Read Fabulous Five 002 - The Trouble with Flirting for Free Online

inspired.
    "Good afternoon, ladies," she said with a smile. "As
you know, I am Miss Volfe, and I vill be coaching the seventh-grade
cheerleading squad. At today's meeting I vill explain the categories you'll be
judged on, and also the Vakeman varsity cheerleaders vill demonstrate some of
the cheers and the gymnastic moves that you'll be required to do as members of
the squad. Before you leave, you'll each get a set of mimeographed sheets
containing the cheers so that you may study and practice them before tryouts on
Friday. Any questions?"
    Melanie was too awed to ask questions, and so, apparently,
were all of the others since no hands went up.
    "Then, good luck to each of you."
    For the next hour they watched as the experienced eighth-
and ninth-graders went through intricate routines full of finger snaps, foot
motions, claps, straddle jumps, cartwheels, walk overs, splits, and pyramids,
and all without missing a beat or garbling a word of the cheers.
    "Impossible," said Beth as they collected their
mimeographed sheets and filed out of the gym. "We've got to learn all that
plus concentrate on the judging points: pep, execution of routines,
personality, eye contact, personal appearance. What does she think we are,
anyway?"
    "Don't forget recovery from mistakes on the list of
judging points," said Melanie. "That's going to be the biggie as far
as I'm concerned. I can tell already."
    Grinning, Beth pulled herself up to her full height and said
in her best imitation of Miss Wolfe, "If you vant to be a cheerleader for
Vacko Junior High, you vill recover from your mistakes!"
    Both girls broke up laughing as they made their way down the
hall, and Melanie couldn't help thinking that although she had lots of hard
work ahead to make the squad, one thing was certain: with Beth around, it was
going to be fun.
    After supper she was in the living room going over the
cheers on her sheets and self-consciously practicing the motions in front of
Jeffy when the phone rang. "I get it! I get it!" Jeffy screamed as he
dove to answer it. Melanie glared at him, thinking what a pest he was, as he
put the receiver to his ear and announced proudly, "Edwards residence.
This is Jeffy." Slowly his smile drizzled away as he listened. "Okay,"
he said dejectedly, and thrust the phone toward her. "It's a boy."
    Melanie brightened. "Hello."
    "Hi, Melanie, this is Garrett."
    Of course it is, she thought as the sound of his husky voice
turned her knees to mush. Backing up to the wall and sliding slowly down to a
sitting position on the floor, she said, "So, how's the world's greatest
sports photographer?"
    "If you really want to know, not so great," he
said. "Only about half of the pictures I took at the soap game turned out.
Can you believe I was shooting at the wrong shutter speed? I don't know what I
was thinking about when I did that."
    ME! Melanie wanted to shout. You were so dazzled
when you saw me in the crowd that you couldn't think straight anymore. But
instead she said, "Gee. That's too bad."
    "That wasn't what I really called about, though,"
Garrett assured her. "I just wondered how the cheerleader meeting went."
    Melanie's jaw dropped almost to the floor. "How did you
know that I went to the cheerleader meeting?"
    "I saw you in the hall afterwards. Remember? I waved,
and you waved back."
    "Oh, yeah," Melanie said softly. When had she seen
Garrett? She racked her brain. Had she been clowning around with Beth and
missed seeing him? Had she been acting so goofy that he thought she was waving?
    "So, aren't you going to tell me about the meeting?"
    Melanie laughed nervously. "Sure. It was fun and
interesting and definitely scary. I think at least half of the girls in seventh
grade are trying out, and there are only eight spots on the squad."
    "You'll do great," said Garrett, sending her heart
soaring. "You probably know all the cheers already."
    "As a matter of fact, I was practicing when you called."
    "I'll let you go in a minute, then, so you can get