The Captain's Dirty Little Secret

Chapter 245: Chapter 245 - The Result

By the time the teams were called back onto the competition floor for awards, Roxie’s body had finally stopped counting.

Her mind had not.

Five, six, seven, eight.

The numbers returned whenever the arena became quiet enough for her to think. They stayed beneath the music playing through the speakers, the announcer welcoming the teams back, and the nervous conversations filling the floor as Briarwick settled into its assigned section.

Schools covered nearly every part of the blue mat.

Red uniforms. Purple bows. Black skirts. Gold lettering. Teams from every regional competition in Virginia sat together beneath the lights, waiting to find out whether months of work had earned them anything beyond reaching state.

Roxie sat between Angela and Karen near the front of Briarwick’s rows. Kendall was on Karen’s other side, close enough to irritate Roxie whenever she opened her mouth but far enough away that Roxie could pretend she was not there.

Coach Miller stood behind them with the other coaches. He had returned to looking serious, but his red eyes ruined the effect.

Roxie had already caught him crying once.

She planned to remind him for the rest of his life.

Angela reached for Roxie’s hand. Her fingers were cold despite the heat inside the arena. ”I feel worse than I did before we performed.”

”At least we can’t ruin the routine now,” Roxie said.

Karen pressed both hands against her stomach. ”We can still lose. What if the judges think, it’s ruined because of the cut-off.”

”Thank you for that,” Angela muttered. ”Really puts the mind at ease.”

Karen grinned. ”You’re welcome.”

Roxie looked across the floor.

Riverside Gale sat several sections away in navy and white. Heather was near the front with her back straight and her hands folded over her knees. She looked calm from a distance, but Roxie had watched her closely enough to see the tension in her shoulders.

Heather glanced toward Briarwick.

Her eyes found Roxie.

The smirk from earlier was gone.

Roxie held her stare until Heather faced the stage again.

The announcer thanked the officials, volunteers, coaches, sponsors, and everyone else Roxie suddenly hated for delaying the results. She stopped listening after the first few names.

The judges had scored Briarwick’s routine.

That was all Coach Miller knew.

Nobody had told them whether the sound failure affected their score. Nobody had said whether the judges cared that the crowd counted with them or whether the routine looked as strong from the table as it had felt on the floor.

Riverside had been nearly flawless.

Patriot had hit every stunt.

Ocean Lakes had built a pyramid that made half the arena stand.

Grassfield had been sharp.

Battlefield had landed a tumbling sequence that still made Roxie’s stomach tighten when she remembered it.

There were too many good teams.

Briarwick had finished its hardest routine without music, but Roxie had no idea how much that mattered on a score sheet.

Karen shifted beside her. ”If they thank another sponsor, I’m leaving.”

Kendall kept her attention on the stage. ”You’ll stay exactly where you are.”

”Who put you in charge of me?”

”Clearly, you need someone.”

Angela squeezed Roxie’s hand. ”Could you tell them to fight after the awards? My heart can only survive one problem at a time.”

Karen huffed and faced forward.

The announcer finally placed the list of names aside and picked up the first results card.

The arena changed immediately.

Conversations stopped.

Coaches moved closer to their teams. Girls reached for one another until nearly every row was connected by hands, wrists, or arms wrapped around shoulders.

Roxie tightened her grip around Angela’s fingers.

The music failure returned to her.

The sudden silence.

The fear in everyone’s eyes.

The first count ripping out of her throat before she could think.

They had completed the routine, but the part of Roxie that expected everything good to be taken away kept insisting they had missed something. Maybe one judge had considered the pause too long. Maybe the lack of music had affected their timing more than it felt. Maybe the crowd had made the moment seem stronger than the routine actually was.

Her legs felt weak even while she sat.

Karen grabbed Roxie’s wrist with both hands.

Roxie pulled once. ”Loosen it before I lose a hand.”

”You’ll still have one.”

”I need both.”

”For what?”

Roxie looked toward the trophies waiting near the stage. ”Holding the trophy.”

Karen went quiet.

Roxie wanted to sound certain because she was captain. She wanted Angela, Karen, and every girl behind her to believe she knew they had won something.

Underneath that confidence sat the weight of every possible result.

She remembered the Ravens losing the state championship.

The players trying to stand while their faces broke apart. Coach Hayes crying. Zac looking like someone had taken part of him and left the rest standing beneath the stadium lights.

Losing state had followed all of them home.

Roxie looked over her shoulder at Coach Miller.

He stood completely still, his eyes fixed on the stage.

Coach Miller had been the closest thing to a father she had known. She remembered the first day she tried out for the cheer team after her mother enrolled her and paid the deposit she could never get back. Roxie had walked into the gym praying Coach Miller would let her stay.

He had seemed larger than life then.

Strict. Intimidating. Impossible to impress.

Now Roxie stood almost as tall as his shoulder, captain of the team he had rebuilt around them, waiting to learn whether they had finally put Briarwick back at the top of Virginia.

The announcer lifted the microphone. ”Before we begin announcing placements, the competition committee would like to recognize the athletes of Briarwick Academy.”

Every Briarwick girl froze.

Roxie’s stomach dropped.

Faces turned toward them from across the floor.

The announcer continued. ”Following an unexpected technical failure during the final section of their routine, Briarwick completed every required element using only team counts. After reviewing the performance, officials confirmed that the routine would be scored in full.”

The Briarwick section erupted behind them.

Karen’s grip tightened around Roxie’s wrist again.

The announcer waited for the noise to settle. ”The judging panel has also confirmed that Briarwick Academy completed its routine with zero execution deductions.”

The arena became even louder.

Angela made a broken sound beside Roxie.

Karen shouted something Roxie could not hear.

Zero deductions.

Every stunt had held.

Every landing had counted.

The music failure had taken nothing from them.

Roxie looked toward Coach Miller.

His arms were folded across his chest, but pride had broken through his serious expression. He gave the team one short nod.

Roxie faced the stage again before she started crying over a score that had yet to earn them a placement.

Across the floor, Heather was clapping. Her expression revealed nothing, but her hands moved slower than the rest of Riverside’s.

The announcer raised the next card. ”The top three teams will earn bids to represent Virginia at the National High School Cheer Championship in February. We will begin by recognizing the top five teams in today’s state championship.”

Five.

Only five names would be called.

Roxie looked across the floor again.

There were teams everywhere.

Qualifiers from several regions. Schools whose routines she remembered and others whose names had blurred together after hours of competition.

Being left out of fifth meant nothing.

They could be fourth.

They could be first.

They could be tenth.

The announcer lifted the first placement card. ”In fifth place, Independence High School.”

The Independence team screamed and surged to its feet. Their coach bent down to hug the girls nearest her while the rest of the arena applauded.

Briarwick clapped with them.

Roxie barely felt her hands moving.

One place was gone.

Briarwick had yet to be called, but there was no relief in that. Fifth might have been the last place they had any realistic chance of reaching.

Karen leaned close. ”Is it bad that I wanted that?”

”No,” Roxie said. ”I wanted it too.”

Angela looked at them. ”We can still place higher.”

Roxie forced a nod.

They could.

That did not mean they would.

The announcer waited for Independence’s captains to return before lifting the fourth place card.

”In fourth place, Riverside Gale High School.”

Roxie stopped clapping.

For a second, Riverside did not move.

Heather remained seated with her hands on her knees. The girls around her stared toward the stage as though the announcer might correct himself.

Fourth.

Riverside had won regionals.

They had entered VCU as one of the favorites.

Heather had walked past Briarwick after performing and smirked like she had already beaten them.

Now Riverside was fourth.

One of the girls behind Heather began crying. Another covered her mouth. Their coach leaned down and spoke firmly until the team started standing.

Heather rose last.

She forced a smile onto her face and hugged the blonde girl beside her, but the expression looked nothing like the one she had worn after their routine.

Roxie remembered that smirk.

Beat that.

Bitch, please.

She clapped harder.

Then the satisfaction twisted into something else.

Briarwick needed to place above them.

If Briarwick failed to reach the top five, Heather would still leave with a plaque while Roxie left with nothing but a memorable performance and people telling them they had done well.

They needed third.

Third would put Riverside in her place.

Third would send Briarwick to nationals.

Roxie could live with third.

She would be happy with third.

Please let them get third.

Heather heard Briarwick’s section cheering and looked across the floor.

Her eyes found Roxie.

Roxie gave her the same small smile Heather had offered earlier.

Heather’s mouth tightened before she turned toward the stage and accepted the fourth place plaque.

Karen leaned toward Roxie. ”I know we’re supposed to have sportsmanship, but this feels amazing.”

Angela looked guilty for almost half a second. ”I feel bad for them.”

Karen stared at her. ”Why?”

”They were good.”

”They were also bitches.”

”True.”

Riverside returned to its section.

Heather sat with the plaque across her lap and kept her eyes on the stage.

The announcer picked up the third place card.

Roxie’s heart struck so hard that it hurt.

This was the placement she wanted now.

Third was safe.

Third was real.

Third meant nationals.

Third would mean they had beaten Riverside after Heather spent the entire day treating Briarwick like a visiting team.

Roxie tightened her grip around Angela’s hand.

Please.

”In third place, Ocean Lakes High School.”

The Ocean Lakes team exploded.

Girls jumped up, hugging and screaming while their supporters surged to their feet. Their captains ran toward the stage to receive the trophy and national bid.

Roxie clapped because everyone around her was clapping.

Inside, something dropped.

Third was gone.

Only second and first remained.

Two places.

Across an entire floor filled with teams.

The idea that Briarwick could be one of them suddenly felt ridiculous.

Roxie had spent the morning saying they came to take first because saying anything else felt weak. She had said it to Karen, Angela, Kendall, Heather, and the entire team.

That confidence had been easy before the results started.

Now she wanted third back.

She would have taken it without complaint.

She would have held that trophy, accepted the national bid, and walked past Heather smiling.

Instead, Ocean Lakes had it.

Angela’s fingernails pressed into Roxie’s hand. ”We can still get second.”

Roxie looked at her.

Angela’s eyes were wide and frightened, but she nodded as though she needed Roxie to agree.

”Yeah,” Roxie said.

The word felt thin.

Second.

Second meant they had beaten almost every team in Virginia after placing third at regionals.

Second meant the judges thought their routine was stronger than Riverside, Ocean Lakes, and every other school whose name had yet to be called.

It felt impossible.

Roxie looked back at Coach Miller.

He had stopped blinking.

His face gave her nothing.

The announcer allowed Ocean Lakes to return to its section before lifting the next card.

Roxie could hear blood rushing in her ears.

”In second place, Patriot High School.”

Patriot screamed.

The sound reached Roxie from across the floor, but it felt far away.

One place remained, and Roxie could no longer make herself hope for it.

First belonged to one of the established teams. One of the schools that had walked into VCU expecting to be there. Briarwick had arrived carrying third place beneath its name and spent part of its routine performing without music.

Zero deductions had been an achievement.

The crowd counting had been unforgettable.

That did not make them the best team in Virginia.

Angela’s hand loosened around Roxie’s.

Karen stopped breathing beside them.

Several girls behind Roxie began whispering, but she could not understand the words.

She looked toward Coach Miller again.

His hand had moved over his mouth.

Roxie remembered Coach Hayes making the same movement after the Ravens lost.

Her chest tightened.

They had tried.

They had brought Briarwick back to state.

They had beaten Riverside, even if nobody called their name.

Maybe that had to be enough.

The Patriot captains returned to their team carrying the second place trophy and national bid.

The announcer waited for the arena to settle.

Then he lifted the final card.

”And now, your Virginia State Cheer Champions...”

Roxie lowered her eyes.

She could not watch another team react.

”Briarwick Academy!”

For a second, Roxie thought she had imagined it.

The arena exploded around her, but she remained seated with Angela’s hand inside hers and Karen gripping her wrist.

Briarwick.

The announcer had said Briarwick.

Angela screamed and threw herself against Roxie.

Karen grabbed both of them.

Girls surged to their feet behind her. One of the freshmen dropped back onto the floor before Tori pulled her up. Coach Miller disappeared beneath half the team as they rushed toward him.

Roxie still could not move.

First.

They had taken first.

Not third.

Not second.

First.

Briarwick had entered VCU with REGIONAL PLACEMENT: THIRD printed beneath its name.

Now they were the best team in Virginia.

”We won,” Angela sobbed against her.

Roxie’s eyes burned. ”Yeah.”

Her voice broke.

Karen pulled back enough to look at them, tears running down her face. ”Nobody better say anything about this.”

”You’re crying again,” Roxie said.

”You’re crying too.”

”I’m allowed.”

”Why?”

”I’m captain.”

Karen shoved her.

Roxie laughed through the tears and pulled both of them closer.

Kendall appeared in front of them, crying despite the furious expression on her face. ”Are you three going to stay there all day? We have to get the trophy.”

Coach Miller pushed through the team, wiping his face with one hand while pointing toward the stage with the other. ”Captains. Move before they give the trophy to someone else.”

”They wouldn’t,” Roxie said.

Coach Miller looked at her. ”Do you want to test them?”

Roxie and Kendall headed toward the stage.

The crowd continued cheering as they climbed the steps together. The state championship trophy waited beneath the banner, larger than the regional plaque Heather had carried through the holding area. Gold figures rose above a black base with VIRGINIA STATE CHAMPIONS printed across the front.

An official placed a gold medal around Kendall’s neck.

Another placed one around Roxie’s.

The metal settled against Roxie’s chest.

Real.

The official handed them the trophy.

Roxie took one side.

Kendall grabbed the other.

”Do not drop it,” Kendall muttered through her smile.

”Worry about your side.”

The photographers called for them to raise it.

Roxie tightened her grip.

She and Kendall lifted the trophy together.

Red and black erupted across the arena.

The rest of Briarwick joined them onstage while officials placed medals around each girl’s neck. Coach Miller received the folded championship banner and held it against his chest, looking like he had forgotten how to speak.

The announcer returned to the microphone. ”As Virginia’s state champion, Briarwick Academy has earned the Commonwealth’s championship bid to the National High School Cheer Championship at the end of February.”

The team screamed again.

”Nationals!” Angela shouted from behind them. ”We’re going to nationals!”

The word moved through the team.

Nationals.

Another floor.

Another competition.

Teams from outside Virginia.

Roxie looked at the gold medal against her chest, then at the state trophy between her and Kendall.

Another competition could wait.

State belonged to them.

Nobody could take this title away when they walked into the next arena.

Behind the photographers, Roxie found Zac at the front railing.

He was clapping so hard that his hands had turned red. Dylan shouted beside him. Mason had both arms raised above his head. Kyle was actually smiling, which looked strange enough to distract Roxie for a second.

Zac’s eyes stayed on her.

He mouthed the words slowly enough for her to understand.

You did it.

Roxie looked at the trophy.

Then she looked back at him.

She had.

After the photographs, Briarwick carried the trophy away from the stage surrounded by girls touching it as though it might disappear.

Roxie walked off the stage carrying one side of the trophy while Kendall held the other.

They won.