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She smiled, a wide and genuine smile that lit up her sweet, innocent face. She really was a very pretty girl with very girlish, almost childlike features; big brown eyes, a splattering of tiny freckles across her nose, a pronounced dimple in her left cheek and doll-like lips with a natural pink hue.
“Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m Tuesday,” she said with a thick Texan accent. “I tried out for cheerleading a while back at the same time you did but was waitlisted. I didn’t make the squad, but just received a call to come to practice, because a spot on the team opened so here I am. I’m so nervous.”
I cocked an impressed brow. “I can’t tell you’re nervous at all. You seem cool and calm,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said with that beaming smile. “It sure has been a tornado of events lately. I wasn’t sure what to expect out here, but... well, people have been very nice to me so far.”
“Well welcome, and I’m sure you’ll be fine in the squad... Tuesday?” I said, not sure I’d gotten her name right.
She nodded. “That’s right. Tuesday... you know... like the actress, Tuesday Weld. My grandma was a really big fan of hers. Loved every movie, especially Once Upon a Time in America and Mr. Goodbar.”
“Oh,” I said with a faint and uncertain smile. “Right.”
“Besides, Wednesday from Addams Family was taken, so my parents thought it’d be cute to stick with Tuesday for my name.”
I laughed at her joke and easy-going friendliness. “You’re going to get along with the team just fine,” I said.
“I have to admit that I’m a bit nervous about that. All the girls are so good here,” she said as she ran her hand through her thick auburn hair. “I’ve cheered back in high school some, but...”
“If you need help running through the routines, come see me,” I said. “I’ll help you out.”
She gripped my hand in both of hers and squeezed tight. “Really?! That’s great. I was hoping I’d run into someone who’d be kind enough to give me a few pointers.”
A series of loud claps brought our attention to Audrey, the captain of the cheerleading squad, who sauntered out onto the field in all her bossy splendor.
“All right, girls,” she shouted. “Let’s get started.”
The girls got into position.
“Come stand by me,” I told Tuesday.
She nodded as we went to stand with the other girls.
“We’ll go over our regular routines one time, then we have three new routines that I want to get down before the next game, all right?”
The dozen or so girls that were on the field nodded.
For the next hour we ran through the routine, fine tuning it and getting our timing down perfectly. Exhausted and sweating, we all went to the bench by the fence to get our water bottles.
“Wow,” Tuesday said as she wiped her face with a towel. “This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Those routines are wild.”
“Okay,” Audrey shouted. “Break’s over. Let’s get back at it.”
We practiced for another half hour and this time the girls really had enough.
“You’re not getting one more kick out of me today, Audrey,” one of the girls said as she sat down right there on the field.
“You girls did great,” Audrey said. “I knew you would make these routines shine.”
With her hands on her hips, she looked at us, nodding her approval. But she suddenly stopped. “You,” she called out, pointing straight at Tuesday.
“Me?” Tuesday said, pointing to herself.
“That’s right,” Audrey said. “You’re the new girl, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Tuesday Cooper. I received a call to show up for practice. I was on the waitlist.”
“I didn’t ask for your bio, honey.”
