"Yeah, I'd love to join!"

"Great! Welcome aboard!" Amy hugged me.

What? No.

No, no, no.

"We don't normally add members this late since the routines take ages to learn but you're a natural already and our captain's gone so we're a bit ****. Practice is every Tuesday after school. If you're not up for tomorrow, that's fine but you have to come and sign the papers soon, okay?"

NO. No way.

I'd flashed more boys than other women do in their whole lives. I wasn't aiming to set a record. Besides, Sarah needed the receiver back. I couldn't steal it from her. It wasn't even hers to begin with. Her dad owned it and he would send every lawyer from every court to get it back.

Unless Sarah never tells him. A shiver ran down my spine. Oh god, she wouldn't do that, would she? Pretend that it got stolen or lost and that I was perfectly okay?

I- I could fib. I could call his company and ask to get it removed. Sure, they might be furious but it was worth the trouble.

"Also, give me your number and I'll get you your own uniform. The one you're wearing is Christy's."

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop myself from handing over my phone. "Sure! Here you go!"

Everyone dispersed and, as I waved the last of them off, I stayed rooted to the spot for a moment before quietly saying: "I owe you one. Keep the underwear as a thank you."

...Nobody's around. Who's she talking to?

Wait, ME?

"You owe me more than a pair of undies," I mumbled. And then I realised. I said that! With my own mouth! FREE AT LAST!

I hugged myself tightly, afraid that letting go would put me back under control. I would have held on for longer if it wasn't for the stench. Oh god, the stench. The smell was hitting me now that I had my own autonomy again. I pulled my phone out and used the camera to see how much sweat I accumulated. Annoyingly, my makeup was untouched. Whoever the girl in my body was, they were good. Too good in fact. I looked nothing like myself.

I rattled the school gates. Nope, they were not budging. Fantastic(!) My normal clothes were in my bag but, without any privacy, I was gonna have to walk home in the cheerleader outfit.

Sigh. If I was lucky, Ben and Stacy wouldn't see me.

Of course they saw me. Stacy nearly dropped her glass and Ben gave an arched eyebrow and a lecherous grin. I wanted to knock his teeth out but my fatigue outweighed my anger. Mum stomped into the hallway, irritated that I missed her calls, but she froze once she saw what I was wearing. I'm not dealing with this right now, I thought. Without a word, I walked up to my room and collapsed on the bed. It was a long day and I was never gonna hear the end of it. Worse, Sarah hadn't replied to my texts on what to do with the receiver. Was she in trouble or something?

Sighing again, I got up and stripped myself down. The uniform stank and I had the urge to shred it but Amy wanted it back and it wasn't her fault what happened today. I threw it into the laundry after wrapping myself in a towel and heading to the bathroom. Fishing out the makeup remover from the mirror cabinet, I got to work cleaning my face.

"So... how was school?" Mum asked during dinner. Though she looked at all of us, the question was directed at me. For years, she had been begging me to be more social and it seemed her prayers were finally answered. Unfortunately I didn't care to answer so Ben butted in.

"Same old, same old, really, " he said. "What about you, Stacy?"
"Hmm? Oh, just a normal Monday for me. Not much to say," Stacy replied.
Ben sneered. "Actually, there was this one thing. I found this on the school's Instagram."

Oh no. I peeked over and, yep, it was the photo taken today.

"Oh, Elle, you look great in that uniform! Are the rest of the team nice?" Mum said.
Guess she gave up on subtlety. "They're fine," I said, hinting at her to drop it.
"I'm glad you found a hobby."
"Yep."
"You seem so happy in the photo."
"Yep."
"Plus it could help you to meet boys."

I got up and washed my plate.

I tried to do some homework. It did not help.
I tried to read a book. It did not help.
I tried to scroll on my phone. It did not help.

Sarah had read my messages by now but she'd been stuck on typing... for the last hour. I gave up on her and redirected my attention to the chip on the back of my neck. The next logical thing to do would be to cut it off but nothing I had landed a scratch on it. Tugging it with all my might felt like ripping blood vessels. I was tempted to cut the skin that the metal square was attached to but it would mean a lot of pain for something that might not even work. As far as I knew, this thing was fixed directly to my spine. Meaning it had to be taken off carefully.

Okay, okay. Focus. What can I do now? I thought. It's too late to call Body Rentals now, their support line ended at 6pm. Since it starts back up at 10am, I could only call them tomorrow, after school. Hold on, isn't Amy gonna text me soon? I can just tell her that I changed my mind. No, wait, the girl controlling me would find out and immediately rejoin. Why is she even using me anyway? If she's so good, she should just do it hers--

PING!

Speak of the devil, Amy just texted me. Great timing because I just had an idea. I could just be mean to her. So mean that she'll never let me near the cheer team again. My reputation would be ruined but at this point, I had no--

BLACK

I had a tape measure out and my phone open to my location on Maps. Amy's chat was deleted and since I didn't know her number, I had no way of contacting her. There was only one way that I didn't notice this happened: someone blacked me out.

Getting into school, I was adamant on avoiding the cheerleaders as much as possible. Once she heard that practice was today, Mum was all too happy to hand me the cheerleader outfit fully washed and dried but I left that stupid thing at home. I planned to give it back but not today. No way was I dressing up again. Amy could have it tomorrow, after which I would go home and rest in my lovely bed without worrying about sweaty clothes or boys. Ugh, speaking of sweaty boys...

"Hi Elle, going to practice today?" Lucas asked. He was also someone I didn't want to see. Looking at him reminded me of every humiliating act I was put through yesterday. Smacking him would have given me a bit of relief but he hadn't actually done anything wrong. He hit on me a little but that was it. No, my wrath was better spent on Sarah and my operator from yesterday.

"Like I said, I'm not on the team. I was just helping Christy out," I replied.
"Are you sure? You were rocking it at the match." I gave him a look that made him reconsider his words. "No, wait, I meant, you knew how to shake those... no, that's worse... your moves were... you know what, forget it."

He ran off. It was a little cute to see him so bashful but he had the sense to quit while he was ahead.

Sorry Lucas, I have bigger fish to fry. Like the girl who just turned the corner.

You could tell Sarah was not expecting me to be right in front of her because she shrieked when I saw her. Calming down did not help the fear in her eyes.

"So, Sarah, did you figure it out?" I said.
"...Figure what out?" she said.
"Don't play dumb. Do you know how to remove the chip from my neck?"
"..."
"Sarah."
"..."
"Sarah."
"Okay, fine! I didn't ask, alright?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DIDN'T ASK?"
"Dad's livid! He had a presentation yesterday but once he saw one of the machines were gone, his boss went haywire. They think someone broke in!"
"Okay, that's bad and I'm sorry for him, I really am. But that doesn't help me at all!"
"What do you need help for? So a couple boys felt you up. What's the big deal?"

The audacity of this bitch. I pulled out my phone and showed her the picture from yesterday.

"Since when were you on the cheer team?"
"..."
"OH! Someone made you! That's so cool, you get to be there without doing any of the work! I wish I could do that!"

...

My blood boiled. Smoke could have come out of my ears. How could she be this selfish? How could I have thought letting her chip me was a good idea? All she wanted was to have bigger boobs, like it was such a privilege to have men gawking at you all the time. That was it, I couldn't deal with her nonsense any more.

I shoved past her. If she didn't want to help me, I had to deal with it myself.

Why did I shove her? What was wrong with me? If her dad would be **** before in helping me out, he was gonna erupt if I asked him now. They thought the helmet was stolen! Sarah would make me take the blame to save her own skin and I would be sued to oblivion.

In other words, I couldn't call the company now. Neither Sarah nor her father would be willing to help me. I wanted the chip gone but I also didn't want to be riddled with debt or go to prison.

I texted Jess too about my situation but she didn't want to see me either. I knew she had a crush on me but I didn't swing that way and telling her that crushed her. It almost ruined our friendship. Ben's interference yesterday must have reopened old wounds.

Which meant the only people I could trust were the cheerleaders. We didn't know each other but I was sure they would understand if I explained it to them. Problem was, I didn't have any classes with them today. The only times to talk with them would be break time, lunch and... after school. Ugh. I wanted to be home early today. Let's hope that I find them before school ended.

Naturally, I didn't. Considering I struggled to find Ben and his cronies when I was with Sarah, looking for girls I never talked to before by myself was impossible. Oh well, I'd have to ask them tomorrow. Skipping sixth period, I caught a bus home and, though I was wrecked with nerves, I made it home safely, with 5 minutes to go before I was actually supposed to leave school. My bed never felt comfier. Stacy noticed me frolicking and asked why I wasn't at practice, to which I responded by slamming the door in her face. Did she think I had forgotten that she let Ben manipulate me? No more sisterly bonding for her, not unless she crawled onto her knees and begged for forgiveness. Then I'd consider it. Maybe.

Speaking of forgiveness, I hoped I wasn't being too harsh on the cheer team. Again, not their fault what happened yesterday. Amy probably expected a text from me but my phone had her contact deleted so there was no way to message her that I wasn't coming.

Oh well. No time for moping. I had stuff to do. My closet was in disarray since Sunday morning, thanks to Ben's impromptu shopping trip. I now had crop tops, thongs, miniskirts, heels and what I believe was lingerie. I shuddered at the thought of how much he made me wear while at the mall. Ben's comeuppance would be a day of reckoning no man would wish on another.

But first, let's change into something more comfortable. I peeled off every layer, including underwear. I found some tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie and went to secure my fingers around them when instead I reached for the cupboard door. That was weird, I didn't mean to do that. I tried again but instead I opened the other cupboard compartments. My body searched high and low for... something. What was it doing?

Suddenly, I toppled over and caught myself on my bed. Had I been mounted again? But what were they looking for?

I was racking my brain when someone knocked on my door. I put on a bathrobe and opened it slightly.

"Hey Elle, the girls are asking why you're not at practice, is your cheer outfit not clean yet?" said Stacy, peering through the crack.
"Yeah, Mum put it on my desk and I stashed it under my bed."
"Okay then..."
"..."
"...So why aren't you at school?"

SLAM! Mind your own business, traitor.

Stacy deserved more than two door slams in her face but I was in a good mood and I intended to not let it go to waste. Now, back to--

My back promptly straightened. It threw me off but what really shook me was how quickly I hurled myself downwards and peered under my bed.

Again?? What now?

My phone was grabbed and had its flashlight beamed at every nook and cranny below my bed. After a minute, a sigh was heaved and I was slumped onto my bed with a strange look on my face. And then I bounced up and down on the mattress. My face twisted to one of discovery. Getting up, my hands lifted the mattress. The grin was all I needed to know about what was happening.

It was her again. From yesterday. She found the outfit's hiding spot. Snatching it from the bed frame, I explored my cupboard again. A sports bra was pulled out and I had reached for some normal panties before my eyes locked onto a black thong that Ben bought. Don't you dare, I thought but thinking was all I could do as I was once again **** to cosplay a cheerleader, shameless underwear included. She was grinning from ear to ear but she claimed victory too soon. Buses run slow after school ends. Very slow. No matter how quick she ran, she would never make it on time. The slow transition of triumph to despair written on my face as she looked at bus times on my phone should have been photographed and framed onto my bedroom wall.

How does it feel to be completely helpless? Now you know what it's like on my side.

"STACY!" I yelled. Now what?
Stacy ran in. "Yeah?"
"You can drive, right?"

Crap, I forgot about that.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your makeup!"
"No problem, Elle. You could have told the other girls that you forgot your uniform at home. I'm sure they would have had a spare. No need to run home to grab it."
"This is the spare."
"Oh."

Stacy, you absolute spoon, don't believe her lies! When was the last time you saw me apply this much makeup? You know I have a Body Rentals chip installed. Do you honestly believe that the girl sitting across from you is really me? The same one currently lathering lipstick onto herself?

"So, Elle, about what happened with Ben."
"What about it?"
"I... we don't hang out anymore. Ben offered me a chance to do that again, like old times. But it was stupid. I'm sorry."
If my puppeteer was confused about what was going on, she didn't show it. "It's okay."
"So you forgive me?"
God no. "Yep! It was... a little bit fun to be controlled anyway." Not by your little brother, it wasn't.
"Really?"
"Don't tell Ben of course. But it felt good to show off so much. That's why I'm cheerleading now." Oh come on, Stacy, that's such an obvious lie.
"I figured that was the reason. Seems I know you better than I thought." WHAT???

We arrived at the school, barely 10 minutes since it ended. A new skank exited the car, thanking the driver, and sashayed her way through the gates and onto the field. There was nothing I could do as I stepped out to squeals and hugs from the team, all saying that they didn't think I would make it. Amy presented a paper, which read the names of those currently registered for cheerleading, along with a pen. She explained that, after she handed it in, I was expected at practice every week without fail. Signing the sheet meant having it added to my timetable. Signing the sheet meant announcing my participation on social media. Signing it meant I had to keep cheerleading, for the rest of the year.

I tugged at all the muscles in my body to stop the pen from touching the page. I prayed to every god that I knew off the top of my head. Norse, Roman, Greek, any that would hear my pleas.

Apparently, I asked the wrong gods.

Because soon a newly minted cheerleader joined the team.