Cheerleaders: The New Evil (7 page)

“Ivy is really a fast learner,” Kimmy whispered to Corky. “She already knows some of the routines better than Naomi.”

“Yeah, she's good,” Corky agreed.

Lauren worked out with the cheerleaders too, staying at the end of the line, concentrating hard on the others, trying to pick up the moves and learn the words. She and Corky avoided each other's eyes. Corky couldn't forget what Lauren had said about Alex.

“Corky? Kimmy? Come help me,” Ms. Closter instructed. The three of them rolled the large cannons to the middle of the gym floor and pointed them at the empty bleachers.

“Hope these work,” Ms. Closter muttered. “We borrowed them from the college. They use them at pep rallies all the time.”

The cheerleaders huddled around as Ms. Closter explained how the cannons worked. “They're loaded,” she told them. “Filled with confetti. You just aim them at the bleachers, pull the string, and—
boom!
The confetti flies all over everyone.”

“We're not going to fire them off tonight, are we?” Naomi asked.

“Yes, I think we have to,” Ms. Closter replied. “To make sure they're working. They're only half loaded. The custodian promised to clean it up tomorrow morning and fill the cannons up all the way.”

Ms. Closter probably had to promise the custodian
free tickets to the tournament, Corky thought. He'd never agree to do all that work for nothing.

“Now I want three girls doing handsprings and three girls handling the cannons,” Ms. Closter instructed. She pointed to three girls—Kimmy, Debra, and Ivy. “You're handsprings. The others are cannons.”

Corky heard disappointed groans. Everyone wanted to fire the cannons.

“Now we'll start with the Hoop cheer,” Ms. Closter continued. “Do it twice. Then instead of the usual ending, go into the handsprings. Pull the cords as soon as they finish their handsprings. The confetti will shoot out then.”

“This is hard!” Debra complained. “I mean, the timing—”

“Wait! Nobody move!” Naomi shouted, raising both hands. “I dropped a contact! Don't move!”

Everyone groaned. The lenses were constantly popping out of Naomi's eyes!

“There it is. Right beside your sneaker,” Lauren told Naomi, pointing to the floor.

“Hey—thanks!” Naomi bent and retrieved the contact lens. “You've got good eyes!” She struggled to replace the lens. “I've really got to get new ones. These just don't fit.”

“Let's try to get the timing down,” Ms. Closter told them, tossing her whistle behind her. “It's not as hard as it sounds. It's just a matter of pulling the strings as soon as the cheer ends.”

Corky turned when she heard angry voices behind her. Ivy and Heather, she saw, seemed to be having an argument. “How can I?” Heather was saying. “My leg is still sore from that cramp.”

Kimmy moved quickly, stepping between them. “What's the problem, Heather?”

“I really think I should handle the cannon,” Ivy broke in before Heather could reply. “My handsprings aren't that sharp. I'm going to look like a total klutz.”

Heather shook her head. “No way, Ivy. I really want to do the cannon. I'm sorry, but—”

Ivy tossed up her hands and let out an exasperated groan. “Okay, okay. If you're going to make a big deal about it!” she fumed. She stomped away from Heather.

Temper, temper, Corky thought, surprised by Ivy's outburst.

She's the new girl, Corky thought, watching Ivy's angry expression. She's not going to impress anyone by going nuts over something like this.

“Are we ready now?” Ms. Closter asked quietly, raising her eyes to the scoreboard clock. The adviser always stayed out of these arguments, letting the cheerleaders settle them themselves. “It's getting late. I know you all have homework to do when you get home.”

“Line up, everyone!” Kimmy called out.

“We do the Hoop cheer as we always do?” Debra asked.

Ms. Closter nodded. “No change. Just at the end.
The three girls do their handsprings from right to left in front of the cannons. As they finish, the cannons go off and shoot their confetti.”

There were more questions. Mostly about timing. Then Ms. Closter helped position Corky, Heather, and Naomi. “Hold the cords firmly so you'll be ready.”

Corky glanced down the row of cheerleaders. Everyone seemed to be ready. She was glad to see that Ivy's smile had returned. In fact, she was beaming.

Kimmy gave the signal, and they went into the cheer:

HOOP—there it is!

HOOP—there it is

TWO points!

Then into the handsprings with Kimmy in the lead.

Corky gave her cord a sharp pull, triggering her cannon.

She looked over to see if the others were successful.

She had turned just in time to see Heather's cannon backfire.

The cannon exploded with a roar that shook the gym.

Heather had no time to react.

The blast snapped her head back.

Her hands shot out helplessly, and she appeared to fly backward.

And then she toppled onto her back on the floor and didn't move.

C
orky reached Heather first. She dropped down beside her on the floor and grabbed her hand. “Heather—are you okay? Can you hear me? Heather?” Corky cried.

The other cheerleaders formed a tight circle around them. Ms. Closter burst through the circle, her face tight with concern. “Stand back! Give her some air!”

Heather slowly opened her eyes. She stared up at Corky, blinking, her expression dazed. “What?” she uttered, gazing up blankly at Corky as if she didn't recognize her.

Ms. Closter edged Corky out of the way. She leaned over Heather and started asking her questions:
“What's your name? What's my name? How old are you? What's the name of this school?”

Heather answered the questions promptly. Then she groaned and pulled herself up to a sitting position. She touched her red cheek. “Ouch!”

“Powder burns,” Ms. Closter told her softly. “Your cannon backfired.”

The cheerleader coach helped Heather to her feet. Heather straightened her hair, then rubbed the back of her neck. “I—I'm okay,” she announced uncertainly. “I think I was mostly scared.”

I think we're
all
scared now, Corky thought darkly.

♦ ♦ ♦

The practice session ended a few minutes later. Corky hurried to the student parking lot to her car. She wanted to get away—away from everyone, somewhere where she could think.

She pulled her car door open and started to slide in. But Kimmy and Debra came running after her. “Hey, Corky—wait! We have to talk!” Kimmy called.

It was a clear, cold night. A pale moon hung low over the bare trees. The air was still. At the end of the lot Corky saw a black cat squeeze through the wire fence.

“I already know what you're going to say,” Corky told her two friends. She sat sideways in the driver's seat with her feet on the ground. Kimmy and Debra huddled in the open car doorway.

“We have to talk about it,” Kimmy repeated breathlessly. She rewrapped her wool muffler around her
neck. Her forehead was still covered with perspiration from the hot gym.

“You've got to face the facts, Corky,” Debra insisted heatedly.

“I don't want to face anything,” Corky shot back. “I just want to go home and take a shower.”

“Corky—did you notice the smile on Ivy's face?” Kimmy demanded. “Did you see the smile on her face just before the cannon strings were pulled?”

“Really, Kimmy—” Corky started to say.

But Debra interrupted. “Let's begin at the beginning,” she said, her eyes burning into Corky's. “Let's just make a list, okay?”

Corky sighed. “I can see you're not going to give me a break.”

“Corky, you agreed with me when I said that the evil was back!” Kimmy accused. “Now you don't even want to talk about it. Why?”

“Let's just make a list,” Debra repeated calmly. “One: Hannah is in a horrible car accident. That makes room for Ivy on the cheerleader squad. Two: Ivy doesn't get picked. Ivy overhears you and Kimmy choosing Rochelle. Suddenly Rochelle has a horrible accident and is sent to the hospital. Two horrible accidents—and now Ivy is on the squad.”

“Debra—this is crazy!” Corky cried. She turned to Kimmy. “You don't believe what Debra is saying, do you? You don't believe that Ivy is possessed by the evil? Even if Ivy
is
causing these accidents it doesn't mean that the evil is back.”

Kimmy shrugged. “I don't know what to think, Corky. Let Debra finish.”

Corky shivered. She wanted to close the car door and roar away. “We're all going to catch our death out here,” she muttered.

“Catch our death. For sure,” Debra repeated bitterly. “Item number three: Ivy's best friend is Lauren, right? And Lauren desperately wants to join the squad. So what happens tonight? Accident number three. Heather is practically blown to bits. Lauren
almost
made the team.”

“You're saying that Ivy made the cannon backfire?” Corky asked, shivering again. Was it the cold, or was it Debra's words that were giving her chills?

Debra nodded. “We all saw Ivy argue with Heather about working the cannon. She must have known Heather would refuse, which would give her an excuse later. Then we all saw the smile on her face just before the strings were pulled. What was she smiling about, Corky? What?”

Corky didn't reply. She felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Fighting the evil was too hard, too dangerous, too terrifying. She had already drowned it once. She didn't want to face it again.

“You haven't proven anything, Debra,” she said, reaching for the door handle and turning to face the wheel. “We
have
to believe that they've all been accidents. We have to believe that. Otherwise—otherwise—
it's just too frightening!”
she cried out, startled by her own emotion.

“Listen to me, Corky,” Debra insisted softly.

“No!” Corky cried. “Stop, Debra. Just stop! You
want
to believe the evil is back. You think it's really exciting and fascinating! It's a game to you and Kimmy! You didn't lose a sister to the evil! You didn't lose a sister you loved. I think about her every day of my life!”

Hot tears rolled down Corky's face. Her entire body trembled. “I miss Bobbi so much! I think about her every hour!” Corky said, sobbing. “I think about my poor sister and the horrible way she died. And I don't want the evil to be back! I want it all to be
accidents
, Debra! All accidents!”

Debra's expression softened. “Sorry,” she murmured.

Kimmy bent down to hug Corky. “I'm sorry, Corky. It's just that—”

“How long can we ignore it?” Debra asked, keeping her voice soft. “How many accidents will it take, Corky? Ivy is going to get Lauren on the squad. I
know
it. The next accident, it—it could happen to one of us.”

Debra took a breath, then added, “It could happen to
you.”

Startled, Corky gazed up at her friend.

Why did Debra say it that way? Corky wondered.

Why did it sound so much like a threat?

A
s she pulled up to her house, Corky spotted a familiar car in the driveway. “I don't believe it,” she said, surprised. “What is Alex doing here?”

She found him wrestling on the living room floor with her brother, Sean. Alex was sprawled facedown on the carpet, pounding the floor with one fist. Sean straddled his back, twisting Alex's other arm up behind him as far as it would go.

“Okay! Okay! I give!” Alex cried, red faced, his blond hair standing up in all directions.

“Two out of three falls!” Sean declared gleefully, triumphantly rolling off Alex's back.