“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.
Chapter 10
POISON IVY?
Corky 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 i
s 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?
Chapter 11
A HOT ROUTINE
As 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.
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!”