Song of a Sophomore

CHAPTER 22 - Boom Boom Boom

"What about our stunt in the cheer? And the dance? Who's going to take her place?" Bethany is so flustered, I can't help but grin to at the crack in her perfect exterior.

"Here's what we're going to do. In the cheer, Tiffany's stunt group will help spot the other two groups. Got it? And for the dance, let's move Bethany, Katelyn, Rose to the outside of the formation. Instead of three extensions, the two outside stunt groups will bring the flyers into an elevator—chest level—and stop there. Center group, you guys will do the extension with a full twist dismount. Got it?"

The girls nod.

"But what about us? Who are we putting up?" Bethany is talking so fast, I can hardly understand her. "Michelle?"

"No. Michelle will do her tumbling pass, as usual," Coach Roberts says.

That only leaves one person... Everyone turns to me.

"Rose?!" Bethany's eyes nearly pop out of her head.

"Yes. It's not a difficult stunt and we have a few minutes to practice." Coach Roberts nods, her decision is final. "She can do it."

The confidence drains from me as quickly as the blood in my face. I am going to have to learn. And fast.

My hands are shaking when I place them on Bethany and Katelyn's shoulders because I am well aware of the risks. There will be no spotter to guide me into place—or catch me if I fall.

"Put your weight on their shoulders as you jump and push yourself straight up. They'll take care of the rest." Our coach walks me through the stunt. "Lock your legs and squeeze every muscle in your body."

It sounds easy enough. I take a deep breath. and give it a try. "Here goes."

With a double bounce, I spring off the ground and push down on the girls' shoulders and my feet land in their waiting palms. Bethany and Katelyn firmly grasp my sneakers and lift me into a standing position at their chests. The floor is surprisingly far away. I wobble, and for a split second, imagine myself tumbling to the floor.

"Squeeze!" Coach Roberts yells.

I tense every muscle in my core, flex my feet, and lock my knees to regain my balance.

"High-V, please."

I hit the pose.

"Great." Coach Roberts claps. "Now, the tough part. When you feel them give you a push, pull up your legs into a cradle position—with your arms in a 'T'."

I've seen Tiffany do it a hundred times, and I understand how it works, but she was light as a feather and I am, well, no feather. My breath catches in my throat as give the okay. "I'm ready."

The force of Bethany and Katelyn's shove tosses my legs into the air in front of me, and the cradle position comes so naturally, they catch me in their arms with ease.

"Do it like that and no one will even know we're missing a girl." Coach Roberts almost smiles. "Places everyone!"

Students are already filing into the gym. I follow the varsity cheerleaders to the home stands and sit downs cross-legged on the hardwood floor. The junior varsity squad, a group of freshman and sophomore girls I don't know, follow suit on the visitors side of the basketball court. Three rows of bleachers reserved for the varsity football team sit empty, front and center. The marching band settles behind the seats reserved for the varsity football team and breaks out into their program opener "We Didn't Start the Fire," which morphed into "Uptown Girl." 

It must be some kind of Billy Joel medley.

A steady stream of people pass through the open gym doors in an unrecognizable blur. As they flood the stands, I sit on the edge of the line of varsity cheerleaders as the outcast I am, and hope no one in the crowd can tell. Katelyn and Bethany are on my right waving, smiling and blowing kisses to the students shuffling in like two pageant queens.