Free Spilled Milk: Based on a true story by K.L Randis

didn’t
shave my legs for two days.
    “Why not shave
your legs?” Mom rounded the corner of the school and came to a stop.
    “I don’t know.
Sonia said it was something they checked though. She told me not to put lotion
on my legs either.” I ran my hands across the stubble.
    “Okay well,
you’ll call when you’re done?”
    “Yea, Carmen
has a cell phone. I’ll call.” I kissed her on the cheek and grabbed my water
bottle and gym bag.
    Sonia and
Carmen were already inside. “There are so many girls here,” said Sonia,
scanning the lobby outside the gymnasium. The sea of girls sprawled all over
the floor stretching and chatting was a little intimidating. At eleven o’clock
sharp, a bulky red faced woman opened the gym doors.
    “Attention,
girls.” The lobby fell quiet. “I’m coach McDade. It’s going to be a long day,
so listen carefully. Girls will be put into groups of ten and assigned a team
captain who is already a member of our cheerleading team. They will teach you
two cheers, a dance, and how to do three kinds of jumps.” She paused to eye
some larger girls sitting on the wall. “Cheerleading is strenuous; make no
mistake that you will be pushed both physically and mentally today. You will
ache in places you never thought possible.”
    Several of the
team captains standing at her side smiled and whispered to each other. “With
that being said, our fall football season only has twelve openings. Six for the
junior varsity team and six for the varsity team. Auditions will take place
today at four o’clock sharp. Good luck to all of you.”
    A team captain
with bright yellow hair stepped forward as the coach turned and disappeared
into the gym. “All right girls, when I call your name, step forward and follow
your team captain.”
    Carmen and I
were put into the same group with a team captain named Lucille and Sonia wound
up with the bright yellow haired team captain. The groups dispersed and found
quiet spots for each team to practice.
    Our team
captain bellowed out commands over the next several hours. We jumped rope and
ran in place. Lucille taught us toe touches, X-jumps, and hurdler jumps. When
it seemed my calves would explode we moved onto learning the dance routine. It
was only a two minute soundtrack, but with everything else we had to learn it
only left an hour of practice to learn the entire fast paced routine.
    Sweat dripped
from my forehead and Carmen looked like she was ready to call it quits.
Finally, the team captains rallied all the groups together in the lobby and by
four o’clock the first group of girls was lead into the gym. There were five
teams in all, and everyone looked exhausted. My team was the last to be called
inside.
    Lucille led us
into the gymnasium and we were called in pairs to stand in front of Coach
McDade and three other staff members I didn’t know. The first two girls to
tryout were last season’s football cheerleaders. They finished their jumps
perfectly and nailed every section of the dance routine.
    The next two
girls went and it seemed like the coach and staff didn’t even pay attention to
any girls that weren’t already cheerleaders. Carmen was up next, along with a
red haired eleventh grader. She struggled through her jumps but she picked up
most of the dance routine and finished her tryout with a smile. She winked at
me as she slipped through the gym doors to wait for me outside.
    “Brooke Nolan
and Chrissy Stires. You’re up.”
    I took my place
in front of the Coach and flashed my biggest smile. I was sure I probably looked
like an idiot.
    “Brooke Nolan.
Have you ever tried out before?”
    “No, I
haven’t.” My throat tightened after realizing I just gave her permission to not
watch a thing I did for the next two minutes.
    “Okay girls,
first, toe touch.”
    I clasped both
hands together, then up over my head as I swung my hands around and left the
ground. When I landed I saw one of the staff members nudge the person next to
her to look