text: The stench of sweat filled my nostrils, harsh spikes of floral, and wood mixing in. Move one way and the harsh smell almost resembling nature would make you dizzy. Go the other and flowers hit you like a train, almost knocking you off your feet. You could practically taste the loud smells if it had not been for the gun powder. The only smell you could taste was sweat, the saltiness constantly abused my tongue. It was hard to keep my mouth closed to stop it. I was breathing to heavily. One gasp after another. No matter how many times I practiced, how many times I have raised my stamina, nothing could prepare me for this. Not once in my life would I think I could hear so many bangs and booms. The hissing of sprinklers added fuel to the flames. With Hard loud thumps, that sounded strikingly similar to horses galloping mixing in, almost naturally. The deep vibrations of the overpowering brass was enough to make my ears ring. It made the children behind me screech and start crying. The hard lace brushing my inner thighs were most differently going to give me a rash. I could practically feel it forming now. The scratchy fabric around my bust did not do my arms any justice either. The corset was tight, restricting my moments, and causing my lower back to pull in pain. The shoes were not that amazing either, making my ankles hurt. Why they had the varsity cheerleaders in corsets and horrible clothing? The answer was simple. The so called leader of the jocks thought it would be a funny prank. Making all of the cheerleaders think we were supposed to wear this to the biggest game possible. We were barely cheering, mostly out of spite, partially because we couldn’t even do our cheer routine. We were all sour, not because we would get a ear full from out couch for not cheering. We were sour, because the couch would be chewing us out for what we were wearing. The crowd did not care too much about us, after all. Our job was done, right now we were waiting on our team. It was the final goal after all. I could hear one child behind me, begging their mother to turn on the lights in the sky. Then her almost getting drowned out by the banging next to me telling them, that they had to wait for the ball to go past one of the large mettle poles. I almost laughed, not even I knew what those things were called. Nearly a second after the childs begging, a loud alarm went off. Exclaiming the game was over. One side erupted, hooting and hollering. I had to cover my ears due to the increase in the already loud volume of it all. I jumped at a loud bang then crackle, then brushed against another hard clothed shoulder. As soon as it started our couch came over, yelled at us to take off the ridicules nonsense and do our end routine. Without skipping a beat, we all took off the straining corsets. A deep breath filled my lungs, soothing the fire that started to grow in them. When I was able to stick my hand down the bale shoe and fling it off, I groaned in relief as my feet touched the grass. We sprinted off to the middle of the field, aching feet relaxing at ever slap on the wet cool grass. I had to climb the other wet and sweaty bodys, my back popped as soon as I was air born. I shivered slightly when a bunch of tiny tickles, brushed on any exposed skin it could get to. After so many bangs in the sky, the taste and smell of metal was harder than ever. When it was all said and done. We walked back to our lockers, constantly moving our shoulders hoping to relieve some of the pain in our backs. The once hot bumpy rocks now felt cool. The side walk was no better, soft and cold, but felt hard enough. I knew if I walked too long on this it would tare up my soul again, for now it’s cold grasp made me want to moan. My sore souls, screaming and throbbing in pain, once on fire, now were relaxing a crying to be fully straight. All of the doors in the locker room were squeaky. Each one screaming at who ever dared to open it. I simply drifted off to the showers. No longer being able to take my arms sticking to my stomach. As I stripped, the cold air curled around my shoulders, a shuttered breath shook out of my body. My hair did nothing to protect me. A squeak from the old shower and hot water rushed from above. I squeaked as I feel on my bottom. Gasping and whining at the coldness. The hot liquid drifted over my body in comforting crosses. Wiping away the cool touch, seemingly jealous like. Standing up, I moved more to the water. Felling the cool open holes on the drain. It did not occur to me how hot the water was until I coughed. The sudden loss of air made me regain a sense of where I was. Hard throaty coughs left my mouth, the air was too hot. The steam musked the air, creating a think fog to chock on. I had to poke my head out into the significantly colder hallway to gasp for air. When I was done, I pulled my self from the shower cubby and into the almost empty locker area. One cold screaming metal slab later, and I am finally able to put on the one thing I have wanted to wear this whole day. Sliding through the fabric felt like a dream come true. It’s soft arms wrapping around and gently resting on top of my arms and legs made me decompress. Slouching in place, before sighing and slinging my heavy fully bag over the shoulder. Almost falling from the extra weight. My friend was waiting in her car, a neutral temperature blasting from the vents.