Page 14 of Please, Sir

I chew the inside of my cheek, hoping Leah answers me honestly. “I didn’t just get this job because we’re friends, right?”

Leah lets her arms fall to her sides limply, as her serious gaze rains down on me. “First of all, that’s massively unethical and not who I am. Secondly, you’re excellent at both teaching and coaching. Why wouldn’t I hire excellence? Because you’re my friend? No way. If anything, our friendshipwas a con on the pros and cons list, but ultimately, you are just too good to pass on.” She smiles, alleviating the tension building.. “Anyway, Cadence is in the mindset of being head cheerleader, not the coach. She’s not right for JV and half of the time, I question if she’s right for freshmen either.” She clicks across the room and grabs the fidget spinner from the floor, tossing it to me. “You’re the right one for the job. Health and cheer. Trust me, I’m the principal, I’m brilliant.” She winks, and leaves me there with lots of unanswered hate mail, but feeling so much better than before.

“Trust me,when you’re out there in front of the crowd, you won’t want to be wheezing and out of breath. Conditioning isn’t about some power trip I have, okay? I’m well adjusted. I don’t need to secretly get off on controlling you guys. This is to make you better athletes, so run the lines like you mean it or stay until you do.”

Twenty red and sweaty faces track me as I walk back and forth, sending home the point. We’re running suicides because half the team can’t make it through halftime without acting like they just finished the CrossFit games.

Priscilla, the athlete I’ve appointed as team captain, tugs the hem of her t-shirt up to her forehead, swiping through the sweat. “I think we run through it one more time, on my count,” she tells me as she struggles to catch her breath. “If we can’t hear you when we’re out on the field, they can follow my count.”

I nod my head. “I agree.” I cup my hands to my mouth and shout, “Text your parents. Twenty more minutes,” I tell the girls before turning back to Priscilla. “Run it through twomore times, and I’ll go double check the schedule for tomorrow’s practice.” We have to share the gym with the pep rally, so tomorrow’s practice may run even later than normal. I hate it, but cheer is one of those sports that, because it’s only a female sport at this level, we learn to take what we can get.

Walking past freshmen practice, I overhear Cadence disciplining some of the girls, but stay focused on my task of schedule checking. I want to catch Priscilla leading the halftime dance.

After verifying that we will either have to practice on the blacktop or start our indoor practice two hours late, I head back to the girls. Or at least, I intend to head back to my girls.

Cadence’s high pitch chiding causes my hackles to rise, and I can’t help but stop and see what’s going on.

“That leaves us in a worse off position, Jolene. Okay? Noelle could’ve easily moved out of the way, and then we’d be down one girl instead of two. Two makes it a show. It makes it obvious, do you understand?”

Jo Jo nods her head. Her cheeks are red, she’s breathing so hard, and she’s bent in half, gripping her knees, fighting for a breath. “Yes,” she pants, trying to tell Cadence what she wants to hear. Next to Jo Jo is another frosh cheerleader, on the ground, holding her ankle, her cheeks pink from tears, not exertion.

“What’s up?” I ask, and when Cadence turns to see that her coaching has gathered my attention, she rolls her eyes.

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, her upper lip rolls with a snarl. “It’s not enough you took JV from me, but now you wanna coach frosh, too?”

I blink at her. Cadence is beautiful. Huge dark eyes, silky honey hair, legs that are twice as long as mine despite the fact she's just as tall as me. She’s one of those women that looks like they have a fresh face of makeup no matter the time ofday, whose nails always look perfect, and clothes always look either new or ironed. She’s walking perfection, and in my experience, all of that perfection is usually shielding something.

In Cadence’s case, I think that something is a shitty personality.

“Just overheard that someone might have gotten hurt, that’s all.” I pretend that my athletic joggers need retying as I scan the girls’ faces.

Cadence, aware the girls can hear us, clears her throat, gripping her clipboard to her chest with white knuckles. If she could get away with punching me in the face right now, she totally would. I can see it in her calculating eyes. But she can’t, so I smile and wait for her to respond.

“Well, Miss Rivers, one of the girls tripped and I was explaining to them it’s better to have the show go on than to stop and make a scene.”

I look at the girl on the ground holding her ankle and then look back to Cadence. “She seems pretty hurt. Seems like stopping to help when someone is hurt is the exact thing to do.” I look over at Jo Jo, whose mouth lifts on the edges just a moment as our eyes meet. “That’s the kind of cheerleader who looks out for her team, that’s the kind of girl everyone should be. Makes the squad stronger,” I tell Cadence, my voice loud, spilling out into the open gym, the girls on both frosh and sophomore absorbing my words.

Cadence hardly moves her mouth when she hisses under her breath, “She’s weak and her skills suck, so if you love her so much, you take her.”

My eyes slide to Cadence, tight-jawed and straight-backed, her evil glare set on a group of fourteen-year-olds that just want to dance a little and have some fun. Jo Jo probably isn’t ready to move up, but the truth is, she belongs on asquad that’s going to make her like the sport of cheer, not hate it.

“Jolene Turner,” I call out loudly over the hushed whispers of the team. “C’mon, you’re moving up to JV. I could use a girl with the team sportsmanship you displayed tonight.”

Cadence groans. “You can’t actually take her. I’m down a spot now.”

Before I took this position, I read all the rules and by-laws, I went through every single piece of detailed information. I like to be prepared that way, because while it hardly happens, weird situations can arise. Like this one. And now, due to all of my diligent reading and research, I am prepared.

I smile at the girls and talk to Cadence quietly. “I actually can, and I just did. So you better replace Jo Jo’s spot or it’ll look bad.” I tap my chin, enjoying the salty expression twisting her face up. “Will it look worse to be down a girl or worse to have a girl that helps others when they’re hurt?” I shrug. “I guess it doesn’t matter now.” I hook a thumb toward my practice. “Jo Jo, let’s go.”

Whispers start rumbling from the frosh girls.

“She stayed after class to talk to Miss Riley, wonder what they were talking about,” one voice says, and without looking, I know it’s Alexa. Heat springs to the back of my neck, and my stomach cramps with unease. A quick breath in through my nose and out through my mouth and I turn to the girls, Jo Jo on my heels. This is Cadence’s job but because Cadence is, as Leah so aptly put it, more a high school girl than a grown woman, it apparently falls to me. Along with actual sex education.

“If it’s worth saying, say it loud enough for everyone to hear.” Alexa’s face grows red and her eyes drop to her shoes before sliding back up to Jasmine, her forever sidekick. These two girls are supposed to be Jo Jo’s allies, and here Alexa isyet again, sitting in the captain’s chair, steering the ship to backstab alley.

High school girls are brutal, I swear.

“Alexa, was it worth saying?” I press, not because I want to, but at this point, it feels like she could use a little check. “Is there some reason that Jo Jo staying after class has something to do with you?” I make a show of looking around the gym. “Is this health class?” I face the other girls. “Girls, is this health class?”

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