Survival Of The Fittest

And they say
He do a little this
He do a little that
He always in drama (and I heard)
He's nuthin' but a pimp
He's got a lot of chicks
He's always in the club (and they say)

1, 2, 3, 4...

He think he slick
He's got a lot of Chicks
He's so messed up (And I Heard)
He's been locked up
Find somebody else
He ain't nuthin' But A Thug

... 5, 6, 7, 8...

So What?
So What?
So What?
So What?

"Alright girls, let's wrap it up for today!"

Mrs. Mooney's booming voice echoed over the football field, signifying to Franklyn Senior High's Varsity cheerleading squad that practice was over for the day.  A large smile formed on the equally large woman's face as she placed her hands on her hips and proceeded to make her typical wrap-up announcements about the next practice and the upcoming football game and the like.  Whitney Acosta could only cast the curly haired brunette an offhand glance, however.  She was much more distracted by the ongoings in the not-so-far distance.

PING!

The sound of an aluminum baseball bat connecting soundly with a baseball and likewise hurling it into the air echoed at an almost rhythmical pace.  The baseball boys were practicing too, and it had all but distracted Whitney for their entire practice session.  It wasn't that she was interested in baseball, not really anyway.  It was just a bunch of guys running around in tight pants chasing after a little white ball to her.  Rather, it was a certain someone on the baseball team that happened to catch her eye.  Her thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, by a high-pitched and giggling voice all but shrieking at her.

"Whitney?  WHITNEY!"

Being snapped back to reality all at once, the blonde turned her attention to the petite brunette standing in front of her with the grin of a cheshire cat spread across her face: Alexis "Lexie" Williams.  A smile crossed Whitney's face as Alexis all but strained herself to catch a glimpse of what her associate had zoned out on, though somehow remained completely oblivious to the fact.  Alexis stared dumbfounded at her companion, then in the general direction she was looking, then once again at her companion, until finally the proverbial lightbulb flashed above her head and she finally "got it."

"Ooh," she exclaimed, leaving it at that.

Of course, Lexie knew all about the crush Whitney had formed on a certain baseball player.  However, in an almost kind gesture on her part, she simply decided to leave it at that.  As Lexie simply shrugged her shoulders, the pained expression that had formed on Whitney's face slowly faded away.  Lexie spun around on her heels, hoping a step as she did with her all but endless amount of energy, and assuming Whitney would follow in tow toward the locker room.  Of course, Whitney did, and Lexie slowed her pace as to walk beside her friend.

"Soo... there's going to be a HUGE party this weekend up at Andy Edwards's place... you going?" Lexie inquired tentatively.

Whitney simply cast her friend a "look".  She didn't party, pretty much everyone knew that much.  Of the girls on the cheerleading squad, Whitney had the reputation of being the "goody-goody".  She didn't party, didn't sleep around.  In Lexie's own words, she was rather boring.

"You know I don't--" Whitney started, but was quickly interrupted.

"You should go this time, Whit," Lexie insisted, then added as if it were a last minute thought, "And you know... he might be there.  A lot of the baseball boys go, Andy's pretty good friends with a few of them.  There's the offhand chance they'll drag him out there.  Wouldn't it be worth it then?"

"I guess..." Whitney stated slowly.

The prospect that he would be there had never really occurred to her, but there was a definite possibility, especially knowing the party's host.  Despite that, Whitney couldn't get overly excited about watching a bunch of eleventh grade students boozing, staggering around, and throwing up.  And that's pretty much what any party Andy Edwards threw consisted of.  The pleading expression on Lexie's face was unrelenting, though.  Whitney wasn't getting out of this.

"I'll... I'll think about it," she finally conceded.

"Awesome!"

The squeal escaped Lexie's mouth in a loud and high-pitched manner, one that would probably leave many people's ears ringing.  Trotting off toward the locker room, Lexie all but left Whitney in the dust, and as she came to the door, the blonde couldn't help but turn and cast one last glance toward the baseball field that was currently occupied by Franklyn High's renowned baseball team.  A small sigh escaped her lips and she tensed up a bit at the mere thought of running into him at Andy's party.  What would she even say?  What would she do.  Shaking her head, Whitney turned back toward the door leading inside and entered the locker room.

Well, maybe someday.

*snap*

You know there was just something totally erotic about observing someone who is seventeen, you could be eight, if you’re checking out a seventeen year old you’re a pedophile, it didn’t matter…something about seventeen year old girls just screamed pedophilia.  It was then that the godly Samuel Sorenson finished taking pictures of the cheer squad for the local year book, well good ol’ Sorenson while a smart boy was unusually naïve, assuming that the leader of the cheer squad would want to see the candid shots he had taken he found himself walking into the girls locker room (obviously not reading the sign that said “Girls Locker-room”) and as he walked in he didn’t notice the various changing girls in other forms of undress, he went to the teachers office and placed the camera and wrote down a note saying that this is where the photos where and to pick several that she liked and then he exited from her office only to be greeted with several of his female classmates changing.

“Oh my lord…” he said in awe.

Stepping out of the shower area of the locker room came the slender and tall strawberry blond of Franklin with naught but a towel wrapped around her body covering her undergarments.  Her hair was still dripping wet and slicked back, but she didn't care as she made her way over to her locker.

Seeing all the cheerleaders now in the locker room, she merely continued changing into her everyday casual clothes.  She had dropped out of cheerleading the year before and had picked up volleyball this year.  Her reason for doing so was never made real clear to the squad, nor to herself.

"Well, looks like their practices have been well..."  She mumbled softly to herself.  Whether she'd ever admit it or not, she did indeed miss the squad and the parties she'd go to, but she had her reasons.

Dropping the towel, Kurai pulled out her black jeans and began to pull them on when she saw Samuel Sorenson.  Oddly enough, she didn't falter in putting on her clothes.  She was quite comfortable with her body and didn't care if one more guy saw her bra and panties.  Why should she?

Shaking her head she looked over at Sorenson and buttoned her pants and zippered them up.

"Hey Sorenson!  Mind giving us a bit of privacy?"

"Oh my God!" Lexie Williams shrieked as Sam Sorenson stumbled into the girl's locker room and stopped, clearly awe-strucken by the site he saw before him.

Clearly not thinking, Lexie threw the shirt she had just begun pulling on toward Sorenson in an attempt to get him out, exposing herself in the process.  Almost as if on cue, Whitney shrieked as well and pulled her t-shirt up to cover herself as best as possible.  Her eyes widened a bit until she suddenly realized who it was.  Still refusing to expose herself, Whitney cast him a glare and shook her head slightly before addressing the boy.

"Jesus Christ Sorenson, what in the world are you doing?"

Lexie, who was now fumbling to find some sort of coverage for herself, cast him another glance as she dug furiously through the locker behind her.  Meanwhile, Kurai Andre had stepped out of the girl's shower and spoken up, asking the boy to leave.  Lexie and Whitney both found themselves nodding in agreement, the latter casting Sorenson one last surprised glance.

"Yeah I... think it'd be best if you left now..."

Whitney began laughing somewhat uncomfortably, while Lexie fell backwards and landed on her rear-end in her urgency to cover herself.  Looking up with an embarrassed expression on her face, Lexie nodded in agreement, though after a moment addressed the boy once again.

"Wait on us outside!" she called out in her usual high-pitched voice.

To Lexie Williams, Whitney Acosta, and probably several more of the girls on the cheerleading squad, Sam was like the brother they'd never had.  He was the kind of person they told their secrets to, drug shopping and all over the state of New Jersey, and announced personal and intimate secrets to without ever thinking twice about it.  In retrospect, Sam Sorenson was probably in a position to be envied by many.  Just like any other typical day, school had let out and now Lexie and Whitney had every intention of dragging Sam on their escapades around town.

(Sorry it's short and rushed, I'm in a hurry.)

Sorenson’s first eyeful was of Whitney Acosta, of course in the brief second, but there was nothing brief of the effect it had on him, then Lexie, god bless her was just a little stupid, throwing her shirt at him Sam got a view of her breasts and blushed furiously, with Kurai Andre he blushed even more, the reaction refusing to calm down.

I just got an eyeful of Whitney Acosta’s, Lexie, and Kura’s breasts…god please forgive me, but holy shit what do they put in the milk.

“Umm…the camera, candid picture…didn’t see the sign…”

However Sorenson just responded with running the fuck out of there and to the outside world, the football team looking at Sorenson oddly, some even giving him thumbs, Sorenson merely just waved back, still the view of his friends…well basically nude not leaving his mind.

Kurai Andre couldn't help but begin to laugh as Lexie shrieked and began to make a big deal out of Sorenson's being in the locker room.  Of course that's not to say that she thought it was alright, she just didn't think it something to freak out about.  After all, it could have been someone far more perverted than Sorenson.

Pulling a pale pink spaghetti tank top over her head, she straightened it and her bra out.  When she was satisfied with how her clothes settled upon her, she pulled out a comb and began to gently comb out any knots.  Watching Sorenson run out of the locker room only caused her to chuckle softly to herself.

Looking to Lexie and Whitney, she merely shook her head.  "Same old Sorenson, huh?"  Leaving her hair to air dry, she put the comb away and put on a pair of pink flip flops.

Gathering her stuff together in a duffle bag, Kurai tried to hurry it up.  Despite her friendly and joking air, she always felt awkward around the squad since she quit.

As Sam muttered an incoherent string of words and all but dashed out of the girl's locker room, Whitney found herself exchanging glances with Lexie, who was still trying to regain her standing position after falling on the ground, and then Kurai.  Had Sam Sorenson been any other boy at Franklyn Senior High, he'd have gotten the ass-whipping of a lifetime for barging in on the cheer squad's changing room.  However, they all knew Sam.  He was a good boy, a Christian boy, hell, Sam turned beat-red any time Lexie Williams started advertising her latest sex story.  Sam wasn't the kind of guy that would intentionally bust in just to perv on them.

Shrugging her shoulder slightly, Whitney slid on the grey Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirt she'd been holding over herself to hide her form and spritzed a bit of perfume on herself, then, after running a comb through her hair to straighten it up a bit, once again turned to Lexie and Kurai, trying to act as though the awkward incident hadn't happened.  Turning her attention toward Kurai, whom she had been on the cheer squad with the year before and looked up to greatly, a smile crossed Whitney Acosta's face.

"Hey, Kurai... we're all going to go grab a burger or something, you want to come along?"

The offer had been extended either way, whether or not Kurai would accept, Whitney wasn't really sure.  Meanwhile, Lexie'd gone through the routine of flipping her shoulder-length brown hair outward at the bottom and was currently pulling a white tanktop over her head.  She also cast Kurai a smile, but just as quickly adjusted her khaki skirt and nudged Whitney toward the door.

"Let's go, I'm starving!"

With a giggle, Lexie was suddenly pulling Whitney out of the locker room door, and Whitney could only hope that Kurai was following in tow.  Sorenson stood waiting outside, and Lexie playfully punched him in the shoulder for the incident that had occurred earlier.  With that she spun around on her heels, put her hands on her hips, and looked him directly in the eye.

"Jerk."

Whitney Acosta found herself shaking her head and heading off toward the parking lot to retrieve her car as Lexie continued to harrass poor Sorenson about his little mishap.  Whitney was far enough out of earshot that she couldn't hear if Lexie had spoken to Sorenson at all.  Whitney's flip-flops clicked lightly against the sidewalk as she spotted the black and tan Mustang Convertible sitting a few feet away.  Pushing the button on her keyless entry and triggering the alarm, Whitney climbed into the driver's seat and, after a moment, lowered the top on the car and started it up.

With a roar, the car sparked to life, and Whitney proceeded to drive around to where Lexie and company were currently standing.  Almost expectedly, Lexie jumped into the front passenger seat and cranked up the radio loudly, singing and dancing in tune, as Whitney simply shook her head and awaited the arrival of the others...

Meanwhile...

The baseball boys had also finished up their practice for the evening, and a select few were currently standing at the edge of the field, watching the ongoing antics of Lexie Williams and her companions.  Ricky Callahan, who had just recently moved to New Jersey from Montana, was one of these players.  As he overheard the duo of baseball boys talking about the girls in the convertible, he couldn't help but edge closer, curious as to what they were saying.  All of a sudden, Ricky felt a thud on his shoulder and saw a grin cross the face of one of the boys.

"There ya go, man.  Lexie Williams," he said with a wide grin, referring to the brunette currently in the middle of a seizure-like dance in the passenger's seat of the car.

The dark-skinned boy couldn't help but laugh nervously at the comment his companion had just made, and despite himself, his eyes wandered over to where the brunette was sitting.

"No kidding bro.  At least with her, ya know you won't have to work for it.  I heard she gives it up on the first date.  It's all a matter of convenience.  Why work for something when you can get it for free somewhere else?  And I'm tellin' ya, with THAT girl, gettin' it for free's a piece of cake."

A stupid grin crossed Ricky's face as his companion made the crude remark, but somewhere inside, the comment actually sort of bothered him.  I wonder if that girl knows they talk about her like that...

"Cake?" the other one chimed in, a grin crossing his features as well, "Nah, I'd say more like cherry pie.  Freshly baked cherry pie."

The two erupted in laughter and high-fived one another, and almost as if on cue, Ricky chimed in laughing as well.  Honestly, though, he didn't find the comment funny.  But, when in Rome, right?  Besides, he didn't know that girl, and truth be told, he wasn't the slightest bit interested.  Especially if what his companions had been saying about her was true.  Instead, Ricky's eyes wandered over to the blonde-haired girl sitting in the driver's seat of the Mustang, and a faint one-sided grin showed up on his face.  One of the two seemed to notice and a grimace showed up on his features before he began shaking his head.

"You can forget about that one, dude," he muttered.

As if taken aback by the remark, Ricky's attention broke from the group at the locker rooms and turned back toward his friends, an inquisitive expression now plastered across his features.  He didn't want to have to ask a stupid question... and surprisingly, he didn't have to.  His friend seemed to catch onto his thoughts, and went on to further explain the statement.

"She's fuckin' untouchable."

The second baseball boy took off his hat, revealing a bright orange mess of hair, and spit in the opposite direction before deciding to chime in on the conversation once again.

"She's uptight," the latter muttered after a moment, "And her dad's a freak on top of it.  Ya know, the kind who seriously answers the door with a shotgun.  Only guy who's ever even been close enough to have a chance to hit that's been Sorenson, and we're all pretty sure he's gay."

At that remark the first boy laughed so hard he actually snorted, and once again Ricky found himself laughing as well.  In all actuality, Ricky Callahan didn't know too much about Sam Sorenson, but from what he did know, Sam was actually a pretty decent guy.  Then again, his friends didn't seem to like him, so, what did he know?

"But yeah man," the second boy continued, as if ready to conclude his speech, "THAT girl... she's not worth the trouble.  Way too many hurdles, if you know what I mean.  Then again, I'm willing to bet the reward'd be pretty sweet.  You're better off goin' for Lexie, least then you can avoid doing circus tricks for nothin', ya know?"

"Ah..." Ricky muttered quietly.

Adjusting his ball cap so it shaded his eyes, he cast one final glance toward the duo in the convertible, then turned back to his friends as they started to walk off in the opposite direction.  Hurridly trailing behind them, Ricky barely overheard the redheaded boy make an inquiry concerning someone named Andy Edwards and a party he was supposed to be throwing.  Apparently, this kid threw some pretty wild parties.  The thought piqued Ricky's interest, and he'd soon forgotten about the awkward conversation he and the other two had just had concerning the cheerleader girls.

“Yeah…well I try…” Sam said in response to the jerk comment, he was really a timid person.  Very kind to the girls at school and I mean, let’s break it down for you, some guys right now where probably talking about fucking the living shit out of Lexie and Whitney…Sam was the guy that if he asked for sex he’d most likely get it, even if it was pity sex.

Of course having hung out with women all his life Sorenson’s ideology was this, women where like elephants…pretty to look at, but he wouldn’t want to own one.  Of course, Sorenson never said this out loud, because it’d be all over the place that good ol’ Sorenson was a sexist, another product of hanging out with women is that you get this strange distrust of women.

“So umm…you really…where cold?” Sorenson told Lexie trying to make conversation.

“Sorenson, one day I’m going to ask a guy what it feels like to have a penis, and then I’ll tell you…because I think you really need to figure that out before you try to make small talk with us.” Lexie said with a smirk before punching him again, yes that was good ol’ Sorenson for you.

“Yeah well…I’ve spent years studying the female sex…and I still have yet to find the answer to what exactly you guys want…”

“Awww… Sam that would remove the fun in hanging out with us.” Lexie said sticking her tongue out at him.

“I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter Lex.” he said with a smirk.

“What was that testosterone in that voice? Sorenson you are growing up!”

And with that Sorenson decided not to respond and simply get in the car.

((Continued in: A Lone Soul at the Bar and Grill))

Just getting ready to leave herself, Kurai had slung her bag over her shoulder and was heading for the door when she heard Whitney extend an offer to her to join them.  It took her a short moment to figure out what she had for homework, absolutely nothing, and to decide.  By then though, Lexie was pulling Whitney out of the locker room.

"Hey!  Wait up!"  Kurai simply shook her head at Lexie's antics as she dashed out of the locker room after them.

When she came to a stop by Lexie and Sorenson, she gave Lexie a humored smirk as she gave the boy trouble.  Though Kurai's attention was quickly pulled away from Sorenson and Lexie as she noticed the baseball team.

Looking to Whitney as she pulled up, Kurai had barely blinked and Lexie was already in the passenger sit.  It was understandable.  Though, despite herself, she couldn't help but look back to the baseball boys who were obviously looking over toward Whitney's car.  Shaking her head, she leaned against the side of the car.

"What do you think that group of boys over there are saying?"  She didn't indicate where they were, but she was certain Lexie and Whitney would know who she was talking about.  It was when they burst out in laughter that she grew suspicious of them.

"Hey, isn't that the new guy with them?  Oh, what's his name... Richie, or Ricky?  Whatever.  Either way, he seems out of place there."

Suddenly remembering why she was there, Kurai shook her head and laughed.  "I'll come along for some food, seeing as you did offer and I remarkabely miss going out with you guys."  With that she hopped into the backseat of the car.  She was one of those people who could walk to school.

Whitney, too, had grown curious as to what was going on at the baseball field.  Obviously, she, Lexie, and the rest of the crew had been the brunt of their joke or something, and Whitney became even more self-conscious as she heard them erupt into laughter even from the distance away they currently were.  Feeling her face flush a bright red, Whitney sunk further down into the driver's seat of the car.  Meanwhile, happy-go-lucky, clueless Lexie Williams was currently turned around with her knees digging into the tan leather of Whitney's seats, flailing her arm about in a wild wave.

At Kurai's mention of Ricky, Whitney felt her face turn an even brighter shade of red, but simply tried to shrug off the thought.  Straining to overhear the boys' conversation from the baseball field, Whitney discovered that it was completely inaudible over the distance.  Either way, Sorenson seemed to not be paying attention, and Whitney didn't want to act like she was paying too much heed to a bunch of redneck boys.  Casting an almost fake smile at Lexie as she plopped back down in the front seat, she turned to Kurai and Sorenson and after a moment, finally spoke up.

"You're right," she mused quietly, "He does seem out of place... but... forget about them.  They aren't important.  Anyway ladies... and Sorenson... what do you say we head on down to Benson's and grab a burger?"

Benson's Bar and Grill was, of course, a little rinky-dink ma&pa-esque restaurant local to the New Jersey area with what Whitney Acosta thought to be the best hamburgers this side of the Mississippi.  With that Whitney Acosta and company were off, the only remnants of them having ever been in the locker rooms being the tire marks from the black Mustang.  As Whitney roared through the parking lot with her friends, she mentally forced all thoughts of Ricky Callahan out of her mind.  For now, anyway.

(Continued in A Lone Soul at the Bar and Grill.)