Anthem City: Fall of the Possum

[Blaze]

The students-her new classmates rather-all chorus a greeting of 'Hello Georgia.' at the end of her introduction.

"A new cheerleader eh? Well it just so happens we have a free seat next to a member of the cheerleading squad." Miss Joyeuse says, pointing to a free desk next to a pretty girl with long silky black hair and green eyes. Said girl gives Georgia a wave and pulls the chair out of her.

[Harri-chan]

Thinking of herself as a cheerleader still seemed utterly bizarre to Georgia, but she knew it would help her get her coordination back. That is, if she could even make the squad. Laying her eyes on the pretty, dark-haired girl, she realised just how different life as Georgia Hepkins was going to be from life as Georgia Jones.

The first time through school her friend's had been the rockers and the skaters, who cared very little for being beautiful. Of course, Amanda was as pretty as they came, but she hadn't been in school with Amanda. Heading over to the free desk, she lowered herself into the chair and smiled at the girl.

"Thanks...", she whispered, setting her back pack on the floor. "What's your name?", she asked, still keeping her voice down as she scooted her chair closer to the desk.

[Blaze]

"Dana Durkheim. Nice to meet you Georgia." she says with a smile. Georgia may notice the slightest trace of a French accent in her words.

"Where are you from?" she asks, tilting her head and smiling at Georgia.

[Harri-chan]

Georgia certainly did notice the slight accent, and she felt her chest tighten slightly. Being in awe of Amanda was one thing, but she was beautiful, smart, strong... there was no shame in being in awe of a woman like that. Even when Suzie started to feel like someone to look up to, it made sense since she was so much like a younger version of her Mom. But a thirteen or fourteen year old cheerleader? Georgia blushed, but gazed at the dark-haired teenager, wondering if she really could be friends with someone that would have so obviously not been part of her social circle as Georgia Jones.

"Ohh... not too far. Nowhere exciting or exotic... ", she muttered with an apologetic smile. "What about you? I like your accent", she said, being entirely genuine. "It's... classy", she said after a pause, and used a nod of her head to emphasise her point.

[Blaze]

Dana beams happily and shakes her head.

"Nonsense, that doesn't matter, I wanna know!"

She gives a tiny giggle when Georgia compliments her accent.

"You zink zo? I zhould play et up then, non?"

[Harri-chan]

Dana's giggling was infectious, and Georgia found herself joining in when the girl demonstrated the accent again at full strength. As her mind wandered to thoughts of growing up in France, she couldn't help but feel utterly lacking in culture! In truth, she'd never left Anthem City, not even as a child, but that simply wouldn't work for Georgia Hepkins!

"You ever been to Rockville? It's about an hour east of here", she said, trying to sound casual. Her old company used to have an office in Rockville, and she was used to booking hotels and restaurants there. "That's where I grew up. Told you it was boring. They don't even have a good mall", she added, as she'd heard some of the women in the office make that complaint before.

[Blaze]

"Ahhh, I see. Been there a couple of times, it is dreadfully boring." Dana says with a nod

"No wonder you don't have much to say. How are you finding Anthem City?"

[Harri-chan]

Georgia suddenly perked up. "I love it! I'm staying with my aunt and cousin in a really nice apartment. I've only been here a couple of days but I've done so much. We went to the mall, bought a ton of clothes, and yesterday we went to the water park. Have you been there? I think I caught the sun..". Another little phrase picked up listening to the conversations of people who didn't spend their weekends fighting crime.

[Blaze]

"You caught some sun? You don't look very tanned..." Dana says, examining Georgia's face carefully

"And how would you get tan at a water park? A beach maybe..."

[Harri-chan]

Georgia frowns a little, and peers down at her skinny legs, only the very tops of them covered by her school skirt. Previously they'd spent every day covered up by tights or spandex, never feeling the sun's warmth upon their skin. A few hours in the water park had got just enough colour to impress Georgia, but a quick glance around and she realised how pathetic her 'tan' actually was.

"Well, the sun was out... and we were there all afternoon...", she mumbled in embarassment.

[Blaze]

"Sweetie, if you wanna catch some sun, we should go to the beach sometime! A good tan will help if you wanna join the cheerleading squad." Dana says happily, clapping her hands together.

[Harri-chan]

Georgia chewed her bottom lip for a moment. Maybe she didn't want it for the same reasons as the rest of the girls, but she definitely did want to be on that cheerleading squad, which meant she was going to have to start learning to be more like a cheerleader. She blushed a little, wondering what Amanda and Suzie would think if she started to get too into her role, but pushing the thought aside, she smiled brightly at Dana.

"I'd love that!", she replied. "I mean... I'll have to ask my Aunt first, but I don't think she'll mind. Have you been on the squad for long?", she asked.

[Blaze]

"Ever since I moved here, six months ago!" Dana says happily as the bell rings!

"Ah, time for class! Do you know where your first one is?"

[Harri-chan]

"Uh... let me see", she said, reaching down into her bag, and pulled out her schedule. She rose slightly, and leaned over to set the slip of paper on Dana's desk. "Does this make sense to you?", she asked, almost giving those behind her a peek at her panties.

[Blaze]

Dana looks over to overlook Georgia's schedule and smiles.

"The columns represent days of the week and rows are time. See, homeroom is all along the top, and today's Monday so... your next class is Home Ec, same class as me!"