Silver Rush
Into the West
Episode #3
by
J.A. Campbell
Silver Rush
Into the West #3
An Echelon Electric Short eBook
First Echelon Press Publication / May 2011
All rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by J.A. Campbell
Cover Art © Karen L. Syed
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eBook 978-1-59080-774-3
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For my Irish Sailor
Gary, I forgot you on the last one, but thanks so much for the name of Pecos Rowe, your suggestion helped spark his character when I needed him.
Also thanks to my support group, in no particular order: Shanah, Nicole, Mardel, Devin, Angela, Deidre, Adam, Sabaska, and Kira. You keep me going, even when I think I can’t.
One
Tina sagged against the wall and watched while the team captains picked their players. She knew she'd get picked last, again. Youth group was her mom's idea. Her parents were spending the day searching for a second car in Flagstaff. Instead of taking Tina to the mall, they'd insisted she spend some time with kids her age.
It would have been a great idea except everyone hated her. The kids said she talked funny. It probably hadn't helped that she'd called them a bunch of ignorant hicks after they laughed at her accent.
The captains turned away without picking her. She wished she could sink into the wall. Seeing her alone, the instructor walked toward her. Tina really didn't want to play dodge ball anyway so she hurried out of the gym. It wasn't like it was school where he could force her to stay.
The youth group was held in a rec center so she could choose from lots of other activities. She'd just wanted to run a little and thought dodge ball would be fun. Tina found her way to the cafeteria before remembering she'd left her purse in her locker. She didn't want to walk all the way back to the gym so she found a table by a window and stared out of it.
"New here?"
Tina jumped, distracted from her daydream about a certain pair of soft brown eyes. The girl standing in front of her had straight black hair, tied back with a fancy clasp. She had dark eyes, almost black, and she'd framed them with mascara. Her dark skin made her look Hispanic. Her clothes were stylish, yet practical for the desert climate. She smiled.
"Yeah. Hi," Tina said, afraid to get too hopeful despite the friendly expression.
"I'm Maria, can I join you?"
"Sure. I'm Tina."
Maria dropped a bunch of schoolbooks on the table and sat across from her. She was graceful when she moved. Tina suddenly realized she still wore gym clothes. What a great first impression.
"I was going to play dodge ball." Tina gestured at her clothes. "That didn't work out so well."
Maria grinned at her. "Believe it or not, almost all the dodge ball girls are on one of the dance teams at school. They don't take to outsiders well."
"Really? Dodge ball and dancing?"
Maria shrugged.
"They laughed at my accent."
"It is kind of weird. Where are you from?"
"Jersey." Tina leaned back in her chair, waiting for Maria to laugh at her too, but she only looked curious.
"That explains it. Bet my accent sounds weird to you too."
Tina nodded. "A little."
"I'm supposed to be doing my homework. Gets me out of dodge ball." She leaned forward a little. "I did it all last night," she whispered.
"Are you on the dance team?"
Maria made a face. "Yeah, but only for extra practice. They play dodge ball to help stay in shape, and it's reasonably safe as long as everyone playing isn't throwing the ball too hard."
"Cool."
"So I dance. What do you do?" Maria leaned her elbows on the table and folded her hands under her chin. She had a super cute pink manicure.
"I ride horses."
"That's so cool. I rode as a kid, but now my dance teacher is afraid I'll fall off and hurt myself, so I only dance." She looked a little wistful.
"You're that serious about dancing?"
Maria nodded. "I'm not, like going to the Olympics or anything. We don't have that much money. But my instructor says I'm good enough to get a scholarship to one of the big dance collages and maybe have a career dancing." Her eyes lit up when she talked about it and Tina could tell she really loved to dance. She also noticed that Maria said she didn't have the money for the Olympics, not that she wasn't good enough. She bet the dance team girls didn't like Maria either, because they were jealous of her skill.
"I'd love to see you dance sometime."
Maria grinned. "Where do you go to school?"
"I just moved here. Mom is home schooling me for the rest of the year, then they'll find someplace for me to go next year."
"Cool. I have a recital in a month. Maybe you can come."
"Maybe. I'll give you my phone number." Tina exchanged information with Maria, excited that she might have found a new friend. Maybe they could even hang out.
"Maria, who's your friend?" Two guys walked over from across the cafeteria. The one who'd spoken had a dark tan, but he didn't look Hispanic. His friend reminded her of Eli. Maria smiled at them and stood. She hugged the boy who had spoken. The other boy gave her an affectionate and gentle push.