by Kieran Scott
“You like it?” he asked with glee.
He was gloating. That much was obvious. The little jerk.
But I was willing to let it go because it was, you know, Christmas. Plus, he was my boyfriend. The operative syllable being “boy.” Even the perfect ones can be jerks sometimes.
“I love it,” I said sarcastically, holding it to my heart. “I never wanted anything more.”
Daniel snickered, pleased with himself.
“But I can’t accept it,” I said. “I was part of the bet. I have to keep up my end.”
Daniel tilted his head. “All right, but I should warn you. Terrell and Joe are planning on going off-roading next weekend.”
Jerks, the little devil on my shoulder said.
But I grinned beatifically. “No problem whatsoever.” I held his present out to him. “Your turn.”
That second present better not be a joke gift too, or I can’t be responsible for my actions, I thought.
Daniel smiled and turned the package over. He started with the ribbon, actually untying the knot with his short fingernails. Then he removed it slowly and placed it on the couch next to him before examining the paper, like he was looking for the best way in.
Just rip it! I thought. Come on, man! It’s Christmas!
Daniel smiled up at me and I erased the consternation from my face. He popped the tape off with his finger and unfolded the wrapping paper.
How does he do this? I wondered. Present unwrapping at the Healy house must have taken hours. I was amazed that they had time to drive to Boca and back.
Finally, finally, Daniel got to the last piece of tape. “Holy . . . I can’t believe you did this!” Daniel said, turning the box of CDs over in his hands. “This is too much.”
“Eh, I got a good deal,” I said, giddy. “You like it?”
“Like it? I love it,” he said, reaching over and giving me a hug. “I can’t wait to listen to these.”
“We can put one in right now!” I suggested, standing up.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Daniel said, reaching for my arm. “Don’t you want your present first?”
Oh, right. I had forgotten about that. Sort of. Okay, not at all.
“Here. Sit,” Daniel said.
I did, and he handed the small box over. My face was warm with pleasure as I imagined what might be inside. For a split second. Then I tore into it like a doggie on a beef bone.
“Wow. You really don’t waste any time,” Daniel said.
“Nuh-uh,” I told him, tossing the shredded paper aside. I lifted the lid off the box and there, sitting against a white cotton square, was a silver charm bracelet with a single heart charm. My own heart gave an extra-hard thump.
“Daniel! It’s beautiful!” I said.
“Check it out,” he said, sliding closer to me. He lifted the bracelet out of the box and into the light. I squinted and saw that on one side of the heart, my initials had been engraved in a swirly script, AG. Daniel turned the delicate heart over, revealing his initials on the other side, DH.
“Oh! That’s so sweet! I love it!” I said, tears prickling at my eyes.
Daniel smiled. “Wanna put it on?”
“Definitely,” I said, holding out my arm.
It took Daniel a couple of tries, but eventually he worked the tiny clasp and attached the cool silver to my wrist.
“I’ll wear it every day,” I said, admiring the bracelet against the light of the tree.
Daniel blushed. “You don’t have to do that.”
“No! I want to. It’s beautiful. I love it,” I said.
“I love you,” Daniel replied.
Instantly the world stopped spinning. All the furniture in the room fell over and the Christmas tree crashed to the ground. All I could hear was the kids on the TV taunting, “You’ll shoot your eye out! You’ll shoot your eye out!”
“You . . . wh . . . what?” I said.
Daniel looked me in the eye. His expression was super-intensely serious. He whispered, “I love you, Annisa.”
Slowly a smile spread its way across my face. Daniel smiled back. “I love you too,” I said.
Christmas totally rocks.
9
“All right, everyone, hands in,” Coach Holmes called out.
It was Wednesday night of our winter break and we were in the middle of the annual district holiday tournament, being held at our rival school, West Wind High. Eight teams from the district were competing in the tournament and it was just the first round.
We all gathered into a huddle, all twenty of us plus Coaches Holmes and Rincon, who had driven up to watch us in action. Everyone put their hands together in the center of the circle. At halftime, our team was down by fifteen points against Clearwater High. But even so, our little circle was infused with electricity. This was it. Our entire athletic division was about to see us in action for the first time.
My bare arm rubbed up against Daniel’s and I had to steel myself to keep a visible shiver from running down my side. He grinned quickly at me, knowing exactly how I felt. Ever since we’d said “I love you” to each other, we hadn’t been able to stop saying it, and every time he so much as brushed my hand with his, I felt everything inside of me sizzle.
“Gobrowski! You with me?” Coach Holmes asked.
Snagged!
“Yes, Coach,” I said firmly, prickling with embarrassment under my uniform.
“Good. Now this is our first time trying this cheer at a game,” she said, looking around at each of us. “I want you to visualize those stunts, especially that throw,” she said, staring right at me. I gulped. We had only executed the basket toss with layout once successfully. Once. “Confidence, poise, safety. Got me?”
We all nodded. I had never seen everyone look so determined. Guess that was what happened when every cheerleader from all the local schools was there to watch us soar or crash.
Soar. Definitely soar.
“Good. Now get out there and let’s show these people what we can do,” she said. “On three. One, two, three!”
“Whaddup, Sand Dune!” we all shouted, throwing our arms in the air.
The Sand Dune High section of the crowd went wild as we took the floor. I jogged into position, my heart pounding erratically, and caught a glimpse of the West Wind High cheerleaders gathered near the door. They all had serious pusses on as they eyed us and talked to each other behind their hands. Jealous much, ladies? Well, they were going to be a lot more jealous in a minute when they saw the extension of my elevation.
Aw, yeah!
“ ‘ Win, Win, Win!’ Ready?” Tara shouted.
“Okay!
Come on! Yellow and blue! Win! Win! Win!
Come on! Yellow and blue! Win! Win! Win!”
We shifted formation and the girls at the front grabbed their signs from the floor. I took my position at the center of the squad with Daniel, Terrell and Joe around me.
You can do this, Annisa. Don’t get scared, now. Show those West Wind girls what you’ve got.
“Come on! Sand Dune fans! All join in!
Come on! Sand Dune fans! Win! Win! Win!”
Chandra, Autumn and Tara thrust their signs into the air one at a time and the crowd responded louder and louder with each successive “Win!”
“Come on! Sand Dune fans! Win! Win! Win!”
“Once more!” Tara shouted.
“Here we go,” Daniel said under his breath.
On the count I popped up onto his and Terrell’s hands. I stayed tight and concentrated, staring straight ahead.
Down, up, over, down. Down, up, over, down. Down, up, over—
“Come on! Sand Dune fans! Win!”
Down, up!
“Win! Win!”
And I flew into the air higher than I’d ever flown before. I heard the crowd gasp and wanted to close my eyes, thinking something was wrong. But instead, I executed my layout, thrust my arms out at my sides and hoped for the best as I plummeted toward the ground.
Just
don’t crack open your skull. You need your skull, I heard a little voice whisper.
And the next second I was safe in Daniel’s, Terrell’s and Joe’s arms. My eyes opened in surprise and it was the first moment I realized I had closed them. Oops! They popped me to my feet and I could feel the glee and relief radiating off the guys as we all thrust our arms into the air and ran back to the stands. Coach Holmes was beside herself, applauding and shaking her head as she laughed. The whole crowd was on its feet, even the fans from other schools.
“That was sweet!” Terrell said, slapping my hand as he sat down behind me.
“No doubt,” I said.
As we sat, we all saw the West Wind girls filing out into their lobby. They looked like they’d just been through electroshock group therapy, and their green complexions matched their uniforms. Oh yeah. Bringing guys onto the squad was a good idea. I no longer cared what Tara or anyone else said. The looks on those girls’ faces made it all worth it.
When we walked into the gym on our first Monday back, Coach Holmes and Coach Rincon were sitting on the bottom bleacher, turned toward each other, their knees practically touching. Autumn stopped in her tracks and I nearly slammed right into her.
“What?” I said.
“Shhh!” She backed me out of the gym as Chandra, Tara and a few other girls came up behind us. “There’s a total love vibe in the air in there.”
“Huh?” Tara said as we gathered around the windows.
Coach Holmes giggled and shoved Coach Rincon’s shoulder backward. He reached out and touched her face with his hand. Holy inappropriateness. They were staring into each other’s eyes. Gazing, actually.
“Omigod. Did she just giggle?” Chandra said.
“Are they gonna kiss?” Tara asked.
The guys came up behind us and I knew there was no way we could let them see this. They already gave Coach Holmes enough crap. This would send them into spasms. I yanked the door open and practically shouted over my shoulder.
“Aren’t you guys so psyched to be back?”
My maneuver had the desired effect. The coaches sprang apart and stood up. Coach Holmes cleared her throat and Rincon took a deep breath, smoothing down the front of his shirt.
“Hello, everyone!” Coach Holmes called out, clutching her clipboard for dear life. “Welcome back!”
“How was your break?” Autumn asked pointedly, looking from one coach to the other.
“It was fine, Autumn, thanks for asking,” Coach Holmes said, just as pointedly. Whether or not she knew we’d seen them was unclear, but she obviously wanted to get on with business. “Now if you’ll all have a seat . . .”
Soon everyone was gathered in the bleachers. I couldn’t stop staring at Coach Rincon, who couldn’t stop staring at his feet. What was going on between these two?
“All right! All right, everyone! Let’s calm down!” Coach Holmes called out. “I know you’re all excited to be back—”
Major groans from the peanut gallery, followed by a few laughs.
“But now that all the dust has settled from the holidays, we have a few things to discuss,” Coach continued.
I saw Tara glance warily at Phoebe and wondered if they knew something I didn’t know. Who was I kidding? They almost always knew something I didn’t know. Behind Chandra’s back, Daniel reached over and hooked his pinky around mine. My new bracelet dangled between our legs as we smiled.
We were so gross, I could almost gag. Almost.
Of course I would have to take the bracelet off before we started practice. No jewelry allowed, especially when stunting. But I was waiting until the very last second.
I wondered if Coach Rincon had given Coach Holmes anything romantic over the holidays. I watched them closely, trying to imagine them holding pinkies or saying “I love you.” They definitely would have made a seriously hot couple.
“First of all, great job at the holiday tournament!” Coach Holmes said enthusiastically.
“Yeah!” Coach Rincon added, clapping his hands.
We all joined in, happily. There was clearly a lot of pride in the room. Along with that lingering love vibe.
“Even though we only got to cheer one game before our team was eliminated—”
Grumbles all around.
“It was one kickass game for us,” Coach continued.
“You better believe dat!” Terrell said. Everyone laughed and clapped some more.
Coach Holmes held her hands up to quiet us down. “Now I also want to congratulate all of you on a job well done with the holiday fundraisers,” she continued, consulting her clipboard as we cheered some more, though this time the guys outshouted the girls. “From what I see here, you brought in a total of one thousand forty-two dollars.”
“And earned ourselves some free car washes,” Terrell said, knocking fists with Joe and Steven.
“Good job. Really. I’m proud of you,” Coach said, hugging her clipboard. “I just wish you had all found a way to work together to earn this money.”
Silence fell. Tara looked at Phoebe again. So she did know something negative was coming. Coach walked up and down the bleachers, surveying us.
“It seems that we have a misunderstanding on our hands,” she said. “This is one team. Not a girls’ team and a boys’ team, but one cohesive team.”
“You should be working with each other, not against each other,” Rincon added sternly.
Terrell leaned back on his elbows and jutted his chin out. I knew he was taking this lecture as a personal attack on him. And I didn’t blame him. It had been his idea to do a second fundraiser.
“I’ll admit that this time your competitive natures benefited the team,” Coach Holmes continued. “But if this continues, it’s only going to act as a poison as the season goes on, so I want to nip it in the bud. I want you guys to start figuring out some ways to bond. Figure out a way to become the solid unit I want you to be.”
No one moved. If someone had dropped a Q-Tip in the locker room on the other side of the gym, I think we would have heard it. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to be one cohesive team with the guys. I did. And I’m sure everyone else wanted that too. But why was she saying this to us now? We had done our job at the tournament perfectly. We were all on a natural high. So why was she bringing us down? Wasn’t cheering all the other squads in the district into submission enough for her?
“Any suggestions?” Coach said finally, raising her perfectly plucked brows. “Ideas for group activities.”
Jaimee sat forward and raised her hand, tossing her long, bouncy blonde ponytail over her shoulder. “I know!”
“Yes, Jaimee?” Coach Holmes said, letting out a relieved breath.
“We have the first big rivalry games against West Wind next week, right?” she said, looking around. “So we’re gonna need to decorate the seniors’ lockers and make banners and bake—”
