Free manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen

dramatic bunch of people I’d ever heard speak. You would’ve thought they were discussing which of them was going to win an Academy Award, the way they went on about casting for the next play,
To Kill a Mockingbird
.
    “You are auditioning, right, Sydney?” some girl demanded. “Oh my god. You must. Positively. Oh my god!”
    “Oh my god” was right. Their voices hurt my ears. I tried not to get caught watching Becky, who was sitting quietly in that corner chair, her backpack on her lap.
    “I don’t know,” Sydney said. “Probably not, but it depends on how debate goes.”
    Another girl, with hair dyed three different colors like a neon Neapolitan ice-cream cone, said, “What about your boyfriend?” and poked my ribs. “He should! He’s hot!”
    It was the first time anyone had used those two words to describe me. You can figure out which two.
    “Ah, no, no thanks,” I said, waving the Neapolitan girl off.
    “We totally don’t have enough boys,” she pressed on. “Just, like, Matthew and them. You
have
to!”
    Syd grinned at me. I forced myself not to glance in Becky’s direction.
    “Well … we’ll see,” I said, hoping that would make them shut up.
    “I will if you will,” Sydney said.
    “Maybe I should start with lights or sound, like you said,” I reminded her.
    We didn’t get to talk any more about it right then because the club officers—all juniors and seniors—ran into the room, whooping and screaming and waving their arms around.
    I almost left right then. It was way too much energy for me. Robby and Justin were plenty.
    Because the meeting was pretty much about boring stuff like the upcoming auditions and where the next speech tournament was, I clandestinely observed Becky. She barely moved a muscle. Just sat there, listening intently. At least she had taken a notebook out of her bag and took notes during all the announcements.
    “Now, you guys, seriously,” the president of the club said, waving his arms in the air. What was it with drama kids and waving their arms? “We really need some fresh new techie blood for this show. Nick’s moving to New York …”
    Everyone shouted “Boooo!” A stringy dude wearing a vest and bowler hat stood up, bowed, and sat back down.
    “… which totally sucks,” the president said. “So we’re gonna need some people in the booth for this show. Ask your friends—”
    “Tyler will do it!” Sydney shouted.
    Fifty heads spun toward me. Mine spun toward Sydney. Syd sat on my right, and beyond her was Becky. Who also looked at me as if noticing for the first time that I was there.
    Our eyes met. I wasn’t sure, but I think she smiled.
    “Um,” I said.
    “Is this your first meeting, Tyler?” the president asked.
    “Uh … yeah.”
    “VIRGIN ALERT!”
everyone screamed in unison. And they all pounded their feet on the floor and clapped while the officers took a lap around their chairs at the front of the room. Waving their arms, of course.
    Believe it or not, for one heartbeat of time, I didn’t realize “virgin” meant it was my first
drama club meeting
. Me, insecure? Never.
    While I tried to disappear into my seat, I noticed Becky smiling for real, clapping her hands with everyone else. Like she was really enjoying my embarrassment.
    Sydney was too busy egging everyone on to notice me smile back at Becky.
    Between Sydney and the whole damn club making such a big racket and the look on Becky’s face as she watched me, I pretty much had to say yes.

    I gear up to tell Robby what he can do with my big dick, when my cell buzzes again.
    “What did Becky do?” Justin demands from both of us. “C’mon, man!”
    I check my phone. Sydney. Saved by the bell.
    She’s texted me:
Which park?
    I write:
Why?
    If you can’t drive home I’ll make sure you get there. All 3 of you. Which park?
    We’re fine
.
    “Is that Syd?” Robby asks me as I type.
    “Hey, Pink Floyd!” Justin croons, and falls off the picnic table bench