High school can either be the best or the worst years of one’s life.

 

As she tightens her high ponytail and straightens the non-existent wrinkles on her pink and white cheerleading uniform, Nayeon is entirely certain that her experience belongs to the former.

 

It’s the first day of her final year in high school and her second year as the cheerleading captain, and there’s no reason for her to doubt that this year is her year.

 

Before the first bell even rings, however, Nayeon realizes that she spoke too soon.

 

Rumors don’t usually travel fast in a school with over two thousand students but—

 

“Have you heard?”

 

Nayeon is hoping that the first thing that Jeongyeon will say to her is not about the only thing she’s heard people talk about in the last fifteen minutes. She hasn’t seen her best friend in months, so she’s hoping Jeongyeon will tell her all about the places she visited during the summer break.

 

“About what?” Nayeon asks as she sits beside Jeongyeon.

 

“About Myo—”

 

“Yes,” Nayeon replies shortly, cutting Jeongyeon off.

 

Oh, she’s heard about that, all right. In fact, if she hears about it one more time, she might actually—

 

“I saw Myoui Mina!”

 

—explode.

 

“You stalked a junior on your first day, huh?” Jeongyeon replies to an excited Sana as the girl sits on the other vacant seat beside Jeongyeon. “Unsurprising.”

 

“You jealous?” Sana teases.

 

Jeongyeon scoffs. “Not everyone likes you, Sana.”

 

“Then everyone else should raise their standards,” Sana retorts before adding, “Right, Nayeon?”

 

“We dated for just two weeks,” Nayeon reminds Sana who is still sending a smug smile in her direction. “Will you please stop using that against me?”

 

“Never,” Sana replies, winking at Nayeon for good measure, before turning to Jeongyeon. “Anyway, I actually meant that you might be jealous that I saw Mina, and you didn’t.”

 

“Nah, we’ll be seeing her often anyway,” Jeongyeon denies with a shrug. “I mean, she’s definitely getting on the team, right?”

 

Sana nods in agreement. “You have a point.”

 

“You’ve already decided who’s gonna get in?” Nayeon butts in. “We haven’t even decided on when we’re going to have the tryouts yet.”

 

“Oh, come on,” Jeongyeon says turning back to Nayeon. “Of course, she’s gonna get in. It’s Myoui freaking Mina.”

 

“I can't wait to see her every day,” Sana comments dreamily. “That girl is freaking gorgeous.”

 

“Whatever,” Nayeon says as a response to both Jeongyeon and Sana. “Just don’t be late for our meeting later.” With that, she draws her attention from her friends to their homeroom adviser who just walked in.

 

It’s not typical of Nayeon to hate someone she hasn’t even met, but Myoui Mina has always been exceptional.

 

She’s heard a lot about Myoui Mina even before today. It’s a big name in the cheer world because Mina was the young cheer captain who led the Comets to a Nationals win last year. From more recent hearsays, Nayeon also learned that Mina is apparently sweet, pretty, and smart, on top of being talented.

 

Simply put, Mina is perfect.

 

Nayeon wouldn’t say she’s intimidated. She’d rather say that she’s only concerned.

 

As much as Nayeon hates to admit it, Mina will certainly be a Pink Lynx. There’s no reason for her not to try out, and there’s no reason for her not to get in. Still, Nayeon is worried that Mina might ruin their team’s dynamic by acting superior even if she’s just a new member. After all, she did lead her former squad to victory as a sophomore.

 

There’s also the possibility that Mina might look down on their team. Sure, they didn’t even make it to Nationals last year, but it’s not because of their squad’s lack of skill. If only that incident didn’t happen before Regions, then maybe—

 

—maybe Nayeon should stop thinking about what if’s and just focus on the present.

 

She already did everything she could possibly do anyway. She took their loss maturely and used it to motivate her into improving for next time. She spent the entire summer vacation brainstorming for their squad’s routines and did some advanced studying so she can have more time for cheerleading and less for worrying about her grades. She even got rid of her nth tutor and vowed to study better on her own. (Besides, it doesn’t help her learn when her tutor is there to look at her judgmentally and/or frustratingly when she keeps giving wrong answers to the simplest questions.)

 

The point is that Nayeon is doing her best for her team. She is definitely not going to let anything or anyone ruin it for her, and right now, she sees Mina more as a threat than an asset.

 

She doesn’t get to actually see Mina until the end of the day, however. She’s sitting on the bleachers with the other cheerleaders, waiting for their coach so they can start their planned meeting, when she hears a soft “is that her?” from Jeongyeon and a hushed but excited “yes” from Sana.

 

Nayeon watches as their coach, Bae Suzy, approaches them from across the field, walking beside a girl in a button-up blouse tucked into a short, flowy skirt.

 

Usually, Nayeon would be overjoyed to see their coach after such a long time, especially since the older woman was an adorable sight to see in her pink tracksuit. However, it’s hard to be delighted when she doesn’t even ask them how their summer break went and instead—

 

“Girls, I want you all to meet the Myoui Mina.”

 

That is the last thing that Nayeon wants to do, but what can she do when their coach is already introducing each member of the squad one by one?

 

“—and their captain, Im Nayeon.”

 

Nayeon offers Mina a tight-lipped smile and a brief handshake.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m a big fan.” Mina greets, surprising Nayeon. “You choreographed your routine for Regionals, right?”

 

“You remember that?” Nayeon asks, wondering if Mina’s compliment was sarcastic, because she, for one, doesn’t want to recall that disaster at all.

 

“You were all wearing black and white uniforms and had pink paint smeared on your cheeks," Mina recalls.

 

Nayeon nods in confirmation. “We performed that unforgettably bad, huh?”

 

“What? No,” Mina disagrees. “I mean, the execution was—”

 

“Weak?” Nayeon supplies.

 

“—faulty, but it was your concept that made it memorable for me,” Mina finishes politely. “That’s why I had to know if you guys have a practice video uploaded, and I was so amazed when I saw how flawless the routine could have been.”

 

“Well, this year, they are going to perform every routine flawlessly,” Coach Bae interrupts before adding, “hopefully with you.” Mina smiles as the coach wraps an arm around her and gestures towards her outfit. “You’re even wearing pink today. It’s like you’re a Lynx already.”

 

Nayeon narrows her eyes at Mina’s salmon pink top and mumbles. “It’s not the same shade.”

 

“Anyway, we hope to see you at tryouts next week,” Coach continues. “That’s on Monday, so we can post the results ASAP and start meeting every day after school. The earlier we start practicing, the better.” She looks at the entire squad as they all nod in agreement before turning her attention to one member. “Chaeyoung, are the sign-up posters ready?”

 

“Yes, Tzuyu will help me put them up tomorrow,” Chaeyoung confirms and gestures towards the taller girl sitting beside her.

 

“I’ll help you guys, too,” Nayeon offers, and Chaeyoung thanks her and gives her a thumbs up.

 

“Oh, maybe you can take Mina with you,” Coach suggests. “You can show her around while she helps you out with the posters.”

 

“I think I’ll manage on my own,” Nayeon affirms. “Or if I need help, I think I should just ask other people who are on the squad.”

 

“I’d be happy to help though,” Mina says, earning a wide smile from the coach and an internal groan from Nayeon.

 

“Then I guess that’s settled,” Coach Bae decides before Nayeon can protest. “That’s all that we actually have to talk about right now, so if you don’t have any questions, you guys are free to go.”

 

Nayeon watches sullenly as Chaeyoung approaches Mina first, probably to talk to her about the sign-up sheets. She looks away as the rest of the squad flock around Mina and jogs to catch up with their coach who’s walking out of the field.

 

“Hey, Coach, guess what I’ve been up to this summer,” Nayeon says eagerly as she slows down her pace and walks beside the older woman.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I mapped some routines for the sample mixes that Dahyun sent me over the break,” Nayeon reports. “I can show you this week, so we can go over it before tryouts.”

 

“That’s great, Nayeon, but you really didn’t have to do that,” Coach Bae replies with more concern than appreciation in her voice. “You should be enjoying your holidays especially since you’ll be off to college next year.”

 

“It’s nothing,” Nayeon assures with a shrug and a wide smile. “I promised you that we won’t let you down again, so I’m doing everything I can to make sure we’ll get to Nationals this year.”

 

“We were just… unlucky last year, so you should stop worrying too much about it,” Coach Bae lightly scolds. “You should relax especially since we have Myoui Mina now. You must be psyched that she’s here.”

 

Nayeon could win an Oscar with the way she manages to smile back at her coach despite the way her stomach is twisting because of her name being mentioned again. “I’m just excited to be back, Coach,” she replies instead of lying about how she feels towards the new girl.

 

The words that extremely test her ability to conceal her feelings, however, are—

 

“She’s our ticket to Finals, Nayeon. I think you can learn a lot from her.”

 

She doesn’t know how to call it, the feeling of having all of her neglected efforts and glaring inadequacy weighing heavy on her chest.

 

She guesses the most suitable word would be heartbreak.

 

When her coach leaves her with nothing but an “I’ll see you Wednesday to discuss your ideas” and a quick pat on the back, Nayeon confirms that she hides her emotions well.

 

It seems that she still has to keep up this façade for a while longer because someone taps her on the shoulder, and ah, of course, it’s Myoui Mina.

 

“Hi, umm, I talked to Chaeyoung and Tzuyu about the sign-up sheets,” Mina starts awkwardly. “They said they will take care of the bulletin boards on the third floor and fourth floor, so we just have to take care of the rest. Is that okay?”

 

With a smile, Nayeon replies with a kind “sure,” and at this point, she adds ‘actress’ to her mental list of possible future careers.

 

“Should we meet at the lobby tomorrow at around three?” Mina suggests because apparently she has this whole thing figured out like the natural leader she is.

 

Nayeon doesn’t argue, only nodding in response, and okay, she would have been way more assertive than this if she didn't despise the thought of spending time with Mina.

 

“Here’s my number,” Mina says as she hands Nayeon a small piece of paper. “I got yours from Chaeyoung. I hope that’s okay with you.”

 

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Nayeon replies with Mina having no idea how sarcastic that response is.

 

“I’ll see you then,” Mina says before giving Nayeon one last smile and walking away, leaving Nayeon alone in the now empty field.

 

She considers letting a teardrop or two fall while there’s no one else to see it. Instead, she lets out a loud, shaky breath and decides that she’s alright.

 

On her way out, she crumples the pink note that Mina handed her and throws it in the trash without even opening it.

 

Maybe ‘alright’ is an overstatement.

---

A/N: I'm at twitter.com/mina_tozakis