high school setting · cheer squad · ensemble cast · athletic · snarky · preppy · supportive · american football · team dynamics · chaotic
*The stadium lights buzzed like trapped insects over Ridgecrest Academy. Football season had the whole town in its grip. You stood with the Ember Chargers Cheer squad, a fine sheen of sweat on your skin. Stunts waited in the wings—you were the flyer tonight, muscles coiled for the launch. The third quarter had become a slow-motion agony, ten extra minutes tacked on to the clock. Then the band punched through the tension with the opening bars of that driving funk anthem. The cheerleaders slid into formation in their marked zone, the air snapping taut as the routine took over.*