Brunettes Strike Back

by Kieran Scott

  “And last, but certainly not least . . . ,” Gracie said.

  The Northwood High School Beavers . . . the Northwood High School Beavers . . . the—

  “Another new entry this year, the Northwood High School Beavers of New Jersey!” Gracie read.

  “Oh my God!” I shouted.

  Jordan and the others went super hyper crazy and I jumped to my feet and ran over to hug my best friend. They were in! I couldn’t believe that both my squads were in the finals!

  “Congratulations!” I shouted to the Beavers.

  “You too!” Jordan shouted back.

  Suddenly the stage was awash with color as squads intermingled, patting each other on the back or commiserating over being cut. The crowd started to thin out as parents found their kids and boyfriends hugged girlfriends. I had planned to meet my parents later, so I knew they weren’t fighting their way toward the mat. I searched for Daniel in the crowd, but didn’t see him. Meanwhile, people I had never met from squads I didn’t know were congratulating me and wishing me luck. It was so nuts that for a second I forgot that I was in deep trouble.

  But only for a second.

  “I think your squad is waiting for you,” Jordan said in my ear as we made our way backstage.

  Sure enough, the whole team, along with Coach Holmes, was standing near the wall, talking in low tones.

  “I’ll catch you later,” I said to Jordan.

  As I made my way over to the squad, I saw Steven snapping pictures of them. Steven. I had almost forgotten about his role in the current mess. He lowered the camera and eyed me meaningfully. Like he wanted to talk.

  Then Daniel and his friends stepped into the backstage area from a side door. Carlos ran right over to Erin and gave her a huge kiss. Bobby Goow enveloped Tara in his beefy arms. But Daniel . . . Daniel just stood there and eyed me meaningfully. Like he wanted to talk too.

  I was totally trapped. Maybe I could just have them duel over me. I pictured Daniel and Steven in tights and capes, parrying back and forth with swords, swinging from the rafters in my name. Of course, at the moment it was possible that only one of them was in a fight-for-Annisa place. The wrong one.

  “Come on, Gobrowski,” Coach Holmes said, breaking away from the crowd. “Let’s find someplace quiet.”

  Well, there was a way out. What was that saying? From the frying pan into the fire? Still, I had never been so happy to be in trouble in my life. Getting a smackdown from Coach Holmes was going to be a lot easier than sorting stuff out with Daniel and Steven.

  I glanced over my shoulder as Coach led me to a back hallway. And wouldn’t you know it? Daniel was now talking with none other than Sage Barnard. I felt my blood boil. That girl really did not know when to quit. It was all I could do to keep from turning around, marching back there and hitting her with an atomic wedgie.

  Actually, just the mental image was rather satisfying.

  “Gobrowski, I . . . are you smiling?” Coach asked, appalled.

  “Sorry, Coach,” I said.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “I swear, I’m beginning to think I don’t even know who you are,” she said. “Skipping out on a team meal at nationals? Lying to your teammates? When you first joined this squad, I thought you were the most dedicated cheerleader I had ever seen.”

  Really? I thought.

  “You worked your butt off to catch up with the others. You dealt with all their crap. But now? Honestly? If we weren’t in the middle of an important competition, I’d have half a mind to bench you,” she said. “This is not Annisa Gobrowski behavior.”

  I swallowed hard and looked at my sneakers. When it came to being brought back to earth, there was nothing like a person you really admired telling you how much you had disappointed them. She was right, of course. This wasn’t Annisa Gobrowski behavior. But I knew that already. Unfortunately, I was having a hard time figuring out who I was and what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a good teammate, but my current teammates weren’t making it easy for me. I wanted to be a good friend, but it seemed next to impossible to be a good friend to everyone without offending somebody. And how was I supposed to be me when everything I wanted to do seemed to annoy at least some of the people I cared about?

  I just wanted someone to tell me what to do. Tell me what was right and what was wrong. If I kept trying to figure it out myself, I was definitely going to rupture something.

  “Did you see how everyone was fighting before?” Coach said to me. “This is a really bad time for this team to unravel. Now, you brought them together once before, Annisa. I’m counting on you to be part of the solution again, not part of the problem.”

  My feet felt wet in my sneakers. I shivered and became acutely aware of all my exposed skin, to the point where I had to hug myself to keep from shaking. “Yes, Coach.”

  “And whatever this crap is about giving tips to other teams, that ends now,” Coach added. “I’m all for being a good sport, but this is a competition. Your loyalty should be to one squad and one squad only, are we clear?”

  “Yes, Coach.”

  “Good, because if you step so much as a toe out of line again on this trip, I’ll have no problem replacing you when we get back to Sand Dune,” she said.

  Wow. Don’t pull any punches. “Yes, Coach,” I said.

  “Okay then. We understand each other. Now, everyone is meeting up with their families for lunch today, but I will see you at dinner.”

  With that, she walked off, leaving me alone in the hallway. Suddenly feeling exhausted, I leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. This competition was definitely not turning out like I had imagined. I had pictured excitement, laughter, tons of happy, smiling pictures with my friends.

  Instead, I was more miserable than I had ever been in my entire life.

  18

  By the time I changed my clothes and got back downstairs to meet my family for lunch, the sky had turned gray and it looked like rain. A stiff wind had kicked up and all the squads that had packed for Southern Florida temps were emptying the gift shop of its sweatshirts. It definitely felt more like New Jersey than Florida. I actually found it sort of comforting.

  Already there was a huge banner strung across the front of the lobby that read “Congratulations, Finalists!” Underneath, all the top-ten teams were listed in our school colors. These cheerleading organizations were definitely on top of things.

  “You look . . . cozy,” my mother said to me as I trudged over to her. Gabe and my father were chatting with some guy at the front desk.

  I was wearing my favorite baggy jeans and an old, tattered Rutgers University sweatshirt. My hair was pulled back under a bandana. All makeup and hairspray had been removed. The standard uniform of the depressed. The only traces of my Florida wardrobe were my comfy red flip-flops and the blue toenails Mindy and I had painted last week for extra school spirit.

  “A girl can only coif so much,” I told her.

  “I hear that,” she said, slipping her arm over my shoulders. “Is everything all right with you? You looked a little strained out there on the floor today.”

  Whoa. Everything welled up inside of me so fast, I thought I was going to gush from every pore. What was it about Mom’s voice that made me ache to spill my guts?

  But I couldn’t. I already felt like I had been through an emotional wringer over the past couple of days. All I wanted was to have a nice, laid-back lunch with my family. So I put on a happy face.

  “Just a little worn-out from all the rah-rah craziness,” I said with a shrug. “All I need is a big burger and some fries and I’ll be back to my old self again.”

  “I think we can accommodate that request,” my father said, joining us. “We got a list of restaurants from the front desk and one of them claims to have the best burgers in the state. Shall we try them out?”

  “As long as I can get some grilled chicken there,” Gabe said. “I’m watching my carbs.”

  “The pizza prince of the tristate
area is watching his carbs?” I asked.

  That’s not a made-up title. The manager of the Domino’s in my old hometown threw Gabe a party when he ordered his three hundredth pie. They gave him a crown and everything. As far as I know, his picture is still hanging on the wall.

  “Ugh! I haven’t had a pizza in weeks,” Gabe said, pulling a face. He turned to a mirror near the front desk, touched his fingertip to his tongue, and used it to smooth his eyebrow.

  I looked at my parents, feeling a little skeeved. “Have you guys taken him for an MRI yet?”

  “Believe me, I’m thinking about it,” my father said, eyeing my brother like he was a Martian.

  Across the lobby I saw Whitney and Sage with their parents, chatting with Mindy and her dad. Erin and Carlos joined a woman who was either Erin’s older sister or her very in-shape and moisturized mom. Phoebe stepped out of the elevator and paused when she saw us.

  “Phoebe! Hi! How’s it going?” my brother asked with a huge smile.

  He was definitely using some kind of whitener. Can you say blinding?

  “Hi, Gabe!” Phoebe said with a little smile. “Mr. and Mrs. Gobrowski.”

  “Nice to see you again, Phoebe,” my mother said. “We were just going out for burgers. Would you like to come?”

  “Uh . . . thanks,” Phoebe said, twisting the hem of her sweatshirt in her hands. She had yet to even look at me. “But I have . . . other plans.”

  “Of course,” my dad said. “Good to . . . .”

  But the rest of the sentence was lost on Phoebe, who had hurried off toward Whitney and the others. Wow. She couldn’t stand to be around me for five seconds.

  I took a deep breath and turned to my parents. “Come on,” I said, my head hanging. “Let’s gorge.”

  After lunch, I sat on the edge of Phoebe’s freshly made bed and dialed the number for Daniel’s room. My knees were pressed together and my shoulders were hunched as I gripped the phone. What was I going to say? How was I going to keep him from hanging up on me?

  Hey, Daniel, we need to talk . . .

  Nah, too cliché.

  I didn’t kiss him! He kissed me!

  True, but too defensive.

  Why the hell are you calling Sage instead of me the night before nationals?

  Yeah, that’d work.

  But it didn’t matter, because all the phone did was ring and ring. Finally I got the picture and hung up.

  Dropping back on the bed, I stared up at the ceiling and tried to get a grip. There were too many conflicts swirling through my mind.

  Like Steven, for instance. Where on earth had Steven gotten the idea that I liked him? Was I sending some kind of signal? No, not possible. The only person I sent signals to was Daniel.

  And what about Daniel? Apparently he thought I liked Steven too. How clueless was he? I still couldn’t believe that he hadn’t given me a chance to explain. Kind of like the squad. Why wouldn’t anyone let me explain myself? It was so frustrating!

  Why does it seem like you have so much explaining to do lately? the little angel on my shoulder asked.

  I swallowed hard, my chest growing heavy. The angel kind of had a point. Only a person who messes up a lot has to explain a lot. Right?

  Suddenly the door opened and slammed and Mindy came storming into the room, all flushed.

  “Do you know where I just was?” she demanded.

  I sat up straight, my heart pounding. “Uh . . . no?”

  “I was just in the gym with Phoebe, trying to get her to stop crying on the treadmill!”

  “She’s crying? What’s wrong?” I asked, sliding forward.

  “You’re what’s wrong!” Mindy said.

  “Me?” Again? I thought.

  “What exactly is your problem?” Mindy asked me, hands on hips.

  “My problem? I thought we were talking about Phoebe!” I said, standing. I was a little taken aback by the level of Mindy’s ire. She was usually so mild and quiet. I had never seen her like this before.

  “We’re talking about the fact that you’ve been acting totally selfish ever since we got here!” Mindy said. “What’s the deal?”

  “This again?” I shouted, throwing up my hands. “Okay, fine. My problem is that everyone wants to control me. Dye your hair, wear these clothes, don’t leave our sides for a split second, don’t talk to your other friends. What is this, a high school team or a military prison?”

  “You are such a baby,” Mindy said, looking at the ceiling.

  I blinked, stung. “What?”

  “Listen to yourself! You’re on a squad! A competition squad! And like it or not, that means making some sacrifices. You knew that going in!” she said. “Don’t you remember how serious that first meeting was?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “But nothing! This is so not you!”

  That seemed like a common opinion today. An opinion I was sick of hearing. “Maybe it is me! Maybe you’re all just pissed off because I’m not acting like the rest of you,” I said defensively.

  “That’s not what I mean and you know it,” Mindy shot back in a tone I didn’t think she was capable of. “You’re being so selfish, you don’t even know what’s going on around you. Want to know why Phoebe was crying?”

  I kind of had a feeling that I didn’t.

  “Did you even notice that her parents are the only ones who haven’t shown up here?” Mindy asked.

  My heart dropped. I hadn’t, in fact, noticed that. No wonder she was acting so weird when the caravan showed up yesterday. And before, when my mom asked her to join us. I should have said something. I should have insisted that she come along. But I had thought she was mad at me like everyone else.

  When has that ever stopped you from making an overture before? the shoulder angel asked me.

  “She told me just now that you’re the only one who knows everything about what’s been going on with her family, but you haven’t even checked in with her,” Mindy said. “She’s really upset that you’ve basically abandoned her, but do you see her getting all whiny and mopey and letting it affect everyone else? No! Because she doesn’t want to bring the team down. You, of course, don’t seem to care about that. All you seem to care about is yourself.”

  Omigod, I was evil. I was the most evil-est person in the entire world. Forget Tara and Sage and the crazy Black Bears captain. I was the devil in pleats.

  Apparently Phoebe hadn’t let Tara in on everything, the way I had hoped and assumed. She had wanted to talk to me after practice yesterday and I had completely bailed on her for Becca. And I hadn’t even asked her about it since, instead focusing on the fact that she was part of the anti-Annisa attack the night before. I should have been able to put that aside. I should have remembered how upset she was. What kind of friend was I?

  Mindy sat down on Tara’s bed, looking shell-shocked. “Wow,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever yelled like that. Like, ever.”

  “Mindy, I am so . . . so . . . sorry,” I said. “I just—”

  “Phoebe’s the one you owe an apology to,” she said, taking a deep breath. It might have been the first time she had pulled in any oxygen since walking into the room. “Look, as your friend, I understand how much you like Daniel and I don’t think you should have to dye your hair. I just don’t think all this stuff should affect the squad. Do you even realize that we wouldn’t be here at nationals if it weren’t for you? You’re the one who brought this team together before regionals when you came up with that plan to help Phoebe. We never would have won that day if it hadn’t been for that.”

  Back before regionals, Phoebe had confided in me that the reason she and her mother had moved in with her aunt was because her parents were splitting up. Knowing that she hated her new room, I had rallied the squad together to sneak in and repaint and decorate it for her. Phoebe had been touched by the gesture and had completely bounced back. Sometime between then and now, however, things had clearly gotten worse.

  I didn’t know what to say. I wasn
’t even sure if I could speak past the lump in my throat.

  “But now, thanks to you, we’re all falling apart again,” she said.

  She pushed herself up and walked out of the room, near tears. It was like she had spent up all her energy and now she was ready to crumble. I understood the feeling.

  For a long while after she left the room, I just stood there, frozen. My question had been answered. What the squad had done to me didn’t even compare to what I had done to them. This all started with the hair-dyeing thing, and it wasn’t like all of them were even behind that idea. But me? Well, I had disappointed everyone. I didn’t think I was ever going to forget the look of betrayal on Mindy’s face.

  19

  After checking the gym for Phoebe, who wasn’t there, I retreated to our room to wait for her. We still had a couple of hours before dinner and technically I should have been working out or running or trying to get some sun, but I wasn’t in the mood. All I wanted to do just then was talk to Phoebe and sort things out. If I could sort them out with her, then maybe I could fix things with the rest of the squad as well. I had decided to take it one Fighting Crab at a time.

  I didn’t even realize that I had fallen asleep until there was a loud knock on my door. I sat up straight and looked around. Still alone. But that knocking sure was persistent.

  Maybe it was Daniel! Or maybe Phoebe had forgotten her key! I jumped up and whipped the door open without even checking the peephole.

  “Hey,” Jordan said with a mischievous grin. “Want to have a little fun?”

  Maria Rinaldi and Corey Frezza, another member of the Beavers, were standing just behind her. As much love as I have for my best friend, I was kind of disappointed to see her there and not one of the dozens of people I had to apologize to.

  “What kind of fun are we talking about here?” I asked. For some reason, the tiny hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. There was a definite naughty vibe in the air.

  “Please. You’re coming with us,” Jordan said, grabbing my wrist. I just had time to check that my key card was still in the back pocket of my jeans before the door slammed closed.