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yuck. And then I had two perky freshmen—Gabriella and Blakely. The four of us made up a group team. Dakota got stuck with the new superhuman freshman—or sophomore crossbreed and stealer of my new crush, Lauren, as well as one other freshman named Khloe. Sydney got the leftover girls, Libby and Winter.
    I set to work, teaching the new girls and Mariella the complicated cheer. First, I demonstrated it for them, and then I taught them one segment at a time. The routine seemed harder than last year’s, with a complicated set of dances moves, a lengthy chant, and then a complicated lift at the end. The hard part would be nailing our standing back tucks at the very beginning of the routine. Gymnastics wasn’t my strong suit, and by the looks of the faces of the two freshman girls, it wasn’t quite theirs either.
    We did three full run-throughs before Dakota wandered over. “My group doesn’t need my help. Lauren, the super freak, is making me look like the amateur over there…”
    Mariella and Blakely lifted Gabriella perfectly, holding her up in the stunt with ease. I was the back spotter, and barely listening to Dakota.
    “These freshmen are freakishly good…but at least this year we don’t have to worry about Brittani dropping girls from the lifts…” Dakota added.
    We did a three count in unison, then performed a fancy cradle toss to lower the teeny tiny freshman Gabriella from the lift. She was cheerful and perky, not to mention a great flier for stunts. Dakota, who was the main flyer last year, seemed to be thinking the same thing I was…this girl could be her replacement. Lauren was only one of many new girls to worry about…
    Dakota chewed on her lower lip nervously.
    “Let’s take a quick break then start back from the top in five minutes,” I told the girls, looking around at the other group teams.
    Speaking of Brittani…
    “Where is she?”
    “Where’s who?” Dakota asked, picking at a jagged thumbnail. She still looked nervous.
    “Brittani, that’s who. Why isn’t she here?”
    Dakota gave me a strange look. “Remember last year? She got cut from the team, silly…”
    “I know that! I mean, she’s supposed to be trying out today. Apparently, her mom said it was okay to come back. And she was in the gym right before tryouts the other day…right before I found Gen—”
    But before I could finish and right on cue, Principal Barlow came sprinting across the school parking lot, straight toward the track and field. Normally prim and poised, she was screaming, her hair wild and voice frantic.
    “Help me! Someone! Please God, help me!”
    We stared at her in wide-eyed confusion. Only Coach Davis jumped to action, running to meet the principal halfway. Fast, desperate words were exchanged and then Coach took off running inside, followed by Principal Barlow.
    Basketball players and cheerleading hopefuls…all of us, took off running behind them.
    I didn’t know what was going on exactly, but we’d all heard Principal Davis’s words to Coach Davis. They were clear as day…
    “Her throat has been slit! Someone tried to kill my daughter!”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Fourteen
     
     
    I watched from the outer edges of the crowd, my throat constricting and my temples throbbing. Brittani was lifted onto a stretcher by several paramedics. Her mother—Principal Barlow—kept her hands on her daughter’s neck, trying to stop the bleeding.
    When the gurney was gone, I stared at the pool of blood on the floor. Brittani’s eyes were open but who knew if she’d survive. After all, she’d lost a lot of blood.
    Blood…
    I love you, Cookie …that’s the last thing my dad said before he took two bullets in the chest. I saw it from the living room window.
    Come out with your hands in the air! That’s what I heard outside…right before he left.
    I’m so sorry, Cookie. He was covered in blood. Spatter on his shirt, sweatpants, and shoes. His neck had these tiny wrinkles, little creases