18

RAH, RAH, RAH

CLASSES FINALLY ENDED FOR THE DAY AND I headed with the rest of the seventh and eighth graders to the gym for the pep rally. I’d almost bailed, but I knew I’d get detention from Headmistress Drake if she found out I’d skipped without a reason.

I climbed the bleachers with Paige and we sat next to each other. Paige’s cheeks were flushed and she had a tiny green and gold flag in her right hand.

“This is sooo cool,” she said. “Yay, Canterwood!” I chewed on the inside of my lip so I didn’t say anything about how she was already cheering before the pep rally even started. I remembered my words from this morning—I wanted the rest of Homecoming to be awesome for Paige. She deserved it.

I stared down at my black sandals, then looked up when the Trio climbed the bleachers and entered our row. They passed Paige and Heather sat by me with Julia and Alison by her side.

“Pep rally,” Heather said. “Yay.”

I laughed at how flat her “yay” was.

“I know,” I said. “Yay.”

We laughed, and beside Heather, Alison rolled her eyes. She leaned past us and looked at Paige. “I’m excited,” she said. “This is so cool!”

“I know!” Paige said, smiling. “The pep rally is going to kick off the final big events of the week. It’s going to be awesome.”

Heather and I shared a glance. The next day and a half weren’t going to be awesome for us, but at least our friends were excited.

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Ryan walked up the bleachers and sat by Paige. She grinned at him and he couldn’t stop looking at her.

Whew. At least I was off I-love-Homecoming-so-so-much duty. Ryan was as into it as Paige, so he’d fill in for me. I could spend the rest of the period mocking the pep rally with Heather, and Paige wouldn’t notice.

I was about to turn to Heather, when I saw Callie enter the gym and climb into the second row of stands. She looked devastated. Her eyes were pink and she had her lips pressed together. I wished I could do something, but I knew there wasn’t a thing I could do.

Part of me was almost furious with Jacob for doing that to Callie. He’d hurt her and she was my former best friend. But I couldn’t hate Jacob. I couldn’t be mad at him for staying with someone when he didn’t feel anything. That would have been leading Callie on. I just wished that they would have been happy together and that it would have been enough.

I tore my eyes away from Callie and saw Heather watching me. She didn’t say anything, but I could tell she wanted to.

We both watched as Eric walked through the gym doors with Rachel and her posse. The more I watched Rachel, the more I realized it looked like she was the Heather of seventh grade, only nicer. Rachel and her friends sat on the bottom row of the bleachers and they were practically bouncing in their seats.

“They should have been cheerleaders,” Heather grumbled.

“No kidding,” I said.

Another wave of students came inside and Jacob followed the group. He climbed up a few rows and by the look on his face, he was as thrilled to be here as I was.

The gym lights started flashing on and off and the Canterwood cheerleaders ran into the center of the court, shaking their pom-poms. A Billboard chart top hit started playing and the girls did back-flips and tossed each other into the air. The crowd started screaming and cheering as the cheerleaders finished their routine with a pyramid. I applauded along with everyone else, but my clapping was robotic.

The lights went down and the cheerleaders left the floor. In the dim lighting, I saw people hurry onto the floor and crouch down. An infectious beat starting playing and the lights flashed on. Canterwood’s dance team jumped up and started a hip-hop number that got everyone to their feet. Members of the spirit club ran around the edge of the field and tossed balled up Canterwood Crest T-shirts into different sections of the stands.

The rest of the pep rally was a blur. The flashing lights, the music, and the dancing were almost overwhelming. All I could think about was getting out of here and going back to the safety of my room. The lights finally came on and Headmistress Drake, microphone in hand, walked to the center of the floor.

“Thank you, students!” Headmistress Drake said. I’d never heard her so excited. “I hope you all enjoyed the pep rally and are ready for our upcoming game. With all of you to cheer on the team, I’m sure Canterwood Crest Academy will emerge victorious! Go Canterwood!”

She left the floor to applause and I leaned down to grab my bag. When I looked back up, Callie was already bolting across the floor. She was one of the first ones out the door. I fought back the tightness that was choking my throat. Callie had just lost me at my party. And now she was without Jacob.