Cheer Captain Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: EVERYTHING YOU KNOW

  Chapter 2: FIRST DAY

  Chapter 3: TRYOUTS

  Chapter 4: WHO’S IN?

  Chapter 5: TIME

  Chapter 6: MISS CAPTAIN

  Chapter 7: BACK TO NORMAL

  Chapter 8: NO MORE CAPTAIN

  Chapter 9: DISASTER

  Chapter 10: THE COMPETITION

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  More About Cheerleading

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  CHAPTER 1

  EVERYTHING YOU KNOW

  Sweating, I lay down on the grass and closed my eyes. The hot August sun beat down on my face, but it was still cooler than doing cartwheels.

  Ava, my best friend, stood over me. She bounced on her toes. “Get up, lazy bones,” she teased. She gently kicked my sneaker with hers. “Come on, Julia. We have a lot of work to do.”

  I groaned, but I got up.

  My family and I had just moved across town to River City East. I’d be starting at a new middle school next week. At my old middle school, I’d been captain of the cheerleading squad. The one thing that would make the move to a new school okay would be joining the cheerleading team.

  Luckily for me, my best friend, Ava, had been on the River City East squad for two years. She knew all the moves and had promised to teach me the routines. She’d even loaned me a uniform. All I had to do was try out. But first, I had to practice. That’s what we were doing in her backyard.

  I was so glad I knew Ava. She had been my best friend since kindergarten. She’d moved to River City East in third grade. Having her at my new school was going to be a huge help. At least I’d know someone.

  Ava turned up the volume on her iPod dock and started jumping. “C’mon, Julia. Kick those legs higher,” she told me.

  “I’m trying,” I said, kicking as high as I could. Sweat rolled down my neck.

  “Much better,” Ava said as I did ten kicks in a row. “Now, onto the Hello cheer. We do that at the beginning of every routine.”

  I gulped water from my water bottle. Ava smiled at me. “How about you watch me first, okay?” she asked.

  I nodded and plopped down in a shady spot. Ava clapped her hands, did a flip, and jumped. She ended the cheer with a split, her arms raised in a high V, pom-poms in her hands.

  “Wow, that was great!” I said, clapping.

  Ava flashed me a wide smile. “Your turn!” she said.

  I took my time getting started. Ava frowned. “Julia, you need to step it up,” she said. “Tryouts are in two weeks. More people are trying out this year than ever before. I thought you wanted this.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’m sorry. Show me everything you know!”

  * * *

  The rest of the week, Ava and I practiced every day. She helped me nail the clapping rhythm for the Hello cheer, and we motivated each other to jump higher. I didn’t complain once.

  “You know what would be perfect?” Ava asked on Sunday afternoon. We were taking a snack break on her porch.

  “What would be perfect?” I asked, popping a strawberry into my mouth.

  “If we both made captain. How awesome would that be? We’d both be responsible for leading the team,” she said. She took a big bite out of her strawberry.

  “That would be great,” I admitted. “But I’m new. I won’t be captain.”

  Secretly, I really wanted to be a captain. But I knew that would be difficult. Just making the squad was going to be hard enough for me.

  “Think positive,” Ava said. “Everyone — old and new — has a shot.” She gave me a hug.

  “It’s easy for you to think positive,” I said. “You’ve been captain for the past two years. You’re really good.”

  Ava shrugged. “Sure, the coaches know me,” she said, “but you’re good, too. They’ll notice how hard you’ve been working.”

  I smiled at her. “You’re right,” I said. “I just have to keep working hard. Let’s get back to practicing!”

  CHAPTER 2

  FIRST DAY

  When I got to my locker on Monday morning, Ava and her friends were already there.

  “Hey, Jules!” Ava said. She turned to her friends and said, “This is my best friend, Julia.”

  Everyone smiled, and most of them said hello. A blond girl wearing sparkly tennis shoes waved but didn’t say anything.

  “I’m Stefanie,” said a short, bouncy girl wearing a headband. “Will you be trying out for the cheer team, too?”

  “That’s the plan!” I said.

  “Great!” Stefanie said.

  “Yeah, great,” mumbled the blonde.

  Stefanie nudged the girl with her elbow. Then she turned to me. “Don’t mind Casey,” Stefanie said. “She’s just worried that another girl trying out will hurt her chances of making captain.”

  Casey looked down at the floor. “It’s a tough competition,” she mumbled.

  “I’m sure you’ll be great either way,” I said, smiling at Casey.

  “That’s what I keep telling her,” said Stefanie.

  “All right, guys,” said Ava. “We’ll talk more at lunch. Right now, we better move, or we’ll be late to homeroom.”

  “See you later!” yelled Stefanie as she ran down the hall. Casey waved and walked away.

  Ava put her arm around my shoulders. “I told you it wouldn’t be so bad,” she whispered and then ran after the others.

  * * *

  That night Mom made my favorite dinner — baked ziti with extra cheese — to celebrate the start of a new school year.

  “How was your first day?” she asked as she placed the ziti on the table.

  “Better than I thought it would be,” I admitted. I scooped pasta onto my plate.

  “Make any new friends?” asked Dad.

  “A few. One girl, Stefanie, was really nice,” I told him. “She even shared her Ho-Hos with me at lunch.”

  “That’s what I like to hear,” said Dad. “See? Everything at your new school is going to be great. Nothing to worry about.”

  When dinner was over, Dad and I helped Mom wash the dishes. Dad got silly and squirted us with the sink nozzle. Mom laughed so hard she snorted. They always made it easy to forget my worries. At least for a while.

  That night, as I lay in my bed and stared at my ceiling, I couldn’t get the cheerleading tryouts out of my head. One week and counting. I hoped I would make the team. I hoped we all would.

  CHAPTER 3

  TRYOUTS

  “Today’s the big day,” said Casey at lunch the next Monday. She was finally being friendly to me.

  “That’s right,” I said, picking at my sandwich. I was too nervous to eat.

  Stefanie watched as Casey finished her sandwich and fries and started on her cookies. “How can you even eat?” Stefanie asked. “My stomach is doing cartwheels.”

  “Seriously,” said Ava, pushing aside her mac and cheese. “The thought of eating makes me feel sick. I’m so nervous!”

  I was happy to know I wasn’t the only one anxious about tryouts.

  Casey laughed. “I’m nervous too, but I need energy for the tryouts,” she explained. “If you guys don’t eat you’ll be too tired to jump.”

  Ava threw a fry at Casey.

  “More food. Yay!” said Casey, laughing.

  Ava giggled but then leaned in, looking serious. “Guys, we should make a pact,” she said, looking at each of us. “No matter what happens, we will all support each other. Okay?”

  “You got it, Captain,” said Stefanie. Ava smiled.

  * * *


  Just before the tryouts, Ava went to a corner to practice her routine one last time. I walked over and touched her shoulder.

  “You know the routine perfectly,” I said. “You’ll do great.” Then, because I knew it would make her smile, I added, “Captain.”

  She did smile. “You’re such a good friend, Julia,” Ava said, giving me a big hug. “I’m so glad you transferred to this school.”

  The cheerleading coach, Coach Shue, called for everyone to line up. We all grabbed our pom-poms and stood in a line in front of the judges’ table.

  “Good luck!” Stefanie whispered.

  “Break a pom-pom!” joked Casey, and I heard Ava laugh.

  We all stood in front of the judges to perform our routines. Ava went first. My stomach flipped with each of her moves. I wasn’t sure if I was nervous for her or for myself.

  Ava’s voice projected on the Hello cheer, and her cartwheels were great. Then it came time to throw the pom-poms in the air, do a pike jump, land, and catch the pom-poms. Over the summer, Ava had always made it look so easy. I was sure she’d be perfect.

  The music got louder. Ava threw her pom-poms high in the air and did her jump. She landed on her feet but missed the pom-pom catch.

  “Oh, no,” Stefanie whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.

  Ava said something to the judges, and they nodded. She put her hands on her hips. It looked like her legs were shaking. “Ready? Okay,” she called. Then she tried the move again.

  She jumped up and tossed her pom-poms. This time, she didn’t slide down completely on the split, and she missed her pom-poms again. As soon as she stood up, Ava ran out of the gym.

  “I need to go after her,” I said.

  Stefanie grabbed my arm. “You can’t,” she said. “You’re next. The rest of her routine was great. I’m sure she’ll get in.”

  Coach Shue called my name. I ran to the table. None of my new friends told me to break a pom-pom. I think they were afraid they would jinx me, too.

  CHAPTER 4

  WHO’S IN?

  “Wow, Julia,” said Stefanie when tryouts were over. “You did great. I think that was the highest pike jump I’ve ever seen.”

  “Thanks,” I said, blushing. I was surprised by how well the routine had gone. I’d even nailed the split without wobbling. “I could never have done any of it without Ava,” I added.

  “Speaking of,” said Casey, as we headed to the locker room. “Where is Ava?”

  “Ava?” I called, pushing the locker room door open. I was sure she’d be waiting for us, but no one was there.

  Stefanie frowned. “She’s probably still upset,” she said. “Let’s see if she went home.”

  On the way to Ava’s house, Casey and Stefanie chatted about how well all of our routines had gone and how fun it would be to go to the games together. Casey didn’t seem worried about making the team anymore.

  When we got to Ava’s, her mom answered the door.

  “Hi, girls,” she said quietly, only opening the door halfway. “Ava is a little upset right now, but I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self soon.”

  “Can you tell her we stopped by?” asked Casey. “And that she did a lot better than she thinks.”

  Ava’s mom smiled. “I’ll do that,” she said. “Ava is lucky to have such caring friends.”

  “You know what I don’t get?” asked Stefanie as we walked away.

  “What?” asked Casey.

  “She messed up a little, sure. But Ava has been to enough tryouts to know that one mistake won’t keep her from making the team. Not if the rest of the routine was as good as hers,” Stefanie said.

  “Making the team isn’t enough for Ava. She wants to be captain, remember?” I said.

  “Right,” said Stefanie quietly.

  “Maybe that can still happen,” said Casey, but she sounded unsure.

  “Maybe,” I said. But deep down, I knew Ava wouldn’t be captain.

  * * *

  The next day at lunch, no one talked about the tryouts. We ate our sandwiches and pudding and laughed about the toupee our science teacher wore.

  Ava laughed so hard, milk came out of her nose. I was glad she was feeling better.

  Then there was an announcement over the loudspeaker. “Attention, all girls who tried out for cheerleading,” said Coach Shue. “Please come to the gym after school to see if your name is on the list.”

  We all looked at each other. Ava seemed really nervous.

  Then she forced a smile. “Sorry for being so worried,” she said. “It will be really fun when we’re cheering together.”

  * * *

  After school, I tried to see over the crowd of girls already gathered in the gym. Casey pushed to the front of the group. She ran her finger down the names and squealed excitedly. “I’m in! I’m in!” she told us.

  Ava, Stefanie, and I made it to the front of the group. “Awesome,” said Ava. She scanned the names. “I’m there, too! And you too, Stef!”

  Then they all looked at me.

  Please be there, I thought.

  I read the list three times, but my name wasn’t on it. I could feel the tears coming.

  “Wait,” Stefanie said, lifting the sheet. “There’s another page!”

  We crowded around the second piece of paper, and I took in a sharp breath. There was my name. I was so happy, I almost didn’t see the word underneath it.

  In bold letters, it said CAPTAIN.

  CHAPTER 5

  TIME

  The next day, Ava wasn’t waiting by my locker when I got to school. I didn’t see her at lunch, either.

  I sat down at our usual table by myself. I tried to eat my lunch, but no one else showed up. Finally, I gave up and went to the library.

  As soon as I walked through the door, I saw Ava, Stefanie, and Casey huddled around a computer.

  Stefanie spotted me, smiled, and waved me over.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been so worried that Ava would be upset with me because I was named captain instead of her. And another part of me thought Casey and Stefanie would ignore me, too. I was glad I was wrong.

  “Group project for history class,” Stefanie said, rolling her eyes.

  Ava’s eyes didn’t leave the computer screen. She mumbled, “Hi.”

  I sat down beside her. “Did your mom tell you I called last night?” I asked.

  “Uh, yeah, but I was so tired,” she said. She punched a few keys, and the printer began spitting out pages. Suddenly, Ava stood up.

  “Gotta go,” she said. “I have to ask my teacher a question.”

  “See you at practice!” I called.

  But Ava was already out the door. She didn’t answer.

  * * *

  By the time cheerleading practice started, I was sure something was wrong. Each time I put my hands on my hips and shouted “Ready? Okay!” to get a cheer started, Ava would be a beat off. That made the whole squad mess up.

  After practice, Coach Shue pulled me aside. “You’re the captain, Julia,” she said. “The girls look to you for direction. If one girl is off, the rest of the group is off, too. Part of your job is to make sure that everyone’s doing the cheer right.”

  What could I say? I didn’t want to tell Coach Shue that Ava was messing up because she was upset that she wasn’t captain.

  So I just nodded and said, “I understand, Coach. I’ll do better next practice.”

  She grinned. “I know you will!” she told me.

  At dinner that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Something was definitely wrong with my friendship with Ava.

  I noticed my mom watching me. “Want to talk about it?” she asked.

  I shook my head. I was afraid if I opened my mouth I would cry. “May I be excused?” I asked quietly. I just wanted to go to bed. Maybe by tomorrow, Ava would like me again.

  Mom frowned. Then she said, “Sure. But if you want to talk, we’re here.”

  Dad patted my arm and added, “Whatever i
t is, it will work out. Just give it time.”

  I hoped he was right.

  CHAPTER 6

  MISS CAPTAIN

  The next day I got to practice early. Coach Shue and the assistant coaches, Coach Crane and Coach Heep, were already there.

  “Hi, Julia. I have exciting news to share!” said Coach Shue. “I entered the squad in a competition!”

  I squealed and jumped up and down. “Yay!” I said. I’d always wanted to compete. Now I’d get my chance.

  Casey, Ava, and Stefanie walked in, and when they heard the news, they began squealing, too. Soon the whole squad was bouncing and doing cartwheels. We were too happy to practice.

  Coach Shue blew her whistle, and we quieted down. “The competition is three weeks away,” she said. “We have our work cut out for us. Everyone will need to work extra hard now. Is that clear?”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Great!” Coach Shue said. She clapped her hands. “Now let’s get started. Julia will lead us in the Hello cheer. Then Coach Crane, Coach Heep, and I will split you into three groups and teach you the dance routine.”

  I got up. Stefanie gave me a grin.

  “Ready?” I yelled. I placed my hands on my hips. Every other girl did, too. Ava smiled, and that made me feel better. “Okay!” I yelled and began the cheer.

  I put my arms in a low V, and Casey followed. I did a toe-touch jump, both legs high in the air on either side of me like a split, and the rest of the squad did, too. The end of the cheer called for a cartwheel, and we each did one.

  We all landed firmly on our feet at the same time. I felt energized and happy as we went through the cheer. I put my left arm up in the air, and everyone else did the same.

  Well, almost everyone. As we stepped into our places, Ava stumbled forward. The three coaches clapped at the finish and yelled “Bravo!” Ava wasn’t smiling, though.