Why We Fly: Chapters 10–15

Three stands at the helm of the team, arms linked with his assistant captains, who stand on either side of him.

The noise begins to subside as the team lines up at the benches, and we follow, finding our spots on the sidelines behind them.

It feels good to have my entire team kneeling in solidarity beside me, and in this moment, I have even more respect for him, doing it on his own.

At the end of the anthem, the team looks to me with the very obvious question of what’s next. Instinctively, I nod and stand. They follow haphazardly, but I’m focused on the Junior ROTC, who stare at us with bewildered looks.

The other cheerleaders frequently get this kind of attention from the team. It's such a Hollywood-teen-movie trope, but I appreciate him recognizing me for this.

“Young lady,” he says curtly.

“Of course we know that. We’re not naive.”

When I spent time with Roman alone, it was fodder for basketball team gossip.

He’d come over, and their eyes would follow me down the hallways the entire next day, appraising. Smirking. Judging.

It’s an ordinary front room, with a sofa we’re supposed to use only for company and my grandmother’s antique coffee table and credenza.

“You know, it’s funny to pretend Cody’s kneeling is a political statement and other things aren’t. Even requiring the anthem to be played before a game is kind of a statement—it’s a patriotic display.”
“A nonpartisan one,” he says.

The first year the SSLT existed, the Student Council pitched a fit, claiming they were being usurped.

Marisol grins and bangs the gavel on the table, the whack resounding around the room.

“All in favor?”
It’s unanimous.

Jackson Radsewicz stands, displaying the shoulders-back military bearing he’s honed as commander of the school JROTC squad.

You can’t galvanize your troops when you’ve already started the charge.

A smile creeps over my mouth. I’ve never imagined experiencing this euphoria doing anything other than cheering.

A reckoning is coming for him.

I’m guessing she cropped out the ROTC, because the photo is a truncated panorama.

“I’m sure when y’all put this together, you anticipated there would be backlash. What kind of talking points did you prepare for negative responses?”

It’s the basics of debate, to prepare points and counterpoints, and Alana was a champion debater.

Seven hours of thousands of strangers supporting me and insulting me and defending me and commenting on me, all culminating in Cody Knight himself retweeting me.

...we have got an INFLUENCER right here in our midst. What's her talent? Clout-chasing.

I run from store to store with my mom’s list, trying not to check my messages incessantly.

I speed there and pace around the swing set, probably freaking out the smattering of parents whose kids are playing on the slide and the teetering bridge.

“This is a big thing for a group of high school kids to manage. And you’re in a particularly precarious position. We all know the struggles you’ve had since the accidents. I don’t know that you’re ready for the fallout.”

“This is a big thing for a group of high school kids to manage. And you’re in a particularly precarious position. We all know the struggles you’ve had since the accidents. I don’t know that you’re ready for the fallout.”

While Knight initially tweeted his support of the students, controversy surrounding the unauthorized move abounds.

The cheerleading squad organized this protest last week and repeated it this past Friday despite warnings to desist from school leadership.

We encourage students to express themselves within the confines of our code of conduct. Disruptive measures like the ones taken on Friday night are out of place and will not be tolerated.

You have to keep me abreast of whatever fallout is happening.

“Some of us are more concerned about our grades than our fleeting internet notoriety.”

“You mean to tell me there are whole articles in the newspaper about your insubordination, and you can’t figure out why you might get called to the office?”

“Students may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension from school, when they: engage in any willful act that disrupts the normal operation of the school community; engage in conduct that is insubordinate or disruptive; and/or use social media during school functions in a way that may lead to substantial disruption.”

Neither of these missives mentions Nelly by name.

We can look past the administrative jargon veiling the threat and the target.

The bus rides to away games are usually pretty boisterous, with hair styling and temporary-tattoo application and battles for playlist dominance.

But we’re subdued today, holding quiet conversations with our seatmates instead of shouting from the front to the back of the bus.

We all talk at once, creating a reverberating cacophony of sound in the poor acoustics of the tile locker room.

His broad smile gleams, and sweat beads at his temples. His excitement is palpable.