"Lizzie! Over here!" Lizzie McGuire looked over at her mom, Jo, who was sitting in the bleachers of the gym videotaping the "Woodstock Walton" pep rally and waving a black and red pom pom enthusiastically. Five years ago, Lizzie would have been humiliated, but now, she was actually kind of glad that her mom cared enough to come to every pep rally and game. Lizzie waved at the camera and flashed her biggest smile.
"Let's go, Hillridge!" she cheered, winking at the camera. Kate jumped into the frame next to Lizzie, her long blonde hair flying out behind her.
"GO HILLRIDGE!" she screamed, playing up the crazy school spirited cheerleader image and laughing. She thrust one her index finger towards the camera. "We're number one!" Kate and Lizzie yelled together. Jo clicked off her camera set it in the empty seat next to her.
"You know, girls, I've been thinking about what I said to you last week about Miranda. I think I overreacted," she whispered, not wanting the other parents to hear her. Not like Miranda's parents actually participated in school activities anyway. "I was just upset about the way that she had treated you," Jo continued. "But regardless of how I feel about Miranda, she's been a good friend of yours for a very long time, and I don't think that you should just cut her off." Lizzie glanced at the student section of the bleachers, where Miranda was sitting, alone, glaring at the cheerleaders.
"I don't know, Mom," Lizzie said. "I'm sure I'll talk to her again, eventually. I just need some time," she told Jo. Jo smiled encouragingly at her daughter and picked up her video camera.
"Okay. Now let's see my two favorite Patriot cheerleaders go out there and get this crowd pumped up!" Jo exclaimed, turning on her camera. The band started to play the school song and Lizzie and Kate hurried back to the center of the gym to begin their routine, blowing kisses to the camera. As Lizzie concentrated on her routine, her eyes scanned the crowd and settled on Gordo. He looked so cute with a tie-dyed headband tied carelessly around his mane of wild curls. He was wearing a black T-shirt that said "Make Love, Not War" and faded, torn jeans with converse sneakers. Lizzie grinned seductively. Why haven't I ever realized how adorable Gordo is? She wondered.
That afternoon at cheerleading practice, Kate took a big roll of butcher paper and several cans of paint and brushes out of the trunk of her brand new Escalade. "As I'm sure you all know, Homecoming is in three weeks," she declared. "Time to start making posters!" Lizzie felt a surge of excitement. She loved Homecoming. As Kate handed her a brush, Lizzie started to daydream about the homecoming dance. She would waltz into the gym in a super cute dress and everyone would stop what they were doing and watch her in amazement as her date escorted her—her date… Lizzie started to weigh possible options in her head. There was Danny Kessler, whose family had moved back to Hillridge from San Francisco the previous summer. He was cute, but definitely not as drop dead gorgeous as Lizzie remembered him from middle school. Ethan Craft… hmm. Ethan was a definite possibility. Gordo… Kate scooted over so that she was next to Lizzie.
"So, who do you want to go with?" Kate asked, like she had read Lizzie's mind. Lizzie dipped her brush into the can of red paint sitting next to her.
"Actually, as crazy as it sounds, I'm kind of hoping that Gordo will ask me," she answered. "I mean, he's my best friend. We'd have a blast together. And, he's not exactly bad looking," she ventured.
"Oh, my God!" Kate squealed. "You like him, don't you?"
"I just think he'd be a really fun date," Lizzie responded casually. "So, what about you?" Kate smiled dreamily.
"I'm going with Danny Kessler," she stated confidently. She tossed her blonde curls out of her face and tied them into a ponytail.
"Oh, I didn't know Danny had asked you!" Lizzie exclaimed. "That'll be fun!" Kate shook her head.
"No, dumbass, he hasn't actually asked me yet," she corrected Lizzie. "But he will," she added quickly. Lizzie nodded.
"Of course he will!" she said. Kate always went to the dances with her first choice. She would probably be homecoming queen, too. Lizzie looked over at the parking lot and gasped. Gordo was walking towards the practice field. Lizzie got up and brushed off her gray soffe shorts.
"Gordo!" she called. "What are you doing here?" Gordo jumped in the air with his fingers waving back and forth. "Spirit Fingers, Hillridge, Spirit Fingers!" he said in a mock high pitched voice. "Haven't you heard, Lizzie? I've always wanted to participate in cheerleader practice," he joked. Lizzie laughed.
"Right," she said. "David Gordon, Head Cheerleader. I can see it." Gordo held up a manila envelope with the Pepperdine University logo on the upper left-hand corner.
"Okay, McGuire. Do you want to know my real reason for coming? Pepperdine acceptance letters are here," he said. "I was about to open it, but then I figured that if mine was here, yours is probably here too. So, I decided to come pick you up from practice and we can open them together." Lizzie got goosebumps on her arm. She had wanted to go to Pepperdine since 9th grade, when she, Gordo, and Miranda had visited Lizzie's cousin there. It was her absolute first choice, and now she was about to find out whether or not she had actually gotten in. Lizzie looked at her watch. Practice was over in ten minutes, and she did need a ride home since Matt was asking Melina to homecoming today after school, and he was using Lizzie's car to take her out.
"Okay," Lizzie agreed. As she looked up at Gordo, she was caught off guard by his crooked smile. "Your teeth are so white," she murmured. Gordo looked confused.
"What?" he asked. Lizzie blushed and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"Nothing! Let's go!" she said quickly. Oh, my God. I can't believe I said that out loud! Your teeth are so white? She scolded herself silently. She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, but she couldn't help wondering if they were caused by Gordo or her nervousness about Pepperdine.