The Cheer Leader by Jill McCorkle

Author:Jill McCorkle
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 1984-01-20T22:00:00+00:00

III

His voice gets louder and louder; it disrupts her reading. She watches Becky putting on makeup. Becky is pretty and Becky is smart; Becky has lots of fun and remains cool and calm. Something is wrong with Becky. She is too nice, too curious.

“Jo? What’s wrong?” Becky faces her and Becky reminds her of someone. Who?

“Nothing’s wrong,” she says and smiles perfectly.

“Why have you got your ears covered up?” Becky laughs and starts putting on mascara. “Does the radio bother you?”

“No, no reason.” Becky doesn’t hear it. She is the only one that can hear him and he is doing it on purpose. This is what they did to Beatrice. This is how it all happened and it’s going to happen again. Get out! Get out!

“Jo? Where are you going?” Becky stops, the mascara tube poised gracefully in her hand. Jo Spencer has never worn mascara. Why should she?

“Out,” she says.

“Well, good!” Becky squeals. “I’ll be ready in just a sec. There’s this really neat bar where everybody goes!”

“No, I’m going for a walk,” she says because she can’t go where “everybody” goes. People would see. She must get outside where she can breathe and the air is so cold that it shoots up her nose straight to her brain. She has to walk very very fast; run by dark bushes; run, run fast as you can. Climb a tree, it’s safe in trees. Climb it like you climbed the oak tree in Mr. Monroe’s yard when his cat got stuck. Hear that cat getting louder and louder. “She’ll find her way back down,” Mrs. Monroe says. “She’s always getting herself in some place that she can’t get out of.” Yes, she’s always getting herself up on some place that she can’t get out of. “But she needs help, Mrs. Monroe. I’ll climb the tree.” And she does, slowly, carefully, put this foot here, grab that limb. Meow! Meow! Higher and higher she climbs and then it is safe; it is warm.

He’s not down there; he just called on the telephone from Moon Lake. But, he could be down there; he could’ve used a phone close by, made it sound long distance, could’ve lied about Beatrice. She must be very careful. She must recite aloud to silence any noise, any sound. “And all the while, for every grief, each suffering, I craved relief with individual desire; Craved all in vain! And felt fierce, fierce . . .” What are the words? Those words to finish it? Give the correct words and you may climb back down, take kitty home, be safe. “Felt fierce, fierce Fire! about a thousand people crawl; perished with each,—then mourned for all!” Yes, you may go now. Hurry, though because it’s spooky here. The big blue eyes just closed and you will be all alone in that room. “Hurry up, please, it’s time, Hurry up, please, it’s time.”

It was a blue Christmas just like Elvis says, like Elvis said. She had seen Elvis just the summer

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