by Robin Caroll
“Wow.” Skipping school was bad enough, but just skipping certain classes? That was practically a guarantee of getting busted.
“Yeah. He really looked disturbed when he left Mrs. Creegle’s office,” Makayla said.
“When was this?”
“Sam!” Dad’s voice carried down the hall. “We need to go, or you’re going to be late.”
“Just a minute, Daddy.” Sam turned off her speaker and pressed the cell against her ear. “When did Mrs. Trees talk to Billy?”
“He was in Mrs. Creegle’s office this week, so I’d guess last week or something.”
Sam accessed her notes from her interview with Jefferson Cole on the iPad. She sorted through the file she’d shared from her iPhone.
“Sam!” Dad called.
“Coming. Just a minute,” Sam replied, covering the mouthpiece on the cell so she wouldn’t blow out Makayla’s eardrum.
“Hey, I’ll see you in the morning,” Makayla said. “I’m so excited.”
“Okay. See you then.” Sam disconnected the call and scanned her notes. According to Jefferson, Nikki started getting the notes this week.
That meant, it could be Billy Costiff. Sam didn’t understand how he could go from being adoringly obsessed with her to being a bully in a week’s time, but who knew with guys?
“Sam!” She heard his footsteps coming toward her room.
She turned off the iPad, grabbed her megaphone with poms inside, and headed down the hall.
Dad shook his head as he moved her to the garage door. “If you’re late and get demerits, no blaming me.”
“I won’t.” She tossed her megaphone into the backseat, then slipped in the front passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt.
Dad pulled his truck out of the garage, then steered onto the road. The garage door closed behind them, which reminded Sam.
“The garage door is making those squeaking noises again. So is the front door.”
“Increasing my to-do list, or are you trying to get everything assigned before Mom gets home?”
She grinned. “Well, if you don’t do it before she gets home, you know she’ll hound you until you do.”
“Very true. She can be a real bully about my honey-do list.” Dad braked at the red light and glanced at Sam. “Speaking of bullying, I did a little checking this morning.”
“Oh?” Maybe the laws had changed or the punishment had gotten stricter.
“There’ve been no new reports of any bullying from students at your school.”
That meant Mr. and Mrs. Cole hadn’t called the police. Apparently Jefferson hadn’t been able to convince his parents of the seriousness of it all. Or . . . “Maybe her parents talked to Mrs. Trees, and she was going to handle it.”
Dad shook his head as he turned into the school’s parking lot. “New guidelines are if a school administrator or teacher receives a report of bullying, they must contact the police. There’s been no report this week from anyone at Robinson Middle School.” He eased the truck into a space and turned the key.
Nikki must have thrown a fit for her parents not to report it to the school even. “I don’t know, Dad. Maybe they think it’ll stop.” She opened the truck door and pulled her megaphone from the backseat before shutting it.
He locked the doors with a press of a button on his keychain. “That’s not the way bullying works, Sam. Very, very rarely does a bully just stop without some form of intervention.” He led the way to the football field gate.
“I’m writing a series on bullying. Maybe I can get her to open up to me about that.”
“Good. Please encourage her to ask her parents to call the police. You can even have them contact me if they’d feel more comfortable talking to a parent as well.” Dad stopped at the line and pulled out his athletic season pass.
That probably wouldn’t happen, but it was sweet of him. Sam stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Dad. You’re the best. I’ll see you at halftime.”
“Get outta here before Mrs. Holt benches you.”
She ran through the gate and to the cheer area where the rest of the squad was already stretching.
“Nice of you to join us,” Lin teased.
Sam grinned. “Hey, you guys, congrats on all the homecoming court nominations.”
“Thanks,” Frannie said.
“Did you notice all but two of the nominees were cheerleaders?” Celeste asked. “And those other two are on the paper?”
She hadn’t, but it was true.
“So, what’s your point with that?” Lin asked Celeste.
“Just that cheerleaders and newspaper staff rock.”
Everyone laughed as Mrs. Holt joined them on the asphalt beside the sidelines. “Okay, girls. Pregame pyramid is the Swedish Falls. Everybody ready?”
This pyramid was one of their easier ones. They’d been practicing it most all of the summer.
“Please welcome the Little Rock Christian Warriors to the field,” the announcer called over the speakers.
The people sitting on the visitor’s side stood and clapped for the football players in the blue and green uniforms running onto the field.
Sam and the other cheerleaders waited until the Warriors moved to their end of the field before running into the middle, right on top of the Senator painted on the grass. Lin called the cheer, and they clapped into position.
“The Senators are here.” Lin and Kate moved to the center and faced each other, arms extended and hands on each other’s shoulders.
Sam and Celeste crouched, giving Remy a foothold. “We have no fear. So sit and watch. We’ll show you how it’s done.”
Sam and Celeste lifted Remy up until Remy held onto Lin’s shoulders and extended her arms, her stomach parallel to the ground. “We can’t be beat. ‘Cause we’re number one!”
Remy’s hands set on Lin’s shoulders. Celeste kept a grip as Sam took a big step backward and held Remy’s extended leg. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Sam held Remy’s left leg while Remy lifted her right one. Frannie and Grace mirrored them with Bella, letting Bella hold on to Kate’s shoulder. “The black, gold, and white. We told you once, we’ll tell you again.”
Remy and Bella were both extended in the Swedish Falls position and each lifted their free leg. “C’mon Senators.”
Celeste, Missy, and Grace ran to the front of the pyramid and dropped into the splits. “Go, fight, win!”
The home team fans jumped to their feet, clapping. “Go, Senators!”
Once the squad broke the pyramid, they tumbled and jumped, yelling for the Senators.
“Here come your fighting Robinson Senators!” the announcer called over the speakers.
The crowd cheered and clapped even louder while the cheerleaders shook their black and gold pom poms and moved back to the asphalt alongside the sideline. The band fired up the fight song, and the cheerleaders fell into perfect step in their routine.
After the fight song, Sam dropped her pom poms in the row with the others. She glanced up and caught Dad’s salute. She smiled in response, then started to move to her at-ready position, but she spied Nikki sitting two rows behind Dad.
Nikki had her head bent, sitting alongside her mother, with Jefferson on the other side of Mrs. Cole, his leg propped up on the seat in front of him. Jefferson, who had popcorn and a cup in his hands, was grinning from ear to ear, chatting with Mr. Cole, who was sitting next to him. They looked like a happy, all-American family, not one that was breaking up.
Looks sure could be deceiving.
Sam let her attention roam over the area. Billy Costiff was nowhere in sight. There didn’t seem to be anyone who looked particularly interested in the Coles. Wait a minute. Sam shifted to the right. Was that Thomas Murphy sitting catty-corner to Nikki and staring at her? Squinting her eyes against the setting sun, Sam caught a glimpse of his face.
Yep, it was Thomas Murphy, and he continued to stare at Nikki like Chewy stared at her bag of treats on the pantry shelf.
&n
bsp; “Senators have won the toss and elected to receive,” the announcer called over the speakers. The Warrior football players lined up to kick the ball, while the Senators stood ready to catch.
Thomas Murphy was an eighth grader who easily could’ve played any sport but didn’t. Sam didn’t know why not, but he had pretty epic muscle tone and killer blue eyes. A lot of girls in school had a crush on him. He was cute enough, Sam supposed, but he didn’t really do anything at school. He didn’t play sports. He wasn’t in any clubs. He didn’t participate in extracurricular activities. He was a little odd. But he was cute, Sam would give him that.
By the way he stared at Nikki, it was pretty obvious he thought she was cute too.
The Warrior kicker kicked the football, and the Senator receiver caught the ball at the goal line and ran. He dodged the first tackle, then the next, and kept on running. He strong-armed and blocked another tackle before he was finally brought down on the twenty-yard line.
“Our year, ready?” Lin yelled.
Sam and the rest of the girls moved into position. “Okay!”
“Senators strive to be the best . . . there is no team like RMS,” Sam yelled and made the cheer movements. “We’re here to fight, here to cheer, come on Senators, this is our year!”
The fans stood and clapped while the cheerleaders went through jumps and some tumbles. The Senator offense took the field, Kevin Haynes in as quarterback. Sam couldn’t believe Aubrey wasn’t here to watch him play.
Where was she? As editor of the school paper, she was supposed to be at every game. Not being nominated for homecoming court must have really upset her. So, who was covering the game for the paper?
Sam glanced around and saw Marcus near the fence between the cheering asphalt area and the walkway in front of the stands. He lifted his camera and pointed it at her, then lowered it and smiled. She grinned back. The photographer was on the job, but who was the reporter?
Sam tried to catch a glimpse up into the press box where the announcer sat, but she couldn’t see anyone. Maybe Aubrey was hiding in there.
Two more plays, and the Senators got the ball into the end zone. Touchdown! The band started the fight song, and the cheerleaders grabbed their poms and fell into their routine.
As she danced, Sam studied Nikki. With her head still bent to the tablet in her lap, she looked anything but happy to be at the game. Jefferson, on the other had, looked ecstatic. Then again, he wasn’t the one being bullied.
Sam kicked, step-ball-changed, then kicked again. Maybe on her break at halftime she could talk to Nikki alone. If nothing else, she could let Nikki know that she was there for her if she needed to talk. Especially because, by all appearances, it looked like Aubrey wasn’t going to be much of a friend.
CHAPTER FOUR
Hey, Dad, do you mind if I go talk to a friend right quick?” Sam gulped down the water from the bottle Dad offered her during halftime.
“Sure, Pumpkin.” That was one of the cool things about Dad. He didn’t take it personally if Sam wanted to hang out with her friends. Or, as in this case, needed to talk to someone.
She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then hurried over to where Nikki sat. She’d scooted further from her family, as if trying to pretend they weren’t there. Or she wasn’t here. Either one seemed to fit.
“Hi, Sam,” Jefferson greeted her, all smiles.
“Hi,” she answered but looked at Nikki.
Nikki frowned up at Sam. “What do you want?”
“Nikki!” her mother hissed. “Don’t be rude.”
Sam ignored the attitude. “I need to talk to you.”
Nikki glared at her.
“Please.” Sam softened her tone and her expression.
A second passed. Two.
“Fine.” Nikki stood and turned to her mother. “I’ll be right back.”
Sam led her to the bottom of the stands, then over to the grassy strip beside the concession stand. The smell of hot dogs on the big grill wrapped around Sam and made her stomach growl. Mom always said the body would let you know what it needed. Right now, her body was telling her she needed junk food. Seriously. Too bad she had to talk to Nikki first.
“What?” Nikki turned, cocked out her right hip, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t have time for this. I didn’t even want to come. Jefferson thinks it’s great family bonding. Whatever.”
Sam took in a slow breath to calm herself. It didn’t work, because it only brought the smell of hot dogs in deeper and made her hungrier. “I want to ask you about the note you got while I was at your house.”
Nikki blushed and shrugged. “Just some prank. That’s all it was.”
“And the text messages?”
Her face scrunched. “Jefferson has a big mouth.”
“He wasn’t telling me to cause a problem, Nikki. I think he’s really worried about you.”
“Shut up, Samantha. You don’t know anything about me or my family.”
If she thought using Sam’s full name like Aubrey did would knock Sam off her game, she was in for a surprise. “No, I don’t. But I know that notes like the one you got are a form of bullying, and that’s illegal.”
“I knew that’s why you wanted to do a series on bullying. You want to use me to get attention, like you did with your last series in the paper. Well, I’m not going to play along. Just leave me alone.” Nikki turned away.
“It won’t stop, you know.”
Nikki spun around. “What?”
Sam licked her lips. “My dad says that bullies don’t just stop bullying. Once they get a target in their sights, they keep on doing it until they’re made to stop.” That wasn’t exactly what he’d said, but it was close enough.
Dropping her arms, Nikki didn’t look quite so defensive now.
Sam took a step forward. “Do you have any idea who could be behind this?”
Nikki hesitated, then shook her head. “It’s only been for a few days, but it’s . . . I don’t know how to describe how it makes me feel.”
“Upset, mad, and a little scared?” That’s how Sam would feel.
“Kinda.” Nikki nodded. “I just don’t know who hates me enough to do something like this.” She blinked several times, the way someone did when they didn’t want to cry. “I thought it was a prank, but this isn’t just a one-time thing.”
Sam knew the blinking trick all too well. She hated crying in front of people. It made her feel like she was weak or something. “How many notes and texts have you gotten?”
“I’ve gotten two notes — the one you saw and one before and about four or five texts.”
Wow, that was a lot of contact for just a few days. “What do your parents say?” Even if Dad wasn’t a cop, he’d have already called in somebody.
“Mom is more worried about if I really look fat, even if she doesn’t come right out and say it. She told me I should wear clothes that weren’t as loose fitting and wear things more straight-lined. Whatever that means.”
What?! Sam gritted her teeth. Was Mrs. Cole blind? Nikki was smaller than Sam, and Sam knew she wasn’t fat. “Nikki, you know that’s not true, right? You’re not even close to being fat, or even looking fat.” What was wrong with Mrs. Cole?
“I know.” But she didn’t look convinced. Matter of fact, she looked really unsure of herself.
“You’re not fat by a long shot. And you’ve got the support of the rest of the school, right? I mean, you were voted a homecoming queen nominee.”
Nikki smiled, the first time since Sam started talking to her.
“I mean, that’s pretty cool, right? Not everyone gets nominated. Even those who expect to be.”
Nikki grinned. “You’re talking about Aubrey.”
Sam shrugged. “Hey, if the shoe fits . . .”
“She still hasn’t talked to me,” Nikki whispered. “Not since the announcement this afternoon at the pep rally.” She looked over her shoulder.
Sam nodded. “I’m a little surprised she isn’t here
on behalf of the paper. I saw Marcus taking pictures.”
“She passed it off to Paul.” Nikki nodded at the dark-haired eighth grader sitting in the front row of the stands, notebook in hand.
“Oh.”
Everyone knew Paul Moore had a huge crush on Aubrey and would do whatever she wanted, but he’d never covered the sports scene. Aubrey had always done the football game for her grade — Sam suspected it was so she could watch Kevin Haynes, star quarterback, in action.
Sam turned back to Nikki. “Look, I don’t want to get all up in your business, but it’s wrong for you to be bullied. I’d like to help.”
Nikki narrowed her eyes. “But you’re writing a series on bullying. At your suggestion.”
“I know, and I’ll admit I suggested it because of the note you showed me at your house, but bullying happens more than people know. I want to bring awareness to it.” She took a step closer to Nikki. “And I want to help find out who is bullying you. Will you let me?”
“I don’t want people to know. Especially now, with the nomination and all.” Her blush returned.
“I understand.” Sam glanced at the scoreboard’s clock. She only had one minute to get back to the cheering area. “Look, I’ve gotta go right now, but I need to talk to you some more later.”
“My cell’s in the school directory. Call me.”
Sam nodded, then ran off. Her feet were barely on the asphalt when the game resumed. Mrs. Holt glanced at her watch, then at Sam, her expression very clear: cutting it really close. The cheerleading coach was a nag about being on time. Tardiness was one of her major pet peeves and would land them demerits quicker than anything else.
Sam went through the motions of cheering, but she carefully watched Nikki take a seat next to her mother. Thomas Murphy was still sitting in the same place and still staring at Nikki as adoringly as Paul Moore stared at Aubrey. Sam almost laughed at the irony but caught someone else staring, then glaring. The new girl at school stared at Thomas, then followed his stare to Nikki. She shot the back of Nikki’s head with such a hot look, it was a wonder Nikki didn’t burst into a million pieces.