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Authors: Nancy Krulik

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Just then, Katie heard some loud crying coming from upstairs.

Emma W. frowned. “I guess Tyler and Timmy are done with their naps.”

Mrs. Weber sighed. “I'd better go change them.”

“Wah! Wah!”
the twins cried.

“I'm coming, boys,” Mrs. Weber shouted.

“D-D-D-Defense, take that ball away!”
Lacey and Rachel cheered from the backyard.

Wow.
It sure was noisy at Emma W.'s house. It was never like this at Katie's house. Katie didn't have brothers or sisters. It was just her, her parents, and her dog, Pepper. It was usually pretty quiet at the Carews' house, and most of the time that was nice. In fact, it was pretty great being Katie Carewâwhen the magic wind let her stay that way.

Chapter 3

“Everybody on your feet! Cherrydale High can't be beat. Dribble it. Pass it. We scored a basket! Go Cherrydale High!”

Katie leaped up into the air and bent her right knee, sort of like the jump Rachel had done the day before. Emma W. spun around and shook her hands in the air, pretending she was waving pom-poms.

“You guys are so cool,” Miriam Chan said.

A bunch of girls were in the school yard, watching Katie and Emma W. before school began.

“Good jump, Katie Kazoo,” Mandy Banks said, using the way-cool nickname Katie's friend George had given her back in third grade.

Katie nodded. “It's hard doing that.”

Zoe Canter jumped up in the air and gave it a try.
Oomph.
Instead of landing on her feet, she landed on her rear end. “I see what you mean.”

“You almost had it,” Emma W. assured Zoe.

Just then, Suzanne walked over to where the girls were all standing.

“I'm so glad everyone is here,” Suzanne said. “Look! I have a new leopard-print backpack.” She turned around so everyone could see it.

But the girls were all too busy talking about cheerleading to care about Suzanne's backpack.

“You remember that funny basketball cheer?” Katie asked.

“Oh yeah,” Emma W. said.
“Salt makes you thirsty and pepper makes you sneeze ...”

“When it comes to shooting baskets, we drive you to your knees,”
Katie said, finishing the cheer.

“What's so funny about that?” Suzanne said. “I think it's dumb. What do salt and pepper have to do with basketball, anyway?”

“It's just a rhyme,” Katie told her. “And it's got a good beat.”

“Since when are you and Emma W. cheerleaders?” Suzanne said.

“We're not,” Katie said.

“My sister is,” Emma W. explained. She leaped up and did a split in midair. Her back leg was bent but her front leg was straight.

“That's called a herkie,” Emma W. said.

“It looked kind of
jerky
to me,” Suzanne said. “Now, my backpack, that's
really
something to cheer about.”

“Sure. Whatever,” Mandy said.

“Do they ever do flips or cartwheels in their cheers?” Becky asked Emma W.

“I think so,” Emma W. said. “They're working on new routines because there's a big statewide competition coming up.”

“Teach us a cheer,” Zoe said.

“The defense cheer is pretty easy,” Emma W. told the girls. “It's mostly clapping and stamping your feet.”

All the girls lined up behind Emma W. Well, almost all the girls. Suzanne never lined up
behind
anyone. She liked to be in front.

“D-D-D-Defense! D-D-D-Defense!”
Emma W. and Katie shouted out.

“D-D-D-Defense!”
the other girls cheered back.

Suzanne stomped off angrily toward the school building.

Uh-oh.
Katie knew for sure that Suzanne would find
some way
to make sure everyone was paying attention to her again.

And that meant a good D-D-D-Defense was exactly what Katie was going to need.

Chapter 4

“Can't wait for the bell to ring. Makes my hips start to swing. School rules! Yay school!”

Katie walked into the school yard the next day just in time to see Suzanne leading a cheer. Behind her were Becky, Miriam, and Zoe. They were wearing white shirts with the number
4
and the letter
B
in red felt pinned to the front. They each held a pair of white, plastic pom-poms.

“We're the 4B pom-pom squad,” Suzanne informed Katie. “I'm the captain.”

“Cool,” Katie said. “Can I join?”

Suzanne rolled her eyes. “You obviously didn't hear me, Katie. I said we're the 4
B
pom-pom squad. You're in 4
A
.”

Katie looked at Suzanne. It was clear that Suzanne was still really mad at Katie for taking all the attention away from her backpack yesterday. Katie didn't understand why Suzanne always made such a big deal out of little things.

“Suzanne, sometimes you can be such a baby,” she said.

“Can a baby do this?” Suzanne jumped up and bent her back leg, just the way Katie had done yesterday. Only, instead of landing on her feet, she tripped over her shoelace and slammed into a tree. “Ouch,” Suzanne groaned.

“Are you okay?” Katie asked.

“Of course,” Suzanne said. “I
meant
to do that.”

Somehow Katie doubted that. But Suzanne wasn't as hurt as Katie was. Starting a pom-pom squad that Katie couldn't be on was so mean. And Suzanne had definitely meant to do
that
.

“Get that Jell-O, grab some meat! 4B's eaters are hard to beat!”

Katie heard Suzanne and the rest of the 4B pom-pom squad cheering as soon as she walked into the cafeteria. They were cheering while the 4B boys piled food onto their trays.

“A cheer for lunch?” Emma W. asked Katie.

“
Take a milk or maybe juice! When it comes to lunch, 4B can't lose
.” Suzanne waved her pom-poms in the air as she cheered wildly.