The Best Friend by Melody Carlson

confused.
    â€œTomorrow we’ll start going over the routines,” Riley told her. “We’ve got to get you into tip-top shape before the basketball games begin.” Riley stood up and started to teach her a yell, forcing Lishia to make an attempt to go through the motions until she finally blew it so badly that they both collapsed to the floor in giggles. It was hard to stay mad at Riley for long.

seven
    R iley spent most of Sunday teaching Lishia routines and texting friends to see who’d gotten in trouble last night. “This is perfect!” she exclaimed as she held her phone in the air.
    Lishia threw the pom-poms she’d been borrowing onto the floor, then turned down the music and collapsed onto the sofa. She was ready for a break. “What is it?”
    â€œGillian got arrested last night.”
    â€œUh-huh . . .” Lishia shrugged. “But that’s what you expected would happen.”
    â€œBut listen to this.” Riley went over to check the basement stairs, making sure the door was closed. “Gillian was found by the police in one of the bedrooms, and she was stark naked!”
    â€œHuh?” Lishia sat up straight. “You gotta be kidding.”
    â€œRemember she’d been thrown in the pool?”
    â€œOh, yeah.”
    â€œShe must’ve been getting out of her wet clothes. Anyway, Vanessa says they checked her alcohol level, and it was probably high since Gillian was totally wasted. Any way you look at it, Gillian is in big trouble!” She gave Lishia a high five. “Now back to work!”
    Lishia let out a groan. “I’m tired.”
    â€œYou need to be ready to take Gillian’s place—and don’t forget we have regionals right after Christmas. Last year we took fifth, and we’re determined to do better this year, maybe even qualify for state.”
    Lishia felt slightly sickened by this thought. It was one thing to replace Gillian, but the idea of competing at the state level was overwhelming. Was she really up to this?
    Finally it was getting late in the afternoon, and Lishia knew she should go home. “I have homework,” she explained as she started to gather her things. “And you don’t want me to ruin my grades before I even have a chance to replace Gillian.”
    â€œGood point.” Riley patted her on the back. “But then you’ve always been more academic than me. We probably don’t need to worry about your grades.”
    â€œExcept that I’m taking harder classes,” Lishia pointed out, “including some AP ones.”
    â€œMaybe you should drop those, you know, just to protect your GPA.”
    Lishia frowned as she shoved some clothes into her duffle bag. She didn’t want to drop her classes.
    â€œAnyway, think about it,” Riley said as they went to the car. “We need committed cheerleaders.”
    Or cheerleaders who need to be committed , Lishia thought wryly. Really, was she ready to obsess over this? Did she have a choice? However, she kept her thoughts to herself as Riley drove her home. “Thanks for everything,” she told Riley as she got out of the car.
    â€œThank you!” Riley grinned. “I can’t wait to see Gillian’s face tomorrow.”
    Lishia nodded, but as she went into her house an image of Gillian’s enraged face flashed through her imagination. The last time she’d seen her, Gillian had looked like she wanted to kill Lishia. Hopefully, she’d cool off by Monday.
    â€œWhat on earth happened to you?” Mom demanded as Lishia came into the kitchen.
    â€œHuh?” Lishia tried not to look guilty as she opened the fridge and foraged through the fruit drawer, finally removing an apple. What had Mom heard about last night?
    â€œLook at me, Lishia,” Mom demanded.
    Bracing herself, Lishia turned to face her mom. “What do you mean?”
    Mom pointed at her head. “Your hair!