The thing I mentioned earlier, about cheerleaders not being synonymous with popular? This is true, like, ninety percent of the time. But then there are times they are actually the most popular girls in school, at least for a day, because those days are Game Days.
On Game Days, the cheerleaders get to wear their uniforms to school. And boy, are they teeny tiny. The uniforms. Not the cheerleaders. Well, some of them are, but some of them are on the heavy side. Not judging, just pointing out the fact. I mean, when you think about it, it makes logical sense. Someone has to be strong enough to throw the tiny ones in the air.
I make my way through the sea of cheerleaders gathered around the watering hole—the lockers of five team members, including Lowell and Derek—carrying all kinds of desserts. It’s Game Day tradition for the players to leave their lockers open in the mornings so they can be showered with the gifts they so richly deserve. Namely, goodies. Every cheerleader has something delicious and homemade to present the team members with, cookies and cupcakes and whatnot. One girl even has a custom balloon in the school colors—blue and red—that says GO RED HAWKS! that she’s tying to someone’s combination lock.
If I play my cards right today, there’ll be no more balloons or cookies or fawning cheerleaders for Lowell or Derek.
The question, of course, becomes how to bust these two. There are a few avenues I could take; I could go directly to the principal. I could call the cops myself. I could break into their lockers with a nail file and take photo evidence of the weed they’re most likely holding in there and spread it around, but that tactic is too old-school, and not in a good way. I want to do this in a way that leaves my hands as clean as possible. Lowell and Derek will get the message without me linking myself to it directly. So I’ve come up with an idea.
Ms. Kinsey.
The one teacher in this school who, inexplicably, likes having me as her student. The one teacher I trust. The one most likely to agree to my plan.