The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading Read Online Free

around, and I saw something close to panic in her eyes.
    I sighed. “I can do the splits,” I said.
    “What?” Moni jerked and her blond curls swung, the way they did when she was surprised, or happy.
    “I can do the splits.”
    “Front and back, or sideways?” Moni asked.
    “Both, actually.”
    “No way! Since when?”
    Ever since Madame Wolsinski’s modern dance class wasn’t as lame as it sounded. Modern dance isn’t all running around a stage flapping your arms, but did I want to explain that to Moni? A grunt, a groan, and a desperate cry came from inside the Little Theater. Any explaining would have to wait. We were up next.
    “I’ll do the splits,” I said, a sudden pulse beating in my throat. “Your round-offs are good. You could—”
    “No, wait. We’ll wow ’em with a ginormous finish.” Moni’s enthusiasm was back.
    “Ginormous?” I asked.
    “And you should do the splits sideways—looks more painful. I can do a round-off over the top of you.” Moni bounced on the balls of her feet. “How does that sound?”
    “Dangerous?”
    “They’ll never know the difference.”
    Oh, sure, I thought, but before I could say anything more, the door swung open. Kaleigh Bartell and Anna Crouse staggered out, faces flushed and sweaty. Anna looked close to tears. Kaleigh was limping.
    “Good luck, guys,” said Kaleigh. Halfway down the hall she added, “You’re gonna need it.”
    The door to the theater closed behind me, shooing me into the darkness. Moni was already halfway to the stage when I hurried to catch up to her. Mrs. Hanson, the guidance counselor, scrutinized us over a pair of half glasses that sat on the tip of her nose. Sheila Manning tilted her pretty head to one side and tapped a perfect tooth with a pencil eraser. Ms. Bailey, the family and consumer sciences teacher, was the third judge. She had her arms crossed over her chest and stared almost but not quite at the ceiling.
    “I’m curious, girls.” Mrs. Hanson scanned the judging sheet in front of her. “Why did you two decide to try out for cheerleading?”
    The tone in Mrs. Hanson’s voice made the question seem a lot less like Why do you want to be cheerleaders? and more like What the hell are you doing here?
    I looked over at Moni. This was her idea, after all. She opened her mouth, only to clamp it shut.
    “Maybe you should start your routine,” Sheila suggested. “You can answer the interview question later.” Like stalling with round-offs and splits would help.
    The more I sweated and kicked my way through the dance, the more it burned me. Not just my muscles, either, but the whole idea of it. Why shouldn’t we go out for cheerleading? Moni and I had as much right as anyone else, didn’t we? And hey, who said a geek girl couldn’t see how the other half lived?
    I sang loudly during the school song, and mostly on key, too. When it came time for the ginormous finish, I slid sideways to the floor and Moni vaulted over me. We didn’t budge. Not even when Sheila gave Moni a “come on, you can do it” nod. I just smiled and planted my elbows on the floor and my chin on my fists. Moni didn’t waver, didn’t even attempt the splits.
    Silence. Stares. Well, who could blame them?
    “Very nice, girls,” said Sheila at last.
    I struggled to stand, my legs wobbly. Sweat coated my upper lip. I gave it a swipe with the back of my hand.
    “That was, uh, nice,” Mrs. Hanson echoed. “Very…spirited.”
    Oh, yeah. We had loads of school spirit.
    “So,” she continued, “what made you decide to try out for cheerleading?”
    There it was, that question again. And there was the usually talkative Moni, silent. Again.
    Answers swirled in my head. Why was I trying out? To jerk Todd’s chain. To make Moni happy. But besides that, maybe I was doing it to prove I could, that anyone could. Maybe I was striking back at the long-held tradition of Prairie Stone High cheerleading being nothing more than a popularity contest. Or maybe