one, too.
They lacked Merry.
“Listen, Kim, Sunny, Crystal, Caitlin, Mimi! All you guys. Kellen and I have to do this! They’re gonna take this away! We’ve worked for this for two years! This is our last year before high school!” She looked from face to face. “We all want to get moved up to varsity as freshmen! Don’t we? I can do this. Full forward pike after the catch. We just don’t do the final stand. We do this instead.”
She planned a dismount so daring it would either wow the judges or get her squad disqualified. What Merry had going for her was how much more cheerleaders were getting away with in competition now—from uniforms with strings of lights built into the see-through tops to purple faux-hawks and navel rings. What she had against her was tradition. Either way, she thought, they might as well go down in glory, and walk away with the chops if not the trophy. She would perform the stunt just the way she and Kellen and Kim had in their little after-practice practice sessions.
After she did her stand on top of the pyramid, one leg extended, then dropped into the basket, Kellen and Sunny would go into a lunge and lift her onto their knees. From their shoulders she would do a forward flip—like a dismount from a balance beam—and land (well, hopefully) on the gym floor.
The problem was, this kind of move wasn’t permitted for cheerleaders in competition in Merry’s age group.
The problem was that their knees were higher and even unsteadier than a balance beam and there was no mat underneath. Coach killed her every time she saw Merry do that move, or a twist catch, or anything she wasn’t supposed to be doing. But when Coach yelled at her, it was almost like the way you yelled at a little kid, half laughing as you did it.
“Coach Everson says she’s told you no upside down, not even in high school,” said Sunday. “Only college. It’s, like, illegal.”
Crystal Fish, with one leg extended in standing splits against the concrete wall of the practice gym, said, “Please, Coach would slaughter us. You just started back not even two months ago. You’re her little doll face. If you hit your hand, we’ll be toast. Include me not.”
“We’ll be able to catch her no problem and once she’s in the stand, I’ll give her help going over,” said Kellen Fish, Merry’s anchor and Crystal’s big brother. Kellen was a freshman.
“Then we can both get killed,” Crystal said placidly. “That would wipe out our whole family.”
“Listen,” Merry begged. “We need to do this! Otherwise . . . we just don’t have anything. The girls from P.S. 15 actually should win, because they had to sell Sally Snax to even buy their uniforms. They get the sympathy vote. And the other girls probably don’t even have to go to class for weeks before a meet. You know, private school rules?”
“Merry . . . don’t make us get in trouble. It’s just a meet,” said Kim.
“And like we won’t have ten more next year,” Crystal said languidly. “I plan on living to be twenty. Your units up there in the old bleachers will kill us if coach doesn’t. No way, Mer.”
“Way, Fish. I’m the captain!”
Crystal looked at Meredith as though she were a little bug. Then she lowered her beautiful, ballet-turned leg and said, “You are CO-captain. With me, Brynn. It’s your competition. Your loss. Coach will kick you out. I mean, out for good. You’ll have to start wearing stripper outfits like the Pom Pom girls.”
“It’s not fair! You had all your meets when I just got to sit there!” Merry cried, bursting into tears. “You cheered for basketball when they went to third in state for the first time! Now I get my last chance and you’re just going to crap out on me? Come on. I can land this. Me and Kim and Caitlin and Kellen have done it dozens of times. Dozens. Coach even knows.”
“And she’s fine about it, right?” Crystal asked.
“No, but she knows about it,” Merry said.
She glanced up
They lacked Merry.
“Listen, Kim, Sunny, Crystal, Caitlin, Mimi! All you guys. Kellen and I have to do this! They’re gonna take this away! We’ve worked for this for two years! This is our last year before high school!” She looked from face to face. “We all want to get moved up to varsity as freshmen! Don’t we? I can do this. Full forward pike after the catch. We just don’t do the final stand. We do this instead.”
She planned a dismount so daring it would either wow the judges or get her squad disqualified. What Merry had going for her was how much more cheerleaders were getting away with in competition now—from uniforms with strings of lights built into the see-through tops to purple faux-hawks and navel rings. What she had against her was tradition. Either way, she thought, they might as well go down in glory, and walk away with the chops if not the trophy. She would perform the stunt just the way she and Kellen and Kim had in their little after-practice practice sessions.
After she did her stand on top of the pyramid, one leg extended, then dropped into the basket, Kellen and Sunny would go into a lunge and lift her onto their knees. From their shoulders she would do a forward flip—like a dismount from a balance beam—and land (well, hopefully) on the gym floor.
The problem was, this kind of move wasn’t permitted for cheerleaders in competition in Merry’s age group.
The problem was that their knees were higher and even unsteadier than a balance beam and there was no mat underneath. Coach killed her every time she saw Merry do that move, or a twist catch, or anything she wasn’t supposed to be doing. But when Coach yelled at her, it was almost like the way you yelled at a little kid, half laughing as you did it.
“Coach Everson says she’s told you no upside down, not even in high school,” said Sunday. “Only college. It’s, like, illegal.”
Crystal Fish, with one leg extended in standing splits against the concrete wall of the practice gym, said, “Please, Coach would slaughter us. You just started back not even two months ago. You’re her little doll face. If you hit your hand, we’ll be toast. Include me not.”
“We’ll be able to catch her no problem and once she’s in the stand, I’ll give her help going over,” said Kellen Fish, Merry’s anchor and Crystal’s big brother. Kellen was a freshman.
“Then we can both get killed,” Crystal said placidly. “That would wipe out our whole family.”
“Listen,” Merry begged. “We need to do this! Otherwise . . . we just don’t have anything. The girls from P.S. 15 actually should win, because they had to sell Sally Snax to even buy their uniforms. They get the sympathy vote. And the other girls probably don’t even have to go to class for weeks before a meet. You know, private school rules?”
“Merry . . . don’t make us get in trouble. It’s just a meet,” said Kim.
“And like we won’t have ten more next year,” Crystal said languidly. “I plan on living to be twenty. Your units up there in the old bleachers will kill us if coach doesn’t. No way, Mer.”
“Way, Fish. I’m the captain!”
Crystal looked at Meredith as though she were a little bug. Then she lowered her beautiful, ballet-turned leg and said, “You are CO-captain. With me, Brynn. It’s your competition. Your loss. Coach will kick you out. I mean, out for good. You’ll have to start wearing stripper outfits like the Pom Pom girls.”
“It’s not fair! You had all your meets when I just got to sit there!” Merry cried, bursting into tears. “You cheered for basketball when they went to third in state for the first time! Now I get my last chance and you’re just going to crap out on me? Come on. I can land this. Me and Kim and Caitlin and Kellen have done it dozens of times. Dozens. Coach even knows.”
“And she’s fine about it, right?” Crystal asked.
“No, but she knows about it,” Merry said.
She glanced up
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