Chapter Text
Daniela Avanzini is untouchable. Cheer captain, straight A student, dance club president, and all around IT girl. Everyone knows that if you get in her way, your life will be turned into a hell of her making. Well, almost everyone. The only person brave, or stupid, enough to face the queen bee herself was Megan Skiendiel. Every time Dani would dump a slushie on the head of an unsuspecting band kid, Megan rushed to their aid with napkins and a sharp retort. Frankly, it pissed her off, how insistent she was on helping them, she liked the girl before she got in her way. In another life, maybe the two of them could've been friends. Maybe they still would’ve hated each other.
“Leave him alone, Daniela,” Megan bites, kneeling down to pick the scattered papers up off the ground. The him in question is some nerdy freshman who just rammed into her, spilling his drink on her shirt. The latina had shoved him backwards, as anyone would in this situation, and he dropped, what seems like, every paper he’s ever owned onto the ground.
“Stay out of it, Skiendiel,” Dani snaps, shoving her sneaker into the girl’s side. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“I’m not gonna just stand here while you bully him.” Megan stands up from the ground, pushing the other girl’s shoe back onto the ground. “It was an honest mistake.” Passing the papers back to the frazzled boy, she begins to walk off, tossing over her shoulder, “Being a asshole isn’t hot, Daniela.”
Gritting her teeth, the latina knocks the boy in the shoulder as she storms off. Shirt now stained, Dani heads to her lunch table, her friends chattering among themselves. Pressing her palms against the table, she leans toward the filipina across from her, exasperated. “Soph, I need a shirt.”
“Got in it with Megan again?” Sophia asks, fishing a hoodie out of her bag. “All I got is this.”
“It’s not my fault she’s so protective of those random nerds,” Dani huffs, snatching the jacket. Tossing it on, she zips it halfway, sitting across from the girl.
“That’s just how she is. I see her volunteering at the library like twice a week,” Lara says, picking at her tray.
“You go to the library?” Daniela raises an eyebrow, stealing a fry off her tray and earning a slap on the hand. “Since when?”
“Since the new girl in the CD section is hot. Let me be.” Rolling her eyes, Dani chuckles.
The rest of the day flows as any other would, quizzes, test, homework, but once the final bell rings, Daniela finally gets to do what she does best; whip some lackluster cheerleaders into shape.
“Run it again,” she commands, brushing away stray strands of hair that weaseled their way out of her ponytail. “You’re not hitting the and of four, Emily, you’re always a half beat off.”
“We’ve been doing this set for the past twenty minutes, Dani,” Lara sighs, tilting her head back in a groan.
“And we’ll do it for another twenty if she can’t get it right. It’s one, two, up, hold, pose on the and four,” Dani explains, clapping with each beat she points out. “You’re always posing on five.”
Restarting the music, the captain counts off before starting the choreography for this section, the others quickly joining her. This time, Emily manages to hit her marks, allowing them to continue on through their set. Most of practice goes on like this, Daniela nit picking small issues until they’re fixed. Somewhere near the end, basketball players start to file in, warming up for their own practice.
“There the queen herself goes, buzzing around in her hive,” Manon comments, one leg pulled to her chest in a stretch.
“That just seems mean to the bees to compare her to them,” Megan replies, lacing up her sneakers.
Dribbling a ball, Yoonchae makes her way over to the two. “Coach says passing drills.” Standing up, the trio begins practice as the cheerleaders pack up.
~-~-~
Door clicking shut behind her, Daniela drops her bag on a nearby chair, opening it to dig out her homework. Setting it down on the kitchen table, she catches a glimpse of her father asleep on the couch, a few empty beer bottles resting around his feet. Beginning her math homework, she barely has five minutes before her mother comes home.
“What did you get on your history exam?” she asks, features hardened as she walks into the room.
Clearing her throat, Dani keeps her eyes on her paper. “A 95%.”
“95?” her mother asks, incredulous. “You said you studied. How did you only get a 95?”
“I did study. I tried really hard.”
Her mother crosses the kitchen, looming over the table Dani is seated at. “You didn’t try hard enough.” She hears it before she feels it, the crack of skin against skin before the sting rushes across her cheek. Swallowing hard, the girl simply looks down, fingers fiddling with her pencil. “Now, go to your room and study. I don’t want to see you for the rest of the night.”
~-~-~
“See you later, Manz,” Megan says as she steps out of the car and onto the curb, waving to Manon in the drivers seat. As she enters the house, something warm fills the air, emanating from the kitchen.
“Mei?” her mom calls from further in the house. “Is that you?”
Tossing down her back, she takes off her sneakers before strolling into the kitchen to find her mom over a pot on the stove. “Yeah, ma, what are you making?”
“Just some potato soup, it’ll be ready soon, not enough time to start anything. Just help your brother set the table.” Her mom smiles as she adds something to the bubbling pot.
“Don’t forget I’m going to the library to volunteer. Manon is picking me back up at 7,” the girl reminds her, placing bowls and silverware out on the dining room table. Her brother, Alex, pours cups of water, setting them out at every spot.
“Just make sure you say ‘hi’ to your father before you leave. He’s still working out in the shop. He’s determined to finish staining that bench tonight.” Chuckling, her mom pulls off the soup, placing it on a potholder on the table. “Let’s eat, yeah?”
“Yeah."