“You are very pretty,” I told my sister.
Merry blushed, but didn’t answer. I also noticed that she didn’t try to hide anything from me.
I tried not to stare.
I loved my sister, but I found it difficult to see her as a sexual creature. I wondered if I was doing my sister a disservice thinking this way.
“Might as well sit down, sis,” I said.
“Does it always smell this bad in here?” Merry asked.
“The locker room? Of course. Why?”
“The girls’ locker room is much nicer.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever compared the two,” I said.
Merry laughed. “You are probably the one guy who could walk in without causing a scene. Sherry told me that all the girls in the school have a crush on you.”
“I doubt that every girl does.”
“When you got here, Jim, every girl’s eyes were on you, including the ones with boyfriends. They weren’t looking at Jackie, June, or me, but you.”
“I think you’re biased in favor of your big brother.” I laughed.
“Every girl,” Merry insisted. “I saw them. For a moment, I hated every one of them, but I eventually realized that they liked the same guy I did.”
I sighed. “I’m not that special, Shortcake.”
“Do you know you say that a lot, Jim?” June asked.
I was startled. I didn’t know that June returned. “Where’s Merry’s clothes?”
“Oh!” June said, surprised. “I’m sorry! I was carrying them before. Let me find them.” June left quickly.
I certainly hoped that this wasn’t supposed to be a trick on Merry. I’d have a problem with that!
A short bit later, June came back with a uniform. “I’m sorry, Merry. I had this in my hand when I went to check out a problem.”
“No problem, June,” Merry said. “Thank you.”
“Time is running out,” June warned.
Thanks to Sherry’s initiation last year, I had experience with cheerleader’s outfits before. I managed to quickly get Merry dressed, to her surprise. June led Merry and me out of the locker room and into the gymnasium. On our way out, every aisle that I passed had boyfriends either kissing the girls they were changing, or fondling them. Few guys were actually putting clothes on the girls. I remembered June and Lynette telling me that I was one of the few boys that didn’t take advantage of their girlfriends, and I wondered why the other boys found it necessary to take such liberties with their girlfriends.
When we entered the gymnasium, Merry was the second of the six incoming cheerleaders there.
Jackie smiled at the two of us, and Merry reddened in embarrassment.
Jackie went over to me and said, “June said something about Kristen being hurt. Is it serious?”
“It looked serious,” I admitted. “The doctor just gave her some pain pills and advised her to keep off her feet.”
“Then why are you here?” Jackie smirked.
“Because I love my sister, and because your former cheerleader captain is quite capable of keeping Kris company.”
Jackie smiled. “You really are something.”
I shrugged. “Maybe I just hang out with the right people.”
A lot of the ceremony was similar to the one that I was at with Sherry Jordan last November. There was the ceremonial “boys dressing the girls” that we just finished, and then the “stern warning” to the girls that came out late. Jackie seemed to use the same words that Lynette used the last time.
One thing that was different was the kissing ceremony after each of the girls was officially welcomed into the squad. Each kiss I got was either on my cheek or very brief. Unlike the last initiation I attended, none of the cheerleaders tried to lick my tonsils. I was quite surprised by this, actually. Even June’s kiss was noticeable by its lack of heat. The only girls that seemed to try anything with me were the new initiates, although Merry was a bit hesitant with me.
On the other hand, the other boyfriends were orally attacked by the entire squad. Since Merry was the second one welcomed, she also kissed deeply, although her kisses weren’t quite as long as some of the other girls.
I smiled, watching the other boys get all the attention. I actually enjoyed this. I think that a few of the other boys gave me looks of nervousness when they first saw me, and I knew that most of them knew me at least by reputation. With the stories being told about me ever since the Senior Weekend last year, I guess I couldn’t blame them for being afraid that I’d attract the majority of the cheerleaders’ attention.
It took about a half hour for all six of the incoming cheerleaders to be welcomed properly.
Jackie made an announcement. “Cheerleaders, it’s now time for a vote. We need to vote on the best kisser. I’m going to hold up each guy’s hand, and if that guy was the best kisser, then vote for him.”
I was the first guy that Jackie selected. She raised my hand, and only one person voted for me: Merry. I smiled at my sister. “One vote, and I think she’s biased!”
Jackie held up each boy’s hand, and the winner was a senior named Jackson.
“It looks as if our winner is Jackson, Mary Jo’s guest. Maria, please bring Jackson to the winner’s room.”
Maria Wilson, the co-captain of the cheerleaders this year, walked out of the gymnasium with Jackson.
Jackie looked over to me and shook her head. “Jim, I had high hopes for you, but you only managed to get one vote, and it doesn’t count, since it was from your own sister!”
I shrugged my shoulders. This actually hadn’t bothered me. I hadn’t ever received any complaints from Kristen, Lynette, June, or Patty when I kissed them, so the opinions of a bunch of other girls—even though June was among them—didn’t really matter to me.
Jackie saw my reaction, and was a bit surprised. She turned to Sherry Jordan and said, “Sherry, please lead Jim to the loser’s room.”
Sherry came over and took my hand. She led me through the main door that led into the gymnasium into the mail hallway in the school.
“Don’t worry about anything, Jim,” Sherry whispered to me once we were out of the gymnasium. “The cheerleaders always pick a favorite, and he’s usually shunned at the public kissing.”
“Favorite?” I asked, softly. “I thought that was Jackson.”
Sherry shrugged. “He kisses all right, actually. His prize will be more kisses.”
“How about the others?” I asked.
“Silly games in the gymnasium meant to cover the fact that you and Jackson are gone.”
“And me?”
“You’ll find out,” Sherry whispered, leading me toward a familiar hallway.
Miraculously, the music room door was open. I wondered how the cheerleaders managed this feat. This room was locked constantly due to the fact that there were a lot of expensive instruments within it.
“Do you always use the music room?” I asked Sherry.
Sherry shook her head. “June suggested that this room might be more appropriate for you.”
“How did you get the key?” I asked.
“Cheerleaders’ secret,” Sherry answered mysteriously.
Inside the music room, Sherry looked at me expectantly. “The game is that you will be visited by each returning cheerleader, and the first one will be June, who will explain the rest of the game to you. I will be last.”
Sherry went up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I need to get back now. June will be your first visitor. She’ll explain the game to you when she gets in.”
Sherry left me alone in the music room.
The music room was far enough away from the gymnasium that I really felt alone. I stood in the room for a couple of minutes, watching the clock on the wall. Nothing was happening.