It felt different. As a freshman, she was head of the junior cheerleader team before becoming an upperclassman, then head of the senior cheerleader team. And the cheerleaders in her grade hadn’t changed, it’s always been the same cohort. It’s been max popularity for her since day 1. Now she was on the side, far away from Alicia, who stood in the middle.

  One of the last home games of the season, it also felt different, still cheering for Liam to keep the crowd energized and the team motivated with their routines. And there’s been a lot of cheering. A near blowout by the mid-3rd quarter, the Clearspring Bobcats are up by 30.

  Making the playoffs was a sure thing.

  She spotted Timothy in the stands. He opted to sit on the side of the bleachers where she stood among the squad. With his thicker jacket, gloves, and hat, it took a while to spot him in the cold Friday night weather, which is changing fast with the season. Plenty of leaves have piled up on the far side of the football field where they got raked. He waved as soon as she spotted him.

  The crowd roared. Liam threw a bomb, and now they’ve run up the score to 36, ending the third quarter after a field goal.

  Still feeling the fun of cheering, she felt glad she hadn’t gotten booted from the squad, if allowed. After a cheer for the score, they got down, and their pom poms lined up. The squad kept their composure, slightly shaking their palms while the game slowed to begin the 4th quarter.

  “It’s nice to have you over here,” a girl said.

  Sarah looked at a girl with a wide smile. Jesse. They’ve never interacted much. At least not until now with the changeup that placed Sarah at the very end.

  “If that’s an insult—”

  “No! No, I meant it,” she said. “I was the one girl who voted to keep you.”

  Jesse was shorter with black hair and opted to wear contacts while cheering. She brushed her hair behind her ears, the thin white gloves contrasted against it, and the gold and black colors painted streaked beneath her eyes.

  “I appreciate that. What did you do with your hair? Looks perfect.”

  “Just regular shampoo my mom buys.”

  The two kept bantering with one another. A new friend. Not that it was hard for her. Her focus had been school, trying to keep her current friends, and Timothy. Maybe it’s time to change things up?

  The game picked up again. And Alicia signaled for a flying routine. This move involved three girls holding a fourth up in the air, and with a slight jump, they caught the flyer on the way down. The cheer continued, and Sarah got in the middle of three other girls, and they hoisted her up, six hands supporting her feet as she stood high. Jesse was the pillar behind Sarah. The three held her as Sarah did her cheers. After a series of claps, arm rises and shouts, Sarah jumped up and turned her body parallel to the ground. Two girls stepped back, and Sarah got a partial catch from Jesse.

  The crowd gasped as Sarah toppled over, with an arm flinging out to catch the rest of the fall. Jesse did her best to keep her head off the ground. Sarah let out a short yell and tucked in her arm as she rolled on the track.

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  Some of the girls came to help her, along with coach Hastings. She winced and swore in pain, and stood up, focusing on her left wrist.

  Hastings rushed her to the side of the stands, and Jesse followed.

  “They dropped me,” she said, taking quick, short breaths. “They fucking dropped me.”

  “I saw them step back, and their arms looked loose, too,” Jesse said.

  Coach Hastings sighed. She didn’t see it happen, just the aftermath. “I’ll talk to them.”

  “You’re damn right you will,” Sarah said.

  “Watch it,” Hastings was curt.

  “I could’ve broken my neck.”

  “I’ll talk to them. How’s the wrist?”

  Sarah moved the arm that covered it. Red. There was a lot of red, and it was swelling.

  “We need to get you to an ER.”

  No one heard it initially. Then Timothy coughed louder. The three women turned their heads to him, and he gave a small wave, followed by a car steering wheel gesture.

  “You’ll drive her?”

  He nodded.

  Jesse helped call her parents while Timothy drove. They’ll meet her at the ER, she told everyone. Parked in the lot, they rushed inside and were told to wait by reception as some emergencies are more important than others. A nurse came out and told her to keep it supported until the doctor can see her.

  The pain in her arm didn’t change, just a constant throbbing that kept her mind’s attention, and the slightest move or adjustment sent another sting of pain. Other than the wincing, no one said much.

  “Sorry this happened,” Timothy held up his phone to her.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  A beat passed before they called her in. She left her two friends behind, nodding as she followed the nurse beyond the double doors that swung with a wide berth. The nurse led her into a large room shared by many patients, each divided by a curtain. It was a large shared lobby for most of the patients. They found the nearest open curtain, where the doctor was ready for her, and the nurse closed the curtain before leaving. The doctor didn’t hesitate, and as soon as he saw the wrist, he said, “It’s broken, but we’ll do an x-ray to be safe.”

  That pissed her off. The rules are that any injury means no cheering. That includes an arm or wrist. Alicia, she thought. She planned this. Safety is the cornerstone of their cheer squad. Coach Hastings beat it into them to always be safe. It was planned. Retribution, revenge, anger, and counterattacks all blurred through her head as the doctor did the examination. No one has ever physically harmed her. Ever. And that someone wanted to go through with hurting her, hurt more than her broken bone.

  The doctor glanced at the x-ray on the light. “Yep.” He said nonchalantly. “It’s broken. We’ll set it and cast it up.”

  Her mom knocked on the door. Sarah gave a concerning look and said. “It’s broken.”

  “Oh dear,” she came in and hugged her, bringing her daughter into her shoulder. The two doctors knew each other and gave each other a quick nod. “I’m sorry. Is it bad?”

  “Not bad, Dr. Carr. One month in a cast.” The doctor left the room to prepare the material to restrain her wrist.

  “They did this, mom.”

  “Who?”

  “The entire team. They dropped me intentionally.”

  “I’ll think of what to do. If that’s true, you can’t be on the team.”

  Sarah sighed. Four years, no injuries. All laughter, fun, games, lights, and cheering with her friends. “Ok.”

  “Your dad is taking Timothy and Jesse home. It was nice of them to drive you. You have them.”

  She sniffed. “Yeah.”

  The mom rubbed her daughter's hair and comforted her.