The Evil Lives! Read Online Free PDF

breathing heavily.
    â€œWhat happened?” Amanda demanded.
    â€œShe attacked me!” Natalie declared angrily.
    â€œBecause you were laughing at me,” Janine shot back. “You are a total jerk, Natalie. Talk about a sore winner!”
    Confused, Amanda turned to Keesha and Victoria. “What happened?” she repeated.
    â€œThe coach picked Luke to play Friday night,” Keesha explained with a sigh. “Brandon will be sitting on the bench.”
    â€œAnd Natalie just couldn’t wait to brag to me about it,” Janine declared. “As if she won the contest, and I lost. Get a life, Natalie,” she sneered, her eyes blazing. “Luke is the one who got picked—not you.”
    Natalie started to reply, but Amanda cut her off. “Don’t say anything,” she snapped. “Not a single word.”
    Natalie tossed her dark hair and scowled. But she kept quiet.
    Amanda stared at the tops of her sneakers, thinking. I have to do something about this before it gets any worse. I’m the captain. I have to take charge.
    Raising her head, Amanda stared at the two angry cheerleaders. “You guys are lucky Miss Daly isn’t here today,” she told them. “If she had seen this, she’d kick you both off the squad.”
    â€œAmanda is right,” Keesha agreed.
    â€œThis whole competition thing is dumb,” Amanda said. “It’s not worth ruining everything over.”
    Silence for a moment. Then Natalie glanced back at Janine. Her gray eyes still looked stormy, but she finally shrugged. “Sorry.”
    â€œYeah. Me too,” Janine muttered.
    They’re still angry, Amanda thought. But at least they’re not trying to kill each other. “Okay, time to get to work,” she announced. “Let’s start with the Hoop cheer.”
    The cheerleaders quickly arranged themselves in a line and began the cheer.
    â€œHOOP—there it is!
    HOOP—there it is!
    TWOOOOO points!”
    As they worked, Amanda kept glancing at Janine and Natalie. From their grim expressions, she could tell they were just going through the motions. But after a while, they loosened up and began to get into it.
    Amanda relaxed a little. The feud is over, she thought. For now, at least.
    As they finished the cheer, a door banged open at the other end of the court. The basketball team emerged from the locker room, shrugging into their jackets and swinging duffel bags and backpacks over their shoulders. They had finished practice and were free for the rest of the day.
    Brandon walked slowly, head down, shoulders slumped.
    Luke strode across the floor with a springy step that made his blond hair bounce. As he spotted Natalie, he shot her a satisfied grin and a thumbs-up.
    Amanda glanced quickly at Janine. Janine was tying a shoelace, thank goodness. She didn’t see Natalie’s gloating expression.
    The door banged open again and Judd emerged injeans and a dark blue jacket. He paused to zip his backpack. Then he gazed down the court at the cheerleaders.
    When he spotted Amanda, he waved to her, a warm smile spreading across his face.
    Amanda waved back, feeling her stomach do its funny little flip again.
    Whoa, she thought. That was more than just a friendly-type smile. Maybe he really is interested in me.
    Amanda turned back to the squad. “Let’s do the new routine,” she told them. “Miss Daly said it wasn’t bad. I want to see if we can actually get a ‘good’ out of her.”
    As they moved into position, Amanda caught a glimpse of someone high up in the bleachers. Andrew, she thought, waiting for Keesha.
    No, not Andrew, she realized as she glanced up.
    Dustin.
    Sitting still as a statue, watching her with his green eyes narrowed to slits.
    As Amanda stared back, her stomach clenched in a knot and the good feeling about Judd disappeared. Even from this distance, she could feel the cold intensity in Dustin’s