Love Double Dutch!

by Doreen Spicer-Dannelly

  “That’s right! We may be new, but we’re good,” Tina chimes in. “Sally, sometimes you have to let people know you’re a force to be reckoned with! And today, like Gabriella told us, we’re working together as one team, one force!” Yes, go, Tina!

  “One team, one force!” says Melissa as she puts her hand out, expecting us to join in. Sally thinks about it for a second and then stacks her hand on top of Melissa’s.

  “One team, one force!” exclaims Sally. Tina and I add our hands to the stack.

  “Let’s show all these double Dutch teams 4-D just stepped into the building,” I say confidently. “Double Deuces on three! One-two-three!”

  “Double Deuces!” we shout.

  Here the judges are serious. In New York, the judges would at least look you in the eye and wish you luck, but not here. Your team has to be ready to turn as soon as they come around. All they say is “Ready? Jump!” And we do. To start, we have to pass the compulsory test. Tina and Melissa turn while Sally and I jump first. We want to show Tina and Melissa how easy it is, and then we can cheer them on as we turn for them. I have confidence they can do it. The plan works. Tina and Melissa do it! Flawless. The second test: speed. My specialty. And of course as soon as I get in the ropes, the judges struggle to keep count each time my left foot hits the floor. Thank goodness there are two judges for comparison. They count 333 steps in two minutes. Yes! Better than my last record.

  * * *

  —

  There’s another whistle. I guess this means break time to clear the stage for freestyle. We all run to the restroom to clear out the jitters and change outfits, and that’s when we collide with the Bouncing Belles, aka the double Dutch bullies. They are all BeDazzled from head to toe like disco balls. As expected, they step in our way.

  “Just because you and your made-up crew made it into the competition doesn’t mean you’re going to win,” Ivy snarls at Sally.

  “And just because you look like a glitter bomb exploded on your clothes doesn’t mean you’re going to shine,” snaps Melissa. Okay, Melissa is corny, but she’s no pushover.

  “Yeah, why don’t you guys keep it moving,” adds Sally. “You smell like you need some freshening up.” Wow! Go, Sally! The Belles slyly check their pits. They shake off their embarrassment. Maybe getting through the first two portions of the competition has given Sally a boost. Now hopefully she will think we have a shot at winning.

  “Whatever, you’re the one who’s going to be sweating once you see our freestyle routine,” says Ivy. Before they continue walking away, Brie lunges at Sally. She flinches.

  “Yeah, don’t freeze,” says Brie. No, she didn’t. Melissa and I start toward her, but Sally stops us.

  “Let’s just get ready,” she insists. “They’re not worth it.” Finally! Sally’s starting to really gain some confidence, and she’s right. We didn’t come this far to let anyone break our focus and get in the way of what we came to do: win!

  * * *

  —

  When we get to our post, we stretch and go over our routine. There’s no room for error. Suddenly I hear whispers from a random jumper, who points at Sally and laughs as she passes by, saying, “That’s the girl who froze like an ice statue last year.” I am glad that Sally doesn’t hear her. She’s been doing too well and staying focused. A third loud whistle sounds and the lights dim, which indicates it’s time to get ready for the freestyle portion of the competition. Just as I am gathering my bag, I spot a certain someone and his crew walk into the gym. Charlie! He’s supposed to be at the skateboarding competition, right? Why is he here? Now I’m nervous.

  “No time for staring at your boyfriend, Kayla,” Melissa commands. “Let’s go! We gotta warm up!”

  “Maybe she doesn’t need a warm-up,” Tina teases. “She’s already got the hots.”

  “Ha ha, very funny,” I say as I roll my eyes at her, although she’s right. I have to concentrate, even if Charlie looks super-cute in his sweaty clothes, holding his skateboard. I can’t believe I like a skateboard boy from the South. Suddenly Sally yanks me back into reality. Freestyle is the most important part of the competition, and if we win we’ll be able to shut those bullies up, and then maybe they’ll leave Sally alone.

  * * *

  —

  All the lights are up as the next team takes the floor. It’s cool they have a DJ to play music between the change of teams. It keeps fun in the air. I’m loving it! Each team is taking every second of their one minute to do everything and anything they can to wow the crowd. Two teams, the Hot Nonstop Steppers and the Jump Squad, have some of the crowd on their feet. Probably family, I think. They are pretty awesome, with a little gymnastics in their routine. A few cartwheels and back-handsprings into the ropes are cute, but they don’t have nothin’ on us. Wait till they see what Tina and Sally are bringing to the floor. Huh! It’s on! I notice Sally pacing. I expected Melissa or even Tina to be this nervous, but Sally, again?

  “What’s going on? Are you okay?” I ask. She’s making me nervous now.

  “I’m good,” Sally manages. “Just warming up.”

  I thought I really loved double Dutch, but it looks like my cousin loves it more than I do. It seems she’s forgotten all about her reputation for being the girl who gets bullied all the time. Her friends turning their backs on her because of one mistake was a blow to her self-esteem, not to mention how sad the whole double Dutch mishap made her feel. She was embarrassed by friends she thought she could trust, but as I watch her pace, it seems like she’s trying to block all that out. Today, winning means more than just a double Dutch contest. It means getting back her respect.

  The Bouncing Belles are up next. Obviously they are a crowd favorite, because people are already on their feet. The judges take notice, smiling as if they’re in for a treat. The Belles take the floor and wave their hands like they’re all beauty queens. True Belles, I guess. I spot Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Larry in the stands. They are so supportive. I suddenly think of my parents. Why can’t they be more like my aunt and uncle? Why can’t my parents come to at least one double Dutch competition together and watch me do what I love?

  As the music dies down I focus on the Belles, and I snap out of my sad thoughts. Ivy jumps first. She runs and does a double back-handspring and body-twists through the ropes, which immediately gets the crowd roaring even more. She jumps with the short Asian girl and they both do fancy footwork. Man, they are jumping and turning really fast for about thirty seconds. Now the whole crowd is on their feet watching every move intensely, except my aunt and uncle. The routine is all right so far, but it’s nothing special. Until…wait! Melissa grabs my arm. All of our jaws drop. Ivy just did Sally’s move! The jumping spider! The crowd goes wild. They finish with a quick dance step and flip into the rope simultaneously, then fall into a split while the ropes spin overhead. Oh my G—

  “Those heffas stole your big move!” Melissa gasps. “Boo! Boo!”

  “I can’t believe this,” Tina says, shocked.

  “They spied on us!” Sally exclaims. “That day they rode past my house, they must have been watching us the whole time!”

  “What? But we’re up next!” I say. “This is not happening!” We worked so hard. Sally seems to be so furious that she can’t even speak. Her face looks like her mind is spinning a hundred miles a minute. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear there’s steam coming from her head.

  “Forget it!” Sally says. “So what? Maybe they did use that move, but I have another one, a better one I can do. Let’s go!” What? I think my cousin just lost it. Sally grabs her stuff, and we follow her blazing trail to the bottom of the bleachers.

  As soon as we get there, Sally turns to us with a new plan.

  “Melissa, just keep your eyes on my feet,” Sally says, staring into Melissa’s eyes. “Kayla, I’ll call it out and you can guide the ropes. Melissa will
follow both of us.”

  “What about me?” Tina asks frantically. “What about me?”

  “Be the hype girl!” I say. “No matter what we do, get the crowd into it.” I have no idea what we’ll be doing, but this is a do-or-die moment. I have no choice but to trust Sally on this one. I suddenly remember once when my dad, Cameron, and I were watching basketball and my dad said, Michael Jordan was the best player of all time because under pressure he could score a basket from anywhere at any time and win the game. That’s what winners do—rise when the pressure is on. And just when I think Sally is done with her plan, she grabs a skateboard…from Tommy, the boy who put glue in her hair just a few days ago. I’m scared of her now. Charlie and his boys, including Tim, just stand on the sidelines watching. So I grab Charlie’s skateboard and shrug. Fortunately they let us go. They have no idea what’s going on and neither do I, for that matter. The crowd applauds for what seems like a year for the Belles and their stolen moves. Ugh!

  They absorb all the cheers and head right toward us as we are on our way to take the stage.

  “Real classy, stealing our big move,” I say, being snarky. “That was not cool.” I really feel like pushing that little poison Ivy into the wall, but I keep hearing Gabriella’s voice in my head: Competitors compete….Fighting is for savages. I am so hot right now!

  “What?” Ivy says sarcastically. “We didn’t steal anything. The jumping spider was originally a part of our routine. A part someone failed to pull off.” She eyes Sally.

  “And Ivy nailed it,” adds Brie as they high-five.

  “Well, apparently not, because there’s a lot more where that came from. Right, Sally?” Melissa looks toward Sally, who hesitates for a second but then finds the courage to say…

  “Yup.” Sally steps up to Ivy and looks her in the eye. “The best is yet to come.”

  “Let’s go, you guys!” yells Tina. “We’re up!”

  I give them a once-over and prance away. There’s nothing more I can say or do but pray that we’re about to blow the crowd away. And I don’t even know what that is yet. OMG! Even though I think Sally has completely lost her mind, I am so proud of her for not giving up. Now I wonder what she can possibly have up her sleeve.

  As we take the stage at the center of the gym, there’s a bit of snickering and pointing. I am not sure if that’s for our odd-looking squad or because they remember Sally as the girl who made their team look bad.

  “You guys,” commands Sally, “let’s just stay focused and stay here.” She points two fingers to our eyes. “Melissa and Tina, just keep your eyes on us and keep the ropes turning. We can do this! Just follow my lead.” Okay? I sure hope she knows what she’s doing. I wasn’t nervous before, but I am now.

  We give the DJ the thumbs-up, and we’re set. The lights go dark. The best part is our costumes; they’re glowing in the dark. Tina and Melissa pull the ropes from a dark bag, and they glow too. The ropes look awesome! The crowd murmurs. Sally sets down the skateboard and turns to me.

  “Do exactly what I do and meet me in the ropes,” a determined Sally says. Has my cousin lost her mind and I haven’t noticed? But hey, I have nothing else, so I go with it.

  “I’m ready,” I say, not knowing what to expect, but I keep my eyes on my li’l cuz.

  We both take a deep breath, and we’re off.

  Sally rides the skateboard across the floor and leaves the board just in time to jump into the glowing ropes. I follow right behind her. The crowd applauds. The lights come up. And we’re in!

  “Let’s do it!” Melissa shouts, and takes control. “One-two-three!”

  We do our footwork. Crisscross, pop up, turn front, turn back, then I grab Sally and lift her over my head as the ropes move out. We did it! The crowd jumps to their feet! Yes! The lights come up and I grab the ropes from Tina as she enters to do a salsa step while Melissa and I turn. Sally waves her arms, getting the crowd even more into it, then jumps in with Tina. They are killing the salsa dance as we pull the ropes to the side even without music. Cool! Sally then jumps out. Wait! This is not part of the routine! What is she doing?

  “Tina! Keep following the routine!” yells Sally. “Keep turning, you guys!” Tina jumps out and pirouettes around the ropes, then jumps in. Sally sets up at the corner of the gym like she’s an Olympic gymnast. I keep checking over my shoulder, as Melissa and I have no idea what’s about to happen.

  “Keep your eyes on her feet and let me guide the ropes!” I yell to Melissa while Tina jumps out and cheers Sally on. Suddenly Sally flies toward us and does a somersault, a back-handspring with a twist into the ropes, then reverses the backhand into the ropes with a split while we spin the ropes behind her.

  “Bring the ropes back and turn!” Sally screams. We do. Sally does four jumping splits. It’s crazy! The crowd is going bananas! Yes, Sally! We finish our routine standing proud. The DJ adds a beat blast as if it were a cherry on top of a flawless routine.

  Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Larry are going wild in the stands. They are beaming. The Bouncing Belles seem to have lost their bounce. Ivy and her crew actually look nervous. As the judges tally up the points based on all the tricks performed by all the teams, we gather our things to hear the results. We have to win!

  * * *

  —

  A judge steps to the center of the gym with a microphone to announce…

  “And taking third place in the regional double Dutch competition is”—the man hesitates—“the Hot Nonstop Steppers!” I breathe a sigh of relief. Our team claps, and then we cross our fingers again. I guess it’s safe to say we all feel we deserve to win the whole thing.

  “In second place is…Four-D, Double Deuces!” yells the judge as if he’s happy for us. We all jump with excitement! Although we wanted first, we realize we came a long way with two new jumpers. Sally smiles big as we head to the trophy table.

  “And in first place, and still the double Dutch champions, are the Bouncing Belles!” the judge announces. The Belles run with excitement to receive their huge trophy. The crowd goes wild.

  “And you’re still a loser,” remarks Ivy to Sally. Sally takes a huge breath and shakes her head. The feud is not over. Suddenly I think, Ivy has issues. Well, first place or not, we did it! Most of all, I am so proud of Sally for pulling off her own special move.

  Then: “But wait, there’s more!” The crowd quiets down a bit. “The two top teams are now eligible for the National Double Dutch Jump-off in New York City at Madison Square Garden!” Did he say Madison Square Garden? If my team in Brooklyn made it, I might have to compete against them. No! Way!

  To celebrate the end of camp, there’s a dance, and all the competitors are invited. A dance? To be honest, I’ve never been to a dance. A house party, maybe, but not a dance. I guess it’s a small-town thing, a Southern thing. I don’t even know how to dress for a dance. So I have to ask an expert. I knock on Sally’s bedroom door.

  “Sally?” I ask sheepishly. She comes to the door and opens it in a huff. It looks like a tornado hit a department store and dumped all the frilly stuff in Sally’s room.

  “Come in, Kayla,” says Sally. “I can’t figure out what to wear, and my mom won’t let me go to the mall to buy an outfit for this stupid dance.”

  “So let’s not go,” I say without hesitation. “I don’t have anything to wear either.”

  “We have to go!” Sally says as she sifts through her overloaded dresser drawers. “Missing this is like missing the party of the summer. Ugh! This stuff is so old!”

  “You have so many nice things,” I say, picking up a boa. What is she doing with a boa? “I’m sure there’s something you can wear. Maybe not this, but something.”

  “You sound like my mother,” Sally says with her hands on her hips. “So what are you wearing? You know your boyfriend Charlie is going to be there.”

  “You think?” I
ask genuinely. Suddenly this party is at the top of my list of things to do. Go to dance. Check.

  “Of course,” insists Sally. “Besides, there’s nothing else to do in this town.” As soon as I think of seeing Charlie at the dance, my stomach gets the jitters like those butterflies just got out of a cage or something.

  “Well, I…uh…um,” I stammer. I dare to hold one of Sally’s ruffled tank tops up to myself and check the mirror.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Sally asks, still pulling out clothes.

  I muster up the truth. “I wanna look…nice. Or even pretty.” Sally laughs at me.

  “Are you telling me you wanna look like a princess, Tomboy Cinderella?” Sally jokes. I throw the top down to the floor. This is too embarrassing! I’ve never worn anything frilly or sparkly or that says I’m a diva.

  “Forget it. I’d look stupid anyway,” I say, completely through with the idea.

  “Kayla, I’m just kidding!” Sally says sincerely. “It’s just I thought I’d never see the day when my tough-girl cousin wanted to look cute for some boy.”

  “I do not!” I protest. Sally just stares at me. “Okay, okay. So what? Are you going to help me or what?”

  She looks me over once and shrugs. “Okay,” she says. “One makeover coming up!”

  Makeover? Is it that bad? Sally springs into action like this is something she’s been waiting to do all summer, and the look of desperation on my face must have given her the hint that I really don’t know where to start. As she begins picking through her pile of stuff like she is looking for gold, I think about why this “girlification,” as the magazines call it, feels so weird. Growing up in a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn, I’ve always had to prove how strong I am. Top that with a fearless attitude, which my parents constantly tell me I was born with, and you get what people might see as a tomboy. So being a frilly girlie-girl never crossed my mind, at least not until now. When the boys back in Brooklyn catcall at me like a piece of meat, it never makes me feel special. Attention from Charlie, on the other hand, feels different, interesting even. I couldn’t imagine him catcalling after girls. Charlie is more mysterious to me, and if he’s really interested in me, then I want to look…nice, like a girl and not a tomboy.