Cheerleading Can Be Murder (Horror High #1)

by Carissa Ann Lynch

  “I’m glad to hear that, Dakota, because he’s an asshole,” she said, sighing loudly into the phone. We talked for a few more minutes, then said our goodbyes.

  Even though I was tired, sleep eluded me. I read an eBook on my Kindle until I finally drifted asleep with my head tilted down over the screen.

  ***

  I woke with a start. Tryouts today! But then I suddenly realized that it was still dark outside and my alarm wasn’t going off. What the hell? I took a peek at my Hello Kitty alarm clock. It was only one-thirty in the morning. I groaned loudly, falling back against my pillows and closing my eyes.

  I heard the distant sounds of people shouting outside. I jerked back up to a sitting position, pushed my blankets aside, and tiptoed over to the window. Looking through a gap in the curtains, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. But then I saw what was causing the noises outside.

  There were three people wearing Halloween masks—a werewolf, a vampire, and a Frankenstein. Frankenstein was throwing eggs at Amanda’s house, while the other two were tossing toilet paper onto the lawn and strewing it up in the trees.

  I didn’t know what I should do, so I just stood there watching, trying to figure out who these masked vandals were. Based on the body shapes, I had a good idea. The lights inside Amanda’s house remained dark, so they must not have known what was going on. But right on cue, the front door to the house swung open wildly, and crazy Grandma Mimi charged out into the yard, wearing granny panties and an untied robe.

  The moment would have been hilarious if it wasn’t for the shotgun in her hand. Luckily for the three vandals, Mimi was a bad shot, because she pointed the barrel of the gun straight toward them and pulled the trigger. Bang! But it sounded more like a pop…

  My ears were ringing as I jerked back from the windowsill.

  Peeking back out, I saw the three vandals running away like someone had lit a fire under their rear ends. Actually, someone almost did.

  The sound of the blast had rattled my windows. I squatted down and kept watching until Mimi retired back into the house. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I burst into a fit of giggles.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I was pleasantly surprised to see Amanda standing at the bus stop the next morning. I guess good ol’ Ronnie didn’t follow through with giving her rides to and from school, I thought happily. I couldn’t help but notice how great Amanda looked. She had flecks of glitter spread over her cheeks, and her nails were painted perfectly, sporting Harrow’s school colors.

  “Whoever taught you how to paint your nails sure did a fine job.” I let out a long whistle. She smiled halfheartedly.

  “Yes, you did,” she admitted. “You look cute too,” she said stiffly, pointing at my curly ponytail, which was tied up with a gold ribbon. I also had glitter to put on my face for tryouts, but I was going to wait until Study Hall to put it on.

  Amanda was staring at me intensely with an odd expression on her face. “Did you guys have a late night last night?” I asked, giving her a look that said I knew about the vandalism. She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously.

  “You don’t honestly think it was me, do you?” I gasped, taken aback. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Amanda. Or anyone, for that matter. I saw three people with Halloween masks throwing eggs and toilet paper. The sounds woke me up. I couldn’t see their faces, but I knew they were girls by looking at their bodies, obviously,” I told her, speaking fast so I could quickly dispel any wild ideas she had of me participating in something like that.

  “It’s one thing for people to mess with me, but I won’t let anyone mess with my grandma,” she said, looking straight ahead with a hardened expression on her face. “I’m pretty sure your pal, Sydney, was one of them.” She turned back to face me angrily.

  I shook my head. “No way. Sydney wouldn’t do something like that. And I talked to her on the phone last night! She was home, and getting ready to go to bed when we spoke.”

  But I wasn’t sure if I believed it myself. Sydney had been hanging around with Genevieve and her pals lately…

  “Yeah, right. And I guess you didn’t tell anyone about Ronnie coming over the other night, either?” She crossed her arms over her chest. When she saw the shocked look on my face, she smiled.

  “There was a note in our mailbox this morning, telling my Grandma that I’ve been hooking up with Ronnie at night while she’s asleep. And guess what? It was signed ‘Dakota Densford—Your Concerned Neighbor.’”

  My mouth fell open in surprise. I was utterly speechless. “I didn’t write that, Amanda! I would never do that!” I shouted, still confused about how a note with my name on it winded up in her grandma’s mailbox.

  “My grandma was so upset about the vandalism and the note she told me that I may have to go back home to live with my junkie mom. Thanks a lot,” Amanda said bitterly, climbing on the bus as it squealed to a stop in front of us.

  Chapter Twenty

  Today we were learning principles of chromosomal inheritance in Biology. I really should have been listening, but my mind was spinning and my feelings were hurt. Only a fool wouldn’t understand the truth behind Amanda’s accusations this morning—Sydney betrayed me. I was the only person who saw Amanda and Ronnie’s secret nighttime rendezvous, and the only person I revealed that secret to was Sydney.

  I wasn’t sure if Sydney was the one who actually wrote Amanda’s grandma the fake note and signed my name, but she was the one who caused it to happen, I had no doubt about that. I could imagine Tasha and Genevieve egging someone’s house, but I never thought Sydney would participate in something like that. I didn’t think she would break her word, and run and tell Genevieve about Amanda, either.

  I let out a sigh, frustrated. At least I had tryouts to look forward to today.

  When I walked into American History, I was happy to see Andy waiting for me. I took a seat next to him, tossing my backpack under my chair. He immediately started blabbing my ear off about a YouTube video with a dancing monkey, and I welcomed the distraction. He was so animated and lively as he described every little detail about the video and tried to demonstrate the monkey’s dance moves. After a while, I tuned out his voice and just stared at his goofy smile dreamily. Thanks to him, I was starting to feel a little bit better.

  Chapter

  Twenty-One

  I had a turkey sandwich on rye bread, with chips and a pickle for lunch. After days of having a nervous stomach, I suddenly felt ravenous. Andy sat beside me, watching me pig out with an appreciative smile.

  “Are you nervous about tryouts today?” He used a finger to swipe bread crumbs off my sleeve. I looked at him wondrously. How did we go from being classroom acquaintances to acting like boyfriend/girlfriend? And why did I like it so much?

  “I’m feeling okay. Thanks for asking.” I grinned at him between bites.

  Even though I dated Ronnie for nearly six months, he never once asked me a question that solely had to do with me and my interests. I hadn’t realized that until just then.

  Ronnie’s a jerk, and it’s a good thing he dumped me when he did, I realized. Ronnie deserved a girl like Genevieve, and they should have stayed a couple.

  Speaking of Ronnie’s many girlfriends, I looked around the room for Amanda. I still felt bad about her house getting vandalized, but I was hurt that she actually thought I would throw eggs at her house or write a note like that to Grandma Mimi. We hadn’t known each other very long, but thus far, I’d been a loyal friend to her. She was the one, after all, who continued to pursue Ronnie, even though she knew that it upset me. Maybe I should be the one who is angry, I thought decidedly, finishing the last bite of my pickle.

  I finally caught sight of Amanda. She was sitting toward the far end of the cafeteria, chatting with a group of girls I didn’t recognize. Several of them looked alternative like her. Maybe it’s for the best that we both find new friends, I thought glumly.

  “I hope you make the team, Dakota,” Andy said, bringing my attention back to
him.

  “I hope so too. I want it so bad. This is all I’ve ever dreamed of, cheering on the varsity squad for the Harrow Dragons. If I make the team, will you come to some of the games to watch me?” I gave him a hopeful smile.

  He surprised me by bursting into a fit of laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” I stared at him with a confused expression.

  “You still don’t know, do you?” he asked, shaking his head with a grin.

  “Know what?” I punched him in the shoulder playfully. Sometimes he could be annoying and cute all at the same time. Maybe that’s why I was starting to like him.

  “I’m on the basketball team, silly. I made the team during summer tryouts. So, my answer to your question is yes. I will be more than happy to come to all of your games and watch you cheer for me on the sidelines.” He winked at me adorably.

  I couldn’t believe it! He was on the team and I didn’t even know it!

  “You can pick your jaw up off the table now.” He nudged me, still smiling. I closed my mouth and smiled back.

  This was great news, and now I wanted to make the team more than ever! I couldn’t help imagining myself cheering on the sidelines as Andy ran up and down the court, scoring the winning points. That would be so exciting! And now I was more motivated than ever to make the squad.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Two

  As though this day had not been filled with enough surprises, Mr. Thompson sprung us with a pop quiz in Spanish. Considering the fact that tryouts were today, I’d spent very little time studying Spanish this week, or any other subjects for that matter. For the quiz, we had to conjugate a list of ten verbs. I struggled with a few of the irregular ones, but lucky for me, I took Spanish in middle school, so I could still recall some of the verbs that I’d learned previously.

  Next was Phys Ed. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing anyone in that class—Ronnie, Genevieve, Amanda, or Sydney. Honestly, I was ready for the day to be over. I needed to get through tryouts so I could head home to take a long, much needed nap.

  When Ms. Lancioni announced that we were going outside today to run on the track, I was overcome with joy. If any of those four came near me, I’d simply run away from them.

  But I couldn’t avoid Sydney for long, and she caught up with me on my second lap. “I thought everything was cool between us last night. Why are you acting mad at me all of a sudden?” She tried to match my pace. I halted and started jogging in place so Ms. Lancioni wouldn’t yell at me for slacking off.

  “I don’t really want to get into this with you right now,” I warned her.

  “Get into what?” There was a trace of annoyance in her voice.

  “I know you went and told Genevieve about Amanda and Ronnie. I know that you, or one of Tasha’s minions, wrote that note with my signature on it. And I also know what you guys did to Amanda’s grandma’s house.”

  “What note?” Sydney was biting her lower lip nervously. Out of all the things I’d just said, the only thing that confused her was the part about the note? That’s a telling sign.

  “So, then I guess you’re admitting that you told Tasha and Genevieve, and what you all did to that poor old lady! You’re just lucky you didn’t get shot, Sydney!”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she declared defensively. She turned away huffily and jogged away from me down the track.

  “Good riddance!” I shouted after her.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Three

  When I walked into Study Hall, I was still reeling from the news that Andy had given me at lunch. I couldn’t believe he was on the varsity basketball team! I wondered how well he knew Ronnie. Ugh. I pushed that thought aside and slid into my seat in the back.

  All I had to do was make it through this class and then I could finally go to tryouts. This is what I’d been waiting for all week long. My whole life, actually…

  Even though I was bummed about my fights with Amanda and Sydney, I felt confident about tryouts. I was ready to do the group and individual routines. Because of Teresa’s “accident,” we had to eliminate the stunt at the end altogether. Although that meant the routine was slightly easier for my group, it made me a little worried because I wouldn’t get to showcase my lifting skills like the other two groups. We had decided to end the routine with a simple set of toe touches. It wasn’t our fault that Teresa couldn’t perform, so I didn’t think Coach Davis would hold it against us.

  Actually, the alterations to the routine were somebody’s fault, I thought, looking over at Brittani. I narrowed my eyes at her. She was sitting two rows over from me, and was busy fixing her makeup for tryouts. I pulled out my own compact mirror and a small tube of glitter. I smoothed lotion onto my face and waited several minutes for it to dry. Then I squeezed some glitter onto my finger and started dabbing it onto my cheek bones.

  I’d never been very good at putting on makeup, and when it came to applying glitter, I always struggled with putting it on my eyelids. I dug a cotton swab out of my makeup bag and tried using it to put the glitter on my eyes without any clumping. My hands were shaky, probably because I was nervous about tryouts.

  After I’d finished, I held up the mirror to see how well I’d done. My eyes were a clumpy disaster. I groaned, pulling out a pack of wet wipes and Kleenex to wipe it off. “Please let me help,” Brittani purred, plopping down backwards in the chair in front of me. We were face to face, and I shuddered. I couldn’t help it; she gave me the creeps.

  “I don’t want any more of your help,” I said, clutching my eye, which now had a piece of glitter inside it. Ouch! Brittani unzipped her makeup bag, and leaned forward with a wet wipe, helping me remove the makeup. Then she applied a thin coat of eye shadow primer by Urban Decay.

  “What color is the outfit you’re wearing?” She studied my face intently.

  “Purple,” I grumbled.

  She took out an awesome eye shadow palette with a range of glittery violet shades. She smoothed it on with steady hands, then dabbed more glitter across each lid. When she held up the mirror for me to see the result, I had to admit it looked great. It pained me to say it, but I did anyway. “Thank you, Brittani.” I choked out the words.

  For the next ten minutes, I couldn’t take my eyes off the clock. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as the second hand approached its destination. I could almost hear the sound of its ticking reverberating in my head. Just when I couldn’t stand the wait one second longer, the bell rang. Show time!

  Chapter

  Twenty-Four

  I quickly changed into my purple leotard and shorts, then made my way over to my seat on the bench. The bench was already full with the other hopefuls, and everyone seemed to be sitting next to their respective group members. I took a seat next to Amanda. I tried to catch her eye to wish her luck, but she was staring straight ahead at the padded walls, her lips pursed nervously. She was wearing a sparkly, rainbow-colored leotard. She looked fabulous.

  Sydney was sitting at the other end of the bench. Unsurprisingly, she was sitting next to Genevieve and Tasha. She too looked great in a stretchy red sports top and matching shorts that we’d picked out together weeks ago. That trip to the mall seemed so long ago. Now we were barely speaking…

  Mariella Martin was wearing a sequin-covered, green leotard that looked nothing short of perfect in conjunction with her bright red hair. Genevieve and Tasha were wearing matching two-piece outfits that basically looked like slutty bathing suits. Yuck.

  But the award for strangest outfit had to go to Brittani. She was wearing cotton-fibered shorts over a stretchy leotard covered in pictures of small kittens. “I love kittens,” she said defensively, when one of the girls rudely asked why she’d picked it.

  The other girls—Tally, Monika, and Ashleigh—were wearing similar variations to the rest of us. Our outfits may have been different, but our expressions were the same—every single one of us looked nervous.

  When Coach Davis walked in, I think all of
us were holding our breaths. She took a few minutes to get the music for the routines ready, and then she took a seat in a plastic straight-backed chair that gave her a perfect view of the center gym floor.

  “The first group who will do their routine is Group Three,” she announced, glancing down at a notepad on her lap. She made a few scribbles with a red ink pen. Seeing her there with that notepad was downright intimidating, and hearing my group number called first was not something I’d expected.

  However, I jumped to my feet enthusiastically, and followed my two group members out to the middle of the floor.

  Since Teresa was no longer in our group, I took my spot in the center, while Amanda and Brittani stood across from each other, forming a row behind me. I placed my hands on my hips and took a deep breath, waiting for the music to begin. Coach Davis did a three count, and then she pressed play on the compact disc player.

  The steps to the routine came easily, and I performed them just as I had in practice. Only this time it was the real thing! I stayed on rhythm with the music and hit my jumps perfectly, all the while keeping a smile on my face. At the end, the other girls on the bench clapped with muted enthusiasm. Coach Davis gave us a curt nod, making several notes on her pad. I wished I knew what she was thinking, but I honestly had no clue since she didn’t offer us any feedback.

  “Group one, you’re up!” she called next, looking toward Tasha on the bench. The next group took their places in the center floor, while my group took a relieved seat on the bench. Tasha and Genevieve were standing in the back of the formation, while Sydney and Ashleigh made up the front. Even though I was mad at Sydney, I couldn’t help rooting for her. I wanted my best friend to succeed. I crossed my fingers behind my back, watching anxiously from the bench.