𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 — 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆

❝ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡  ❞

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Amanda was enjoying breakfast with her cousin, Auggie, and her Aunt Topanga when her Uncle came rushing to the dining table, "you know what today is, don't ya," he asked his wife.

"Oh, I know what today is," Topanga groaned, "how much do you dread this day?"

"This is the day I dread," he shook his head, "maybe the friend can save us!"

"Uh, what's happening," their niece asked, but was ignored.

Maya Hart came into everyone's view, a bored look on her face.

"Were you able to talk her out of it?"

"No," the blonde deadpanned.

"Then what good are you, lady," Auggie exclaimed.

"Hello," Amanda called, "very confused teen, over here," she motioned to herself.

"You'll see in three—two—one—"

"Cheerleading tryouts today!"

The family watched Riley stumble in with her uniform and pom poms.

"Ohhh," Amanda drawled, "I'm not confused anymore."

Riley smiled, "I have better control of my body now, and when my brain tells my arms and legs what to do, they try real hard," she nodded, "this is my year, guys," she got up on the couch, "give me a Q— give me a U—give me a I—N—C—Y," and with that, Riley fell behind the couch.

The family stared at the girl for a moment before shrugging and continuing their meal. Amanda knew this was going to be an interesting week.

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Amanda had always been supportive of Riley, so to show support, she followed her cousin and Maya to the gym of their middle school for tryouts.

"She's the worst one here," she heard her cousin say. Amanda was looking around and wasn't paying attention to the pair's conversation until now.

Maya scoffed, "she's the worst?"

"Samantha's the one I gotta to beat to make the team," Riley said, "I'm better than her, right?"

Just then, Samantha walked in front of and across the three girls, doing a handstand.

Amanda nodded, "yeah, sure."

"Explain to us what's the matter with you," Maya asked.

Riley waved her arms around, "I'm for your guys entertainment pleasure."

"How many years are you gonna do this to me," Maya complained, "and now Amanda."

"What am I doing to you?"

Maya sighed, "every year I have to tell you, you're good. Well you know what? You're not good. You're not as good as Samantha. You're not as good as Heather. You're not as good as any girl, with any name, or doesn't have a name, or doesn't exist, or is a rock," she ranted.

"Well, I don't like that she doesn't have a name," Riley said, "I would call her Roxie."

"Oh, boy," Mandy sighed.

"Every year, you try out. Every year, Coach Kelly tells you not to come back because she hates you."

"Coach Kelly doesn't hate me!"

"Matthews. I hate you," the three girls turned to Coach, an annoyed look on her face. Coach shook her head, "why would you come here? What are you wearing? Why would you come here?"

"This is the year I'm going to make the team," Riley told the coach.

"It's really not," Kelly denied, "you've been trying to make the team since third grade pee—wee's. And they don't let me reject anyone from third grade pee—wee's. It hurts their self esteem," she mocked.

"Then why did you get to reject me?"

"'Cause that's the year we passed the Riley Rule," Coach told her.

Riley turned to Maya and Amanda, "I have my own rule!"

The two girls gave her a smile and a thumbs up.

"How much rejection can you take," asked Coach in distress.

"Hey! LeBron James was cut from his high school basket ball team—"

"LeBron went straight to the NBA from high school."

"I knew it was something," Riley then smiled, "Coach Kelly, I am going to win you over this year."

"Stay out of sports."

"Oh, you."

Amanda grabbed the tryout flier, "'Cheerleading tryouts will span three days after school. On day one, applicants will be judged on coordination.'"

"Do I have that," Riley asked.

"No," Maya deadpanned.

"'Day two, tumbling'," Mandy read on.

"I tumble!"

"Not on purpose."

"'And if you make it to day three, we will see how you dance with the team.'"

"That I can do!"

"If you make to to day three.."

After the team did their practiced cheer, Coach Kelly blew her whistle, making the team line up into two straight lines, Riley placed herself at the front of one of the lines, "alright, ladies," Kelly started, "I've got thirteen trying out, I need twelve. Matthews, why don't you make it easy on all of us and quit right now, so we don't have to go through three days of torture."

"No, thank you."

Maya got up from her seat next to Amanda, "Riley," she motioned for the girl to come to her, "you know why nobody else is even trying out? Because she already has her team. These are the same girls since pee—wee's. These girls are the reason you don't make the team."

Riley went back into line, "may we get started please!"

"You heard her," Coach Kelly blew her whistle, "launch, fly, catch. Team launch, Jenkins fly, Matthews catch," the team got their positions except for Riley, "catch," the woman pushed the brunette into position.

Amanda looked on. She cringed when she saw her cousin let someone drop to the floor. But she cringed the most when she witnessed her cousin being thrown into the air.

"I'm gonna die!"

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Amanda was nice enough to volunteer to take Riley to the nurse's office. The nurse dropped her and Riley off at the door, "I did the best I could."

Riley was holding a huge bag of ice, and headed to her seat while Amanda watched her cousin in amusement by the door, "I'm fine. Nothing to see here, go on with your business."

"Wouldn't the ice be affective if you put in somewhere—oh I see," Maya started but then retracted her statement when she saw Riley sitting on the ice.

Amanda chuckled, now going to her seat which was behind Riley, "a bruised butt, who would've thought."

Lucas looked at Amanda, "I thought we all agreed you and Maya were supposed to talk her out of this."

"Every year, Riley tries out for cheerleading," Farkle mentioned.

"Oh, Riley," Zay groaned, "you are no cheerleader."

"That is a horrible thing to say to me, Zay."

"I meant it as a compliment."

Lucas chuckled, "back in Texas, Zay had a little incident with a cheerleader."

"It wasn't a little incident," Zay scoffed, "it was true love. But, I'm over it now."

Amanda smirked, "three—two—one."

"Vanessa!"

Maya looked at Matthews, "Matthews, you're her father. It's your job to talk her out of this."

"Thomas Edison saw the need for a new kind of light source for the home," Matthews started, "see, people relied on kerosene lanterns, and he tried a lot more than six ways to come up with an electric light without success. You know what he said?"

"I have failed," Andrew raised his voice.

"No."

"Yeah!"

"'I have not failed. I've just found ten thousand ways that will not work'," Matthews quoted.

"But, Edison finally succeeded," Farkle pointed out, "that's why we have light in here."

"Because he never gave up."

"And neither should I," Riley smiled.

"Mhm. Wait to put her back on track, Matthews," Maya raised a brow, "did you have to pick today to teach us about Edison?"

"Yeah. That's something, isn't it?"

"Okay, when we were at home, you didn't want her to do this. Nobody did," Maya reminded her teacher.

"Yeah, because as her father, I've gone through this a half a dozen times," he looks at his daughter, "and it kills me every year."

"Then what are you doing?"

"In this room, I'm your teacher."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

"You've made it to day two..."

Amanda clapped from her seat between Maya and Lucas on the bench at cheerleading tryouts. All of Riley's friends were there to support her.

"And you've got your own cheering section," Coach Kelly drawled.

"I'm just here to pick up the pieces," Maya said.

"Riley's always there for me, now it's my turn," Amanda smiled.

"I'm here because I wanna see this," Lucas said sitting next to Mandy, their knees touching.

"I'm here because I believe in Riley," Farkle contributed.

"I'm here because I haven't seen her cheerlead in a while," Andrew smirked, sneaking Riley a wink.

"I'm here because I want to show my cheerleader enemies, they have no hold over me," Zay firmly spoke.

Samantha chuckled, "hi, Zay."

"Ohhh, you know my name."

Coach Kelly picked up a bell, "I hold in my hand, a bell," she informed, "this is the Riley bell."

Riley's eyes widened, "I have my own bell."

"When you quit, and you will, you will ring this bell and this travesty will be over," Coach finished.

"I will never ring that bell!"

"Uh-huh. Day two; Tumbling. This is the day we learn what kind of control we have over our bodies."

Maya rang the bell.

"Maya!"

"I want you to live."

Coach glanced at her clipboard, "all right, ladies. Round off, backhand spring, yamashida, stick the landing."

Andrew rang the bell.

"Andrew," Riley scoffed.

"Yamashida, man!"

"All right, ladies. Show her how it's done."

After a cheerer did the stunt, Farkle rang the bell.

"Farkle!"

"Nyet!"

"Matthews," Coach drawled, waiting for the girl to fail.

Riley smiled at Coach Kelly before making her way towards the table. She grabbed something that had powder on it.

"What're you doing? That's my donut!"

The clumsy girl shrugged before she prepped and did three cartwheels, completely winded afterwards. She landed on her feet in front of Coach, breathing heavily. the woman sighed, "you ready for me now, champ?"

"Yeah," Riley answered, her breathing still labored.

"You get two attempts."

"That wasn't twice?"

"Wanna show us what you can do, or do you want to ring that bell?"

Riley sighed, looking down as she walked toward the other side of the gym. She took a shaky breath before looking at her friends, "goodbye."

"...Goodbye."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

"All you had to do was ring the bell," Amanda heard Maya say. She was currently under the covers of Riley's bed, covering for her cousin. She was instructed to not make any movement or sound until one of her friends figured it out. And that's what she was doing, "did you ring the bell? No. We rang the bell for you. Was that good enough? No. Well, I couldn't be more proud of you. You made it to day two without ringing the bell! No one expects you in school today, so, we'll see you when you're back in one piece."

"What's the matter with you," Mandy heard Farkle exclaim, "ring the bell. Ring any bell. Ring the door bell. I'll go tell Coach Kelly you rang the bell, and we can all wake up from this horrible nightmare."

"Is she alive," the girl under the covers heard Andrew ask, "did she make it through the night? Riley we're so proud of you. Is she alive?"

"Please stop. We all want you to stop," Lucas added, coming to stand next to Andrew at the side of the bed.

"Is she alive?"

"Tell her, Zay!"

"So, you guys just break into her apartment, and that's appropriate," Mandy heard Zay ask.

She heard the door open, "Riley? Are you alive?"

"No one can get an answer."

She heard her Uncle, "all of you? All of you just come in here?"

"That's what I'm saying!"

"She can't even move," Maya exclaimed, "this is on you, Matthews."

"Why's that, Maya?"

"Because you're talking outta both sides of your head. At home you tell her to quit, but at school you tell her to not give up."

"What? Her teacher and her father disagree," Topanga scoffed.

"Well, maybe it's that they both want what's best for her."

"Wait, which side do you hope she listens to," Auggie asked.

"Here? I want her to listen to her father," Matthews answered, "her father wanted to protect her. Her father wants her in this bed all day where nothing bad can happen to her. Quit, Riley. Your father doesn't want you to get hurt."

"What does her teacher want?"

Matthews shrugged, "her teacher wants the same thing everyday. He wants her to have an education. To learn about the world. To find out who she is."

"And her father doesn't want her to find out who she is?"

"No! No," Matthews exclaimed, shaking his head.

Topanga turned to Zay, who was still outside the window, "Zay, I don't blame for not wanting to be involved in this insanity."

"Thank you," he replied, "it's much worse than you think, actually."

"Why?"

Zay comes through the window, "well, I wouldn't do this without an invitation, but, uh, I was raised better than you, and apparently smarter than you— oh this could take all day."

Amanda felt her sheets being ripped off of her, she opened her eyes to see everyone staring down at her, "hey everyone," she chuckled nervously.

Zay smirked, "looks like she listened to her teacher."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Riley didn't make the team. The group of friends knew the inevitable was coming, but upon seeing Riley's face, they were devastated with her.

"Mr. Matthews," Riley called to her father during class the next day.

"Yes, Ms. Matthews."

"You got something for me," she asked, "because I'm asking my teacher. And I've had a rough couple of days."

"'I have not failed. I have just found ten thousand ways that will not work'," Matthews started, he shut the lights off in the classroom before continuing, "Thomas Edison couldn't hold a job when he was young, and no one thought he would amount to anything. Thomas Edison never made it as an inventor, until he did," he pointed at his daughter, "only you get to decide when you quit. No well intended friend, no parent who's only trying to protect you, and no teacher, who's supposed to bring out the best in you, can make you turn your back on something you're passionate about. Because a teacher who brings you to failure, who wants you to quit, who hasn't taught you anything, isn't a teacher at all."

"But my name was on the paper," Riley pointed out.

"Did you quit?"

"I couldn't ring the bell. I couldn't. It was gone."

Maya then reveals that she took the bell, "you really think anyone of us would let you ring that bell?"

"Riley," her father called, "if you let someone make you quit, no matter what position of power that person is in, if you only try nine thousand times, you just end up sitting in the dark. Do you want to sit in the dark, Riley?"

Riley smiled and proceeded to turn on the lights in the classroom. With a determined look on her face, she left the classroom.

Matthews sighed, "oh, my poor, little girl."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

edited: 27 feb 2021