The Storms

Chapter fifteen

"Okay, is Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice?" Brielle asked Aylee. The two were sitting in the library, studying for their English test on the book Pride and Prejudice.

"Um, both," Aylee answered in an unsure voice.

"No. Elizabeth is prejudiced in Pride and Prejudice because, like Darcy, she carries a set of assumptions about how wealth shapes one's character. When she meets Mr. Darcy, she dismisses him because of his wealth, assuming he must be prideful and shallow," Brielle explained.

"You sound like Ms. Ross," Aylee remarked. Ms. Ross was their English teacher, known for her impactful teaching style but with a somewhat intimidating tone.

"Okay, now let's retry," Brielle suggested. "Is Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice?"

"Elizabeth is prejudiced in Pride and Prejudice because, like Darcy, she carries a set of assumptions about how wealth shapes one's character. When she meets Mr. Darcy, she dismisses him because of his wealth, assuming he must be prideful and shallow," Aylee repeated.

"Amazing, word for word. Now we can take a break. We can study geography next," said Brielle as she looked at her planner. She was meticulous about keeping track of assignments and tests, using red pen for tests.

"Can we stop studying? Not all of us are geniuses, Bri," Aylee said, placing her head down on the table. Brielle smiled at this and agreed, reminding Aylee that they had cheer practice, as their game was that night.

The duo linked arms and made their way down the hallway, where they encountered Megan in the second team uniform, making fun of a girl. Brielle confronted Megan, and Aylee followed her lead.

"Hey Megan," Brielle said in the sweetest voice she could muster. Megan stopped picking on the poor girl and turned around.

"You took my place on the main cheer squad," said Megan, eyeing Brielle's uniform.

"So what? Why are you picking on this poor girl?" Brielle asked. "Why don't you come with me, dear?" Brielle said, holding out her hand. The girl came forward and took her hand.

"You will pay for this," Megan said.

"I would like to see you try. I can beat your ass and paint my nails," Brielle said, walking away with the girl and Aylee.

They sat on a bench a little down the hall.

"Are you okay?" Aylee asked the girl.

"Um, yeah," the girl, Olga, said in a quiet voice.

"My name is Brielle, and this is Aylee. What is your name?" Brielle asked.

"Olga," the girl said. "I know it's an old lady name."

"No, I think it's beautiful," Brielle said. "But since you don't like it, do you have a nickname we could call you?"

"Um, Lola. That's my middle name," she said.

"Okay, Lola, how would you feel about having two friends?" asked Brielle.

"I would love that," Lola said.

"Okay, well, I'm Brielle. You can call me Bri. This is Aylee," said Brielle.

"I know. I'm in the marching band," said Lola.

"Great! You can come get ready with us for the game," Brielle said. Lola smiled at this, and Aylee did too. Their duo was now a trio.

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"Lets go knights. You can do it, just put your mind to it," the cheerleader chanted out.

Brielle was in the second row with Aylee behind her. They had gotten ready at school, with Brielle doing Lola's hair. Lola turned out to play the clarinet, and Aylee joked that it made her look like Squidward. Brielle didn't get this joke, so they decided to watch SpongeBob.

The cheerleaders finished their chant and turned around, placing their hands behind their backs. The quarterback scored another touchdown, making the crowd cheer.

Picking up their pom-poms, the cheerleaders waited for the band. The drum major blew the whistle, and the touchdown song came on. The cheerleaders started their dance, turning the chant into a melodic song.

"We just got a touchdown. We just got a touchdown. Oh yeah," they sang, repeating it twice.

Once they were done, they turned back around. Brielle checked the clock; it was almost halftime, just about 30 more seconds. Good, because she was hungry.

When the buzzer went off, she looked at Haley, who nodded for her to go and then turned around to go get Johnathan.

Brielle grabbed her wallet and phone, then waited for Aylee, putting on her jacket as she felt a little chilly.

"Hey Bri," said Aylee, stopping in front of her with Blake coming up and settling beside her.

"Is it okay if I hang out with Blake for halftime? He said he wanted to get me hot chocolate," Aylee asked.

Brielle looked up at Blake, who had a nervous look on his face. She then looked back down at Aylee. "Yeah, of course it is," said Brielle, giving Blake a teasing look.

She walked off with a smirk. She was definitely going to tease him about this later. Brielle soon felt her phone buzz, and she checked it. It was a text from Theo, who had started at their school on Monday.

"Hey Elle, just wanted to say that I came to watch you cheer but had to come home because, well, I'm tired. I hope you had the most fun at your game and a good night's rest whenever you see this. -Theo"

Brielle smiled at this and decided to respond later.

"Hey princess," she heard Francis shout. Brielle stopped and looked for him, seeing him on her right.

"Hey Franny," she said back.

"So where's your other half?" asked Francis. As usual, he draped his arm around her shoulder.

"Hanging out with Aylee," Brielle stated.

"Oh, I see. So I get you all to myself," Francis stated.

"No, and also cheese fries," said Brielle, starting to walk.

"Great, I love cheese fries," Francis said.

Brielle laughed at this.