𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴 .

            ❝ 𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭. ❞ 

“i’m supposed to be switzerland!” the distress in her voice is almost laughable; this is far from a dire topic of conversation, and yet she feels like one false move could drop a bomb over their heads. where jess busies her hands with her hair, ashley picks at a loose thread hanging from the bottom of her shirt. “i know you’re adorable, and i know she’s smart. i just don’t know why i have to pick someone– it’s not like i’m mike,” she huffs, falls back against her chair. “you do know my opinion has never impacted anything, right? wouldn’t this speech work better on sam? at least her opinion is, like, relevant.”

          𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘵. imagine how easy life would be if everyone just did what she wanted. jess glances at ashley forgivingly, but crosses her arms. ❝ I’m telling you, ash, you’re gonna want to be on my side, because as far as emily cares, if you’re not with her, you’re against her. she’s like, some kind of viper! or snake! ❞ was someone planning on telling her those were the same thing? no? ❝ me? I’m cheer captain! ” she emphasizes this, as if it’s meant to mean something to ashley. “ I know all about teamwork. ❞

of course, it didn’t help that she was a flyer, so most of the attention landed on her. still, with her assets bouncing every which way, let’s be real: the attention would have been on her from the start. but that doesn’t mean she’s not a team player! 

            ❝ 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘴𝘩. and let me tell you, you’re not gonna wanna be on emily’s. just think of all the times I was there for you! emily’s a total phony. she might be smart and all, but at the end of the day she thinks she’s better than everyone else and she’ll never pass up a chance to remind you. me? I’m adorable. ask anyone. ❞

she plays with her freshly highlighted braids, pretending to pick at a split end. ❝ it just makes more sense. you know? ❞