Girls That Growl

by Mari Mancusi

  I smile. “I’m so glad for you. Did you tell the others?”

  “Yeah. And that’s the weirdest thing. I mean, I went into it assuming no one would give a care. You know, since I only made the team because you blackmailed them?”

  I cringe. “Well…”

  Cait holds up a hand. “But when I told them I was leaving, they got all upset. Turns out they really like having me on the team. Said it won’t be the same without me and whenever I’m ready to come back I should.” She grins. “So though you may have helped get me on the team originally, I’ve managed to do well enough to stay on it.”

  “I never doubted that for a second,” I say. “You’re the best cheerleader on the squad by far and everyone knows it.”

  “Thanks, Rayne,” Cait says. “I’m sorry I was mad before. I was just freaked out and scared. But you know what? I think I’m going to be okay.”

  “You know what, Cait? I think I am, too.” I pull her into another hug, happy the troubled girl has found some peace. Happy that I have, too.

  “That’s what I hate about this school. Too much PDA in the halls. Girl hugging everywhere you look!” I turn to see my sister walking down the hall, backpack slung over one shoulder. She waves hello and approaches Cait and me.

  “So you’re back, I see,” she says.

  “And you’ve managed to talk your way out of my you-know-where prison cell.”

  “Meh, that was easy. When you’re dating the head guy you can pull in a few favors every once in a while.”

  “Well, thank you for doing so. I’m pleased to say I got the antidote and operation Save the Cheerleaders is in effect.”

  Cait raises her eyebrows. “Save the cheerleaders?”

  “Um, yeah, you know. From turning into … what they turned into the other night.”

  “So you believe me about that?” she asks, sounding surprised. “You don’t think I was just hallucinating or something? I mean, they seem so normal now. I figured maybe I was just under a lot of stress or maybe lost too much blood …”

  “Nope. You were right. And while they might seem normal now, by the next full moon … arrrooooo!” I howl. “Unless we stop them.”

  “How can we do that?”

  “Antidote.” I grin. “I went to England to get it.”

  “Wow. That’s, um … wow.” Cait stammers, sounding not quite sure whether she should believe me or not.

  “So what’s your daring plan?” Sunny asks. “How are we going to trap the wolves to turn them back?”

  “Thank you for asking,” I say, pleased to discuss my oh-so-clever strategy. “Well, according to the pack I talked to, there are two ways to get an untrained wolf to go feral. One is the full moon, of course. The other is to get them all hot and bothered.”

  “So, uh, basically you need to either wait ‘til the next full moon or figure out a way to get the entire squad turned on at one time?” Cait asks.

  “Yup. And I’m not one for waiting.” I pull out a magazine cutout from my bag and unfold it. Race Jameson, rock star extraordinaire, grins back at us from the printed page. “Meet my secret weapon.”

  “You’re going to show them a magazine cutout?” Cait exclaims.

  “Not exactly,” I say, flashing a grin at Sunny. She nods, knowing right where I’m going with this one. “But you’ll see soon enough. First, I need to get all the cheerleaders in one place.” I turn to Cait. “And that’s where you come in.”

  24

  It’s seven P.M. and I’m pacing the living room floor of my house, waiting for my mom to leave. She’s taking her damn sweet time getting ready for her date with David. I glance over at him. He’s looking at his watch, too. He knows timing is everything and for once I’m glad I have him on my side. He may be an annoying future stepfather figure, but he’s still an operative of Slayer Inc. and has operation Get Mom Out of the House under control.

  “Sweetie, our dinner reservations are in a half hour,” he calls up the stairs. “We need to get going.”

  “Just a minute, David. I’m putting on lipstick.”

  “Gah, before she met you she didn’t own a tube of lipstick,” I mutter.

  He laughs. “Hey, she looks gorgeous wearing it. I’m not going to fight that battle.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Tell her to apply it in the car. The cheerleaders will be here any minute now and we can’t let Mom know we’re staging a save-the-town party in her living room on a school night. She’d absolutely kill me.”

  “Are you sure everything’s in place?” David walks over and rechecks the front door. “Automatic locks working?”

  “Yup. I tested them a few minutes ago. You did a great job putting them in.” I press a remote control and the entire house seals up. I release the button and it’s an open house again.

  “Thanks. I used to be an engineer before I joined Slayer Inc. So I’m pretty handy with rigging up this kind of stuff.”

  “Yeah, well, I… appreciate it. I couldn’t have set this up without you.” It kills me to compliment the guy, but he did put a lot of work into this plan.

  “No problem.” He grins. “It’s all in a day’s work.”

  “Yeah, but I know how you feel about me. And I haven’t been very grateful.”

  “Don’t worry. I get it. I’m your guardian and I’m also dating your mom. That must be pretty weird for you.”

  I shrug. “I don’t know.”

  “Aw, come on, Rayne. Of course it is. Some strange guy comes into your home, kicks you out of your room, spends all his free time with your mom. It’s gotta be rough.”

  “Okay, fine. It is a bit … annoying. Especially the room part. Or the mom part. I don’t know. It’s all weird. Nothing against you personally. Just, we’ve been an all-girl family for a long time.”

  “I have to tell you something, Rayne,” David says, his voice growing serious. “My condo isn’t really being painted.”

  “What? What do you mean?” I stare at him, once again angry. Was this just his clever ruse to get into Mom’s bed? And here I’d been thinking he wasn’t such a bad guy after all. “Why the hell are you here then?”

  “Slayer Inc. has had reports of a new threat coming into town. We’re not sure of the details, but there’s been intelligence that it may be after someone in your family. They’re keeping it on the down low. I’m not even supposed to know this. But I heard it from a very reliable source. So I decided I should stay close, just in case,” he says. “I love your mom, Rayne. And I want to protect her family as best I can.”

  “Oh my God!” I cry. “Something’s coming after our family? But why? ‘Cause Sunny’s Magnus’s girlfriend? Or ‘cause I’m the slayer?”

  “They don’t know. But actually they think it might have something to do with your mother.”

  “What? But Mom’s not a part of any of this! She’s an innocent bystander. She doesn’t even know the supernatural world exists.”

  “There’s more to your mom than you know, Rayne,” David says mysteriously.

  “Like what?”

  Footsteps start down the stairs. Mom’s on her way down. David lowers his voice. “No time to explain. But know this: I’m here living in your house to ensure your mother and you girls are protected. Because I care about all of you. Whatever it is, whenever it comes, I will do everything to keep you all safe.”

  Suddenly the nerdy house invader looks somewhat like a superhero in the dim lighting.

  “Thanks,” I whisper back. “Just promise to keep me in the loop. After all, I’m still the slayer, right? Maybe I can even help.”

  He nods, then straightens to address my mother. “Don’t you look gorgeous,” he exclaims, whistling.

  My mom beams, twirling around. She’s wearing a gauzy pink dress with a rose-petal pattern. She does look gorgeous. And happy, too. I remember how bored and sad she used to be before she met David. He’s good for her, whether I want to admit it or not. And if he’s really here to keep us safe, then that’s even better.

  “Go!
Go!” I urge, remembering the timing we’re working under. Future threats must be sent to the back of my mind. Tonight, I have to catch and cure me some werewolves. “Enjoy dinner. Have a good time. Vacate the premises!”

  Mom narrows her eyes. “Why are you so anxious for us to leave, Rayne?” she asks. “Are you planning something?”

  “Yeah, to watch the new vampire movie I Netflixed. It’s supposed to be fangfully fresh.”

  “Rayne’s fine,” David interjects. “But we’re late. Let’s get a move on.”

  Of course Mom listens to him and a moment later they’re out the door and I can hear their car driving away.

  Not five minutes later, the doorbell rings. I rush to answer it. It’s Cait, accompanied by Shantel, Nancy, Mandy, and a couple of the other girls. They’re dressed for a party and they carry goodies. Shantel’s brought a plate of cupcakes and the others have chips, soda, and candy. Too bad I can’t eat anything.

  “Come on in,” I say. “Put the stuff down on the table here. Let me take your coats.”

  I can’t believe I, Rayne McDonald, am playing party hostess for the Oakridge High cheerleading squad. But, hey, when you’re saving the world, sometimes you have to break character.

  Shantel sets down her cupcakes and turns to me, eyes shining. “You’ll never believe it, Rayne,” she says. “Trevor’s back! And Mike’s with him! The two of them just showed up last night, wandering through town. It’s the craziest thing. They don’t remember where they’ve been or anything.”

  “Wow. That’s insane,” I say, giving her my best innocent surprise look. “But I’m glad they’re back before the homecoming game! What would we have done without them?”

  The doorbell rings. More guests, armed with goodies. I turn up the music and several people move back the couch to clear the living room for dancing. Others gather around the food and sodas, talking amicably amongst themselves. It’s like a real party and everyone’s having a good time. Almost a shame it’s going to end soon—with raining werewolf antidote.

  I notice Mandy standing away from the other girls, as if she feels an outsider to all the action. I consider going over and talking to her, maybe even trying to make some sort of peace between us. But I realize my well-meaning attempts may end with her bolting from the house and thus missing out on her cure.

  There’ll be time to talk later. To apologize. And I plan to do so.

  I glance at my watch, too nervous to enjoy myself. Sunny should be back by now. I hope she didn’t run into any trouble picking up our bait.

  Then, as if on cue, headlights swing into the driveway. They’re here. Operation Save the Cheerleaders can begin. I do a quick head count. Yup, everyone’s here.

  I turn to the front door. Sunny walks in the house first, a silly grin on her face. She’s obviously enjoyed her trip in the car with our special guest. She shuts the door behind her and throws me a nod, indicating everything’s ready. I turn down the music and address the crowd.

  “Thank you all for coming,” I say. “Cait really appreciates everyone coming to her good-bye party.”

  There’s a spattering of applause. Cait blushes.

  “But this isn’t just your ordinary chips and dips affair,” I continue. “Tonight, we have a special surprise for you.”

  The doorbell rings. I walk over to the door. Everyone’s watching.

  “Tonight,” I say theatrically, “tonight I give you Race Jameson!” I whip open the door and everyone gasps as they lay eyes on the rock star standing behind it.

  Race is wearing tight black leather pants and a silk black shirt, halfway unbuttoned down the front. Way too tacky for my taste, but I can hear the oohs and aahs as he flashes the cheerleaders his trademark grin. “Hey, girls,” he says saucily. “I’m Race Jameson. And I’m here to light your fires!”

  I roll my eyes. Could he be any cheesier? He’s a vampire, for goodness sake, didn’t he learn any class from the old days? But, whatever, he’s not here to read Shakespeare or impress us with his intellect.

  He’s here to put these wolves in heat.

  Race slips a CD in the CD player and soon saucy jazz spills from the speakers. He starts gyrating to the beat, pulling off his shirt slowly, revealing his muscular chest. The girls scream and squeal as they realize what’s going on. Their idol, the number-one rock star in the country, is doing a striptease, just for them.

  “I can’t believe Race agreed to do this,” Sunny whispers.

  “Actually, he looks like he’s enjoying himself.”

  “Just make sure he doesn’t take a bite out of one of the girls. Magnus says he’s always hoping to add a pretty face to his harem of blood donors.”

  I laugh. “Look, Sun, I think it’s working!”

  We switch our focus from the stripper rock star to his squealing fans. Sure enough, some of them are starting to sprout hair. Just a bit here and there and none of the others have noticed yet. A few tufts billowing from their chests, a few hairs sprouting from their cheeks.

  “Oh, Race!” Mandy cries. She’s the hairiest of them all at this point. She’s even started growing a snout. “You rock my world!”

  The others laugh and turn to look at her. Then they freeze.

  “Oh my God, Mandy!” cries Shantel. “You’re—you’re!” She stares at her, horrified. “What a big nose you have!”

  Mandy looks back at her, equal horror on her snouty face. “Shantel! What big teeth you have!”

  Panic ensues. Girls are running, screaming, freaking out. Each thinking they look normal, but their squad mate has become a monster.

  “Now!” I cry to Sunny. My twin hits the remote, effectively locking everyone in the house. I climb up on a chair and put a lighter to the sprinkler system. A moment later the place is raining werewolf antidote, which David installed in the plumbing. There’s more shrieking as the girls are doused with the cure. They’re running around, trying to escape. But even their werewolf strength can’t break David’s locks. We should keep the system installed after this whole thing is over. You never know when an airtight house might come in handy.

  Luckily the antidote works quickly and moments later everyone’s back to their old selves again. No more hair, teeth, claws, or snouts. Just soaking wet cheerleaders, staring at a soaking wet, half-naked Race Jameson. They all look around, completely confused, not remembering how or why they got all wet.

  “W00t! Wet T-shirt contest!” Race cries. “And I’m judging!”

  It’s more than an effective distraction and soon all the girls are strutting their stuff, hoping to impress the rock star in my living room. Well, some things never change.

  I cheer, slapping high fives with Cait and Sunny. Once again Rayne McDonald saves the day.

  Damn, I’m good.

  25

  We’re down by three, fourth quarter, fourth down, and Trevor has the ball. Only seconds to go and the clock on the scoreboard counts down relentlessly. Trevor backs up, looks for an opening …

  We’re screaming, we’re yelling, we’re jumping up and down. “Go, Wolves!” The fans in the packed bleachers echo our cheer. There’s a crackling of electricity in the air. A roar from the crowd. It’s now or never.

  Trevor sees Mike Stevens enter the end zone. He’s wide open.

  As red uniforms converge on our quarterback, Trevor throws. Mike leaps into the air and manages to catch the ball—a split second before he’s tackled to the ground.

  The Wolves win the homecoming game.

  The crowd leaps up in unison, a chaos of blue jackets, hats, and sweaters—cheering and clapping and whooping the old Wolf pack howl.

  “Whoo! Yeah! Go Mike and Trevor!” we yell. Mandy does a back flip. Shantel and Nancy jump up and down.

  I yell, too, even pulling off a pretty good round-off, coming back up with pom-poms still in place.

  Yes, I, Rayne McDonald, am still a Wolves cheerleader. At least for now. After all, I couldn’t just abandon my squad simply because I was done with my mission impossible. Homecomin
g’s an important game and I can’t have them basket-tossing Nancy without me there to make sure she gets caught.

  So I’m a Goth. A vampire. And now a cheerleader. And no one’s going to tell me it’s not okay to be all three. After all, I’ve always prided myself as an individual. If I enjoy cheering, then I’ll cheer. And if anyone wants to make anything of that, short skirt or not, I’ll totally kick their ass across the football field.

  Even Mandy admitted, during her pep talk before the game, that I’d come a long way since day one of practice. Now that she’s cured, she and I have settled into at least a temporary truce. We may never be best friends again, but at least now we have a grudging respect for one another and both understand a little better where the other is coming from.

  “Rayne! Rayne!” My mom’s beaming as she runs over to me, waving like a lunatic. Once I finally told her I was a cheerleader she insisted on coming to watch me. Which is pretty cool, I guess. Though slightly embarrassing.

  “Hey, Mom,” I greet, waving a pom-pom in her direction. She embraces me tightly and I hug her back. My hippie, dip-pie mom. I love her so much. And like David, I will do anything to protect her.

  “Wow, Rayne. You were amazing. Really amazing. I’m so impressed. I had no idea you could do those kinds of moves.”

  “Well, it did take some practice.”

  “Yeah, you were really something,” David says, walking up behind Mom. “A total natural.”

  “Isn’t she?” Sunny asks, joining the group. “I keep telling her that but she refuses to believe me.”

  I feel my face heat at all the compliments. I’m so used to being the bad girl. The one everyone’s annoyed at or afraid of. It’s weird being the center of positive attention. But I guess I can deal with it. At least for tonight.