SPOOF:

Cassidy Warner is a young girl just beginning her freshman year of high school. While trying to deal with high school, classes, a difficult teacher; she also has to deal with her parents constantly fighting, her drunken mother, her absent father, and trying to protect her little sister from knowing about her parents' fights and problems. Cassidy feels the weigh of the world on her shoulders and is looking to lift it, even if only for a few hours a day. Then Cassidy finds a flyer for tryout for the school's elite dance squad. Once she makes the team she learns that there is a weight requirement of the girls on the team, and Cassidy is only 5 pounds from hitting it for her height. After Halloween causes her to gain 3 pounds, Cassidy takes matters into her own hands to stay on the team at all costs.

Waiting to Fly with Broken Wings

A Novel by Deirdre McRiley

Cassidy Warner gradually made her way down the long aged hallway that was lined with old grey lockers and cluttered with members of the student body of DeMint High. Clutching her biology book to her chest and holding her class schedule in her hand, Cassidy watched the numbers of the passing class rooms climb as she searched for the number that contained her next class. Most of the students that surrounded her were buzzing and cheerful over the start of the new year as they chatted with their friends about the things that would be accomplished, and who they thought would be the easiest teachers to try to pull the wool over their unsuspecting eyes. The noise in the hallway quickly grew to a deafening tone before slowly dying out as the teenagers dispersed to their needed classrooms. Cassidy never found much point in trying to act like she was enjoying her first day. Now that summer was over, and ninth grade was just beginning for her, it all just added more pressures to Cassidy�s already weighted shoulders.

Trudging into the large science room, Cassidy was hit by the remnant stench of formaldehyde and propane as she went to take a seat in the middle of the class. A slender pipe like formation sprouted from the center of the large desk, and four cone styled connectors with a knob at the base of each flowered from the short pipe. Cassidy stared at the contraption and wondered how many times she would confuse the oxygen with the propane. The thought brought a surprising chuckle from her just as Mr. Ferman, the biology teacher, shadowed the doorway with his large girth and petulant features.

Immediately the class quieted as the towering man strode towards his desk at the front of the class with a sense of superiority. Slapping down a brown leathered brief case upon the top of the desk with a loud plop, Mr. Ferman turned sharply to the dry erased board and continued on to write his name in large bold lettering. When he turned again to face the class, Cassidy was side struck by the stern appearance of the man. His dark eyes looked almost black and glared meanly at the students. Although his hair was grey and neatly combed to remind her of her grandfather, his mouth was curled into a downward smile and hid behind a thick bush of a mustache. A pair of wire rimmed glasses hung on his nose perfectly centered in the middle of his face, and the glare from the florescent lighting gave an eerie gloss to his black eyes. �I am Mr. Ferman,� his voice boomed through the room and bounced along the walls of the class, �your new biology teacher for the next four months. I am not your eighth grade science teacher and I will not accept any sort of slacking off or failure to turn in required labs in time. If you are late for this class it results in a referral straight away. All reports are to be typed in typical format and handed in a portfolio. No late work will be accepted and will receive an automatic zero. Now, with that said, turn your books to page 24 and begin to read in chapter one. I want chapters one and two read by tomorrow for your first lab.� As soon as Mr. Ferman was done speaking, he sat behind his desk and pulled out papers from the briefcase. The students simply stared at him in an astonished manor, and Mr. Ferman sharply protested, �Start reading chapter one, NOW!�

With that last comment, Cassidy flipped open the massive book and glanced around the room shortly before she started to read. The words seemed to jumble together into a form of gibberish or a foreign language. Folding her head into her hands, Cassidy took in a deep breath and sighed softly as she tried to figure out how she was going to make it through her freshman year alive before returning to the confusing literature.

After spending the entire hour and a half trying to comprehend the first ten pages, Cassidy was more than relieved to hear the class bell ring to release her from the already stressing class. She closed her book and picked it up from the table before lining up to leave the room in the midst of her fellow classmates. She took a glance over at Mr. Ferman who continued to pour over his paper work as she left the class.

The main hall had once again filled with students as they changed their books and classes. Cassidy had found her way to her locker, and after fighting to find the correct combination, she managed to get it open and placed the biology book on the shelf. Cassidy frowned at the book hopelessly as she pulled out another subject book. Just before she closed the door to the locker, a pair of hand came around from behind her and held at her eyes. �Guess who,� said a familiar but disguised voice.

�Um� could it be�� Cassidy pondered as to whom it was that stood behind her, ��Danielle?� With her guess she turned around, freeing the hands from her eyes and looking at her friend in the face. There a thin girl about five feet four inches stood before her with bright chestnut eyes and a white smile; her dirty blonde hair pulled back into an athletic looking ponytail. �How was your summer vacation with your parents, Danielle?�

�It was alright,� she said with a slight frown, �My parents still believe that lugging me around all summer in the RV is a good idea. Like having me see a bunch of country side that all looks the same is a good idea.�

�That horrible, huh,� Cassidy smiled at her Danielle with the thought of being able to get away for an entire summer but having to be stuck with her parents. �Yeah,� Danielle replied followed by a slightly awkward silence. �Are your parents still fighting constantly?�

The question stung Cassidy in the face, and with a slight huff she managed to force out an, �Always.�

�I�m sorry. It�s too bad that they wouldn�t let you come along with me and my folks for the summer. At least you wouldn�t have had to listen to them yelling all the time.�

�I wish I could have, but my little sister would have been left at home listening to them. She doesn�t need to hear them fighting, or to see mom drunk.� Cassidy shut her locker and started to walk slowly in the direction of her next class, �What class do you have next?�

�Well that was a change of subject,� Danielle said openly before answering the question, �I have English one.�

�With Mrs. Sachet?� asked Cassidy as she looked at her schedule.

�Yes, I hear she is supposed to be a good teacher.�

�Good, that is who I have next. After my last class I need an easier teacher,� she proclaimed with a sigh. Danielle gave her a look as if she understood as they went in search of the room. The class went quickly by as the English teacher spouted out her rules, and syllabus for the semester. Cassidy listened inventively as she silently wished for this class to be her best. Mrs. Sachet seemed like a lovely and understanding person with her soft yet commanding voice. The teacher was an average looking woman with a slender body and dark brown curled hair, and she constantly smiled while she talked to her students. Cassidy thought that Mrs. Sachet reminded her of a nineteen fifties teacher who thought there was a reason to smile about everything and that her students were angels.

At the end of the class, the cluster of students had an assignment to write a single page essay on what made each of them unique from their other students as a way for Mrs. Sachet to get to know her students. The paper was due in by Friday, and Cassidy wondered what she should write on her paper. Danielle chatted cheerfully as the girls made their way to the cafeteria for lunch. Several cliques loitered outside the mess hall and Cassidy noticed one group who was playing a game of hackey sack and another group of girls who practiced dance moves on the grass beside the building.

Inside the cafeteria, masses of people either sat at the tables or waited in the line for their meals. Cassidy and Danielle stepped into the line and waited to pick their lunches. When they reached the stack of trays, Cassidy took one and handed it to Danielle before grabbing a bright orange one for her self. It was amazing to Cassidy as she walked through the service line to see that the options and quality of food didn�t change much from middle school to high school as she grabbed a plate with a slice of pizza, an apple, and a small carton of milk. However when it came time to pay, the price was slightly higher, costing her a total of three dollars and fifty cents for the three items when in her old school it would have only been two dollars. She handed the wide woman at the cash register a five dollar bill, and after receiving her change and waiting for Danielle proceeded to find a table with two empty seats. After searching for a minute with Danielle, Cassidy finally spotted a nearly empty table near a corner of the mess hall, and quickly motioned Danielle to direct her to the table.

The girls sat down with their meals and began to eat while Cassidy glanced around the room. Across the room was another bunch of girls who looked slightly older and dressed in fashionable clothing that possibly came from stores like The Body Shop, or Rave. Several of the girls sported light letterman jackets with a large Green �D� on the left side and had the school�s name printed across the back.

�Cassidy�CASSIDY!� Danielle snapped at her, �You haven�t listened to a word that I�ve been saying have you?�

�Of course not,� she replied as she continued to look over in the direction of the girls. After a second of thinking about the question that Danielle had asked, Cassidy abruptly converted her attention to her friend. �I�m sorry, Danielle, my mind is a little off today.�

�Forgiven,� Danielle said before adding, �Anyways, as I was saying, you really need to find something to do for yourself this year. You spend so much time at home just wallowing and worrying about everything.�

�Danielle,� Cassidy stopped her friend, �I can�t. I have way too much to do this year; biology alone is going to be a challenge. Not to mention that I need to keep Carla out of the house as much as possible when my parents are rampaging at each other.�

Danielle grabbed Cassidy�s arm and stared her down with her brown eyes, �Listen to me, Cassidy. You can�t protect your sister forever; Carla is going to find out sooner or later about everything. Cassidy, you put way too much responsibility on yourself. You are fourteen years old, and you act like you are thirty. You need to start doing some things for yourself. Honestly, it won�t hurt you to spend a couple of hours three times a week doing something that you want to do.� Danielle let go of Cassidy�s arm and reached behind her into her backpack. A moment later she turned back around and handed Cassidy a large stack of brightly colored papers, �Here. These are some flyers that I�ve found today around the school. Most of them are for after school clubs as stuff. Please, just look at them and consider joining something. If you pick something good, I might try to join with you.�

�Fine,� Cassidy said sounding rather unenthused as she took the stack of flyers and shoved them into a fold of her rucksack that sat beside her chair on the floor. Then, after taking another bite of her pizza, she looked over at Danielle and asked, �Are we still on for Friday night at the Crescent Moon?�

�Yes, of course,� Danielle replied with a mouth full of macaroni and cheese. Before she continued, Danielle swallowed the mouthful and took a sip of her milk, �Are you going to bring Carla over to play with Jessie and Brent while we are at the club?�

Cassidy gave a slight nod as she bit again into the massive slice of pizza. After she had consumed the bite, she noted, �I don�t want to leave her home on a Friday night while I�m not there.�

�Cassidy the teenage mommy,� teased Danielle with a light sarcastic tone. Cassidy only gave Danielle a sharp stabbing look and scowled at her. �Sorry,� Danielle quickly apologized, �You have to admit though that you act more like a worried mother to your sister than you act as an older sister. I mean: you never fight with her, you never get annoyed at her, you let her play with your makeup, and you always look out for her. If that isn�t big sister of the year award, I don�t know what is. I seriously don�t know how you can do it though. Five minutes with my siblings and I�m ready to pull my hair out.�

�I don�t know whether that is as an insult or a compliment,� Cassidy laughed slightly as the bell rang. The girls stood up from their chairs and hurled their already loaded backpacks onto their shoulders before picking up their trays and disposing of the left over contents. �Two classes down, and two to go,� Cassidy noted shortly before she pulled out her class schedule, �Ok, I have Mr. Varner for Social Studies next.�

�Well, I guess I�ll see you later. I have Miss Hinson for Drama,� Danielle told Cassidy as she glanced at her own schedule. �Have fun in class,� she said as she gave a small wave and started to walk off, leaving Cassidy standing in the walkway between the two main buildings. After Danielle had disappeared from her sight, swallowed in a mass of students, Cassidy began to walk towards her locker to get her history book and headed to class.

When she walked into the cream painted room that was filled with short �L� shaped desks and contained two elongated windows, Cassidy noticed a thin elder looking man sitting at the teacher�s desk at the head of the room. Mr. Varner looked like a typical historian with his white pressed dress shirt that the collar was neatly folded down and in place. A green cardigan sweater hung over the dress shirt and overlapped his light kaki colored slacks that draped down his long legs and rested at the base of his ankles. A pair of dark mahogany dyed loafers with tassels covered his grey socks with black pin strips. Mr. Varner�s hair was a light sandy brown laced with grey and was cut in the old fashioned sailor�s bob. Cassidy thought it was the perfect look for a social studies teacher or an obsessive compulsive elderly man. Cassidy plopped her bag beside the desk that rested next to the back window of the class. Cassidy sat down into her self assigned desk and looked outside into the courtyard. The hidden garden contained shrubbery and rosebushes that had long since lost its blooms. Slender trees with gray bark and twigged branches stood no taller than Cassidy in random places through the area. A small finch nestled on one of the more sturdy branches, and had puffed his feathers up to contain his warmth in the autumn chill. The loud high pitched ring echoed suddenly in Cassidy�s ears and told her to pay attention to her class that was now beginning. Mr. Varner stood from behind his desk and began to write on the board. Soon the names of five men appeared on the white fiberglass board. �Socrates, Alexander, Henry XVI, Martin Luther, and George Washington, these five men are well known history. So well known in fact, that if you were asked to take out a piece of paper and write one thing that each of these men was known for that every one of you could easily complete the assignment. My goal for this semester is for each of you to look past the better known subjects of history, and look at the lesser people beneath them and see their significance in history.� Cassidy listen attentively to the Mr. Varner who proved to be a commanding and enthusiastic speaker. The man spoke passionately about history for about forty-five minutes and held Cassidy�s attention the entire time before he changed the subject. �Now, since so much history came from the journals of men and women through the ages, for this class you each will need a journal of your own. A simple composition notebook will do just fine, and you may decorate it to your liking. You are to keep the journal as you would a diary by either writing about events, or even your thoughts on what is going on in the world. Make at least two entries a week of no less than a paragraph per entry, and every other week I will collect these and read them. I am not interested in reading every personal detail of your lives. If there is something that you don�t wish me to read, simply put up at the top of the page something that tells me to skip the page. A simple �PASS� or even �DO NOT READ,� will do. All I need to know is that you completed your entries, and that is all. Feel free to be creative with these. Glue in pictures or newspaper articles, draw your own doodles, or write out things that interest you. Make these your own.�

At the end of the class, Cassidy wondered just how much effort she would put into her own social studies journal as she remembered how many times she had tried to keep a diary before. Normally she would write a few entries and place the diary away to wind up forgetting about it as time went by. Then months later Cassidy would find the abandoned diary and the cycle would begin again.

After dropping her book into her locker, and pulling out her schedule, Cassidy gave a slight moan at what she read. �Physical education,� she said the words to herself out loud. Then, pulling her lead filled feet along, she made her way towards the gymnasium to meet up with her next and final class for the day. Cassidy hated P.E. in middle school, and would try her hardest to get out of it because she always felt strange compared to the other girls. Being a late bloomer, and rather chunky, Cassidy was always the odd one out in her class. She was glad once she hit a growth spurt and started to blossom, as her mother called it, she lost her baby fat and became an average size.

Cassidy�s sneakers squeaked softly on the freshly waxed planked gym floor as she stepped through the double doors and looked around in awe at the massive space. Wood bleachers extended out from both of the elongated sides of the rectangular room and a high steal embraced ceiling towered over her with white hanging circular lights that contained grated over the glass bulbs inside. Colorful banners hung from the walls in neat rows and proudly announced the school�s athletic winnings. At the end of the hall were two separate doors with one on each side of the gym. Cassidy made her way towards the one with the female silhouette on a black plaque that hung in the center of the entry as she heard several other feet squeaking on the gym floor behind her.

Inside the girl�s locker room, a couple of girls circled around on the benches that lined the main area in front of the three rows of lockers. Cassidy took a seat across from two other girls who she had seen earlier during lunch. Only a moment later did the loud bell ring and the group was confronted by Miss Thurman, their athletic and petite looking teacher. Cassidy first noticed the clipboard in the woman�s hand, but soon she could see the bright white track runners with hot pink laces on Miss Thurman�s feet. The shoes peaked out beneath navy blue jogging pants with a white stripe down each side which went well with the athletic white top that sported a silver whistle that hung from Miss Thurman�s neck. The woman had short brown hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail which gave a particular shape to her face. With high cheek bones, hazel colored eyes, and a well kept tan, Miss Thurman was actually very pretty, even in her athletic wear.

�Welcome to Basic Physical Education. I am Miss Thurman; you may all call me Miss T. or Kate. Each of you will be taking the fitness test tomorrow, and will need to have the items listed on this sheet which will be coming around,� she told them as she pulled out a pile of papers and handed it to the first girl sitting on the circle of benches. �The fitness test will be the starting point for the class, and also it will be your final at the end of the semester. All you have to do is complete the course with any amount of slight improvement and you will pass the course with no problem. As for your actual grade in the class, you will receive on evaluation of effort, coordination, and your overall determination to do well.� Miss Thurman paused a moment to let the words sink in as she smiled for a short second and then continued. �Determination is the key to anything and everything, especially in this class. When you are determined to do your best, or at least determined enough to try, it shows in your actions and your effort. All I ask is that you be determined to better yourselves so that you can be proud of your own efforts, and not be concerned with how well you do when compared to others.�

Cassidy listened as she took a paper from the pile and passed them on. The paper contained a short list of what she needed for the class: a single subject notebook, two pencils, a small gym bag for clothes, a pair of athletic sneakers with white or light colored soles, and a combination lock. At the bottom of the page was a form of some sort, and upon a closer examination, Cassidy could see that it was for exemptions from the class. Miss Thurman�s voice seemed distant as Cassidy looked at the paper, but it came back when she looked back upwards. �Now, if you all will line up over here by the supplies door, we will get each of you your uniforms and sweats. When you get to the door, tell me your top size and pant size. If you feel more comfortable it a large top size give me the size you want, but pant size is to be fitted properly.� The group of girls lined up and Cassidy was lost in the midst of them. The two girls who Cassidy had seen before were standing in front of her talking away to one another and a small group of girls behind her talked amongst themselves as they waited. A feeling of being alone swept over Cassidy as she stood there and listened to each girl give their sizes. Each one seemed to be a small or medium top with a six or eight pant size. The two girls ahead of Cassidy were both a small top and a size four, making Cassidy feel ashamed as she gave her sizes.

�A medium top and size ten pants,� Cassidy told Miss Thurman in a soft voice as she tried to talk quietly enough to keep the other girls from hearing. A moment later Miss Thurman piled a pair of blue basketball shorts, navy sweat pants, a grey t-shirt with the school logo printed on it, and a grey sweatshirt. Cassidy gave a silent nod to say thank you before making her way back towards the bench where she sat looking at her new P.E. uniforms.

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