I climb through my best friend's bay window
"Come on! Get ready for the our first day as sophomores!" I groan when I hear her words
"Do I really have to?" she nods furiously
"Absolutely! Do you know how many things are gonna happen not only today but this whole year?" I sigh
"No, I don't"
"Well, to start, we're gonna try out for the cheerleading team"
"Why do I have to? You're the one who wants to get in"
"Yeah, well, I wanna get in with you or it'll be boring. So I want you to at least try this year, got it?"
"Ugh, fine, I'll try" she hugs me
"Yay! I can't wait for this year, Maya. We're finally gonna turn sixteen-Oh! We'll also get our licences!" I chuckle
"Yeah, I don't want one. I'm fine with the subway"
"Whatever, let's just go" Elliot comes in the room
"Hey Riley, I was wonderin' if you wanted me to drive you to scho-Maya, hey" I slightly smile back at him
"Hey"
"You can come too if you want" I glaze at Riley for a second before answering him
"Sure"
"Great. I-uh... I'll wait for you downstairs" he waves and walks out
"So two still haven't talked about it?" I shake my head
"Nope"
"Are you two ever gonna talk about it"
"Nope"
"Maya, you need to clarify things"
"Nope"
"Come on!"
"No, Riles. There's nothing to clarify here. I kissed your brother and almost got fully naked in front of him. No biggie" she tilts her head
"If it makes you feel better I yelled at him for one minute straight when I found that he kept it as a secret this whole time" I sigh
"Thanks Riles. It's just... things are awkward. Knowing that he saw me shirtless and kept it for himself just makes me feel... weird. What if every time he sees me he sees that drunk Maya instead?"
"He's my brother, I know him more than everyone and I definitely know that he doesn't think of you... that way"
"You think?" she nods
"Totally sure about it" I take a deep breath
"Okay then"
"Let's go" we head downstairs and get in the car
"You know, I wasn't getting any younger here" Riley rolls her eyes
"Just take us to school" he laughs and stats driving
"So? Are you trying out for something this year?" I nod
"Yeah, Riley wants us to tryout for cheerleading?"
"Seriously? Again?" She nods
"Yeah. But this time will actually try and do something"
"You will?"
"I promised her"
"And your other friends?"
"Well, I've heard that Smakle and Farkle will try to get in the Abigail Adams Society of Intellectual advancement"
"Well, I'm sure they'll get in. They're the smartest people I know" I nod
"Yeah, I'm pretty confident about them too"
"What about Lucas and Zay"
"Oh, football team obviously"
"What?!" I ask in disbelief as she covers her mouth
"Ops. I've said too much"
"Wait, why didn't tell me?" Elliot grins
"Maybe because they know how you'll try to stop them and prevent them from getting hurt"
"Is there any way they can get in without actually showing their strength?" he frowns
"This is football Maya"
"You're the team captain! Can't you do something about it?" he sighs
"I'll do my best to make sure they don't die and get in"
"Thanks, you're the best brother" he pulls over
"Okay, we're here. You can go. I'll wait for some of my friends. We gotta put some freshmen into that hole"
"You've gotta be kidding me"
"I'm not"
"Just don't be too harsh on them, okay?"
"I won't"
"Good. Bye big bro" Riley hugs him
"Bye Elliot" we both get out of the car and find the others.
"Hey" They greet us and Lucas tries to kiss me but I push him away, making him frown
"You didn't tell me you were gonna tryout for the football team" Zay laughs
"Man, you're in trouble" I glare at him
"You're in trouble too. Just because Lucas is my boyfriend doesn't mean that I wouldn't care if you'd get killed" I look at both of them
"I'm sorry but you aren't going to tryout"
"Well, I'm not you boyfriend so I don't have to obey you, right?" I glare at him and he raises his hands up in defeat
"Okay, I'll just wait until next year"
"No. You are not doing it next year, you're never doing it. Got it?" Riley rests her hand in my shoulder
"Maya. They're from Texas, they can get through this and don't get killed or hurt. Right, guys?" they nod
"Absolutely" Lucas holds my hands
"Maya. I rode Tombstone the bull and I'm still alive"
"Yeah but..." I look down
"I'll be fine. We'll be fine" I sigh
"Okay"
"Yes!" the two boys cheer
"But if I see a single bruise on any of you I'm gonna kill the whole team" Lucas chuckles and kisses my forehead
"Okay Shortstack"
"We've already been there Huckleberry, don't call me that"
"Fine"
"Are you two gonna try for something?" Smakle asks us
"Yes! Cheerleading!" my boyfriend frowns
"I thought you hated it"
"I do. But I promised her I'd do it"
"And she said she'll try her best!" everyone gasps
"Okay, I didn't say that. I said that I'd try. And I'm also trying for Art Club" the bell rings and Riley starts dragging me away
"Come on, Maya! We gotta go!" I laugh
"Just a minute, okay? I gotta say bye to Lucas" she rolls her eyes and releases my arm
"Don't take too much though"
"I won't" she walks away like the others
"I guess I'll see you in the field?" he nods and rests his hands on my waist while pouting a little bit
"Yeah, but we won't be able to talk though"
"I'm sure you'll be just fine. I'll be cheering for you, literally" we both laugh
"See you later" he says to me with a smile before starting to kiss me. Thankfully the hallways aren't crowded at all.
"I love you" I tug at the hem of his shirt
"Love you too" he smirks and decides to deepen the kiss, making me grin
"Ew!" we pull away immediately
"Elliot, what are you doing here?" I ask him
"Just finished with the freshmen" he looks at Lucas
"I've heard that you wanna tryout for the football team. Wanna come with me?"
"Sure. Bye Maya"
"Bye" he gives me a quick peck on the lips and they both walk away.

*At the cheer leading practice*

"Riley, let me just tell you that I already hate this" I say to her as soon as I see what I'm wearing
"Maya, it's just a skirt"
"People can see my underwear!"
"No, because you have short underneath it" I groan
"Okay but-"
"Maya, you promised" I cross my arms over my chest
"Fine"
"Oh, hi girls, long time no see" I can't believe it, it's Missy Bradford!
"Yeah, hi" I try to say, casually
"So, Maya, how are things with Elliot?"
"We-uhm, didn't work out. We're still great friends though"
"Oh yeah?" I nod and she looks at Riley
"What about you and Lucas?"
"We decided to stay friends"
"Oh, so does that mean-" I cut her off
"I'm his girlfriend now" my tone a lot harsher than it sounded inside my head. Missy just raises her eyebrows
"Really? Who would've though?"
"I know right?"
"Yeah, it's very rare that a guy so perfect like him falls for someone like..." she moves her glared up and down me
"You" I swear I'm gonna strangle her. Thankfully Riley's here with me to stop me in time if I decide to do anything stupid
"Anyways, it's gonna be hard for you to get in since my sister is the team captain, and I'm probably gonna be co-captain with her now. I know, shocker" she smirks and walks away
"Riley?"
"Yeah?"
"How hard have you trained for this?"
"Very, very hard! I can even do a cartwheel!" I nod
"Good, I wanna make sure she doesn't achieve her goal" she grins
"Does that mean-"
"I'll give my best" she hugs me tightly
"Yay!" the captain whistles
"Okay everybody! Obviously not everyone today is gonna make it to the team! So give your best, got it?!" I feel like this is gonna be a long day

*At the end of the tryouts*

"Okay, that's enough!" I stop. I'm giving my everything for this thing, so much that I'm actually out of breath
"We've already decided who will join the team. I remember you that there are only five spots left. Please take a step forwards when I call your names: Cecilia James, Alex Russo, Missy Bradford..." Of course her sister got in the team, ugh.
"Riley Matthews..." My best friend's jaw falls to the ground and I'm forced to push her forward. She finally made it!
"And Maya Hunter" Yes! Yes! Yes! I got in the team! Wait, this is not my goal!
"Congratulations, you're in the team. Now, for my co-captain..." she smiles proudly. I swear if she chose Missy I'm gonna quit-
"Maya Hunter" Missy and I frown, how is this possible?
"What?" she asks in disbelief
"She's my co-captain"
"But you said that I was gonna be your co-captain!"
"That was until I saw Maya, she poured her soul on this" She hugs me. Wow, those sisters are the exact opposite of each other. She's definitely the sweetest one between the two.
"Thanks"
"Don't thank me. You deserve it" Missy groans and storms away
"Well, let me introduce you to your teammates" Riley and I hold hands and follow hands and follow her
"Emma, Olivia, Ava, Isabella, Sofia, Charlotte, Mia, Harry, Amelia, Allison, Liam, Marian, Caroline, Victoria, Justin and Anna"
"You!" Holy crap, I forgot that Elliot's girlfriend was in the team, what am I going to do now?!
"Oh, you know each other?" Riley chuckles nervously
"It's kinda of a long story " Anna walks up to me
"If you think you're gonna have it easy as the co-captain then think twice. I'll make sure this is gonna be hell for you" she bumps her shoulder against mine and walks towards the football team, who must've finished their tryouts. I gotta see how Zay and Lucas are doing.
Riley and I run towards the team to find them but when we find them they're sitting on the bench and talking with... Missy and Anna, who, in my opinion, are being too touchy with him
I rush towards Lucas and immediately start checking him
"Are you okay?" he chuckles
"Yeah, just a little bit tired" I turn my head to Zay
"What about you?"
"I'm cool too. Elliot made sure we wouldn't get hurt" As he finishes the sentence Riley's brother approaches us
"Thank you, Elliot" I say after kissing his cheek and he simply shrugs
"I told you I'd make sure these two would be okay"
"Hi Elliot" He looks over at his ex
"Oh, hi Anna. What are you doing here?...With Missy?" she waves at him
"Oh, we just dropped by to say hi to the new team members" I smile widely
"Wait, you two made it?!" they nod and I hug both of them
"I'm a substitute" Zay says proudly
"And I'm a kicker!" I gasp
"Congratulations baby!" I kiss him. I'm not really doing it for affection, I'm doing mostly because I wanna show the other two girls that he's taken by me
"While I'm still captain" Elliot says with a smile and his sister hugs him
"What about you? Did you make it into the team?" he asks us and we both nod
"Are you serious?!"
"Yeah, Maya even became the co-captain!" Riley says excitedly, making Anna and Missy glare at me
"I can't believe it! Congratulations!" Lucas gives me another kiss
"Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna throw up" the two serpents finally walk away and I sigh in relief
"What's wrong?"
"Not only are they gonna be on my team, but I also have to check on you in case they wanna make a move" Lucas laughs
"Come on Maya, they weren't hitting on me"
"Dude, they were totally flirting with both of us. I think they're trying to get back at Maya" Lucas frowns
"How, Zay?"
"They know how much she cares for her friends. They know her weak point" I groan in frustration
"Now I've gotta protect all of you from those two snakes"
"Maya, we'll be just fine. Don't worry"
"Lucas?" he smiles
"Yeah?"
"Promise me to stay as far away from them as possible and if they talk to you come to me afterwards a kiss me, kiss me hard"
"You're really jealous, huh?" Elliot asks, teasing me
"Sh-Shut up. I've gotta go now for art. See you guys at Topanga's" Lucas stands up from the bench he was sitting on and hugs me
"Okay. Good luck"
"Thank you" I give him a quick peck on the lips and leave

*Hours later, at Topanga's*

"So, how did it go?" Everyone asks as soon as I come in and I chuckle
"Calm down. They told me they'd send me an email later"
"Why didn't they tell you right away?"
"Art, my dear..." I pinch Zay's cheeks
"Requires time to be analyzed"
"Okay, got it" I sit next to Riley
"So? Did you guys get in the nerds team?" Smakle and Farkle smile proudly
"Yeah. We managed to raise our IQ enough to let us get in" I smile
"I'm proud of you guys"
"Thanks"
"And we're proud of you for becoming the cheerleader's co-captain and get into the Art team"
"I still don't know if I got in Smakle" Right then my phone rings
"It's the mail!"
"Come on, open it!" Elliot shouts. I pick up my phone and read it... oh
"Tell us! What are you waiting for!"
"Maya?" Farkle asks
"...I didn't get in" I say in a whisper
"Maya, I'm so sorry" Everyone stands up but I take a few steps back
"It's fine, really. I-I just need to be alone right now" I walk away. How could that happen? Mr. Jackson told me he loved my work! I can't believe it. Why do I suck?

*The next day, at school's*

"Ms. Hart, you're late"
"Sorry, Mr. Matthews" I say sternly and take my seat. I still haven't got over that mail. My mind just refuses to believe it
"You okay, Peaches?" I slightly nod
"Yes, Riles. I'm fine" I pay attention to Mr. Matthews
"It's so easy to think, early on in your career, that you are just never going to do great things. We are surrounded by prodigies and wunderkinds and people who become style icons at a young age . But it's important to remember that in all fields, from business to entertainment to politics, there are huge  examples of people who never made it big until they were a little older. There is no reason to get on yourself for not being a huge success at an old age, just because we've been tricked into thinking that everything has to happen when you're just starting out. Can someone name me some late bloomers? Farkle? Smakle?"
"J Craig Venter, he was a teenage who just barely graduated from his high school. In his own words, he graduated courtesy only of a D- in place of the F that seemed likely in government class by writing an essay agreeing totally with his teacher's Republican views that Barry Goldwater should become president"
"He then scored high on the IQ test and eventually founded The Institute for Genomic Research, went on to found Celera to compete with the government-sponsored Human Genome Project"
"Someone else? Lucas? Zay?"
"James Harrison. He had to walk-on at Kent State, and even after proving himself there, he went undrafted because he was too small to be a defensive lineman. For years, he was bounced around among practice squads, an occasional special teams appearance, and even NFL Europe" Zay continues
"It wasn't until Mike Tomlin became head coach of the Steelers in 2007, a full five years after Harrison went undrafted that he got an honest shot. With that opportunity, all Harrison did was go to five straight Pro Bowls and win Defensive Player of the Year in 2008"
"Good job. What does this mean? Riley" she looks at me for a brief second
"Never give up. Keep trying. Your day will come" he nods
"I've heard you all tried to join an activity or a team in school and I just wanna say that I'm proud of all of you, even you, Maya" I look away from him
"I didn't even get in, Matthews"
"It doesn't matter. You tried and gave your best. That's what matters. Your day will come, I promise" he sighs when he notices that I'm not gonna reply to him
"Grandma Moses! She worked on a farm most of her life. She only started painting in her late seventies after she retired from her farming duties. At the start of her career, Grandma Moses entered some of her paintings into her local county fair, but they did not win any prizes.  Her work was discovered by art collector, Louis Caldor, when found her paintings for sale at the local drug store. Caldor worked on her behalf to get her work displayed in museums and galleries. At the end she enjoyed over twenty years of painting success and became folk art sensation. She painted up until her death at 101 years old. You know what her favorite quote was?" I look up at him and he smiles
"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be" the bell rings and we all stand up to head to art class
"Maya, maybe my father is right. You're just a late bloomer and need a little bit of time before the world recognizes your talent after you'll perfection your art" I sigh
"Yeah, maybe you're right" I start picking up a canvas and start drawing what I'm feeling
"You know a funny thing?"
"What?"
"I middle school I refused to show my art and now I'm all mad about the fact that nobody recognizes my talent. Am I getting too conceited?" she shakes her head
"You're just becoming more confident"
"Is that a good thing?" she nods
"Absolutely"
"Ms. Hart-" I immediately cut Mr. Jackson off
"Why didn't I make it into the club? What was wrong in my drawing? You told me you licked it, you even told me it was the best one" I must've caught him off guard because he just stares at me for a few seconds, very confused
"What are you talking about?"
"The mail you sent me yesterday"
"What?"
"It said that I got rejected" his eyes widen
"That must've been a mistake! Of course you're in Ms. Hart. Maybe I switched it with Ms. Jones"
"You mean Anna Jones?" he nods
"I'm sorry, my bad" he pats my back and checks his phone
"You got in!" I'd love to cheer with her but now I can only think about Anna. Now she has another reason to get revenge over me. What am I gonna do now?