Game On by Melanie Spring

Author:Melanie Spring [SPRING, MELANIE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction / Girls & Women, Juvenile Fiction / Social Issues / Adolescence, Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation / General
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2013-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Later that night, the dusky Southern California sky settled in over the Northside football stadium. The air was warm and there was a buzz of excitement in the stands. It was an absolutely perfect night for football. Neither the El Dorado High Mavericks nor the Northside Timberwolves had scored so far, but the JV cheerleaders were keeping the fans excited. With the homecoming game against Elliot High fast approaching, the pressure was on the football team to win at least one game. Chloe was beginning to take it personally that the squad’s cheers hadn’t had any effect on the boys whatsoever.

When a time-out was called in the second quarter, Devin yelled to the team. “We need to project louder, girls!” Kalyn nodded in agreement as Devin continued. “We want the guys out there to hear us, too. Not just the people in the stands.” She clapped her hands together loudly. “Come on, Wolves!”

Chloe chimed in. “The point is for us to lead the fans in cheers so that then the team can hear all of us.” She knew what she was saying sounded really obvious, but she couldn’t stop herself from disagreeing with Devin.

“But everyone should hear us, right?” Devin replied. Several of the girls stopped listening.

“Ugh, I can’t take this bickering anymore,” said Carley, shaking her head in defeat.

Lately, it seemed like every time Devin gave a tip or a pointer to the team, Chloe had some sort of opposing comment. And vice versa. Most of the time, they weren’t even constructive. The halftime routine for homecoming was the perfect example: they’d already switched the stunt sequences four times because Chloe and Devin couldn’t agree on what looked better.

Coach Steele had taken a hands-off approach to the disagreements, saying that the spirit of teamwork was learning to compromise and come together. She would let them argue their points until they reached a conclusion. But Kate could tell that even Coach’s patience with Chloe and Devin’s bickering was starting to wear thin, and she was too proud to admit her mistake in casting two girls in one lead role.

“Well, personally, I agree with Chloe on this one,” Leila butted in. Chloe’s face registered shock. Wasn’t this the girl who had just come up to her at practice a few days ago and said that her choreography was “stale”? The last time Leila had been on Chloe’s side, they’d been about eleven years old. Maybe Leila was feeling nostalgic.

“Shouldn’t we all be focusing on cheering for our team right now instead of taking sides in petty arguments?” Devin sighed, turning to Leila.

“Weren’t you two the ones who started this?” Leila said back, pointing to Chloe and Devin. “Some captains you guys are.”

“Ladies!” Coach Steele shouted from the bench. “That’s enough of that. Get moving!” She gestured to the stands. Several of the parents had started watching them argue. Chloe’s face burned with humiliation.

“Let’s do ‘Truckin’!” Emily suggested to the group, naming a super-easy cheer that always got the crowd fired up.

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