She glared at me for what felt like an eternity, but I held her gaze, utterly unimpressed. Finally, with a dramatic huff, she turned on her heel and stormed back to the cheer team, ponytail swinging behind her like a metronome.
Frankie wasted no time. She plopped onto the bench beside me, crossing one leg over the other like she didn't have a care in the world.
"Don't bother with Sasha," she said casually, waving a hand toward the field. "Her mother has a thing with the prime minister, and now she thinks she's the big deal around here. Try not to let her get on your nerves, though. I don't want her dead before the competition."
I froze at her choice of words, my eyes snapping to her face for a moment. Did I hear that right?
"That's a weird choice of sentence to use, sugar," I said slowly.
She looked at me, blinking innocently. "Oh, you don't get the joke? I didn't mean literal death, though. But sorry anyway."
I didn't respond, just stared at her for a longer second before pulling my phone from my bag.
"So," I said. "Who's Fancy Nancy? The one who bought shoes from my brand?"
Frankie perked up, her lips curling into a grin. "Nancy is like, the hottest girl in school. Dates the hottest boy on the basketball team, used to be cheer captain—until we voted her out after her sex tape leaked on the school blog."
She turned her gaze back to the cheer team, watching the girls practice as if she hadn't just dropped a scandal bomb.
"She likes to make herself known wherever she goes," she continued. "I actually heard about Aura from her. She wouldn't stop bragging about buying a five-grand shoes from a luxury brand, something about 'girls helping girls' like she was doing you a favor by spending that much money."
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite myself. "So, where is she? She obviously didn't make herself known to me today."
Frankie snorted. "Right. Her suspension ends tomorrow."
I tilted my head. "Suspension?"
"She allegedly beat up some girl who called her fat and spread rumors she was pregnant," Frankie said with a shrug, like it was just another Tuesday. "And before you ask, yes, her dad's the prime minister. Same one Sasha's mom is apparently having a thing with. Both girls hate each other's guts and try to avoid crossing paths, though. They got a warning about expulsion after their last fight."
"Odd for someone whose dad is the prime minister," I muttered, tucking my phone back into my bag.
She nodded. "Yeah, the guy's known for being brutally honest. Apparently, he gave the school full permission to punish Nancy if she acts out. Guess it's his way of assuring the public he's serious about improving the country. You know, charity begins at home and all that."
I leaned back. A prime minister's daughter with a suspension record and a leaked sex tape. I had a feeling Royal Beacon High was going to be more fun than I thought.
"Seems like this school has no shortage of drama," I said dryly.
She laughed. "Oh, honey, you've barely scratched the surface."
She stared at me for a moment, her expression was thoughtful but with a glint of amusement, like she'd just come up with the most ridiculous idea. I raised an eyebrow, meeting her gaze, waiting for whatever nonsense was about to leave her mouth.
Then she said it.
"You should join the team."
I blinked once. Twice. Then I scoffed, leaning back on the bench as a sharp laugh escaped me. "I'm sorry," I said, raising my hand as if to stop her. "Do I look like someone who enjoys running around the school in a ponytail, waving pom-poms?"
She shrugged, undeterred. "Oh, come on. You look flexible, you've got the perfect body for it. I'm sure you were the captain at your last school."
I turned to her with a short, humorless smile. "I was," I admitted, shrugging slightly. "But I'm never doing that again. I have better things to do and worry about."
Like the stack of files sitting untouched in my safe, for instance.
Frankie huffed and gave me that persistent grin of hers. "Look, Sasha is the co-captain right now, and we don't have an actual captain since Fancy Nancy got voted out. If you practiced with us a few times, the girls might like you. The vote's in two weeks—you'd have a shot, I mean, you look hot enough."
I stared at her like she'd just asked me to go dumpster diving. "Frankie, I've been here for all of one day. Why on earth would I care about leading a cheer squad full of dumbos, no offense?"
She didn't answer, not directly at least. Instead, she turned her attention back to the field, where the girls had just resumed their chant.
"We are HELL'S ANGELS, mighty mighty HELL'S ANGELS!
We are HELL'S ANGELS, mighty mighty HELL'S ANGELS!"
The rhythmic shouting filled the air, the team moving in sync as they pumped their fists and stomped to the beat.
Frankie stood up, brushing invisible dust off her skirt, her grin still firmly in place.
"Think about it," she said casually, shrugging. "That'll push your academic performance out, and who knows. You might have an easy way into and ivy league university" She drawled as though to let the words sink into my head. In return I just stare at her like she's grown horns.
I didn't bother replying. The sight of Sasha's overly enthusiastic yelling was enough to make me rule out whatever absurd idea Frankie thought she could talk me into. Cheer captain? Absolutely not.
Besides, even if I wanted to run, I'd win, I know I'd win. So that wasn't something to worry about.
I leaned back further on the bench, crossing my arms, watching the girls chant like their lives depended on it. Frankie shot me a glance before gathering the girls, and helping Becky lead them into another chant.