“A-W-E!” Clap-clap. “S-O-M-E!”
A row of ponytailed girls pumped their fists in the air to the sounds of pulsing music. Two boys turned flips across the mat. The audience clapped and whistled.
And Robert loved it all.
Seventh grade was finally over. It was Monday afternoon, and Robert sat on the bleachers of the North Point Cheer Camp gymnasium. His best friends, Maryam and Kiley, sat on either side of him, squealing with excitement.
Robert’s parents had driven the three to camp that morning. After saying goodbye, Robert and the girls grabbed their backpacks and sleeping bags and rushed to the gym for the opening ceremonies.
The cheerleaders posed in their final formation, and the crowd whooped and hollered. Robert had been lifting weights all spring in hopes that he would finally be able to balance Kiley on his hands. She was short and muscular and would make the perfect flyer to his base. As a longtime ballet performer, Maryam preferred the dance moves to the stunts.
A tan woman with shiny blond streaks in her long dark hair walked up to the podium.
“Is this working?” she asked into the microphone.
“YES!” roared the crowd.
“Great,” she said. “Welcome to North Point Cheer Camp, the premiere cheer camp in the tristate area!”
More clapping. Someone whistled. Robert wondered if someone here could teach him to whistle using his fingers.
“First of all,” the woman said, “weren’t our camp counselors outstanding? Let’s give them a huge welcome and thank them for that impressive routine!”
The campers stamped their feet and screamed. “WOOOOOO!”
“I am your camp director, Head Coach Jennifer Reyes,” she said. “It is my job to make sure that you learn how to be better cheerleaders.”
“No kidding,” muttered Kiley.
Maryam shushed her.
Kiley was often snarky, and Maryam kept her in line. Robert thought they were like a comedy duo, and he was their happy audience. The three of them made a great team.
Head Coach Jennifer continued. “But becoming better cheerleaders does not only mean perfecting your roundoff back handspring or learning new chants. Cheerleader is made up of two words— cheer and leader. You are all leaders. You are all representatives of your junior high and high schools. And you need to behave as such.”
Robert sighed and wiggled on the bench. He was anxious to get up and do something.
Kiley clearly felt the same way. “If I wanted to be lectured, I would have gone to summer school,” she said.
Robert nodded. Maryam reached over and poked Kiley’s leg.
Head Coach Jennifer continued. “Also, cheerleading is a team sport. You never see just one cheerleader on the field. There’s always a group, and the best ones work together.”
She held up a shiny gold trophy. “However, cheerleading is also competitive. You’ll be splitting up into small groups and choreographing a short routine. The best teams will win a camp award.”
Robert shoulder-bumped his best friends. “We’re totally going to win one of those awards,” he said.
Maryam nodded, her face framed by her sports hijab. She pulled on the cuffs of her long-sleeved T-shirt under her purple camp T-shirt.
All campers were required to wear camp shirts color-designated by grade. Grade eight had been assigned a dark shade of purple. Robert hated purple, but he didn’t complain. He was just happy to finally be at camp.
Head Coach Jennifer motioned with her hand, and a tiny girl with long black hair stood up. Robert recognized her as the top flyer in the final formation. Her giant red bow swished as she walked.
“I’d now like to introduce you to my assistant camp director, Coach Amber Lee,” said Coach Jennifer.
Coach Amber bounced up onto the platform and waved her arms.
“Hey there campers, are you ready to cheer?” she shouted.
The crowd stamped their feet on the bleachers.
She cupped her hand to her ear. “I can’t hear you … I said, are you ready to cheer?”
Screams filled the gym, and Robert felt himself swept up in the crowd as they all stood and waved their arms.
The rest of the counselors swarmed around Coach Amber.
“Repeat after me!” she called. “We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit, how about you?”
The cheerleaders clapped in staccato rhythm, and at the end of the cheer, pointed their poms at all the campers on the bleachers.
The campers responded, “We’ve got spirit, yes we do! We’ve got spirit, how about you?”
This went on for several rounds, until the counselors responded with cheers and leaps. A couple of the shorter girls flipped and landed on the two boys’ shoulders. Coach Amber slid into the splits. The gym got so loud that Robert plugged his ears.
Head Coach Jennifer leaned into the podium. “All right, everyone, head back to your rooms and settle in. After dinner, we’ll start our first master class,” she announced.
The stands clattered as the campers stormed out of the gym to their cabins. Robert, Kiley, and Maryam looked at their schedules. All three of them were staying in Oak Manor. Kiley and Maryam would share a room, while Robert would meet his roommate shortly.
Oak Manor was actually a small house-like cabin with a wraparound porch and bedrooms on the second and third floors. On the first floor was a large open room filled with tumbling mats and old couches.
Kiley and Maryam headed to the third floor to find their room, while Robert found his room on the second floor. A sign on his door said, Welcome to North Point Cheer Camp, Robert and Josh!
Robert opened the door and found a set of bunk beds, two dressers, and two desks.
A tall, dark-haired boy was already in the room, unpacking his duffel bag. He was wearing a green camp T-shirt and black athletic shorts.
“Hey,” said the boy, “I’m Josh. Grade Nine. Second year at camp. Camp award winner.” He nodded at Robert’s purple shirt. “Obviously you’re a newbie Eight.”
“Yeah,” said Robert. Normally confident, he suddenly felt awkward and nervous.
“I guess you’re Robert, then,” said Josh, pointing to the door sign.
“Oh, yeah, um, that’s me,” Robert answered.
Josh had already claimed the bottom bunk, so Robert climbed up the ladder and unrolled his sleeping bag. Robert had never slept on a top bunk before.
“I’m here with Ellie and Madison,” said Josh. “We’re the outgoing tri-captains for the South Valley JV basketball cheer squad.”
“Great,” said Robert.
“What do you cheer for?” asked Josh.
A voice from out in the hallway called out, “Five minutes to first practice. I repeat, five minutes to first practice!”
“Guess it’s time to go meet our coach,” said Josh. “But remind me to tell you about Heather, the Ghost of Oak Manor.”
A ghost?