Love Double Dutch!

by Doreen Spicer-Dannelly

  “You guys are going down,” Melissa says, staring at the boy facing her. He pretends to shake a bit, then smiles sarcastically.

  “Ready, hike!” I yell.

  Melissa throws the ball high, but I quickly catch it and run until Charlie grabs me around the waist. Hey! Can he do that? I toss the ball to Sally, who bounces it around like a hot potato. Once she gets a good grip, she runs while Melissa tries to tackle two boys at once, but one gets away and chases after Sally. Melissa wrestles the other to the ground and holds him with all her might. I look up to see Tina just talking to one boy while she loosens her hair and flips it back and forth. The boy has on a goofy smile and seems hypnotized. Way to go, Tina! I guess she’s already learned how to use her girl power. I break away from Charlie, who has been holding on to me way too long, and watch Sally outrun the boy on her trail. She takes off like a lightning bolt into the end zone. We celebrate!

  “Yes!” I scream.

  “So long, losers,” Melissa taunts.

  “I think I like football,” Tina says sarcastically. “We should do this more often!” Sally shoves the football into Charlie’s gut and smiles at him. She gives me a high five. It’s cool to see her happy about the challenge. I grab the rope off the grass while Melissa and Tina gather their bikes. Sally and I hop onto the backs and leave the boys in the dust. As we ride away, we take one last look at the boys and give them the L sign. I think Melissa shows them her middle finger. Oh well, that’s her. All they can do is shake their heads. Even Charlie cracks a smile at me. Sally sees this and looks at me funny. I give her a look like, What? Okay, he may be cute, but he’s obnoxious and rude, like Daddy said he would be. All I know is we dusted those guys!

  As we roll up to Sally’s house, we’re still laughing about beating the boys at their own game and don’t notice how dark it has become. Suddenly Aunt Jeanie is standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. Uh-oh, she does not look happy.

  Melissa and Tina nearly dump us onto the lawn and hightail it up the street. It looks like Aunt Jeanie is breathing so hard steam is coming out of her nose. I am just hoping fire isn’t going to come out of her mouth, but no such luck.

  “Do you both know what time it is?” Aunt Jeanie points at her watch.

  I guess we were having so much fun that we completely forgot about the time.

  “Sally, your father is out there looking all around for y’all,” Aunt Jeanie continues as we walk through the doors with our heads down. “You know better than this.”

  “But, Ma—” Sally starts.

  “It was my fault,” I interrupt. “We went to buy some rope for double Dutch and—”

  Aunt Jeanie cuts me off. “Honey, no need to explain. Whatever y’all need, you just let me know.” She simmers down a bit, thank goodness. I almost tell her how we had to get the rope back from a bunch of boys by beating them in a football game. But all she would hear is that we were playing with a bunch of boys, and then her head probably would explode. “I just don’t want y’all roaming the streets and nobody knowing where you are. These neighborhoods may look safe, but I need to know where you are at all times,” Aunt Jeanie continues with a long, chilling stare.

  I must admit, as much as I hate being reprimanded, I appreciate that somebody cares about my whereabouts. Even if I think I can take care of myself, it’s nice to know someone is looking after me. I just hope this doesn’t mean I have to go to sleep without dinner. I’m hungry.

  I try to get back into this master chef’s good graces. “Um, Aunt Jeanie, is there anything to eat?”

  “If you all promise not to do this ever again, I might let you have something to eat,” she says. Then, through the side of her mouth, “Running my blood pressure through the roof.”

  “We promise,” Sally and I say in unison.

  “All right, you all get washed up and I’ll warm you some supper,” Aunt Jeanie says with a delayed smirk. “Your uncle took the boys down to the river this afternoon and caught a boatload of fish.” Cool! I think she’s truly relieved that we’re in the house. Who says “supper” anymore?

  After my shower, I quickly check on Cameron in Michael and Eddie’s bedroom. I’m guessing the fishing trip wore him out, because he and my little cousins are already fast asleep on the floor with video game controllers in their hands. He actually has a smile on his face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Cameron sleeping before seven o’clock. He may get on my nerves sometimes, but he’s really a good kid. Roar! Was that my stomach? I quietly shut the door and quickly head to the kitchen. Supper smells good! Sally and I sit there in our pajamas and wolf down Aunt Jeanie’s catfish and yummy corn bread. Man, my aunt can cook!

  Even though we had a fun afternoon, I don’t even know if Melissa and Tina will turn out to be any good at double Dutch. But I don’t want to lose the opportunity to compete, even if we look like fools jumping around in the gym. I guess we’ll figure it out tomorrow, but I know one thing: today was more fun than I thought I would have here in the South.

  Finally Sally and I put our dishes in the sink and walk upstairs. Sally stands at her door for a second, then turns around.

  “I’m glad we found a team,” Sally whispers. “Now I’ll be able to show the Belles they’ve made a mistake by shutting me out.”

  “I just hope Melissa and Tina will be as good at double Dutch as they were at football,” I snicker.

  “Today was so fun!” she says as she looks back to see if her parents’ door is closed. It is. She gestures for me to come to her room. I tiptoe across the hall, and we run and jump onto the bed with two feet.

  “Did you see how Melissa pinned that one boy?” Sally laughs. “He didn’t have a chance.”

  “You should’ve seen Tina.” I laugh back. “She had that boy like…” I stare with wide eyes.

  “I know,” Sally says. “They all looked like this when I made the touchdown.” She crosses her eyes, and we jump around on the bed, laughing. Who knew my stiff little cousin Sally could be this silly? We reenact the whole game, laughing at every move the boys made. “Did you see the look on Charlie’s face when—”

  Suddenly the bedroom door flies open. It’s Uncle Larry.

  “Heeey!” he whispers loudly. “I’m happy you two are finally getting along, but y’all got the dogs barking in the neighborhood.” We stare at him blankly. “Now get some sleep.” We drop to the bed and giggle as he shuts the door.

  “It looks like Charlie really likes you,” Sally teases.

  “No, he doesn’t,” I deny, only wishing those butterflies I felt for him were mutual.

  “He does, and you know it,” Sally insists. “Well, consider yourself lucky. There are a lot of girls at school who would love to be his girlfriend.” Girlfriend? Hmm, could he possibly think of me as his…girlfriend? Sally pulls the covers over herself and suddenly falls silent.

  I tiptoe to my room and try to fall asleep, but I just can’t. I keep wondering, Me? Charlie’s girlfriend? I find my diary as if it was waiting to hear something juicy. I smile as I feverishly write about this new boy, Charlie, and how I keep dreaming of his lips close to mine. I wonder if I’ll see him tomorrow at camp and will he even say hi….I hope so. Then again, we did kick their butts in football. Ha ha!

  * * *

  —

  I wake up with a pen print and a silly grin on my face. I must’ve fallen asleep on my diary, thinking, What if Sally is right? What if Charlie really likes me? Could it be I have a crush on him? His glowing, dark tanned skin and big brown eyes, the kind that match his skin perfectly, are just so, so…ugh! Butterflies. He’s so cute! I jump up, excited to get myself ready for the day. Wait a minute. I’m excited? Well, I did put together a double Dutch team, and there’s a cute boy at my camp who my cousin thinks likes me, and my cousin seems to be cooler than I thought. Crazy. This summer can’t get any better…can it?

  * * * />
  —

  As I get dressed, I can’t help feeling like Beyoncé and JLo in the posters are staring at me, compelling me to check myself out in the mirror. I wonder if I have anything of what they have….Uh, no. I wonder how they got so, so confident with their…stuff? Maybe because they have “stuff”? Were they always proud, or did they ever do like I’m doing, checking my reflection as I poke out my chest to see if there’s a curve anywhere on my hips, thinking, Am I sexy? What boy is going to go crazy over this? I suddenly feel stupid and snap out of it. I’ve never stopped to think about how my body looks except for when my feet are hitting the floor in double Dutch. What does it matter if I don’t have any curves? I then imagine Bey and JLo saying something like, Maybe it’s that boy you like. I imitate their poses in the mirror, thinking, Yeah, cute boys like girls with gifts. Well, I may not have all the “boom-boom-pow” body parts that get a boy’s attention, but if one boy likes me, I guess maybe he already likes what he sees. And if he doesn’t, so what? We can’t all be Beyoncés or JLos.

  Suddenly I overhear my uncle Larry having a conversation with Sally as he works around the hole he and his crew dug for the pool. By Sally’s body language I can tell she’s down about something. What’s wrong now? It seems she has a better bond with her dad than she does with my aunt Jeanie. I can understand, because Aunt Jeanie’s attitude is cut-and-dried, and she doesn’t like a whole lot of whining over anything. I guess I get my attitude from her and not from my mom, who’s always so emotional.

  I start eavesdropping a bit; okay, a lot. Anytime I hear the words “double Dutch,” my ears just tune in automatically.

  “I know Kayla is trying, but I don’t think we have a chance at the double Dutch contest,” Sally confesses to her father.

  “Oh, stop that worrying,” Uncle Larry says as he continues working. “Just give it your best shot.”

  “Dad, it’s not about double Dutch.” Sally sulks. “It’s about when summer’s over. It’s…forget it.”

  “Is this about when you see those girls at school?” Uncle Larry stops for a moment. “Do you need me to go down there?”

  “No, Daddy!” Sally’s voice is filled with fear.

  I thought she was over this and on to redeeming herself, but obviously not. Those double Dutch divas must have picked on Sally so bad that it’s really put the fear in her. Well, that’s got to change. Even if my cousin acts like a square princess sometimes, she doesn’t deserve to be hated on or bullied by anyone.

  “You know, when I was your age, if someone had a beef with me, it was me and that guy going mano a mano at three o’clock,” Uncle Larry says.

  “Dad, fighting is so barbaric,” says Sally.

  “Yeah, well, fighting never solved anything anyway,” Uncle Larry says. “All we did was let off some steam, then later we’d become friends, and before you knew it we were down at the creek fishing like nothing ever happened. Besides, you shouldn’t be fighting no ways.” Sally smirks at her dad. “You never know, things can change. Look at you and your cousin,” Uncle Larry continues. “I thought you two were going to kill each other before the summer was over, but you’re getting along, right?”

  “I guess.” Sally sighs. “At first I didn’t want her here, but she’s been really cool, acting kind of like a big sister. But she’s going to leave, and then what?”

  “Well, at some point, you’re going to have to stand up for yourself, honey,” Uncle Larry says as he continues to clear debris. “Or else I’ll have to make a few personal calls to some of them parents, you hear me?” Sally just sighs again as though she knows it’s time for her to do something about it.

  I smile, happy Sally sees that at least I have put our differences aside and stepped up like a big sister.

  Suddenly my bedroom door flies open while I’m still dressing. I cover up with my bathrobe.

  Cameron barges in. “I miss Mommy and Daddy.”

  “Cameron!” I yell. “Don’t you know how to knock?” He looks so deflated that I can only hug him. I am his big sister first.

  “Yeah, I miss them too, but I don’t miss the fighting. Do you?” I ask. He shakes his head. “I don’t miss them yelling at each other or at us. And I really don’t miss seeing Mommy cry. I’m kinda glad we’re here.”

  Cameron looks at me curiously. “I thought you hated this place,” he says.

  “I thought I did, but it’s not so bad,” I admit. “While Mom and Dad figure things out, we’ll just have to keep having fun and pray that everything’s going to be okay.”

  “Are they going to leave us here?” Cameron cries.

  “I don’t think so,” I say. “Look.” I stare into his eyes. “I don’t know what’ll happen when we get back home, but while we’re here let’s try not to get down about it. We’ll just have to wait to hear what Mom and Dad decide.” For Cameron, marriage is all too much to understand. It is for me too, but I have to be strong, at least for him. If our parents do split up, I don’t know what will happen to us. Will we have to yo-yo between two places? I have friends who live this way, and most of them hate it. Will we have to meet Daddy’s girlfriend? Will Mommy find someone new? Ugh! I don’t even want to think of that happening. I wipe away falling tears from my little brother’s eyes and hug him.

  “Stop crying,” I demand. “You’re a big boy now.”

  “I’m only seven!” Cameron sobs. “And now we’re going to be homeless.”

  “No, we’re not. Mommy and Daddy will not ever let that happen,” I say as I look at him. “I know this is scary for you. But me and you, we’re going to be okay, all right?” He stares at me with puppy dog eyes, then nods, and I almost forget he’s a pain in my butt half the time. “Now, if you don’t stop crying, Aunt Jeanie is going to start calling you Captain Cry-a-Lot like she used to do to me when I was little.” Cameron smiles. “Remember what I said: let’s not worry, and just make the best of the time we have here, okay?”

  “Okay, Captain Cry-a-Lot,” Cameron cracks. And he’s back.

  “Ha ha, very funny.” I smirk as I shove him out the door. I dash to the window to see if Sally and Uncle Larry are still talking. The last I heard was Uncle Larry telling Sally that the pool should be ready soon, in enough time for her to have a victory pool party when we win the double Dutch contest. Sally waves off her dad’s confidence. At this rate, our team will really need to work hard if we’re going to have a shot at the competition.

  Just when I think my new team and I are going to pick up where we left off yesterday, the camp has other ideas. On Fridays, they make us spend the whole day learning a bunch of warm-up routines and playing silly games just for fun. I guess this is what the double Dutch coach meant by “group activities.” We stretch and do group exercises, and later we’ll do potato sack races and two-legged relays with other kids we don’t even know. Weird. It’s supposedly their way of teaching us “how to adjust to others’ strengths and weaknesses and still win.” It’s cool to be grilled about the importance of respect and working together, but what’s not cool is the counselors yelling at us like we’re some juvenile delinquents at a boot camp. Then again, some of the kids are acting out.

  Although a few of the concentration exercises, like carrying an egg on a paper plate as fast as we can for ten yards, make us look like fools, it’s fun. At the obstacle course, I’m running next to a boy with long sandy-blond hair. With just one look, we take each other on as competitors. He beats me over the wall, but I pass him as we jump through the tires and cross the finish line first. Yes! As we try to catch our breath, we share a laugh and he actually high-fives me. Nice!

  It feels good to be treated like an athlete—like double Dutch is considered a real sport at this camp. In Brooklyn, jumping double Dutch is “cute” or just a favorite pastime, but here it’s a competition like all the others, and double Dutchers are to be reckoned with. That’s pretty cool. It would be even co
oler if I wasn’t so nervous about only having two and a half days to practice with my new team. I wonder if messing around with the boys yesterday was worth it. Maybe so, because the whole time, I keep wondering, Where is Charlie? I’ve kept my eyes peeled all morning, but I don’t see him anywhere. In the gym, around the water fountain, or at the skateboard park…Okay, am I stalking him? Maybe he has a girlfriend and he’s somewhere with her. Maybe he’s sick. Maybe he got hit by a car. Yeah, I’m losing it. Then I remember my cousin did say she thinks he likes me. I stare into space, just thinking about his face so close to mine.

  “Kayla!” Sally snaps her fingers in my face. “Earth to Kayla.”

  “What?” I come to.

  “It’s lunchtime!”

  “Oh, okay!” I try to play off my daydream. “So what now?”

  Sally shakes her head and runs off to the picnic area.

  * * *

  —

  After Sally and I grab lunch trays, we look around for Melissa and Tina. We spot them sitting in the grass under a tree.

  “Why are you guys sitting in the dirt?” I ask. “There are creepy-crawly things down there.” City girl here. Dogs poop in grass.

  “Well, aren’t you the queen of England,” Melissa snarls with her mouth full of bologna sandwich. “There weren’t any more tables.”

  “We sit in the grass all the time,” Tina chimes in. “It’s no big deal.”

  I grab my sandwich off the tray and eat standing up. Sally just rolls her eyes and gracefully lowers, sitting with her legs crossed.

  “And I thought she was the princess,” Melissa says, her mouth again full of food. Sally shoots her a look. “Sorry, but I did,” Melissa admits.

  I stand a little while longer, not just because I don’t want to sit on the grass but because I am still keeping an eye out for the cutest boy I’ve ever met in my life. Where can he be? After realizing Charlie probably didn’t come to camp today, I plop down and join my team on the grass. It’s not so bad. Me. Grass. North Carolina. Hmm. What if my parents left us here? Would I be okay with this? I don’t know, but okay, it’s not half bad.