Yell Out / Do You

by Stephanie Perry Moore

  The Lockwood High cheer squad has it all—sass, looks, and all the right moves. But everything isn’t always as perfect as it seems. Because where there’s cheer, there’s drama. And then there are the ballers—hot, tough, and on point. But what’s going to win out—life’s pressures or their NFL dreams?

  Sweetheart Ella Blount will do anything

  to keep her girls together …

  anything.

  YELL OUT

  Stephanie Perry Moore

  CHEER DRAMA

  Always Upbeat

  Keep Jumping

  Yell Out

  Settle Down

  Shake It

  Copyright © 2012 by Saddleback Educational Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher. SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING and any associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Saddleback Educational Publishing.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-61651-886-8

  ISBN-10: 1-61651-886-3

  eBook: 978-1-61247-620-9

  Printed in Guangzhou, China

  0000/00-00-00

  16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5

  To Marjorie Kimbrough (my mentor), Lakeba Williams (my accountability partner), and Tiffani Mischelle (mentee)

  You all keep me grounded and whole. I really am thankful I have each of you in my life. Keep on yelling in life with me. Your time, heart, and love inspires me to shout for joy that my life has purpose. May every reader live to make folks around them better and always seek to be better themselves.

  Stay connected with me … I love you!

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  It is hard to sit on the sidelines and do nothing when you see wrong things happening before your very eyes. You want to be the difference maker. You do not want to sit idly by and watch things go awry. You want to make things better for those you care about.

  But taking a stand is not always easy. Sometimes when you have a big heart, folks take advantage. Sometimes you don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, so you do not call them out on their wrongs. However, when you don’t dig deep and find the voice inside of you that shouts for truth, then you are letting yourself down. In other words … stand for what is right at all costs and do not be pushed around.

  Here is a gargantuan thank you to everyone who helps me scream nuggets of truth in my novels.

  For my parents, Dr. Franklin and Shirley Perry Sr., thanks for your voice that daily told me positive things to help me grow with self esteem.

  For my publisher, especially my editor, Carol Pizer, thanks for your wonderful words of encouragement about my writing that keeps me feeling like I do have something to offer.

  For my extended family: brother, Dennis Perry, mother-in-law, Ann Redding, brother-in-Christ, Jay Spencer, and goddaughter Danielle Lynn, thanks for your support that keeps me smiling since I have great folks in my corner.

  For my assistants: Joy Spencer and Keisha King, thanks, ladies, for being a good sport and allowing me to shout at you so we could make our deadlines.

  For my friends who are dear to my heart: Leslie Perry, Sarah Lundy, Jenell Clark, Nicole Smith, Jackie Dixon, Torian Colon, Loni Perriman, Kim Forest, Vickie Davis, Kim Monroe, Jamell Meeks, Michele Jenkins, Lois Barney, Veronica Evans, Laurie Weaver, Taiwanna Brown-Bolds, Matosha Glover, Yolanda Rodgers-Howsie, Dayna Fleming, Denise Gilmore, and Deborah Bradley, thanks for your love that means so much.

  For my teens: Dustyn, Sydni, and Sheldyn, thanks for being good young people who strive to make your mother proud by doing the right things.

  For my husband, Derrick, thanks for being my best friend who loves me so.

  For my new readers, thanks for giving my work a try.

  And my Heavenly Father, thanks for giving me a desire to help struggling readers find their voice and find their way so they can reach greatness.

  CHAPTER 1

  Caught Up

  Okay, Ella, so here’s the deal. You’ve got to help us cheat,” my sassy, overbearing twin sister, Eva, said to me. Randal stood by silently, as usual. “I know you’re all sweet and innocent, but we’re failing US History.”

  I squinted, and Randal said, “Don’t look like that. I know it’s bad that we’re asking—”

  “Whatever!” Eva cut in. “She’s got a ninety-eight average in US History. You and I are funking. We don’t have time to study. We can do better on the next nine weeks. We need her to carry out our plan. Shoot, it ain’t like I have never helped Ella out on stuff.”

  I wasn’t sure what my sister thought I owed her for, but I would be risking a lot. They were both serious. I was in a sour-pickle mess.

  “I don’t even know how to cheat, y’all, even if I wanted to, okay? I can help you study for it though. Eva, you’re right, I know the material pretty well. It is not too late for you to get it.”

  My sister looked at me like what I was saying was stupid. She had already stated her case, and I was just supposed to do what she said. We were identical twins, but we certainly were opposites. She was brash and sassy. I was patient and sweet.

  It was not that I had a problem bending over backwards for her. What she was asking me to do could prove fatal for both of us. If we were caught, we could be suspended, and that meant being dropped from the cheer squad we both loved.

  My problem with Eva was that she did not take responsibility for the predicaments she found herself in. Okay, so we did not have the perfect home life. Our father left us when we were five. We never got any specific reason, but looking back at the pictures, my mom used to be a brick house, sort of like Eva and me. We had bodies that would make any guy’s head turn. Eva liked to show hers off. I was more on the conservative side. My mom had put on some weight. I did not want to think my dad was that shallow, but looking at pictures of his new woman, who was skinnier than a stick, I could come to no other conclusion.

  Eva loved playing the “poor me” card because our dad was not present in our lives. Now he had another family he called his own, and he was about to get married in a few weeks. He had a three-year-old son and another baby boy was on the way. Since she did not get the love from my dad, she gave it up to almost every guy who gave her attention. I was not calling my sister a garden tool, but if she ever got married, she certainly would be the last person wearing a white gown.

  “Don’t say no,” Randal said. (But I was definitely going to tell them to forget it.) “Just go think about it.”

  There were five of us who were tighter than tight. Our crew consisted of Charli, Hallie, Randal, Eva, and me. We were all cheerleaders on the varsity football and competition squad. We would be cheering basketball too. Our main goal was to make it to state and win the title of best cheerleaders in Class 5A.

  We had just come from winning a football game. We were having a sleepover at Charli Black’s house so that we’d all pump each other up for our first big cheer competition the next morning. Charli was our captain and an extremely savvy cheerleader. She had the looks, the personality, the charm, and the skills. Her father was a big-time judge. We loved coming over to the Black’s house because Charli had her own wing, and there were no siblings to bother us when we gathered together since she was an only child.

  Charli was with Hallie in the kitchen making us snacks. As outgoing as Charli was, Hallie was even more boisterous. Ever since I had known her, she had always been so positive. She had come through a lot and was raised by her father because her mother left them when she turned into a crackhead. Charli’s life was not as glamorous as we all thought, however. Her parents were trying to reconnect again. Her
dad had been caught tipping out. Charli and Hallie had been hanging out together all night. They were both in love. They were both dating football players. Most ballers were jerks, but the two they had were sweetie pies.

  “So what’s there to think about, Ella?” my sister asked with attitude.

  I said, “Well, I just can’t take the test for y’all.”

  Eva replied coldly, “We were gonna talk about the details in a little while, but you’re acting all apprehensive and stuff. One of your best friends and your sister need help.”

  “Smoothies and sandwiches,” Hallie came in and said, holding the delicious offerings. “Come try some, Eva. Leave your sister alone. Let’s eat.”

  “Stay out of this, Hallie. I’m talking to Ella,” Eva huffed back.

  “Wait, what’s going on in here?” Charli said, clearly not liking Eva’s tone.

  “We’re trying not to get kicked out of the mansion,” Hallie joked.

  “Settle down everybody. This is slumber party time. Ella, what’s going on?” Charli asked me.

  “I’m talking to her,” Eva said, and she stepped in front of Charli. “That’s what’s going on. If you give us some space and get out of our business, we can finish.”

  “Eva, I’m not talking to you. I’m asking Ella,” Charli responded. She seemed to be the only one out of the five of us who could stand up to my sister.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you,” Randal cut in to avoid a standoff.

  “Hush, girl,” Eva snapped. Then she gave Randal a little push.

  My sister’s rude actions were a red flag to me. If Eva did not want to tell her plan to Hallie and Charli, then my apprehensions were right on. If it was no big deal, then what was the big deal in telling them?

  “They just want me to help them with the test,” I said, wanting Eva to put her claws away.

  “What’s the big deal in that?” Hallie said. “We all need to study. First quarter exams are here. We can help each other.”

  Eva and Randal were silent. I looked at my sister like, Are you going to tell her, or do I need to? Thinking Randal was going to step out of her shy box and take ownership of what she wanted me to do was a joke.

  “Not that it’s any of y’all’s business,” Eva finally said to them when she saw that they were not going to leave well enough alone. “Randal and I need her to help us with US History, and not just studying. Heck, it’s too late to get the stuff down now. We have a little plan for her to help us. She’s got the class before us. She’s going to fill out two copies of her answer sheet and leave one behind for us to find when we come into class after her.”

  “Huh? You want her to cheat? Oh heck nah. Stupid plan. It ain’t happening,” Charli uttered.

  “She is not your sister. You can’t tell her what to do. Dang, you think you can boss everyone around,” Eva said to our hostess. “She’s my sister and I need her. What I don’t need is y’all clouding up her mind with this guilty-conscience junk that helping me is wrong.”

  Eva truly thought her comments were righteous. Charli did not even look at her to cosign. Instead Charli looked at me, pulled me over to a corner, and called Hallie over to us.

  Charli said, “Don’t let anybody make you feel like if you don’t help them do something horrible that it’s your fault if they fail. You have too much to lose, and you’re much too sweet of a person to fall for intimidation. Tell her, Hallie.”

  Hallie said, “Ella, you know your sister. She wants what she wants, but everything she wants isn’t good for her. That’s why we’re friends. That’s why we’re sisters: to help keep each other in line so we won’t fall for the okey doke.”

  The slumber party we were supposed to be having was completely shot. Hallie and Charli were balled up together, talking about their guys. Eva and Randal were cornered, hoping and praying I would go against my better judgment and help them. I was stuck in between, pretending like I was asleep so that no one would bother me. All the while, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. What was right and what could I not forgive myself for if I did not do it?

  “Get up everybody. Time to go win our first competition,” Charli said Saturday morning as if all hearts and minds were clear.

  We were going to a meet in Loganville, Georgia. It was about forty-five minutes away, and there were four teams scheduled to compete in the 5A-4A category. Two of the teams placed in the state competition last year. However, this was a new ball game for us Lions. We had been practicing. Everybody had their tumbling. We were focused and ready to do this.

  However, everyone but Charli was dragging. I had not decided what I was going to do about the whole helping Eva and Randal cheat deal, but I knew we really needed to straighten things out since had I basically divided the room by my uncertainty. Today we were a team.

  I said, “Come on, girls, Charli’s right. Let’s go win. Hands all in. This is going to be a great day.” Reluctantly, and with bad hair, bad breath, and still some bad attitudes, all of us had our hands touching. “On three.”

  Charli smiled my way and said, “One … two … three.”

  We all shouted, “Lions!” We had to be at school at eleven. It was ten. Charli’s mom was fixing us breakfast while we were tripping over each other in the bathroom because we all had to hurry. I went into the bathroom where my sister was primping. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, so can we just talk about all this other stuff tomorrow and be a team today so we can win? Dang, drop the attitude.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Ella. Besides what’s going on with me has absolutely nothing to do with school.”

  We had our cycles on the same day too, and they had just gone off a week ago. Though Eva was usually a pretty crappy person, she was even worse during that time of the month. Since it could not be that, I wondered what was going on with her.

  Caring, I asked, “Talk to me.”

  “I just talked to Mom.”

  “She okay?”

  Eva vented, “Dad set a date for his wedding. Supposedly, his fiancée, Miss Samantha, wants us to be a part of it. He had the nerve to tell Mom, ‘Don’t worry about having to pay for the dresses because I’m gonna take care of them.’ We haven’t even met the lady, and he wants us to be in his wedding. He can do whatever he wants to do, but I’m not having any part of it. He needs to pay his back child support before talking about some dresses.”

  Eva said one thing, but her body language was saying another. She was devastated that my dad had officially planned a date to move on with his life. It probably did not matter. He had been living with his other family for years. Just the fact that he was tying the knot made me sink down on the closed toilet and hold my stomach. I felt physically ill. Eva was dealing with her own feelings. She did not care that I was absolutely upset. She left me in the bathroom to deal with my feelings. It was not that my dad did nothing for us. He was currently paying child support and got us both prepaid phones. Without even thinking, I dialed his number. When he answered, I just held the phone.

  “Hello? Eva … Ella … one of you girls. Is that you?”

  “It’s me, Daddy, Ella,” I said, a little salty that he did not even lock in our numbers.

  He was our father, and he was still having trouble telling us apart. I guess you needed to spend time with people to know them. Maybe that was just it. He did not want to get to know us at all. We did not spend much time talking. I told him what was up with our day. What was going on in our world, and that I would think about his offer of being in his wedding. I was just being nice. However, I sensed that he seemed moved.

  When we got to the school, all twenty cheerleaders were nervous. No one was talking, smiling, or kidding around. When Coach Woods came out of the gym, she asked us to load into our cars. Though cheerleading was a sport, we did not get a bus.

  “Girls, gather around,” Coach Woods said.

  She was the best cheerleading sponsor in the whole world. She cared about us, but she was tough on us. None of
us wanted to let her down.

  “I need to check you guys to make sure you have everything you need.”

  Eva had on the wrong shoes, and three of the girls did not bring their warm-up suits. Basically, we did not look one hundred percent uniform. Whitney, our high maintenance co-captain, was pissed.

  “Shoot, I left the directions on my desk,” said Coach Woods. “Ella, go on in there and grab them. The door will automatically lock behind you. Here are my keys; don’t leave them.”

  I had never been in the school building when no one else was in there. Though it was daytime, it was dark inside. When I got to the locker room areas, I had to pass by the boys’ side. I heard noise. When I went closer to the opened door, I heard water running.

  Truly being a scaredy-cat, I had no idea why I went over to investigate. The sight I saw was one I’ll never forget. Being a virgin, I had never seen a guy’s nude frame. There stood the most gorgeous specimen I could ever imagine. It was Leo Steele, our starting defensive end who was also in our junior class. His backside was to me. I probably would have passed out had he turned around.

  I wondered why he was taking a shower in the school when everyone was gone. Then I saw him hit the wall and slide down it in despair. I knew something was not right. Something also was not right with me, as I was flabbergasted at the sight of him. I must have knocked over a trash can as I exited, and I hoped he did not see me. I grabbed Coach’s directions and got out of the school building as fast as I could. But I’d never forget what I had just seen.

  When we got to the competition, we entered in a disorderly manner. Worse yet, other teams around us, even teams we were not competing against, were locked hand in hand or walking single file, bag on the right side, and outfits perfectly coordinated. I’m not saying we looked ghetto, but we did not look polished.

  “Hey, girls,” my dad said. His arrival was a surprise right before we were going on. “I brought your little brother, Evan, to meet you all. He wanted to come and see his big sisters perform.”