"You know what today is, don'tcha?" "Oh, I know what today is." "How much do you dread this day?" "This is the day I dread." "Maybe the friend can save us." "Were you able to talk her out of it?" "No." "Then what good are you, lady?" "I'm no good." "Cheerleading tryouts today!" "I have better control of my body now, and when my brain tells my arms and legs what to do, they try real hard now." "This is gonna be my year, guys." "Give me a "q"!" "Give me a "u"!" "Give me an I-n-c-yyy!" "Great job, Samantha." " Thanks!" " You're the best." "She's the worst one here." "She's the worst?" "Samantha's the one I gotta beat to make the team." "I'm better than her, right?" "Explain to me what's the matter with you." "I'm for your entertainment pleasure." "How many years you gonna do this to me?" "What am I doing to you?" "Every year I have to tell you that you're good." "You know what?" "You're not good." "You're not as good as Samantha." "You're not as good as Heather." "You're not as good as any girl with any name, or doesn't have a name, or doesn't exist, or is a rock." "Well I don't like that she doesn't have a name." "I would call her roxie." "Every year, you try out." "Every year, coach Kelly tells you not to come back because she hates you." "Coach Kelly does not hate me." "Matthews, I hate you." "Why would you come here?" "Why are you wearing that?" "Why would you come here?" "This is the year I'm going to make the team." "It's really not." "You've been trying to make this team since third grade pee wees, and they don't let me reject anybody in third grade pee wees." "It hurts their self-esteem." "Then why did you get to reject me?" "'Cause that's the year we passed the Riley rule." "I have my own rule." "How much rejection can you take?" "Hey, Lebron James was cut from his high school basketball team." "Lebron went straight to the nba from high school." "I new it was something." "Coach Kelly, I'm gonna win you over." " Stay out of sports." " Oh, you." ""Cheerleading tryouts will span three days after school." ""On day one, applicants will be judged on coordination."" " Do I have that?" " No." ""Day two, tumbling."" " I tumble." " Not on purpose." ""And if you make it to day three, "we will see how you dance with the team."" "That I can do." "If you make it to day three." "Give me a "q," give me a "u,"" "give me a I-n-c-y, Quincy!" "Quincy, we can fly!" "Whoo!" "All right, ladies, I've got 13 trying out." "I need 12." "Matthews, why don't you make it easy on all of us and quit right now, so we don't have to go through three days of torture?" "No, thank you." "Riley." "Know why nobody else is even trying out?" "She already has her team." "These are the same girls since pee wees." "These girls are the reason you don't make the team." "May we get started, please?" "You heard her." "Launch, fly, catch." "Team, launch." "Jenkins, fly." "Matthews, catch." "Catch!" "Hi." "Oh, catch." "You alive, Jenkins?" "I'm fine, coach." "I'm fine, coach!" "All right, let's try that again." "Matthews, you fly." "Jenkins, you catch." "Can I trust you?" "Oh, yeah." "I know exactly what I'm gonna do." "I'm gonna die!" "Who invented this?" "Thomas Edison, the wizard of Menlo park." "After how many tries?" " Six!" " No!" "Anybody here think he invented it after his first try?" " I do!" " No!" "All right, I was trying something, and now I'm going back to the way things were." "Why didn't he invent the light bulb on his first try?" "'Cause it was dark!" "Got your back." "Got your back." "Did the best I could." "I'm fine." "Nothing to see, here." "Go on with your business." "Uh, but wouldn't the ice work better if you put it on something?" "I see." "You were supposed to talk her out of this." "Every year, Riley tries out for cheerleaders." "Oh, Riley, you are no cheerleader." "That is a terrible thing to say to me, Zay." "I meant it as a compliment." "Back in Texas, Zay had a little incident with a cheerleader." "It wasn't just a little incident." "It was true love, but I'm over it now." "Vanessa!" "Matthews, you're her father." "It's your job to talk her out of this." "Thomas Edison saw the need for a new kind of light source for the home." "See, people relied on kerosene lanterns, and he tried a lot more than six ways to come up with an electric light without success." " You know what he said?" " "I have failed!"" " No!" " Yeah!" ""I have not failed." ""I've just found 10,000 ways that will not work."" "But Edison finally succeeded." "That's why we have light in here." " Because he never gave up." " And neither should I." "Mmm, way to put her back on track, Matthews." "Why'd you have to pick today to teach us about Edison?" "Yeah, that's something, isn't it?" "Okay, when we were at home, you didn't want her to do this." "Nobody did." "Yeah, because as her father," "I've gone through this with her half a dozen times." "And it kills me every year." "Then what are you doing?" "In this room, I'm your teacher." "You've made it to day two?" " Yeah!" " Whoo!" "And you brought your own cheering section?" "I'm just here to pick up the pieces." "I'm here because I wanna see this." "I'm here because I believe in Riley." "I'm here because I need to show my cheerleader enemies they have no hold on me." "Hi, Zay." "You know my name." "I hold in my hand, a bell." "This is the Riley bell." "I have my own bell." "When you quit, and you will, you will ring this bell, and this travesty will be over." " I will never ring that bell." " Uh-huh." "Day two, tumbling." "This is the day we learn what kind of control you have over your bodies." " Maya." " I want you to live." "All right, ladies." "Round off, back handspring, yamashida." "Stick the landing." " Lucas!" " Yamashida, man." "All right, ladies." "Show her how it's done." "Fair." "What was that?" "Hi, there." "Did I see a little something?" "No." "You sure, Jenkins?" "You sure I didn't see a little..." " no, no, no, no." " Eh, eh, eh, eh," " no, no." " Eh." "Give me your foot." "I don't want to give you my foot." ", Jenkins." "I'm sorry." "Matthews." " Farkle!" " Nyet!" "What are you doing?" "That's my donut!" "Tumble." "Okay." "You ready for me now, champ?" " Yeah." " You get two attempts." "That wasn't twice?" "Wanna show us what you can do, or you wanna ring that bell?" "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "All you had to do, was ring the bell." "Did you ring the bell?" "No." "We rang the bell for you." "Was that good enough?" "No." "Well, I have never been more proud of you." "You made it through day two without ringing the bell." "No one expects you in school today, okay?" "So we'll see you when you're back in one piece." "What's the matter with you?" "Ring the bell." "Ring any bell." "Ring the doorbell." "I'll go tell coach Kelly you rang the bell, and we can all wake up from this horrible nightmare." "Is she alive?" "Did she make it through the night?" "Riley, we are so proud of you." "Is she alive?" "Please, stop now." "We all want you to stop." "Is... is she alive?" "Tell her, Zay." "Zay?" "So, what?" "You guys just break into her apartment, and that's appropriate?" "Riley, are you alive?" "No one can get an answer." "All of you?" "All of you just come in here?" "That's what I'm saying." "She can't even move." "This is on you, Matthews." "Why is that, Maya?" "'Cause you're talking out of both sides of your head." "At home, you tell her to quit, at school, you teach her to never give up." "What?" "Her teacher and her father disagree?" "Well, maybe it's that they both want what's best for her." "Wait, which one of you do you hope she listens to?" "Here?" "I want her to listen to her father." "Her father wants to protect her." "Her father wants her in this bed all day where nothing bad can happen to her." "Quit, Riley." "Your father doesn't want you to get hurt." "What does her teacher want?" "Her teacher wants the same thing everyday." "He wants her to have an education." "To learn about the world." "To find out who she is." "And her dad doesn't want her to find out who she is?" "No, no!" "Zay, I don't blame you for not wanting to be a part of this insanity." "Thank you." "It's much worse than you think, actually." "Why?" "Well, I wouldn't do this without an invitation, but, uh..." "I was raised better than you, and apparently smarter than you, but this could go on all day." "Looks like she listened to her teacher." "Coach Kelly!" "Matthews, still standing?" "I came early." "It's just you and me." "Give me the inspirational speech." "Give you the what now?" "The team isn't here." "Show me who you really are, Jackie." "Jackie?" "Give me my speech." "Help me do better." "Matthews, these girls are finely tuned precision instruments who have dedicated their entire lives to this." "You are a pineapple." "I'm going to hug you, now." "Don't you come near me." "Do you think these girls think of anything else?" "What is this, Samantha?" "Sloppy day?" "I'll do better, coach." "You have invaded my personal space." "And you have invaded my heart, coach Kelly." "You and I both know that I am going to be a cheerleader." "That is what you want from me, and I know your true soul." "What's happening?" "Coach Kelly, launch." "Matthews, fly." " Who's catching?" " It's a surprise!" "Oh, I love surprises." "I'm gonna die!" "Incredibly, welcome to day three." "I can't believe this, but how much are you rooting for her right now?" "As much as always." "Guys, you know how this ends." "How could we let it get this far?" "Don't you even know your best friend?" "There's no stopping her." "Yes, I know my best friend, and I don't want my best friend to get hurt." "Well, Maya, she's always there for us." "It's our turn now." "Yeah, we shouldn't stop her from doing what she wants." "We just need to be here when she needs us." "You're right." "I know you're right." "I just..." "I don't want her to fail." "And if she does, you'll be the first person she wants to put an arm around her." "Okay, I'm not going anywhere." "This is our choreographed routine that we have perfected over all our years together." "Newcomer." "Have you learned the steps?" " Yes, coach!" " Wow." "I was about to say, "I can't hear ya,"" "but you got me." "Okay, places, everybody." "Okay." ""Riley Matthews?"" "I'm the only one who made the team?" "No, honey." "That's not what that means." "Oh." "I'm really tired, Maya." "I know you are, riles." "You did great." "Wanna go home?" "Yeah." "Come in." "I'm very sorry for what happened to you, Riley, and I'm proud of you for trying your best." "And I'm glad that you're still alive." "Thanks, Auggie." "And thank you, mom, for sitting with me." "Aw, thank you for being who you are." "Where's dad?" "He left for school a long time ago." "Is he disappointed in me?" "Of course not." "I think he just really wants to be your teacher right now." "New day?" "Absolutely." "Mr. Matthews?" "Yes, Ms. Matthews?" "You got something for me?" "Because I'm asking my teacher." "'Cause I've had a rough few days." ""I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that will not work."" "Thomas Edison couldn't hold a job when he was young, and no one thought he would amount much to anything." "Thomas Edison never made it as an inventor..." "Until he did." "Only you get to decide when you quit." "No well intended friend, no parent who's only trying to protect you, and no teacher, who's supposed to bring out the best in you, can make you turn your back on something you're passionate about." "Because a teacher who brings you to failure, who wants you to quit, who hasn't taught you anything," "is... no teacher at all." "But my name was on the paper." "Did you quit?" "I didn't ring the bell." "I couldn't." "It was gone." "I stole it." "Maya, you stole the bell?" "Did you think any of us were gonna let you ring this bell?" "Riley, if you let somebody make you quit, no matter what position of power that person is in, if you only try 9,000 times," "you just end up sitting in the dark." "Do you want to sit in the dark, Riley?" "Thank you, Mr. Matthews." "Anytime." "Oh, my poor, little girl." "Matthews." "What are you doing here?" "I want to be on the cheerleading team." "You didn't make it." "Just because you say I didn't make the team, doesn't mean I didn't make the team." "Yeah, it does." "It's actually the thing that determines who's on the team, and you." "Because I say, "you're not good enough."" "I want to be on the cheerleading team." " As what?" " You need 12." "What if one of your girls gets hurt?" "I could be an alternate." "My girls don't get hurt." "They're machines." " Ow." " 'Scuse me?" "Ow." "Put that one hop little leg back on the ground, Jenkins." " Ow." " What?" "Cut it out, Samantha." "Jenkins, she didn't even know how to catch you." "She hasn't been coached like we have." "Yeah, maybe if you coached her." "Why are you doing this?" "Why would you encourage her like this?" "We're cheerleaders." "We know spirit when we see it." "I think you're gonna need this." "Matthews..." "You finally broke me." "Uh, you guys may want to see this." "Oh, whatcha got there, aug?" "This is Perez Hilton." "Mostly, I write about the rich and famous, but today I think you'll find inspiration in the talentless and clumsy." "I'm both." "How long have you been trying to make the cheerleading team, Riley?" "All my life, Perez." "And where is the coach who finally caved in?" "Outta my face, Hilton." "Feisty." "This is a story about a little girl who wouldn't give up, and won the admiration of her teammates." "Okay." "I think I see what we got here." "I couldn't have done this without my old friends." "Or my new friends." "So, dream your dreams, little ones, because this is a world where nothing is impossible." "And isn't that the kind of world you want to live in?"