Don't hate us 'cause we're beautiful!

[Andie Simone]

With the start of the school year, Andie didn't waste any time in calling the first practice, as this would give her a chance to once again meet the ones who wanted to join the squad that she'd met during the vacation, but it would also give her the chance to watch any others who wanted to come today. She had sent a text message to each of the current cheerleaders over lunch, and posted up notices in the office and in the barns.

Wearing shorts and a t-shirt, she sat cross-legged on the mat in the cheer studio as she waited. There was a clipboard on the mat in front of her. She knew that who did or didn't make the squad would, in the end, be Kall's decision, but she was more than willing to offer her opinion if it was asked for. With a self-confident smile, she took a drink from her water bottle as she waited for her minions to arrive.

Calling all minions:
- Kallistos Rolleston
- Katherine Lorelia
- Lexi Lancaster
- Sina Aleardi
- Victoria Greco

[Katherine Lorelia]

Kitty had seen the notice about cheerleading practice in the barn on the previous day, but she hadn't actually read it at the time. That had happened out of sheer boredom this morning, when she'd been standing in the office waiting to be handed some pile of paperwork or other, and the blonde had immediately made the resolution that she would not be late the second time. She could quite easily gain a reputation for that sort of thing, and it wouldn't serve her well at all in the future. To be late once could be seen as misfortune; to be late twice could be seen as carelessness. So she made her way down a good five minutes earlier than she really needed to, attired suitably in leggings and a fitted top. A minor hiatus with an escaped cat on the stairs delayed her a little, and she was surprised when she tentatively poked her head around the studio door to find that she was first to arrive.

"Not late this time!" she announced cheerfully as she made her way inside.

[Kallistos Rolleston]

With his last equestrian class over and done with, Kall finished with caring for his horses, and then raced to his room to get changed for cheer practice. He was excited about getting back into cheering, and at the same time totally stressed about holding up the name of the Blue Ridge Flyers. He had never dreamed that he would become captain, and he new he had big shoes to fill... even if the previous captain had tiny feet.

He didn't waste any time getting down to the gym and all but cartwheeled through the door. "Good afternoon, Miss Andie." He said with a wicked grin as he walked over and flopped down on the mat. "And you too, Lil' Miss Sunshine."

[Victoria Greco]

Tori was more tired than she had expected after her first day of school, but she was excited about the first actual cheer practice, even if she technically wasn't on the team yet, and she raced up to her room to get changed.

Dressed in a pink Tinkerbell t-shirt and black and pink shorts, she ran to the gymnasium and slipped into the cheer studio. "Hi." She said nervously as she dropped her back by the benches and walked over to sit on the mat.

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina took bites of a granola bar as she groomed Vaxi following their first mounted lesson of the school year. While she chewed, she laid the bar atop the gelding's back and worked on grooming. Finally, when she was done, she brought the gelding back to his stall, dropped the wrapper into the trash, and then headed to her room. She'd left Derecho there while she rode, knowing it'd be a long day, and knowing that he wouldn't help much during her mounted lesson anyway.

Now, after a brief moment to wash her face, Sina changed into shorts and a t-shirt and grabbed her cheer bag, then grabbed Derecho's blue leash and attached it to the dog's collar, tossing his vest over his head and buckling it before she left her room. She was running too late and didn't bother with locking her door - Nobody would disturb it anyway. As she reached the gym, she pushed open the doors and smiled at those already present - Most of the team, it seemed. She dropped her bag next to Der's bed - A new addition, but one she'd cleared with Andie - and the dog on his bed, then walked over to join the rest on the mat, "How'd everyone's classes go?"

[Lexi Lancaster]

Everything had been so exciting lately, there was never a dull moment, at least not yet. After her first day of classes Lexi was still full of energy despite the Beginner English having been very nerve wracking as it was her first time riding a horse with a proper instructor present. Even with her continuous worries that she was going to embarrass herself by falling off or asking a really stupid question about something she did fairly well at following the professors lesson. While she was cleaning up Bull after the lesson she noticed a flyer for cheerleading, which got her really excited she had started cheering at her old, new school in Kentucky and she had actually been really good at it, after she got over the fear of making a fool of herself.

At her old school she had really found herself when she started cheering, she had met all of her friends there and it was one of the only places in the school that she never felt scared, or nervous, and she had actually been really good at it, she had really found her place there. So of course she knew that she would have to at least try to make it on the squad here, she was surprised that this kind of school had cheerleading, but she wasn't going to argue. After Bull was all cleaned up she ran to her room and changed into a t-shirt and gym shorts before going to the cheer studio, which she had to ask for directions to.

She bounded into the room and saw that there were a lot of people there already, she hoped she wasn't late. "Hello...is this the right place for cheer tryouts? Lexi nervously asked the group sitting on the mat.

[Andie Simone]

Andie smiled as the first person walked in and laughed at the girl's words. "Woo, you!" She said as she put her arms in a high V. "You're the first to arrive in fact." No sooner had the words left her mouth the door swung open again and Kall entered with his usual flare and she nodded to his welcome, arching her eyebrows at the greeting toward Kitty.

She smiled with a nod as Tori walked in, quickly followed by Sina and Der. "I'm going to get him a vest in the team colours, with little pom poms on it." She teased with a grin.

She sobered up as the door opened again and a young blonde walked in, she made a pouty face toward Kall, as there seemed to be no new males that year. "Don't know if we had anything as formal as tryouts planned for today." She said as she jumped to her feet. "But indeed you are in the right place."

She smiled around at the gathering. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Andie Simone, and I'm your coach... pretty much the adult who is in charge of making sure you're keeping to the rules and not in risk of breaking your neck. I'm not exactly the poster girl for formality, so you can either address me as Andie or Miss/Ms Simone, whatever takes your fancy. All I ask for is your respect and you will get it in return. Right, on your feet!" She clapped her hands. "I'm sure you'll all excited to get started with a routine, but Kall and I haven't really talked about one, so today we're going to work on tumbling passes." She gave a bright smile. "If you all get in a line down that end of the mat." She pointed to the opposite end of where she was standing. "We can get started. It's all about creativity, so just so me what you've got. One person at a time, and the next person can't start until the person before them is on this side of the mat." She grinned and snapped her fingers toward Kitty. "Tag, you're it!"

[Katherine Lorelia]

Kitty grinned as she looked around the empty room, confirming the woman's words, and seated herself on the floor, stretching out one leg in an attempt to avoid the inevitable pins and needles. She didn't have to wait long before others started to arrive, and she giggled a little at Andie's comment about the dog.

The blonde listened carefully as the woman spoke, trying frantically to remember what on earth a tumbling pass was as she followed the pointed finger... and then stopped halfway as Andie indicated her. Ah. Houston, we have a problem. OK, OK... tumbling pass. The... thing. With the other thing. Yes. That. Well, she knew vaguely what she was doing now, at any rate. The Irish girl stepped up to the mat, took a breath and then stepped in. She led with a round off, went into a back handspring and finished, somewhat to her own surprise, with a double layout. Gosh. She hadn't even known she could do those. It had been a while.

[Kallistos Rolleston]

Kall didn't waste any time stretching out as he watched the others arrive. "Classes were too long." He replied to Sina. "I think we should spend the morning in here, then horses and then come back here again." He smiled when a blonde girl entered and asked a question, though he was happy to let Andie take control.

He jumped to his feet on the command and grinned at the thought of doing tumbling passes. He walked to the edge of the mat and when Kitty had finished her run his grin deepened as he instantly went into his pass; he did a punch front step-out, into a round off, flick-flack (backhandspring) and finished with backflip, nodding as he bounced to a stop. He quickly got out of the way do that Tori could do her pass.

[Victoria Greco]

Tori grinned as Sina walked into the studio, though she followed Kall's lead and worked on her warm up. "Classes were great!" She blushed, knowing that she had probably used a little too much enthusiasm about classes, but she had enjoyed meeting her teachers and starting the year off with a bang.

She jumped to her feet, listing to the woman as she leaned over and wrapped her hands around her ankles before straightening up and following the others to the edge. She nodded as Kitty went, she could do that, and then her mouth dropped open at Kall's pass, knowing that she couldn't even come close to his. Shaking her head, she knew it was her turn. Staring with a Power hurdle round off, a flick-flack, step-out into immediate front round off and finishing with another flick-flack. She grinned as she finished, pumping her fists into the air

[Sina Aleardi]

Sina laughed at Andie's comment, "Black with red poms, please." She turned to listen as Kall and Tori responded, giggling at Kall, "Yeah, we know. Math above counting to eight is hard." She grinned at the boy, her tone jocular, "Let's skip the math class."

She grinned at Andie as the coach started her yearly introduction, then moved to join the others at the corner of the floor. She briefly checked to make sure that her sports pouch was still secure around her midsection, the insulin pump secure in its case. As it came to her turn, Sina stepped forward and went into a roundoff, which she followed with a back handspring. From there, a step out, then she repeated the roundoff and back handspring, finishing it with a tuck. As she landed, she brought her arms up into a finish, smiling broadly, and then stepped away to let the new girl have her turn.

[Xander Stang]

Xander's cheer radar was already working in overtime. As he'd been leaving the office after checking in, he'd seen the notice pinned to the bulletin board. He wasn't going to miss out on this opportunity. He'd raced up to his new room, abandoned his things, briefly noted that he had a roommate, changed into his regular practice clothes, and raced down to the gym. He'd taken a couple of wrong turns, and was definitely a little late, but he hoped he'd be forgiven. He'd only arrived at the academy less than an hour ago!

Xander exclaimed in relief when he finally found the gym, and he quickly darted for the cheer studio. He could hear voices inside. Taking a deep breath, Xander pushed his way into the room. He watched as a redheaded girl did her thing, grinning slightly. Once she was done, he looked around the room and his eyes landed quickly on the woman he assumed was the coach. "Hey! I hope I'm not too late. I just arrived at the academy and I saw the notice for cheer practice." He shifted on his feet, wanting more than anything to just show them what he could do. But he knew to not be too pushy. At least, not yet. It was their territory he was encroaching on. "I've cheered for years." He supplied, tone hopeful. He was moments away from breaking out the puppy dog eyes, he wasn't sure what he would do if they turned him away.

[Andie Simone]

Andie rolled her eyes. "NAh, I was thinking florescent pink and a pretty plum." She returned. Of course the pom poms would be black and red, as they were the school colours, duh!

There had to be something said about a team who didn't whine or argue with her, and she nodded as each of them did a tumbling pass, there were a few tweaks that could be made, but overall, the squad was pretty strong. She smiled as the door opened, her eyebrows shooting up as a boy walked in and she nodded as he spoke. "For years huh?" She asked, her tone teasing. "I'm Andie, coach of this rag-tag lot. We've just finished tumbling passes. I'll give you a chance to loosen up and then let's see what you've got." Trail by fire, if nothing else.

She turned to the others, without cutting the new boy out of what she was saying. "I think we have a pretty strong team this year, but we've got a lot of work to do. With that said though, Kall and I have some pretty strong routines worked out, but you're going to have to wait till the next practice to see those." She placed a hand over her heart. "I'm sure you won't all die of anticipation." She looked around the gathering. "Does anyone have any questions before we get stated on some fitness training?"

[Katherine Lorelia]

Questions? Pfft. No. Kitty did not ask questions, ever, unless it was in the course of a conversation with someone. She just got on with it, and if she needed to know something, then she hoped that she could work it out as she went along. If she couldn't... well, that was when the whole system fell down in tatters around her ears, and, knowing her luck, took her head off at the same time. So she shook her blonde head with a wide Irish smile and then glanced around at her companions.

[Kallistos Rolleston]

Kall eyed the boy who had entered up and down, nodded at the thought of having another male on the squad who didn't need too much work to get him up to standard, as long as he had been cheering for as long as he had said.

He grinned at the coach's words and his hand popped up. "Are you saying that being captain means I actually have to work?" His grin deepened. "Nope, no questions here." This meeting had been Andie's planning, so he had no more clue as to what was coming next as the others did. "Bring it on!"