Early morning cheer practice was one of the few things that Alison hated. While she loved the team, loved being a part of it, she would much rather stay in bed a little longer. She had practically ran to her room after, needing to get ready for her first class. She still lived on campus, in a sorority house, exclusively for those who made the cheer team. She was grateful, because she would never have been able to afford to live in an apartment out in the town, or really any rent anywhere. Not unless she got a job, which on top of her studies and cheering, wasn’t really possible and it was not like she could stop cheering. Which was impossible, because her scholarship was based on her being on the squad. And there was no way she would ever get her dance major without it. It wasn’t like her mom had any savings to be able to give her.
Reaching the studio, she automatically stood in the same place she always did, stretching against the barre. Even with practice she still managed to be the first one there. She smiled at everyone as they slowly began to trickle in. She didn’t have enough confidence to talk to them, though. She was always on the shy side. It was a habit that she carried through high school, when everyone knew exactly who she was. Here, she was more anonymous, but it didn’t stop her from worrying that one day she would have to tell everyone the truth. Even the girls she was closest to, her best friends, didn’t know the full story of her family. She had grew up in a tiny house, barely enough room for her parents and her two siblings. Although, that was rectified slightly when her father went to jail, for armed robbery. That had been ten years ago, and he was due to be released soon, and Ally was not looking forward to it. Her mother had since moved on, marrying someone much better, finding a better life for herself. Her older brother, well he was showing signs of following their father’s footsteps, and so it rested on Ally to be the role model for her younger sister. Hence, putting all her time and effort into making sure her college experience was perfect and worthwhile. But these were all things she didn’t tell anyone. She had told people her parents had split, but always said her dad moved away, not the truth. While her mother still may not be rich enough to help her out with college, Ally didn’t need to worry about that, her scholarship taking care of all her fees, and being a dance major, she barely need any text books. Her main expense was her dance-wear, and travel, but again, she received help from the administration for this. This was something else she kept to herself. Most of the girls she was friends with had grown up barely ever wanting for anything, and so Alison didn’t want to be different. Sure, they knew she wasn’t as well off as them, but they didn’t know about how they used to miss meals regularly because her mom hadn’t made enough tips the day before, or how she shared a tiny box room with her sister until she moved out. No, they didn’t need to know any of that. They saw the girl she was now. They girl who never let anything get to her, who was optimistic and enthusiastic about everything.
The teacher was the last one to walk through the door, and as soon as she entered, Alison stood still, her attention focused. It was the start of a new project, one which saw them having to pair up, to come up with a routine for the piece of music they were given. As the teacher began to read out the pairs, and handing them a copy of the different pieces. Alison waited patiently to hear her name. She had observed enough of the class to know that she would be happy to be paired with anyone, they all had extremely high standards. So when her name was called, she smiled over at her new partner, Igor. She had noticed him more so than some of the others that was for sure. It would be hard not to, when he clearly had amazing genes. She took the disc, moving so they were stood next to each other now. “Hi, I’m Alison.” She had never actually spoken to him before, so introducing was the way forward.
