The next day, Stacy met Coach Walker at her office in the gym. “I think this is going to be a very short meeting,” Stacy said. “We both know which girl is the better cheerleader. It isn’t a real puzzler, is it?”
Stacy was surprised by the grim expression on the coach’s face. “I’m afraid it isn’t that easy, Stacy,” she said, avoiding Stacy’s gaze. “If it was just up to you and me…” Her voice trailed off.
Stacy turned when she heard footsteps thudding across the gym floor. She saw Sid striding quickly toward them. Sid gave her a quick wave as he poked his head into the office. “Is there practice today, Coach Walker? Should I get out any equipment?”
“I made the announcement yesterday, Sid. No practice today.” Coach Walker couldn’t hide her impatience. “Stacy and I are meeting about the tryout and who will make the squad.”
Sid grinned. “Do I get a vote?”
Coach Walker made a shooing motion with one hand. “Go away.”
“I can take a hint,” Sid said.
Stacy grabbed his arm as he turned to leave. “See you later?”
“Sure.” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and jogged out of the gym.
“Where were we?” Walker said. She checked her watch. “We have to go to Mr. Hernandez’ office.”
Stacy blinked. “Excuse me? He’s meeting with us? About the tryout?”
Coach Walker nodded. “He instructed me not to make a decision about the cheerleader position until he had a chance to speak to me.” She hesitated. “Actually, he didn’t want you at the meeting. He said it wasn’t anything for a student to hear.”
Stacy blinked. “Really?”
“But I reminded him that you are the captain of the squad,” Walker said, “and you have a vote. I insisted that you be there. He finally said okay, if you promise to keep it all confidential.”
“Wow.” Stacy didn’t know what else to say.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you all this,” Walker said. “But I think it’s important for the captain of the squad to know what’s what.”
Stacy swept her hand back through her hair. “This is totally weird.”
“I know,” Walker said. She clicked off her desk lamp and stood up. “Come on. Hernandez gets cranky if you keep him waiting.”
* * *
Principal Hernandez was a big man with a big rectangular head, topped with close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair. He wore thick black-framed glasses that made his gray eyes appear to bulge like frog eyes. A short goatee, more gray than black, framed his square chin.
Hernandez had been a football lineman in college, and he kept in shape, his gray suits tight, almost unable to contain his bulging shoulders. He looked like a hulking giant of a man, and with his bulging eyes, his expression always appeared menacing, sour. But Shadyside High students knew him to be gentle and soft-spoken. No one ever saw him raise his voice or shout in anger.
He greeted Stacy and Coach Walker at the door, a coffee mug in one hand. “Come in.” His expression was solemn as he led them through the front reception area to his office in back.
Hernandez pushed the door closed and motioned for them to take the leather guest chairs that faced his desk, cluttered with papers and files. “How are you, Stacy?” he asked, dropping heavily into his desk chair. “I saw your parents at the Fall Carnival at Shadyside General last week.”
Stacy spread her hands over the soft leather arms of the chair. “Yes. My mom is on the board of the hospital,” she said.
“We had a nice talk, mostly about you,” Hernandez said, shoving a stack of files to the edge of the desk.
“That’s nice,” Stacy said awkwardly.
All through the conversation, Hernandez hadn’t smiled. His eyes went from Stacy to Coach Walker. He tilted back in his chair and raised a hand to scratch the top of his head.
“I’m afraid you may not like what I have to say,” he told the coach
“About the cheerleading tryouts?” Coach Walker asked, shifting her weight in the chair.
Hernandez nodded.
“Is there a problem?” the coach asked.
Hernandez nodded again. He remained silent for a long moment. He appeared to be thinking of how to begin.
“I just got off the phone with Daniel Dalby,” he said finally. “Devra’s father.” He paused, watching for Stacy or the coach to react.
But they both sat still, their faces expressionless.
Hernandez cleared his throat and leaned forward, his arms crossed on the desktop. “Perhaps you’re not aware of this, but Daniel Dalby is the biggest contributor to the school’s development fund every year. The Dalby family donates more than a third of our budget.”
“Whew.” Coach Walker blew out a whoosh of air. “Very generous.”
“Very generous and very needed by us,” Hernandez said. Behind his glasses, his eyes were wary. As if he expected trouble.
“Mr. Dalby has been on the phone with me more than once in the past week,” he continued. “He wanted to tell me how important being on the cheerleader squad is to Devra’s college plans.”
Hernandez cleared his throat again. “Seems Devra is desperate to go to Princeton and thinks extra-curricular points from cheerleading will help sway the university to accept her.”
“But Mr. Hernandez—” Coach Walker started to protest.
He raised a hand to silence her.
“I know you held a tryout last week between Devra and the new girl, Gretchen Page. Can you tell me your feelings about the tryout?”
“Gretchen was a lot better,” Stacy said, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.
“I think Stacy and I agree that Gretchen is a far better performer and a much more skilled athlete than Devra,” Coach Walker said.
Hernandez frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. He lowered his eyes to the desk, as if avoiding their stares. “Because I’m afraid I have to step in here. I promised Daniel Dalby that Devra will be chosen for the squad.”
Stacy gasped. Coach Walker’s mouth tightened in anger. “That isn’t right,” she said. “Gretchen is a hard worker and a talented cheerleader.”
“She’s really awesome,” Stacy chimed in. “Gretchen could take us to the state finals. She really could.”
Again, Hernandez raised his hand. “I’m really sorry. But I don’t care if she’s an Olympic gymnast. We have to give the spot to Devra. I hope you’ll understand. The school cannot afford to lose one-third of our development money. We just can’t.”
Stacy’s mouth hung open. She suddenly felt as if she couldn’t breathe. This was so unfair … so wrong.
Coach Walker pulled herself more erect. She appeared to stiffen in her chair, her jaw clenched. She tugged at one ear. “Am I really hearing this correctly?” she said finally, her voice just above a whisper. “We’re going to give this spot to Devra because her family is rich?”
“I hope you won’t make a fuss about this, Violet,” Hernandez said. “Don’t think I feel good about it. Because I don’t. But I have to do what’s right for the school. Sometimes reality means you have to make a hard decision. And my decision stands.”
He gazed from the coach to Stacy. “You’ve promised not to discuss this with anyone, am I right?”
Stacy nodded. “Yes.”
Walker opened her mouth to say something—but stopped. Her eyes were on the office doorway. Stacy and Hernandez followed her gaze.
And saw the door open a little more than a crack—and Gretchen Page standing with her face poking through the opening.
“Gretchen!” Coach Walker cried. “How long have you been standing there?