Teresa and I were the only girls who wanted to play kick ball. We leaned against the fence, just waiting on our turn to kick. Until then, we munched on the sunflower seeds that she’d brought. That girl loves sunflower seeds. Between spitting out the shells, I told her how low I felt about my brothers stealing all of the Booker attention away from me.

“I hear ya, Ruby,” Teresa said.

“You don’t have any brothers or sisters, T. How could you understand?” I asked after I dug deeper into her pocket for more seeds.

“I do understand, Ruby,” Teresa said. “I have some big cousins back home, and they’re always beating me at something.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to share anything, fight with anyone, or compete with anyone at home.”

“That’s true, but it sure would be nice to have someone to play with, even fight and compete with from time to time. You’re lucky, gal!” Teresa said before she chipped away at more sunflower seeds.

“I know, T, but it can be annoying sometimes. Marcellus is good at everything, Ty is a brainiac, and even though Ro acts up, he’s famous for his pranks.”

“You do have some awesome brothers, Ruby, but you’re no choppy livers yourself.”

“I’m no what?” Sometimes I don’t know what that country girl is talking about.

“My dad says that every now and then. It means that you’re good at a lot of things, but maybe you don’t know it sometimes. Like singing. You sing like a bird, Ruby. Those Booker boys can’t sing like you do.” Teresa was right.

We moved up a couple of spaces in the kick-ball line. There were four boys ahead of me. I thought Teresa and I would never get a turn to kick the ball.

“I know that, but how can I get everybody here at Hope Road to know me if I keep getting shoved to the back?” I said to Teresa. “People don’t even call me by my name in the neighborhood. They say, ‘Hey! Aren’t you Ty, Ro, and Big-Time’s little sis?’ I’m so sick of that! I didn’t come to this school to hear about how great my brothers are.” I pouted like I almost never do. My cheeks got all puffy and I folded my arms.

“I know how fun you are, Ruby, and how well you can carry a tune,” Teresa said in her sweet-peach voice. “Who else could dress as fancy as you do or wear her hair in such a stylish way and still look cuter than a baby possum in an Easter basket? You, that’s who.” Teresa shook more sunflower seeds into her hand, popped one into the air, and then caught it with her mouth.

“So what should I do? How can I get my name in lights here at this giant school?” I asked Teresa. There were two more kids in front of me. I wasn’t keeping up with the score, but our team was kicking tail!

“I really don’t know,” she said. Then she turned her lips up and looked toward the sky. That’s what she does when her brain is clicking. Then she said, “I got it! What did you do this morning to get yourself ready to come to Hope Road? I know morning time is always a happy time for you. What did you do?”

“You know … I woke up singing my favorite song.”

“‘Cotton Candy Clouds’?”

“What else?” I answered. We looked at each other and started singing the words:

“When the sun hits the clouds

And rainbows kiss the sky,

A sweet wind blows, and then I know

That today is mine, all mine.”

We sang it over and over. Teresa was not the greatest singer in the world, but I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else as a singing buddy. Her peach-cake twang sounded so cool to me. Besides, she was trying to make me feel better, and I love that about her.

Right then, an idea hit me. It was as sweet as the cotton candy clouds over our heads. Yeah, I could sing for the whole school. And my brothers or Miss Fuqua wouldn’t be able to stop me. I didn’t tell Teresa my secret plan. I just hoped I would get a chance to do it before the day was over. I knew what I had to do. I was ready.

When Teresa saw me grinning, she said, “There’s that famous glowworm Ruby smile that I’m used to!” She nudged me up toward home plate. It was my turn to kick.

A boy from the other third-grade class laughed and told the kids on his team to move closer because he didn’t think I could kick. Well, I tricked his treat.

As soon as that bouncy red ball rolled over the plate, I slammed it with my purple sneaker. I could see the eyes of all the boys on that other team get as big as lightbulbs. The ball flew over their heads and would have been a home run if there’d been a wall for it to fly over. I smashed it! Then I went around the bases real slow and waved at all the boys who didn’t believe in my kick-ball skills.