DIONA “DIO” MAGAZ:
I was good at keeping secrets. Mother and Father had no clue Kiki and I snuck out; no clue I got Sparky’s number.
His eyes, green, just like mine. If that’s not fate, what is?
Anyway, even if our parents suspected—what would they do? Ground us? We’d just sneak out again.
The only thing that mattered: Sparky.
I'd held off texting him for a few days and suddenly couldn’t take it anymore. Now or never.
My finger hovered over the screen. Would he even text back? I took a deep breath, typed out a message:
Hey Roland!! This is Diona, from the party :)
No. Too Desperate. Delete.
Hey, this is Diona...
Now it sounded like bad news. Delete.
After too much overthinking, I settled on a short, but quality message.
Hey Roland!
This is Diona...so sorry for not getting back sooner, I’ve been pretty busy :)
Right as I hit send, someone tapped on my doorframe: Kiki. “You better hurry. They’re gonna be here in ten minutes.”
Guests. Again.
I slipped on a blue silk dress. No. Dropped it on the floor.
An olive-green blazer? With a black mini skirt? Disgusting. I threw those to the ground too.
By the time I settled on a black floor-length dress, half my closet covered the floor. I called for a maid to clean it up. Now.
While the maid folded my clothes, I studied myself in the mirror, brushed on a bit of eyeshadow. What would Sparky think of me? I posed. Hands behind my head. Chin up.
“Diona!” Father called.
The front door opened below. Shuffling feet. I stepped away from the mirror and headed downstairs.
Kiki stood next to me, whispered, “Did you text him?”
I grinned a little. Told her to shush.
We walked to the dining room. Mother was already directing the maids, snapping about dish placement and timing.
The guests walked in—strangers. Both wore a tiny pin: three circles. Yet another boring lunch. After obligatory hugs and smiles, we sat down to eat.
The woman, Mrs. Susanne, kept complimenting Mother on the food.
There was no Jamón. I saw nothing to compliment.
I picked at my salad while they droned on about things I didn’t care about. Treasurer votes. Budgets. Something about the Run-downs.
Boring.
Then Mrs. Susanne mentioned the Sparks, and I perked up.
“What about the Sparks?” Father’s shoulders went rigid.
Mother looked down at her plate, picked at a carrot.
They knew about the party, didn’t they? Were they waiting until the guests left to address it?
Kiki and I exchanged glances.
“Oh, I heard that Mr. Sparks is remarkably good at promoting his friends.” Mrs. Susanne eyed Kiki and me. I looked up innocently.
Father cleared his throat. Our signal to leave.
Kiki and I walked upstairs, supposedly going to our rooms, but we stopped at the top of the stairs, leaned over the railing.
It was almost impossible to pick out the words.
"... all he wants is oversight of..."
"...harder when the council controls the voucher system..."
"...bribery and little 'favors' from what I've heard..."
"...his wife was always so compliant..."
Mr. Sparks was their main concern. Not me. Not the party. I exhaled.
Part of me wanted to check if Sparky replied. The other part wanted to creep downstairs, barefoot, silently, and figure out what they were hiding.
I dragged my finger across my lips. Zip it. Kiki saluted me. I peeled off a heel, tip-toed down the stairs, one step at a time.
Mother’s voice. “No... Diona doesn’t know.”
I froze. Know what?
Mrs. Susanne’s voice was sunshine. “It won’t even matter to her.”
I clutched the banister. What wouldn’t matter?
Kiki: eyebrows raised, open mouth.
And then my phone buzzed in my pocket, and everything else dissolved. Keep your secrets, mother. I have a boy to text back.
“I’ll grab the kids for dessert.” A chair scraped back. Father’s footsteps, towards the stairs.
Go, go, go. Kiki and I bolted up the steps, and I dove onto my bed, heart hammering.
“Girls! Dessert!”
“Coming!” I shouted, sitting up.
I yanked on a heel, grabbed my phone.
“Diona!” Father again.
Hey, Diona! My friends are going to River Bend Golf Club at noon. Want to join?
“Hold on!”
I grinned.
Dessert could wait.
ns216.73.216.11da2
and then Add to home screen.