“Danielle,” Randy said, catching up with her, “don’t get all bent out of shape. I can’t help—”
“Don’t make any more excuses,” Danielle snapped, furious. “Who do you think you are? You can’t break up with me and get off scot-free.” She jabbed Randy in the chest with her index finger as she snarled, “You’ll pay for this, Randy Simpson!”
Chapter Two
Danielle glared at Randy. After shrugging out of the Emerson jacket she was wearing, she shoved it at him, then pushed him away and stormed out of the shed.
As if suddenly realizing people were watching, Randy raised his head and glanced around nervously before stalking off to join a crowd of guys at a float.
Nancy felt embarrassed that such a personal fight had happened right in front of her and Bess. She felt awful for the couple. “It looks like one of the hottest couples on campus isn’t a couple anymore,” she observed in a low voice to Kristin.
“I’ll say,” Kristin agreed, her eyes wide with amazement. “It must feel awful to break up in front of an audience. And on homecoming weekend, too.”
“I feel sorry for Danielle,” Bess commented as she stuffed a piece of pink paper into the wire mesh. “But she can’t force him to go out with her.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple for a girl like Danielle,” Kristin explained. “She’s very status conscious. I got to know her a little when I tried out for the cheerleading squad. Believe me, she’s got a pretty inflated opinion of herself, not to mention a nasty temper. She doesn’t get mad—she gets even.”
Nancy’s gaze shifted to the other side of the shed, where Randy was stirring a bucket of papier-mâché. He was surrounded by other guys wearing Emerson team jackets. Nancy guessed they were football players, too, working on their team’s float.
“Have Danielle and Randy been dating long?” she asked, turning back to Kristin.
Kristin shook her head. “Just a few weeks. But they’ve been a popular couple because Randy’s on the team and Danielle’s a cheerleader.” She sighed, then said, “Listen, I’ve got to dig up some more recruits. See you later.”
The girls spent a couple more hours working on the skirt for the drill team’s float. Ned checked on them whenever he wasn’t called to one of the other floats.
“It looks great!” he told Nancy and Bess when the skirt was finished. “You’ve definitely done your duty here,” he added. “Come on. We just have time to grab a burger at the student center before the rally gets under way.”
“Great.” Bess slid off the platform and pulled on her jacket. “I’m starved.”
The three climbed the hill and returned to Packard Hall so Nancy and Bess could put on thick sweaters and gloves. Then they headed for the student center, where they gorged on cheeseburgers and french fries. By the time they left for the rally, Nancy noticed that the wind had risen. A full moon hung low in the sky, casting an orange glow over the campus.
“Brrr,” she said, putting up the collar of her jacket.
“It’s a good thing we ate all that stuff,” Bess commented, zipping her jacket up over her sweater. “We’re going to need the calories to stay warm at the rally.”
“The wind is brutal up here on the oval,” Ned said, “but it should die down once we reach the sports complex.”
Nancy cocked her head to one side, listening. “Hey, they’ve started,” she said. “I hear drums!”
When they rounded the gymnasium, Nancy was surprised at the size of the crowd. Hundreds of people filled the parking lot behind the gym. Near the center of the lot a large wooden platform had been constructed, and a podium with a microphone stood at the front edge of it, near a set of stairs. The area in front of the platform was cordoned off, Nancy noticed. A huge bonfire roared in the protected section, several yards from the podium.
Emerson’s cheerleaders, up on the platform, were spurring on the crowd, their purple-and-orange skirts swirling as they jumped and cheered. The Emerson mascot, a student in a wildcat costume, skipped around the perimeter of the cheerleaders, waving a purple-and-orange pennant.