26. Cherise
Chapter twenty-six
Cherise
Click. Click. Click.
Savannah’s heels announced her before she even spoke.
Hot pink. At least two inches over dress code. A little silk ribbon tied at the back of her ankle. She’d been talking about them all morning.
“They make my legs look so long,” she said for the third time, sticking her foot out mid-step so Grace and I could admire them again.
They were nice.
I glanced down at my Payless sneakers. The kind you buy when you get one pair for the whole year, and they have to survive gym class, hallway traffic, and whatever mystery puddles lived in the cafeteria.
“They make you look like you’re about to fall down the stairs,” Grace said, opening her locker.
“They’re hot,” Savannah shot back. “You just don’t understand fashion.”
I scoffed. “It’s ok, Grace. It won’t be long before her ass gets dress-coded.”
“I dare them,” she said, flipping her blonde hair. “No one tells me what to do.”
That was Savannah.
Loud. Pretty. Confident in a way that made people move out of her way in the hallway.
Savannah leaned against her locker and twisted the dial. “Mrs. Holly had the nerve to give a pop quiz today.”
Grace groaned. “In English? Ugh! I have that class next. We read two pages. TWO. What was the quiz even about?”
“Metaphors,” I cut in, rolling my eyes. “Like I’m supposed to know what the curtains represent. Girl, they’re just curtains.” I laughed and swapped my history book for my math one. “I put sadness for every answer. It felt safe.”
Grace snorted. “That’s probably more thought than half the class put into it.”
Savannah turned and looked at me. “You’re lucky teachers love you. If I wrote sadness all over my quiz, they’d call my mom.”
“They’d call your mom because you talk back.” Grace laughed.
“I don’t talk back, I debate,” Savannah corrected.
I smiled, shaking my head.
That’s when I felt it.
That weird heat on my skin.
I glanced across the hallway.
Derrick.
Letterman jacket. Sleeves pushed up to reveal his forearms. Blue jeans. That easy, lazy smile. Leaning against a locker, pretending to listen to his friend while absolutely staring at me.
Grace followed my gaze and sighed. “He’s doing it again.”
“Doing what?” I asked, even though my face was already getting warm.
“Undressing you with his eyes in public,” Savannah said.
I snapped my locker shut a little too fast. “Y’all are dramatic. He is not undressing me with his eyes.”
Savannah leaned to peek around me. “Oh, he absolutely is. That man hasn’t blinked in five minutes.”
“Y’all are exaggerating.” I rolled my eyes, but a traitorous smile tugged at my lips.
Grace raised a brow. “You turned red the second you looked at him.”
“I did not.”
“You did,” Savannah sang. “Look at your ears.”
I quickly reached up to cover them, which only made them laugh harder.
“Stop it. You guys are making it weird.”
“What’s weird,” Savannah said, “is that he’s been broken up with Rachel for, like, two whole weeks and still hasn’t asked you out. That man is practically burning a hole through your soul with his eyeballs.”
“Wait… they broke up?” I asked, trying not to sound too excited. Savannah somehow always knew the juiciest gossip before it even finished happening.
“Girl, yes. Apparently, she was too boring for him. I think he was only with her because she had big boobs.”
I instinctively glanced down at my mosquito bites.
Cool. Love that for me.
Grace gasped. “This is your moment. You better scoop him up before some other girl does. Half the school is in love with him.”
I chanced another look over.
Derrick was still there.
Still watching.
When our eyes met, he smirked and gave me the tiniest nod.
I swear I almost peed my pants right there in the hallway.
I cleared my throat, and pretended my organs weren’t malfunctioning. I straightened my shoulders, tightened my grip on my textbook, and forced my face into something that radiated confidence.
“If Derrick wants me,” I said calmly, “he can come over here and tell me himself. I’m not chasing no man.”
Savannah and Grace exchanged a look at each other.
Then I turned and walked toward my next class as if I wasn’t fully aware that his eyes were still on my back the entire time.
***
School was over, and by the end of cheer practice, my legs were noodles and my ponytail had given up on life.
Coach blew her whistle. “Everyone in. Take a knee.”
The team circled up on the mat, sweaty, out of breath, smelling of body spray and musk.
Coach held up a white envelope.
My stomach dropped.
Oh.
Right.
Cheer captain.
“As you all know,” she started, “Savannah has done a wonderful job this year.”
Savannah’s smile grew instantly. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sat up a little straighter. She didn’t even try to hide it. She already knew. This was a formality, and she was a sure win. Besides, she had been the cheer captain for the last two years.
“But,” Coach continued, “we re-vote every year, and the votes are in.”
Savannah actually bounced on her knees, grinning at the girls around her probably already mentally accepting an award before it was handed to her.
Coach opened the envelope.
The whole gym went quiet.
“So, this year’s cheer captain is…”
A pause.
I stopped breathing.
“Cherise.”
My brain did not compute the word.
Savannah shot to her feet. “Oh my God, thank you guys so mu—”
She froze.
Because Coach wasn’t looking at her.
She was looking at me.
My mouth fell open. “Wait… what?”
The room exploded with cheers.
Girls screaming. Clapping. Someone tackled me into a hug. I almost fell backward from the force of it.
Coach smiled. “Cherise, you’ve been doing an incredible job. You’re reliable, encouraging, and the team clearly believes in you. I know you’re going to be an excellent captain this year.”
I could barely hear her over the ringing in my ears.
I’m cheer captain.
I’m cheer captain!
I looked over at Savannah.
Her arms were crossed so tight across her chest her knuckles were white. Her smile was still there… technically.
She walked over doing a slow clap.
“Congratulations,” she said, her voice sweet enough to rot teeth.
And for a split second…
I believed she meant it.
***
As usual, I wasn’t listening to a single word the teacher was saying.
My notebook was open. My pen was moving. Nothing was registering. Just stuck on autopilot, counting down the time until the bell rang.
Until school was over and it was my first practice as cheer captain.
I couldn’t wait.
I was also sweating bullets.
What kind of captain did I want to be?
The nice one? The strict one? The one everyone respected or the one everyone actually liked?
Savannah had always been loud, confident, the kind of captain people followed because they were a little scared not to.
I didn’t want to be that.
I wanted the girls to feel like they could talk to me. Like we were a team, not a dictatorship.
What if they didn’t take me seriously?
What if they regretted voting for me?
What if Coach regretted it?
What if Savannah secretly hated me?
My stomach twisted.
I doodled little stars in the margin of my notebook.
Okay. Breathe. You earned this. You can do this.
Mom always said if you walk into a room like you belong there, eventually you will.
Damn, I miss her.
Something hit my desk, breaking me from my thoughts.
I jumped.
A folded piece of notebook paper slid toward me.
I looked up.
Tony.
The guy who picked his nose when he thought no one was looking.
Absolutely not.
I mouthed, I’m not touching that.
He shook his head fast and pointed ahead of him.
Toward Derrick.
The note was from Derrick.
My stomach flipped.
I hesitated… then grabbed the note with two fingers as if it were contagious, and unfolded it carefully.
Hey, beautiful. Meet me outside after class. I want to talk to you.
Butterflies exploded in my stomach.
I folded the paper, shoved it into my notebook, and immediately drowned my hands in hand sanitizer.
The bell rang.
I walked out of class trying to look casual. Unbothered. Hard to get.
Guys liked that, right?
I beelined to my locker.
I didn’t even make it there before Derrick fell into step beside me. Damn his long ass legs. His strides outnumbered mine three to one.
“What’s up, Cherise.”
“Derrick.”
My voice came out calm.
Inside, I was screaming.
He leaned his shoulder against the locker beside mine, one sneaker propped against the metal, arms folded across his chest without a care in the world.
Not knowing my entire nervous system had just short-circuited.
“You been avoiding me?” he asked, a crooked grin tugging at his mouth.
I shrugged, pretending to adjust the books in my locker. “I go to class. I go home. Not much avoiding happening.”
“Could’ve fooled me. I feel like every time I look up, you’re walking the other way.”
I closed the locker slowly and turned to face him. “Maybe you just don’t look fast enough.”
His smile widened. “I like that. You got a little attitude.”
“A little?” I raised a brow.
He laughed, shaking his head. “You’re not what I expected.”
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know… quieter, I guess.”
“Oh. Sorry to disappoint.”
“You’re not,” he said quickly. “Trust me.”
My stomach did a full somersault.
We stood there for a second that felt way longer than it should’ve. People passing. Lockers slamming. Voices echoing down the hallway.
And he was still just… looking at me.
“So,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly looking almost nervous. “I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out after practice sometime. Get food or something.”
Food or something.
FOOD OR SOMETHING!
Play it cool. Play it cool. Play it cool.
“I’ll have to check my schedule,” I said, trying to sound casual and not like I had already mentally planned our wedding.
He grinned. “You do that. I’ll be waiting.”
And then—
Ping.
Ping.
Ping.
Phones.
All around us.
I noticed heads turning.
Whispers.
Laughter.
Not subtle.
People were definitely looking at me.
I frowned. “What is going on?”
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A video.
I opened it.
And my entire world stilled.
It was me. In the bathroom. Earlier that day. Stuffing tissue into my bra. Looking around to make sure no one was watching. Underneath the video:
This is who you want as cheer captain, and she can’t even be honest about her bra size.
The hallway did a full 360.
WHAT. THE. HELL!
Derrick’s phone pinged next, and he reached into his pocket for it. Held it out in front of him, and began to type in his password.
Panic shot through me so fast I didn’t have time to think. Who thinks in a time like this?!
I ripped his phone out of his hands and slammed it on the ground.
"What the hell, Cherise?!”
I ran.
Straight into the bathroom.
Locked myself in a stall.
And collapsed.
Sobs ripped out of me.
I reached into my bra, pulled out some tissue, and patted my cheek.
Okay, yes, I did it.
I had a moment of desperation.
Savannah said Derrick liked girls with big boobs, and I knew my foster mom would never buy me a push-up bra.
So, I… improvised.
But I was alone.
I checked.
No one was supposed to be in there.
Who would do this?
Why?
My hands were shaking as I opened the video again.
I forced myself to watch it.
All the way to the agonizing end.
Right before the video cut off, the camera shifted slightly.
I paused it.
Rewound.
Zoomed in.
And my heart stopped.
In the mirror’s reflection, I could see the feet of the person filming.
It was brief. Blurry. Easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it.
But I was, and there was no mistaking it.
Hot pink heels.
With a silk ribbon tied at the ankle.