In ninth grade, Brooke lies about her age to get her first job working as a telemarketer. At school, Brooke continues to hang out with Judd and Cristin, and Cristin notices how thin Brooke is becoming. She tries to shrug this off and notices a sign for cheerleader tryouts. Despite having no experience, she becomes determined to try out, and with earnings from her new job, can even afford to pay for the activity herself. Brooke spends time practicing and heads to the tryouts with a couple of friends from school. She finds out that she is a natural flyer, perfect for being held up and tossed in the air, and performs a maneuver on her second try. She makes the cheerleading team and feels the rush of doing something purely for her own sake.

At the local fair, Cristin tells Brooke that she thinks Paul might like her, and Paul offers to take Brooke home that night. Brooke worries about being too busy with her job and home life to have a boyfriend, and worries about her father’s reaction. She spends time with Paul at the fair, but when he asks her out, she politely declines.