"Okay," Sarah said, looking around at the gathered girls. Her team, according to Ms. Holloway. The ones that fate had apparently chosen for her. The ones that she, unknowingly or not, had forced into lives they had never wanted. "I figured the best place to start was, well, what Trinity brought up. She mentioned her dad's business."
"Yeah, apparently your dad bought into my old man's business, saved him a lot of hassle and made life a hell of a lot easier," Trinity said. It was when the girl was being her gruffest that Sarah could see flashes of the old her. Trevor. She hadn't interacted with him all that often, preferring to just pretend he didn't exist. He had been a troublemaker, ditching class, smoking in the bathroom, living up to way too many stereotypes. Her memories of Trinity painted her in a different light entirely. Still a bit standoffish, but not... that.
Sarah nodded. "Right. That got me thinking, and I looked into it. Partly online, partly digging through my parents stuff to find yearbooks and everything. Because my dad buys into businesses a lot, but why your father's?" Sarah grabbed a book she had left by her chair and opened it to a picture. "My dad's high school yearbook." The picture was incidental. They hadn't been in clubs together or anything. But one picture of a dance showed them together. Her father along with Trinity, Nadine, Jade, and Delia's fathers. Another book, her mother's photo album. One picture showed her mother alongside Jen's, Karyn's, Jade's, and Randi's. "Our parents were friends. From high school, or college. They all knew each other, they were close. So if your dad was having problems with his business..."
"Your dad was just kind enough to throw money his way?"
"Well, I don't think it was just a gift. My understanding is he took partial ownership, right? He would have needed to justify the spending, and probably didn't want to mix friendship and business too much, but..."
"My parents always worked for one of your parents companies," Jade said. She had maybe changed the least. Still quiet, thinking long and hard before speaking. She had seen it when some of the football players had picked on Jay. He would sit there, struggling to come up with something to say, and if you watched after the players walked away, you could see the moment the words came to him. The disappointment as he failed to speak. "They work more now. And they network."
"My father has never been afraid to give people a position in his companies if they're competent, and he tends to expect a lot from people. Even friends and family. That could explain that."
Jade seemed to take that in, digesting for a moment before nodding. Even with her new memories, Sarah didn't know the Duncan's all that well. Not aside from Jade, at least.
"And I..." Delia paused, seeming unsure she should speak. "My dad wasn't around, before. He is now. I don't know... He doesn't work for your dad, I don't think."
Sarah looked at her for a moment, swallowing hard. She... didn't know this one, and that concerned her. If she couldn't provide clear answers here would they leave? Shut her down, refuse to join the team, refuse to speak to her? "I'm not sure..." she admitted. Derek was another face she hadn't really known. He had been a presence, someone she was aware of . Jokes were made at his expense, but she hadn't really interacted with him. "Maybe it was just them being friends? I guess it's also possible... my father doesn't just run his business, but knows other business owners. Maybe he made a recommendation or something? So if it was work related..."
Delia shrugged, looking as lost as Sarah felt. Why was this so hard? Why couldn't some other people have been picked? People who would be happy to have their lives changed. All girls, for one. Sarah looked at Nadine, who was silent. She just sat there, holding the cross that hung around her neck. Randi's leg bounced, her eyes mainly on the ground. Randi was the closest to a friend from before this change. He had hung around at lunch, been at the parties. He hadn't been in the main group of friends, but... he had been a familiar face. A friendly face.
And then there was Jen and Karyn. Two of her targets before. She had been awful to them, to Karyn in particular. And despite that, they had been chosen. Expected to be a team, to be friends. They had helped her set up here. She couldn't understand it, really. Not if they were still them. Unless the magic was really working, and if it was...
"We need to talk about what's going to happen tomorrow," Jen said. "Ms. Holloway expects answers from us."
Sarah's heart dropped as the conversation veered that way. Trinity had been quick to say she wouldn't join. She glanced at the goth girl and waited for her to speak up.
"I was thinking about that," Jade said, surprising Sarah. "Sarah, does the cheer team even do anything at this point in the year? I mean, we're all a couple of months from graduating so I'm a bit lost on why she even wanted to recruit a new team at this point."
"There's a competition next month," Sarah said. "That was going to be our last thing as a team. It's a national competition, so it could have earned us scholarships and attention."
Jade leaned forward, nodding. "Okay, that at least answers that. That being said... what happens if we refuse?"
"I'm not sure," Sarah said. "Ms. Holloway just said that fate would pick the new squad, that things would work out."
"You think she'd really let us walk away?" Trinity asked. "She said she could rewrite us right at the beginning. I'm willing to bet she pulls that shit if we try to say no. Might only take one to scare the others into shape, right?"
Sarah wanted to say that wouldn't happen, that Ms. Holloway wouldn't do that. Could she say that and believe it, though?
"Maybe we can use that?" Jen asked. "Tell her we'll see through the competition and ask her to turn us back after?"
Sarah could feel her chest tighten. They still wanted to go back. Why had Ms. Holloway given them just one weekend if it wouldn't work that quickly? She had told Sarah to trust, to let the magic do it's work. Could she trust her when things had gone so... wrong? Would things work out? Or would she find herself alone again in a month?
"Yeah, we can talk to her," Sarah said. "That... might work. If she wanted the team for that."
The other girls talked it over and came to the decision that that would be their approach. Sarah looked at each of them, each girl who was supposed to be her friend now, until her eyes settled on Delia.
"So... swimming now?" Delia asked. "I mean, we are all here, right?"
Sarah smiled and nodded. "Yeah, of course. If people want to swim still, we can."
Delia stood up, heading toward the pool house to change. The others stood and made their way over there to wait for their chances. Sarah let out a slow breath. At least she would have today to remember if everything went horribly.
