Harrison and Rex-box

























































   PEP SQUAD MYSTERIES
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This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

© 2008 Daniel Roberts. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.




PEP SQUAD MYSTERIES BOOK 2:
HAUNTING OF TOWNSAND HALL



Chapter 1

THE DISAPPOINTING SCORE



The game had not gone well that Friday night for the Sea City High School Lions football team.
The members of the varsity pep squad -- Kristen Hobbs; her sister, Kelly Hobbs; and their friends Asia Addison, Miranda Jacobs, Dinah Chase and Cynthia Davenport -- were riding home with their cheerleading advisor, Elisabeth Clark. They had left the stadium feeling very disappointed. The Lions had just lost the important game by two points.
“Don’t look so glum, girls,” said a cheerful Ms. Clark from the driver’s seat of the van. “It’s only one game.”
“It was so close,” said seventeen-year-old Asia. “Maybe if we’d have cheered just a little louder, maybe we’d have won.”
 “The players gave it their best, as did all of you,” replied Ms. Clark. “It’s no one’s fault . . . and no one is to blame.”
“You’re right, I guess, Ms. Clark,” said seventeen-year-old Miranda, “but that still doesn’t take the sting out of losing such a close one.”
“Especially all those disappointed looks on those cute players!” added sixteen-year-old Dinah. She was always on the lookout for cute guys.
“I hope it wasn’t my fault,” moaned sixteen-year-old Kelly. She was the newest member to the squad. She had known the other members for along time through their adventures as the Pep Squad Mystery Club but she was still nervous about her place on the team. She didn’t want to make any mistakes.
Kristen patted her younger sister on the back. “You were great. Everyone was. It’s like Ms. Clark said. There’s no one to blame.”
“There will be a lot of other games,” Kristen then said to the group, trying her best to sound optimistic. The seventeen-year-old knew the other girls looked at her as their unofficial leader of the team.
“Kristen’s right,” said Kelly meekly in a soft voice, trying to back up her older sister. “There will be lots of other games... and lots more wins.”
“You said it!” exclaimed Cynthia, who also had not been on the varsity squad long. She was Kelly’s best friend and hoped to boost Kelly’s confidence.
“That’s the spirit, girls,” said Ms. Clark. “Why don’t you try to think of a new cheer we could use at the next game? That might take your mind off tonight's loss.”
Noticing a convenience store ahead, the cheerleaders’ advisor glanced down at the fuel gauge. “I’m pulling in here for gas,” announced Ms. Clark. “It’s the last place to get fuel for miles.”
Parking the van, Ms. Clark got out and began filling the tank. The sound of pelting rain beat down on the canopy over the pumps.
“When the weather-forecaster predicted it was going to storm tonight, she wasn’t kidding!” said Cynthia, adjusting her glasses.
“I'm just glad it waited until after the game,” Kelly observed.
“It’s supposed to get worse,” Miranda added.
“Let’s hope we make it home before then,” Asia fretted as she looked out the window. “I hate storms! They frighten me.”
“You always worry too much,” retorted Dinah.
“We’re all here. We’ll get through it together,” Kristen said trying to reassure Asia.
“I’m going to pay for this inside,” called Ms. Clark as she began to trot towards the store.
She had no sooner gone inside when a shiny, black car pulled up beside them. The driver’s window came down to reveal Tiffany Trimble at the wheel. Her two passengers, Windy Quince and April Weeks, then rolled down their windows.
“Well! Well! Well!” smiled Tiffany in her most cheerful of voices. “Look what we have here. It’s Hobbsy and her pack of Lionesses . . . the big losers of tonight’s game!”
“Yeah!” chuckled April. “Losers!”
“BIG losers!” added Windy with her own laugh, as she chomped on a mouth full of chewing gum.
“What brings you so far from Sea City?” asked Kristen, trying to be a polite as possible.
“We wanted to watch you Sea City Lions lose big time,” smirked Tiffany.
“And you didn’t disappoint,” April added. Both she and Windy chuckled.
“Not one bit,” hooted Windy, chomping loudly on her gum.
“I guess it’s a break from watching your school’s team lose all the time,” quipped Miranda.
“Very funny,” growled Tiffany, her smile turning to a frown. Tiffany and her friends were cheerleaders for John Quincy Adams High School, one of Sea City’s other high schools and Sea City High School’s main rival.
Kristen’s patience was growing thin. She could tell Tiffany and her friends’ comments were really upsetting the others.  “Okay,” she said, “you’ve had your laugh at our expense. Why don’t you just move on?”
“Ah!” exclaimed Tiffany obnoxiously. “It sounds like these cheerleaders aren’t too cheery. Maybe we should give them a cheer of our own.”
Trimble turned to her two friends. “What do you say, girls?” she asked smugly.
“Let’s do it!” April and Windy happily agreed with big smiles on their faces. The three John Quincy Adams cheerleaders hopped out of the car.
“WE ARE THE LOSERS!
WATCH US CRY!
OUR TEAM KEEPS LOSING!
WHY? WHY? WHY?” shouted the trio while imitating Sea City High's cheerleading moves.
“This isn’t happening,” Asia groaned, covering her eyes.
While the cheer embarrassed the others, it only made Miranda more angry. Then she spotted a large water puddle and a tractor-trailer approaching. “I bet you wouldn’t dare do that again, standing over there in the pouring rain,” she called.
Feeling confident and cocky, Tiffany and her friends walked to the side of the road and began their cheer all over again.
“WE ARE THE LOSERS!…” the John Quincy Adams cheerleaders started. Then, before they knew what hit them, the semi ran through the puddle, causing water and mud to splash all over the threesome.
“Yeah! You do look like losers!” quipped Miranda. The rest of the Lion cheerleaders burst into laughter.
This event sent Tiffany and her friends running to their car. “I’ll get you for this, Jacobs!” snarled the boiling mad Tiffany, shaking her clenched fist.
“Dry off first,” laughed Miranda.
“Maybe you should appear at tomorrow afternoon's game like that,” suggested Kristen, with a renewed burst of confidence. “I'm sure you'd be the talk of the town.”
The Trimble vehicle’s engine suddenly roared. The shiny car with the soaked and filthy girls inside sped off into the night.
The Lion cheerleaders were still laughing about Tiffany and her friends as Ms. Clark ran back to the van, carrying a box of cookies and a newspaper. “It’s nice to see you’re not so depressed now,” said Ms. Clark, as she brushed off the water from her rain-soaked coat and climbed inside. She looked at each of the girls in turn. They were all smiles and giggling, although they were trying hard to contain themselves. “Did I miss something?” their perplexed sponsor then asked.
“You just had to be there,” said Dinah.
“I think I have our new cheer thought up, too,” declared Kristen.
“Already? What is it?” asked Ms. Clark.
“WE ARE THE LIONS!
HEAR US ROAR!
OUR TEAM’S A WINNER!
SCORE! SCORE! SCORE!”  cheered Kristen.
“That’s terrific,” complimented Ms. Clark as she started the van’s engine. “How did you ever think of that  so fast?”
“I had three little helpers,” said Kristen, giving Miranda a big smile.
“Three wet little helpers,” added Miranda smiling back.
This comment caused the other teens to break out in much louder giggles.
“I guess I really did miss something!” stated Ms. Clark in a confused tone.