Cheerleaders Don't Cry

26

Albert Cooper

I wasn't sure what the school administration thought they would achieve with a tarp. Everybody knew what was under it. Pieces of broken concrete and mortar littered the ground, and you could still make out the rough shape of Atlas.

Atlas, who was apparently, once again, missing his head.

I got to my first hour AP Civics class and sat in the back row. Almost immediately, Kathy got up from her seat across the room, stalking over and sliding into the empty chair in front of me. Her blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, shorter strands hanging against her neck.

She smiled. "How was your weekend, Cooper?" she asked, rudely planting her elbows on my desk.

I got my Civics textbook out of my backpack, nudging her elbows out of the way to make room on the desk. "It was good."

Kathy was silent for a moment, watching me with calculating eyes. When we were dating, her stare had always been intimidating. Now I didn't feel anything when she looked at me. "Was it you?" Her tone was heavy with accusation.

"Huh?"

"You." She over-enunciated the word. Her nose wrinkled in disdain. "And her?"

I felt a flicker of annoyance. My eyes narrowed and I leaned forward. Kathy inched back, the ice in her glare faltering. "I didn't touch it, if that's what you're asking," I said. "And she didn't either."

I briefly remembered two weeks ago, a phone call at 2 in the morning and cans of yellow spray paint in her backpack. It certainly wasn't unreasonable to think that she'd done it. She had the guts to, but I doubted that Marcy would vandalize school property the day before she returned to campus. She might have been impulsive, but she wasn't an idiot.

Kathy raised her brows, unconvinced. "Sure about that?"

"You think I want to get expelled?"

"That didn't stop you before."

The bell rang. Moments later the intercom crackled to life.

"Albert Cooper and Marcy Hannon, please report to the principal's office immediately."

Kathy gave me a knowing look and stood up. "Just can't learn, can you Cooper?" She tapped a finger against the cover of my textbook. "Nice knowing you," she said, before returning to her seat across the room.

The last couple of students filtered into the class. Mr. Clausen waited until everybody was seated before moving to turn on the projector. He saw me just as he was tilting the remote towards the ceiling and paused.

"Cooper, shouldn't you be at the office?"

Everybody turned in their seats to look at me.

***

I arrived first, meaning that I got to sit with Principal Shaffer in his office while we both waited for Marcy to show up. The room felt like all of the sound had been sucked out of it, even though I could clearly hear Principal Shaffer tying, as well as the sound of my thundering heartbeat in my ears. The empty chair next to me only made the situation feel more ominous.

This wasn't like last time. Last time I'd been guilty - I'd walked into this office with a conviction hanging around my neck. This time, everything was fine. I hadn't done anything wrong. I was going to graduate in the top 5. I was going to Harvard in the fall. Everything was fine.

My hands were ice cold and dripping in sweat. I wiped them on my jeans. Why was it so hot in here?

"Deep breaths, Albert," Principal Shaffer said without looking away from his computer screen. My face grew warm and I tried to slow down my rapid breathing. "We can make this much easier if you two cooperate."