Cheerleading Can Be Murder (Horror High #1) Page 9

  I looked around at my classmates. Some of them I knew, but most of them I didn’t. Who would do this to me? It was obviously someone who didn’t want me on the squad. Probably someone who didn’t make it themselves, I realized.

  A wall of kids surrounded me, but I could still see Tasha and Mariella toward the back of the crowd. They both looked satisfied, wearing ugly, spiteful smirks on their faces. I stared at them defiantly. Genevieve and Sydney might be involved as well, I considered. I suddenly remembered Coach Davis’s voice, telling us that there were only six sets of uniforms. Without a uniform, how was I going to cheer?

  I might have to sit on the sidelines all season, I realized miserably. This could be the end of my dream of being a varsity cheerleader…

  Chapter

  Thirty-Seven

  The first period bell rang, causing the gawkers to scatter in different directions. Sort of like cockroaches, I thought, feeling disgusted. Amanda remained at my side. “Go on to class, I’ll take care of this.” I slammed shut the locker with its hideous contents.

  “Are you sure? What are you going to do?” she asked, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

  “I’m going to see Coach Davis.”

  I might get in trouble for not showing up to Biology, but I was past the point of caring. I walked down the east end hallway, locating the door to Coach Davis’s English class. The door was closed, but I could see her through a pane of glass. She was standing up, teaching a room full of students. I didn’t know how she’d react about my uniform. She might even blame me because I left it in my locker, I considered, feeling apprehensive. I raised my fist and knocked anyway.

  When Coach Davis opened the door, she could immediately tell something was wrong. She stuck her head back inside the classroom, told her students to read the next section of Beowulf, and followed me out to the hall. “What happened, Dakota? Are you okay?” She was wearing a look of concern on her face.

  I blurted out everything. I told her about lying to my mother about having a ride home after the fitting, about putting my uniform in the locker to keep it from getting damaged in the rain, and finding it this morning torn to bits. “I’m sorry, Coach. If you want to kick me off the team, I’ll understand.” Tears were once again streaming down my face.

  “Dakota, I would prefer that you didn’t keep your uniform in your locker in the future, but this ultimately was not your fault. Whoever did this to you was obviously jealous about you making the team. I’ll talk to Principal Barlow and have her order you a brand new uniform. I will have to get it ordered today so it’ll be here in time for game night. Our first night is in less than a week, but I’ll pull some strings with the company that makes our uniforms and have UPS ship it for us so it will get here faster.”

  I let out a whoosh of breath and hugged Coach tightly. She looked a little surprised by my embrace. I was so relieved that I felt like kissing her! “Thank you so much, Coach Davis! And I promise this will never happen again!”

  “Go to class. I’ll have a janitor clean out your locker and we’ll also try to get to the bottom of who did this. Whoever it was…they might be out to get not only you, but everyone else on the squad,” she warned.

  Chapter

  Thirty-Eight

  After the morning I’d had, I wasn’t in the mood for dealing with Andy. But he was waiting for me in third period, just like I suspected he would be. “I heard about what happened. Are you okay?” He reached out, touching my shoulder gently. I brushed him off.

  “I’m fine, really. Coach Davis is ordering a new uniform,” I assured him, sitting down nonchalantly at my desk.

  “About last night…” he started to say, taking a seat at the desk in front of me. I put up a palm to stop him.

  “You don’t owe me any explanations, Andy. I’m not your girlfriend. In fact, we barely even know each other. We were just randomly paired together to do a stupid history project.” I refused to look up, afraid to meet his eyes. I could feel a huge lump forming in the back of my throat.

  “I thought we had something more and I know you felt the same way, Dakota. The girl that was at my house…her name is Winter Addams. We used to go out when I lived in Salem. Her dad is in the service too. She’s moving to Hawaii in a few days, and I’ll never see her again. She came to tell me goodbye. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I let her kiss me.”

  “Oh, give me a break,” I muttered, pulling a notebook and pen out of my backpack. Our history teacher, Mr. Schwartz, entered the room and commanded us to be quiet.

  “It’s true,” Andy hissed, then turned around in his seat to face the front of the room. I wanted to believe him, I really did. But I didn’t want to get my heart broken, and I had other things to worry about.

  Chapter

  Thirty-Nine

  After going through the lunch line, I was thankful to see Amanda saving me a seat. I sat down beside her with my grilled cheese sandwich and tomato basil soup. The red coloring of the soup reminded me of the red paint covering my pompoms. Suddenly, I didn’t feel hungry anymore.

  “Are you doing okay?” Amanda asked softly, taking a sip from her own bowl of soup. I was getting sick of hearing people ask me that question.

  “I’m fine. Coach Davis ordered me new gear,” I repeated flatly.

  “I’ve been thinking…do you think the same person or persons that wrote that note and egged my grandma’s house also tore up your stuff?” It was a good question, and one that I’d already considered.

  “I was watching out the window that night, remember? I’m pretty sure it was Tasha, Genevieve, and Mariella wearing those masks. I think Genevieve instigated that whole event because she was jealous about you dating Ronnie. I guess they could have done this to me too. From the looks of things, Tasha and Mariella want nothing to do with Genevieve or Tally now that they made the cheerleading squad.” I pointed over at Genevieve and Tally, who were sitting by themselves today.

  “It would’ve taken only one person to tear up the stuff in my locker, and I wouldn’t put it past any of them,” I added, with a deep sigh. I took a small bite of my sandwich. At this point, I didn’t care who did it as long as it never happened again. I would never, ever have to find out because I didn’t plan on leaving my uniform at school anymore.

  “Could she have done it?” Amanda pointed across the lunchroom. I followed her line of vision. She was talking about Sydney. “She had a reason for wanting to tear up that uniform. She didn’t make the team, and she’s been jealous of our friendship ever since school started,” Amanda reminded me, making a whole lot of sense.

  I didn’t want to believe that Sydney could be capable of doing that to me. As I sat there, staring at my old best friend, she looked up as though she could feel my glare. We locked eyes. She smiled at me, but the smile was strange, almost self-satisfactory. Would Sydney really do that me?

  “How did they know your locker combination, anyway?” Amanda asked out of the blue, making my blood run cold. There was only one person who had ever known my locker combination. Two weeks before school started, Sydney and I came up to school together to do a tour of our classes and check out our lockers. We both practiced opening them together multiple times. She helped me open mine a few times, so it was very possible that she memorized the combination. I didn’t want to accept this possible truth, but I was starting to think that it really could be her. I couldn’t help feeling devastated.

  Chapter Forty

  “Dakota, are you okay?” Brittani asked, before I could even take a seat in Study Hall. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

  “I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

  “What are you going to do about the uniform?” She frowned worriedly.

  “Coach Davis is getting me a new one,” I answered dully, sick of this line of questioning.

  “My mother keeps a binder in her office with everyone’s locker combinations in it. In case someone forgets their combo and needs her to open it for them, you know? Anyone could have stol
en that book, and used it to break into your locker,” she explained, perfectly composed.

  I sat there, stunned.

  “Did you break into my locker, Brittani?” I clenched my teeth together, seething.

  “Me? Oh, of course not. I’m just telling you a simple observation I’ve made. I have no idea why someone would do that to you, honestly. And I’d never do something so awful…”

  So, she won’t tear up a stupid uniform, but she’ll let somebody break a leg? What a psycho!

  I nodded slowly. Surely she wouldn’t be stupid enough to tell me about the binder if she was the one who did it. I unzipped my backpack and took out my Joan of Arc book that I’d borrowed from the school library. I planned on doing most of the project on my own, that way I didn’t have to be alone with Andy anymore. Even if that Winter chick was his ex and moving far away, he wouldn’t have kissed her if he really liked me. Simple as that.

  A shrill cry interjected my thoughts. Brittani was standing up beside her desk, screaming. In an instant, students were gathering all around her, and Mrs. Bartlett was trying to push her way through the crowd to make sure Brittani was okay.

  I hesitantly made my way over too, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Brittani was pointing down at her open gym bag, a hand covering her mouth in horror.

  That’s when I saw what she was looking at. I winced, covering my own nose with my hands.

  There appeared to be a bloody, hairy mass inside of her bag. It smelled. How did we not notice that smell before?

  I instantly saw my answer. Surrounding the bloody hairball were tiny air freshener trees…someone obviously wanted to mask the smell for as long as possible.

  “What is it?” I heard someone shout. Other students were backing up, and one girl appeared to be crying. I was too afraid to step closer.

  Suddenly, someone shouted, “It’s a dead kitten!” Several people shouted, “Ewww!” Everyone started backing away from it.

  I could hear sounds of someone gagging near the back of the room.

  Mrs. Bartlett used the two-way radio on her hip to call for Principal Barlow. Brittani was still staring down at the bag, her face as hard as stone. I thought about the goofy leotard she had on last week at tryouts, the one with the cute little kittens on the front. I thought about my shredded uniform. I couldn’t help wondering if somebody had it out for all of the girls who made the team, just like Coach Davis predicted.

  Chapter

  Forty-One

  I walked with Brittani to cheer practice. Despite our differences, I felt sorry for her. She was in a trancelike state, and I was pretty sure she was traumatized. I gave her a tank top and gym shorts to wear, since hers were in the gym bag with the bloody cat.

  Brittani’s mother, Principal Barlow, had rushed to the scene in Mrs. Bartlett’s room. She’d used a pair of plastic gloves to carry the bag to her office. Supposedly, she had plans to contact the police.

  “When do you suppose someone put the kitten into your bag?” I asked Brittani hesitantly. She winced at the word “kitten.” Swallowing hard, she said, “I took my gym bag to P.E. fourth period. I got my tennis shoes out of it and everything was fine then. I left it in the locker room while we were outside playing tennis. I left the shoes on when I went to my next class because I knew I’d need to keep them on for practice today. The next time I opened the bag, I found…well, you know…”

  She began sobbing again. For someone who seemed to care so little about the people around her, she sure was upset over this cat. I didn’t blame her. The sight of it had been terrible, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to erase it from my mind. That messy clump of fur, with its twisted, bloody limbs…and the worst part of all—that smell. I shuddered.

  “Did you see anyone hanging around your bag or messing with your stuff?” I scratched my head. I just couldn’t figure out how someone could carry around a dead cat all day and then stick it in Brittani’s gym bag without anyone seeing it. Brittani shook her head no.

  “Anybody could have done it while I was outside. I left the bag right out in the open on the locker room floor.”

  Entering the gym, we were a few minutes late because of the whole ordeal, but Principal Barlow had already informed Coach Davis about the incident. Amanda, Genevieve, Monika, and Tally were sitting on the hard, wooden gym floor in front of Coach Davis. Sydney and Ashleigh were there too; since they’re the alternates, they had to attend some practices in order to familiarize themselves with the cheers, in case they had to fill in.

  “Come in, girls. Come sit down with us. I want to make an announcement.” Coach Davis motioned for us to come over. Brittani and I took a seat on the floor with the others. “Although learning our routines for next Tuesday’s game is very important, my number one concern is your safety.” She looked down at each and every one of us, her arms tightly crossed over her chest.

  “This morning someone broke into Dakota’s locker. They tore up her uniform and pompoms. Brittani found a dead kitten in her gym bag. The police are down in Principal Barlow’s office right now. Apparently, upon closer inspection, they have determined that someone killed the cat with a knife. It was perhaps the same knife used to tear up Dakota’s cheerleading items. They also believe that the red substance on your pompoms is blood that came from the cat,” she said grimly, looking at me with a pained expression.

  My stomach flip flopped, and for a moment, I thought I might get sick right there on the gym floor. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the image to leave my mind.

  “The thought of someone from this school doing these things…it’s very unsettling, to say the least. It’s probably just a jealous prank, but I want all of you to be extra careful. Travel in pairs, and no walking home from school alone,” she added, looking at me specifically. We all nodded in agreement.

  “Coach Davis?” Monika called out abruptly from where she was sitting on the floor. Monika and Tally were looking back and forth at each other nervously. “Someone slashed mine and Tally’s car tires today. We saw that both of us had a flat tire when we went out to our cars to get our gym bags before practice. Do you think it’s the same person?” Her voice trembled slightly.

  Coach Davis nodded. “I do. And I’m going to let Principal Barlow know immediately so the police can take a look at your vehicles,” she said sternly, picking up her two-way radio. She turned her back to us and walked several paces away before barking into the radio at Principal Barlow.

  We all looked back and forth at each other anxiously as we listened to her relay the news of Monika and Tally’s incident. A knife…used to slash tires, rip my cheer gear, and…kill a cat, I thought gravely.

  When she was done, Coach Davis clapped her hands together. “Let’s start practicing!”

  We jumped to our feet. I wasn’t sure how capable we’d be when it came to learning cheers. I was totally freaked out and more certain than ever that someone was trying to harm the new Harrow High squad members.

  Chapter

  Forty-Two

  My mom was waiting for me when I came out of practice. Seeing her was like a breath of fresh air after an emotionally stifling day.

  “Is Ronnie coming to pick you up?” I asked Amanda, who was looking up and down the parking lot for his Trans Am.

  “He said he might be running late,” she replied warily.

  “Why don’t you just text him and tell him my mom will bring you home? I don’t want you to wait here alone. Remember what Coach Davis told us about traveling in pairs…” My voice was edged with concern.

  Our relationship had been rocky lately, but I was concerned for Amanda’s well-being and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Okay,” she finally agreed, texting on her cell phone to Ronnie as she climbed into my mom’s backseat. My little brother was in the back today too, so I climbed up front with my mom.

  “Where’s your uniform?” I knew she could already sense my distress. I told her what happened. I also told her about Monika and Tally’s slashed tires, and the
disgusting discovery in Brittani’s bag.

  “It sounds like you might be dealing with a sociopath.” Her lips tightened, the way they always did when she was worried.

  “What’s a sociopath?” Amanda asked fearfully, leaning forward from her seat in the back.

  “Someone who lacks the ability to feel remorse. They are manipulative and enjoy hurting others. They also often enjoy torturing animals.”

  Amanda and I looked at each other, worried. My mom was one of the most intelligent women I knew, but I hoped like hell she was wrong. If she was right, then we could be in serious danger.

  Chapter

  Forty-Three

  The next day was Wednesday, and I expected the sociopath to strike again. But the day went on without a hitch. I worked on my history project with Andy in class, but I was careful to stay on topic. He tried to joke around and be playful, but I did my best not to react to his charm.

  I passed my oral Spanish test and avoided Sydney like the plague in Phys Ed. I think she was avoiding me too. At the sound of the final bell, I felt relief. An entire day with no incidents.

  I headed to the gym for practice, astonished to see approximately ten boys running up and down the court playing a game of scrimmage. A few of them were freshman boys that I recognized. Ronnie and Andy were guarding each other. My stomach fluttered awkwardly at the sight of them both.

  “I didn’t know the boys were practicing in here today.” Coach Davis clucked her tongue, obviously irritated. Tally was standing beside me too, and we exchanged knowing looks. There was a rumor going around that Coach Davis used to date the basketball coach, Coach Purnell, in high school. I wasn’t sure if there was any truth to the rumor, but based on the way she was glaring across the court at him, I thought it might be possible.