Little Divas by Philana Marie Boles

of summer, and it felt great to laugh out loud. None of us wanted the games to end.
    All the hot dogs had been grilled and the sun was beginning to set. Darwin’s parents cooled off the coals and went inside to the air-conditioning. By now most of us had thrown on jean shorts over our swimming suits. Soon it would be the last song of the evening.
    Rikki was with Darwin, and Golden and I were sitting on the steps leading to the deck, watching as couples started going off to be alone.
    “All of your friends are so cool, Cass,” Golden said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
    “Sure,” I replied.
    We watched as Lane and Nate went to the far end of the backyard and sat on the wooden swing. Shantal and Mario were getting close at the picnic table. Everyone was coupling off except for Whitney and a few other girls who were on the dance floor doing a routine they’d probably been practicing for weeks. My heart sank when Sam came over to Golden with his hand out.
    “Wanna dance?” he said.
    It didn’t seem to make Golden nervous at all, to reach out and put her hand in his. “Be right back,” she told me. And together they walked up the steps to the deck.
    And there I sat, alone.
    Travis was wearing a green and white Nike T-shirt and a grin on his face as he walked over to me. “You wanna dance?” he asked politely.
    The tightness in my stomach was back. “No,” I replied.
    Travis put one foot on the step where I was sitting and listened to the music for a few seconds. With a smile in his eyes, he shrugged. “Not even on a good song?”
    I wanted him to leave, to go find somebody else to annoy, but he sat down next to me,
real close,
so close that I could feel his leg against mine. More flutters in my stomach, and even in my
chest
this time. My teeth started chattering.
    I was cold, that was all.
    “Your hair looks tight,” he said.
    “Thanks,” I replied. “Golden did it.”
    “She seems cool.”
    “She is.”
    Travis seemed to be waiting for me to look at him, so I did. “What?”
    He just kept smiling, looking like he was going to laugh.
    “What?” I said again.
    “Why you always actin’ so mean, Cassidy?”
    I looked away. “I’m not.”
    “And why are you diggin’ your nails into your arm like that?”
    I looked down. Travis was right. I relaxed and rested my hands in my lap. But I definitely still had those flutters.
    “Your nails look pretty too,” he told me.
    “Thanks,” I said. “My cousin Mary painted them to match my suit.”
    “For real? I know Mary. She’s cool with my sister.”
    “I know,” I said. “Sharee, right?”
    “Yeah…”
    And then there was more silence. Endless and forever silence. I wanted to get up and run out of the backyard, but where would I go? Silence. Silence. Too much silence.
    Finally Travis said, “For real. You know how I like you, right?”
    Oh my goodness! I could hardly hear for the pounding in my ears. What in the world was I supposed to say to that?
    I couldn’t believe it, but Travis’s face showed no signs of kidding.
    “This year I might get to start. You could come to all my games, sit with my moms and pops up in the stands and everything.”
    “You’re always playing around, Travis,” I said.
    “Straight up,” he said, sounding really sincere. “You should be my lady, Cassidy.”
    I remembered that day at the park when Darwin had asked Rikki to go off with him so that Travis could be alone with me. Was Travis really being honest? I could sense him looking at me again, and I tried hard to keep looking right back.
    “What?” I said.
    He cracked a smile and nudged me. “Mean.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Yes, you are.”
    “No,” I said. “And as a matter of fact, I’m also not stuck-up. Since you guys made everybody think that I am, let’s get that straight right now. I’m a very nice person. Golden moved in next door to me and I was nice to her. You’re the one who’s mean, Travis. Let’s talk about who made me drop my goldfish