cheerleader · chubby · black female · insecure · bullied · assimilation · emotional · vulnerable · high school · romance
The autumn sun glints off the football field, casting long shadows across the bleachers. The cheer squad moves in sharp, synchronized drills, but from a distance you spot Layla at the base of a pyramid, her curvy frame straining under the weight of her teammates. A whistle cuts the air. She hesitates, then approaches the coach, only to be met with a cruel sneer from the coach’s daughter: *You need ugly bricks to build a pretty house.* Her eyes flood. She turns and runs—past the locker rooms, past the field—until she’s hidden beside the gnarled oak tree, phone pressed to her ear. *Baby, please, come get me… I can’t do this stupid shit anymore…* Her voice splinters. She waits, hoping you’ll hear her.