Emily read the story of the Princess and the Peach, her exhaustion from cheer camp sending her drifting off to sleep the moment she finished.
In the morning, she awoke, still at her desk, head resting on The Burgeoning Book. She stretched her aching back, which hurt from a night of being hunched over her desk instead of in a proper bed.
In a daze, she put on her next athletic outfit. Putting on the sports bra, she noticed two small lumps pressing the fabric outward. What was that? Were those breasts? She raced to her mirror. Sure enough, there were two tiny breasts, barely enough to fill her AA bra, but certainly more than the ironing board she had yesterday. She danced around the room, thrilled that puberty had finally blessed her with an appearance! She pulled on the leggings, which were still loose but noticeably fuller than they had been the day before.
With newfound energy, she prepared her things for the day at cheer camp, ate breakfast and jumped in the car with her mom.
As she approached Carly and the other girls, she saw Carly frown as she noticed the smaller girl’s small swells in her sports bra. She seemed to notice that Emily was only an inch shorter than her as well. Feeling her place in the pecking order threatened by her growing teammate, Carly was relentless in her teasing for the remainder of the day.
“2D’s stuffing her bra now!”
“2D is 2Dumb to know the moves!”
“2D Emily has no curves just like a tree!”
It bothered Emily, but not as much as it had the day before. She was 5’0” today. Nothing was going to bring her down on this day. She had dreamed of hitting the big 5-0 for years and was so thankful that it had finally happened.
Emily was able to do five burpees easily today, struggling through another five as well, before her strength failed. She may still be the lowliest of the cheerleaders, but at least she was improving!
***
That night, when she got home, she called Kat, sharing with her the excitement of finally hitting the five foot mark. Kat wanted to come over to see Emily’s growth for herself. While she waited for her friend, Emily read another short story from the book.
When Kat arrived, she pulled out the tape measure she had brought. Standing Emily against the wall, she measured…
“Em, you’re not going to believe this, but you’re actually 5’1” now! You’re an inch taller than me!”
Emily shrieked with excitement! She had grown not one but two inches in the last 24 hours!!
Kat examined the small bulges in Emily’s t-shirt and said, “It looks like you’re growing in more directions than one!”
Emily followed Kat’s eyes down to her chest. Were they bigger than they were this morning?
Kat grabbed the cloth tape measure and measured her friend. As she pulled the measure around, it read 23”. Okay, so you’re a 28 bra size. She pulled the tape measure around the fullest part of her friend’s now visible breasts. It read 29”. So you’re a 28A now!
Emily and Kat squealed together this time. She was the first of her friends to hit the magical A cup size.
After a moment’s celebration, Kat noticed the ancient-looking tome sitting on Emily’s desk. “What’s this?” she asked.
“Oh, on Sunday, I was at that antique shop downtown, and I found it. I’ve read a couple of the stories—they’re about girls growing taller and more beautiful. It sounded like what I wanted to do, so I…” Emily trailed off, a thought dawning on her.
“You don’t think the book…” Emily started.
“…Had something to do with you growing two inches since yesterday?” Kat finished. “I’m starting to suspect it…”
Kat opened the book and the golden glow illuminated her face. Her eyes skimmed the pages and she flipped toward the end of the book until a title caught her eye.
Emily and the Cheer Squad
Emily watched her friend’s jaw drop, then walked around to see what Kat was looking at in the book. She read the title and the opening paragraph of the unfinished story, and gasped, “Oh my God…”
The two friends read the story about Emily, Carly, Jamie, Rachel, Amanda, and Emma. At the bottom, they read about Emily and Kat and the measurements, the final words appearing on the page as they read them. There was no doubt. The book was recording Emily’s own story as it went!
Little did the girls know as they looked at each other in stunned silence, they had both gained another inch in the time that it took them to read Emily’s story.
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