This Was a Home Once & Other Stories

glitter on the floor

It's been ten years, but when I see Ashley walking down the school hallway with her hair cut in a perfect fade and that suit, oh, gosh, that suit—black, with shiny lapels and a sheer black shirt underneath, it traces her curves like a lover. She looks as fit as she did in our cheer days. Rainbows wink from the ankles of her white sneakers, just like at prom. And I'm gone. I'm seventeen again, in the shadows at the back of the gymnasium, fear forgotten in the secret thrill of a slow dance I wasn't supposed to want.

I realign the markers on the table to straighten my thoughts.

"Wow, I can't believe she showed up." Beside me at the sign-in table, Isabella pops her nicotine gum. "Isn't the fabulous Ashley Washington too good for a high school reunion?"

Frowning, I reach down to adjust one tight stiletto. "Are we children or grown adults? It's been ten years. Leave the drama in the past, where it belongs."

"Come on, Gen. You used to be queen of the Ashley Hate Club."

"Rivalry and hate are two different things, Izzy."

"Uh-huh." Izzy leans back in her chair and smirks. "If you'd lost cheer captain to her, we both know you'd be saying something different. You would've become that bitch in the cliche revenge drama. Relaxer in her shampoo. Bleaching her uniform, just the crotch. Chili flakes in her eye glitter."

"I'm just lucky she didn't do that to me," I laugh and hush Izzy before Ashley and her date are close enough to hear.

They approach with their arms linked. The stranger wears a gorgeous tumble of dark curls and a chic black leather dress. She leans in to purr something in Ashley's ear, and they both snicker. I wonder how long they've been dating.

I construct my school-spirit smile, the toothy, symmetrical grin that won me captain of the cheer squad senior year, even though the younger girls looked up to Ashley more. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

Ashley's date arches one impeccable eyebrow at my perky tone, but Ashley smiles, a quirk at the corners of her lips. That same smile that always made Coach Wendy yell, I'm not your boyfriend! Give me more teeth!

"Genevieve," Ashley says, her voice as smooth as I remember. "Izzy. Hey. Great to see you."

Clearing my throat, I lift my tablet to find her on the guestlist.

"While Gen signs you in, you two can make yourselves nametags." Izzy gestures to the array of markers and matte gold stickers on the table.

Ashley chooses the shimmery purple pen and writes Ash. Her girlfriend waits until she's done, then takes the pen from her and writes Estelle. An unfairly beautiful name.

Estelle directs a toothy smirk at me. "So you're Genevieve? So fun to finally meet the cheer girls. Ash tells me you two used to have a little competition over who was the better tumbler."