Two dozen voices called out the final chant, dissolving into loud cheers at the end. Juniper fell back into her seat once the last excited laugh quieted. They were loud but it was to be expected of a bus full of cheerleaders coming back from cheer camp. There were laughing girls and boys all between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five on their way back to their drop off location.

They'd been away the entire summer going over stunts and team building and all that. Juniper had gone almost every year since the ninth grade and once to junior cheer camp in elementary. One day she'd be cheering for professional games.

Across the aisle her best friend, Gigi popped an overly large bubble, the pink gum stretched nearly translucent in front of her. She met Juniper's eyes and winked. Somehow Gigi was the only one of them who ever dared to chew gum when it was number three on the list of do nots for their trip.

Juniper turned her face back to the window as the university campus came into view. The spacious grounds looked like a city in and of itself. Just behind it and out of sight were the athletic fields where she spent most of her time. Anything outside was preferable to the tiny sterile rooms they'd shoved them in throughout highschool. The hard plastic seats, graffiti covered desks, boys who hadn't figured out moderation when it comes to body spray.

The bus squeaked to a halt, the brakes screeching. They filed off in one of the most orderly lines the driver was likely to see until next year's camp. This was Juniper's last time attending as a camper. She'd been offered a spot as a counselor but the idea of losing her summers as a free adult had given her pause.

Several of the other cheerleaders grabbed their things and headed directly for the dorms or cars of family members.

Gigi wrapped an arm around Juniper's shoulders and shook her. "Coffee, Juni?"

"Nah, I'm ready for a nap," Juniper said. She wrapped her arm around the other girl's waist as they shuffled towards Gigi's dorm building. "Meet you for a run in the morning?"

"A run? Juni we just got back. I need at least two days to remember how to sleep in my own bed," Gigi whined. She sagged against Juniper, throwing almost all of her weight onto her. It wasn't the weight that made Juniper's knees almost buckle, but the half a foot more of height that she had.

Juniper locked her legs into place trying to support her. In the end she shoved her hard and forced Gigi to hold herself up. "I hate it when you do that."

"You love it," Gigi argued, kissing her cheek quickly. "You enjoy your run in the morning and come see me after. We can go for lunch."

"Fine, lunch it is," Juniper finally relented. She watched the tall brunette race across the street after a few hurried looks to either side. She turned away and wandered deeper into the school.

A few other cheerleaders had chosen to hide out around campus, either waiting for rides home or just delaying the return to their rooms and the finality of the semester's start tomorrow.

The student store was open and Juniper dug into her bag for the last of the cash she'd brought with her. She eagerly dug into the bag of heavily spiced chips as she walked back towards the side gate. They were a guilty pleasure she'd given up for the summer to make sure she excelled in camp activities. That had kept her on a careful diet or portion controlled high protein meals.

Up ahead she heard the voice of the dean coming closer and closer. Juniper froze in that way all teens do when authority approaches even when they've done nothing wrong. She tried to duck down a side hall but he spotted her and immediately waved her over.

"Miss Rowe, are you all back already?" he asked, his voice the same booming noise from the daily announcements Juniper had heard so often thanks to her family's close relationship with the university. People tended to remember the Rowes and their generous donations.

"That's right, Mister Brewer. We just got back maybe twenty minutes ago," Juniper answered, keeping her red dust stained hands behind her back.

"Juniper is one of our highest performing students and co-captain of the cheer team," Principal Brewer announced proudly as if he were personally responsible for her success.

It took effort for Juniper to keep her face the calm picture of poise while she wondered how fast she could walk and whether the principal would be able to keep up with her. When she clued back into the conversation she found she'd been introduced as a guide to the school. Juniper bit the inside of her cheek to keep quiet.

"Juniper will give Sherman a good idea of where everything is while we finish up the paperwork," Principal Brewer said, gesturing to the man standing to his left to follow him back to his office. "We won't be long, thirty minutes should do the trick."

They were walking away before Juniper could even come up with an excuse not to. She turned very slowly on her heel to face whoever Sherman was. Her eyes widened almost imperceptively.

Sherman was a tall boy with nicely combed dark hair, so dark she would have sworn it was black. There was almost something unnatural about it. She didn't need to crane her neck to look up at him but he definitely could have given Gigi a run for her money. The graphic t-shirt was snug across his chest but there wasn't that steroid look to him.

He waved a hand nervously, pushing up his glasses with his other hand. "Guess you're stuck with me for a half hour. What's behind your back?"

That was when Juniper remembered the half-eaten bag of chips behind her back. Slowly she held out the bag invitingly. "I had to have a few before my tastebuds officially died. You want some?"

"Nah, not my thing. Where'd you get them?"

"Student store. Here' I'll show you," Juniper said, already turning to walk back the way she'd come. Their footsteps echoed off the hallway walls on the way there. His longer legs gave him an advantage on speed and she had to take almost double the amount of steps to keep up. "Transfering in?"

"Duh," Sherman answered. The smile he shot her tempered the sarcastic tone. "Better curriculum for my major. Political science."

"Seriously?" Juniper asked. She grimaced when he nodded. "What kind of job do you even get with that?"

"Political ones," Sherman said. His voice sounded calm, almost devoid of emotion. At the window he paid for a bag of cool ranch chips and a bottle of something red and probably full of more sugar than anyone needed. They started walking again while Juniper pointed out everything and anything she could think would be worth showing.

Sherman made her pause in front of the computer lab. "You game?"

"Depends on what you mean by gaming. I go to games," Juniper said, balling up her empty chip bag to drop into a trash can.

"Are you a smartass everyday or am I just special?" Sherman asked. He licked at the cool ranch dust coating his forefinger.

For just a second, Juniper forgot her train of thought. It came slamming back hard enough to make her cough on air. "You're definitely not special."

"You are so much kinder than I thought you would be," he said. "Now seriously, do you game? Computer, console, apps?"

"I used to play the Sims, but that was ages ago," she finally answered after some thought.

"So what you're saying is, I should avoid being alone with you by a pool," Sherman teased.

Juniper shook her head, using a water fountain to wash the last of the red dust off her fingers. "I never did that. Now the basements...that's a whole other story."