Chapter Text
Hope scanned the parking lot from the passenger’s seat of her Mom’s car. She was looking for her best friend Landon, but she couldn’t see him.
“Hope, honey,” Mom said, “If you keep tapping your foot like that you’ll send it straight through the car.”
“Sorry,” Hope said, “Landon said he’d be waiting for me, but I don’t see him.”
“I’m sure he’s inside somewhere,” her Mom said as she pulled to the entrance, “Alright, I’m working late tonight so I won’t be back here until 4:30. Can you find something to do?”
“Could Dad pick me up?”
“He’s working late tonight,” she said, “You know, the first day has club sign ups. Maybe you could find something you like.”
“I hate school clubs,” Hope said as she grabbed her backpack.
“Just try,” she said, “And have a good day.”
“You too,” Hope said. She climbed out of the car and went looking for Landon. She eventually found him inside by his locker, talking with his brother.
“There you are,” she said, “You said you’d be waiting outside.”
“Hope, hey!” Landon exclaimed in lieu of an apology. He turned to his brother-Rafael-and said, “Raf, you remember Hope, right? From camp a few years ago.”
“I do,” he said, “Nice to meet you, Hope.”
“You too,” Hope said, shaking his hand, “Landon, can you help me find the office? I need to get my schedule.”
“Sure,” he said, “See ya, Raf.” Hope walked with Landon through the halls, doing her best to avoid the crowds of students around her. Her old school in New Orleans had been tiny. This place was huge , and Landon was the only person she really knew. That made her nervous, and she hated feeling that way. When they got to the office, Landon said,
“I gotta run, but you should be okay. They have secretaries and stuff inside to help you get to your homeroom.”
“What would I do without you?” Hope asked sarcastically.
“Sorry,” he said, “I was late too many times last semester and my homeroom teacher is starting to take notes. But I’ll see you after first period?”
“Fine, go,” she said. He gave her a quick nod before running off in the opposite direction. Once he was gone, Hope went into the office.
“Hi, I’m Hope Mikaelson,” she told the secretary, “I was told to come here to get my schedule.”
“One second,” the lady said. She typed something into the computer and said,
“Ah, there you are. You are in homeroom G27. You head out the door, walk straight, then take the first left and you’ll see it.”
“Thanks,” Hope said. Her schedule printed out, and the secretary handed it to her.
“And here is a map of the school,” she said, giving her a small brochure, “Passing periods are about seven minutes, so if you get lost you can either ask or look at this.”
“Great,” Hope said. She left the office, and made the mistake of looking at the map instead of looking in front of her, causing her to bump into someone walking the other way. The other person had been holding books, and they all fell on the ground.
“I am so sorry!” Hope exclaimed, getting on the ground to help them pick up their stuff. She looked up at the person to apologize, and was almost taken aback. The girl in front of her was pretty , and not just any kind of pretty. The kind of pretty you don’t believe is real until you see it.
“Don’t worry about it,” the girl said. She had long pigtails which she moved out of the way to grab her books. She then looked at Hope and asked,
“Are you new around here?”
“Was I that obvious?” Hope asked.
“The school map kind of gives it away,” she said.
“Right,” Hope said, and she grabbed it right as the other girl reached for one of her books, their hands grazing each other gently. Hope blushed, allowing her to grab her book before taking the map and putting it in her backpack pocket, “I really am sorry…”
“It’s all good,” she said, pulling herself up. Hope stood up, and the girl said,
“Well hey, if you want something to do, you should try out for cheerleading.” Cheerleading? Hope was a lot of things, but a cheerleader wasn’t one of them.
“Oh, I’ve never done cheerleading before,” she said.
“We’re asking for a lot of new recruits,” she said, “I’m head cheerleader this year and I’m kind of…reinventing the squad. You should check it out.”
“Yeah maybe,” Hope said, “When are the tryouts?”
“In the gym at 3:30,” she said. She unzipped her bag and pulled out a headband with some cat ears on it, “I think you’d be perfect.” She handed it to Hope, and normally she’d have no desire to put something this tacky on, but it was a new school, so why not? She put the headband on and said,
“Thanks. Maybe I’ll see you there.” She grinned at her.
“Perfect,” she said, “I’m Josie by the way.”
“Hope,” she said.
“Hope for what?” Josie asked. Hope raised an eyebrow in confusion, so Josie laughed and said, “I’m kidding. Nice to meet you, Hope.”
“You too,” Hope said. Josie gave her a wave goodbye and went down the hall. Hope watched her go, a small smile forming on her face. A smile that disappeared when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“What were you doing talking to her?” came Landon’s annoyed voice.
“I thought you had to go to homeroom,” Hope said, shaking out her shoulders.
“Bathroom pass,” Landon said, “Again I ask, why were you talking to her ?”
“I accidentally bumped into her and I was helping her pick up her books,” Hope said as they walked down the hall.
“That girl is crazy. The old cheer captains, Dana and Sasha, both mysteriously transferred at the end of the year and she got their spot, does that not sound weird?”
“I transferred here,” Hope said, “My Dad’s job changed, things happen.”
“Okay fine,” Landon said, “But I can’t rule out foul play.”
“You read too many comics.” Landon ignored her and said,
“So let me guess, pigtails spilled her guts and confessed to kidnapping Dana and Sasha, case closed.” Hope rolled her eyes.
“Her name is Josie,” she said, “And not exactly, but she did invite me to try out for the cheerleading team.”
“Who are you right now?” Landon asked, “You’re not a cheerleader.”
“I’m starting over,” Hope said, “Maybe it’s time to try something new.”
“Whatever,” Landon grumbled. They got to G27 and said, “Will I still be seeing you later or do you have plans with Josie?”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“Hey, I’m just looking out for you,” he said, “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m trying out for cheerleading, it’s not that serious,” Hope said, “Bye Landon.”
“Bye,” he said, but he still didn’t seem convinced. Hope decided not to let it worry her, though. She was doing what her Mom wanted and putting herself out there. And maybe, she’d make a new friend along the way.
Josie hadn’t given her any instructions on what to wear for the tryout, so Hope just showed up in what she’d come to school in, taking the cat ears off for good measure. No one else had them, and she really didn’t like standing out. Not that it mattered anyway since she was in jeans while everybody around her was in a T-shirt and shorts.
Well, everyone except Josie. She was dressed in her outfit from earlier, with her pigtails brushed back to perfection. She was laughing with her friend in the seat next to her while she flipped through a stack of paper in front of her. Hope debated waving to her, but she seemed busy. So she just got in line with the other girls. She waited until her name was called, and while she did, she watched a blonde girl enter. She waved to Josie, who looked over at her, but didn’t respond. Maybe two old friends who’d had a falling out? Hope didn’t want to pry. The blonde girl went to the bleachers and buried her head in a comic book. Josie started the tryouts soon after.
They went one at a time. There was a routine they needed to know, but Hope hadn’t been aware of it, so she just studied what everyone else did. It wasn’t too bad. Just a few simple steps. Hope wasn’t the most athletic person ever, but she could handle it. She did karate as a kid. She could handle a few steps. So when her time came, that’s what she did. And it almost went perfectly, until she messed up her last step. But instead of falling on her ass, she used it to her advantage. She twirled on her foot, and she did a backflip, landing perfectly. The girl next to Josie clapped, and when Hope looked into her eyes, she saw something there. Josie was impressed.
After the tryouts were over, Hope felt her place in the squad had been guaranteed. One of the girls had fallen, and another had messed up the steps. They were definitely getting cut. Josie was ready with a list of people who’d made the squad pretty soon after.
“If I call your name, congratulations!” she said, “If not, there’s always next year.” Hope waited patiently for her name to be called. But Josie moved down the list, and by the time she got to, ‘And finally, Clara Matthews,’ Hope knew what that meant for her. Josie approached her after and said,
“I hope there are no hard feelings.” Her voice didn't sound genuine like it had in the hallway. It sounded cheap and fake. Just like the artificial smile on her face.
“I’m over it,” she said, “Besides, if I went out, I think it’d be for QB 1.”
“What, you play football now?” Josie asked. Her tone was almost mocking. But Hope wasn’t letting this girl knock her down. She stood up straighter and said,
“Yeah, I do.”
“You don’t play football,” Landon said around his sandwich. They were at a grille in the middle of town, and Hope was trying to get him to ask Raf for a favor.
“Look, you were right. Josie’s the worst,” Hope said, “She asked me to audition, I did the best out of everyone, and she still cut me. Then I told her I was trying out for QB 1, so I would just look stupid if I backed out now.”
“Raf isn’t even playing football this year,” Landon said, “He’s putting all his energy into track for those scholarships.”
“Exactly!” Hope said, “Which means the spot is open.”
“Yeah, probably for someone who’s been on the team for the past two years. They wouldn’t just give it to some newbie.”
“They would if I impressed them, and if Raf put in a good word.”
“You’ve never played football, how are you gonna impress them?”
“My Dad loves football,” Hope said, “He taught me how to play when I was seven.”
“I thought your Dad was an artist.”
“He’s got range.”
“Of course he does.”
“Please?” Hope asked, “You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
“Why is Josie under your skin like this?” he asked, “She’s just some girl, and you hate team sports. Why can’t you just ignore her?” Hope wasn’t sure why. She just knew she couldn’t.
“Can you just talk to Raf?” she asked. He sighed and said,
“Fine. But no blaming me if he says no.”
He didn’t say no. In fact, he’d been a lot more supportive than Landon had. He walked Hope to the field after school and said,
“There’s Ethan Machado over there. He’s trying out for QB 1 too so he’s your main competition. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Hope said. She jogged over to Ethan and said,
“Uh hey, I’m Hope Mikaelson.”
“I heard,” he said, extending a hand out to shake. Hope shook it, wincing when she realized she had to look up in order to look Ethan in the eye. This truly was a tall man.
“Whatever happens…no hard feelings?” she asked.
“None at all,” he said, “See you out there.” He jogged onto the field, and Hope took a breath before following him. She hated sports, but was glad she’d worn the appropriate attire for this tryout. No way she’d be able to do this in jeans. They started with simple conditioning, and Hope was thankful for her karate training, because that was the only way she was able to keep up. The hard part came in the form of actual football. The pads she had to put on weighed more than she did, and she could barely see behind the helmet. Maybe Landon had been right…
The coach blew the whistle, and she had to get back on the field. She and Ethan were the only ones trying out for quarterback, which meant the two of them had to do a ton of drills against the rest of the team. And Ethan completed them flawlessly.
“Alright Mikaelson, you’re up!” the coach announced. Hope genuinely wished she was dead. She tightened her helmet, and went to do the drill. The quarterback was the one who had to call the plays. She’d run over a few with Raf last night.
“When all else fails, tell everyone to go long,” he’d said. So that was what she said. And it worked . Someone threw her the ball, and she got it to the other side of the field. The coach was taken aback, Ethan was taken aback, she was definitely taken aback…
“Let’s try it again!” the coach said. She guessed she had to run a new play, so she used a different one Rafael told her. The only problem was, this involved her needing to catch the ball. When she ran across the field, she thought that she would hate it, but truth be told, she was kind of having fun. And when one of the other players threw the ball her way, she caught it easily. She may have been small in size, but she was quick on her feet. When the defense came for her, all she had to do was duck to get past them. If she’d always known football was this easy, she would’ve tried out earlier.
Her team won her first, second, third, and fourth play. Now Hope was starting to get nervous because she hadn’t practiced any more with Raf. But luckily for her, Coach blew the whistle.
“Everyone bring it in,” he said. Hope took the helmet off, and joined the others. Coach was already listing off positions. She had a feeling Quarterback was last, so she was on her toes the whole time. She couldn’t have two losses in one week. Especially at a new school.
“For our wide receiver we’ve got Mr. Ethan Macahdo, which leaves our Quarterback position to…” Hope had been frozen in shock that she didn’t realize the man was holding out the ball to her.
“Me?” she asked, almost inaudibly.
“Congratulations Ms. Mikaelson,” he said, “Your Mystic Falls High’s new QB 1!” He tossed her the ball and she caught it easily, with the rest of the group cheering. Were they happy for her? Even Ethan was smiling. She felt like she needed to say something.
“Well thanks,” she said, “I uh…can’t wait to play with you guys?” She was awkward, but luckily for her, no one seemed to care. And while the team cheered her on and passed her around, no one noticed the bleachers, where head cheerleader Josette Forbes watched with a small pout on her face.
“Does that worry you?” her friend Maya asked.
“Nothing worries me,” she said, “Pretty pathetic for your bother, though. Getting beaten by some newbie.” Maya scoffed.
“Ethan gets over things too quickly,” she said, “But I do need to ask, why didn’t you just put Hope on the squad? Her tryout was good.” Yeah, almost too good. But Josie didn’t say that out loud. She just shrugged and said,
“She wasn’t my style.”
“She’s the football team’s style,” Maya said, “So what are you gonna do?”
“I guess I need to get to know her.”
“Why?” Maya asked.
“She’s QB 1, I’m head cheer,” Josie said, turning to Maya, “It just makes sense.”