Avery's POVI felt them watching me before I stepped onto the field.Not the usual watching. Not the way a crowd looked at a cheer squad before kickoff, half interested and half waiting for the real thing to start. This was different. The attention had an edge to it, as if the crowd were looking at me and cross-referencing something else at the same time."You ready?" Chloe asked beside me in the tunnel."Always," I told her."You do not look always," she told me. "You look like you are about to walk into a courtroom.""I look like I am about to lead a routine," I told her. "Same face. Different context."She held the look a second longer than she needed to, then the music started and we went.The field was bright and loud and the stands were full. I took my position at the front of the formation, raised my arms, and called the opening count. The squad responded the way they always did, tight and clean and together.And I performed.I performed the way I always performed when everythi
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