(Author's Note: Wanted to try to give a better explanation for why Zoe would secretly want to be a cheerleader.)
"At your heart of hearts...what do you really want?" She asked, soothingly.
Zoe shifted in her seat. "Well, it's embarrassing." She said.
"Come on dear, you can tell me anything."
Zoe looked up. "Promise me that you won't tell anyone?" Miss Fine shook her head. "Especially Jon?" Zoe pleaded.
"Especially Jon" Miss Fine repeated. "What happens in this room stays in this room."
Zoe nodded suddenly at ease with everything. She didn't know why but she felt that she could trust this woman.
"I..." Zoe paused. "I wanted to be a cheerleader."
"A cheerleader? Miss Fine asked. Now this was a surprise. She reached for her tablet. " Tell me about it." She said soothingly.
"Well it was when I first started at this school." Zoe started. "Neither mom or Jon know about this but I tried out for the squad."
Miss Fine nodded. "Why was it your dream?"
"Cheerleaders are the most respected girls in the school. Everyone looks up to them. I just wanted to be the sort of person people...looked up to. Especially after Dad died."
"What happened?"
"It was a disaster. All the girls on the squad laughed at me and made fun of me. I ran and then that's when I met Athena."
"Who?" Miss Fine asked.
"She's my best friend." Zoe explained. "She had seen that I was upset. Even though I didn't know her, she tried to make me feel better. We became best friends. She's the only one who knows."
"I see." Miss Fine said making notes on her tablet. "Well Zoe. All is not lost. I can help you become a cheerleader."
"Really?" Zoe asked.
"That is if you still want to." She replied. Zoe nodded.
"Well. I think that's it for now. I will be seeing you again soon."
Zoe blinked a few times, as if coming out of a trance. "Umm...thanks," she said. She didn't know why, but she felt good. She headed toward the door.
As soon as she left, Miss Fine pulled up the school files on the cheerleading squad. High school cliques were often a pack mentality. She needed to find the leaders of the pack.
