My junior year at high school, varsity cheerleading, circa 1989-1990.

Nadine was a senior, and she had the biggest, brightest smile out of all the girls on the varsity squad. Her teeth looked super white against her black skin, and her braces always gleamed in the sun. She and I were about the same height and the same build, so we were often paired as bases in a stunt.

That fateful day, Nadine and I were practicing a high ‘vator with Ethel as the flyer. I don’t remember who our spotter was; it was either Rina or Belinda. The basic stunt was going to be part of an even bigger stunt, but we thought we’d warm up a little and practice our timing and our cradle.

So up we went in smooth motions—Ethel’s hands firmly on Nadine’s and my shoulders before a short count, a little hop, and a sweet silent swoosh as we lifted her feet to our chests for a regular ‘vator. We were about to move on to the high ‘vator with only a slight pause, but Nadine said, “Wa-a-ai-i-it!!! Stop! Don’t do the high ‘vator!”

“What? What?” we all cried. “What’s wrong? You want down?” Down is one of those word cues used in a stunting emergency, and it usually results in the flyer dismounting from the stunt in the quickest way possible. But Nadine wouldn’t have it.

“No! No!” she called. “Don’t move! Stay still! I’m stuck!”

I barely noticed that Nadine sounded a little funny, like she was having difficulty talking or something. I tried peeking around Ethel’s sock-covered ankle to see Nadine’s face.

“What’s wrong?” some of the other girls were asking. They all moved to look at Nadine, too.

Nadine’s mouth was open in a strange-looking smile, as though she just sat on something unpleasant. Her eyes wide and fearful, she looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

The girls gasped. “Oh, my God!”

“What? What?” I asked, desperately trying to see.

“Ethel’s sock is stuck on Nadine’s braces!” And sure enough, it was. A loose loop of thread had gotten caught on the shiny metal lining Nadine’s teeth. Had we moved right into the high ‘vator or gone “down,” it could have meant a fall, a rip, a bad bending of metal and enamel, or worse—an injury.

“Please, please get it off,” Nadine begged, her mouth in a nervous grin.

My arms were getting tired from staying still so long, so I chimed in. “Hurry,” I insisted. “Someone help her!”

One of the girls finally moved to help remove the thread. It took about half a minute, but still a little too long for Nadine’s taste. Once it was free, Ethel dismounted, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

—
And for those of you not privy to cheerleading stunting terms…

bases: a “base” person is someone who does a lot of the lifting and throwing in a cheerleading stunt.

‘vator: a cheerleading stunt that looks like this; a high vator looks like this. More on ‘vators here.

flyer: someone who gets lifted and/or thrown in a cheerleading stunt.

cradle: a dismount from a stunt, see here.

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