Chelsea Matthews was exhausted. It was an early Tuesday morning and she hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep. Why? Because she had a very important cheer competition, and she had to nail every single move. She was a perfectionist that way. Chelsea was almost midway through her senior year of high school, and she was absolutely nailing it. At 18 years young, she is the captain of the cheer leading squad, an honor roll student, girlfriend to the quarterback of the football team, and is close to getting accepted into her dream college, Sunnydale University.
But that was besides the point. Chelsea's energy was almost empty, and she needed a boost fast. Walking into Jackson High, she brushed her long brown hair back, when she saw a familiar face. Michelle Stewart was Chelsea's best friend for as long as they could remember. They both had brown hair and blue eyes, and had bonded even more with their years of cheering together. And they were born on the same day.
"Chelsea, there you are! I've been looking all over for you! Oh, you look terrible--no offense." said Michelle said. "None taken. I stayed up all night trying to remember all of the moves for the competition today. I feel dead." Chelsea huffed. "Well I have something that might help with that. Let's go to the locker room." Michelle said.
Once in the locker room, Michelle opened her locker and pulled out a pack of energy drinks. The cans were half pink and half blue, and had the word "Xpect" on the front. "Xpect? what the hell is this, Michelle?" asked Chelsea. "You know how my dad works for the FDA, right? Well sometimes he gets products that don't pass inspection that he has to dispose of. He had a whole crate of them today, so I figured he wouldn't notice if a pack or two was missing." Michelle said.
"Fills you with life? Product of Yaral Industries? Are you sure this is safe?" Chelsea asked. "Please, it's an energy drink. All of them are super unhealthy." Michelle stated. "Fair enough. Shall we do this together?" Chelsea asked. Suddenly, they were interrupted, and they quickly put the two drinks into hiding.
"What are you two girls doing?" asked a strict voice. The voice belonged to Ms. Brown, a 50 something English teacher that seemed to be out to get Chelsea since she had started taking her class this year. She had never been married, and absolutely hated kids. Why she became a teacher was beyond Chelsea. "Ms. Brown, good morning. We were just getting ready for the cheer competition today. What are you doing in the locker room?" asked Chelsea.
"Hall duty, Ms. Matthews. The bigger question, I think, is what is that?" she asked, pointing to pack of Xpect. "Oh, that? Just some energy drinks..." Michelle trailed. "Energy drinks are banned from school premises, as stated in section 5 line 12. I'll be confiscating this and turning it over to Principal Howard at tonight's faculty meeting." said Ms. Brown. She picked up the drinks and walked away, giving the two girls a scowl.
Once the coast was clear, a smile grew on Michelle's face. "Good thing I brought a spare pack!" she said, pulling another case out of her locker. "All this trouble just for an energy drink, huh?" Chelsea laughed. Michelle took two cans out of the pack and opened them, handing one to Chelsea. "Bottoms up!" Michelle said, as the two took a great swig of the Xpect.
They let is settle for a minute, and then offered their opinions. "It's really sweet--" "--but really, really bitter." Chelsea finished. Suddenly, the two began to feel incredibly nauseous. They darted into separate stalls and began to vomit profusely.
While Chelsea and Michelle were emptying their stomachs in the bathroom, the rest of the cheerleaders arrived in the locker room. That included Mary, a stereotypical blonde, Zoe, a dark-skinned beauty who everyone believed would be a supermodel, Abigail, another blonde who happened to be incredibly religious, and Becky, a brown-haired, brown-eyed girl who was considered to be Chelsea's enemy.
Previously, Becky had dated Zack, the school's quarterback. They went through a rough breakup, and Zack quickly got together with Chelsea, while Becky couldn't find another boyfriend. To say that she was jealous of Chelsea was an understatement. But Zack and Chelsea were perfectly happy together. They got along great, and the two were nominated for Homecoming King and Queen, which was coming up on Friday. Becky was also nominated for Queen.
"Where are Chelsea and Michelle?" asked Zoe, looking around. "Knowing those two? Probably late." Becky scoffed. Mary looked in Michelle's open locker, and saw the Xpect. "Hey, what's this?" she asked. "Looks like some kind of energy drink. Wanna try it?" Abigail asked. The three thought it'd be a good idea. "What about you, Becky?" Zoe asked. "No thanks. Just give it to Julie, I guess." she said. Julie was their coach. She was a short, strict woman, but she really cared about the girls. Or their chance at winning the cheer competition, to be more accurate.
The girls ran into the restroom to vomit as Julie walked in, just as Michelle and Chelsea returned from their stalls. "Morning, girls. Ready for today?" she asked. "As ready as I'll ever be." Chelsea said, flashing Julie a smile. Although it wasn't really obvious, Chelsea was Julie's favorite of the group. "Where's everyone else?" Julie asked. "They all ran to the bathroom after trying this energy drink we found in Michelle's locker. Speaking of which, wanna try it?" Becky said.
"Wait, what were you all doing in my locker?" Michelle asked. "Looking for you two. We were worried sick." Becky said, as some heaving could be heard from the bathroom. "Some of us literally sick." she added. Julie snatched the can from Becky and took a sip. "That is...not good..." she mumbled, scurrying to the restroom.
"So, Chelsea, ready for the competition?" Becky asked. "Well, I stayed up all night preparing for it, so I hope so." she responded. "Good. You better not ruin this for us." she said. The ladies returned from their stalls and got their things, heading out to the bus. It was a bit of a drive, which was why they were leaving before school even started. As they walked outside, Chelsea saw Zack.
"Hey, babe. Leaving?" he asked, pulling her in for a kiss. In the background Becky watched, scowling. "Yep. Gonna be gone the whole day..." Chelsea said. "Right. Want me to stop by later tonight?" Zack asked. "I don't know. I'll probably be tired and I have to catch up on the work I'll miss today. But maybe." she said, giving him a kiss goodbye.
Chelsea got in the bus and took a seat next to Michelle, the nausea still present as they headed off.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
