Mom Forced Me Into Pom-Poms - Part 5

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"I guess it's time to get you home, then, Jess," Mrs de Klerk announced. "I promised your mom I'd have you home in good time."  

That was welcome news to Jesse. He couldn't wait to be home again.  As they got ready to leave, Ashley appeared with the One Direction DVD.  

"You almost forgot this," she said, handing it to him. 

"You're going to totally love it."  

He was hoping they would have forgotten about the stupid DVD, but no such luck.  

"And don't forget about Twitter, either," Megan called after him, as Mrs de Klerk led him to the car.    

His mother was eager to discover how his visit went. She interrogated him as to what he and the girls did and what they talked about, and, against his better judgment, he found himself telling her about Ashley's room, about One Direction and the DVD he had been given to watch, and even about signing up for Twitter. 

He couldn't believe his own ears when he heard himself mentioning the girls' back-to-school shopping. His mother was especially intrigued about that and insisted on him describing what the dresses were like and what he thought of them.  

"You have been so good these last few days," she told him, "that you can sign up for Twitter, if that's what you want to do, and you can do whatever you like tomorrow. You don't have cheer practice until the evening, but the rest of the day is yours."  

Jesse was thrilled. It was so long since he had a morning without cheer and it was ages since he had a chance to hang out with his friends. He would go down to the park first thing in the morning.  

"Why don't you watch your new DVD tonight?" his mom said. 

"I tell you what I'll make popcorn and we'll watch it together. 

What do you think?" 

"Sounds cool," he answered. He was so happy at the prospect of tomorrow that he didn't mind having to endure 90 minutes of dreadful boy band stuff.    

The 'This is Us' movie wasn't as bad as he had feared. In fact, he kind of enjoyed it and it was fun watching it with his mom. 

She asked him about the boys, and he discovered by the end of it that he knew all their names and could distinguish between the five of them. Their songs weren't bad either, he thought, if you liked those kind of stupid girly pop songs.    

The next morning, Jesse was up bright and early, ready to go to the park. But when he came down to the kitchen, helmet in hand, his mother wasn't impressed.  "Why are you dressed like that?" she asked.  He looked down at his blue jeans and white striped baseball shirt and then back up at his mom.  

"Why? What do you mean?"  

"I told you summer is not a time for jeans or long pants. Now, go back upstairs and take those off and I'll help you find something to wear."  

"No, mom, please," he protested. "I want to wear jeans. Please, it's just for the morning."  

His mom moved swiftly, and, grabbing him by the arm, marched him from the kitchen up the stairs to his room. She grabbed him so hard, that his arm hurt. He could feel a tear well up, too. 

"Now, take off those clothes," she ordered, as she turned toward his closet.  Beginning to sob, his bottom lip trembling, he sat on the bed and untied his cleats, then pulled his jeans to his ankles.  

"Good boy," his mom said, turning to face him. 

"You have so many cute cheer shorts to choose from now, it would be a shame not to wear them. Plus, it's going to be so humid today that shorts are the best thing to wear anyway." 

 "But, mom, my legs. They'll all see my legs"  

"It's not like they haven't seen your legs before."  "No, but they're shaved. They'll see they're shaved."  

"No, they won't," his mom replied. "Nobody will notice that. It's not as if you had much fuzz there, to begin with."  He knew that wasn't true, and that everyone would see that his legs were smooth, just like the girls had noticed it yesterday.  

"I don't want to go now," he announced.  "What do you mean you don't want to go?" his mom said, as she selected a top from his closet. 

"Of course, you'll go. I want you to go. It will be good for you to go play ball for a while. It will help your coordination, too." 

 She saw how his earlier enthusiasm had now turned to sullen dejection.  "Look, Jess," she said, putting her finger under his chin and forcing him to raise his head, so she could look him in the eye. 

"I want you to have a good time and you are going to have a good time. So, no more of this sulking, okay? Now, let's get you ready."  His eyes opened wide when he saw the garments in her hand. 

He had never seen these ones before. The shorts were gunmetal grey with cotton candy trim on the legs and waistband and a big cotton candy tie. The tee was also in gunmetal with cotton candy cap sleeves and matching trim on the neckline. 

They looked horrible, and he wanted to revolt.  

"Pink," he shouted. "There's pink on them. I'm not wearing pink." 

 "It's not pink," his mother replied, raising her voice. 

"You call this color cotton candy. It goes really well with grey."  

"It's a girl's outfit. I can't wear a girl's outfit to the park."  

"It's not a girl's outfit," his mom shot back. "It's an outfit cheerleaders wear a lot. In fact, I saw some cheerleaders from East High wearing it just the other day."  

"But they're girls," he screamed.  "They're cheerleaders and you're a cheerleader now, and you will wear what I tell you to wear. Now, lift your arms, and let's see you in your lovely new top."  

He raised his arms as the tears flowed faster, and his mom pulled the top over his head and tugged at it so it sat snugly against him. Then, she tapped his leg, indicating he was to lift it to step into the horrible shorts. 

Once she had adjusted his shorts and tied the horrible pink tie, she laced him into his cheer shoes, again without any socks.  "There you are," she announced when she was done, "you look just great."  He knew full well what he looked like, and it wasn't just great. It was more like a girl or a dork or a fag.  

"I want to do cheer practice instead," he insisted, looking for a way out of going to the park.

"Can I go to the basement and do my routines?"  

He gave his mom a playful look, hoping against hope she would agree, but knowing deep down what the answer would be.  

"No," she answered, firmly. "You wanted to go to the park, and you are going to the park, and that's final. I'll drop you there myself, cos I have some errands I need to run."  

Jesse realized now he had made a terrible mistake in being so eager last night and this morning to play ball in the park with his friends. He shouldn't have been so enthusiastic. 

He shouldn't have given her this opportunity to suck him even deeper into her cheer-obsessed web. Maybe, she deliberately wants to embarrass me in front of my friends, he thought, so that I won't want to hang out with them anymore.  

"Grab your helmut, sweetie," she said, more cheerfully now, "and we'll get going."  With a long face and a low heart, he picked up his helmet and trudged after her to the car.    

Most of his friends were already in the park when his mom dropped him off. He had hoped on the way over that most would not be there, that they would be away on vacation or have other things to do.

 It had been weeks since he had been able to join them for a morning game. He wasn't sure who would be around and who wouldn't. Just his luck that twelve of them were there, chatting, messing around, and throwing a ball from one to another. 

Brian, Brandon, Cody, Mike, Liam, Jack, Jason, Sam, Tom, Brad, Rick, and Bill were all there, all wearing what he had first put on this morning, all his best friends from school, and here he had to join them dressed like he was. 

He knew full well what their reaction was going to be. And he was right.  Brian was the first to see him tentatively approach. 

His eyes opened wide, his hand covered his mouth in shock or glee, and he started to laugh out loud.  "Oh my god, look at this," he shouted. 

"Look at Jesse."  

All eyes turned towards him, and he saw how they stared at him, jaws collectively dropped, eyes growing wider and wider. 

He wanted to sink through the ground or to turn and run. It was too late to escape the ridicule he knew he was going to face perhaps forevermore. 

He was still a good twenty yards away when Brandon spoke.  

"Fuck, Jesse, what are you wearing?"  

"It's his little girly uniform. He's a cheerleader now,"  Brain sniggered, his mouth twisting cruelly. "I told you he tried out with the girls and he's on the team now. He cheers with Cassie."  "Seriously, dude, are you on the cheer team?" 

Mike asked his shock still apparent.  Jesse nodded, maintaining a distance from the group, his face crimson, his eyes darting from one friend to another, desperately seeking a friendly face, then seeking refuge on the ground.  

And then his friends began to laugh and guffaw; these guys he had hung out with ever since they started school together, with whom he had spent countless happy hours down the years, now looked at him with a mixture of disgust, incredulity, and contempt.  

"But why, dude, why would you go and do something dumb like that?" Cody asked, articulating the question that was on all their minds.  Jesse felt his shoulders start to heave, and it took all the power he could muster to keep the tears at bay. 

"My mom made me try out," he explained, weakly, "and anyway lots of guys cheer."  

Even as he said it, he knew that explanation wouldn't wash with any of them.  

"I guess she made you like pink, too," Brad laughed. 

 "My sister wears an outfit just like that," Liam cut in. 

"She cheers for East."  

"I love your legs," Brian sneered again. 

"Give us a twirl." 

 The boys moved steadily closer and were now crowding around him, studying him as if he were some kind of exotic specimen. Brandon touched his leg and then recoiled in mock horror.  

"Freaking hell, it's smooth," he exclaimed. "He's shaved his legs like a girl."  

"No way," Jason said.  

"Yes, way," Brandon shot back. "Feel them yourself."  "Course he saved his legs," Brad sneered. "It's what girls all do." 

 "I'm not a girl," Jesse said, the tears welling up uncontrollably now. 

"I'm just doing cheer cos my mom wanted me to. Please, can't you let it go? I just want to play ball."  

"We don't play ball with girls," Brian mocked him. "We wouldn't want you to break a nail. Why don't you go hang out with Cassie and practice your cheers? 

Cos we want you to cheer real good for us in school next season."  

The boys all sniggered, and Jesse turned to run away. He had to get out of there. 

The tears were flowing now, and he couldn't stand any more of their teasing. 

"That's it. Run away, Jessica. Run home to mommy," he heard his former best friend call after him, as the other boys laughed at his new moniker.    

He was still sobbing when he got home. His mom was in the kitchen, ironing.  

"Back already," she said, looking up.  She saw his red, puffy eyes, and the tear stains clearly visible on his cheeks.  

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked, concerned. 

"Why have you been crying?"  

"You know why," he said, sniffling, backing away from her as she approached. "It's cos you made me wear these stupid clothes; it's cos you made me do stupid cheer; it's cos you destroyed my life."  

His face was redder now, and he was angry.  

"Were your friends not nice to you?"  

"No, they all laughed at me. They think I'm a sissy or a fag."  

"That's not very nice of them," she said. 

"Sounds like they're not real friends at all. Real friends don't treat each other like that.."  

"They are my friends, I want them to be my friends," he sobbed. He was getting hysterical.  She grabbed him and held him close, rubbing the back of his head as it pressed against her bosom, stroking his hair.  "It's okay, hunny," she said, softly. 

"It's okay. Everything will be fine. You have other nice friends now, like Ashley and Megan. They all like you. They like hanging out with you. You had a good time yesterday, right."  

"But they're girls," he sobbed.  

"There's nothing wrong with girls. I'm a girl. The best people in the world are girls."  

He pulled back from her.  

"Please, can I go to my room now? I just want to go to my room."  

"Sure you can, sweetie. Why don't you go and get some rest before practice this evening?"    

Jesse ran upstairs to the sanctuary of his room, but when he opened the door, he stopped dead in his tracks. His room was different. 

His Cowboys poster had been removed and in its place was a huge poster of One Direction, just like one he had seen in Ashley's room yesterday. 

Even worse, his duvet cover had been replaced with one of One Direction, the five boys huddled together, smiling, against a white background. His pillow cover also had a picture of the boys.  He felt like puking. 

No way did he want this stuff in his room. He ran back downstairs to confront his mom.  

"Why did you put that stuff in my room?" he shouted, as he stormed into the kitchen.  She looked up at him again from her ironing.  "You mean the One Direction merchandise?"  He nodded.  "But you said you like One Direction, and I figured you'd like to have some of their stuff, just like your friends."  

"I never said I liked them. I don't like them at all. I hate them."  

"That's not what you said last night when you were watching that DVD. I know you like the band, and they are a very good band, too. I even got you a couple of their CDs. I put them on your desk."  

He hadn't seen them.  "Now, why don't you go back to your room and listen to them, like a good boy? It'll give you something to talk with your friends about at practice this evening."    

Jesse trudged up the stairs. This day was getting worse and worse. His whole existence was getting worse and worse. He looked around his altered room once more, and then at the CDs on his desk. 

He picked them up, then put them down quickly again, as if touching them might transmit a disease. He slumped on his bed for a few minutes, but then, restless, got up again. Once more, he examined the CDs. 

One was called 'Take Me Home,' and the other 'Midnight Memories.' He had seen them in Ashley's room.  With nothing else to do, and scared that his mom would be mad if he didn't, he put on the 'Take Me Home' album and lay on his bed again. It really didn't sound so bad. 

He found he had to get up and move around a little to the music after a few minutes.    At precisely six pm that evening, dressed in his familiar blue and white, his mom dropped him off at the school for practice. 

He was anxious to get into the hall as quickly as possible because he knew the boys were having football practice that evening, too. 

He didn't want to encounter them, especially after what had happened that morning.  Most of the others were already in the hall, and again he saw that a bunch of chairs had been arranged in a circle. 

Ashley waved at him and pointed to a spare seat beside her in the circle. 

He made his way to it. The others were dressed similarly to him, though two girls wore little skirts and one wore what seemed like yoga pants. Lots of bare legs and arms were on display, including his own, he noted, ruefully. 

All the girls also had their hair up, as instructed. At least this was something he didn't have to worry about. 

 "Hey, Jess, what's up?" Ashley greeted him. She was always so cheerful and friendly, he thought.  

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing much," he replied. "What about you?"  

"Same," answered Ashley. "Hey, you know Jennifer, don't you?"  

Of course, he did. She was tall, probably the tallest girl in her grade, and had lots of freckles and long brown hair. She was sitting between Ashley and Megan and greeted Jesse with a big smile through her pink and white braces. 

He smiled back at her, weakly. 

"Jess loves the boys, too. Don't you, Jess?" Megan said, looking from Jennifer to Jesse and back again. Jesse blushed. That's not how he would have phrased it; he didn't even like them. 

 "And he likes Niall best," Megan continued, "same as me and Ashley." 

Jesse blushed more. Jennifer giggled.  

"Yeah, he's super cute," she agreed. "But my fav is Louis. I mean he's, like, so cute and so super athletic. I love it when he wears his soccer strip."  "But he has a girlfriend," Ashley pointed out.  

"I know right," Jennifer shot back. "But when he dumps her, I'll be waiting. I will wait for him forever."  

Out of the corner of his eye, Jesse saw Cassie approach. She had been sitting on the opposite side of the circle and was one of the two girls wearing a skirt.  

"Have a nice time in the park this morning, Jess_ica?" she sneered, putting the emphasis on the 'ica.'  "Brian said you wanted to play with the boys, but they don't play with cheerleaders or girls. 

You must know that since you used to be one of the boys."  Her mouth twisted to match her cruel words and Jesse found himself shrinking in his chair, wanting to disappear, his face burning, as several of the girls laughed. Ashley and Megan both simultaneously rushed to his defense.  

"Leave him alone. Don't be so mean," Ashley snapped.  "Don't say that," Megan shouted. "I think it's really cool he cheers." 

 "Yeah, whatever, Jessica..." Cassie taunted him again, as she withdrew to her chair at the far side.  Crystal clapped her hands loudly and called the group to order.  

"Okay, settle down, girls," she said. "We have a lot to get through this evening."  

Jesse's mind was in such turmoil after Cassie's assault that he scarcely heard or was put out about Crystal's use of the word 'girls.'