Cheerleaders Don't Cry

23

Albert Cooper

It was Thursday afternoon, lunchtime, and Kathy was ranting about her parents. They had been fond of me while Kathy and I were dating, or at least it appeared that way. Towards the end of our relationship, I was visiting her house less and less. I wondered what they thought of Oliver, the comical redhead that their daughter had replaced me with. Oliver, who was leaning against his arm, nodding every ten seconds to confirm that he was listening, even though his eyelids were beginning to droop. Brett was next to me, scrambling to finish homework for his Human Geography class next hour. Four minutes in, I had tuned out entirely, plugging my earbuds in and jacking up the volume to separate myself from the buzzing noise of the cafeteria. I leaned back in my seat and watched the room - hundreds of students from all grades divided into various tables. Some lingered by the walls in loud, intimidating groups. Some crowded tables in varying degrees of density, gathering more and more students in an attempt to appear popular. Others hovered in corners with uncertainty in their expressions, brandishing trays full of food before dumping it all in the garbage just to flee the room.

A bitter taste flooded my mouth the second she entered the cafeteria. She was wearing dark jeans and a grey jacket, blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. Even from a distance, I could see the obvious exhaustion in her face. Marcy had been absent the past three days, allowing more than enough time for gossip to circulate throughout the school unhindered. She'd spent AP Calc slumped in her seat, practically unmoving during Mr. Steiner's lecture, while people whispered and stared. I'd first heard from Sam Monday morning, during AP Civics. Travis was a friend of his. Since then, a thousand details had been added to the narrative by various people, altering the story beyond comprehension. Everybody claimed that they knew what really happened.

She found out in the locker room.

- during cheerleading practice.

- during the middle of class.

His phone was in her gym bag.

- in her locker.

She had it out, was practically rubbing it in Amber's face.

I heard Amber punched her.

- Marcy punched Amber first.

The few times that I'd seen Amber the past few days, she'd been surrounded by a group of three or four friends, guarding her from the questions and cruel rumors. I didn't know Amber very well, but everybody knew that she was one of the kindest people in the grade. Even Marcy had been friends with her.

I doubted that they were friends now.

"Cooper!" Kathy's voice pierced through my music.

I pulled out an earbud, my gaze deviating from Marcy. "Huh?"

"Did you see Josephine yet?" she asked.

I blinked. "Why? For what?"

"You missed the last NHS meeting."

I didn't say anything, still confused. She rolled her eyes, frustrated. Kathy had never missed a single NHS meeting throughout the past two years. It nearly killed her at the end of junior year when she found that Josephine had been voted NHS president, and not herself. "We reviewed sophomore and junior applications. The decisions still need your sign-off before we send them to the staff. Josephine has a folder for you."

I shrugged and pulled my other earbud out. "Well, nobody told me."

She squinted. "That's why you're supposed to attend the meetings."