Answer: Sarah and Hailey had always been arch rivals. They competed practically everything, however had both cheer leading was of highest importance. Sarah and Hailey had cheered since they were 8 years old, always attempting to one up each other even on the same team. Now, attending the same high school tensions could not be higher. It's try out day for junior varsity cheer, as freshmen Sarah and Hailey knew they had the odds stacked against them as sophomores and juniors often get priority for JV. Sarah spots Hailey in the locker room, and intensely stares her down. "Break a leg" Sarah exclaims sarcastically. They enter the gym, try outs start off with learning a routine the girls must break up into two groups and recite what they just learned. The coach puts Sarah and Hailey in the same group. They feud the entire time, the girls who are taking it seriously are growing tired of their child like behavior. Though they were as civil as they could be, Sarah thinks about having to rely on Hailey to look good and snaps. "That's not how you do it Hailey! Your counts are off and you're making our group look like amateurs." Hailey defends herself "That's not true Sarah! You have stones for feet and your kicks aren't high enough." The insults carry on, the coach finally steps in "That's enough you two, the only reason you had the opportunity to try out for JV is because you are seasoned cheerleaders. This behavior is unacceptable and you're lucky if you even make freshmen with those attitudes!" Hailey and Sarah both blush of embarrassment, and exit the gym. You would think they could reconcile this once so they didn't soil their chance at Freshmen. But the hatred was too deep, "LOOK WHAT YOUR LOUD MOUTH DID YOU COULDN'T JUST HOLD YOUR TOUNGE AND INSULT ME AFTER" Hailey yelled fighting back tears. "HOW CAN YOU HAVE 6 YEARS OF CHEER EXPERIENCE AND STILL SUCK AS MUCH AS YOU DID WHEN WE FIRST STARTED?" Sarah snarked back. Not being able to put their differences aside, they both ruined their chances at even making Freshmen cheer. Guess we will have to see if tryouts are sucessful or escalate next year. Perhaps one of the girls can convince their parents to switch High Schools.
Explanation:
<span>The statement, "Mary Louise Burrows is directly characterized as poised" correctly describes a portion of the characterization in this excerpt. Specifically, this is implied by the words, "...her unconscious but distinctive poise of bearing," which phrase is then contrasted with, "...And she was fifteen -- an age when many girls are both awkward and shy."</span>
