A month passed by and, to Vanessa’s disappointment, more and more people started to drop out of the resolution. She shouldn’t have been surprised—lots of people give up their resolutions, after all—but with this one being more obvious than most, she had hoped that more people would stick with it.
Jonchelle had sensed that Vanessa was feeling sad; as more of their fellow students dropped out, that sadness grew, and Jonchelle wanted to cheer her up so she asked Vanessa out on another date. This surprised Vanessa because, although Vanessa wanted to progress their relationship, Jonchelle was a little more hesitant, preferring to take things slow. When she asked about this, Jonchelle simply replied that she wanted to cheer her up.
Things took an even more surprising turn when, after hearing about their upcoming date, Ryan suggested that they made it a double date with him and Grace. Since their little outing at the mall, the foursome had become firm friends and were even hanging out more.
Jonchelle stood there staring at her open locker as Vanessa arrived.
“Hey girl!” she greeted Jonchelle cheerily, dropping her handbag on the bench beside her and opening her locker.
“Hey Nessa,” Jonchelle mumbled, still staring at the locker. She gulped.
Vanessa glanced at her and then frowned. “You okay? Ready for the big game?” Tonight was their very first game as Lake Point High cheerleaders.
Jonchelle shook her head.
“Hey now, Chelle. Don’t be nervous, we’re going to do great.” Vanessa pulled Jonchelle in close, gently rubbing her shoulder as they sat down.
Jonchelle nodded gently, sniffling a little. “I know, and I should be excited, it’s just that...I’ve never done anything like this before. Even as a boy, what if I make a fool of myself?” she asked, looking at Vanessa. Vanessa smiled and continued rubbing Jonchelle gently.
“You won’t make a fool of yourself. Look at how hard you’ve worked to get this far, even though we had the help from the wishing stone. All those practice sessions, even those extra sessions with Ryan... They’ve all led up to this.”
Jonchelle sighed, still unconvinced.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, doing spiritline.” She looked around the room, glancing at the other girls who were already busy getting ready. “What if we’re not as good as the regular girls?” She nodded in the direction of Melissa Smith, who had recently been allowed back on the squad after dropping out of the resolution.
Vanessa followed Jonchelle’s glance and then looked back at her girlfriend.
“Look, I know that they’re letting girls back on the squad—look at how many rejoined in the last few weeks—but the thing is, Chelle… With all those regular girls back on the squad, we are still here. That must count for something right? That we are just as good as, if not better, than those girls. I mean, Coach named you cheer captain, and that was after Melissa came back so I don’t think that you need to worry about that.”
Jonchelle nodded, wiped her nose and gave Vanessa a big hug. “Thanks, Nessa. You always know what to say. I love you.”
Vanessa beamed at Jonchelle as they broke the hug. “I love you too. Now get moving, I can’t wait to see that ass in that skirt.”
Jonchelle blushed and giggled as she stood up feeling a new wave of confidence flow through her.
