Shake it, shake it, rattle and roll.

Win, win, win! That’s our goal.

Penny-Love and Jill jumped high, waving their poms, then slid down in perfect splits.

“That was great!” I said, applauding from the garage floor where I was on my knees painting a large letter H in shades of red, white, and blue on a poster. Adding a patriotic theme was my idea, and I was glad the others approved.

Jill’s house was in a subdivision near the school, about a mile from Nona’s farmhouse. Since we were having a mild October, I’d walked over instead of driving.

I enjoyed hanging out with such energetic, hard-working girls. Cheerleaders weren’t the fluff-brains I used to think, but seriously dedicated athletes. I admired that, but no way did I want to wave poms or do the splits in front of crowds. Watching from the sidelines suited me fine.

Four members of the Sheridan Spirit Squad were present: Penny-Love, Jill, Catelynn, and Kaitlyn. They all wore sweats and T-shirts, except for Penny-Love who never dressed down, not even when she planned to paint. She’d twisted her wild red hair into twin French braids and wore a high-cut purple stretch top that showed off the diamond pierced into her bellybutton.

“You’re a great audience, Sabine,” Jill said with a flash of her pearly smile. She was team captain and brilliant at creating new routines. “It still needs work, but we can practice later. It’s more important to finish the posters.”

“This one’s almost done.” I said as I dipped my brush into the red paint and filled in the outline of the letter H.

“I got more paint on myself than the poster,” Catelynn complained as she held out a long strand of her blue-splattered brunette hair. “I’m a disgusting mess.”

“That for sure,” her best friend Kaitlyn teased. Although Catelynn and Kaitlyn shared a name, they were total opposites. Perfectionist Catelynn was often critical, while Kaitlyn had a kooky sense of humor.

“We’re all a mess, but it’ll wash off,” Jill said.

“But Catelynn is the worst,” Kaitlyn pointed out. “She looks like a rainbow exploded on her.”

Jill giggled. “True. Catelynn, you even have paint in your ears.”

“Anyone got a camera?” Penny-Love asked. “This would make a great front-page shot for the Shout-Out.”

“Or I could give Manny a call—among his many duties, he’s also the staff photographer,” I said.

“Don’t you dare!” Catelynn protested. “Or I’ll wipe paint all over you.”

“Okay, okay,” Kaitlyn said with a giggle. “Truce.”

“I was just kidding,” I added. “I wouldn’t really call Manny.”

“Too bad,” Jill said with a sigh. “Oh-So-Fine Manny is welcome here anytime.”

“I just love his column,” Kaitlyn added. “He did a great job on that ten-year-in-the-future article. I’d love for him to write about my future.”

I smiled, used to these sort of comments by now. Manny didn’t care what anyone thought of him, dressed and acted exactly as he pleased, and instead of being an outsider, he got respect.

“I chose these earrings because Mystic Manny says green is lucky this week.” Jill pointed to her jade earrings.

Kaitlyn grinned. “I wouldn’t mind getting lucky with him.”

“He’s too full of himself for my taste.” Penny-Love wiped her nose, leaving a streak of green paint. “Sabine’s the lucky one. She’s got the coolest guy at school drooling for her. Guess who she went out with Friday night?”

“Josh DeMarco. You already told us, Pen,” Jill said, rolling her eyes. “And they doubled with Evan and his latest.”

“Her name’s Danielle,” I said with a prickle of anxiety.

“Don’t know the girl.” Catelynn gave a dismissive shrug. “And the way Evan Marshall jumps from one girl to another, she won’t last long anyway.”

“I hope you’re wrong.” The anxious feeling grew, stabbing like needles. “Danielle is very sweet and terribly in love. I’d hate to see her hurt.”

“It’s gonna happen,” Catelynn said as she wiped paint off her hands with a rag. “Face it, Sabine. You haven’t gone to Sheridan long enough to know about Evan Marshall, but we know how he works. He’s a player. ‘Moving On Marsh’ they call him.”

“That’s terrible.”

“At least you’ve got nothing to worry about with Josh,” Penny-Love assured. “He’s as good as they come.”

“So why does he hang around a jerk like Evan?”

“Because their parents have been friends forever and they live next door to each other,” Penny-Love explained. “Evan runs over people like a bulldozer, but Josh doesn’t seem to notice.”

“I noticed,” I said, remembering how Evan made all the decisions on our date. And he hadn’t seemed very friendly to me, either, like I wasn’t important.

“Josh can only see the good side of people,” Penny-Love continued. “He’s always volunteering for charities and helping out on school committees. He’s kind of idealistic, wanting to help people and change the world.”

“No one can do that,” Catelynn said with a skeptical sniff.

I wanted to argue with Catelynn, except I was afraid she was right.

My head throbbed, and the rainbow I was painting blurred. A wave of dizziness swelled over me, and I doubled over in agony. The brush slipped from my fingers as swirling paint came alive, circling around me, wings flapping. I saw a vivid image of a dragonfly fluttering out of Jill’s house, down the street, zooming into Sheridan High and disappearing into a dark-red pool of blood.

Danger.

Hurry.

My heart sped up and fear filled my throat like bile.

I wanted to ignore this vision, but even with my eyes open, the bloody dragonfly fluttered in warning. I had no idea what I was supposed to do; I just knew that if I did nothing, something terrible would happen.

To Danielle.