Cheerleading Can Be Murder (Horror High #1) (17 page)

Chapter

Sixty-Eight

By the time we got the locker open, Sydney’s face was blue from oxygen deprivation. Now I understood why Ashleigh had said that Sydney was “stuck” and couldn’t attend the game. She was stuffed inside the locker so tightly that we had to wait for paramedics to come wedge her out.

Sydney had been hit over the head with Ashleigh’s metal crowbar, and her wound required nearly two dozen stitches. The most damage done was to her mental state. She was in complete shock when they pulled her out, with her eyes wide open from being frozen with fear. At first, I thought she was dead.

After Ashleigh knocked Sydney out with the crowbar, she apparently stripped off her uniform and stuffed her in the locker half-naked. She was wearing only her bra and underwear when we found her. I couldn’t even imagine the terror she must have felt, waking up in that tight, dark locker. I don’t even want to think about it.

Sydney was in the hospital for several days. When I went to see her she was very appreciative for the role I played in saving her. She actually called me her hero. I was just appreciative of the fact that she actually forgave me for being such a jerk of a friend.

As it turned out, the reason she had all of those fliers in her locker was because she’d been going around, taking them down that day, just like Amanda and I had been. She said that she wanted to help take the fliers down because she felt guilty for sitting in the car on the night that Genevieve, Tasha, and Mariella egged Amanda’s house. She admitted that Tasha wrote the note to Amanda’s Grandma Mimi and signed my name. “I think we are all even now, don’t you?” I joked, holding my best friend’s hand tightly in mine.

I also sustained an injury that night, but it was fairly minor. Without even realizing it, or feeling the pain, I’d sliced my arm on the jagged edges of the glass in Principal Barlow’s door. I had to get several stitches and wear it wrapped in gauze for a week, which made cheerleading slightly difficult. But all in all, I felt very fortunate that was the only harm that came to me.

Ashleigh was arrested right there in the hallway of Harrow High. Lucky for her, Detective Simms had terrific aim, and he aimed for her big toe when he shot her. He stopped her from hitting me with the crowbar, but he avoided a deadly shot.

When they placed the cuffs around her wrists, Ashleigh was still wearing Genevieve’s cheerleading uniform. Strangely, she yelled, “Go, Dragons!”, as she was hauled out to the patrol car. She was charged with two counts of attempted murder, along with a laundry list of minor charges.

She confessed to tearing up my uniform and admitted to memorizing my combination that day when we were standing at my locker, and she was giving me that speech about how happy she was even though she didn’t make the squad. Go figure. Looking back at it now, I felt like I should have known. I’d never seen someone act so happy to
not
make the cheerleading team, and it all made sense to me now.

Ashleigh also fessed up to stuffing a cat that she murdered herself in Brittani’s gym bag while Brittani was outside playing tennis during Phys Ed. Ashleigh further admitted to slipping Ricin powder into Genevieve’s power drink at lunch, and slicing the tires of Monika and Tally’s vehicles. Apparently, you could buy anything on the Internet, including poison.

As it turns out, my mom’s psychological profile was sort of right. Ashleigh’s father had been physically abusing her for years, and that’s why she always wore big, baggy clothes to cover up her body at school. Her mother was a severe alcoholic. Ashleigh was very manipulative and she had us all fooled. And she certainly showed no remorse for her wrongdoings, just like my mom said would be the case. When they asked her why she did it, she simply smiled and said, “I did it for the team.” I still get the creeps just thinking about it.

Regardless of Ashleigh’s background, I wished she would have chosen a different fate. She was actually a decent cheerleader, and with Monika and Tally graduating this year, she would have certainly made the squad next year. I guess she just couldn’t handle being an alternate anymore. She wanted to be on the team so badly she was willing to kill for it. Literally!

Deep down, I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her. Maybe I was destined to join the social work field just like my mother, after all. Either that, or I might be a cop. Detective Simms’ bravery that night was inspiring, to say the least.

Ashleigh was dealt a bad hand in life with her parents. However, every time I looked at my best friend, Amanda, I couldn’t help but think about her familial background too. Amanda, unlike Ashleigh, had defied the odds, and would never be a bad egg, like her parents. I felt awful for suspecting her, and I planned on
never
telling her that fact.

Ashleigh did teach me one thing when it came to my favorite sport—it’s just cheerleading! It’s not life or death, and not worth losing friends over. It certainly wasn’t worth risking our lives for. I decided to never take my friends or family for granted ever again, because as I learned recently with Sydney, they could be taken away from me in the blink of an eye over any little crazy reason.

Chapter

Sixty-Nine

Two Weeks Later…

It was ten minutes ’til game time, and Harrow’s varsity cheerleading squad was having a powwow. Two weeks had passed since Sydney’s near-death experience, and even though we were all still a little shaken, we couldn’t help feeling pumped up for game night. After all, this is what we’d been waiting for!

We were waiting for Brittani and Coach Davis to show up. Coach Davis was busy chatting it up with Coach Purnell. A few days ago, she showed up at practice with a big rock on her finger, and we all know who the lucky guy must be—Coach Purnell, of course!

I was smiling at the two coaches dreamily when Andy walked past me with a basketball tucked under his arm. “They started out as high school sweethearts, you know…” he said in passing, a big cheesy grin on his face.

“That’ll be us one day.” He winked at me adorably. There was a chorus of oohs and aahs, and some of the other players made obnoxiously embarrassing kissing noises. Honestly, the teasing didn’t bother me a bit. I was falling in love with Andy, simple as that.

As though reading my mind, Sydney leaned in close, whispering, “He’s definitely the one for you.” Even though Sydney was only an alternate, Coach Davis had asked her to come to this meeting today. Admiringly, she had recovered completely from the incident, at least physically. Genevieve was in attendance tonight too. She’d recuperated from her poisoning just fine, and was as bitchy as ever. Unsurprisingly, she and Ronnie had mended ways, and were officially dating again. I’d finally accepted the fact—they were a match made in heaven.

“Okay, girls…” Coach Davis said, pulling herself away from her fiancé and walking over to where we were sitting. “I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I got a call from Principal Barlow last night. Apparently, she read something in Brittani’s diary that she didn’t like. It had something to do with dropping someone in a lift on purpose…” she said, looking at me slyly.
Coach Davis must have known all along when she saw Teresa fall!
I realized. I couldn’t believe it! But then again, Coach Davis was very bright, so I sort of did.

“Anyway. Principal Barlow has decided to remove Brittani from the team due to these actions.” We all gasped. I couldn’t help smiling. It was somewhat ironic, really. Brittani bragged that, because of her mother, she would definitely be a cheerleader. As it turns out, being the principal’s daughter worked against her in the long run. It reminded me of a saying I heard once—
karma’s a bitch.

“And the good news?” Tally asked skeptically.

“Meet your newest squad member.” Coach Davis pointed to where Sydney was sitting, Indian style, on the floor in front of the bench. Sydney’s face was glowing. Everyone congratulated her, and I gave her a big hug. She deserved this, especially after everything she’d been through.

“Oh my gosh…look who’s coming into the gym!” someone from up in the bleachers yelled, catching everyone’s attention. The stands were filled with whispers, and everyone was looking toward the doorway. My eyes darted to where they were pointing. It was Amanda’s Grandma Mimi!

I had to admit, I was shocked to see her myself. I’d lived next door to the lady for as long as I remember, and I’d only seen her a handful of times. After nearly ten years of hiding in her house, Mimi Loxx had come to Harrow High to see her granddaughter cheer. She was walking slowly, with her head down, a heavy shawl draped around her despite the hot weather. Each of her fingers was covered in shiny jewels, and she was wearing a flashy, sequin-covered beret on her head. Despite her age, she still looked like a Vegas showgirl in her own right.

I was worried for a moment that Amanda might be embarrassed by her, but I was wrong. Amanda jumped to her feet. “That’s my grandma!” she shouted proudly, running over to her grandmother’s side.

Sydney and I looked at each other, sharing a smile. “Congrats on making the squad, Syd,” I told her, and I meant it. My best friends were having a lucky night, and I was happy for them both.

I am pretty lucky myself
, I realized, looking up in the stands at my mom, dad, and little brother. My dad had somehow managed to get the night off, and I was thrilled to have him there. It was moments like this when I realized what was really important in life. My family and friends were everything to me, and I never wanted to lose them.

So far, my freshman year of high school had been eventful, to say the least. Looking around the gym at some of my classmates, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen next in my lovely town of Harrow Hill…I’d heard a rumor around town that people had nicknamed my school “Horror High” after the incident with Ashleigh. I sincerely hoped that wasn’t true.

The game was getting ready to begin. As I was reaching for my pompoms, I noticed my iPhone flashing. I glanced at it quickly, seeing a missed call from an unknown number. I was suddenly reminded of Ashleigh’s creepy phone call that night weeks ago, when she threatened that I would die if I went to a game.

Suddenly, my phone chimed again, alerting me that I had a voicemail. With only a minute to go before the game started, I lifted the phone up to my ear to listen. Horrifyingly, I recognized the creepy, robotic voice instantly.
But it can’t be Ashleigh, because she’s locked away in jail awaiting trial
! I thought frantically.

The voice said: “I warned you not to go to the games, Dakota. You should have listened. Now you’re going to die…”

Epilogue

The Sociopath

Today is the day…for celebrating, that is…

I can’t believe that idiot Ashleigh actually followed through with my orders. I might be even smarter than I initially thought. Now that she’s locked away, I’m going to lay low…biding my time, toying with my prey. This is more fun than just blowing them away with my gun.

When the time is right, I’ll kill them all. One student at a time.

The cheerleaders are first on my list.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to my mother, who attended every single game and rooted for me at every stage of my life.

Thank you to Flocksdale’s Finest street team and all of my fans for your love and support!

Thank you to Jennifer O’Neill and Jessica Gunhammer for letting me share my stories with the world. I feel grateful to be a part of Team Limitless.

Thank you to Lori Whitwam for your help, guidance, and support at every step of the process.

Thank you to my amazing editor, Toni Rakestraw. I don’t know what I’d do without your help.

Thank you to Ashley Byland of Redbird Designs for my beautiful cover art. You always nail it and I appreciate all of your hard work.

Thank you to Elise Balt for your daily help with all of the small and big things.

Thank you to Dixie Matthews for formatting my books and being so kind and helpful.

Thank you to Lydia and Crystal for all of your help with promotions.

Thank you to Mitsy Princell for helping me organize events and for being an awesome friend and fan.

Thank you to Mia of
happianarky.com
for designing promos for me and setting up my website.

Thank you to all of my beta-readers; your feedback is invaluable to me and I can't thank you enough.

So many people to thank! Thanks to all my family and friends, and all of the other staff at Limitless Publishing for your incredible support along the way.