The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading Read Online Free Page B

continued, “ anyone could make the squad.” She skipped a few feet ahead. “Well, almost,” she tossed that last comment over her shoulder before bolting for the list.
    Moni huffed and walked in a tight circle. “One of these days, I’m going to slap the lip gloss right off her mouth.”
    “You knew , didn’t you?” I said.
    She shrugged and gave me another Moni Lisa smile. “I know this ,” she said. “We really need to check that roster.”
    “Please. Moni.” I reached out to stop her. “I went along with this ‘for the experience,’ but even with Chantal out of the running…” I shook my head, frustrated. “You didn’t fall and hit your head during one of those round-offs, did you? Girls like us, we don’t…” I sighed. Girls like us didn’t do a lot of things, and cheerleading was at the top of that list.
    Moni turned, pointing toward the trophy case, then the Little Theater, and the gym. “Think about it.” Now she pointed down the hall, toward the cafeteria and the gauntlet, that spot where Chantal, Traci, and their minions hung out. “Without them anything can happen.”
    “So it’s what?” I said. “A cheerleading paradigm shift?”
    “Now you sound like Todd.”
    Yeah, it was something he’d say. Todd was forever talking about things like that. He was really into politics, and he didn’t restrict his opinions to the national level, either. According to Todd, politics and politicians were everywhere. Especially in high school.
    Kaleigh burst through the crowd around the roster, arms in the air, a victory dance in progress. If she had a football, she would’ve spiked it.
    “Uh-huh, that’s right. I did it. I’m the—”
    “Man?” Moni suggested.
    Not even Moni could bring Kaleigh down. “Made the squad, which is more than—”
    Another girl broke through the crowd, red blotches already sprouting on her cheeks. She tried to hide her expression, but I saw it. “Anna?” I said.
    Kaleigh whirled. “Oh God, Anna. I didn’t even look….”
    That was Kaleigh for you—the kind of girl who’d start celebrating before checking whether her best friend made the squad.
    I watched Kaleigh trail Anna down the hall toward the junior lockers. A lone figure stood near the end of the corridor. Blond. Lean. In the kind of outfit that sneered at Minnesota Novembers. Chantal?
    Once Chantal and I had shared the barre in Madame Wolsinski’s modern dance class. We were a two-girl front against the others, with their whispered insults and snobbish exclusionary tactics. But that was before Chantal metamorphosed into the darling of Prairie Stone High. Before I reached my full geek potential.
    “You know,” I said to Moni, “this wasn’t supposed to matter.” And yet, somehow—
    “It doesn’t,” she said, but her voice sounded hollow.
    And that ache in my stomach? That didn’t matter either.
    I tugged Moni by the sleeve. “I think we’re going to need the real thing after this—white chocolate mochas with whipped cream. Maybe even extra whip.” I stepped forward, but Moni stopped me.
    “It was my idea. I’ll look.” She slipped into the crowd and under the arm of a red-headed senior. Moni stood on tiptoes, fingers pressed against the posted roster. She stayed like that for way too long. Moni could speed-read; she liked to run through digits of p in her head—for fun. She probably had the entire list memorized in two seconds.
    A whine rose up from within the crowd. I braced myself; we were definitely going to need the extra whip. But it wasn’t Moni, and it wasn’t a whine. The tone transformed into a high-pitched shriek. Next thing I knew, the redhead had a handful of Moni’s T-shirt. I rushed to save my friend, but the girl grabbed me, too, then pulled us into a group hug…one that grew to include the entire brand-new Prairie Stone High School varsity cheerleading squad.
    And there Moni and I were, right in the middle.
    In the sea of squeals, Moni bumped me and I bumped