Chapter 20

“I DIDN’T MEAN to set the girls off,” Dennis said as he walked out to the barn with Randy. “I was really upset today and it affected everyone. We called off taping this afternoon because I was being grouchy to the cheerleaders. I just don’t have anyone else I can talk to.”

“Tell me about what happened to set you on edge,” Randy prompted as they sat on the hay wagon.

“One of the guys who ... um ... abused me when I was a freshman cornered me after practice today. He told me to stay away from his sister, who happens to be on the girls’ team and is a fantastic athlete. He made a vague reference to knowing what goes on between me and the team and that if I touched his sister, he’d kill me,” Dennis said.

“And you believe him.”

“He’d try. I’m not exactly the shrimp he remembers as a freshman. I wouldn’t go without a fight.”

“Well, it has a simple solution,” Randy said. “Stay away from his sister.”

“I have no interest in her other than as a team member. I don’t know if Si would need more of an excuse than that.”

“How did you respond to him?”

“Probably not in the best way. I asked him if he was afraid his sister would act the same way he did in the locker room. That didn’t calm him down at all,” Dennis said.

“You’re probably right about that. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is to try to de-escalate confrontations. I usually try to whisper a prayer before I respond,” Randy said.

“I’ll try that, but I’m not very good at it. Ever since I started working with the Angelines, I’ve become more protective and maybe more violent,” Dennis said. “I’m sorry that it affected Lana so much.”

“How so?”

“I guess being reminded of what I went through with the JV team, reminded her of what the cheerleaders made her do. We both kind of destroyed a bale of straw over at McDonalds’ place. She might need some disinfectant, too,” Dennis said. Randy had spotted the scratched knuckles on Dennis’s hands at the table. He’d taken him to the bathroom to scrub and disinfect. That was what led to the conversation in the barn.

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice my daughter’s hands. I suppose I just don’t think of girls that way. I should check.”

“Thank you for listening. I haven’t really had a man to talk to since Dad ... died.”

“What do you think your father would have said?”

“Oh, something like, ‘I know you can handle this, son,’ and then he’d go tell Mom we had a good talk,” Dennis laughed.

“Sometimes, that’s the best we can offer. All I can say is to stay alert and try not to be confrontational. And come to talk to me anytime. I might not have any better suggestions than your dad, but I’ve got ears.”

The two walked back to the house and Randy immediately checked his daughter’s hands and led her to the bathroom for first aid.

“We found music!” Roz announced excitedly. “The cheerleading site had all kinds of links to royalty free music that can be used for cheers and such. It isn’t top pop tunes, but there’s a lot of good music available that fits our workouts. Listen to this.” As she played the cut, several people started doing different aspects of the routines to show how well it counted out the beats.

“We can loop that for longer routines,” Olivia said. “Let’s try some with a couple routines and see what happens.”

Everyone was excited about the music and the mood in the barn was markedly lighter than it had been the previous day. They split the group so some were facing Dennis and some were facing the camera. Olivia positioned herself on a tractor so she could shoot over the heads of those following. She thought about how good it would be if they were able to use two cameras to focus on steps or to switch to front views of the group following. They were getting good video, though.

They all gathered around the computer monitor to watch the session onscreen. They nodded and agreed it was much better than what they’d been shooting before and it was more fun as well. Dennis looked at the video thinking of all the ways it could be improved. He was reminded of Rae’s comment that they should show the progression of their work as well as the exercises themselves. This would certainly show how far they’d come as a group in the short time they’d been working.

The recording went so smoothly that they not only got the two sessions done they intended to shoot that day, but made up the session they delayed from the previous day.

“I probably don’t tell you enough,” Dennis said. “You guys are just awesome. I’m so glad you agreed to join me on these videos. Not only that, but you’ve really become an inspiration to the teams and to the students who are joining us for workouts. Name me one other school in the whole state that has eighty or ninety students show up for a workout after school. I don’t think there’s a one. I just want to thank you again and again.”

“Even if we’re not your girlfriends?” Sara laughed. The girlfriends all hissed at her.

“Even though you aren’t my girlfriends,” Dennis responded. “And I owe you all another apology for my attitude yesterday. Thank you for giving me another chance this afternoon and for finding music and everything.”