“I just can’t believe that Ms. Price has cancer, that totally sucks,” Lindsey had her laptop out, working on an English paper.
“My mom was talking with Mrs. Wiseman and she was saying that because she is just a student teacher and not full-time her medical insurance won’t pay for all the reconstruction surgeries and stuff.” Danielle’s grandmother had breast cancer, and was now a five year survivor.
The girls worked on their essays in silence for a while, both thinking more about their cheer team choreographer and assistant coach than their papers.
“Lindsey, we have what, six seniors on the squad this year?” Danielle, had closed her books, and was leaning on her elbow on the table where they were sitting.
“That sounds right, why?”
“How much do you think they all really want to go to the Orlando meet? I mean, if something kept us from competing, would they regret it?”
This got Lindsey’s attention. Danielle was usually very excited about competitions, pushing the other squad members to work harder.
“Why wouldn’t we go to the meet. We’ve qualified already and have the fundraisers all planned and everything.” Lindsey’s voice took on a edge, wondering what her friend was up to.
“What if we still have the fundraisers, but instead of using the money for expenses, we use it for something else?” Danielle’s voice lowered, and it was clear she was having a hard time talking. “Danielle, are you okay. What are you talking about?”
“Ms. Price, she’s so young and now has to face this awful disease. She can’t afford the after-surgeries and I remember when my Grandma had her mastectomy how important it is to do that pretty soon after the cancer surgery.”
“Okay, what does that have to do with the Orlando…” Lindsey stopped mid-thought, finally realizing what Danielle was suggesting. “You want us to give the fundraiser money to Ms. Price, don’t you?”
“Orlando isn’t the only competition we can go to, it’s not even the best one. We could do this for Ms. Price. We could.” Danielle was standing, pacing around the table. Going back and forth between wringing her hands and gesturing wildly. “All us seniors have done Orlando before, the underclassmen can go other times. We should do this.”
“We can call a meeting of the squad, and ask them what they all want to do.” Lindsey knew how passionate her friend was about this subject, but worried the squad would not be as enthusiastic as she was.
Later that night the entire squad had gathered at Lindsey’s house. They all knew about what their favorite teacher was going through, but didn’t know she was facing the possibility of not having funds to have the followup reconstruction surgery.
Danielle gave an impassioned speech, asking them all to make an easy sacrifice of giving up one competition to help raise money for Ms. Price. She was moved to tears when the first vote was unanimous in favor of helping Rita.
Lindsey and Danielle, as squad co-captains, said they would meet with Mrs. Wiseman to let her know what they wanted to do. They asked if she could talk with her after practice the next day.
By the time the girls had finished their speeches, telling their coach after all the hard work they had put in so far rehearsing for the fall competition, after all the time she had put in over and above her contract requirements, that the squad wanted to abandon those plans and instead use the scheduled fund-raisers to help Ms. Price.
Mrs. Wiseman was so quiet for so long, the girls worried she was working up to an explosive mad.
“This decision was unanimous? No one was pressured into agreeing to skipping the Orlando meet?” Mrs. Wiseman was talking in measured phrases, making it difficult for the girls to read her mood.
“We took a blind vote, everyone wrote their answers down, so we wouldn’t know if someone wanted to go,” Lindsay said. “First time every one voted ‘Yes’ for skipping the meet and having the fundraiser for Ms. Price.”
Marion sat very still, mulling over what her two cheerleaders were telling her. All of these teenagers were willing to give up something they have worked so hard for, to give up a month of weekends, to help one of their teachers.
She was so quiet for so long, the girls worried that she was too angry to speak. Coach Wiesman was incredibly competitive and would come down hard on anyone she thought was slacking and not pulling their weight during practice or a performance.
“I must say that I am surprised by your proposal,” Coach Wiseman leaned back in her desk chair, looking intently at the girls.
They didn’t respond, only returned the older woman’s glare.
“I have to tell you that if you want to do these car washes as a fundraiser for Coach Price, and not as a means to go to a school sanctioned event, you won’t be covered by district authority.”
Danielle and Lindsey exchanged glances.
“I don’t understand, what do you mean, district authority,” Lindsey asked.
“Because you’re raising money for a school-related activity, you can’t present the fundraiser as a team function, you’d have to do the car washes on your own.”
Danielle and Lindsey leaned in close together, whisper fervently for a few seconds, before Lindsey spoke.
“If we don’t do these as part of the cheer team, does that mean we don’t have to folow school dress codes and stuff like that?”
Wiseman smiled, they did understand.
“As long as you don’t advertise that the fundraiser is in any way a school function, no matter who benefits, then you are doing them as private citizens, civilians so to speak You can’t wear anything that would identify you as a member of the cheer squad.”
The two girls squealed and jump up and down in their chairs.
Danielle suddenly got very quiet.
“Do you think Save Mart will still let us hold the car washes in their parking lot? I don’t know where else we can do it if not there. They give up access to the water and give us soap and sponges.”
Wiseman stood up from her desk, walking around to the two girls.
“You leave that to me, I’ll square it with the store owner. You’ll still be able to have the car wash there. I’ll also go by the bank and get some cash to seed the money box for you all this weekend.”
The girls whispered together again quickly
“Coach, we’re sorry if you’re disappointed in not going ot Orlando this year. We just figured this was more important.”
Girls, I could not be more proud of all of you. To sacrifice something as important to you as this competition so that you can do something so wonderful for someone else, is amazing. I’m not disappointed, I’m thrilled.”
That afternoon Coach Wiseman visited the bank to pick up small bills to use to make change at the first of the girls’ benefit car washes. In the drive-thru lane, she pulled in behind an SUV with a Girl Scout bumper sticker, Among the stack of ones she received was an old dollar bill, rimmed in red ink.
Over the next four weekends, the cheer squad held car washes, with all proceeds going to Coach Price. When she found out what the team had done, what they offered to give up, she was moved to tears. The fundraisers were so popular and successful they easily earned enough money for Coach Price to get the surgery she needed.
As an added bonus, when the local media found out about the team foregoing the competition to help their coach, an anonymous donor offered to fund the girls’ trip to Orlando, allowing them to compete as originally panned. As they were racing on stage to receive their first place award, their beloved Coach Price was being wheeled into a recovery room after successful breast reconstruction surgery.
Raising the three-foot trophy high over their heads the girls shouted out, “this one is for your Coach Price!”
