The cheerleaders have asked Stacey to try out for the squad!

"Hey, I'm starving. Let's get something to eat," RJ suggested, his face suddenly brightening. "How about Pizza Express?"

I have about three or four favorite places to eat in Stoneybrook. The Pizza Express is not one of them. But I was dying to get out of that theater. "Sure," I said.

In the lobby, RJ called his dad to let him know where we were going. I stretched my legs and let myself air out.

Sabrina saw me again and waved. She had that envious look in her eyes. Somehow, that didn't affect me the way it had earlier. I was busy evaluating my date. I gave it a 3 on a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best). RJ was okay in some ways, but I could tell we weren't made for each other.

I was feeling depressed as we walked out of the theater. I guess I had built the date up too much in advance.

Well, guess who was in the Pizza Express that night? The Group. Just about the entire cheerleading squad and the basketball team, taking up four tables and having a great time.

"Hey, Blazemeister!" Marty Bukowski called out to RJ.

"The Bukeman!" RJ returned.

RJ took my arm and we walked to Marty's table. Everyone turned to us and shouted hi. I have never seen so many toothpast-ad smiles in my life. Sheila was pulling over a couple of chairs from a nearby empty table.

Boy, was my mood changing. A few days ago, none of these kids would have given me a second look. Now they were moving aside to let me sit down.

Stacey and the Cheerleaders
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 0590470086