“I think we need a temporary hold,” Leona said. “We’ve got a lot of damage to assess.”
“But what about Janet?” Izzie squeaked. “She needs our help! What if Garrett is a cheating jerk face!” I thought she might cry.
“Izzie, not everyone can be helped,” Kira said, walking to put her arm around her. “Cheerleaders can’t save the world.”
I watched them murmur disappointed statements to each other, looking beat. Looking defeated. But all I could see were some pumped-up unicorns.
“We won’t fail the brokenhearted of Washington High,” I said, my captain’s voice stern and strong, despite the throbbing in my ankle. “The boys may have ruined our cheerleading reputations, but they can’t tarnish SOS. Not when we’ve caught their cheating rears more times than I can count.” Adrenaline began to pump through my veins as I got more involved with our cause. Our sense of justice.
“SOS was never created to make us popular. Or well-liked. We had a mission: to save the tenderhearted girls from their underhanded, cheating boyfriends. And that is exactly what we’ve done for the past three years. Have we broken the law a few times? Sure. But was it with good intentions? Yes. And that’s why it wasn’t illegal.”
The girls nodded at me, determination on their faces.
“And I refuse to give up on our school just because a couple of jocks have decided that us calling them out on their dastardly deeds jeopardizes their cheating ways. We’re here for the innocents. And I say … we fight.”
“Fight,” Leona repeated, a smile perched on her red lips.
“It won’t be easy. Our undercover work is now at ninja status. People know who we are; they’ll be watching for us.” I grinned. “But they’ve never seen a Kitten on the prowl. We can be pretty stealthy when we want.”
“Like that time I hid in Kona Birch’s kitchen cabinet? He was so busted.” Kira beamed.
“Exactly.” I pointed to her and felt all the girls get on board my cheater-catching train. “We are cheerleaders. We are spies. It’s who we are. If we give up on womankind just because some boys are intimidating us, they win. And we don’t give up that easily.”
“I’m texting Janet right now,” Leona said. “We’re going to catch that wormy bastard in the act. He won’t know what hit him.”
“Language,” I murmured.
“Oops. Sorry. I’ve just been listening to so much cussing on my voice mail it’s, like, second nature.”
“Yeah. But we should—”
There was a crackling noise above us, and we looked toward the speaker in the corner. “Can I have your attention please?”
I gulped. It was Principal Pelli.
“I need to see the cheerleading squad in my office. Now. Thank you and sorry for the interruption.”
“Uh-oh,” Izzie muttered. “I’d better use the bathroom first.”
We were French toast.
“Spying?” The principal stood up at his desk while we crowded around it. Leona, Kira, Izzie, and I took the available seats while the rest of the girls sat cross-legged on the floor. We were going to get royally scolded.
“Sir—”
“Save it, Miss Crimson. Coach Taylor wants you off his field, and I’m inclined to agree.”
“You can’t!” I sat up straighter, and my crutch fell forward, smacking against his desk. “This school needs its spirit, Mr. Pelli. Don’t punish the entire student body for our mistake.”
“This wasn’t a small mistake. This was a felony!”
Izzie squeaked from the chair at the end of his desk. “I don’t want to go to jail,” she murmured, looking at me with frightened eyes.
“And what about ESPN?” I asked the principal, glancing back at him. “Who’s going to fill the stadium?”
He laughed as if I’d made a joke. “And what? Do you think the students will come to see you? I’ve already gotten seven threats on my voice mail this morning. People are threatening to sue! They want reparations for the pain and suffering you’ve inflicted. Stuart French is asking for two million dollars!”
“I can’t pay that,” Izzie whined. “I’ll have to sell my car!” I held up my hand, telling her to calm down. There had to be a way out of this.
“Sir, there has to be something you can do. ESPN will bring in great PR for the school, and besides that, some of us were looking to get an athletic scholarship to college.” I paused at this statement. Izzie would have had a scholarship in soccer if she hadn’t gotten cut from the team. Suddenly, keeping the Kittens together became more important. A cheerleading scholarship could be her last chance.
Principal Pelli slammed his hand down on his desk. “You broke into school property, Ms. Crimson!”
“Is there proof?” Leona asked calmly, picking at her fingernails and looking cool as a cucumber salad. I looked sideways at her, alarmed by her question.
“Proof?” The principal’s red face looked as if it were about to explode. In fact, he was turning an unpleasant shade of purple.
“Yes,” Leona continued, looking up at him. “As you know, my father is an attorney, and it all comes down to the burden of proof. What do you have?”
“Witnesses for starters!”
“Really.” She nodded, unimpressed. I felt the twitch of a smile. Leona was going to make a fabulous defense attorney one of these days. “You have … who? Blaze and Rhett. After all, sir, they were in the field house after hours, too. So … I’m not sure they count as credible. Oh, and there is the small fact that Tessa broke her ankle.” Leona paused for effect. “On school property.”
The principal’s eyes widened. “Are you threatening me?”
“You?” Leona shook her head, looking offended. “You’re taking this awfully personally, sir. Maybe you’re too close to the case.”
“Case?”
Kira snickered on the other side of Leona. I could feel the girls around me begin to untense. Leona was totally saving our hides!
Principal Pelli sat down with a thump in his leather chair. Kira laughed again. “This can’t go unpunished,” he said defiantly, looking around at all of us. Izzie nodded at the end of the desk.
“What do you propose?” Leona asked, leaning forward.
“Three-day suspension.”
“One.” Swedish fish! This girl was good. I’d have to take her to all of my disciplinary meetings.