Chatterboxing

"Huh."

"What?" Kizzy asked, barely looking up. The brunette already performed double duty as she ate her dinner while scrolling through her phone for Nosy Nectar updates.

"Have you checked elsewhere?" Zara replied with her own question. "It looks as if the jury is still out on Austin."

"For real?! He was caught on video taking the credit that Sean deserves!" Kizzy pointed out, slamming her fist down onto the table.

"Star quarterback gets the benefit of the doubt. Talk about a shocker," YoYo mumbled through her mouthful of food.

"Austin's the golden boy. One video isn't going to change that," Beatrice added. "Besides, the sound isn't all that great, which gives people a reason to claim he didn't say what we know he said."

"Maybe for fucking fools," YoYo said louder with her mouth empty.

"Some people want to be in denial. They want to believe in the person they know and like. It happens more than you think," Harley stated softly.

Immediately, Kizzy picked up the sad tone in her BFF's voice and knew she meant her mother. The plucky Beal sister reached over to pat Harley's arm.

The other Babybees saw the consoling motion but kept quiet. They all knew about Harley's mom's scandal and how it affected their shy squadmate. Even at the other end of the table, the varsity cheerleaders caught the sudden stillness in the conversation.

Besides the five Babybees, the table held four varsity cheerleaders in Caterina. Kaitlin, Roxanne, and Yumi. Numerous guests seated at the tables around them might have found it surprising that the sixth sophomore at the table was actually a member of the rival Sugarbees. Even Cat and Katie raised eyebrows at seeing Ariel seated with the JV cheer squad. Yet, the person most annoyed at the table was Tuesday. No, the assistant cheer coach and JV head coach didn't have issues with a dancer sitting at their table. Instead, she was upset that she had to sit at their table in the first place and chaperone the high school students. It was part of her mom's punishment for joining the fight earlier.

"I wonder how this will affect the rankings," YoYo speculated, earning moans from her squadmates. "Hey, don't complain. Austin's been jockeying back and forth from the top spot all year. This will shake things up."

"The hot guy rankings are dumb," Zara declared. That didn't surprise her friends, as the most studious Babybee had made her feelings known since last summer. "Only you and Saylor care for them."

"Nuh-uh! Kizzy loves them, and Mercedes takes an interest in changes to the board." YoYo defended her pet project.

"Kizz loves gossip, and Mercedes craves getting with the most popular and desired guy in school," Beatrice pointed out.

"See? The rankings are nothing but mindless grading," Zara responded.

"Hey, Ossai! I created this version of the rankings. So if you got a problem with them, you got a problem with me," Cat proclaimed from the other side of the large round table. "Do we have a problem?"

"No, no, we don't have a problem, Caterina," Zara insisted after blanching.

"Good!"

"You talk shit about the rankings all the time," Kaitlin whispered after leaning toward her friend's ear.

"Well, yeah!" Cat exclaimed, then lowered her voice to match Katie's. "That's because they turned into the top guys to date rankings. I only care about the pecking order for fucking."

"Did you say clucking? Is your chicken still alive? Ohmigawd!" Yumi shrieked, stabbing her piece of chicken with a fork.

Back at the other side of the table, the Babybees lowered their voices.

"It is basketball season. So maybe one of them can take over the top spot," Kizzy speculated. "We should put out a new poll."

"Denny's definitely got my vote," Ariel claimed before giggling.

"Don't even joke about that! He'd actually believe The Denster earned the spot, and we would've created a monster," Kizzy remarked, waving the idea off.

"Tyler's still got the mysterious new guy vibe going on, which is sexy," YoYo called attention to.

"Tyler's not overtaking Jayden as the king of the court," Beatrice stressed.

"True. Jayden's quite enchanting when he plays. Energetic and graceful. Hmm, I bet those traits carry over to the bedroom," YoYo commented with an exaggerated wink.

"I'd call Jesse a stronger contender than Tyler. Hot, talented, and a pure leader on the diamond," Beatrice praised the school's star baseball player.

"Throw in that he might get drafted besides all the colleges watching him," Zara added.

"Fuck the money! Have you checked out his ass lately? Those buns are worth gold," YoYo stated, adding a purr.

"Yeah, but it's baseball," Kizzy remarked.

"Hey, I like baseball," Harley replied. "And I thought you did too."

"But it starts so late in the school year. Everyone forgets about it," Kizzy noted.

The Babybees nodded, agreeing that the sport's lateness might affect the next rankings. However, Ariel wondered if that hurt other guys in sports who had already ended.

"I don't think so," Kizzy said, unsure of the matter. "That would knock off football and soccer."

"Don't we have a swim team?" YoYo questioned, earning unsure shrugs about a school sport they didn't cheer at. "Guys in Speedos might be worth checking out."

"Boy, Billy gets the double whammy. Soccer's done, and baseball hasn't started," Roxie moaned, joining the younger teen's conversation.

"At least that hurts Percy, too. I've been waiting for him to declare himself the hottest guy as he did with the soccer captaincy," Beatrice groaned.

"Shhh! We don't want him to hear and mount a campaign," Kizzy shushed.

"I don't think Percy is here tonight. Or I haven't seen him," Harley informed her BFF.

"Ooh! Perhaps Lucas Prescott can campaign for it. He was sooo smart and creative with his one for senior class president," Zara gushed.

"I thought you hated the rankings?" Ariel questioned.

"Well, I do...Lucas is brilliant," Zara responded before noticing her squadmates' knowing faces. "No, I don't like him...I just...respect Lucas."

"No, no, no!" YoYo exclaimed. Zara thought she meant her comment, but before she could respond, her cheermate continued. "When a sport is in session, it does not affect the rankings. If we did that, then almost all the best guys would drop. I mean, look at all the studs that play football!"

"Yeah, Austin is not the Lone Ranger!" Ariel agreed.

"Don't get me wrong. Despite Austin showing he's a dick, I'd still ride his dick," YoYo revealed, earning shocked gasps. "Hey, he's got a great body. But I'd still throw a bag over his head, so I didn't have to see his smug face."

"Add a gag, too," Beatrice chimed in.

"Yes!" YoYo agreed, pointing at her captain. "Not listening to his bragging is a must."

"Let's see who might jump over Austin from his teammates," Kizzy pondered. "Marcus?"

"Ooh! Funny is hot," Ariel commented.

"Funny is fiery hot. Like volcanic hot!" YoYo clarified.

"But Marcus also seems to date a lot," Harley reminded.

"Or he claims to. Nobody ever seems to talk about their nights with him," Kizzy responded. "What about Oscar?"

"Hotheads are so cold," Zara rated, despite her insistence that she hated the grading.

Kizzy tossed Kessler's name into the ring, leading YoYo to claim that bad boys could be wild. That led to questions about how YoYo could even know that, as she'd never dated one. Caught off guard, she tried to use her sister, Yanet, as her source, but that was shot down as well.

"Well, ask Cat. She and Kessler had their thing when we were Babybees," Roxie suggested, knowing that Cat hated the topic.

"Dammit, Rox," Cat grumbled as a barrage of questions followed. "Don't any of you ever bring up that name to me again."

Xavier's name earned high marks for his on-the-field heroics. However, his smooth talk off the field brought mixed views. The roster review turned to the nicer, more boyfriend-material, which made Yolanda roll her eyes.

"The aw-shucks thing can be cute," Beatrice stated, surprising everyone when Max's name came up.

"It's adorable!" Kizzy went further.

"And Max is a good brother to Millie. That shows his character," Harley praised.

"That shows he's boring," YoYo remarked dismissively.

"However, there is the Whitney factor. How do you date a guy with a crush on another girl?" Kizzy wondered.

"Oh, to be young and naive," her sister responded with a harsh laugh.

"Nobody asked you, Katie. So shut up and go back to cyberstalking Palmer," Kizzy ordered.

"I'm not...you shut up!"

"What about Winkie? He's cute in a klutzy way," Ariel commented, hoping to push the conversation past the bickering sisters.

"Whoa, whoa, Winkie is off-limits," YoYo replied, throwing a look at the dancer.

"Um, why?"

"Because of Yumi," Beatrice hissed.

"What about me?" the aforementioned cheerleader asked, hearing her name.

"Nothing!" Kaitlin and Kizzy responded.

"So let's hear from an experienced person. No, not you, Cat," YoYo added just to fuck with the older cheerleader. "Let's hear what our coach thinks. Who does Tuesday think is hot?"

"You want to know which students I think are sexy? Yeah, that's not happening, and you know it," Tuesday stated, rolling her eyes at the teen's audacity.

"That's cool. I'd rather get your thoughts on the teacher rankings. So which male teacher gets your motor running?"

"Jesus, Yolanda," the cherry-haired French teacher sounded.

"What about your ranking? Well, unofficial ranking as the boys can't put out consistent polls," Kizzy clarified.

"Yeah, Tuesday. What's the deal with you and Coach Colcord? We hear there might have been some drama with him back in your school days. Any truth to a love triangle? Tell us," Cat challenged, seemingly baring her claws.

"Oh! What about the other night with Sinclair Pierce? Nosy Nectar said that you left The Copper Lantern with him. Hands and lips all over each other is how they put it," Kizzy relayed with a knowing smirk. Internally, she kicked herself for forgetting until now to ask about this piece of gossip.

"Nope. I'm not talking about any of this. Mom--Coach Brass reminded me that I'm a teacher, not a student. So my private affairs are none of your business."

"Y-You're having an a-affair?!" Yumi gasped in horrified shock. Then, reaching over, she grabbed the coach's hand, searching for a wedding ring. "When did you get married?!"

"I am not married. Nor did I have an affair with a married man," Tuesday declared.

"A woman?"

"Ooh! Good one, Yo."

"I swear, I'm going to make you girls run laps at the next--"

"Whatever!" Kizzy interrupted. "Whitney's back."

Every single student at the table swung their attention in the direction of the doorway. They all watched in concern as the varsity captain returned to her table with Sage Pierce.

"She looks sad," Yumi fretted. "We should go--"

"No, we stay here," Kaitlin insisted, grabbing the other girl's hand.

"D-Do you think something bad happened?" Kizzy asked. Her question was meant for everyone, but her eyes found her sister's.

"Whitney will tell us when she wants. So no bothering her," Cat commanded. Although her curiosity burned to know.

"Does that mean that we're still in trouble or less?" Zara wondered aloud.

"Probably worse," Kizzy moaned.

"Stop being so selfish," Kaitlin scolded her sister.

"I'm not!"

"I'm not either!"

"Quiet!" Tuesday ordered her charges.

They all turned to glare at her before realizing that the first speaker had made her way to the podium. Cecilia "CeCe" Bank stopped to hug Bridget and her two granddaughters. Then, with a heavy heart, she began her second sorrow-filled speech in two days.

---

That Yumi cried during most of Mrs. Bank's speech wasn't a surprise. Most of her friends and cheermates at the table found themselves wiping away tears. And even though Cassandra hadn't been a cheerleader, they recalled hearing stories about her serving as the unofficial student manager. That knowledge led Beatrice and Kizzy to scan the ballroom and watch as cheerleaders from a previous generation broke down as well. Glancing at each other, the two teens shared the same horrible thought: What if one of their friends died in a similar tragic accident? That sobering vision caused Kizzy to grab Harley's hand and squeeze it tightly. The redhead knew the reason as she'd done a similar survey of the ballroom, watching as her mother's old Sugarbee friends wiped away tears at the memory of their fallen classmate.

Beatrice watched in admiration as Bridget showed true leadership while guiding her friend's mother through her planned remarks. CeCe had apologized several times for repeating much of the same speech she gave at the cemetery two days ago. Having her two granddaughters at her side proved a brilliant idea as Bridget motioned for Serinda and Sanna to join CeCe and give her the strength to finish.

For once silent, Yolanda took inspiration from Bridget and Cassie's other best friend. She smiled at how Tinsley knew just when to shout out a joke or comment through the phone to cut into the sad silence. That brought additional tears to the group on the stage, but these tears came from their laughter.

"Those sound so wonderful. We need to help," Yumi said after the clapping had diminished slightly.

Mrs. Bank had given a brief rundown of the immediate goals of Cassandra's Story Society and of potential future projects. More about those plans and their details would follow with the next speakers. Something that Kaitlin reminded her friend.

"Let's wait and hear more. Then we can decide what projects to help with."

"Can't we help with all of them?" Yumi questioned.

"I'm not playing dress-up and reading to a bunch of brats," Cat insisted. "Rory can represent the cheer squad for that."

"I guess we know what Rory meant when she teased being involved," Roxie pointed out.

"I wanna help her," Yumi insisted, staring with big, wide eyes.

Shit! Yumi's going to rope me in, isn't she? Kaitlin groaned.

"Mrs. Toone is hilarious," Ariel remarked needlessly.

"Quick--Who's going to turn out like her from this table?" YoYo polled.

"Drunk and talking shit? Definitely Kaitlin."

"Hey!" Katie shot back at her little sister.

"Not in the fun way like Mrs. Toone. Katie's going to be bitter about her shitty husband," Kizzy pressed on.

"That's not nice," Harley admonished her BFF.

"And drunk and talking shit is Cat's future life," Kaitlin defended herself.

"Me?! That's going to be Yolanda."

"Shhh! Mrs. Tarver is coming back," Kizzy hissed toward her fellow classmates, who'd conducted a conversation separate from the seniors. "Isn't she gorgeous?"

"It's Dr. Tarver," Zara reminded, as she took degrees and titles seriously.

"I didn't mean it like that," Kizzy shot back.

"Sean's so lucky to have a mom who looks half her age and is sexy," Ariel gushed.

"Eww!"

"I didn't mean it like that," Ariel shot back before realizing that YoYo was joking.

"Whoa! Speaking of smoking hot for her age. I hope I look that fucking good when I'm that old, and my hair turns gray," YoYo remarked.

"She's so got the GILF vibe going," Ariel added.

"GILF?!" Tuesday repeated before placing her forehead in her hand. "You girls do realize that Fiona Wynwick is only thirty-five and is not a grandmother, right?"

"She is--Oh, totally, I knew that!"

"Of course, I knew that too."

"I mean, she is Fletcher's mom."

"Ooh! We should discuss Fletcher's spot on the rankings later--" Kizzy started to say, but cut herself off as Fiona stepped toward the microphone. "Who are those other two?"

"Shhh!" Yumi shushed super loudly.

---

"As many of you may recall, I could be a bit of a terror as a child. Hyperactive, mischievous, and in constant search of adventure," Fiona reminded with a grin.

If anyone who had never met Fiona Wynwick questioned how she shocked many by winning the election for Wynwick Foundation chairperson over her cousin, they understood after listening for a few minutes. The silver-haired fox captivated the audience with her words, passion, and an abundance of cleavage. Once viewed as another rich kid who broke bad, Fiona dazzled the ballroom with her command of the topics and the personal tale she began.

"Looking back, I'll admit that I deserved to be grounded most of those countless times. Although I'll also be quick to point out that my sister, Sela, saw everything I did as punishment worthy. Don't give me that look, sis; this whole room knows you," Fiona teased with a grin. "Back to those younger days, part of my punishment meant having to be where Sela could watch over me. So that often meant sitting around at her cheerleading practices or a game. Now, the games could be entertaining, plus the boys were all around. However, cheer practices could be absolutely boring. Keep in mind that this was when Mrs. Kessler coached the squad."

Fiona waited as a scattering of groans and moans passed around the ballroom.

"Oh, Kessler didn't want me around either. Honestly, I can't say that I blame her. At eleven, twelve, and thirteen, my little hyper butt couldn't sit still and watch the same routines over and over." Fiona paused for a moment. "But wait. There was one person who took the time and effort to help me survive. I assume that growing up with Tinny prepared Cassie for a terror like me."

"Seriously? I think Brandy Fallon was your real predecessor for Cass," Tinny said over the phone, which the microphone caught. "And she's five years younger."

"Me?! Hey, I'm not the ones who got knocked early in life," Brandy shouted across the ballroom.

"Brandy!" Pepper hissed, motioning for her youngest to shut up.

The antics brought knowing grins and laughs from guests in their late twenties to early forties. They at least knew Brandy, Fiona, or Tinsley, if not all of them.

"True, I beat all of you in that regard, but I've never regretted it," Fiona conceded, looking at Fletcher with a warm smile. Ignoring the teasing of her son at their table, she continued. "Now, back in those days, I didn't have the patience to sit still and read. So when Cassie began peppering me with questions, I just thought she was being nosy. Yet, as you all know, she showed tremendous patience in getting me to reveal what I liked. And when she showed up with several novels for me, I reacted suspiciously."

"That's putting it mildly," Bridget mumbled from behind Fiona.

"Okay, I may have flipped out and stormed over to accuse Sela of meddling through her friends. However, I felt guilty once I realized that Cassie did it all to help me get over my boredom. That guilt led to the first book. Perhaps the second too. However, by the third book, I came to enjoy sitting with Cassie and reading side by side during cheer practices. Throw on a pair of headphones, and I could block out both Coach Kessler and my sister."

A round of chuckles filled the room as Sela frowned.

"So that's my Cassie story. I think most of us have at least one. That simple, kind gesture helped me tremendously over the years. If I hadn't fallen in love with books, I don't know where I'd be now. Definitely not running the Wynwick Foundation, nor in a position to help carry on her legacy. And have no doubt about it, the Wynwick Foundation is fully in support of Cassandra's Story Society. I've heard the rumors around town, and they are flat-out wrong. This is not only personal to me, but it's also become a passion project for many of our staff members. While the Wynwick Foundation isn't behind the CSS, our members have volunteered their time and energy to help jumpstart this wonderful organization."

Stepping back, Fiona motioned for two young women to step toward the podium.

"I'd like to introduce two individuals who have spent countless hours of their free time helping with all the nuts and bolts. Most of you will recognize the Jolley family name. Well, Lainey Jolley brings a personal connection to Cassie, which I find vital in launching this project. Joining her is Sutton Tapper, a native of Beakburg. Sutton has brought not only an outsider's perspective but also an unrivaled energetic passion. These two young women will split the program director's responsibilities until Finn, CeCe, Rachel, and the Bank family can find the right person to assume the long-term leadership role."

---

"Fundraising? Did you guys hear that? Fundraising is our thing. It's what we do," Roxie stated during the short break between Ms. Wynwick and the next speaker. "We need to huddle after these speeches with Whitney, Lacey, and Rory."

"Ugh! More fundraisers. Didn't we do enough in the summer and fall?" Caterina moaned.

"Are you really complaining? You do know that's one of the co-captain's duties?" Beatrice asked, risking a backlash for questioning Cat.

"I know! But I thought it would be more fun. It was like a job!"

"And Amberly set up most of the summer fundraisers before she moved away," Kaitlin revealed to the Babybees.

"She did?" Tuesday questioned, giving Cat a disapproving glare.

"I did the fall ones," Cat responded.

"And they kinda sucked," Roxie critiqued.

"Cat said it was worse than homework," Yumi chimed in, thinking it to be a funny comparison.

"I bet Lace will be down to handle fundraising. Finn's almost like a brother to her," Tuesday pointed out.

"And we can help!" Kizzy offered for the Babybees, who all nodded.

"We should hold a book drive," Zara suggested. "Rather than tossing out old books, we can give them a new life."

"I love the idea!" Beatrice praised. "Not to mention holding a bake sale. What?" she added at the groans. "Bake sales are our bread and butter fundraisers."

"I like them," Harley replied.

"Me too!" Yumi agreed.

"Ooh! We can hold one of those charity auctions," YoYo tossed out the idea. "Not like for fancy or rich stuff, but for people."

"Um, what?" Zara questioned.

"Like slavery?!" Yumi gasped in horror.

"Not like that! I mean, the kind where women bid on men for...you know, like they get them for twenty-four hours or a whole weekend," YoYo clarified.

"That sounds like prostitution," Roxie commented.

"No, it's not! C'mon, we've all seen these on shows. You know, when the couple that should be together but aren't for some dumb reason finally connect because she bid on the guy to save him from the mean bitch," YoYo explained.

"Oh, yeah!"

"But they also perform chores for the women."

"I wouldn't mind paying for a man to make my sheets afterward," Kaitlin joked, earning a stretched-out high-five from YoYo.

"I'm not sure the school would allow the cheer squad to do this with other students," Tuesday speculated.

"Why not?!" Kizzy challenged, loving the romance angle.

"Yeah, we could do this out of school as regular citizens," YoYo argued, cracking up several of her teammates with the last word.

"Or we could have college guys for the auction," Kaitlin suggested.

"Like Finn's friends!" her little sister added.

"Or older men," Cat responded, thinking of Harvey.

"We should totally run this by the others," Kizzy said, taking charge.

Beatrice, Kaitlin, and YoYo readily agreed, while Tuesday shrugged. It seemed more like a problem for her mom.

"Uh, what about a carwash?" Ariel asked. "That's like a regular thing for high school fundraisers, and I think my squad might be interested.

"We can't do carwashes," Cat stated in a tone that meant to end any further talk.

"Why not?" Zara inquired, finding it odd too.

"Because it's snowing out!" Yumi pointed out the obvious.

"Well, we'd wait until warmer weather," Ariel responded.

"No, we can't hold carwashes," Cat replied.

"It's forbidden," Kaitlin elaborated.

"It is?" Kizzy questioned.

"Oh, yeah, I heard something about this from Yanet," YoYo said.

Still, several heads turned toward Tuesday with quizzical expressions.

"Look, some shit went down like twenty years ago at a carwash. It resulted in the cops getting called and an unofficial ban being imposed. It happened the year before my mom started working as a part-time assistant coach."

"It was the year that Lacey's mom was captain," Kaitlin revealed.

That sent the girls who didn't know the details of the infamous carwash into a tizzy. Questions rang around the table. Then, with details light, the girls erupted when Harley revealed that she thought her mom might have been the Sugarbee who called the cops. Or at least that Gemma had prodded another dancer to make the call.

"We need to know more," YoYo declared.

"You did say unofficial ban, right?" Beatrice asked her coach.

"If Lacey's mom won't tell us, then maybe Rory's or Sean's," Kizzy pointed out. "We're going to be around Mrs. Tarver a lot while taking care of Sir Sean."

"Dr. Tarver," Zara corrected again.

"What do you mean around...Wait, what did you just call Tarver?" Kaitlin questioned.

"Doctor," Zara repeated.

"No, not you," Kaitlin responded, brushing off Zara. "Did you call him sir?"

"Yeah!"

"He's like a knight in shining armor."

"And in charge of us. Isn't he?"

"What the hell has been going on?" Katlin asked Cat, who shrugged.

"Wait, how come you've been chasing shitty Palmer when Sean's in your grade?" YoYo challenged.

"Yeah!"

"Why aren't you with Sean?"

"Bad taste in men, that's why," Kizzy declared.

"Don't you get started," Kaitlin warned her sister.

"What's the matter? Too good for Sean?" Ariel questioned.

"Yep, my sister is Miss High and Mighty," Kizzy remarked, earning head shakes from all her squadmates.

Kaitlin glanced over at Cat and Roxie in disbelief. When the hell did Tarver become their idol?

"Guess you missed out on a good thing, Big Beal," YoYo said. "Now, you'll have to wait for Whitney to finish."

"Finish?" Cat asked, her eyes growing wide.

"Yep, Whitney already gave him a handjob. And we know for sure!" Kizzy insisted.

"A blowjob is a given, and probably a fuck for tonight. That's what real women do for their heroes," YoYo stated.

"W-What the fuck did we miss?" Kaitlin asked her varsity friends.