Ruby Flips for Attention Read online

  To the students at Pershing East in Chicago. Thanks, Mrs. Hill.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Kee-Kee

  Chapter 2: The Chill Brook Steppers

  Chapter 3: Help a Sister Out

  Chapter 4: Bend It Like Booker

  Chapter 5: Cute Candy-Cane Cast

  Chapter 6: Sweet, Sweet Attention

  Chapter 7: Nothing to Do with Flips

  Chapter 8: Let Me Get That for You

  Chapter 9: Something to Be Proud Of

  Chapter 10: You Know You’re Big When …

  Ruby Booker’s Out-of-the-Blue Nice Stuff to Do

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Card Page

  Copyright

  “Those are our seats. Right there! Right there!” I yelled, and pointed after I zoomed through the big red gym doors.

  Ma called out to me, “Slow down, baby. You’re going to run somebody over. Those seats aren’t going anywhere.” I was running to the bleachers before somebody took our seats. Daddy bought tickets for all of us. There was one for me, two for my parents, and a ticket for one of my big brothers, Tyner.

  I had never been to a real drill team show before. We came to cheer on my cousin Keeva, who I call Kee-Kee. She’s fifteen years old and the captain of her squad, the Wallace Park Spirit. Kee-Kee’s super-extra-pretty, and she’s got style. And also, she’s a very good flipper. Ma says Kee-Kee’s talent runs in the family.

  “Hold on, sweetness,” Daddy called out to me. “The show won’t start for another ten minutes.”

  “I know, Daddy. I just want to make sure we can see. We do have a good view, right, Daddy?” I asked. The last time Daddy took us to a show, I couldn’t even see the stage.

  “We’ve got a great view, Ruby, you’ll see,” Daddy said. He had his arm around Ma. He grabbed my hand and led us to our seats.

  Ty dragged real slowly behind us. His chubby cheeks looked droopy. He wasn’t too excited to be at the drill team show. “Ma, can I walk home now?”

  “Come on, Ty. Don’t be like that, baby. It’s too far to walk home.” Ma turned around and snagged Ty’s hand. “Keeva is going to be so happy to see all of us in the crowd. Let’s show her some love.”

  “Okay,” Ty moaned. It’s not like he was really going to leave. It was getting dark outside, plus the walk from Eastview High School to our house is a long one. The only reason he came is because Kee-Kee came to his last science fair. She cheered and screamed for that boy and his solar-powered popcorn popper like he was a rock star. I guess he felt he owed her one. Ty is just that kind of boy. I like that about him.

  Ro and Marcellus, my older big brothers, said that there was no way they’d sit through one minute of “flips and pom-poms.”

  Daddy had dropped them off at the home of his best friend, Melvin. We call Melvin Uncle Too Cool. Uncle Too Cool has two sons who are around Marcellus’s age. They were probably having fun doing the stupid stuff boys do.

  The gym was packed like there was going to be a big championship basketball game. There was a DJ blaring hip-hop from his speakers. The drumbeats bounced off the shiny hardwood floors. The bottoms of sneakers squeaked like tickled mice as people piled into the bleachers.

  “Here, hold my hand, Ty. I don’t want you to get lost,” I told my brother. Ty may be older than me, but he doesn’t like to be in big groups.

  Daddy got to our seats. He bowed like a true gentleman to Ma and me, and held out his hand. “Ladies, you first.” My daddy is so nice.

  Ma gave Daddy one of her pretty smiles that I like so much. She said, “Why, thank you, sir, so very much.” They laughed as Daddy kissed her on the cheek. I think it’s cute when he does that.

  As soon as we were about to take our seats, I spotted Kee-Kee’s mom. Her name is Zenny, but we all call her Aunt Z. She waved for us to come closer to her seats. “Hey! Over here! Over here!” Aunt Z is pretty just like Ma. They almost look like twins, except Ma’s skin is the color of smooooth peanut butter, and Aunt Z has skin like a cup of hot cocoa.

  “Hey, Z! I know you’re excited, girl.” Ma grinned and giggled before she hugged her sister tight. Then Ma pulled away and said, with her hands on her hips, “So, why didn’t you call me back last night? You knew I had some juicy news to tell you —”

  “Um,” Daddy interrupted quickly. He knew that if he didn’t say hello to Aunt Z, they’d get lost in their sister talk. He gave her a big hug, too, and then asked, “Where’s Blue, Z?” Uncle Blue is Aunt Z’s husband. He’s a short little man, but his heart is as big as a dinosaur egg. He’s one of the nicest men I know — second only to my daddy.

  “Honey, he had to go back out to the car to get his glasses. That man is always forgetting something. I don’t know what he’d do without me.” Aunt Z laughed. Then she gave me a hug and left me covered with her sweet, fancy-smelling perfume. “Hey, Miss Ruby. How’s it going?”

  “It’s going good, Aunt Z. I just can’t wait until the show starts,” I told her.

  Our row of seats was very crowded. Ty stood in the way of a big-big-big man and kept him from returning to his seat. The man looked like a grizzly bear wearing jeans and a sweater. He was holding a big stack of snacks in his arms. It seemed like he couldn’t wait to gobble that stuff up. He looked annoyed at Ty. Ty didn’t notice the man. He was too busy pushing his glasses up on his nose.

  “Daddy, you know what would be so great right now? Snacks, Daddy. Snacks!” Ty was talking like he’d never had a snack before in his life. “You know — popcorn, hot dogs, and nachos. I love nachos, Daddy,” Ty was begging.

  “Sure, son.” Daddy grinned and handed Ty a twenty-dollar bill. “Get what you want.”

  Aunt Z folded her arms and gave Ty that look that says, “Oh, no, you didn’t,” and then she told him, “Boy, you better bring your cute little self over here and give your auntie a kiss.” Ty gave Aunt Z a lightning-quick hug and a teeny-tiny kiss. He wasn’t going to let Aunt Z hold up his quest for nachos. No way.

  He turned to me and asked, “Hey, Rube, you want something? Wanna come with me? I’ll split it with you.” Ty and I are official, unofficial best friends. He’s so sweet to me.

  “Ty, you know what I haven’t had in a long time? Strawberry licorice. Let’s go get some!” I grabbed Ty’s hand and pulled him toward the snack stand.

  “Bring me an orange soda, baby,” Ma told Ty.

  Daddy put in his order. “Peanuts for me, big guy.”

  * * *

  When we left the snack stand, Ty was all smiles. He had Ma’s orange soda, peanuts for Daddy, my strawberry licorice, one jumbo tub of extra-cheesy nachos with holler-peen-yo peppers, and a large grape soda with extra ice. He could barely see over everything he was carrying.

  “Need some help, Ty?” I giggled while chewing on my licorice.

  “No, Rube, I got it.”

  “I don’t want you to spill those nachos. You’ll have a fit,” I said to Ty as we stood in the mouth of the tunnel that led to our seats.

  That’s when Ty accidentally dropped Daddy’s peanuts. When we both bent down to pick them up, the big lights in the gym went dim. The DJ got on the microphone and introduced Cousin Kee-Kee and her squad.

  “Welcome to the Eastview High Drill Team Competition! Our first contestants are last month’s champions. Stand and give a warm round of applause to the one and only Wallace Park Spirit!!!”

  I snatched up the peanuts and left Ty behind. Zooming through the tunnel, I could hear the SWOOSH and feel the SWIRL of the excitement in my ears. When I made it back inside, there were Kee-Kee and the other Wallace Park Spirit members.

  The entire squad had on
the cutest red-white-and-gold uniforms that a cheer team could wear. The girls had sparkles on their skirts and pom-poms on their sneakers. The boys had on red-and-gold tank tops.

  Kee-Kee was in front of the whole team. She was in total control. The thump of the music sounded like the heartbeats of a million elephants. Everyone rose to their feet as the Wallace Park Spirit amazed us with their dance routines, cartwheels, and backflips.

  “Rube? Hey, Rube? Is anybody home?” Ty had found his way to me from the tunnel. He seemed shaken up. “Hey, girl, don’t leave me like that.” Ty waved his hand in front of my face. I was in a trance. I plunked down in the first empty seat I saw. Daddy’s peanuts fell to the floor again.

  Kee-Kee was doing flips that I didn’t even know she could do. It was the most awesome thing I’d ever seen! At the end of the show, one of the big boys on the team lifted Kee-Kee into the air. Kee-Kee was so high up, I thought she would get stuck in the ceiling or go through it. But instead, she landed at the top of a big pyramid that the other boy members had formed. She stood out like the star on top of a Christmas tree.

  “That’s my baby, everybody! That’s my baby!” Aunt Z clapped and yelled loud enough to be heard all over.

  The music stopped booming, the Wallace Park Spirit stood still, and then the crowd cheered like crazy. A huge crowd of teenagers started to chant: “Kee-Kee! Kee-Kee! Kee-Kee!”

  Then — it hit me. I knew what I had to do. This would be just the thing that could bring me the popularity that my brothers steal from me every single day. I had to start my very own super-fantastic drill team! I could see it in my head. I was going to be the one standing on top of a pyramid while everyone cheered and chanted my name: “Ruby! Ruby! Ruby!”

  Right in the middle of my grand plans to take Cousin Kee-Kee’s spot as the drill team princess, Ty tapped me on my shoulder and knocked me out of my dream world. “There’s a peanut by your feet. We need to get back to our seats, Rube.”

  I didn’t even answer him. The only thing on my mind was getting started on the best flipping and dancing drill team in Bellow Rock.

  “Okay, ladies, listen up!” I paced back and forth on the sidewalk in front of our stoop. “You all know why you’re here, and I hope you mean business.”

  My girl Teresa Petticoat and I had made up flyers for my new drill team: the Chill Brook Steppers. I came up with the name myself. The thing was, you had to live on Chill Brook Avenue to be in the squad.

  We had hopped on our bikes and taped up flyers from Fifty-fourth to Sixtieth Streets. But only three girls showed up — Toya Tribbles and the Piccolo twins, Peaches and Plenty. That was okay. It was really five counting Teresa and me. I bet Kee-Kee’s squad, the Wallace Park Spirit, started out small, too.

  “So tell me something, girlie, when do we get our fancy outfits like yours?” Teresa asked. “I love that red-and-pink sparkly getup you’re sporting.”

  “Yeah, Ruby Booker. Are you the only one who gets to be cute?” Toya Tribbles wondered. She was the only fifth-grader who showed up. I was happy that she made it. She’s popular at our school, Hope Road Academy. I knew that if she joined the Chill Brook Steppers, we’d really be something.

  “Well, first of all, I’m the only member so far,” I told Toya and the rest of the girls. The truth was, Ma only had enough material to make a uniform for me the night before. Plus, I didn’t know how many girls would show up to join the drill team.

  “So what do we have to …” Peaches Piccolo started to say.

  “… do to make the team, Ruby?” Plenty Piccolo finished up. That’s how they talk. Peaches starts a sentence and Plenty finishes it up.

  I can hardly tell the Piccolo twins apart. They both have pretty hair and big eyes. When Plenty laughs, I can tell the difference between her and Peaches. Plenty’s laugh sounds like she has a squeaky rubber ducky in her nose. The Piccolos are a strange set of girls, but they’re so fun to have around.

  “For starters, we’re going to look cute, as you can see.” I twirled around and modeled my outfit.

  “Yeah, yeah, we get all of that, but if we’re the Steppers, when do we get to step?” Toya asked.

  “Besides being the cutest drill team in Bellow Rock, we’re going to be the highest flying squad, too,” I promised them. “We’ll perform cartwheels and triple-double backflips and stuff like that.”

  Teresa looked worried. “Who’s gonna do the flipping, Ruby? You didn’t say a thing about us flipping.”

  “Didn’t I? It must have slipped my mind,” I said.

  Teresa asked, “Who’s going to teach us all of that stuff, Ruby? You don’t know a thing about cartwheels or handstands or flips, girlie.” Teresa was right, but I wish she hadn’t said that in front of the twins and Toya.

  “Now, T, I may not know how to flip, but with the music playing and the lights down low during our shows, no one is even going to pay attention,” I told her. “People will be more interested in watching us at the beginning of each show when we strut out in our skirts and look like the best drill team in Bellow Rock.”

  Peaches had a puzzled look on her face. “Are you …” she began.

  “… serious, Ruby Booker?” Plenty finished the question.

  “Yes, I’m serious. Can’t you just hear the crowd screaming our names?” I held a hand up to my ear, closed my eyes, and just imagined how roaring loud our fans would cheer.

  Toya was starting to question my grand ideas. “How about dancing? Are we going to pretend like we can dance, too?” Her attitude was showing, and it wasn’t pretty.

  I didn’t know what to say to that. “I guess we will … well, we could dance a little….” My ma is a perfect dancer and an even better dance teacher, but I can’t dance at all. I don’t know how that happened, but it’s true. I was born with no dance talent.

  Teresa came in closer to me and whispered, “What will we do now? You dance like a crazed chickadee.”

  That made me admit it to everyone. “I can’t dance too well, but Peaches and Plenty, I know you two can. And you, too, Toya,” I said.

  Peaches and Plenty showed off some dance moves. Peaches said, “There aren’t any other twins who can …”

  “… tear up a dance floor like the Piccolos,” Plenty added.

  Toya began to question my drill team leadership. “So let me get this straight, Ruby. You can’t do flips?”

  “Uh, not really,” I answered.

  “You can’t dance, either?” Toya was starting to get on my nerves.

  “Nope. But I could probably learn some easy stepping moves, maybe,” I said.

  “Great,” Toya said. “Instead of coming here, I could have gone shopping downtown with my big sister.” Toya was really angry. She balled up one of the flyers and tossed it at me. I caught it. Then she rolled her eyes and started to walk back up Chill Brook Avenue toward her house. But before she left, she looked at me and said, “Girl, when you’ve got more than that cute little red-and-pink outfit to show me, give me a call.”

  Teresa tried to get Toya to stay. “Don’t go, Toya. I’m sure Ruby’s got something else up her sleeves. You do have something up your sleeves, don’t you, Ruby?” Teresa asked me.

  I just rolled up one of the sleeves to show her that I really didn’t have anything else up my sleeves at that time. I hunched my shoulders and sat down on the bottom step of my stoop.

  Peaches looped her sister by the arm and said, “Same here, Ruby. We’re …”

  “… out of here.” Plenty and Peaches went the opposite direction of Toya, arm in arm, down Chill Brook Avenue.

  So there we were. Teresa and I were the pitiful only members of the Chill Brook Steppers.

  Teresa took a seat right next to me on the stoop. “It’s just you and me, T.” I put my arm around her. “I guess we can call ourselves the Chill Brook Two-Steppers.”

  Teresa laughed and laughed. “You are so crazy, Ruby Booker. I guess you’re right. I know one thing.”

  “What’s that, T?” I asked.
<
br />   “We need some help, badly.”

  Teresa was right. But who could teach me how to dance and flip in a day or two?

  “Girl, are you crazy?” Ro laughed. I had asked him to teach me how to do backflips. I would have asked Marcellus first, but I bumped into Ro’s bigheaded self when he was on his way out the door.

  “Come on, Ro. I promise not to get on your nerves for a week,” I begged.

  “You know how many times I’ve heard that? Besides, I’ve got to go down to The Booker Box to defend my gaming crown. Who plays All-Star Football better than me?” he asked.

  “Nobody, Ro. Nobody,” I agreed with my lips turned up. Ro thinks he’s all that, but he’s not. Other than coming up with new prank ideas, beating kids at his favorite video games is his favorite thing to do.

  “You’ve got it, shorty. See you later.” Ro grabbed his backpack, then headed out the door in a flash.

  * * *

  Even though Ro said no, I knew Ty would help me, right? Wrong. I changed my clothes and ran down to his room, knocked lightly, and said real sweetly, “Tyyyyner, it’s Ruuuuby.”

  When I asked Ty to help me, he said, “No way, Rube. I won’t be the cause of you breaking every bone in your body. Count me out.” Ty wouldn’t even look at me. He sat at his desk organizing my math flash cards so he could help me study.

  “Come on, Ty. How can I be the leader of a super-ultra-awesome cheer squad if I can’t even do a flip?”

  “I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all,” Ty said. “Ask Marcellus.”

  “He’s always so busy,” I said with my arms folded.

  “You’ll never know until you ask,” Ty said.

  “Where’s Marcellus now?” I asked.

  “He’s out in the backyard, fixing the wheels on his bike.” Ty pointed to the door.

  I zoomed outside. Marcellus was my last hope.

  When I got out back, Marcellus was adding red wheels to his black-and-silver bike. As soon as I asked, Marcellus said, “Sure. I’ll help you, ladybug.”