Cheer Captain

by Margaret Gurevich

  Before we split into our groups, I put my arm around Ava’s shoulder. “You only missed one. It’s not a big deal,” I said, hoping to cheer her up.

  “Maybe not to you, Miss Captain,” she said. Then she ran to her group, leaving me staring after her.

  Casey looked at me but didn’t say anything. Then she ran to catch up with Ava.

  I didn’t understand what had just happened. I felt a light poke on my shoulder.

  It was Stefanie. “Ava will get over it,” she said.

  “What if she doesn’t?” I asked.

  “She’s just hurt,” Stefanie said. “I’m sure deep down she knows it’s not your fault.”

  I sighed. “What about Casey? She seems annoyed at me, too.”

  Stefanie rolled her eyes. “Casey just doesn’t want Ava to be mad at her,” she said.

  “And you don’t care if Ava is mad at you?” I asked quietly.

  “I care about my friends,” Stefanie said. She shrugged. “And you’re my friend, too.” She gave me a quick hug and added, “Now let’s go before Coach Shue gets mad at both of us!”

  CHAPTER 7

  BACK TO NORMAL

  A week later, only Stefanie ate lunch with me. Ava barely said hello when she saw me. Casey only talked to me when Ava wasn’t around. Cheerleading practice was going well when the coaches were teaching us the dance routine. But as soon as they asked me to lead, Ava would do something that screwed us all up.

  At the end of the week, Coach Shue asked me to stay after practice.

  She gave me another speech about being a leader. This time she said if things didn’t improve by the end of the following week, she would have to rethink my position as captain.

  “Maybe if I wasn’t captain everything could go back to normal,” I told Stefanie at lunch.

  Stefanie frowned. “That wouldn’t be good at all!” she said. “You’re the captain because you’re the best.”

  “But I’m sick of Ava being mad at me,” I said.

  “Ava’s not the only one on the team,” Stefanie told me. “I heard the other girls talking, and they all really like you.”

  “Maybe Ava could be a good captain, too,” I said, staring down at my food.

  Stefanie shook her head. “I like Ava, too,” she said, “but you’re what’s best for the team. That’s why the coaches picked you. The way Ava is acting isn’t fair.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “Let’s just see how today’s practice goes, okay?” asked Stefanie.

  “Okay,” I said. I picked up my taco and took a large bite. I’d need all the strength I could get.

  * * *

  I spotted Ava standing in the corner of the gym before practice started. “Hey,” I said shyly.

  “Hi,” she said.

  I took it as a good sign that she didn’t ignore me. “I never got the chance to say I was sorry about how everything turned out,” I said quietly.

  “Yeah,” she said. I waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t.

  “Um, yeah,” I began. “About the routine. Do you need help?”

  Ava pressed her lips together. “Are you saying I’m not as good as you?” she asked.

  “Of course not!” I said. “I’d never —”

  Just then, Coach Shue blew her whistle. Ava glared at me. Then she ran to join the other girls.

  I had wanted to tell her how much I had appreciated her help this summer. I just wanted to help her, the way she’d helped me. Would I ever get the chance?

  “Show us what you got, girls!” said Coach Shue, turning on the music.

  We started the dance with everyone standing in line, heads down. As the music grew faster and louder, we picked our heads up and stepped out of the line one by one. Everyone seemed to be right on the beat as we turned cartwheels and made our pyramid.

  For the finale, I was lifted to the top of the pyramid. I made a high V with my arms. Then, I was thrown up in the air and caught by a bunch of arms. Perfect!

  That only left two more parts. Everyone marched back in the line, just like when the cheer began. On the last note, we put our hands in the air in touchdown position and fell like dominoes.

  It was almost perfect. But at the last second, Ava stepped out of line, and the domino part didn’t work.

  “Not bad at all,” said Coach Shue when the music stopped. “Julia, can I please see you for a moment?”

  I walked up to Coach Shue. All of the other girls headed into the locker room. I thought I saw Ava glance back at me.

  “What did you think of the routine?” Coach Shue asked.

  “I thought everyone did a great job,” I replied. “We just have to work on the ending a little bit.”

  Coach Shue nodded. “I think so, too,” she told me. “I talked to Ava before practice, and she said she was having a hard time keeping up with you.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Was that true? Was I going too fast? Or was Ava so mad that I was captain, she would say anything? Either way, I knew she wouldn’t let me help her.

  “I’ll slow down,” I told Coach Shue.

  The coach smiled. “Terrific!” she said. “I think we’ll do great in the competition!”

  “Me, too,” I said, but I felt my heart sinking.

  CHAPTER 8

  NO MORE CAPTAIN

  After practice, I walked to Ava’s house. I stood on the front lawn for a few minutes, remembering how we had practiced and laughed there before tryouts. I took a deep breath and walked to the door.

  The door opened as soon as I rang the doorbell, and Ava stood on the other side. She was smiling a wide smile, but it disappeared as soon as she realized it was me.

  I spoke quickly, afraid she was going to close the door. “Ava, we’ve been friends for years, and I miss you,” I said. “Coach Shue said you needed help with the cheer. Let me help you, like you helped me.”

  I saw tears in Ava’s eyes. She brushed them away. “Yeah,” she said. “I did help you. And look what happened.” Then she closed the door.

  I didn’t want to be captain anymore. In fact, I didn’t even want to be on the team. It wasn’t worth it if it cost me my best friend.

  * * *

  The next morning, I went straight to Coach Shue’s office. She smiled when she saw me.

  “Can I talk to you?” I asked.

  “I always have time to talk with my girls,” she said, the smile still on her face.

  “The thing is,” I said, “I don’t think I can be on the team anymore.”

  Her smile disappeared. “Why not?” she asked, frowning. “You’re doing a great job.”

  Ava didn’t want to be my friend, but I didn’t want to tell Coach Shue that’s why I was quitting. “Thank you, but it’s harder than I thought it would be,” I told her.

  Coach Shue studied my face. “I think there’s something you aren’t telling me, but unless you do I can’t help,” she said.

  “Like I said,” I told her, “it’s just too hard.” It wasn’t a lie.

  CHAPTER 9

  DISASTER

  I was surprised to see Casey near my locker the next day. “Good, you’re here!” she said.

  I turned around. Maybe she was talking to someone else.

  She gave me a shy smile. “I haven’t been very nice the past few weeks,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  I nodded. “It’s okay,” I told her.

  “Coach Shue said you quit,” Casey said. “You have to come back! The routine was a disaster without you. The competition is tomorrow. We need our captain!”

  “I can’t do that,” I said. “Ava means more to me than cheerleading.”

  Casey sighed. “Ava feels awful. She wants you to come back, too,” she said.

  I put my books in my locker and slammed it shut. “Then why isn’t she here?” I asked.

  “She’s embarrassed,” Casey explained. “After you quit, she realized that it was all her fault. She wasn’t playing fair. She and Stefanie are with Coach Shue right
now explaining everything.”

  “Really?” I asked. “You all really want me back?”

  “Yep.” She smiled and added, “Come on. Let’s go find them. We’ll fix this mess.”

  I still wasn’t sure about seeing Ava after everything that had happened. “I don’t know,” I said. But Casey grabbed my arm.

  As we walked down the hall, she said, “We can’t win without you.”

  Coach Shue looked up and smiled as I walked into her office. “The team wasn’t the same without you,” she said. Then she looked at Ava. “I think Ava has some things to say to you. Please talk before practice.”

  After we left Coach Shue’s office, Casey and Stefanie gave Ava and me some privacy.

  “I was jealous,” Ava said. “I’m sorry.”

  “We could have talked about it,” I said.

  “I know, but I just couldn’t get past not being captain. And then, when I was feeling better, I was mad that I couldn’t do the routine perfectly,” Ava explained.

  “That could have been my fault,” I said. “I think I went too fast.”

  Ava shook her head. “No, you were perfect. I can totally see why you’re captain. And,” she paused, “that’s what made it worse. You were going at a great pace, and I still couldn’t get it. I just felt so down, especially when no one else was having trouble. So I took it out on you.” She looked at the floor.

  I touched her arm. “I understand,” I told her. “That’s how I felt when you were teaching me the moves this summer. Like I would never get them. Like you were so much better.”

  Ava smiled. “I’m so, so sorry. Can you forgive me?” she asked.

  I pretended to think about it. Then I threw my arms around her. “Of course!” I said. “Let’s always talk through things from now on, okay?”

  “Always!” said Ava. Then we ran to the field arm in arm.

  CHAPTER 10

  THE COMPETITION

  The competition was the next morning. I felt nervous at breakfast, but I ate everything. I knew I’d need the energy.

  “You’ll do great!” said Dad. “And I’m glad you and Ava worked things out.”

  “We knew you girls would work it out, though,” said Mom. “You’ve been friends too long to ruin it over this.”

  After breakfast, Mom and Dad drove me to the competition site.

  “Break a pom-pom!” Dad said as I got out of the car.

  Mom laughed. “We’ll see you out there, honey,” she told me.

  * * *

  An hour later, the competition was in full swing. “River City East, you’re up!” called one of the judges.

  All the girls in our squad slapped palms and ran to the center of the gym floor.

  I looked at the sea of faces in front of me, then back at my best friend and my new friends. Everyone wore huge grins. “Ready? Okay!” I yelled.

  We launched into the Hello cheer. When the time came to throw our pom-poms in the air and catch them again, my stomach did a little flip. But we all did it.

  We each landed on our feet and caught our pom-poms. Ava’s smile was bigger than I had seen it in a long time.

  Then we got into our dance-routine formation. When we were ready, I gave Coach Shue a small nod. She started the music. We stepped out of our positions, clapping our hands. Our cartwheels and pyramid were flawless.

  It felt like only seconds before it was time for the finale.

  We threw our pom-poms in the air, marched into file, and fell like dominos. Not one person was out of place.

  The spectators jumped out of their seats and clapped. Our group ran to the back of the gym to wait. One more group of girls performed. Then it was time for the results.

  As the judge listed the winners, we all held hands. We didn’t get the third-place or second-place trophy. Then the judge said, “And the first-place trophy goes to . . .” She paused as the cheers filled the gym. I held my breath. Finally, she yelled, “River City East!”

  Everyone in the gym clapped, but it was hard to hear them over our screams as we jumped up and down, hugging. Coach Shue handed the trophy to me, since I was captain.

  I pushed it into the center of the group. The trophy was all of ours. I wanted all our hands — especially Ava’s — on the prize.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Margaret Gurevich has wanted to be a writer since second grade. She has written for many magazines and currently writes young adult and middle grade books. She lives with her husband, son, and two furry kitties, and fondly remembers her cheerleading days.

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

  Pulsar Studio is a collection of artists from Argentina who work to bring editorial projects to life. They work with companies from different parts of the world designing characters, short stories for children, textbooks, art for book covers, comics, licensed art, and more. Images are their means of expression.

  GLOSSARY

  announcement (uh-NOUNSS-muhnt)—a public or formal notice

  celebrate (SEL-uh-brate)—to do something enjoyable on a special occasion

  competition (kom-puh-TISH-uhn)—a contest of some kind

  direction (duh-REK-shuhn)—guidance or supervision

  routine (roo-TEEN)—a regular way or pattern of doing things

  squad (SKWAHD)—a small group of people involved in the same activity

  transferred (TRANSS-furd)—to move from one person or place to another

  tryout (TRYE-out)—a test to see if a person is qualified to do something

  volume (VOL-yoom)—loudness

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Ava helps Julia practice before tryouts so she can learn the routines. Talk about a time you helped a friend practice for something. How did you do it?

  What do you think are the best parts of being captain? What are the hardest parts?

  Ava acts jealous when Julia is named captain instead of her after the cheerleading tryouts. Why do you think she was so upset?

  WRITING PROMPTS

  Have you ever had a friend get mad at you for an unfair reason? What happened? Write about it.

  Stefanie tells Julia that her being captain is the best thing for the team. But it might hurt her friendship with Ava. Have you ever had to make a difficult choice like this? Write about what you would do in Julia’s position.

  Julia is nervous on her first day at a new school. Write about your first day at your school. How did you feel? What happened?

  MORE ABOUT CHEERLEADING

  Want to learn more cheerleading moves? Here’s some basic cheerleading terminolgy to get you started.

  • AERIAL — a cartwheel done with no hands touching the ground; sometimes refers to a walkover or roundoff without hands.

  • BACK HANDSPRING — a backward jump onto your hands, then a quick push from your hands to your feet.

  • BASKET TOSS — a stunt using three or more bases, who toss a flyer into the air. Two of the bases have interlocked their hands. The flyer may do any jump in the air before returning to the cradle.

  • BUCKETS — arms are held straight out in front of you, fists facing down as if holding the handle of a bucket in each hand.

  • CUPIE — a base holds a flyer in one hand. The base’s arm is fully extended, and both the flyer’s feet are in the base’s one hand.

  • FLYER — the person who is elevated into the air by the bases; the person who is on top of a pyramid or stunt.

  • HIGH V — a motion where both arms are locked and hands are in buckets, followed by bringing both arms up to form a V.

  • PIKE JUMP — a jump done with both legs straight out, knees locked. Arms are in a touchdown motion out in front to create a folded position in the air.

  • SPOTTER — a person who stays on the ground and watches for any hazards in the stunt. The spotter is responsible for watching the flyer and being prepared to catch her if she falls.

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  Jake Maddox books are published by Stone Arch Books

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  Copyright © 2011 by Stone Arch Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.

  Library Binding: 978-1-4342-2551-1

  E-book: 978-1-4342-8916-2

  Summary: Julia is lucky to already know someone at her new school: her best friend, Ava. But when both girls try out for the cheerleading squad, their friendship is put to the test.

  Art Director/Graphic Desinger: Kay Fraser

  Image Manipulation: Sean Tiffany

  Production Specialist: Michelle Biedscheid