at him,” I whisper. “He’s gonna think we’re talking about him.”
“We are.”
“Still.”
But Adonna don’t stop looking and I can’t do anything to make her, so I just kinda give up. I’m not sure how I feel about Darnell possibly liking me. Only thing I’m hoping is that he didn’t see me with that Devil Dog just now and get any ideas. Because that’s the last thing I need.
Of course, all through dress rehearsal I’m feeling weird around Darnell, even though I’m still not even sure if he likes me or not. For the past month, I been hanging out backstage with him, even spending time in the storage room and the tiny little janitor’s closet together, and I just never thought anything about it. I mean, I never got any vibes or anything. Not once.
But Adonna’s probably not wrong about this. I mean, if there’s one thing she’s good at, and there’s really only one thing she is good at, it’s guys.
So all during the rehearsal, I try to act real natural around Darnell, like nothing changed. We have so much to do, there’s hardly time to think about anything else. In between the short plays, the whole set has to be rotated and the furniture and decorations have to be changed. And everything has to be done fast, and real quiet.
Well, it’s supposed to be real quiet. But a couple of times, Mr. Melendez has to come backstage to tell us that we’re not working quiet enough, that we can be heard from the audience. Not only that, but the crew screws up a few times, like we put the furniture in the wrong place in one play and we forget to change the backdrop for another, which actually turns out really funny because it looks like the characters are having a beach party right in the middle of a classroom.
The actors don’t let it stop them, though. I have to give them that. The only time they break character is when this guy Kevin trips over a chair on the set and slides about two feet across the stage. First they check to see if he’s okay, and then when they find out he is, they bust out laughing, which is what all of us on the crew are already doing backstage. We can’t help it.
The pizza gets delivered right in the middle of the last play, so I set up a table backstage and start laying it out, along with paper plates and napkins for everybody. I’m just about finished when I hear the side door open and see Nashawn poking his head in from the hall.
“Oh, good. It’s you,” he says when he sees me. He’s still in his baseball uniform from practice. “I hear y’all got pizza up in here.”
I put my hands on my hips and try to act tough. “You know, we had to pay for this.”
“C’mon,” he says. He looks around like he’s making sure nobody else is back there. “You can’t spare a couple slices for a hardworking first baseman?”
I just look at him and don’t say anything.
He flashes a bit of a smirk. “I made two RBIs.”
“Whatever that means.”
“C’mon. Hook me up. I’m starving.”
For some reason, I can’t say no to him, and not only because he’s begging. It’s hard to explain, really, but before I know it, I’m sneaking two slices of pizza onto a plate for him. Just like that. And when I get close enough to him to hand him the food, I can smell him. He smells like he been playing real hard, all sweaty and musky, and not in a bad way, either.
“Here,” I say, and right then from the stage I hear Tanya screaming, “I hate you! I hate you!” It’s like she’s really into her character now. I just hope she’s crying for real this time.
Nashawn’s eyes get wider for a second. “What the—?”
“One of the plays,” I tell him.
“Sounds a little crazy to me,” he says.
“It is.” I hand him a napkin. “Oh, yeah, make sure youdon’t tell anybody where you got the pizza from, because nobody else is getting any.”
“I hear you,” he says, smiling all big. “You know, you’re one of the nicest girls at this school.”
“Yeah,
“We are.”
“Still.”
But Adonna don’t stop looking and I can’t do anything to make her, so I just kinda give up. I’m not sure how I feel about Darnell possibly liking me. Only thing I’m hoping is that he didn’t see me with that Devil Dog just now and get any ideas. Because that’s the last thing I need.
Of course, all through dress rehearsal I’m feeling weird around Darnell, even though I’m still not even sure if he likes me or not. For the past month, I been hanging out backstage with him, even spending time in the storage room and the tiny little janitor’s closet together, and I just never thought anything about it. I mean, I never got any vibes or anything. Not once.
But Adonna’s probably not wrong about this. I mean, if there’s one thing she’s good at, and there’s really only one thing she is good at, it’s guys.
So all during the rehearsal, I try to act real natural around Darnell, like nothing changed. We have so much to do, there’s hardly time to think about anything else. In between the short plays, the whole set has to be rotated and the furniture and decorations have to be changed. And everything has to be done fast, and real quiet.
Well, it’s supposed to be real quiet. But a couple of times, Mr. Melendez has to come backstage to tell us that we’re not working quiet enough, that we can be heard from the audience. Not only that, but the crew screws up a few times, like we put the furniture in the wrong place in one play and we forget to change the backdrop for another, which actually turns out really funny because it looks like the characters are having a beach party right in the middle of a classroom.
The actors don’t let it stop them, though. I have to give them that. The only time they break character is when this guy Kevin trips over a chair on the set and slides about two feet across the stage. First they check to see if he’s okay, and then when they find out he is, they bust out laughing, which is what all of us on the crew are already doing backstage. We can’t help it.
The pizza gets delivered right in the middle of the last play, so I set up a table backstage and start laying it out, along with paper plates and napkins for everybody. I’m just about finished when I hear the side door open and see Nashawn poking his head in from the hall.
“Oh, good. It’s you,” he says when he sees me. He’s still in his baseball uniform from practice. “I hear y’all got pizza up in here.”
I put my hands on my hips and try to act tough. “You know, we had to pay for this.”
“C’mon,” he says. He looks around like he’s making sure nobody else is back there. “You can’t spare a couple slices for a hardworking first baseman?”
I just look at him and don’t say anything.
He flashes a bit of a smirk. “I made two RBIs.”
“Whatever that means.”
“C’mon. Hook me up. I’m starving.”
For some reason, I can’t say no to him, and not only because he’s begging. It’s hard to explain, really, but before I know it, I’m sneaking two slices of pizza onto a plate for him. Just like that. And when I get close enough to him to hand him the food, I can smell him. He smells like he been playing real hard, all sweaty and musky, and not in a bad way, either.
“Here,” I say, and right then from the stage I hear Tanya screaming, “I hate you! I hate you!” It’s like she’s really into her character now. I just hope she’s crying for real this time.
Nashawn’s eyes get wider for a second. “What the—?”
“One of the plays,” I tell him.
“Sounds a little crazy to me,” he says.
“It is.” I hand him a napkin. “Oh, yeah, make sure youdon’t tell anybody where you got the pizza from, because nobody else is getting any.”
“I hear you,” he says, smiling all big. “You know, you’re one of the nicest girls at this school.”
“Yeah,
Similar Books
