...

Mrs. Peters had only gotten about a quarter of the way through her to-do stack, when she was interrupted again, this time by Teresa Williams.

“Teresa, hello.”

“Hi Mrs. Peters,” she said with a smile. Mrs. Peters always felt strange when Teresa Williams smiled; it was almost like what she imagined someone would look like if they were possessed. Not that Teresa wasn’t beautiful – her shiny blonde hair, big green eyes, and flawless skin were to be envied, not to mention her perfectly straight and white teeth. No, it was more that the smile only seemed to appear when Teresa was trying to get her way or convince someone to do something for her.

“Can I help you with something?” Mrs. Peters always felt it was best to just get right to the point, although in the kindest way possible.

“Actually, I was hoping to get my varsity girls excused early on Friday next week. It’s an off week for us, but I thought we might do a service project together; Open Arms Ministries is kicking off a food drive that day and I thought it would be a great thing for the girls to help with.”

“I’ll have to check with Mr. Walcott, but that doesn’t sound like it will be a problem.”

“Oh, I already checked, and he said it was fine.”

Mrs. Peters had a tough time keeping her pleasant face on. She tried to like everyone, but Teresa Williams really tried her patience sometimes. “Well, that’s good, but I’m still going to have to confirm that. Protocol you know.”

Teresa’s smile was a bit tight. “Fine. I’ll go ahead and get the ball rolling then.”

She was halfway out the door when Mrs. Peters’ ornery side got the better of her.

“I saw Missy and Stephanie today,” she said. “You must be really upset to lose another two cheerleaders, what with Andrea getting injured just a month ago.”

Teresa’s back stiffened and her chin rose slightly. “Yes, of course. It was a shame, but you know, these things happen. We have a couple of really dedicated junior varsity cheerleaders that I think area ready to move up. We’ll manage just fine.”

“How are the rest of the girls taking it?” Mrs. Peters pushed.

“Oh, they’re fine. Naturally, they are concerned about their friends, but they recognize the risks involved in cheer stunts.”

“Do you think that Missy and Stephanie might join you again for competition season?”

Teresa’s hard smile almost cracked, but years of performing held true. “I think they’ve made their decisions, and I don’t believe they’re coming back. Cheerleading isn’t really a good fit for everyone.”

...

The next few weeks rolled along with no other unusual events at Eastbrook – classes began to dig deeper, the drama program began rehearsals for their fall play, the sports teams practiced and played, and Missy and Stephanie came back to school eager to get back into a normal routine.

“It’s so good to have you back,” Mrs. Peters smiled at the tiny blonde sitting on her couch. “How’s your back”

“Doing a lot better,” Missy said. “I’m off the prescription pain killers; just ibuprofen now. But I’m glad that it’s fall because I have such a wicked bruise. I totally could not be seen in a bathing suit right now.”

“Will you be back on the team in time for basketball season?” It was an innocent question Mrs. Peters thought, so she was shocked to see Missy completely shut down.

“Actually,” she said. “I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to be cheering any more this year. I think it’ll be better if I just take a break for a while. It keeps me pretty busy you know, and I’m taking photography next semester. I’ll probably be glad to have the extra time to spend shooting and stuff.”

“Well that’s great, dear,” Mrs. Peters said, pretending not to notice. “My daughter-in-law loves photography and I’m sure you’ll find it quite fun. Well, here you go.”

Mrs. Peters handed her the official “excused from all tests this week” letter and sent her back to class. Missy smiled – this time with her eyes as well – and waved as she walked out the door, long blond hair swinging.

Very interesting, Mrs. Peters thought. I wonder what Stephanie’s going to say.

“The choir has a pretty heavy concert schedule next semester,” Stephanie said, as her shoulders slumped uncharacteristically and she avoided Mrs. Peters’ eyes. “It’ll be better if I don’t have any conflicts and I’m not in any hurry to test out how my ankle will hold up to a landing.”

Mrs. Peters smiled to try and relax the girl a little. “I look forward to hearing some of those concerts,” she said. “The choir is extremely good this year.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie smiled and her posture unfolded a little. “Umm…I should probably get to class. Thanks for the note.”

Mrs. Peters shook her head after Stephanie left. Maybe she was reading too much into things, but she’d never seen three girls within two months be excited to be hurt and unable to participate in cheerleading. When Jenni McCormick had sprained her wrist last year she sat in Mrs. Peters office and cried every day until Ms. Williams let her back on the squad. Of course, Jenni had sprained her wrist on a ski trip. Maybe the girls this year were a little traumatized after being injured on the job so to speak.