by Zoe Evans
I felt so bad for him that I wanted to curl him up in a blanket and tell him everything would be ok. But babying teammates isn’t what a good cheer captain does.
Then, thank goodness, Tabitha Sue spoke up. “It’s not a big deal if you want to room with me and Katarina.”
“Really?” said Jared. I could literally see the relief wash over his face.
Tabitha Sue looked at Katarina, who didn’t look too pleased, but they both nodded anyway. “I mean, if it’s ok for us to have coed rooms.”
We went up to Mom and asked her if Tabitha Sue and Katarina could room with Jared. She wasn’t sure, but she was going to check with everyone’s parents and the school, to make sure they were ok with it.
Problem solved, and practice hadn’t even begun yet! But I still had a ton of problems, and I wondered when some of those would start getting fixed. But then I thought about how in The Spirit Rules it says that sometimes there are some team problems that have to work themselves out on their own. I’m not all that good at that, I guess. Lately I’ve been trying to fix everything myself. From Lanie’s article to the problems with our team, I can never just let things go. Maybe that’s something I should try to do with my problems . . . perhaps they’ll just magically fix themselves! Yeah, right.
Speaking of letting things solve themselves, after practice I ran into Bevan when I was waiting for Mom. The gym door closed noisily behind him. “Hey,” he said. He’d tied his cleats to his backpack, like a lot of the guys on the team. And for some reason, I found it totally endearing.
“Hey,” I said, suddenly feeling nervous. It had been a while since we’d talked, so I wasn’t feeling relaxed about it. I wondered if the “Know When to Step Aside” rule could apply to guys as well.
“Whachu been up to lately?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” He kicked some pebbles on the sidewalk. I wondered if he was feeling as nervous as I was. . . .
“I don’t know,” I said. “Just, like, cheer stuff. We had a car wash last weekend, to raise money for Regionals, and then we had a game. If you can call it that,” I said, self-consciously.
“A cheerleader car wash?” he said, arching an eyebrow. “I’m sorry I missed that.” He laughed.
“Ha-ha.” I was glad that we were laughing. “It wasn’t that exciting, really. Except these girls drove up and made Ian do a cheer before they would pay him. It was hilarious.”
Bevan rolled his eyes. “Now, that I would have liked to see.”
“You waiting for your ride?” I asked. Duh—of course he was. Why else would he be hanging out in the parking lot? To give free windshield cleanings?
“Yeah, one of my buddies is giving me a ride home. But he’s busy primping in the locker room.”
“Does he have a date or something?” The minute I said that, I wanted to take it back. The whole dating subject just felt awkward.
“Doubt it. The only date Mike has is with his Xbox.”
“Ha. Right.” I remembered that his friend Mike was a video game fanatic.
Just then a car honked its horn. We both turned to look-Mike’s mom had just pulled up in her minivan.
“Guess that’s your cue.”
“Yeah.” Bevan seemed like he was about to say something else, but then he stopped himself. Then he blurted out, “Speaking of dates . . .”
He had his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. He quickly looked behind him as if he wanted to make sure we were alone. I was practically screaming to myself, “ARE YOU GONNA ASK ME OUT?”
Finally he asked: “You busy tomorrow night? Like after practice?”
The heavens are shining down on me!! Yes! Yes! YES! I mean, that’s not what I said. “No, I think I’m pretty free,” I told him. I tried not to look too excited.
“Excellent,” he said. “Maybe we can go get pizza or something?”
“Yeah, that would be cool.”
Mike came jogging out of the gym. “Hey, bro,” he said to Bevan, “we’ve gotta bounce. My mom hates it when we’re late.”
Bevan smiled at me. “Hear that? When ‘we’re’ late?” He made quote marks in the air. “Like I was the one putting gel in my hair for an hour.”
Mike threw his bag into the car and scowled at Bevan. “Shut up, dude. You know it takes time to look this good,” he said with a smirk.
“Whatever, man.”
I laughed at the two of them egging each other on.
Bevan walked backward toward the car. “So, tomorrow. Meet here after practice?”
I nodded. “See you then.”
Just as Bevan closed the door behind him, I could hear Mike saying, “Oooh, Bevan, my man. A cheerleader! High five.”
I caught a quick glance at Bevan’s face when they were driving away, and he looked soooo embarrassed.
Well, at least it’s not just me anymore.
Woohoo! A real date! Not just, like, meeting up in the halls or bumping into each other in malls (hey, that rhymes!). We’ll actually be hanging out on purpose this time. And I don’t feel that worried about it, like wondering if Katie will be mad or not. Because now she has her own little crush (even if it is one of my BFFs). So I figure I should be in the clear to date Bevan if Katie’s busy with her own thing. I mean, now that SHE’S dating, she can’t get mad at Bevan for doing the same thing . . . right?
I mean, Katie knows the rules better than anyone. Sometimes you just have to step aside.
The Grizzlies are getting even more excited for Regionals than Jacqui and I ever thought they’d be. The squad asked if we could extend practice to work on tuck jumps and spread eagles so they could show off at the Regional Qualifier. And seeing how late the Titans were practicing just made the Grizzlies want to push harder.
Katarina had the best tuck jump of all, and she knew it. She kept trying to see how many tuck jumps she could do in a row.
“Ok, ok, we get it. This is your move,” said Matt as he struggled with his.
“Matt, knees to your stomach, not your butt,” said Jacqui.
Jacqui and I made sure everyone could do at least three in a row. We wanted to incorporate them into one of the cheers we would do during downtime at the qualifier.
After practice Katarina showed us everything she’d already packed to make sure she was bringing the right stuff. Jared tried to lift the suitcase, but it was sooo heavy. “Wow, what do you have in here, anyway? Ten—pound weights?”
Katarina ignored his comment, picking up a sparkly dress from her many outfits. “Pretty, yes?”
Tabitha Sue ran her fingers along the sequins. “It’s beautiful, but I don’t think you’ll be needing anything that fancy. I read that everyone dresses real casual at these things.”
“Yeah, I think we’ll just be hanging out after the competition,” I agreed.
Katarina scowled at everyone. “I like being my fancy clothes,” she huffed. “I never know, right?”
“You mean ‘you never know,’” Jared pointed out.
“Yes, zat is vat I vas meaning,” said Katarina.
Mom walked over to see why we were all gathered around a giant suitcase.
“Katarina’s worried she hasn’t packed enough for one night away,” said Tabitha Sue, shaking her head.
“Guys, just so you know what the plan is: We’ll be in a gym both days, and at night we’ll have a casual dinner. Dress comfortably.” She gave a look to Katarina’s overstuffed suitcase. Mom never packs more than she needs—even though she always looks magazine perfect. She takes the same small bag everywhere. Me, I need my curling iron, my toiletries, extra clothes in case I don’t like what I’m wearing. . . . Sigh. Yet another way that Mom and I couldn’t be more different.
Even though I didn’t want to disagree with Mom, I thought Katarina had a good point. Better safe than sorry. “Katarina might be right, you guys,” I said in a near whisper after Mom walked away. “We can’t go to this competition thinking we know everything about it. We could be thrown for some surprises, you know? And the spirit rul
es—”
Ian groaned loudly, interrupting me. “All right, Maddy. What do ye old spirit rules say about overpacking?”
“They don’t say anything about overpacking, exactly.” I smirked. “But I think it’s a good thing in general just to be ready for anything. On the field or off. Actually, Mom—I mean Coach—had something happen to her when she was a cheerleader that totally proves my point.”
Ian rolled his eyes at Matt, but I caught it. Whatever.
“They were at Nationals and had practiced the day before on the big stage where everyone was supposed to compete for the final rounds. You know, to get the lay of the land.”
Now I had everyone’s attention. They all liked a good cheerleader suspense story. (I mean, duh, who wouldn’t?)
“And their whole squad was ready-they’d felt the mat, positioned themselves on it, and could visualize themselves performing on it the next day. Only, the next day there was a change of plans. Someone found an unstable beam or something, and no one could perform on that stage anymore. They had to do it in a totally different gym.”
“So what happened?” asked Tabitha Sue.
“Oh, well, they won, of course.” When Mom was a Titan, they had a great winning streak at Nationals. “And because of the way the new gym was laid out, their routine looked even better than before, and their tumbles were way higher.”
Tabitha Sue breathed a sigh of relief.
“But still, they could have lost because of it. They hadn’t even thought of the possibility that it could happen.”
“It would have been a much stronger story had they lost,” Ian said matter-of-factly, patting me on the shoulder.
“I know,” I sighed reluctantly. “But it’s the thought that counts!” I shouted at him as he walked away.
When I went to change after practice, I tried to clean up a bit so I’d look good for my “date” with Bevan. Speaking of sparkly dresses, I suddenly realized as I was changing into my favorite jeans and black T—shirt with lace all over the back, that maybe I should have dressed a bit nicer. This was, after all, our first “date-y” date. I looked at myself in the mirror and made sure my hair was sitting just right. A little reddish lip gloss and some long feather earrings I had picked up over the weekend helped make me feel a little fancier.
Bevan was waiting outside on the steps when I came out. He looked so cute! He was wearing a button—down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I don’t think I’d ever seen him in nice clothes after practice. Even when he left practice to go somewhere with his friends, he usually just wore what he’d worn to play soccer. I smiled to myself, thinking he must have put some thought into what he was wearing too. Hurrah!
Good thing Mom had somewhere to go after practice. How embarrassing would THAT have been? I haven’t told her about Bevan. I just know she would have been like, “Oh, why, you two look nice,” and made me feel totally uncomfortable. Maybe I’ll tell her if we become an official couple. But ew. Moms and dates? Not a good combo.
We walked a couple of blocks away from school to this really adorable pizza place on Main Street. The kind that makes personal—size pizzas and bakes them in a wood—fired oven. Yum! I was pretty nervous, so I ordered something simple: just a plain sauce, cheese, and basil pie. Bevan was more adventurous and decided to try the “Pepperocious” pie, which had every kind of pepper on it, including the spicy ones. (Note to self: It’s possible he ordered that to impress moi. . . .)
“So, was our speech team any good?” he asked after I told him more about our game this week. We’d both ended up scarfing down our pies and decided to order a dish of ice cream to share.
“Well, there was this one kid who was about to wimp out when he was on the podium,” I told him, thinking about poor Chester. “But we did a quick cheer to give him some time to pull himself together. And it seemed to work.” I went to put my spoon into the ice cream just when Bevan was putting his spoon in too. “Oops, sorry,” I said quickly, pulling my spoon away so he could take his bite.
“No worries,” he said, smiling. “You know, I tried out for debate team last year. But I didn’t make it.”
“You?” I asked, almost choking on my ice cream. “On debate? I’m having trouble picturing this.”
“Why? I love reading the newspaper and stuff. So I thought it would be kind of fun. I’m sort of a secret nerd. What, you think I’m just a jock?” He cocked his head to the side, waiting for my answer.
My heart was melting as much as the ice cream. I knew Bevan was a smart guy, but this nerdiness just made him even more adorable. “I don’t know . . . wouldn’t the soccer guys laugh you off the field?”
Bevan shrugged. “Nah. The guys would be cool with it. At least, I hope so. I wouldn’t really want to be friends with people who wouldn’t.” He motioned to the ice cream with his spoon and pushed the bowl toward me so I could have the last bite. “So, tell me something I don’t know about you.”
“Well,” I said, “I’m pretty obsessed with fashion design. When I’m not cheering, that is. I guess you could say I’ve been sewing since I could read.”
“Cool,” he said. “Do you ever sew your own stuff?”
“I used to do it more often,” I admitted. “I did just design our new uniforms—and the Titans’ new uniforms.”
“That’s awesome!” he said, and he looked kind of impressed. “They look really good, seriously. The guys were even talking about it.”
“Thanks,” I said, trying not to blush. “But lately I’ve just had so much going on with the Grizzlies that I don’t have as much time to draw as I’d like.”
Bevan nodded. “Yeah, it sucks when you can’t do everything. But I’d like to see what you’re working on next sometime.”
I smiled shyly. “Cool. We should do that. I mean, like, whenever.” I didn’t want him to think I was pushing for the next date.
Even though I totally was .
So, everyone was kinda weird tonight at practice . . . even Mom seemed pretty, well, nervous. I know she’d never admit it, but I’m betting she’s worried about everyone making a good impression on the judges and even the other teams at the competition. Oh man, if Regionals is THIS nerve—racking for the Grizzlies and we’re not even competing, I can only IMAGINE what it’s like for the Titans. . . .
“I know we’re just going as spectators,” Mom began at today’s practice, “but we’re still going in the Grizzly uniforms and have to represent the team in the best possible way.” She had a hopeful look on her face. “One day, kids, you never know. It could be us going to that competition.”
We all laughed, because there really was no chance that that would happen anytime soon, but still, it was a nice thought. Mom lives and breathes for cheer competitions—especially a Regional Qualifier, one of the more important ones of the year. I walked past her room before dinner the other night, and she was watching a video of an old competition, which—believe it or not—actually calms her nerves. Weirdo!
Anyway, at practice we rehearsed all our new moves, like, a million times. Back walkovers, tuck jumps, spread eagles. Jacqui did some drills with the team to practice good posture—especially during toe touches. Which, actually, is one of the hardest jumps for most people on the team.
That was when I noticed that Tabitha Sue had tears in her eyes while we were running through a routine. I left Jacqui with the rest of the group and motioned for Tabitha Sue to come with me. I made sure we were outside the gym, for privacy, and tried to comfort her.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and hesitated before wiping that on her gym clothes. “I’m nervous they’re gonna laugh at me.”
“Who?” I asked. “The Titans?”
“No.” She shook her head and sank down to the floor. “Like, everyone at the qualifier. I’m the worst on this whole team, and we’re not even any good!”
Wow. So maybe we’ve missed one of our own rules here and pushed this whole competition thing
a little too far. What if the Grizzlies can’t handle the pressure? Jacqui and I need to do a better job of taking the emotional temp of this team-big-time!!!
I kneeled down next to her on the floor. “Hey, listen,” I said in the most soothing voice I could muster. “I don’t know where you got that idea. You’ve gotten really good. Your back walkovers are flawless. And a month ago you couldn’t even do a back bend!”
She smiled at me but shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t feel good. I feel like an impostor every time we go to a game.”
I sort of knew the feeling.
“I know it’s hard to measure up to teams like the Titans. But we’ve set our own goals—and we’re meeting them. That’s something to really be proud of. Jacqui and I are really proud of you guys. And you should be really proud of yourself. People look to you for help all the time during practice.”
“Me?” she asked, like I was speaking some alien language.
“Yeah-just tell me one practice when Jared and Katarina weren’t hanging all over you. They’re always watching you to see how they should act. And you’ve got the most spirit of anyone. I think that counts more than dancing and what moves you can do.”
Tabitha Sue smiled. “That’s true. No one cheers as loud as I do.”
“Exactly. Like I said, you’re a leader.”
She wiped her eyes with her fists and then took a deep breath. “I think I’m just antsy about seeing all those girls tomorrow who are, like, amazing at cheer.”
“I am too,” I admitted. “But we can only do our own personal best. And if we do that, then we’ve accomplished something.”
Tabitha Sue smiled again, shaking her head. “This is why you’re captain,” she said, getting up from the floor.
As everyone shuffled toward the locker rooms at the end of practice, I shouted after them to get a good night’s sleep. “Spirit Rule number one for getting ready for a competition!”