Page 5 of Say Something
Lately, whenever I was around Danny, I felt weird. My hands got sweaty, my head felt fuzzy and my heart pounded...like when I have to give a presentation at school. I'd known Danny all my life, why was I suddenly nervous around him.
“Swimming sounds fun,” Melissa said. She pulled a small nail file out of her purse and started filing her nails. My sister was so bored. Aside from swimming or laying out in the sun to get tanned, she didn’t care much for being outside.
“I wouldn’t mind cooling off after this,” Dean agreed.
“We’d better get back to work so we’ll have time to cool off before it gets dark,” Bryan said, wiping the sweat off his brow before he replaced his baseball cap.
The boys all got up and left the porch, Mikey trailing behind them. My younger brother hated manual labor. I was surprised anyone had convinced him to help out, but I’d bet Mom and Dad didn’t give him a choice. Our family was close with the Thompsons, and when either family needed help, the other pitched in.
I watched Danny’s back, as he moved with the others across the field. I’d always thought he was handsome, but he was just a friend, right? Our parents were very close, so we always played with each other when we were younger. We were also in the same classes throughout elementary and middle school, since our small town only had one class per grade. High school would start in the fall, ninth grade, and I wasn’t sure what that would bring since it would be the first time we took classes with other grades. We hadn’t gotten our schedules yet, but I was hoping Danny and I would have some of the same classes.
I flipped through the latest issue ofYMmagazine while Melissa did her nails beside me. I started to feel bad for just sitting on the porch swing with my sister while the guys were out working hard in the sticky heat.
“Do you want to go help them?”
Melissa gave me a side-eye as she did her second coat of Wet n Wild hot pink nail polish. “Why would I do that? My nails will get all messed up.”
“I don’t know.”
“You just want to go see Danny. Admit it.”
My cheeks heated. “I do not.”
Melissa smirked as she stuck the brush back in the bottle and sealed it. She waved her hands back and forth in front of her, causing the swing to sway. “There’s nothing wrong if you like him, you know?”
“I don’t like him.” I liked him as a friend, but that was it, I thought.
“Uh huh.” I wanted to wipe that smirk off her face. Sometimes I wondered why my sister was my best friend. She dropped her polish and file into her tote bag and stood up. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“To find the guys.”
“We don’t have to,” I said.
“Okay, then let’s stay here.”
I stood up. “Okay, come on.”
Melissa laughed, then carefully took my hand as we skipped off the porch.
“Are you going to try out for cheerleading?” Melissa asked as we walked through the field to where the boys were fixing a fence.
“Why would I do that?” I didn’t think I was coordinated enough to be a cheerleader.
“I overhead Danny talking to Bryan. He’s trying out for JV football.”
“Really?”
“Yup. And the cheerleaders get to go to all the games with the football team.”
“They do?”
“Yup. I’ll help you practice, if you want.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Melissa may have been my younger sister...but I guess she was a pretty amazing best friend, too.
