Undercover Cheerleader

Hey.

First day, are you excited?

Yeah.

I love showing up in a new town

where I know exactly zero people.

I know, that is tough sweetheart.

I'm sorry.

The last thing I wanted to do

was uproot you from your friends.

But you did anyway.

One day, when you are my age

and you get the job offer of a lifetime,

you'll understand.

Besides, I assume you want to go to college some day.

Gotta pay for that somehow.

But I am sorry that you're upset about it.

It's okay.

I know it's your dream to be a fancy tech CEO or whatever.

Ugh, I just miss New York.

It's so quiet here and weirdly dark at night.

Oh, well that's what night time looks like

without street lights, sweetheart.

Haha.

See? You're learning new things already.

Lucky me.

Hey, I know the last couple of years have been tough.

They've been hard on me too.

Your dad's heart attack...

I would give anything to have him back.

But we've got to make the best of things, okay?

Give Plan B our all.

That's what he would've wanted us to do.

I know.

I just miss him...

I know, sweetheart.

I do too.

You are going to fit right in.

Maybe they will even have a dance team,

like your old school.

Maybe.

I should get going,

don't want to be late for my first day.

Love you.

I love you, too.

Same cliques, different school.

How we doing?

All right, you got this Bailey.

Autumn Bailey, welcome to Brookview High.

We're happy to have you.

Come on in.

This is Kara, your campus liaison.

She's going to sort of buffer for you this week

so that you don't walk around the campus alone.

Hey, I'm here of my own volition, I swear.

You sounded cool.

Oh, thanks, nice to meet you.

I noticed you wrote for your school newspaper

at your last school.

Kara here, she's in charge of the school newspaper.

So I figured at the very least,

you got somebody to talk to, huh?

So you better make the better of it.

Well, first period's going to get going here.

Better get to it.

We both have bio, I'll take you.

-Bye girls. -Thank you.

Have a good day.

It's a pretty typical high school.

You got the burn outs, the freaks, the popular kids.

Oh prepare yourself,

I know those might come as a shock to you

but the cheerleaders are awful, avoid them at all costs.

Yeah, cheerleaders were jerks at my school, too.

Athletes might've been worse, though.

Oh, our athletes are terrible

and not just their personalities.

At least the cheerleaders win their competitions,

which you can see from all these trophies.

Wow.

Yeah, rah.

All right, let's go to class.

Who's that?

So look, no pressure,

but we're looking for another reporter for the newspaper.

So if you want in, you're in.

Really?

Yeah, thanks, that'd be awesome.

I miss writing.

I usually sit with Max: he's a reporter, too.

Max, say hi.

Oh, fresh meat.

I'm Autumn.

Domenick.

No, he's not, he's Max.

Okay.

Hey, does this school have a dance team?

No dance team, sorry.

You could always be a cheerleader.

Hey, who's that girl?

I don't know, must be a transfer.

I'd hit it.

Bode!

I'm just kidding, babe.

Well don't!

She's cute.

Yeah, I guess if you like boring girls.

It's Autumn, right?

Yeah.

Jenny, this is Bella.

Hey, look.

I don't want to tell you how to live your life,

but Kara's a loser.

I'm just saying,

hang with whoever you want to hang out with,

but Kara sucks.

Okay.

I'm just looking out for you since you're new here.

I don't want you to be cemented as a loser, too.

Well, I can look out for myself, thanks.

Hey, you know, you're a dancer, right?

How did you know that?

You're online.

You should try out for the cheerleading squad!

The tryouts are tomorrow.

No, I've never cheered.

Well, you seem like a fast learner.

I mean think about it, you get to dance,

have a built in friend group,

and be a part of a winning team.

It's a no brainer, really.

I'll think about it, but I gotta get to class.

See you guys.

Why are you being so nice to her?

I like my competition where I can see them.

An invitation from the queen bitch herself,

lucky you.

Yeah, it was pretty weird.

Hey, she doesn't seem to like you that much.

Well, color me shocked.

You're going to do it, right?

Cheerleading?

Why would I do that?

As a reporter.

Come on, you have to.

You can go undercover.

That's insane.

It's perfect.

You can report on the toxic culture of cheerleading

at Brookview High.

Is there even a story there?

Breaking, cheerleaders are kind of bitchy.

It goes way beyond bitchiness, Autumn.

Their coach is actually abusive.

I heard there's a hazing.

Someone needs to expose it.

Or you could just mess with them.

You know, plant seeds and pick fights

until they explode in a pile of pigtails and pom poms.

Very helpful, Max, thank you.

I have a large brain and many ideas.

Think about it, okay,

no one knows who you are yet.

If you get on the team,

you could assimilate into their group.

Okay, I'll think about it.

So, the school newspaper, huh?

That sounds interesting.

Oh yeah, it's not a sure thing.

I'm still thinking about it.

Oh, what's to think about?

You loved writing for your old paper.

I'm just weighing out my options,

seeing what else the school has to offer.

Well, that's a good idea.

Does anything sound exciting?

Well, I was asked to try out for the cheerleading squad.

Wait, what?

Cheerleading, you?

Yeah, why not?

It's just very unlike you.

Are you feeling okay?

Mom, I'm fine.

I mean I am a dancer,

it's not that crazy.

Dancing is not the same as cheerleading.

And you would know?

Your cousin was a cheerleader

and I remember what she went through.

It's a lot more intense than it used to be.

It's dancing around with pom poms,

looking cute and chanting cutesy rhymes.

How hard can that be?

Welcome.

I'm Dot, your coach, if you make the team.

As a former cheerleading captain here at Brookview High,