Five #2
“Cheerleader tryouts?” Trudy said to no one in particular.
She didn’t hate sports; she didn’t even dislike them.
Trudy had been, after all, the 1975–76 head cheerleader herself.
But after seeing how football had ruined Jimmie, she simply had a different take on it now.
She’d managed to avoid football games since Jimmie died and was already dreading them this season, knowing she’d have to go with Haskel to campaign.
“Well, congratulations!” Coach Meechum raised his coffee. “To our new cheerleader sponsor!” He looked at Trudy with that ridiculous grin. “You’re going to do great!” he said. “And I should know; I’m the football coach.”
Not to be left out of the celebration, Miss Hyde said, “Listen, Trudy, if you’ve got to be the cheerleader sponsor, this is the year! Shug’s promising another appearance in the state championship, right, Coach?” She patted his shoulder.
Trudy felt a little seed of irritation in her chest sprouting into something more like despair, but she pushed it down and took a breath.
New teachers were always given roles nobody wanted; she knew that.
But she figured she’d get something like Science Club sponsor.
4H sponsor. Freshman class sponsor. Any one of those would have been tolerable.
But cheerleader sponsor? She could hear them all now, “ Trudy Abernathy? The head cheerleader who got kicked off the squad is now the sponsor ? ”
“ I know it’s a bit of a surprise, Trudy,” Miss Duffy said.
“But despite the obvious drawback of having to wait for reruns of Dallas and Falcon Crest , I figured this would be just your kind of fixin’.
Why, you had more school spirit than anybody when you went here.
In fact, I remember that routine y’all did to ‘Smoke on the Water’ back in 1975—nearly had me in tears. What happened to you?”
The fiery shame of it still burned, the embarrassment of having to relinquish her own cheerleader sweater—the one with a bear made of felt, its front paws balled into fists, standing upright in front of the big felt letters, BS —her name and class, Trudy 76, embroidered in script underneath the bruin’s hind paws.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Principal Hendon had said.
“I know it’s all women’s lib and civil rights these days, but pregnant girls can’t be cheerleaders, and certainly not the head cheerleader.
” He rolled his office chair away from his desk and turned to look out the window with his back toward her, perhaps so he didn’t have to see the tears rolling down her face.
When he turned back to face her, a drop of sweat escaped his sideburn and fled down the side of his fat cheek, all splotchy and red.
“Thankfully, I don’t have to kick you out of school and you can finish your senior year from home,” he said.
“The school board is being very generous.”
She’d made it through high school having never sat in Mr. Hendon’s office.
She’d never even seen inside before; she’d only smelled his cigars from the hallway as she passed by between classes.
She cried watching that helpless fighting bruin made of felt surrender behind a sleeve when Mr. Hendon tossed her sweater on his desk, next to his ashtray.
“Trudy?” Gloria Duffy touched her shoulder. “You okay?”
Trudy blinked her memory away. “Oh! Yes, ma’am ... I’m just surprised Miss Hyde is so interested in football. I don’t remember much school spirit from you when I was a student, Miss Hyde.”
“That was before Coach Meechum came!” Miss Hyde beamed as she patted his shoulder again, but this time she allowed her hand to stay.
Now, she, Coach Meechum, and Miss Duffy all three sat across from Trudy like a parole committee.
“I’ve never seen so much school spirit in thirty-two years of teaching. ”
“Miss Hyde makes sure my players pass Algebra.” Meechum nudged Miss Hyde, who nodded.
Trudy couldn’t tell whether this was a joke or a scandal. Miss Spencer seemed to wonder the same, giving a sidelong glance.
“Then you should be the cheerleader sponsor, Miss Hyde,” Trudy said. “Sounds right up your alley.”
Miss Hyde gave one of her manly laughs which, thankfully, won its battle with phlegm to be the first to escape her throat. She stood and leaned over the table.
“My dear.” Miss Hyde’s clothes smelled like mothballs and her breath smelled of cigarettes and Sanka. “I don’t sponsor anything. And when you’ve been here as long as I have, you won’t have to, either.”
“Look on the bright side, rookie,” Coach Meechum added. “Tradition has it that the cheerleader sponsor and the football coach share a Coke after the first football game.”
“A Coke, is it?” Trudy asked.
He nodded.
“Great!” She smiled. “Then how about I meet you for our Coke at the swimming pool in the basement?”
Miss Spencer let out a bark of laughter, then closed her book and placed it in her bag. Trudy was proud of having garnered amusement from her favorite teacher. “Trudy, stop by Room 114 if you need anything,” she said, gathering her things and heading for the door. “Have a great day, y’all.”
Trudy followed Miss Spencer’s lead and picked up her things too. She was the rookie , to use Coach Meechum’s pestiferous word, and this was simply how it was going to be.