Chapter 34

After the chaos had settled down from finding out that Peter’s parents were coming to visit Lavi turned her gaze on Melissa.

Lavi, “All right, it’s time.”

“For what?”

“Your plan, the big dramatic whoopty doo thing you’ve been avoiding telling us. I swear you’ve watched way too many mysteries with dragged out reveals, Ms. Marple.”

Linda had started to get up and sat back down. Clearly, she wanted to hear this too.

“Uh, I really need to talk to Grace about it. What if...”

Melissa didn’t get to finish what she was saying as Lavi was already talking into her phone. “Yep, grab her, your mom, and Dr. Tahan too. Let’s say 7:30? Awesome.” She hung up and looked at Melissa. “They will be here at 7:30. You can tell us then.”

Melissa looked annoyed. “And when did you arrange that?”

Lavi crossed her arms. “You don’t have a monopoly on being sneaky babe.”

Melissa blew a raspberry at her. Lavi in response put her arms around Melissa and gave Melissa a deep kiss. They became lost in each other and I realized that while both had made love to me in the car they still hadn’t had their own time together. I wasn’t even part of it and my toes began to curl. Everyone looked a bit uncomfortable and looked away though no one could ignore it. Only Ji and I really watched. Rian especially looked like it might be a few minutes before he could stand up.

They broke apart and Lavi looked at Melissa. Lavi put her hands on her hips as if to ask, ‘Anything else?’

No one knew what to say after that except Ji who said, “Damn! Every time I smarted off to you I just got cut down.”

Lavi just turned and looked at her. “Stay after everyone else leaves and find out what happens if you try it now.” Ji went red at that and I couldn’t help it and started laughing.

Sylvia joined me and as she laughed yelled, “Remember the after we leave part!”

Rian quipped, “Wow Robert, you starting a harem?”

“No,” I said, “but I think Lavi is.”

Lavi seemed to like that idea. “Hell yeah!”

Syliva playfully, but with a fair bit of force, slapped her husband’s arm. “Don’t you get ideas.”

“I am as dull witted and absent of thought as the void my love,” Peter replied. Then he conspiratorially whispered to his daughter, loud enough for everyone to hear, “We’ll talk later.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes.

Once everyone calmed down people went into motion. Ji and Melissa put up leftovers while Syliva and Lavi made coffee for anyone who wanted it. I was instructed to sit and rest. Rian excused himself and walked home, apparently feeling that the estrogen level was about to reach a toxic threshold for his masculinity. Peter similarly decided to bail and Lavi said she would drive her mom home. I suspected that Sylvia really didn’t want to stay but felt a parent should stay if others were coming over.

Soon guests had arrived and we sat around the table. Sylvia, Linda, Melissa, myself, Ji, and Lavi were joined by Grace, June, Zahra, and Yussef. Melissa and I got two more seats from the patio so that everyone could squeeze in. The table had seemed really big just a few months ago. Everyone looked at Melissa.

“So,” she said, “I don’t think it’s a surprise that I’m quitting the team.” Grace and Zahra shook their heads. No surprise there. “I’m going to see Richardson tomorrow and tell her. Grace, will you go with me?”

“Sure.” Grace sounded unenthused but resigned.

Zahra looked at her Grace and as if to explain, said to Melissa, “It’s been bad. Richardson has always been a queen B but the last two weeks ... ugh. We had hoped that if you did come back... “. She looked at everyone. “But we didn’t really expect it.” She toyed with the edge of her head scarf.

“We’ve had two games,” Grace added, “they’ve been painful. T’wana is worse than ever.”

Lavi, “Are she and Richadson tight?”

Ji shook her head. “No, but Xinyi has her head up so far up Richardson’s ass she should be able to taste tonsils by now.”

“Mellie, do I really have to list the ways this is going down the toilet?” Grace stared at Melissa. “Seriously, if you’re gone just be gone, I’ve got a big enough mess to deal with if you’re just looking to stir the pot.”

There was a lot unsaid there. Melissa had filled me in that Grace wanted to go to a certain school with Owen who had a full football scholarship but she didn’t have the money. But apparently the school had only had their university accreditation for a few years and was just getting their football and cheer programs off the ground. The student captain of a national placing cheer team was a shoe in for a full ride according to Owen’s recruitment officer.

Zahra, “I don’t want to bail on you Grace but it’s getting old, fast.” Grace sighed, like it was another nail in her coffin.

“What’s going on?” Lavi.

Zahra looked at Lavi, “There are new rules about appearance, especially hair.”

Her father, Yussef, took it up. “The rule doesn’t say she can’t wear her headscarf but she does have to prove the hair is following certain rules even if it’s not visible so she has to take it off for inspection. So far it’s only been in the girls locker room but...”

“Let’s be blunt,” this was June, Grace’s mom, “we know Richardson never liked having to make changes for Zahra. It was shoved down her throat when you threatened to go to the school board Yussef. She’ll cover her ass but it won’t stop in the locker room.”

“I can handle myself,” Zahra said, “But the new routines ... she’s having me do the stuff most likely to make it come loose.”

“New routines? Is she planning on competing?” Melissa asked.

“She’s backed off from canceling it,” Grace said, “but holding it over me like a guillotine and she holds the rope. She’s pushing everyone twice as hard saying we need to do more tumbling and be more athletic if we really want to win. She has stopped the more modern stuff Christine started us on. Zahra, you can quit if you like. It’s just not going to work. Morale is crap.” Grace shook her head.

“How is everyone taking it?” Lavi asked.

“Varies,” Ji said. “Xinyi has been a gymnast since she was a kid so she’s loving being Richardson’s go to for some of the new exercises.”

Grace continued. “Shockingly T’wana loves it, I think because she gets to be top of the pecking order. She’s always hated the work but she’s soaking up the new dynamics.”

“And her favorite target? Amber?”

Grace shook her head, “Mostly but keeping it low key right now. Amber seems oblivious to it though. Amber is digging the new routine. She doesn’t like Richardson but she gets to cheer and the new routines are harder but need less coordination.”

“Makes sense,” Melissa said, “she’s got the rhythm of an old white man but in sheer strength and endurance...”

Grace finished, “There’s a reason with no guys on the team she does all the tosses. And we’re doing more and more pyramids and tosses, catches, all the old school stuff.”

Melissa winced and asked, Seriously?” She got a trilogy of affirmative nods in response.

Sylvia, Yussef and I looked around and clearly needed to be clued in. Linda came to the rescue.

“Those moves were staples when I was a cheerleader but already were discouraged.”

“Dated practices?” I asked.

“Unsafe,” June said, “did you know that cheerleaders get injured more than football players?”

I shook my head. It was news to me and apparently I was the only one from looking around. It obviously made sense to Sylvia and Yussef but they had been in this world longer than me. I thought about it and realized that in cheering the girls were at a hundred percent in every practice while something like football was very different.

While I was thinking they kept talking but I caught back up when Melissa asked “What about the newer girls?”

Zahra, Ji, Grace looked at each other. “Coraline and Emma seem fine,” Grace said. “It’s their normal. Haley I think will quit, she’s been down right vocal when Richardson walks off and T’wana picks on her when she gets tired of Amber. Jenny I don’t know. I’ve been trying to get something out of her but she’s super quiet. Twilight Zone to the rest of us though.”

Zahra scoffed, “Twilight Zone has jumped the shark then because it’s totally dull. Look, I like cheering, and you”, she singled out Melissa with her gaze, “and Grace always pushed us but we laughed a lot too. I mean, remember in tenth grade when I wasn’t jumping high enough. You made sure I learned to and you never made me feel bad about it.”

Melissa smiled, “I remember you whining you wanted a thigh gap instead of muscles.”

“Hey, I’m team thick thighs save lives now,” Zahra replied.

Lavi looked under the table, “You need a few more cupcakes babe.”

Ji giggled and said, “Robert can help with that.” Yussef’s eyes went a bit wide. June and Sylvia started laughing. Ji panicked, “Baking, I meant by baking!”

Linda poked at the table with a nail. “Can we move on, please.”

Melissa tried not to smile but cleared her throat. “So, how much has Lavi told all of you?”

Grace, “That you have some sort of plan but it’s a big mystery and that you’re not bending over for Richardson. So, out with it.”

Melissa, “It’s more than that. It’s also about giving us a shot at a national title Grace.”

Grace looked skeptical. “What do we do, knock off Richardson?”

With his cultured tone Yussef said, “I can not in good conscience agree to popping a cap in her ass but it has a certain appeal.” Zahra rolled her eyes.

“I wonder if Bubbeh still knows any of those mossad guys...” Lavi said.

Melissa cut Lavi off and gave her a castigating glance. “I’m being serious.” Looking back to Grace she said, “Bear with me, what do you have to have in order to compete?”

Grace, “Are you thinking about All Stars? I’m not doing scrub league, that’s not a title, it’s a, a...” she motioned to the other girls for help.

Lavi, “A pity fuck for the ugly chicks?” The room went silent for a second as Lavi seemed to realize they were in mixed company. “Well, it is.” She crossed her arms defensively. Sylvia had her face in her hand. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to not show her face because she was laughing or embarrassed.

Linda took in a breath, “Let’s move it on please.”

Melissa nodded to her mom and continued, “That’s not where I’m going Grace. I’m talking about the high school division, just like usual.”

Zahra, “What, we all transfer to East Ridge?”

“I hadn’t thought of that, no. I was thinking of Grace still being captain.” She let that sink in. Grace looked interested.

Ji, Lavi, Zahara and Grace all looked to each other as if to see if it was more obvious to someone else. It wasn’t. I however remembered back to the hospital room and her research on one particular school club.

Lavi, “That’s what Blackman was here for? She’s going to sponsor some kind of competing cheer group?”

Melissa, “Not exactly. It’s not going to be a new club and not competing with cheer. We compete in the dance category instead of cheer in the high school division.”

June must have seen my confusion because she interpreted for me, “It’s still high school cheer but more focused on dance routines like they do at half time instead of cheering during the game. Some teams do both but we never have. Honestly, the routines Melissa has done have blurred the lines a lot but that’s not uncommon.”

Grace interrupted, “This isn’t going to work. It has to be covered by insurance and Escobar isn’t going to go for that. He can kill it just on the basis that it isn’t in the budget. I know there’s a dance club but they just do recitals in the school so joining that is pointless.”

Lavi shook her head at Grace, “I still don’t get it, Blackman doesn’t have anything to do with the dance club.”

“But,” I said, feeling like the reader who solves the novel’s mystery in advance, “what if it’s a group that already has travel insurance? A dance team that isn’t a dance club?” I looked at Melissa and grinned. She grinned back.

It was Zahra who it hit first. “Blackman is the faculty advisor for the chess team. You want us to join the chess team?!”

Lavi’s eyes went wide, “I mean they travel for competitions but...”

Grace, “Have you lost your flippin mind?!”

Melissa tried to get them quiet but they kept talking over her so SLAM! I brought my hand down firmly on the table. I smiled, “To quote Lavi, Melissa is talking.”

She smiled in thanks at me, her elfin face very kissable. “First off, there is no chess club... “ she cut Zahra off, “there really isn’t, there is the Junior Gentle Person’s Association which put together a chess team but the Association has a broad mandate for cultural studies, which includes dance since they put one on each year. And they already have coverage for insurance since they travel for chess competitions. And Mrs. Blackman is on board, well, on certain conditions.”

Yussef cleared his throat. “Conditions? Are you suggesting they cheer the ... chess team?” Linda looked appalled. June and Sylvia looked like they wanted drinks. The other cheerleaders looked like Melissa had killed a soft cute woodland animal and covered herself in it’s blood.

Melissa, “No, but each of us will have to either do chess or work on the society events.”

Ji forgot she was in mixed company. “Fuck me.”

“Not now Ji,” Lavi replied deadpan. Sylva smacked Lavi on the arm for the second time tonight. “Ow!” So, that’s where Lavi got it from.

Grace just stared at Melissa. June was eyeing my wine rack.

“Who plays chess?” Yussef asked. Sylvia pointed at Lavi.

“Ug, I hate chess mom.”

“No you don’t,” Syliva said with practiced suffering in her voice.

“Fine, I don’t like regular chess where they sit around and take forever planning moves.” Lavi looked at everyone, “I used to play speed chess, that’s fun.”

“In competitions I’m sure they use a clock,” I said.

Melissa looked at me. “Do you play?”

“A little,” I said. “I have some sets and clocks up stairs. I was more of a pool player than chess. I played until I hit the point where it was all about memorizing gambits.”

“Same,” Yussef replied.

“I think the teas might be fun,” Zahra said, “I’ve actually thought about joining before but always been kind of afraid I wouldn’t fit in. And the chess, no thank you.”

“Well,” Melissa said, “Everyone there right now does both, so Blackman said the new rule will be everyone does two of the three - the tea events, the formal dance, the dance team but no one has to do all three. There is already a club president and vice president but we can elect our own team captain. She is fine with this being new but stressed that it can’t be a fake part of the club so if someone already there wants to join us we have to be open to it.”