The scale had to be broken. Jon stepped off, and then back on again. The needle was reading that he had lost weight, but anyone could see, given a good look, that he had put on a few pounds in noticeable places. He stepped off and moved to the mirror. The daily workouts had vaporized away any fat he might have carried in his stomach, but strangely, it was doing nothing for his chest, or his butt, which seemed to have gotten bigger since the last time he checked a few days ago.
Brittany-Lynne warned him this might happen. When dancers and cheerleaders grow up, she said, they often start to develop in ways that make them more exciting to look at. It was a rite of passage that Jon should be thrilled about, but doing the mental gymnastics was easier said than done, even if it did make sense conceptually. He was becoming a professional cheerleader, so he was developing like one. Duh. It didn’t take a Sarah McMillan to figure that one out. So why did such a natural thing seem eerie? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, as he pulled on his Career Center-issued cami and matching sleep shorts, admiring the cute lace pattern around the legs. Maybe it was because there was really no un developing. Once the changes ran their course, he'd always look the part of a pro cheerleader. For the rest of his life. He was specializing, which wasn't the easiest thing for a high schooler to rationalize, even if all his peers who had cheered before him had gone through the same transition. At some point, even LeBron had to choose basketball over his other sports, right? He'd have to think about that soon, but first, he had to finish up tonight's homework.
According to Brittany Lynne, the most important stunt in a cheerleader’s repertoire was a megawatt smile. All the drills and practices meant nothing if they couldn’t nail a good facial. So tonight, Jon was smiling. At the mirror, at himself. It only sounded easy - he had been in the bathroom for over an hour and a half but was starting to get it down. Mouthing vowels. He learned how his face lit up when he mouthed "A," "E," "I," "O," "U," Y." "Go Lancers." He grinned for maybe the sixtieth time tonight, held it for a beat, and released. Done!
Jon flashed one more for good measure, flipped off the light on his way out, and nearly bowled over Zoe, who was standing behind the door.
"Zoe, have you been watching me this WHOLE time?"
