The Lonely Hearts Club

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I nodded slowly. A numbness had spread over my body.

"That's it, she's out of the Club," Tracy went on. "I'll tell her." Tracy guided me to my locker and opened it up for me. All I could do was stare straight ahead.

"No, I'll tell her" I said. "At lunch." I could hardly get the words out.

"Okay." Tracy got my books for me. "Do you need anything else?"

Yes, I needed to know why, if I didn't have any feelings for Ryan, I felt so demolished.

Diane filled me in right before lunch. "Rosa

"That's not what I said!" I protested.

Well, not the first two parts.

"That's what I told him, but he's still pretty upset. I don't think he liked the fact that you would talk about him to the Club."

"All right," Tracy chimed in. "Let's slow down for a second and catch our breath." She put her arm around me and looked me in the eye. "Are you sure you want to do this now?"

I couldn't believe that at a time like this Tracy had decided to be the voice of reason. Even Diane looked at her like she was mental. Of course I wanted to do this.

Right.

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Now.

"Yes."

I marched into the cafeteria like a soldier off to battle, with Diane and Tracy right behind me. Rosa

"I have something I need to say," I was looking at Rosa

Rosa

"Apparently, I'm not making myself clear." I leaned over so I was face-to-face with her. "Rosa

She squinted at me. "Are you seriously going to kick me out?"

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"I just did!" My voice started to rise. "Get out of here, you backstabbing, two-faced wench."

"Yes!" Tracy got up and clapped, followed by Diane, then Morgan and Kara and Jen. Soon the entire table was up, cheering me on.

Rosa

I turned around to see the entire cafeteria was looking in our direction. A few other tables even joined in the celebration of Rosa

I caught Ryan's eye at the other end of the room and gave him a smile, but he looked away.

The camaraderie within the Lonely Hearts Club was better than ever all week. We were stronger, more united. Maybe it was Braddock's threats, or Rosa

We all came out in full force to support Diane's debut as a member of the McKinley Ravens basketball team. With only two minutes left, Diane had yet to be put in the game.

"Coach Ramsey has to let Diane in -- we're up by nineteen points!' Tracy said.

I kept stealing glances over by Diane's parents, where Ryan was sitting, I guessed there was no way Todd,, or any of the

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guys, would've come to support Diane, despite how many times she had cheered them on. I had tried to talk to Ryan since Monday's debacle with Rosa

The junior varsity cheerleading squad took the floor. they didn't even try to display any enthusiasm for the game, like they were being punished by having to cheer for the girls' team.

"Ugh, this is painful, I could do a better job!' Tracy said as the cheerleaders anemically asked if we had spirit.

The buzzer sounded and the teams got back to the court. Diane sat patiently at the end of the bench, her knee visibly shaking with nerves.

Jen threw the ball from out-of-bounds to Britney Stewart, who was immediately fouled by a desperate member of the Springfield team. the team lined up at the free-throw line, and Britney easily scored two extra points for the team.

"Oh, come on, Coach!" Tracy screamed. "Put Diane in!"

All five Ravens players sprinted down to the other end of the court. Jen easily recovered a failed attempt from Springfield to score a basket. She grabbed the ball fiercely and began to dribble it down the court. A tall brunette player from Springfield ran up alongside her and pushed her down with a swift motion of her hips.

The whistle blew as the referees conferred.

"That so better be a technical foul," Tracy hissed.

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the team congregated near the bench to be briefed by Coach Ramsey. As the coach talked to the team and went over the next play, Diane looked on intently, then she bit her lip, and headed into the game. the entire Club section stood up and started cheering. Signs were hoisted, and chants of "Diane" started filling the gymnasium.

Diane's eyes narrowed as she lined up at the foul line and watched Jen miss her two free throws. Then, when the action resumed, she ran full force to Springfield's end of the court. She was squatting down and staying low as the guard from the other team approached her. Diane stayed with the guard the entire time, focused on the player's torso, a trick Ryan taught her. the ball was thrown to a tall blonde who missed the basket. Jen recovered the ball and threw it to Diane,

Diane dribbled the length of the court, every ounce of her attention on the basket before her.

"Come on, Diane!" Tracy and I screamed in unison- Tracy grabbed my hand as we watched Diane approach the basket for a lay-up and . .. miss.

"It's okay, Diane!" Kara screamed next to me. We all continued to clap as Springfield called another time-out.

"Can you believe them?" Tracy motioned down to the front, where the cheerleading team had decided to take a break. "they sat down the second Diane took to the court. So pathetic."

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the cheerleaders were sitting on the first bench. Missy was texting someone on her phone, while the rest of them were doing everything they could to ignore the game.

"Oh, they make me so mad. A few weeks ago, all those girls were kissing Diane's ass and now they can't even cheer for the team . . . it's their job!"

I nodded, a

"I've had it." Tracy stood up.

"Tracy, don't cause any --"

Before I could finish my sentence, Tracy stood up on our bench, turned around to face the people behind us, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "GIVE ME A D!"