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“Not bad,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “Let’s go through it again.”
We ran through the routine again and again, cheering until we were sweaty and breathless.
“Okay, girls,” Audrey called out after an all to brief pause. “Get your pompoms ready.”
I turned to say something to Tuesday, share something with her and, in the blur of the next few moments, I felt happy and content and sure of myself.
Life was good. I was at this prestigious university, and I lived in the House of Saints. Things were going my way. I was a cheerleader and tomorrow I will be on the field, cheering for my team.
An alarm suddenly blasted through the air, startling us all. After we all let out a startled yelp, we put our hands over our ears as the deafening alarm went on.
“Is this a drill?” one of the girls shouted.
“I don’t know,” Audrey said, clearly upset with the intrusion. She looked around, hoping someone would silence the alarm.
“Smoke!” a girl shouted. “There’s smoke!”
“It’s not a drill, girls,” Audrey screamed. “Get out. Get out!”
In the rush of panicked girls, I quickly looked around for Tuesday.
“Hurry,” Audrey said. Standing at the main entrance, she held the door open as she waved the girls out.
“Tuesday!” I shouted into the cloud of smoke that billowed out from the back.
“Brook!” Audrey called out. “You, too. Get your ass out of here.”
“Where’s Tuesday?” I said as I ran toward the door.
“She’s probably already outside. Now get out.”
Coughing and choking on the smoke, I rushed out of the building, almost bumping into a firefighter as they arrived and rushed inside.
Three firefighters followed behind the first one as another firefighter quickly hooked the truck up to the nearest hydrant.
The crowd of cheerleaders stood on the sidewalk, looking at the studio in stunned silence as the blaze took hold of the building.
Tuesday, I silently called out as I scanned the crowd of girls. “Tuesday!” I said, finally finding my voice.
Too stunned to answer, the girls just looked at me with blank expressions on their faces.
“Have any of you seen Tuesday?”
No answer.
I ran to the firefighter at the hydrant. “We’re missing a girl,” I said, the panic I felt shook my voice. “I think she must still be inside.”
He looked at me with concern in his eyes. But before he could say anything, a firefighter rushed out of the burning building.
“We have someone!” he called out as he set the limp body on the ground and quickly worked to resuscitate her.
“Tuesday,” I muttered, shocked at the sight of her. “Oh, my God.”
Chapter 3
