Chapter 6 - SHE DIDN'T RIG THE TRYOUT
By lunchtime, the rumor at school was that Tracy had somehow arranged for Ava to get cut.
That was false.
Coach Grant called Ava and Eric into school after hours to prove it.
Not because Ava demanded it.
Because the other cheer candidates were being dragged into the rumor.
The scoring sheets were boring.
Good.
Three judges.
Separate categories.
Tumbling.
Jumps.
Motion technique.
Dance memory.
Stunting.
Ava scored well.
Not high enough.
Two other girls beat her by less than a point.
One by nearly four.
Nothing suggested Tracy had contacted judges.
Nothing suggested Willow House had.
Coach Grant said:
“I need you to hear this clearly.”
Ava looked at her.
“You got cut because of the team size and the score.”
Ava swallowed.
“Okay.”
“Not because of your mother.”
That hurt in a different way.
Useful hurt.
The disappointment was still hers.
At least that part had not been manufactured.
Then Coach Grant opened another email.
“Your mom did contact me before tryouts.”
Tracy's attorney had already disclosed it.
Ava's face tightened.
“About what?”
Not the roster.
Media access.
Tracy asked whether parents could film reactions outside the gym after results.
Coach Grant said public sidewalks and exterior areas were outside her direct control, but no filming could interfere with students or use teammates without consent.
Tracy replied:
Totally understood. Just documenting Ava's journey.
Coach Grant looked uncomfortable.
“I thought that meant an ordinary family clip.”
Ava almost laughed.
“So did everybody.”
Then Maya asked to speak with Ava.
Alone if Ava wanted.
Ava said yes.
They sat on the bleachers.
Maya stared at her hands.
“Your mom asked me something before.”
Ava's stomach tightened.
“How long ago?”
“Spring.”
“What?”
After Ava and another girl, Sophie, had an argument at practice, Tracy messaged Maya.
If Ava melts down after practice, can you keep your camera rolling? I want to talk about friendship conflict with her later.
Maya refused.
Not dramatically.
She replied:
That's weird.
Then ignored Tracy.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Maya looked ashamed.
“Because your mom is nice.”
Ava frowned.
“She drove us to competitions. She bought us food. She got us those sponsor bags.”
Both things could be true.
Maya continued.
“And you liked the page.”
Ava looked away.
“I did.”
Sometimes.
Maya said:
“I thought maybe that's what your family does.”
That sentence hurt.
What your family does.
Ava had spent so long living inside the camera that other people had begun accepting it as culture.
She looked at Maya.
“Did you ever send her clips?”
“One.”
Ava froze.
“What?”
“Not bad.”
Maya immediately opened her phone.
Last winter.
Ava laughing so hard during practice she fell off a folding chair.
Tracy had asked for funny behind-the-scenes footage.
Maya sent it.
Tracy posted it.
Ava remembered liking that video.
Two million views.
No problem.
Except it taught Tracy something.
Peers could become auxiliary cameras.
Maya's face crumpled.
“I’m sorry.”
Ava shook her head.
“No.”
This part did not belong on a fifteen-year-old friend.
“You sent a funny clip because we all thought it was funny.”
Maya nodded.
Then:
“I should've told you about the meltdown message.”
“Yeah.”
Ava did not pretend otherwise.
Maya looked up.
“Are we okay?”
Ava thought.
“I don't know.”
Fair.
They sat in silence.
Then Coach Grant opened the gym door.
“Ava?”
She turned.
“Your mom is here.”
Ava's body tightened.
Coach Grant added:
“She isn't asking to see you.”
Ava frowned.
“Then why?”
“She brought the school a written statement accepting responsibility for filming other students in the background and agreed not to record on campus.”
Ava stared.
Tracy had acted without forcing Ava to be present.
That did not fix anything.
It did matter.
Then Coach Grant said:
“She also withdrew the parent sponsorship proposal for the winter cheer showcase.”
Ava had not known there was one.
May you like
Another connection between Tracy's money and Ava's school life quietly disappeared.
For the first time, Ava wondered how much of her world had been built around things she never saw.
