Free The Meltdown by L. Divine Page B

play performance tonight. I want to make it memorable because of my talent, not my stiffness.
    “Hi. I’m Jayd,” I say, introducing myself to the perky chick. Maybe I can talk some sense into her. “Are we all supposed to learn to flip like that?”
    “Nice to meet you, Jayd. And yup, you are.” Noticing mydisbelief, she walks up to me and pats my shoulder. Now I’m really not feeling her. “It’s easy, girl. Watch this,” Ellen says, bending backward like a human pretzel. Now she’s just showing off. “Trust me, Jayd. Your body can do whatever you want it to, no matter how much you weigh.” Was that a crack at my weight? Oh, no, this little pencil didn’t just go there with me. I don’t need any more help disliking her ass.
    “You’re tripping if you think I’m doing all that,” I say, my neck in full roll. Before I introduced myself, I was just irritated. Now I’m pissed as all get-out. “Call me crazy, but I could’ve sworn this was the cheer squad, not the gymnastics team.”
    “Oh, Jayd. Cheer is more than dancing and pepping the crowd with boring routines. You’ve got to work for championship trophies, girl.” She repeats the same combination, expecting me to follow suit. Is she deaf or just plain stupid? The other squad members practice their flips, none as perfect as Little Miss Texas.
    “Come on, girl. Let me see what you’ve got,” Ellen says, stepping behind me and putting her hands around my waist in an attempt to flip me backward. She’s stronger than she looks.
    “Hey, back up off me,” I say, pushing her nimble fingers away from my body. I stand up straight, turning around to face her.
    “Jayd, you can’t be afraid to jump or you’ll never fly,” Ellen says, not getting the message. She touches my waist, again attempting to force me into submission. We don’t get down like that where I’m from. What the hell is wrong with this girl?
    “Don’t push it, Ellen,” I say, grabbing her hands before she can clasp them around my stomach. She stares at me, shocked at my reaction. “I don’t need a drill sergeant.” Snatching her hands out of my strong grip, Ellen narrows herpiercing gray eyes at me. I know she thinks of herself as the cheer czar of the South, but no one has that kind of power over me.
    “Jayd, you’re at a ten and I need you at a two,” Ellen says, putting up two fingers, tempting me to break them both. The other forty girls gather around us, making it obvious to Ms. Carter, Shauna, and Alicia that something else is going on other than basic flip lessons. A few of them snicker at this broad’s attempt to clown me, but not everyone finds her amusing. There are now two teams on the squad this afternoon: team Ellen and team Jayd. I need to check her once and for all, or she’ll never get off my ass.
    “You’re about to see me at a twenty if you don’t move your fingers out of my face.” Ellen backs up, realizing I’m not playing. “I don’t know how it works in Houston, but in Cali we don’t go around touching people without their permission. That’s just asking for a beat-down.” I look into Ellen’s gray eyes and leap into her mind without any warning.
    I understand she’s intimidated by me and that she’s not used to working with black girls—Ellen should fit in perfectly here. While I’m in here, I’ll cool her down a bit. Then we’ll both get what we want.
    “Is everything all right here?” Ms. Carter asks, walking to the middle of the gym floor and breaking our bonding session. Ellen shakes her head, trying to gather her thoughts.
    “Yes, Ms. Carter. Everything’s fine,” Ellen says, confused. “I need to take five.”
    She needs to take more than that. I hope she learned her lesson the first time around. I don’t want to have to jump back into her head. It was a little too cool for me.
    “Everyone take a break,” Ms. Carter says, following Ellen toward the locker room.
    Alicia and Shauna join us, assessing the scene before