the front to peek at the crowd. I’d been checking every few minutes for the last hour, hoping against hope to find someone sitting out there.
I didn’t have a problem finding Mom and Lexi. They sat about halfway up the stands. Dad was there, too, a few rows to the right with his new wife. He’d asked me last night if he could bring Marie. I still had some trouble even hearing her name, but I supposed that I should start making an effort if we were going move forward.
Mom had been better about it, too. Since our coffee date, she’d agreed to go to a counselor. She was making real progress on wading through her emotions since the divorce. We were starting to settle into our new norm as a two-part family. As hard as it was, I could finally see some healing.
But the one person who I really wanted to see was nowhere in sight. Collin hadn’t come. I tried not to let the overwhelming wave of sadness affect me too much. Even without him here, I still had to do this for myself. I wasn’t going to be afraid anymore. This was my life. My time. And I was going to follow my dreams.
“Now, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to put your hands together for the Rock Valley High cheerleading squad,” Principle Styles announced to the sound of raucous applause.
I squeaked and hurried back to my mark. Through the curtains, I could see my fellow squad members in their pleated skirts and white tennis shoes, their pompoms rustling. Music began to play throughout the field, a loud pop tune with a bass that shook the ground.
“All right, ladies, don’t let me down,” Savannah was yelling over the music. “Let’s do this!”
Two glitter cannons went off as the cheerleaders pranced onto the stage. Although I couldn’t see them from my hiding spot, I knew they were going through the dance Savannah had choreographed. I could see every step in my head, envision the grand toss at the beginning. All of the cheerleaders were on stage. This was it.
Slipping out from my hiding spot, I smiled when I saw my old mascot costume waiting for me. Mandy had taken off the head and was panting, sweat dripping down her face.
“I don’t know how you do this,” she said, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face. “I will never make fun of you again for surviving this death trap.”
“Thanks.” I grinned and hugged her. “And thank you for doing this for me.”
She looked me up and down, her smile widening. “This was so worth it. You look amazing, Audrey. Seriously. I can’t wait to see the look on Savannah’s face when she sees you.”
“Then better get around the stage, because my entrance comes soon.”
I listened hard to the music, making sure I still had a few moments. My big reveal would come at the end, along with another round of glitter cannons and fireworks. I had no doubt that Savannah had planned it that way so that I could fully cement my humiliation in front of the entire town of Rock Valley. Little did she know, that wasn’t in the plans for today. We were almost there.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” Savannah’s voice rang out over the stadium, causing my heart rate to speed up. This was my moment. No chickening out. “Get on your feet for Rascal the Bandit!”
I ran up the steps to the backstage just as the cannons and fireworks went off. The music was almost deafening up here, but I held my own and waded through the smoke machines. As I walked through the middle of the squad, the eyes of my teammates began to pop. They gasped and waved their pompoms in approval, causing the nerves to bounce in my stomach.
Savannah was the last one to see me. I strutted to the front of the group in the raccoon costume Trina had altered for me: a black bodysuit with a furry tail, black and white striped tights, and high heeled boots. The top of the outfit had a fur-lined hood with cute little ears on the top. Trina had given me a black nose and a matching black mask to wear around my eyes. She’d spread sparkles nearly everywhere else and added sequins to the costume to really make it pop. It was night and day compared to the old mascot.
Strangely enough, dressed in my new raccoon outfit, I’d never felt so alive. The crowd ate it up as fireworks continued to shoot off on either side of the stage, spraying sparks onto the ground. Everyone loved it. At least, most everyone...
Steadying myself, I turned and prepared to face Savannah’s wrath. She was staring at me with her eyes wide and her red painted mouth hanging wide open. I don’t think I’d ever seen her speechless before in our seventeen years. Her state of shock didn’t last long. Snapping her jaw shut, she brought the microphone back to her mouth and turned to the crowd with a smile.
“Looks like someone got a makeover. I’d like to introduce our new Rascal the Bandit!”
I moved closer to her, fully expecting to get a few scorching glances. Instead, Savannah dropped the microphone and spoke out of the corner of her mouth, “Nice play, Cousin.”
“Like it?” I looked down at my striped tail and grinned. “I thought we needed a little upgrade.”
“It’s pretty cool,” she admitted, nodding her head. “I approve.”
I breathed out in disbelief, wondering if the world had just been turned on its head. Never in a million years had I expected to hear that from Savannah. Not even today.
“By the way, those pearls look good on you,” I said, glancing down at the familiar shiny strand around her neck. The strand I’d slipped into her locker early this morning.
It hadn’t taken me long to realize that Savannah needed them more than I did. And that Grandma Ivy had meant for them to be hers all along. I’d kept them for several years and now, they had a new home.
“Thanks.” She clasped the strand in her hand and smiled softly at me.
For a moment, it was like we were back in Grandma Ivy’s kitchen: music blaring, dancing, and the smell of fried food in the air. I returned her smile, feeling as if a hundred pounds had been lifted off my shoulder. It had been years since I’d seen Savannah truly look happy, like she did today. And seeing her smile at me like that was worth it.
“Hey, Audrey?” Savannah said, turning to look at me.
I raised my eyebrows and waited for her gushing thanks. “Yeah?”