Jacob
himself so that he could get Stuart there—the bus had seemed like a bad idea with his full cast—and so that he could run straight
to the soccer game afterward. Stuart’s parents were coming later to drive him home.
“You’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” Stuart told him.
“Ya think?”
Rosie had unwittingly transported them to another planet.
It was a brisk, blue-sky day, and the beautiful, hilly campus of Fairmont Community College had been overrun by loud, mega-enthusiastic aliens in bright clothing.
Dozens of squads of cheerleaders crowded the grounds outside the gymnasium, hair sprayed into updos, faces glittery, ridiculously long eyelashes aplenty.
Some squads were practicing their routines on grassy areas around the parking lot.
Others walked in clumps chanting their team names.
Jacob felt a frizzle of excitement race down his spine. The energy in the air was infectious. He’d never felt anything like
it. Certainly not at a soccer game.
“There’s the Woodmont bus.” Stuart pointed at a yellow school bus with the Woodmont Lumberjacks banner attached to the side.
It was just pulling into the lot and up to the front of the school. Rory and the rest of the team shook poms out the window
as they chanted, “Go, Lumberjacks, go!” Jacob and Stuart hustled across the blacktop to meet them at the curb.
Rory was the first one off the bus. “Hey!” she said, her face lighting up when she saw him. “Rosie got you here safe and sound?”
“Like she’d ever let me down,” Jacob said, grinning.
Rory blushed and smiled back. She looked incredible with her shimmering eye makeup and the tiny gold stars pasted at the corners
of her eyes. God, he wanted to kiss her. Like more than he’d ever wanted to do anything ever.
“All right, all right. This is so cute I might barf,” Layla said, yanking Rory away by the arm.
“Let’s go, Lumberjacks!” Carlos shouted, jogging after them.
Spell broken, Jacob whooped and cheered with the rest of the team as Rory and Layla led the way into the school.
Jacob waited for everyone else to go ahead, then followed, keeping pace with Stuart, who was still learning to maneuver in crowds.
Rory’s high ponytail was like a flag held aloft by a tour guide, and Jacob kept his eyes trained on her.
“This is way more intense than a soccer tournament,” he said.
“Cheerleaders don’t come to play,” Stuart agreed.
Inside was even crazier and louder. Cheerleaders of all ages—from the kindergarten tykes wearing massive bows bigger than
their heads to the other varsity squads the Lumberjacks would be going up against—packed the halls. Rory huddled into a little
alcove that led to a pair of bathrooms, and everyone gathered around.
“There’s a field out behind the gym where we can stretch out and practice,” she told them. “Layla knows where it is. She’s
going to take you guys while Coach and I get us signed in. I’ll meet you back there.”
“Everyone follow me!” Layla shouted.
Jacob was just about to join the team when somehow, over the din, he heard someone calling his name. He looked around and
saw his mom and dad cutting through the crowd toward him with Chad and Lindsay in tow. The two kids were all decked out in
Woodmont colors. And then, shocker of all shockers, he saw Ford very slowly, very casually, bringing up the rear. Half the
girls and some of the guys in the hallway stopped to stare at him as he walked by.
“Hey! You made it!” Jacob said as his mom reached up to hug him.
“We wouldn’t miss it, son,” his dad said, clapping him on the shoulder. “We get to see both you and Willow compete on the same stage? Who would’ve thought?”
“How did you get Ford to come?” he asked under his breath.
“It involved a very expensive bribe,” Ford replied loudly.
“Mom, hey!” Rory said suddenly.
Jacob saw Owen weaving through the crowd along with a woman he recognized from the family photos at Rory’s house as her mother.
She was as tiny as Rory with a mop of curly hair, and she’d painted little WH symbols on each of her cheeks in red and gold. Her glittery red T-shirt read “CHEER MOM!” in huge block letters. Rory hugged
her, and Jacob slapped hands with Owen.
“Mom, Dad, this is Rory,” Jacob said. “She’s the team captain.”
“And the girl he can’t stop talking about,” Chad said, rolling his eyes.
“So nice to meet you, Rory!” Jacob’s mom grinned as a pair of preteens jostled into her side, making her step on her own foot.
“And Mom, this is Jacob,” Rory said.
“You’re so tall!” Rory’s mom said, and reached up to hug him.
“And this is Stuart,” Jacob continued.
“I’m the idiot reason he’s here,” Stuart mentioned, waving a hand.
Jacob’s parents laughed, and Rory’s mom reached over to squeeze his shoulder. “We’ll get you in fighting shape again in no time. You know I need you on stage crew for the spring show. You’re my best sound guy.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Graham,” Stuart said. “I’ll be there.”
“So, Jacob, what do you think of your first cheerleading competition?” Rory’s mom asked with an expression that told him he
looked exactly as overwhelmed as he felt. Down the hallway a chant of “We got spirit, yes, we do, we got spirit, how ’bout
you?” broke out.
“It’s amazing. And intimidating,” he said.
“And we need to go register before we miss the deadline and don’t even get to compete,” Rory said, grabbing his hand.
Jacob’s mom and Rory’s mom exchanged an intrigued and excited look. He could just imagine what they’d say to each other once
Rory had dragged him off.
They’re so cute together!
Do you think they’ll go to prom?
And all he could think as Rory laughed and wove through the chaos, clinging to his hand, was that—win or lose—there was no
way he was going to finish the day out without finally kissing that girl. That was a bet with himself he could keep.