Peachville High Demons 01: Beautiful Demons (16 page)

Slowly, I stepped across the threshold. A cool breeze began to blow toward me, lifting my hair off my neck. My mouth went dry and it was difficult to swallow. What could possibly be behind all those doors?

Somewhere down the corridor, a girl screamed. I froze, my body ice cold from fear.

A door squeaked open. Voices. I thought I recognized Mrs. Shadowford's voice, but she was too far away for me to understand what she was saying. But how had she gotten up here to the third floor in a wheelchair? The two figures forming in the distance were upright and walking. Then it couldn't be Mrs. Shadowford after all. Whoever it was, if they found me here, poking around where Ella Mae had specifically told me not to go, I would be in danger of getting kicked out of Shadowford.

My heart beat wildly in my chest. I couldn't let that happen. Not now, when I was just starting to figure this place out.

Quickly, I stepped back into the small room and closed the door. I walked down the narrow staircase to the second floor, through the secret doorway, and back to the safety of my bedroom.

It Totally Worked

Thursday afternoon, I sat on the wooden bleachers in the gym and listened as Mrs. King outlined the audition procedures. A panel of judges had been called in to watch us perform, including Brooke as captain of the squad and Mrs. King herself. Each girl would perform the cheers by herself, then all eight of us would perform the long dance as a group at the end of the auditions. Anyone who wanted to watch the auditions was welcome to sit in throughout the entire thing.

“Are you going to stay to watch everyone?” Agnes whispered. “I'm afraid it'll make me nervous if everyone else is like, crazy better than me, you know?”

I nodded, not taking my eyes off Mrs. King. My hand went to my throat where my mother's sapphire pendant was hidden underneath my t-shirt. I had spent a long time debating whether to wear the black diamond. It would pretty much guarantee me a spot on the squad, but at the same time, I would always know that I didn't earn it. Somehow, that didn't seem fair to Agnes and the other girls. I wanted to be a part of the team, but I wanted to really deserve it on my own merits.

Besides, I felt strange without my mother's pendant. It was probably just silly superstition, but I needed it.

Promise me you won't take it off.

A memory intruded on my thoughts. A boy's voice. Promise, he'd said.

“Harper Madison,” Mrs. King said. I stood, my stomach filled with butterflies. “You're up.”

I took in a deep breath and plastered a big smile across my face. I looked to Brooke for encouragement as I passed by the judges' table and she winked. I cleared my throat, threw my shoulders back, and jogged to the middle of the performance area.

The next hour passed by in a whirl of nerves and jittery excitement. I couldn't believe it! I'd done every single cheer perfectly! And when it came time for the dance, I knew I did my best. I kept my smile bright and tried to look confident. Basically, I nailed it.

“That was awesome,” Brooke said once the tryouts were over and everyone filtered out of the gym. “What did I tell you about that diamond? It totally worked, right?”

“Yep,” I said. I didn't want to tell her the truth. Let her think I was depending on their magic. I reached deep into my backpack and pulled out the blue velvet box. “Here. Thanks,” I said. I bit my lip, wondering if I should just leave it at that.

“You are very welcome,” she said.

I hesitated, then blurted out the question I'd been dying to ask her since I first realized what the black diamond had done for me. “How does it work? I mean, why does it work?”

Brooke smiled and looked around to make sure we were alone. “I can't really tell you,” she said. “But if you make the squad, which I think you will, you'll be introduced to all kinds of things you never dreamed possible. Just you wait.”

Excitement fluttered through me.

I'm counting on it.

The New Demons Cheerleader Is...

“Are you pumped about the party tonight?”

Drake put his arm around me and pulled me close. We were standing by my locker before calculus.

“I can't even think about the party yet,” I said.

“Why not?”

“I'm too nervous about finding out whether I made the squad or not.”

“From what I heard, you've got this,” he said, kissing my forehead. He was so tall he towered over me. When I leaned in close, the top of my head barely reached his chin. “Mrs. King is making the announcement right after school?”

“Yep.”

“Want me to come with you? For moral support?”

I smiled and looked up at him. “You'd do that?”

“Sure. No football practice on Fridays cause of the game tonight, so it's no problem. Maybe I can even give you a ride home afterward.”

“That would be great, but what about Agnes? Ella Mae usually drives in to get us both. If I call to ask her if you can bring me home, she'll probably say no unless you want to take Agnes too.”

He shrugged. “Whatever you want is fine with me. I just want to be close to you.”

I blushed and leaned against his muscular chest. “Will you still feel that way if I don't make the squad?”

He laughed and squeezed me tighter, but he didn't say yes. A nervous knot formed in my stomach that didn't go away for the rest of the afternoon.

After the final bell, Drake and Brooke walked me to the gym. The current squad assembled on the floor with Mrs. King in front as the bleachers filled with students waiting to hear the announcement.

“Wow, there's a lot of people here,” I said to Drake.

He squeezed my hand. “Everyone wants to see who the new cheerleader is. It's a really big deal here. I mean, Tori's death affected everyone. In a way, it's like filling her spot is a way of moving on.”

I looked up at him, surprised he'd had such a deep insight. Maybe there was more to Drake Ashworth than I realized.

Agnes came up the stairs and sat down on my other side. “Hey,” she said. “Nervous?”

“Extremely.”

“Good luck,” she said, crossing her fingers and holding them into the air.

“You too.”

“Welcome everyone,” Mrs. King began. “The death of Tori Fairchild was a tragedy for this community, and we know that no one can take her place in our hearts.”

As she spoke, I couldn't help but wonder if her husband's relationship with Tori had been the reason she died. It was difficult to picture Mrs. King as a killer, but if she knew the truth about her husband and Tori, there was no telling what a powerful woman like her might be capable of.

“We also know that Tori would have wanted us to have the strongest squad possible for the rest of the games and competitions coming up this year. The sophomores that tried out yesterday did an amazing job, and I would like to thank each one of them for coming out this week and giving a hundred percent.”

Everyone clapped politely. My right leg bounced up and down. Just tell us already.

“As you know, we do only have the one open slot, so even though competition was fierce, we can only invite one special girl to become a Demons cheerleader. And that girl is...”

I squeezed Drake's hand so hard his knuckles turned white. My breath caught in my chest, waiting to hear the name.

“Harper Madison!”

I jumped up and screamed, my face flushing with joy. Beside me, Agnes stood and gave me a big hug.

“Come on down and join us Harper,” Mrs. King said.

The rest of the squad gathered around me, hugging me and telling me congratulations. Brooke pulled me out beside Mrs. King and lifted my hand into the air. The crowd in the gym was on their feet, whistling and cheering for me.

The moment was surreal. Was it really only a month ago that I had moved to Peachville? I never dreamed life could change so much so quickly.

My cheeks hurt from smiling so much as I waved to the crowd.

“Harper, we would like to present you with this brand new Demons uniform,” Mrs. King said as Brooke handed me a blue and black sports bag that held my pom poms, shorts, a t-shirt with the Demon mascot, and a crisp new uniform. “Let's welcome Harper Madison to the team one more time!”

The crowd cheered and I scanned their faces. Movement to the right of the bleachers caught my eye and I turned to look. A handsome boy with brown spiked hair stood leaning against the wall, staring at me. The cheer of the crowd turned to background noise as our eyes met. For a moment, we were the only two in the room.

He lifted his chin in a nod of acknowledgment, then turned on his heel and left. I felt lightheaded and weak in the knees. I knew him from somewhere. But where? It seemed important.

Mrs. King's voice brought me out of my trance.

“Harper will be our honored guest tonight at the game and hopefully by next week, she'll be on the field cheering with us, so make sure y’all give her a warm welcome and lots of support over the next couple weeks. Go Demons!”

“GO DEMONS!” The squad yelled, then I gathered me up in a group hug.

A Night To Remember

After the announcement, Agnes and I walked to the parking lot together. Drake was waiting for us in his black Camaro. It was a sleek sports car his parents bought him as a present for his sixteenth birthday. It made me a little uncomfortable to think of riding around in such expensive cars in my torn jeans and old hand-me-downs.

Agnes climbed into the back.

“You sure you don't mind?” I said. “'Cause I could get in the back if you want.”

“Don't be silly,” she said. “I'm sure you want to ride up front with Drake.”

I did, but I was desperately trying to be nice to her. I knew how much she wanted to be a Demons cheerleader. It was one of the first things she'd told me about herself when we met, and I had taken it from her.

Mrs. King only made me feel worse when she told Agnes that she was her second choice.

“At least that puts me in a good position for next year's auditions,” Agnes had said. “Or if another spot opens up.”

I didn't want to tell her that the chances of that happening were next to impossible.

As Drake spun out of the parking lot, he slipped in a CD. Rock music blasted out and he let down the windows. I was thankful for the music, because it meant we didn't have to worry about an awkward conversation that might make Agnes feel bad. I think Drake knew it, too. He looked over at me and winked.

At Shadowford, he got out of the car and walked me to the door. Agnes was about to go inside when he stopped her.

“You know, we're all having a party tonight at Foster's family's lake house,” he said.

Agnes turned and lifted one eyebrow. “Are you talking to me?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I know you're good friends with Harper, so if you want to come.” He shrugged.

Her face lit up. “Seriously? That would be awesome, thanks. Can I ride with you guys?”

Drake glanced at me. “Sure,” he said. “Bring a friend if you want. Or a boyfriend.”

Agnes rolled her eyes. “I don't have a boyfriend, but I'm sure one of my friends'll come. I'm gonna go ask around. See ya tonight!”

She took off into the house. I smiled up at Drake.

“That was super sweet of you.”

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine,” he said. “Besides, this is your night. We're going to have the best time ever.”

He leaned down and brushed my lips lightly with his. As far as first kisses go, it wasn't bad. There was no movie music playing in the background. No crazy weak knees or fireworks shooting off inside my brain. But there was a stirring of butterflies. And butterflies are good.

“See you tonight,” he said.

I smiled. “See you tonight.”

When I saw him again, he was running onto the field with his teammates. As usual, Agnes and I were lined up with the rest of the fans as the team made their entrance. This time, though, Drake broke off from the team and came over to kiss my cheek.

The whole town came out to cheer on the Demons football team. To my great surprise, even Mrs. Shadowford came along to hear the announcement that one of her girls was chosen as the new cheerleader.

“I'm very proud of you, Harper,” she said when I made it back up to the stands. “It's been a few years since one of my girls made the team.”

“Who was the last one?”

She hesitated, as if trying to remember. “You know, I can't quite remember. I'd have to look it up.”

I smiled at her, but in my gut, I felt that she was lying to me.

I thought about the picture of my mother and the other cheerleaders. Had my mother lived at Shadowford, too? Or any of the other women in the picture, like the mayor or the sheriff? I wondered. After what I'd seen on the third floor, I knew there had to be some connection between Shadowford and the magical power in this town. Hopefully now that I was an official member of the cheerleading squad, I would have access to some of those answers. I reminded myself to be patient. Answers would come in time. If I pushed too hard, the doors might close to me, and they would be a lot harder to get open a second time.

Just before halftime, the announcer called me down to join the other cheerleaders on the field. He introduced me to the crowd as the newest Demons cheerleader, and again I felt the heady rush of excitement and acceptance. The town welcomed me even though most of them had never even met me.

It should have been the happiest night of my life. And in some ways, it was. But there was always this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was getting into something dangerous. As of today, I was a cheerleader. Girlfriend of the star quarterback. One of the popular kids. It was exciting, but also terrifying. I had grown used to life as an outsider. I didn't know how to survive life on the inside of the circle. What if I couldn't handle it? What if I said the wrong thing or took a wrong turn?

Then again, I couldn't spend my entire life worrying about what might go wrong. So instead, I waved to the crowd and embraced my new existence.

Later, after the game was won, Agnes, Courtney and I all piled into Drake's car and headed out to the party.

“You were great out there tonight,” I said to Drake.