Page 18 of The Cheerleader

I’m not really a fancy watch kind of girl anymore.

I grab my bag, an old fringed one that I almost didn’t bring to school. I’ll wear the watch because it’s my only one, but I don’t want to bring my Dooney & Bourke shoulder bag. The last thing I need is to give the wrong impression—that my family has money—because we don’t. Not anymore.

We were never wealthy, not like some of the girls with real money at Smith, but compared to Liz and her family, I always felt lucky and privileged. Now⁠—

“Sorry I’m dragging you with me and forcing you to go along with my captain’s responsibilities.”

“It’s a good chance for me to learn. I have a lot of catching up to do since I was never a cheerleader. I almost feel like a fraud.”

She argues as we walk, good-naturedly reminding me of all the things I’ve learned this week, ticking each of them off efficiently as if she’s reading from a mental report card.

When we get to the Student Union snack bar, we wait ten minutes for Judy and one of the other new girls, Tina, to show up. When they don’t, Liz decides the rest of us should eat without them.

As we’re ready to leave, I say to Liz, “I wonder if Judy and Tina are planning to meet us at Rapp’s?”

Following Liz’s lead, none of us talked about them or why they didn’t show up, which was oddish, but knowing Liz, she didn’t want anything negative said. She’s all about the team spirit.

“Maybe, but if not, I’ll call Judy when we get there to make sure nothing’s wrong.”

“Good idea.” I bite my lip to prevent myself from asking what if nothing’s wrong and Judy is at Rapp’s because she decided to snub us for dinner. I feel an undercurrent of some bad feelings from Judy, like she has something against Liz, but I have no idea what that might be.

Rapp’s is a ten-minute drive from campus, and I’m glad to see it’s exactly as I pictured—a basic deli with a large window front and a glass door. Inside, it goes deep and has more booths and tables—and is a lot more crowded—than I’d expected. And loud, with a jukebox playing.

As Liz leads us inside, the place erupts into cheers and whistles and a few guys calling her name. The not-so-small deli is almost filled to the brim with guys—big guys—and I think I recognize one face from the football field, but I’m not sure.

“Wow. It looks like the whole football team is here,” Carol whispers behind me.

“They all seem to know Liz,” I whisper as we follow her along the deli counter to find a table where a few guys are pulling over chairs and making space for us. I almost don’t notice Judy and Tina sitting in the back corner until Judy stands.

“They do,” Carol says. “I only hope Bryan isn’t here.”

“Why?” I pay closer attention now.

“You don’t know?” She makes a pained face like she might not tell me.

“Tell me.”

“After Susie and Bryan had their fling, Judy decided she wanted a piece of the action⁠—”

“A piece of the action? You mean Judy wanted to sleep with Bryan?”

Carol nods. “At least, but I think she wanted a lot more. Not that she stood a chance. Bryan wanted no part of her, and Judy’s been jealous of Liz ever since then. But don’t say anything to Lia because she doesn’t know.”

Shit.

I nudge Liz, but she’s busy pulling chairs to the table, though it looks like it’s already filled with guys.

“Is Bryan here?” she asks the one guy I think I recognize.

“Nah. You know him.”

I take a breath of relief based on what Carol told me.

The guys at the table buy a pitcher of beer for us, and the place gets rowdy as drinks get poured and too many names are exchanged for me to catch, especially over the noise level.

Not that I like beer, but I’m thirsty enough to have a few sips while Liz drains her glass and has another. With the jukebox blaring Elton John singing “Saturday, Saturday” and conversations more like shouting matches, I slip from my seat and go to the deli counter to see if they have anything to drink besides beer. I’ll take a glass of ice water at this point.

As I stand there waiting for my water, Liz comes over, her glass tilted to her lips, draining the beer.