Cheerleaders: The New Evil (8 page)

They both turned as Corky stepped into the center
of the room. “Aw, why'd
you
have to come home?” Sean cried angrily.

“I'm glad to see you too!” Corky shot back. She tossed her coat onto a chair.

Alex climbed to his feet, pulling his gray sweatshirt down over his faded jeans. He grinned at Corky. “Sean and I were just working out a little.”

“I beat his butt!” Sean declared. He turned at the doorway and flexed both biceps. Corky had to laugh. Her brother had such skinny arms!

“Guess you two want me to leave,” Sean said, grinning. “So you can go smoochy-smoochy.”

Corky laughed. “Where'd you hear
that?”

“On TV,” Sean replied, and disappeared upstairs to his room.

Alex dropped onto the couch. He tried to smooth his hair into place, using both hands. “How was practice?”

“You wouldn't believe it,” Corky replied, rolling her eyes. Sitting down on the other end of the couch, she told him about Heather's accident.

“Weird,” Alex murmured, shaking his head. “Are you okay, Corky?”

She nodded. “I'm surprised to see you here, Alex. Shouldn't you be helping Lauren with her government project? Or helping Deena Martinson with her French or something?”

Alex shrugged. “Can I help it if I'm a genius?”

She saw his cheeks turn pink. One hand tapped the couch arm nervously. “Well, I'm real glad to see you,”
Corky admitted, her expression softening. “How come you came over?”

He shrugged again. “Just wondered how you were doing.” His eyes darted around the room, then returned to her. “It's hard to settle down and do my homework. I'm stoked! I mean, I can't stop thinking about the tournament.”

Corky sighed. “I've been looking forward to it too,” she told him, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. “But these horrible accidents . . .” Her voice trailed off.

“I know,” he replied softly. His hand continued to tap the couch arm. He kept shifting his weight, crossing and uncrossing his legs.

Why is he so nervous? Corky wondered.

“Maybe the pep rally after school tomorrow will help you get into it,” he suggested.

“Maybe,” she replied without enthusiasm. “We have some great new cheers. And we're going to turn off all the lights in the gym and do Naomi's fire baton routine.”

“Cool,” Alex said. He cleared his throat. The pink circles on his cheeks grew darker. She saw him hesitate. He seemed to be working up his courage. “Corky, I want to tell you something,” he started to say.

Corky felt her heart skip a beat.
He came over here to break up with me!
she realized.

I can't believe he's doing this! Right before the tournament. Right before Christmas.

She felt her face go hot. Her mouth suddenly felt
dry as cotton. She didn't want to break up. She really cared about him.

“What is it, Alex?” she managed to choke out.

“Well, I've been meaning to tell you,” he said, tapping the couch arm. I—uh—”

The doorbell rang.

Corky leapt up from the couch. “Who could
that
be?” she fretted, hurrying to the front door.

She glanced back at Alex. Did he look disappointed that he didn't get to say what was on his mind? Or relieved? She couldn't tell.

Corky pulled open the front door, and Jay came bursting in. He wore a heavy red plaid ski sweater with the collar and one sleeve ripped. His baggy, faded jeans had holes in both knees. His Mighty Ducks cap was pulled sideways on his head.

“Jay!” Corky cried in surprise.

He grinned and pushed past her into the living room. Then, without another word, he spread his legs, raised his arms, and went into an enthusiastic cheer.

Give me a C!

Give me an O!

Give me an R!

Give me a K!

Give me a Y!

What's that spell?

I don't KNOW!

Alex shut his eyes and shook his head. Corky laughed.

“Did I spell it right?” Jay asked Corky. “I'm not as good a speller as Alex, the brain.”

“What are you doing here?” Alex demanded.

Jay flashed his toothy grin. “Hey—you know what they say? Two's company, three's a
party!”

Corky laughed and took her place on the couch. At least Alex won't break up with me while Jay is here, she told herself.

She glanced at Alex.

But what will happen when Alex and I are alone? she wondered sadly.

♦ ♦ ♦

“It's going really well!” Kimmy shouted excitedly over the roar from the bleachers. “Everyone is really
pumped!”

Corky flashed her a thumbs-up sign and hurried to take her place in line for the Hoop cheer. She stared up at the bleachers, filled with cheering, shouting, clapping Shadyside kids.

This is the loudest pep rally ever! Corky thought happily. Even Mr. Hernandez couldn't bring everyone down with his boring speech about how we have to be good citizens at the tournament because we represent Shadyside at all times.

As soon as the principal ended his short speech, the bleachers rang out. The kids all jumped to their feet, eager to start cheering, eager to show their support for the Tigers. And when the team members were introduced and came trotting across the gym floor, the kids erupted in an explosion of sound that shook the room.

We don't have to urge the crowd to yell today,
Corky thought. There'll be a lot of sore throats and hoarse voices when
this
pep rally ends!

The new rap cheer had driven them wild. The bleachers sagged and rocked as everyone joined in. The routine was such a hit, the cheerleaders were forced to perform it three times!

Corky soared up into her spread eagle now. A very high jump after “A Tisket, a Tasket.”

Amazing, what a little adrenaline can do! Corky told herself.

Legs straight out. Perfect! Down now, into a split.

Yes!

She glanced down the line of girls. Everyone was looking good!

Up now—and repeat the cheer.

The shouts roared over her. The gym appeared to shimmer and shake under the bright lights. Can these old walls take it? Corky wondered.

She pictured the walls crumbling, the bleachers crashing as everyone continued to shout and clap.

But the frightening image vanished as she and Kimmy did side-by-side cartwheels.

They finished the routine with a forward flip. The cheers rang out even louder. Corky could see Ms. Closter against the gym wall, a pleased smile on her face.

And now the big finish! Corky thought.

The fire batons.

“Let's light the flame of victory!” Kimmy was shouting into the floor microphone. “This will be our last cheer of the afternoon. So let's hear you! Let's
keep the energy up for the whole tournament! Let the Tigers know you're behind them!”

Corky lined up behind Naomi to receive her lighted baton. Ivy had been assigned the job of lighting them.

“This is
amazing!”
Naomi cried.

“It's unbelievable!” Heather shouted, right behind Corky. “I've never seen the school so totally pumped!”

“Go, Tigers!” Corky shouted. Eager to begin the new routine, she turned to Ivy.

Against the wall, Ivy grabbed a fire baton from the pile. She dipped one end in the bucket of kerosene in front of her, turned the baton, and dipped the other end. Then, holding the baton in the middle, she lighted both ends with a plastic lighter.

First in line, Debra took the flaming baton from Ivy, handling it carefully, holding it straight out in front of her. She twirled it slowly. The twin balls of fire circled each other in the air.

Naomi took the next baton. Corky waited patiently for Ivy to light the next.

The crowd quieted in anticipation. The lights went out as Ivy lighted the last baton and, twirling it slowly, took her place in line.

The gym grew quiet as the cheerleaders raised the batons over their heads and twirled them. Corky glanced down the row as she twirled. The batons made rings of fire, bright, flaming rings that danced and spun in the silent darkness.

When Corky heard the sharp, high-pitched cries, she thought at first it was the squeal of a puppy.

“Ai! Ai! Ai! Ai!”

But turning toward the sound, she saw the bright yellow flames trickle down Naomi's sleeve. As the flames leapt over Naomi's sweater and skirt, Corky realized that the sharp, terrified squeals were coming from Naomi.

The tiny cries were quickly drowned out by the horrified shouts and moans from the bleachers.

“K
immy, you were so brave,” Corky declared. “I just stood there. But you—you risked your life.”

Kimmy frowned. “If you want to know the truth, I didn't think about it at all. I saw Naomi on fire, and I just jumped on her, knocked her to the floor, and tried to smother the flames.”

Debra shook her head. “Don't be modest. You saved Naomi's life. She's badly burned. But you stopped the flames before they reached her face.”

Kimmy sighed. “I don't even remember it. It all happened so fast.”

Corky and her two friends walked on in silence. Dressed in coats and mufflers and wool caps, they
trudged through the park, under bare trees, over patches of lingering snow.

The red ball of a sun didn't beam down any warmth. Corky shivered and stuffed her hands deeper into her coat pockets. Her breath steamed up in white puffs in front of her.

“Look—a rabbit!” Debra pointed between the trees.

Corky saw a small brown creature dart into a pile of dead leaves. “Didn't anyone tell him it's winter?” she muttered.

Shadyside Park stretched behind the high school, its woods sloping all the way down to the river. Corky spotted the remains of a kite caught high in a tree branch. Ice clung to the frame, making it sparkle like an enormous diamond.

Kimmy and Debra had appeared at her house right after breakfast on Saturday morning. They had insisted on a serious talk. Corky wasn't surprised to see them. But she felt cooped up and uncomfortable in the house.

So here they were, crunching through the woods, the only people for miles, talking about everything except the real subject on their minds—Ivy. And the accidents.

“Naomi will be in the hospital for weeks,” Kimmy reported, stepping over a fallen tree trunk. “That means that Lauren is on the squad.”

“Ivy gets her wish,” Debra murmured.

“You mean
Lauren
gets her wish,” Corky corrected
her. She pulled off the wool cap and shook out her blond hair. The cap always made her head itch.

“You think Lauren is inhabited by the evil?” Debra asked. “You think Lauren is the one who's been knocking off the cheerleaders one by one?”

“I don't,” Kimmy replied after a few seconds. She brushed against a prickly shrub. Several burrs stuck to the sleeve of her coat. “Ivy is the one who dipped the fire batons. She's the one who made sure that kerosene ran all over Naomi's baton.”

“She swore it wasn't her fault,” Corky reported, helping Kimmy pull the burrs off her coat sleeve. “Did you see Ivy crying her eyes out when Ms. Closter questioned her? She swore she was careful.”

“If Lauren is possessed by the evil, she could be trying to make Ivy look guilty,” Debra said.

Corky tossed the last burr to the ground. She turned to her two friends. “Does it really matter which one of them it is?” she cried. “We
know
the evil is back. We all agree on that—right? After what happened to Naomi, we all agree that it's back!”

Kimmy and Debra nodded solemnly.

“So what does that mean?” Corky continued heatedly. “It means that—”

She stopped when she heard the voice. A girl's voice. Nearby.

They all heard it.

Peering through the maze of tree trunks, Corky saw that they had walked near the bank of the river. The shiny white ground she spied just beyond the trees was actually solid ice.

She heard a girl's high-pitched laugh.

Then she saw a flash of blue against the white.

Who was out there? Who was on the ice?

Motioning to the others to be silent, Corky led the way toward the shore. Using the tree trunks as cover, they crept close enough to see the shore clearly, and the river stretching out beyond it, silvery and sparkling in the sunlight.

Another flash of blue.

Corky saw a girl in a down vest over a blue sweater, skating in a small area on the ice.

Another girl, in a bright red sweater and matching muffler, stood a few feet from the shore, hands in her jeans pockets, watching the other girl skate.

Corky recognized Lauren first. She was the one watching.

Then she recognized Ivy's long, streaked hair swirling behind her as she skated. Ivy's blades made sharp slicing sounds as she twisted and turned, skating strange patterns, her arms swinging out in front of her.