Chapter 1

"Hi, Jemima!"

"Hey, Jemima!"

"Jemima, hi!"

"Looking as beautiful as ever, Jemima."

"I love your hair."

"Congrats on winning the cheer competition last night, you crushed it as always!"

"You were amazing last night, you're always amazing."

"I know, sweetheart," with an air of confidence, she tossed her long, blonde, knotless braids over her shoulders and strutted through the hallways. A prideful smirk played on her lips as she walked towards her locker, instantly noticing a stack of love letters protruding from one of the vents through her locker.

She sighed as she reached for the stack of colorful letters. As prideful as she felt about constantly getting so many love letters, she couldn't help the slight dash of irritation she felt as well, sure getting showered with love and admiration was good and a confidence booster- the girl just did not have the patience or time to go through love confession letters every single day when all she'd want to do is grab a book from her locker. With a deep exhale, she still delved into the pages, immersing herself in a world of love confessions and even marriage proposals.

If you asked her, she would play humble and say she was just a regular college student at BPU like all the rest, but everybody else knew- even the professors- the Jemima Jackson was the reigning Queen Bee of Bolton Private University. She was loved by many for her good looks, social status, and skills as a cheerleader and a captain of the team, and hated by many more because- well you can't always win every single person's heart. Being the most popular girl on campus came with it perks, she had a lot of random people kissing her ass on a daily because they wanted to be noticed by the Queen Bee, which came with random gifts, love letters and privileges, not to mention she was also very feared by a lot of the students, because apparently, she could be really mean sometimes- even though she never really intends to most of the time.

She considered herself nice enough...well unless you cross her the wrong way or get on her nerves on a really bad day, then she could get really mean.

She skimmed through the letters as fast as she could, some of the compliments sending her confidence shooting through the roof, some were so corny that they had her rolling her eyes. Others were very creative and even had her mentally noting down a couple good pickup lines to use on her boyfriend.

Her heart did a tiny leap at the thought of her boyfriend.

"Should we be expecting wedding invites soon?"

Jemima glanced up, her deep brown eyes meeting the bright smiles of her two closest friends.

"When pigs fly, Nessa," she declared in slight boredom, tossing the pile into the nearest trash can while rolling her dark eyes.

She then finally opened her locker and hastily stashed her red and white pom-poms inside, then grabbed the school jersey that perfectly matched her cheer costume's colour scheme with the team's logo on it, quickly putting it on to conceal the very revealing two-piece uniform she had on.

"That's not too impossible, all I have to do is get on a flight with a pig as my support animal and then boom you're married!"

Vanessa gave a playful snort as she delicately ran her fingers through her straightened black hair, showing off her red-coated acrylic nails, "Zoe, you can't leave the country remember?"

"Oh right," Zoe blinked and her vivid green eyes grew wide with realisation, "you do it."

Jemima grew up with Zoe and Vanessa, all three of them had been best friends since they were in diapers, so they were practically sisters. Their mothers all met at a support group for immigrant women who were trying to navigate the city, all three women were pregnant at that time so they bonded and decided that their connection was enough for them to remain friends, and then twenty-two years later their daughters are the best of friends.

Jemima sighed, stepping between her friends and linking their arms with hers, then began leading them through the exit doors, ready to call it a day. "It's been a long day girls, that Ethiopian restaurant is calling my name."

"And then after, can we go to that new spa place that just opened up? My feet are killing me," Vanessa groaned, lazily resting her head on Jemima's shoulder.

Vanessa Almaz Yohannes was the mother of the group, or so the other two teased her. She was the most rational and responsible of the three, and if it wasn't for her, the trio would've gotten into a lot more trouble than they've gotten to in the past. With her waist length dark hair that was naturally frizzy and curly which she'd sometimes straighten, her light brown eyes and a wide smile pretty enough to melt the coldest heart, she also had her own fair share of fanboys and fangirls that followed her around like lost puppies begging for a crumb of her attention, her naturally tan skin only added to her good looks and her long legs and slim body made her look like she had the potential to be a runway model, something she heard quiet often.

"Tell me about it, coach Michaels did a number on us today," Zoe nodded in agreement as they walked out into the warm afternoon summer breeze.

Zoe Zerina Davella was the one who would get them into the trouble that Vanessa would always try to get them out of. As cute and nice as she looked, she was the wild card that had trouble following her wherever she went, and had people scrambling to get away from her so they wouldn't get caught up in her mess. Her plump pink lips were always in a smile that would have you thinking that she's an absolute sweetheart, then her hazel eyes will trap you until she'll have you doing her bid which would almost always end up with the police getting involved, or like that one time, someone calling animal control. She was around the same height as Jemima but not as tall as Vanessa, her pitch black hair was framed around her face in a neat bob, there was not an single blemish on her pale skin and her body was fit and slim, thanks to all the workouts she did because of cheerleading.

They had just come from a last minute cheer practice, which they only showed up for because their coach lied to them and told them that it was a celebratory party for winning the cheer competition, but they were all beyond disappointed when they showed up and were told to get into their uniforms and stretch.

Coach Michaels was a retired professional gymnast and ex-cheerleader from her high school and college days, who took up coaching college cheer to make good use of her free time, she was a sweetheart when she wanted to be but also very strict when it came to cheer, that was why she didn't care if her girls were still tired and sore from the competition, there was always time to squeeze in more practice.

Her methods seemed to work as the Bolton Private University cheer team was the best in their city.

BPU was an expensive private university where only the richest and elite sent their privileged kids to attend, despite rumours that the rich pay their way into things, BPU was a highly strict school to get into, only the best of the best made it into the school and no amount of money could get you a seat in even the smallest class if you weren't smart enough.

At least, that had been the case for the longest time until Dean Morgan joined the university a couple years back.

"You would think she gets paid extra for overworking us so much," Jemima rolled her eyes, "what if one day, we all just faint while performing, then what?"

Vanessa lifted her head from Jemima's shoulder and violently shook her head, not wanting to imagine the thought, "don't jinx us Mima, we're the best of the best for a reason, that would be...embarrassing," she cringed.

"Just saying."

"Hello ladies, lovely day to join the poets club, huh?"

The trio looked the tall and slim boy up and down, from his perfectly combed brunette hair and yellow t-shirt to the brown pants and black shoes he wore. A silence filled couple of seconds passed before they all fell into a fit of laughter, confusing the boy who held out flyers advertising the little club he hosted on Friday afternoons.

"Is that a...yes?" he asked, uncertainty evident in his voice as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Boy if you don't get your weird ass out of my face," Jemima laughed with her friends, pushing the boy out of their way and continuing their walk.

"The nerve," Vanessa scoffed.

The boy watched them go, his face a mix of disappointment and confusion.

The girls laughter echoed behind them, blending with the hum of the bustling campus.

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