“Welcome to the final auditions for the 2008 Mustangs Cheer Squad. As you know, only eight of our 16 finalists will be selected for the squad, and our fine judges certainly have their work cut out for them. We want to wish each of our finalists the best of luck, and we hope each girl walks away feeling like a winner.”

I stared numbly at Mrs. Johnson, the cheer squad coach. I still remember the shock that permeated my whole body when they first called my name as a finalist.

“Have you forgiven me yet?” my best friend, Laurie, had whispered with a smirk. Laurie had signed my name on the tryout list without even asking me. “You’ve dreamed of being a cheerleader all your life. There’s no way I’m going to let you wimp out now!”

She had ignored my protests and appointed herself as my personal trainer, forcing me to work out each day and practice my moves each evening. She had checked out cheerleading books from the library and had even rented a video titled Cheerleading: How to Be the Best.

“Our first performer will be Amy Bradford.”

Laurie had been my friend for as long as I could remember. We were born just six weeks apart and had grown up more like sisters than next-door neighbors. Oddly, her exuberant and outgoing personality never seemed to overshadow my shy, quiet nature. Instead, we were like salt and pepper, complementing each other with a warm, delicious flavor. She had always enjoyed being the center of attention, and I was content to stand in her shadow.

Such as the time in first grade when she had played Cinderella in the school play, and I had played the pumpkin. She had spent hours convincing me that without a pumpkin, there would be no story. And in fourth grade, she had been chosen to represent our school at a town meeting with the mayor. I must have listened to her four-minute speech 400 times! She did so well, the local news showed a 30-second clip of her. The mayor got only 10 seconds!

“Thank you, Amy. Our second performer will be Julie Phillips.”

Throughout our lives, Laurie had been the shining star. But beneath all the glitter was a genuine friend, true and loyal to the end. When she had received an invitation to Jennifer Bartram’s birthday party and I hadn’t, she chose not to attend. She and I spent the entire evening eating chocolate chip cookies and watching old movies. And she had turned down a date with Billy Parker for no reason! Actually, I knew the reason was my secret crush on him. I wouldn’t have minded if she had gone out with him, though. He was just too cute to pass up!

But that was Laurie’s way. She always put other’s feelings before her own. During our entire friendship, I can recall only a handful of disagreements. Usually they were stupid things, such as what to name our Barbie dolls or what color to paint the tree house. But we always reached a compromise and went on as though nothing had happened. Once we hadn’t spoken for three days because I told her Fi-Fi was a silly name for a Labrador retriever. Those were the worst three days of my life!

She finally rang my doorbell, with Fi-Fi on the leash. “Fi-Fi and I have discussed the matter, Miss Turner, and we’ve decided to forgive you.” After an awkward pause, we both burst into laughter and then took Fi-Fi on a two-hour walk. Poor Fi-Fi.

“Beautiful job, Julie. Next we have Melissa Anderson.”

Laurie was definitely one of a kind! But she had a way of making me feel like a million bucks. I guess that’s why I love her so much. I couldn’t help thinking that this should be Laurie standing here and not me. She was the one with the talent, the good looks, the sparkling personality. She was everything a cheerleader should be, and I was, well . . . not. But this time, she was standing in my shadow, gently pushing me into the spotlight.

Now, I was minutes away from having my lifelong dream come true. Being here, doing this, it was all so unlike me! Three weeks ago, anyone in the school would have described me as quiet, studious, friendly. But the word cheerleader would never have been included! I just wasn’t the type.

Yet here I was. I never would have had the courage without Laurie. Just knowing she was out there, cheering me on, believing in me, was enough to help give me the performance of a lifetime.

“Next performer: Crystal Turner.”

I seemed to hear Laurie’s applause above all others. My eyes rested on her as she held up both pinky fingers, miming our secret handshake. “You’re a winner in my book!” she mouthed. As I approached the stage, a surge of confidence came over me. With a friend like her, I knew I had already won.