"Martin, Ann M - BSC070 - Stacey And The Cheerleaders" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

I wondered what Corinne was thinking. What would I have thought if I were Corinne? Claud was rummaging around for snacks, wearing an outfit that suddenly seemed a little weird (a sequined vest over a man's white shirt
and bell-bottomed spandex pants). Kristy was gesturing around the court with a potato-chip bag as she lectured Mary Anne about the rules of basketball. Mary Anne looked pale and washed-out (and bored) in the bright lights. And Jessi Ч well, Jessi was acting like an eleven-year-old.
"This is so cool," she squealed. "I hope it goes into overtime so I can stay up really late."
Now, there's nothing wrong with saying something like that. I'd have felt the same way at that age.
But somehow it bothered me Ч just the way our pigging out did, and Claudia's outfit, and Kristy's lecturing.
1 shrugged it off. After all, your friends are your friends. Why should I be ashamed of them? That would be true snobbishness, and I was not going to behave that way!
Before long the players left the court. The cheerleaders sat on a bench, and the gym quieted down. Then a voice over the loudspeaker boomed out: "Welcome to Stoneybrook Middle School, ladies and gentlemen! Tonight the SMS Chargers will play the Sheridan Wildcats!"
Well, I thought I would lose my hearing. The gym exploded with cheers.
It turned out to be the first explosion of many. What an exciting game! Sheridan was a good team, better than we'd expected.
Whenever they were ahead of SMS, I felt my stomach knot up. Then the cheerleaders would go wild. The rest of us would join in their cheers, at the top of our lungs. Even Mary Anne was screaming.
By half time I was hoarse. My shin ached, too. I had banged it during a huge group hug with my friends, when RJ got a basket right at the buzzer.
The second half? Oh my lord, talk about tense. Neither team could keep the lead. Sheridan pulled ahead, then Stoneybrook. My fingernails were ragged. My stomach was a mess. I thought Kristy was going to have a heart attack. Mary Anne almost cried a couple of times.
I was having "deep identification." That's what my English teacher would have called it. She's always asking if we identify with any characters in the books we're reading. I feel so frustrated when I don't. Well, during this game I was identifying like crazy. When Marty fell and hurt his ankle, I grimaced. When Robert made a basket from far away, I felt ecstatic. And the cheerleaders? I think I'd memorized every move. I could swear my legs hurt from their splits.
Toward the end of the game, the players began losing their tempers. RJ collided with a
Sheridan player and started a fight. Robert had to pull RJ away and calm him down. The SMS coach, Mr. Halvorsen, got into a shouting match with the referee. With three seconds to go, the game was tied.
What happened next? A Sheridan player threw the ball, Wayne McConville grabbed it and passed it to Malik. Malik threw it and . . . SWISH!
"Game is over! Stonei/broofc is the winner by ONE POINT/" Whoever was on the loudspeaker was practically shrieking.
You would have thought it was the end of the championships. The stands emptied. We poured out onto the court. It was pandemonium. Absolute, total, utter chaos. Even teachers and parents were hugging each other and screaming. I could see Mr. Blake clapping Malik on the back. RJ and Robert had lifted Wayne McConville onto their shoulders. Marty ran to Sheila and swept her off her feet (literally). The rest of the cheerleaders had given up doing organized cheers. They were just jumping up and down, flinging their pompoms around. Jason Fox was performing a little victory dance under the basket.
I ran up to Darcy, who was the nearest cheerleader. "Congratulations!" I called out.
She didn't hear me over the noise.
That was when Robert passed by. He and Wayne were talking and laughing. "Robert!" I yelled.
"Oh, hi!" (Wow, was that smile a killer.) "Good game, huh?"
"You were great!" I replied.
"Thanks."
I did it. I hugged him. I didn't plan it, it just happened. It didn't mean anything, really. Everybody was hugging. Besides, he was so sweaty it was kind of gross.
But only kind of.
As he disappeared into the crowd, I looked around for Corinne. She was nowhere to be seen. Whew.
I tried to elbow my way closer to the cheerleaders, but it was hopeless. An enormous crowd had formed around them and the players.
I hung out on the edge of the throng, babbling away with anyone I knew. After awhile, people began to leave. I found myself inching closer to Robert, who was now wiping his face with a towel and talking to the coach.
Phweeeeeet!
A piercing whistle rang out from the stands. The noise level dropped. Faces turned toward the sound.
It was Kristy, standing about halfway up the bleachers, looking directly at me. "Stacey, are
you coming to the sleepover or not?" she yelled. "Charlie's outside with the van!"
Gulp.
I could hear snickering. Someone said, "A sleepover? Oh, goody!" in a childish voice.
I was cringing. I was melting.
Thank you, Kristy Thomas.
But what could I do?xl did want to go to the sleepover. I nodded nonchalantly to Kristy and began heading for the door.
On my way out, I did not dare look in the direction of the cheerleaders. Or Robert.
I brooded all the way to Kristy's. But I got over it. Especially when I saw Watson in the kitchen wearing a tall chef's hat and a spotless apron. He was carrying a rolling pin in one hand, a kitchen knife in the other, and a huge grin was on his face.
On the table was the hugest spread of food you ever saw Ч sliced cold cuts, loaves of bread, veggies and dip, and fresh fruit.
Our mouths dropped open. We were ravenous. It took all I could do to keep from . . . well, dribbling.
"That's beautiful!" Claudia exclaimed.
"You made this?" Kristy looked absolutely shocked.
Watson raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it was a tough job, but somebody had to do it."
Kristy's mother breezed in. "Hey, kids, how was the Ч " She took a look at Watson, then us, and burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Kristy asked. "Look at all the work Watson did Ч "
"Yeah," Mrs. Brewer said between giggles. "He really strained his fingers calling the deli on the phone and placing the order!"
Watson grinned and shrugged.
"Ooooh . . ." With a sly smile, Kristy picked up a strawberry and reared back as if to throw it.