Page 33 of Wide-Eyed
Tanz popped open the mini cooler she had to reveal a selection of cut fruit and bottled water, which she handed to Eloise. It was a lovely way to show support.
Not as good as what I had planned though.
Mike’s grin widened when he saw me on the sidelines. He jogged toward us. I stood and with flourish, unzipped my gold coat, revealing my bespoke cheerleader’s outfit. Mike stumbled, his expression slackening.
I gave him my cheeriest cheerleader wave and skipped past him onto the field, turning to face the crowd at the sidelines.
“Ready?” I called, putting my fists on my waist. “Okay!”
Everyone was watching. Tanz’s mouth was open, and I had a brief second to wish I’d given her a heads-up so she could have prepared a cheer of her own for Eloise, but it was too late now. I also wished I’d set up my tripod, but the main goal was for Mike to think this show of support was sweet and sexy, so content would have to wait. Just this once.
I clapped a few beats for my introduction.
The choreography was simple—simple enough for me to have come up with it while I was sewing last night. A few steps, lots of claps, a couple of twirls to make my skirt flare. I had zero idea how to cheer, but I was full of pep and my legs looked good in a pleated miniskirt, which was the most important part.
In my biggest, loudest voice, I started.
“Kia ora! Hello! Let’s hear it for our team!
We’re strong, we’re fierce, living the Kiwi dream!
From the kickoff to the final score,
We’ll give our all and then some more!
Let’s cheer loud,
Let’s cheer strong,
With Mike on our team, we can’t go wrong!”
I finished with a rustle of my poms and a big front kick.
“Gooooo team!”
Then I whooped and clapped like the high school squad always did when they finished a routine, the crowd screaming along with them.
But no one joined in.
Mike’s teammates and supporters were staring in silent shock.
I distinctly heard, “What the fuck?”
Then someone started laughing. As the laughter gained the momentum the cheering was supposed to, I stood there, confused. Tanz cupped a hand around her mouth and gave a whoop, but she was also laughing.
Cheeks flaming, I slunk back to the sidelines.
“Was that not good?” I whispered to Tanz.
“Good?” She was barely able to breathe through her laughter. “Definitely not. But it was amazing. Best thing I’ve ever seen.”
I looked around. People were positively howling. The captain of Mike’s team was doubled over; she was laughing so hard.
“That’s good,” I said weakly. “I’m glad it made people laugh.”
“Is this an American thing?” Tanz asked when she could speak again. “Do people always cheer at social sports?”
“No,” I said, even though I had no idea because I hadn’t been to a sport thing … ever. But I didn’t want to take my whole country down with me. “I guess it’s a me thing.”
