Part 7: Tuesday After School

28. Sam

No sooner had I entered the gym for cheer practice than I was rushed by a quartet of excited juniors.

“How was it?”

“Were you embarrassed?’

“How much did they stare?”

It had been wonderful seeing a slew of naked football players in the boys’ locker room while I prepared for cheerleading, but, at that moment, I wished I had been able to go into the girls’ locker room with the rest of the squad. This was one of those times when desires clashed. Sure, getting in touch with sexuality is nice, but we also need squad unity. Answering questions from four cheerleaders in the locker room would not have cut into practice time the way answering in the gym did.

“One at a time, please,” I asked.

Kat Murray, heir apparent to the captaincy, went first. “Was it embarrassing being the only naked one at the game?”

“Not at all. I enjoyed being the center of attention. Actually, I had gotten over any possible embarrassment by lunchtime yesterday.”

Claudine Davies, a brown-eyed brunette flyer, asked, “Even when they were staring at your vagina?”

“Even then,” I said. “Especially then.”

Sarah Stokalov, another flyer, cringed. “Makes me wish I’d have been a base instead.” She fiddled with her platinum-blonde ponytail while adjusting the blue ribbon that kept it pulled back.

“I don’t know about that. I had the most fun early on, when three JVs lifted me up.”

“You’re too big to be a JV flyer,” Claudine said.

“I know. That’s why I did it only once.”

Sarah asked, “What were you doing up there?”

“The bow-and-arrow, of course.”

“That’s the most revealing one!” Alex Karsch squealed. The muscular blonde is the sister of Dan, Jen’s boyfriend.

Rhetorical question time for me. “How else could I ask you to do it in your Program week?”

“Someone had to set the example,” Kat declared.

“I couldn’t,” stated Alex.

Claudine responded, “Why not? You’ve hooked our QB. What does he think of your body?”

“You know Kat has a better body than I do,” she replied. “If James wasn’t her twin, he’d dump me for her.”

“My brother isn’t that shallow,” Kat shot back.

“Kat, you’re the most popular one of us,” Sarah said softly. “You’re on the Homecoming Court.”

“We probably have the queen right here,” replied Kat, pointing to me.

“And our senior princess proclaims that Practice starts – NOW!” I screamed, lifting my left pom-pom into the air.

“That’s my job,” yelled Mrs. Murray. “Do I have to whip all of you back into shape after yesterday?”

Heather R replied, “How would you know? You weren’t here yesterday.”

“That confirms just what Mrs. Lehman told me.” I remember eighth grade, when Mrs. Lehman, who is usually in charge of the middle school squad, tried to hide her tears after Janice said she preferred the stage to cheerleading.

Jen stepped forward to say, “I also ratted you out. Had Sam been here yesterday, of course, she wouldn’t have had to rat anybody out.” I blushed. I don’t see myself as that tough.

“Yes, Miss Torocsik,” answered the quartet. The squad’s three other juniors had already started to stretch.

After we finished our stretching exercises, I asked our coach, “Do you think it might be a good idea to make our practices clothing-optional? They might be more comfortable starting out naked without any boys around.”

“I’ll consider it. Anything else?”

“For after-school practices, suspend the requirement that students use the opposite sex’s locker room. When it comes to bonding, talking while they change is more time-effective than having to wait for the start of practice.”

“Good idea, Sam, but that’s beyond my control. Tell the administration.” I nodded, making a note to follow Mrs. Murray’s suggestion. [For the record, it isn’t nepotism that made her daughter the squad’s lead junior. Kat and I have often worked together to create some new routines.]

The squad didn’t have any time to pay attention to my state of undress while we rehearsed our standard sideline routines. The JV would join us tomorrow, when we form a large unit to prepare for a competition in the middle of November. The nudity returned to the forefront after practice, when Zoe Larson congratulated me. “My friends told me you did a nice job yesterday. You were very brave.”

I told her, “It was nothing.”

“It was amazing, I heard.” She wiped the sweat off her black curls. “You didn’t have to go there and support Heather F, but you told her you would. After her injury, you still went. And you shone.” She moved her hazel eyes upward. “Do you have any advice for naked cheering?”

“Are you looking forward to it?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll have to do it sooner or later. Get ready now, right?” I nodded. “Besides, it’ll show up those juniors.” She smiled.

“Zoe, what’s it like to be the only soph on varsity?”

“Hmm ... You aren’t sure whether you belong, since the selection is so subjective. You have to try harder to impress everyone else. You have some idea of what’s going on, since most of the juniors were on JV with me last year, but you’re not entirely in the loop. But I think I’m doing fine.”

“Anything else? I’m trying to understand Elizabeth Dugan.”

“Oh, her?” Zoe frowned. “That’s different. Everybody knows she belongs with the seniors, and she’s just plain weird. She’s not even close to being in the loop. Why’s she so important to you, anyhow?”

“We’re Program partners.”

“Oh, geez, Sam, that sucks. I can’t think of a worse partner. First, she’s a girl. No fun there. Second, I can’t think of anything I have in common with her. She doesn’t even try to look cool or attractive. I don’t know who she’d even try to impress. I know there are girls whose parents won’t let them wear makeup, but I’ve seen her sister Vicky, and believe me, she can wear it, but she doesn’t.”

“I admit she can be a little bit strange-”

“A little bit? That’s like saying the ocean’s a little bit wet.”

“That’s what I thought at first. Turns out there’s a nice person there.”

“Sorry, can’t help you. People like her don’t hang out with people like us. Later.”

I wandered into the boys’ locker room. I heard the hum of the air conditioner and the dripping of a sink, but no voices. A few puddles were lying about in the shower area. I turned a knob, and just let the hot water pound my back.

My squadmates say I shouldn’t hang out with her. They think it’s strange. But after what she’s done for Heather F, I simply can’t turn her away. She doesn’t deserve her previous isolation.

This peer pressure has to be getting to Brad, too. My alpha male is facing a challenge to his status, and he’s fighting to keep it. I just wish he didn’t have to skip giving me relief to do it. I suppose I can make the sacrifice for him.

Screw them. Elizabeth might just make a very good friend. At the very least, I’d like to get to know her better. And I’d better hurry if I’m going to cook for her tonight.

I finished washing, strode to the office, and picked up my dress. I hopped into my car, and wished I had put something on first. That cloth seat had absorbed a lot of heat. I jumped out, slipped my dress on, and sat down again. Then I proceeded to drive home.

29. Elizabeth

This afternoon, Heather Fitzwater, not Lily Dudek, was waiting with Frank Torocsik outside the music rooms. Lily, of course, had an away match today, but wouldn’t Heather want to be at cheer practice?

“There’s no JV practice Tuesdays during football season,” she explained. “We don’t have practice the day after a game.”

“We just wanted to know how your day went,” said Frank.

“Better than yesterday,” I said.

“Any juicy details?” Heather asked. “The gossip mill has been going on about your gym class today.”

I groaned. “What are they saying?”

Heather answered, “That you ran off when Lily had shower sex. There’s some concern that you’re too uncomfortable with sexual activity.”

I tried to deflect it. “Prudery?”

“That’s what they’re guessing,” said Frank.

“They could be wrong,” suggested Heather. “Ron’s been turning down most requests, too.”

“Oh?” I didn’t want to get more specific.

“Mary’s the only one who’s touched him so far,” she said. I noticed how Heather’s left hand had reached up and behind the wheelchair to touch Frank’s. Was the school getting a new couple, or was it just an act of reassurance? Where would it leave me?

“Elizabeth,” she continued. I knelt down to talk to Heather, and felt invisible particles of dirt against my legs. My calves started to itch. “I’ll be at football practice with Liv. When you’re done here, do you want to hang out with us for a while?”

“Sorry, but I’m working with someone on a history presentation tonight.”

Heather suggested, “Tomorrow?”

“Our quiz bowl team has matches on Wednesdays. Are you free on Thursday?”

“No can do. I have a follow-up appointment that afternoon. Friday’s the pep rally after school. Are you going?”

“I doubt it. First, I have no interest in football.” Although I became interested in show jumping during the Olympics, curling is the one sport I’ve followed to any degree. “Second, our first violinist is likely to have us practice one last time before Saturday’s concert.” If it were my decision, rather than Olivia’s, I would still schedule a practice session then. I admire her dedication to practice and commitment to musical analysis, even though she has limited leadership ability. “Finally, loud cacophonies make me feel uncomfortable.”

For the first time in a while, Frank spoke. “What’s cacophony?”

“A clash of disjointed, usually unrelated, sounds,” I answered.

Heather stressed, “But school spirit is important! We need to bring our school together. Also, our team brings forth community pride. If we’re proud of our school, we do better, just like the team.”

“We need our team,” added Frank. “What else is there in this town?”

I wanted clarification. “Just the singular?”

Frank replied, “Huh?”

“Both of you said team. Our school has multiple sports teams. Plural. Is the football team the only one that gets pep rallies?”

“Sometimes we organize them for the basketball team,” said Heather.

I inquired, “Which basketball team?” I already knew the answer.

“Oh.” Heather realized it, too.

“There was a big celebration three years ago when our football team won the league,” Frank said. “A bigger one two years ago when basketball won regionals.” That would be the boys’ team. “Think of the pride if Hammondston were to ever produce a state champion in something.”

I glared at Frank.

“What did I say?”

“You goof,” Heather said playfully. “We have a state champion right here.”

“Sorry,” said Frank, apparently to the floor.

“Accepted,” I answered. “Furthermore, athletics is not the only way to show school spirit. I’m in the school’s String Quartet. Speaking of which, I have to go practice now.”

“One more thing,” said Heather. “I want to hug you for how you took care of me yesterday and this morning.”

I opened my arms and leaned in.

She continued. “If I were a boy, I’d kiss you.”

The hug was just that, a platonic hug. I didn’t develop the same tingle that I experienced with the one I received in Computer Science.

“See you tomorrow,” she said. “Now to the field of play!” Frank played an imaginary Roman tuba in response before they set off. (For clarification, the instrument the ancient Romans called a tuba is actually a straight trumpet.)

Is it the presence of specifically sexual behavior that triggers a response? However, I had such thoughts when Lily first stripped yesterday, before she had engaged in any such activity in my presence. In addition, my thoughts about Sam had not become carnal until late in our meeting with Mr. Fontaine yesterday. Perhaps intelligence turns me on more than any other stimuli. Heather’s arguments for pep rallies had been on the weak side, and I had little else to evaluate that aspect of her by.

I picked up my cello, and joined the other three musicians.

“Late,” said Olivia, as she pointed to her watch.

“Cellists,” shrugged Sarah.

“I’m sorry I’m late. Some other Program students came by to check on me.”

“I know. I saw them,” snapped Olivia. “Ron doesn’t have the distraction.”

Sarah said, “He doesn’t need it. He already has a support system, including a girlfriend, to check on him.” Ron’s limp, stringy, brown hair shook as he nodded in agreement.

Olivia played an A. “Just get in tune, Elizabeth.”

The cellist is the odd one out in the string quartet. As most violists started out on the violin, the quartet contains three violinists, even though there are just two violins. The viola joke is a staple of instrumentalists, as the violist is often regarded as a failed violinist. Here’s an example.

Q. Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a violin case? A. They think he’s carrying a machine gun and might be about to use it. Q. Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a viola case? A. They think he’s carrying a viola and might be about to use it.

However, in our orchestra, Sarah is one of the violinists; the few violists had no interest in the extra rehearsals the quartet entails.

Some musicologists think that the second violinist should be better than the first. While the first violinist is responsible for carrying the melody and providing leadership, the second’s part is often more technical. This isn’t true in our case, as Olivia is a better musician than Ron. Furthermore, Ron doesn’t have Olivia’s passion for analysis; he prefers to experiment with hunches and play by ear instead.

The cellist, however, provides the foundation for the quartet. Unless the quartets were written specifically for the King of Prussia, the cello does not get the showy center-of-attention musical lines. Our deeper notes generally serve as the harmonic base. If you were to eliminate my instrument, the other three would sound untethered. Therefore, while we have to follow Olivia’s lead rhythmically, the others have to adjust their pitch to my sound. The first few measures of Mozart’s Fifteenth String Quartet are a perfect example of this. While I play a series of half notes, the sounds from the other instruments fly by in comparison.