A Non-Blonde Cheerleader in Love

by Kieran Scott

  17

  We were late. Guess make-up smooching can kind of make a person lose track of time. The two fan buses were still idling at the curb in front of the school when Daniel and I pulled up, but it seemed like they were all loaded up and ready to go. Daniel killed the engine and grabbed my hand as we made a run for it. As soon as his fingers touched mine, I didn’t much care whether we made it to the wrestling match or not. Daniel was holding my hand again. This night could not get any better.

  As we raced around the side of the bus, I saw Tara, Phoebe and Sage staring at me through the windows toward the back. They did not look happy. They looked, in fact, thoroughly betrayed. Like I was holding hands with the enemy.

  Gulp.

  Somehow I had forgotten that the squad was still in a boy-vs.-girl clash to the death. Somehow making up with Daniel had blocked out everything else. But now we were about to enter the ring, together. On that bus was half the squad. How would they feel about me and Daniel making nice?

  I was completely out of breath, more from a bizarre concoction of nerves and excitement than from the short sprint, when we got to the door of the bus. A couple of parentals from the PTA booster club stood outside the door and welcomed us on. They wore blue-and-yellow ribbons on their lapels and one of them was sporting a blue foam hat shaped like a crab, which looked like it had seen better days.

  “You just made it!” Crab-Lady said with a pearly white smile. She stepped back to let us through.

  “Thanks,” I said as Daniel let me board ahead of him.

  We stepped up onto the bus and Daniel put his hands on my shoulders from behind as I walked down the aisle. I might as well have been wearing a target on my forehead. Interspersed throughout the regular old fans were our various teammates, and if looks could kill, we would have died ten times over. There were Terrell and Joe, glaring at Daniel’s hands like they would have liked to amputate them. There were Lindsey and Karianna, jaws dropped in such indignation, you would have thought I was wearing West Wind colors. Sage blew out a noisy sigh through her lips and Tara Timothy shook her head in disgust.

  “I think it’s colder in here than it is outside,” Daniel joked in my ear.

  I cracked a smile. He got it in one. About the only person that seemed happy to see us touching was Mindy, who waved at us from a three-seater at the center of the bus.

  I really missed having Mindy on the squad. Always the voice of reason. The basketball team was lucky to have her.

  “You guys made up?” she said with a grin.

  “Yep. Just now,” I said, dropping into the seat next to her.

  Daniel mushed in, letting one of his knees jut out into the aisle. I slumped down so far, my jacket rode up my back and my knees pressed into the seat in front of me. Daniel and Mindy both looked down at me, their blue eyes concerned. For the first time, I realized how similar they looked. Blond-haired, blue-eyed gorgeousness. They could be twins. Disturbing.

  “Uh, Annisa?” Daniel asked. “What’re you doing?”

  “Hiding,” I told him.

  “Why?” Mindy asked.

  “Have you not noticed that the entire cheerleading squad wants us dead?” I whispered as the bus roared to life. “We’re traitors. We’re Romeo and Juliet and they’re the Capulets and Montagues.”

  Mindy laughed. “Don’t be so dramatic.” Then she got up on her knees and looked around. Instantly her face fell and she sank back down again, hunkering a bit lower than before. “Okay. I get your point.”

  Apparently, she’d been hit by a few death rays by association.

  Daniel reached out and laced his fingers through mine. “So they’re staring. So what?” he said. “I’m not going to let this squad affect us anymore.”

  “No?” I said, perking up slightly.

  “I know you want the squad to be important to me, and it is,” he said. “But not as important as us.”

  I grinned and sat up a bit. “Really?”

  “Yeah. And as far as I’m concerned, they can all kiss my big old male-cheerleader butt!” Daniel shouted.

  A bunch of people around us laughed and I pushed myself completely straight in my seat. Daniel was right. We couldn’t let them affect our relationship. If we as a couple were stronger than the squad, then so be it. I shouldn’t be ashamed of it.

  “Hey! Maybe if you guys can get back together, there’s still hope for the squad,” Mindy said optimistically.

  “Maybe . . . ,” I said.

  I pushed myself up and glanced back over the seat at Tara and Phoebe, who were grumbling to each other and glaring over at us every few seconds. A chill shot through me and I dropped back down, cuddling closer to Daniel for warmth. Suddenly a spirit pom came flying from the direction of Terrell and Joe’s seat and smacked Daniel in the head. His jaw clenched, but he ignored it and let it slide to the floor.

  “Or maybe not.”

  This was going to be one interesting wrestling match. I just hoped none of the cheerleaders ended up out on the mats.

  “This isn’t happening,” Jaimee whispered, rocking forward and back behind me. “This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening. . . .”

  Down on the mat, the ref called the end of the first two-minute period. K.C. got up off the floor, winded and extremely confused. His opponent clapped his hands together and shouted in triumph as he went for his water bottle. I narrowed my eyes at him in irritation. This guy was beating K.C. He was actually beating K.C.

  “Who does this guy think he is, the Rock?” Chandra said.

  Actually, if this kid was looking for a Hollywood career, he definitely could have doubled for the Rock. He was absolutely tremendous. His muscles bulged like Wolverine’s and he had about the same bloodthirsty attitude. Somehow K.C. had avoided getting pinned and automatically losing, but I could not figure out how. Wolverine had already racked up so many points with takedowns and reversals, I’d lost count. Meanwhile, K.C. hadn’t scored one. Not a single point.

  “It’s like his concentration is totally shot,” Daniel said.

  Everyone around me pointedly ignored him. The girls on the squad had actually deigned to sit near us, but hadn’t acknowledged his existence all night. It was kind of irritating, but I figured they’d get used to him again. Eventually.

  “Weigh him again, ref!” someone shouted from the top of the stands. A bunch of people laughed, but it was a tense laughter. Over by the bench, K.C. bowed his head and heaved for breath as his coach whispered in his ear.

  “This sucks,” Sage said from a few rows up. “He’s undefeated. He can’t let this ape man beat him.”

  The ref blew his whistle and K.C. and Wolverine approached the mat again. Everyone gasped when Wolverine came right at K.C. and flipped him over onto his back. My hands automatically flew to my mouth. Normally the wrestlers circled each other for at least a few seconds, but Wolverine was clearly out for blood. I guess he was gunning to go down in history as the first person to beat K. C. Lawrence, Junior Olympic champion.

  “This is ridiculous,” Chandra said as K.C. strained and struggled. His teeth bared, his face reddened, the tendons in his neck could have given Coach Holmes’ a run for their money. “We have to do something.”

  “Like what?” Mindy asked.

  Daniel suddenly jumped to his feet.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  My heart dropped and I looked up at him. I couldn’t have been more surprised if Oprah Winfrey had just walked in wearing a crab costume. Was Daniel actually trying to start a chant? “What’re you doing?” I asked, breaking into a smile.

  He widened his eyes slightly, urging me to join him. Actually, begging me to join him.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  This time he threw in a punch up, punch out. He was doing arm movements! All alone in the middle of the crowd. Maybe tossing him and his buddies out there for a pep rally on their own really had changed something.

  But that didn’t mean I should lea
ve him hanging again. I stood up and joined in.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” we shouted.

  Chandra looked up at us and grinned. She pulled Jaimee up and joined in the cheer.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  On the next chant a male voice from high up in the bleachers joined us. I turned around and grinned when I saw that it was Terrell. He punched his arm up and shouted at the top of his lungs. Slowly Joe stood up to join him.

  “On your feet, everyone!” Chandra cried.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  All around us the other cheerleaders joined in. Mindy, Sage, Autumn, Lindsey, Karianna. Down a few rows the new girls, Shira, Wendy and Ally, jumped up. Soon various members of the crowd started chanting as well and the words filled the small gym.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  Down on the mat, K.C. let out a guttural growl and suddenly, he shoved Wolverine’s shoulders back and flipped him over, their legs a tangled, struggling mess.

  “Point! Sand Dune!” the ref shouted.

  Everyone in the Sand Dune stands cheered and the chant grew louder.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !”

  I heard a pounding on the bleachers and looked over to find Tara, Phoebe and Whitney rushing down the steps, taking them two at a time. They lined up in front of the stands and shouted up at the crowd, bringing everyone into it.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  K.C. and his opponent were standing now and K.C. circled him, on his toes, his arms stretched and ready for attack. The confusion and exhaustion were gone. He looked alert, energized, ready to fight. Suddenly Wolverine came at him and K.C. grabbed him, this time using his momentum against him to flip him over.

  “Let’s go, K.C.!” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  Tara was grinning. Whitney was bouncing up and down on her toes, maybe riled after a few weeks without cheering. I glanced at Mindy and we smiled. The energy in the room had completely shifted. We had gone from lowest of the low to super positive with one chant. Then Tara pointed up at the stands and laughed. I turned around and saw that her boyfriend, Bobby Goow—the original male-cheerleader tease-meister—had joined in. And he was really into it, clapping with a serious expression like he could personally strengthen K.C. Sweet.

  “Let’s go, K.C. !” Clap, clap, clapclapclap.

  Down on the bench, even Christopher Healy and some of the other wrestlers joined in.

  Wolverine was struggling to keep his shoulders off the ground. K.C. grappled and groped, twisting his arms through and around his opponent’s until they were pretzeled together in a configuration that hardly looked natural or comfortable. Wolverine grunted and groaned, but it was clear he was struggling against an inevitable death. Finally, K.C. let out a cry that sounded something like a bear’s roar, and Wolverine’s shoulders hit the ground.

  “Pin! Sand Dune! Winner!” the referee shouted.

  The crowd went bonkers. Tara, Whitney and Phoebe jumped up and down, screaming. K.C. got up and thrust his fists to the air. Jaimee hugged me from behind, nearly tackling me into the woman in front of me. All around me everyone was laughing and high-fiving and a couple of people even kissed.

  Down on the bench, Christopher Healy turned around and pointed at Daniel. He knew his brother had been instrumental in that win. Guess he wouldn’t be teasing my man anymore.

  Daniel grabbed me and suddenly we were hugging and cheering and kissing. I couldn’t have been more proud of him. My boyfriend was a true cheerleader.

  “That was awesome!” Terrell shouted, his breath making steam clouds in the cold air. “That was freakin’ awesome!”

  Dozens of people had gathered together outside the school to wait for K.C.’s emergence from the locker room. Everyone around us laughed at Terrell’s antics. He was like a manic kindergartner on too much Kool-Aid, unable to sit still for even two seconds. He kept pacing around, bending at the waist as he hooted and hollered. Boy was fired up.

  “What do you think’s gonna happen when he comes down?” Chandra whispered to me.

  “I don’t know, but I hope he’s not operating any heavy machinery when it happens,” I said.

  The doors to the school opened and K.C. walked out, his long hair slicked back into a ponytail and his face still ruddy from the exertion of the match. The entire crowd cheered his arrival and K.C. ducked his head sheepishly. He loped right over to Daniel and offered his hand, which Daniel happily slapped, then pulled K.C. into a hug. Terrell rushed over and clapped K.C. on the back, bouncing up and down.

  “That was an incredible comeback, man,” Daniel said.

  “Couldn’t have done it without you guys,” K.C. replied.

  Terrell blew out a scoff. “Please.”

  “No, man. I’m serious,” K.C. said. “I was totally lost out there, but when you guys started cheering for me . . . I don’t know . . . I just got this burst of energy. It was so cool. I totally fed off the crowd.”

  Daniel and Terrell both grinned, flushed with pleasure.

  “So thanks, all of you,” K.C. said, addressing the crowd. “I guess this was a group victory.”

  “Whoo-hoo!” Chandra cheered, and everyone laughed.

  The crowd started to break up as some of the fans went over to congratulate K.C. Gradually the cheerleading squad came together in the mayhem. Everyone in our circle was smiling, but there was still this uncertainty in the air. What, if anything, had changed?

  “Think things will go back to normal again now?” Jaimee asked.

  “Define normal,” Tara replied.

  She had a point. Nothing had been normal since the guys had crashed our squad. We still had to find normal. For a long moment, no one said anything. Inside, I started to panic. Maybe nothing had changed.

  “So, how does it feel?” Tara said finally.

  “How does what feel?” Terrell asked.

  “How does it feel to change the outcome of a match?” Tara asked.

  The guys exchanged long looks. They shifted their feet. And slowly, they started to smile.

  “It feels pretty unbelievable,” Daniel said finally.

  Laughter trickled throughout the squad. Relieved, happy laughter.

  “I didn’t really know that was possible,” Steven said. “You guys are really an integral part of the team.”

  “We are?” I asked pointedly.

  “We all are,” Daniel amended, looking right at me, his blue eyes intense.

  Spin city. My heart, my head, my everything spun.

  “Look, we want you all to know we’re gonna take things more seriously from now on,” Terrell said. He cleared his throat, swallowing his pride, maybe. “No more crap.”

  “So . . . you’ll respect the props box?” Autumn asked.

  “Yep.”

  “And you’ll actually do work at craft nights?” Jaimee asked.

  “Yep.”

  “And you’ll do whatever fundraisers we want to do?” Tara asked.