Captain Fuller gave me my new assignment while I was in his office. I glanced down at my file and looked up at him with a snarled lip. "A cheerleader? I have to pose as a cheerleader?"
"Yes, ma'am," Fuller said while shuffling papers around at his desk. "There was a murder of one of the girls on the cheer squad of South Fernfield High. I want you to get in with them and see if they know anything."
"Wasn't I at Fernfield just last week?" I asked, recalling the drug deal that Tom and I busted very recently.
"That was East Fernfield, a different school but they are in the same district."
"Why a cheerleader?" I asked, cringing at the idea.
"Hey, I don't choose who gets murdered," Fuller said, "if it was someone on the basketball team, you'd become a basketball player. We need someone on the squad and I don't think Penhall would be too pleased taking that job. No one wants to see him in a skirt."
"But why me?" I asked.
"'Cause I looked at your transcript in high school and saw your extracurriculars, and if anyone can pass as a high school cheerleader is a former cheerleader. Which reminds me—" his voice boomed, "—Hanson! Get in here!"
Tom came in and shut the door behind him. "You called me, coach?"
Fuller handed Tom a file and said, "your name is now Tommy Wilson. Star quarterback from East Northumberland High. According to Jenko's evaluations, you two work well together and I like the results from what I've seen from the two of you so far. You and Gregg will pose as athletes. Hanson, you will get close with the prime suspect."
"Who is that?" Tom asked as he flipped through the papers.
"The deceased's boyfriend. His name is Gavin, and he is on the football team. His yearbook photo is on the third page."
"Of course he is." Tom chewed his gum silently.
"Wait, football?" I asked. "It's March."
Fuller shrugged and said, "the school district is trying to make football a year-round sport. I don't know, it's their first year trying this but I don't see it lasting long."
"Great," Tom stated sarcastically.
"Get on with it. I don't want to hear nothing from you two until you come back with a closed case," Fuller ordered.
Tom and I walked out and Judy was waiting for us with a giddy smile on her face. She handed us our uniforms.
"I have to put this on now?" I asked, glaring down at the pleated skirt. I could hurl. I never want to put one of these on again.
I was not planning on this when I came to work today.
"School starts soon, hop to," Judy said, almost sounding excited that she didn't have to do this.
"If I come out looking like a dork, it's on you."
"You won't, you'll look great."
I nearly groaned as I went into the bathroom to change, and I walked out wearing a fitting blue and white cheerleading outfit and I uncomfortably straightened out my short pleated skirt. The uniform was completed with white Wigwam slouch socks, and white sneakers. The top was blue button down, thick and short sleeved, like a vest. Underneath, I wore a blue long sleeved shirt made of a thin material. The skirt was a pleated, but with added color striping around the bottom hem. The skirt ended at my mid-thigh, and was alternating blue and white.
"Oh-ho-ho," Doug whistled jokingly, "look at you."
"Think fast," Judy said while throwing giant white pom-poms at me. I caught them and rolled my eyes.
"Is this really necessary?" I asked. The poms shook by my knees when I let my arms drop in annoyance.
Judy nodded. "All the cheerleaders have to wear their uniforms the day of a football game."
Tom came out of the bathroom wearing a dark blue jersey, completed with the protective equipment that rested on his shoulders.
"I look ridiculous," he stated.
"High schoolers now-a-days love school spirit," Judy said, giggling at us. "Oh, Hanson, I gave you the wrong thing. Wear this." She tossed him a varsity jacket with a blue torso and white leather sleeves.
"What about me?" I asked.
"You get... this," she tossed me a white sweater that had a megaphone embroidered on the front. I tossed my poms onto Tom's nearby desk in order to catch the sweater.
"Thanks," I said and pulled it over my head. "Got anything for my legs? I'm cold."
Judy shook her head.
I deadpanned, "I want to set myself on fire."
"Oh, you are so dramatic. You will be fine." Judy waved me off.
"Hey, Hanson," Doug said.
"Yes, dear." Tom looked over at him.
Doug cracked a smile before he asked, "why did the football coach go to the bank?"
"I don't know."
"To get his quarter back."
Tom just stared at Doug dryly, trying to comprehend his dumb joke. Doug rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I'll think of a better one."
"Have things really changed this much since I was in high school?" Tom asked as he took off the jersey and the protective gear and was just in a white tank top before he put his shirt back on and the varsity jacket over it.
"Were you not paying attention in high school?" Doug asked, "the cheerleaders were the best part of the day."
"You guys went to the same high school, didn't you?" Judy asked, pointing her finger between me and Doug.
"Oh yeah, we did," I said.
"Class of '84 at Jefferson High," Doug said, "go Tigers."
"Class of '85," I said and we high-fived.
Tom asked, "hey, I thought you graduated in '86?"
"Nope, '85. I took classes in the summer. I graduated a year early."
"So that's how you managed to join the force when you were seventeen," Tom said in realization.
I nodded. "Yep. And having connections helped too. I took advantage of the nepotism."
"Did you know each other in high school?" Judy asked.
"No, I don't think so," I said at the same moment Doug responded with, "yeah."
I turned to look at him and I asked, "we did?"
Doug nodded. "We had homeroom together."
"We did?"
"Yeah."
"I do not remember that."
"That feels good," Doug said sarcastically.
I laughed and said, "I'm sorry."
"You know, I didn't really like high school all that much. Middle school was worse. Every morning before school I'd cry into my sad bowl of oatmeal and start my day," Doug stated.
"That's character building," I quipped, and made everyone laugh.
I went to grab my pom-poms off of Tom's desk and I noticed a black and white photo near them. I grabbed it and almost busted out laughing, "what the hell is this?"
"I plead the fifth," Tom stated and tried to swipe it out of my hand, but I jerked it just out of his reach.
I laughed and said, "come on, man, what is this?"
"My picture," Tom said, finally taking it from me and putting it back in its rightful spot on his desk.
"But why is it of Batman and Robin?"
"Why don't you show us a cheer?" Tom sat on his desk and tried to change the subject.
"Don't change the subject," I called him out.
"It's good practice, if you're gonna be a cheerleader and all."
I sighed and shook my poms sarcastically at him.
"Yeah," Doug joined by ganging up on me. "Let's see one."
"I don't know one," I lied.
"But you were a cheerleader back in high school," Doug pointed out.
"You were?" Tom asked.
"Thanks for blabbing." I rolled my eyes.
My real uniform now resides as a part of our costume department. It was just a typical cheer uniform, a lot like the one I had to wear now. The colors are the same, but blue and white are popular school colors. We keep cheer, football, basketball, and baseball uniforms in our costume department from every school in the county.
"I thought that was Judy," Tom said.
"Nope. It was little Miss Sunshine, here," Doug said, smiling sarcastically at me.
"Shut up," I glowered.
"I don't believe it," Tom laughed, "looks like you'll need to prove it."
"I'm not proving jack," I laughed, "why don't you tackle Penhall?"
"Bring it on," Doug said to Tom. Tom turned toward him, and they started tackling each other to the ground.
Their fun was cut short when Fuller came out of his office and snapped at them to stop. He said, "athletes aren't late to school. Skedaddle."
I grabbed the file and my backpack and nearly spun around on my heels when I read my undercover name. "Michelle Foley?"
"What's wrong with it?" Fuller shrugged.
"Foley is the name of Eddie Murphy's character in Beverley Hills Cop," I pointed out. "Might as well get 'I'm a cop' tattooed on my forehead."
"Jenko left a whole list of names for y'all that I plan to use," Fuller said from across the chapel, "for the time being, stick with it."
"C'mon, Foley," Tom came up to me and slung his arm over my shoulders and started leading me out of the chapel. "Let's go."
I followed Tom out into the parking lot and we wished each other luck on our assignments. We drove to the school separately, and slithered our way into the lives of our targets. The cheerleaders were incredibly giddy and catty, just as I remembered from my time shaking my poms a few years ago. I could not count the amount of times I was told how attractive Tom is and if they had a chance that he would go out with them.
We met up during lunch near some lockers to discuss the information we have gathered so far. Tom told me about a party that the football players were throwing the night after the football game.
"You should go," I urged him. I realized that he traded his varsity jacket for his brown leather jacket but I didn't ask him about it. "It will be a good idea in order to keep an eye on the suspect."
"That means that we will have to go to the game too," Tom said, bringing a toothpick up to chew on. "It's tonight."
"Will that be so bad?" I asked.
"The only experience I have with sports is bowling," Tom said, "I barely watch football."
"Maybe you can sit out?" I asked.
Tom shook his head. "Tommy Wilson is the star quarterback from East Northumberland High, remember? There is no way they will sit me out."
Suddenly, the door opened and in came a teacher with a few students beside him. The teacher snapped at us, "hey, hey, what are you kids doing here?"
Tom took the toothpick out of his mouth. Under his breath, Tom asked, "do you trust me?"
"I trust you infinitely," I said honestly.
Tom apologized under his breath and before I could ask what he was doing, he planted his lips onto mine. I was completely taken aback, but I was quick to fall into our kiss. My eyes fell closed with pleasure as I felt one hand tenderly grip at my cheerleading uniform. His other swept into my hair. My heart was pounding out of my chest and our lips moved together in harmony. I wrapped my arms around his neck as we deepened the kiss. Tom then reluctantly pulled away and turned to the teacher. "Uh—sorry."
"Go back to the cafeteria," the teacher sounded disappointed, like this was not the first time he had had to kick-out students making out in the hallway.
"Will do," Tom said and I picked up my white poms and walked along side Tom as we left the building.
"Nice cover," I said to him. He's a quick-thinker and quite resourceful. It happened so fast, I could barely register what had happened. I could still feel how red my cheeks were at our interaction, and my stomach was doing flips and twists that I did not know were possible. Why was my heart inside my throat?
"It wasn't that hard," he said as he continued to walk next to me. "You're a good kisser."
I stared straight ahead and walked with a slight bounce in order to appear more friendly and happy, which after our kiss was not that difficult to accomplish. It took everything I had not to look at him because otherwise I would not be able to stop smiling. I understood that the kiss was strictly for work purposes, but my mind would not stop thinking about it.
"That was okay, right?" He asked.
"That? Oh yeah, totally fine." I cleared my throat.
"I'm sorry, it happened so fast—"
"It's okay, we needed to. For the cover," I reassured.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"I promise, I would have done the same thing."
Tom and I started walking separate ways, distancing ourselves in order to focus on the case. But after kissing Tom, how could I not be distracted?
AN: I love it when the officers go a little deeper undercover so I decided on turning Tom and Mickey into athletes! Please like and comment! Love you guys 😍