Bitter Demons

8. Just Do It

"Today, we're going to be changing into our gym clothes and sneakers," Mrs. King announced as soon as we walked into after-school cheerleading practice.Everyone groaned. Usually, we spent our time working on our magic. It was just as easy to create an orb of light in jeans as it was in shorts and a sports bra.

"Why?" Lark asked, voicing the one question on all our minds.

"We're going to practice," Mrs. King said with a smile.

"Cheers?" Allison said, pushing her eyebrows together.

"Yes, cheers," Brooke said, stepping up beside Mrs. King. "And a new dance routine. We have the most important game of the year coming up against Cypress. Another special town, just like Peachville. We want to look our best."

"Plus, we have our regional cheerleading competition coming up in just a few weeks," Mrs. King added. "We've come in second place every year for the past three years. I think this year could be our chance to finally win regionals and move on to state."

"Who keeps beating us?" I whispered to Lark.

"Cypress," she said. "They're the closest demon gate to Peachville and have kind of been our rival team for a long time. Their squad is amazing."

"Do we really have a shot at beating them this year?"

She shrugged and headed into the locker room.

Changing into gym clothes presented a unique problem for me. I had no idea if my clothes would change back to their old, holey selves as soon as I took them off or not. The amount of concentration I'd expended on keeping up my appearance all day was minimal, but I needed a little extra juice in order to make sure the glamour stayed put even when I took the clothes off.

I stood in front of my locker and took a deep, calming breath. I blocked the sound of the girls chattering around me and the sound of their shoes squeaking on the floor. I pulled into myself and tapped into that deep well that ran below the surface of my consciousness. When I felt that I was connected to my own power, I quickly pulled off my clothes and stuffed them into my gym bag. Thankfully, they didn't change back while they were still in view. It would be a miracle if they stayed the same all the way through practice, though, so I figured I might have to find a quiet place to re-do my entire glamour before I met with Jackson.

Jackson. Just thinking about him made my stomach flutter. I hadn't seen him around all day even though I looked for him in the halls. I knew he was at school, because I'd seen his bike in the parking lot. I hoped practice wouldn't run late today. With my new seven o'clock curfew, I wouldn't have much time at all.

"Earth to Harper." Brooke snapped her fingers, and I looked up. She tossed my sneakers at me, hard. "There's no time for daydreams. Everyone's waiting."

I looked around. She was right. I guess I'd missed everyone heading back into the gym. "Sorry," I mumbled.

I carried my sneakers with me into the gym and sat down on the bleachers while Mrs. King explained what we were going to do. As soon as I put them on, I realized I had a much bigger part to play in the next routine than anything we'd ever done in the past. I bit my lip. Was I really ready for this?

The way the sneakers worked, it put the memory of the routines into both our minds and our bodies, as if we'd been practicing them for weeks. Unfortunately, wearing the sneakers did not rule out the possibility of messing up. The same way a cheerleader could practice a routine for months, then choke when it came time to perform, a girl wearing the magic sneakers could mess up too. I didn't like the thought of messing up when I was going to be soaring through the air.

I raised my hand. "Um, Mrs. King?"

"Yes, Harper?"

"I think I might have been given the wrong shoes," I said. "I thought Brooke was normally at the top of the final pyramid."

Brooke's head snapped toward me. I saw the tightness in her jaw, the anger in her eyes. I'd never seen that kind of look from her before.

"No," Mrs. King said. "You've got the right shoes. I decided to give you a more prominent role in the new routine. I think you're perfect for the top of the pyramid."

What? Where did this come from? I hadn't asked for a more prominent role. I didn't want it. It seemed like everywhere I turned today, someone was pushing me into the spotlight.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Lark put her hand on my arm and shook her head. "Just do it," she said. "You might as well try it once and see how it goes. Besides, Mom told me about last night. Well, not everything, but she told me you know you're the Prima Futura and we can stop keeping it a secret. People need to start seeing you as a leader."

I swallowed nervously. I'd never thought of it that way. Was that what their ritual was all about? To make me more popular and beautiful so that the town would start to see me as their golden child? Somehow, it didn't feel right. I hadn't earned any of it.

But to turn down the new position on the team might throw up some red flags. Maybe the Order would begin to question my loyalty. I couldn't afford for that to happen, so I just smiled and pretended to be excited about the new routine.

Our first run-through went surprisingly well. I was nervous to be up so high in the air, but once I got up there, my body knew exactly what to do.

"Try to look more confident, Harper," Mrs. King yelled up to me. "You're going to be fine!"

I steadied myself at the top of the pyramid and lifted my hands into the air with a smile. On cue, the girls below threw me into the air. I tucked and landed safely in their arms, then flipped up onto my feet. The routine was exhilarating. My heart rate soared and I was actually having fun. Just when I started getting into it, though, Brooke bumped into my shoulder.

I cried out and bent over in pain. She'd hit me exactly where the dagger had gone into my skin that night at the old hospital. Mrs. King stopped the music and rushed over.

"What happened?"

I looked up at Brooke's face. She'd plastered on a look of confusion and sympathy.

"I don't know," she said in a voice so sweet it almost didn't sound like her at all. "Harper went the wrong way on the turn. She bumped right into me."

I glared at her. What was her problem? If she really cared that much about being on top of the pyramid, she could have it. Damn.

"Maybe I'm not cut out for the lead position," I said.

"Nonsense," Mrs. King said, helping me off the court and onto the bleachers. "You looked perfect up there. Maybe there's something wrong with the memory spell. Let's run it again without Harper and see how it goes." She turned to me. "You just take a rest and then you can jump back in on the next run-through."

There were no more problems with the routine for the rest of the afternoon. After my shoulder stopped throbbing, I ran through the routine with the team three more times without bumping into anyone. I knew it was Brooke that went the wrong way that first time, and it wasn't a problem with the spell. She'd done it on purpose just to hurt me.

She really had changed.