a major disaster but it wasn’t just relief I felt.

I was feeling something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Excitement.

Until I realized something was wrong..

The crowd.

Every single one of them was staring at me while some whispered while staring at me.

“Oh no” I muttered underneath my breath as my skin prickled under the weight of their stares. Creepy, suffocating. My chest tightened... I hadn’t wanted attention, especially not like this.

Then just like that their attention shifted back to the handsome players on the field giving me enough time to bolt out of there but just as I was about to move…

“New student!” a voice boomed.

I quickly spun around and found Mr. Leo, my gym teacher, running towards me with an expression of pure awe as if I’d just scored the winning point.

“That was incredible, the little stunt you pulled off…” he said, grinning wide.

I blinked at him, stunned. Was he serious?

My gaze flicked to the ball, then back at the people that had stared at me. Oh…. Thats why they were staring, they thought I’d done something… impressive.

My stomach knotted. For a second I’d thought I was in trouble, that I’d broken some unspoken school rule. My aunt’s warning rang in my ears: “Keep a low profile. Keep your head down. One mistake, and you’re back home.”

“Sir, you’re exaggerating,” I said quickly, forcing a nervous smile. “It was just.. instinct. I was just trying to protect myself from getting hit… that’s all”

He waved me off. “Instinct like that doesn’t come from nowhere. You’ve got talent, kid. Come let me show you something you’d like”

The words punched the air out of me. “Talent?”

My pulse immediately spiked. This was bad... The last thing I needed was more eyes on me.

“Don’t be scared.. I don’t bite.” He beckoned sharply.

I shook my head, but he was already motioning the cheer squad forward. And a wave of perfectly polished beautiful girls in matching skirts turned, their eyes narrowing as they followed his gesture.

My stomach flipped. This was bad. Very, very bad.

“Yes Coach?” A blonde haired girl called out as she stood at their front, arms folded as she stared at me, her eyes scanning me from up to down then back up again with a frown sharp enough to cut through glass.

“This is…” Mr. Leo squinted at the attendance sheet in his hand before star. “One of the new students…. I feel she’s exactly the kind of energy this team needs.”

“Okay coach” The blonde girl spoke as she flashed him a sweet smile but the moment her gaze landed back on me I felt a kind of chill crawl through my skin “I’m Brielle, cheer captain. Tryouts are tomorrow… be sure to be there new girl”

Laughter rippled through the squad, though it wasn’t the friendly kind. Someone muttered, “She won’t last five minutes.”

Another whispered loud enough for me to hear, “Are we that desperate.”

“Brielle.. you’re not serious, are you?” A brunette haired girl slowly tugged at her.

Brielle’s glare landed on me like a dart, her lips curling into something between a sneer and a promise.

“I… ” My voice faltered. I wanted to refuse. I wanted to vanish. But Mr. Leo’s expectant smile and the weight of so many eyes pinned me in place.

“I’ll… think about it,” I finally managed.

“Good.” He clapped me on the shoulder. Too firm. Too final. “See you there.”

The squad dispersed with giggles and sideways glances, their whispers following me as I stumbled back toward the exit. My notebook trembled in my hand, useless as a shield.

What had I just agreed to? Aunt Margaret would skin me alive if she ever found out. Blending in was my only rule, my only chance at safety. And yet… beneath the fear, a traitorous spark flickered. The thrill of being noticed. Of being wanted.

I pushed the thought down hard and quickened my pace, desperate to escape the gym.

That’s when I felt it.

A stare… Heavy and unyielding.

I turned sharply, scanning the bleachers. For a breath, I swore I caught a pair of eyes watching me intense, unreadable, like they could see through the walls I’d built around myself.

But when I looked closely I couldn’t find anyone staring at me as all eyes were fixed on the hockey game.

So why?