First Evil (3 page)

All of the cheerleaders had been really excited and impressed. Except for the one named Kimmy and her short, blond friend. They had remained stone-faced, even when all the other girls had burst into appreciative applause.

“That was fabulous!” Miss Green had called out in her husky voice. “Of course your shoulder dive is impressive, but I also liked the height you got on those spread eagles.” She turned to the squad members along the wall. “I'd like to see everyone work on the new routines, now. I hope Bobbi and Corky have inspired you to keep your energy up. Up!”

“Let's go!” Kimmy had yelled, clapping and running past Corky and Bobbi, avoiding their eyes as she led the squad to the center of the floor.

As the girls started to chant one of their new cheers, the two sisters had followed Jennifer and Miss Green into the corner office.

Jennifer motioned for the sisters to sit down on the folding chairs against the wall. Corky glanced quickly at Bobbi as they sat, a questioning glance.

“Do you mean we made the squad?” Bobbi asked Jennifer.

“Ah, here they are,” Miss Green interrupted before Jennifer could reply. “You'll need to fill out these forms. This one's a health form,” she said, pulling out a green sheet of paper. “And this one is the release form. Your parents have to sign that one.”

“We made the squad?” Bobbi repeated, to Jennifer.

“Yeah. You were amazing!” Jennifer gushed. Then she added: “I used to be the star around here. But no one's going to notice me with you two around.”

Bobbi couldn't decide if she was kidding or not. The girls reacted with embarrassed laughter. “We'll show you how to do the shoulder dismount,” Bobbi offered.

“I think we can all learn something from you two,” Miss Green added, shuffling through the sheaf of forms.

Jennifer's eyes flared just then, and Bobbi suddenly felt uncomfortable. Jennifer was making it clear that she was jealous of the Corcorans.

“Where did you get that double cartwheel thing after the dive?” Jennifer asked, leaning back against the yellow-tiled wall.

“We sort of made it up,” Corky told her.

“Some other girls were doing something like it at the state finals back in Missouri last year,” Bobbi added, “and we kind of adapted it.”

“I hope
we
can get to the state finals,” Jennifer said wistfully.

“With these two on the squad, it's a lock,” Miss Green said, smiling one of her rare smiles as she handed the forms to Corky and Bobbi. As she stared at the girls, her expression changed to one of concern.
“Uniforms. Uniforms,” she muttered. “This might be a problem. Quick.” She pulled a pad of paper from her top drawer. “Write down your sizes. This will have to be a rush order.”

A short while later Bobbi and Corky were thanking Jennifer and Miss Green; with the chants of their fellow cheerleaders ringing through the gym, they hurried out of the building, eager to congratulate each other.

Jennifer and Miss Green continued to confer over the low wooden desk, their expressions serious, concerned. Miss Green spoke heatedly, her eyes turning occasionally to watch the practice on the other side of the glass partition.

“The squad is supposed to be six,” she told Jennifer. “I suppose we can squeeze one more girl on. But not two. We don't have the funds for eight cheer-leaders.”

Lowering their voices, Jennifer and Miss Green continued to discuss the problem.

“Hey—what's going on?”

Startled by the intrusion, both the captain and the advisor whirled around to see Kimmy standing in the doorway, hands on hips, her cheeks pink, breathing heavily.

“Can you ask Ronnie to come in?” Jennifer asked Kimmy. “We can only make room for one more girl, so Ronnie will have to—”

“Huh? You're putting those sisters on the squad?” Kimmy demanded, her voice rising several octaves.

“Of course,” Jennifer replied. “You saw how good they were. They're awesome!”

“But I thought—” Kimmy stopped, letting the news sink in.

“We're very lucky they moved to Shadyside,” Miss Green added with unusual enthusiasm.

“And that means—Ronnie's out?” Kimmy asked, her voice revealing her outrage. “She's off the squad? Just like that?”

“Kimmy—” Jennifer started.

But Miss Green took over, climbing to her feet as if prepared to fight. “Ronnie is only a freshman,” she said firmly. “She'll be an alternate. She'll practice with the squad. And she'll go on if one of you gets sick or something.”

“Oh, she'll
love
that,” Kimmy said bitterly. “I really don't think it's fair. I mean—”

“Kimmy—you
saw
how good Bobbi and Corky are!” Jennifer cried. “We
need
them. We really do.”

Kimmy started to reply, thought better of it, and uttered a sigh of exasperation. Glaring at Jennifer, she turned away from the office and called to Ronnie.

“You wanted to see me?” Ronnie hesitated in the doorway, nervously pushing back her curly red hair with both hands. She had small brown eyes, a tiny round stub of a nose, and a face full of freckles.

She almost collapsed when Miss Green told her of her demotion. Angry tears formed in the corners of her eyes, which she quickly wiped away with the backs of her hands.

“We really don't have a choice,” Jennifer said softly.

“Yes, you do,” Ronnie snapped back, her dark eyes flashing.

“We have to think of what's best for the squad,” Miss Green said, twirling a pen nervously between her fingers. “You'll have plenty of opportunity—”

“Yeah. Sure,” Ronnie interrupted, and fled toward the locker room.

“She feels bad,” Jennifer said, staring through the glass as the other girls stopped their practice to watch Ronnie run off.

“She'll get over it,” Miss Green said flatly.

♦ ♦ ♦

“I'll never forgive them!” Ronnie cried. “Never!”

Kimmy and Debra huddled around the freshman, trying to ignore the steamy, junglelike air of the locker room. The other girls had showered and left. These three remained, talking, commiserating with one another, trying to decide what, if anything, they could do.

“Those sisters had no right to try out,” Kimmy agreed heatedly, putting a comforting hand on Ronnie's shoulder.

“Not them,” Ronnie insisted angrily. “Jennifer and Miss Green. It was
their
idea to kick me off.”

“We should all get together,” Debra said heatedly. “You know. Sign a petition or something. I'm sure Megan and Heather would sign it too.” She sat down on the bench and began to pull off her sneakers.

Kimmy removed a white towel from her locker and mopped her forehead with it. “Wow, do I need a shower! Yeah, maybe you're right, Deb. If the whole squad protests, if we all stand together, I'll bet we could get them to change their minds.”

Ronnie groaned and rolled her eyes. “What dream world do you live in?” she muttered. “The Corcoran sisters were all-state, remember? Did you see the look on Miss Green's face when they did that shoulder stand and all those double cartwheels?”

“She was practically drooling,” Debra said, shaking her head. “She could probably see the championship trophy on her shelf.”

“But what's Jennifer's problem?” Kimmy demanded, pulling her heavy sweater over her head.

“She's
your
friend,” Ronnie said bitterly.

“I can't
believe
her,” Debra added. “Maybe being captain has gone to her head or something. She thinks she's such a big deal.”

“My parents are going to be very upset,” Ronnie said with renewed sadness. “They were more excited about my making the squad than I was. And now—”

Kimmy and Debra continued trying to comfort Ronnie as they undressed, tossing their clothes onto the benches. They carried their towels over the concrete floor to the shower room.

“I don't
want
to be an alternate,” Ronnie complained, her voice breaking with emotion. “That's just stupid. I'd rather—”

“If only the Corcorans would just go back where they came from,” Debra said. “With their long blond hair and their big eyes and phony smiles.” She put a finger down her throat and pretended to puke. “Yuck.”

“They're not that bad,” Ronnie muttered. “It's Jennifer. She had no right—”

Kimmy stepped under the chrome shower head. She turned the knobs on the wall with both hands.

The water burst out in a loud rush.

Kimmy froze openmouthed for a brief second.

Then she started to scream.

K
immy staggered back until she hit the tile wall.

Panting loudly, she pointed to the water rushing in a broad stream from the shower head.

“Kimmy—are you okay?” Debra cried in alarm. “What
is
it?”

“The water—it's scalding hot!” Kimmy told her.

The three girls turned off the taps and hurried out, clutching their towels.

“Ow, that
burned
!” Kimmy declared, starting to breathe normally.

“Should we get the nurse? Are you all right?” Debra asked, staring at Kimmy's chest and neck, which were scarlet.

“I think I'll be okay,” Kimmy said, relieved, covering herself with the towel. “It was just such a shock.”

“We'll have to remember to tell Simmons,” Debra said. And then she added sarcastically, “Maybe he'll get around to fixing it in a year or two.”

Simmons was one of the Shadyside High custodians. He also drove a school bus. A laid-back young man with a blond ponytail and Walkman headphones that seemed to be permanently glued to his ears, he wasn't terribly reliable in either job.

“Hey—did you drop this?” Ronnie asked. She bent down and picked something shiny off the floor.

“Oh. Thanks.” Kimmy reached out for it. It was her silver megaphone pendant. Her parents had given it to her for her sixteenth birthday. She struggled to put it back around her neck, which was still red from the scalding shower. “The clasp is loose,” she said, frowning. “I really have to get it fixed. Don't want to lose it.”

The three friends hurriedly got dressed in silence.

Hoisting her backpack onto her shoulder, Ronnie sighed and headed for the door, her sneakers thudding heavily on the concrete.

“You feeling any better?” Kimmy called after her.

“No” was the sullen reply.

♦ ♦ ♦

“This is so exciting!” Bobbi declared.

It was a Friday evening, two weeks later, and the cheerleaders were boarding the small yellow and black school bus that would take them to the Tigers' first away game.

Corky followed her sister onto the bus. She said hi to Simmons, who was slouched in the driver's seat, fiddling with his ponytail. He grunted in reply.

Raindrops dotted the windshield. A light rain had started to fall. The sky was a gloomy charcoal color, but not gloomy enough to darken the sisters' moods.

They had been working hard for that night, practicing the new routines after school and at home, learning the cheers, working up a few new wrinkles of their own.

“Go, Tigers!” Bobbi yelled, tumbling into a seat near the back.

“Go
who??
” Megan yelled.

The bus quickly filled with loud, excited voices, happy laughter. Simmons leaned forward and pulled the handle to close the door.

“Hey—where's Miss Green?” Debra called.

Jennifer turned around in the front seat. “She's driving in her own car tonight. She had to take some friends.”

Kimmy sat in the window seat next to Debra. She rubbed her hand over the glass, trying to clear the thin film of steam away so she could see out.

“Hey, Simmons—how about some air-conditioning?” one of the girls yelled. “We're melting back here!”

Simmons, obviously lost in his own thoughts, ignored the request, as usual. He started the bus up and clicked on the headlights.

Corky, seated in the aisle beside her sister, turned to stare out their window as the bus backed out of its parking space and headed out of the student parking lot. Rivulets of rainwater ran down the glass, distorting her view.

The rain picked up, drumming noisily on the roof
of the bus. A gust of wind blew water through the window, which was open an inch or two at the top. Bobbi raised herself up and, with great effort, pushed the window shut.

“Now we'll suffocate,” Corky complained.

“Take your pick—suffocate or drown,” Bobbi told her.

“Tough choice,” Corky replied.

“Go, Tigers!” someone yelled.

Someone started a cheer, and everyone joined in.

“Tigers are yellow,

Tigers are black.

Push ‘em bach push ‘em back,

Push ‘em waaaaay back!”