“Good girl,” says Kendra. “And you’ll see, entertaining can be fun. You just need to learn the tricks.”
I nod. “Yeah, you’re probably right, Kendra.”
“By the way, Reagan, I totally adore your bag. Marc Jacobs?”
As I confirm this and we all gush about how much we love Marc Jacobs shoes as well as bags, I can’t help but notice the grim expression on Sally’s face. And somehow that makes everything worthwhile. I can tell she’s furious about (1) the fact that I stood up to the barbecue challenge and (2) Kendra’s offer to help me make it a success. She is totally jealous that Kendra is giving me all this attention. Well, tough.
Once again, when I get home from school, things are nice and neat. I ask Nana if her friend visited again today and she smiles and says yes. And, while I don’t want to think too hard about why Andrea is doing this, I do feel grateful for the poor girl. Still, I don’t think I actually owe her anything since I never asked for her to do any of this. And she doesn’t have to unless she wants to.
Besides, I don’t have time to think about those things now since I’m obsessing over how I will possibly pull off this barbecue in just eight days. The biggest part of the challenge is what to do about Nana. Then it occurs to me that I might be able to hire Andrea to Nana-sit at her house. Maybe I could take Nana over that morning to give me enough time to get things in order. And I could move the horrible recliner into Nana’s bedroom and lock the door to make sure no one goes in. Okay, it seems like a lot of work, but it’s necessary. And I think it’s doable.
Hopefully Andrea will be up for this. I mean, it’s not like she has a life or anything. And, as I recall, it seems like her parents aren’t too well off, so she’d probably be glad to make some extra money. Even so, I decide to wait for just the right moment to ask her. I’ll probably need to be a little bit nicer to her first. But I need to be careful how I do this, because I really don’t want her to get the idea that someone like me needs someone like her. Because I don’t.
Our new uniforms arrive in time for the game. Everyone is so excited to try them on that we decide to use the first part of class to make sure the right items came and that they all fit.
“Here’s yours, Reagan,” says Sally, thrusting a plastic-wrapped package at me. Kendra is standing next to her, almost as if she’s supervising. But when I look down I notice a white computer label with the name Jocelyn Matthews printed on it. I’m about to mention this when Kendra reaches down and rips off the sticker. “Just a mistake,” she says, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it. Jocelyn’s already got her uniform.”
Even so, I double-check the size of the top, and it’s what I ordered. When I slip it on, it’s perfect. Soon I’ve got the whole outfit on. And when my turn comes to look in the mirror, since the bathroom’s crowded with cheerleaders now, I can see that I actually look pretty good in it. Really, I think royal blue and white look much better on me than my old cheerleading outfit of brown and gold. I wonder if I should put my hair in a pony or just let it hang loose …
“What the — ” Jocelyn is holding up a uniform now, high so that we can all see, and I must say it looks rather enormous. “Whose is this?” she demands, looking at the rest of us with suspicious eyes.
“Planning to put on some weight, are you?” teases Meredith.
“This is not what I ordered!” she exclaims.
“Well, it had your name on it,” says Sally.
“Where?” demands Jocelyn. “I didn’t see my name on it anywhere.”
“On the sticker,” says Sally. “It was right on the front of the package. It must’ve fallen off.”
“Whatever,” snaps Jocelyn. “The point is, it does not fit me. It’s like size elephant, and there’s no way I can wear it.” She slips the huge top over her head to make her point and we all laugh, because it looks like a maternity smock.
“That’s too bad,” says Meredith.
“Too bad for you,” says Jocelyn. “Now we’ll all have to wear our old uniforms tonight.”
“No, we won’t,” says Sally calmly, but in a cold voice. “It’s not our fault if you don’t know how to write down your correct size, Jocelyn. Maybe the coach helped you with those things back on JV, but this is varsity, honey. We expect you to grow up here.”
Jocelyn lets out a low growling sound. “This is not fair.”
Meredith shakes her head. “You’re right about that, Jocelyn. It’s not fair to us that you screwed up. Now we’ll only have seven girls in uniform tonight. I wonder what Falon’s going to say.”
Jocelyn looks nervous now. She glances over at where Kendra is standing. Kendra, like the rest of us, is trying on her uniform, the one she insisted on getting just in case we needed an alternate. “I can borrow Kendra’s,” says Jocelyn in an amazingly confident voice.
“What?” says Kendra, clearly surprised.
“I said, I’ll borrow your uniform,” says Jocelyn. “You don’t need it. Sure, it’ll be a little baggy, but I can use safety pins to — ”
“No way. You are not going to use safety pins to poke holes into my uniform,” says Kendra in a calm tone. “Not unless you plan to pay for it.”
“I only want to borrow it,” says Jocelyn, less confident now. “Just for the night.”
“You don’t have to borrow it,” says Kendra as if she’s giving in. “You can buy it from me, and then you can safety pin it to your little heart’s content. You’re going to have to buy a new uniform anyway.”
Jocelyn looks surprised by this. “Why?”
“You know they’re nonreturnable,” says Meredith. “It’s not like they can resell a Belmont Cougars uniform in, like, size 50 to anyone else. You’re stuck with it, sweetie.”
“But I — ”
“Maybe you can get it altered,” I say, feeling sorry for poor Jocelyn.
“Yeah, you’ve got plenty of fabric to work with,” says Sally.
“You could probably upholster a couch with the leftover fabric,” teases Meredith.
Jocelyn looks totally crushed now. I know she can’t afford to buy another uniform. It took almost all her money to pay for this. And I am haunted by the image of Kendra ripping that label off of my package. But this reminds me of something. At my other high school, our uniforms always came with our embroidered name emblems already attached. These have the Cougars emblems, but not our names.
“Where are our name emblems?” I ask Sally.
“Oh, they came separately this time,” she says quickly.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because it was a rush order,” she says. “The name tags actually got here a couple of days ago. I think Coach Anderson has them in her office. By the way, this means we all have to sew them on ourselves. Or if you’re like Jocelyn, you might try safety pins.” She laughs.
“How’s it going in here?” asks Falon. She comes into the bathroom wearing her uniform, her name emblem already neatly attached. Miss Perfect, I’m thinking it should read. “Did everything come? Do they fit okay?”
“Everyone’s except for Jocelyn’s,” says Sally. “She seems to be numerically challenged. Instead of a size 2 she must’ve hit the computer key twice and ordered a 22.”
Everyone laughs, but Falon only frowns as she studies Jocelyn’s oversized uniform. “This is a total disaster.” She turns to the rest of us. “So what’s the plan? What are we going to do about it?”
“I offered to sell her my uniform,” says Kendra. “It would need to be taken in a little, but it’s — “
“That’s a great idea!” Falon looks clearly relieved. “Thanks, Kendra.” She turns to Jocelyn. “You okay with that?”
“Fine!” snaps Jocelyn. “If it makes everyone happy, I’ll buy it from her.”
Kendra looks a little surprised by this announcement, but she just nods. “Okay. I’ll go take it off and you can try it on. The skirt might actually fit you because it’s a size 4 and you look like you’re bigger on the bottom.” Then Kendra sticks out her chest. “Of course, you w
on’t fill out the top nearly as well as I do.” Then she laughs.
Jocelyn looks like she’s about to snarl or hit someone, but she controls herself. “Thanks a lot, Kendra. I’ll have to pay you later.”
Kendra smiles. “No problem. I’m sure you’re good for it.”
Now, I’m not so sure about this, but I keep my mouth shut as I check out my own uniform, which seems to fit just fine. I decide not to check the size. I don’t think I really want to know.
Okay, the truth is, I’m not entirely sure what just transpired in here or who’s actually to blame for this craziness. I do, however, know that something is up and that both Sally and Kendra are involved. But I also know that I could be considered an accessory to the crime — if you could call it a crime, which seems a bit extreme. And I also know that I filled out my order form perfectly and that I put down the correct size. I’m pretty much a straight size 2 when it comes to uniforms. But Sally was the one who sent in the order, so if anyone tampered with anything, it was probably her. The question is, did she mess with my order or Jocelyn’s? I think I know the answer. But I do wonder how much Kendra was involved at the time. Even so, I have to ask myself, Does it really matter? I decide to think about it later.
The most important thing at the moment, I tell myself as we start practicing the fight song, is to get it together in time for tonight’s game. We are, after all, cheerleaders. And our job is to promote school spirit and enthusiasm and good will. Right? As long as we all have the correct colors and emblems and have our wits about us, is it really that big a deal whose uniform we’re wearing?
ten
TONIGHT’S GAME IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM LAST WEEK’S. FOR ONE THING, we have our new uniforms, which I think look really awesome. Even Jocelyn looks just fine wearing Kendra’s. After practice today, Kendra informed Jocelyn that she wasn’t to do any alterations or safety pinning until she paid for it, so the top’s just a little loose, but not so that anyone would really notice. But the other thing that’s different about tonight’s game is that the chill factor is gone. Well, almost. I suppose some of the girls are still giving Jocelyn the cold shoulder. I’ve gone out of my way to be nice to her — although she’s actually been freezing me out.
“Why do you even bother with her?” Meredith asks me at halftime.
“Huh?” I play dumb.
“I mean Jocelyn. Why do you keep catering to her? She’s acting like a baby tonight, like it’s everyone’s fault she ordered the wrong size. Just ignore her and maybe she’ll straighten up.”
I nod like I plan on taking this advice. And maybe I will. Still, I feel guilty and have actually been toying with the idea of offering to split the cost of replacing the gigantic uniform — or maybe just the alteration expense. The problem is, that will probably make her suspicious. And she’s already treating me like the enemy. Maybe I should just give it right back to her.
“Hey, Reagan,” says Kendra as she hands me a soda. “Looking great out there, girl.”
“Thanks,” I tell her, surprised at this unexpected kindness. “I just wish you were out here too.” I glance at Jocelyn over on the sidelines by herself. It looks like she’s pouting again and I’m really fed up with her attitude. “You’d be a whole lot better than some people whose names I won’t mention.”
Kendra laughs. “I’ve been hearing that from a lot of people tonight.”
“Too bad we can’t have a recall election,” says Meredith. She and Sally have just joined us. Not wanting to seem selfish, I share sips of my soda with them.
“Now, there’s a thought,” says Sally. “A recall.”
“Oh, there might be easier ways,” says Kendra as she looks at Jocelyn. But now the pep band is starting a song and Falon is clapping her hands and it’s time to line up for our halftime dance routine.
I try not to think about what Kendra’s easier ways might be. But I do feel certain that Kendra won’t do anything too mean. After all, she cares about her reputation too. And we all know that Jocelyn isn’t exactly the sort of person who will keep her mouth shut when she suffers an injustice. It’s actually sort of ironic that Jocelyn is the target now, instead of me. In some ways, I would’ve been easier to take out because I probably would’ve gone quietly. I may be a fighter, but I don’t really like making scenes or being embarrassed. If Kendra and her friends had kept it up long and hard enough, I would’ve eventually just given up. It wouldn’t have been worth it.
We win this game too, which isn’t a huge surprise since this team isn’t the best. But we now have two wins, no losses — a perfect record. And everyone is cheering wildly. We’re all hugging. I do several handsprings and then we go into our victory yell. I feel so happy — like this is what it’s supposed to be like. Everyone in good spirits, everyone having fun. Well, almost everyone. Old sourpuss is still sporting an attitude. I feel like giving Jocelyn a piece of my mind, then think, Why bother?
“Hey, Sally,” calls Chad, “where’s the big celebration gonna be?” Sally and Chad have been pretty chummy tonight. In fact, it seems they’ve been pretty chummy all week, which is interesting since I don’t recall Sally giving that boy the time of day before he and Jocelyn sort of hit it off last weekend. We’re picking up our pompoms and things and shoving them into our duffle bags. Jocelyn already has her stuff packed, but she’s standing off to one side just watching. Her expression is a mix of sadness and anger. I consider offering her a ride home, but I figure she got here on her own somehow. She can probably get back just fine too. Besides, it’s a home game and she doesn’t live that far from the school. And if I offer her a ride, I might be stuck with her for the evening. That’s not something I’d particularly enjoy.
“Kendra said pizza,” says Sally. “Giovanni’s, I think.”
“Cool,” says Chad. “Need a ride?”
Now Sally glances over at Jocelyn like she wants to make sure she can see this. “Sure, Chad.” She pecks him on the cheek. “Thanks!” He looks slightly surprised, then grins.
Now, I know Sally well enough to know that Chad isn’t even in her league. For one thing — and it’s a biggie — he’s a junior and she’s a senior. But besides that, he’s not even her type. I know this for a fact because I’ve heard her describe her type. She goes for athletic guys, but blond and quiet. Chad has brown hair and a loud, slightly goofy disposition. So it seems pretty obvious to me (and probably everyone except Chad) that Sally is just using him to hurt Jocelyn. And this makes me mad. In fact, it makes me so mad that I go over and offer Jocelyn a ride.
She narrows her eyes and studies me. “Why?”
I shrug. “Why not? Do you need a ride or don’t you?”
“Okay.” But her voice is reluctant and this ticks me off. I mean, here I am, going out of my way to be nice to her, and she still acts like a brat. I wish I hadn’t bothered. Not only that, but I see Kendra watching me now. I smile at her and sort of shrug, like, I can’t help myself, I feel sorry for this child. And she smiles back.
“I’m sorry,” says Jocelyn as we walk across the parking lot.
“For what?”
“For acting like this.”
“Like what?” Playing stupid just seems to work for me.
“You know, all mad. Pouting. Hating everyone.”
“Well, you’ve had a bad day,” I say as we get into the car. “I can’t really blame you.”
Jocelyn sinks into the seat and lets out a sad little sigh. “I don’t see why they have to be so mean, Reagan.”
I just shrug and start the engine.
“Is it just because I’m the youngest, do you think?”
“I think it’s just the way girls are sometimes.”
“Well, I can’t stand it.”
I turn and look at her. “Are you going to quit?”
“No way!”
“Oh.”
“Do you want me to quit? Is Kendra controlling you too now? Has she turned you against me too?”
“No, of course not. No one is controlling me
but me.”
“Yeah, right.”
I start driving toward her neighborhood, thinking I cannot wait to drop her off.
“Aren’t you going to Giovanni’s?” she asks suddenly
“Huh?”
“I mean, you’re going the wrong way.”
I take in a quick breath. “Oh, you mean you want to go to Giovanni’s too?”
“That’s where the celebration is, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, do you suppose it’s okay if I come? I mean, after all, I am still a cheerleader, right? Do you think anyone will mind if I show up? It’s a public place, isn’t it? Or do I need a special engraved invitation?”
“Of course it’s okay if you come, Jocelyn. But maybe you should start acting like a cheerleader.” I turn on the next street, start heading the opposite direction.
“Like I should start being really mean? Like I should lie and cheat and try to hurt people?”
“Nooo,” I say slowly. “I mean you should be a little more cheerful. You know, cheerleader, cheerful, good cheer. You should quit going around looking like you’re sucking on a lemon.”
“Will that make you happy?”
I sigh. What’s the use?
“Sorry,” she says. “Okay, I promise to try to be nice — full of good cheer.”
And by the time we get there, she really seems to be trying. In fact, she puts on a pretty good show that I’m sure surprises everyone. She even flirts with Chad.
“Why did you bring her?” asks Kendra.
We’re the only ones in the bathroom now. We’re both reapplying lip gloss in front of the mirror.
“I couldn’t help it,” I say. “I was about to take her home and she practically begged me to. It was pathetic really.”
“That is sad.”
“But I told her if she came she had to be nice.”
Kendra laughs. “Oh, she’s being nice all right. At least to Chad. I can’t remember the last time I saw such shameless flirting. Talk about desperate.”
“Sally doesn’t really like him, does she?”
“Of course not. She’s just trying to get Jocelyn.”
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