Randy was a freshman 'band aid' who had come along on the high school band trip because she had helped out so much the past marching season. Her older sister, Lia, was one of the majorettes. She could see the back of her head far up at the front. Her smoky, dark hair was pulled back in a mass of twists and curls that were pinned with tiny butterfly clips. She looked like Ms. Teen Queen, and she was.

After they had all loaded off the bus, Randy stood alone in the sea of students, shifting awkwardly in her two-piece swimsuit and cotton shorts. She had her bag containing sunscreen and her towel slung over her shoulder. Lia and her friends came and stood in front of her. "Hi, Randy," Lia's friend, Bennie, said.

"Hi," Randy replied. She tried her best to cover her gangly body.

"She's got such a flat stomach," Bennie observed quietly. She practically whispered it in Lia's ear.

"Cute belly button," another girl named Samantha said.

"Her bathing suit is adorable," Laurie, the fourth in the group, offered. "But she'll have to lose the shorts."

"Definitely," Bennie and Samantha agreed. Lia just stared at her sister with cool blue eyes.

"She doesn't look like a 9^th grade geek today," Samantha said.

"We must be lucky," Laurie grumbled, not happy that Lia's mother had all but forced her to hang out with her younger sister that day.

"Randy, sweetie," Lia said in her sweetest voice. "Would you like to hang out with us today?"

Lia was a junior, pretty, and popular. Randy knew that Mom had put her up to it. Lia never talked to her mutant younger sister. "I guess so." There weren't any other people that Randy knew on this trip, so she figured she might as well take Lia up on her offer before it disappeared. Lia shrugged, and turned to walk away. The other three girls did the same. Randy scrambled to keep up with them. Her chicken-like legs moved awkwardly beneath her.

Randy wasn't that much different from Lia. With the exception of Lia's 5-inch height advantage and dark hair, the two could be identical. Randy often reminded people of a bird with her short stature and dark blond, straw-like hair. The thing that made Randy and Lia so different was the fact that Lia had finesse, and Randy had clumsiness. As Randy walked, cowering behind her sister and her friends, she felt the difference more sharply than ever.

Somewhere between the wave pool and the water slides, Lia and her friends had discovered a few guys; or rather, the guys had discovered them. The guys flirted with the older girls, especially Lia. Randy hung back away from them. At the water slides, as they waited in line, Randy quietly asked Bennie (seemingly the nicest of the 4) who the guys were.

"Oh," Bennie said in the same hush-hush manner. "The one up there with Laurie is Tim. He's 17, and he's going to be a senior next year. The two with your sister are Phillip and Isaac. Phil and Isaac both graduated last year, and get this, Isaac is some famous singer guy. The one right ahead of us is Jamie. He's going to be a senior, too. He's Isaac's cousin. I think he may like me."

As if on cue, Jamie turned and flashed a brilliant smile at Bennie. "Hey, Ben," he said. "What are you two gossiping about?"

"She just wanted to know who y'all were," Bennie said, smiling flirtatiously.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your name," Jamie said. "You're Lia's little sister, right?"

Randy smiled tightly. She always hated being referred to as 'Lia's little sister'. It happened frequently, and she had never gotten over it. "Yeah, I'm Lia's little sister, Randy."

"Randy?" Jamie asked. "What's that short for?"

"Miranda," Bennie said.

"What's Bennie short for?" Jamie asked.

"Benita," Bennie replied. Randy almost laughed at the way Bennie was batting her long lashes. Bennie was pretty. She had naturally platinum blond hair that hung to her waist and green eyes. Jamie of course would like her. He seemed to be very interested.

"Those are both very pretty names," he commented. "I don't know why you go by them instead of your nicknames."

"It's easier," Bennie said easily, flipping her hair over her shoulder. With that, she had dismissed Randy from the conversation. She stood alone in the line, holding a blue foam mat. After the second or third trip down the slides, Randy bored of them. She sat on the edge of the pool where people on the slides came out, and waited for her sister and her friends to tire of the slides as well. Half an hour later, the group began to collect on the pool. Jamie, who was one of the first to get off, sat with her for a while until Bennie came. He was genuinely nice, and talked to her about how she was going to like high school.

Right after Bennie came out of the chute, he said, "I'll bet guys will be beating down your door to go out with a pretty girl like you." Randy had blushed, and then Bennie had joined them. Jamie tried to keep her involved in their chat, but Bennie frequently made it obvious that she didn't want Randy around. Randy finally pushed away from them, and sat a few feet away. The last of the group finally joined them, and they all got up to leave. Randy made sure to walk far away from Jamie and Bennie, who were walking side by side and slightly away from the rest of them. She had to admit that she had the smallest of crushes on blond, tan, blue-eyed Jamie.

They then got in line for the trolley, which was at the main pool. Randy giddily awaited her turn. When it finally came, she grasped the handlebars, and leapt from the platform. The bars moved quickly down the rope, and she dropped right before it could hit the tire at the end of the line. She clambered out and grabbed the rope that would bring it back. She ran back to the platform. Above her, the boy named Phil latched on to the handlebars and called down to her for her to let go. She did, and he whizzed down along the line. She sat down at the base of the platform with the rest of the group and waited for them all to finish.

Only Jamie and Bennie were left when the boy came running over. He was waving frantically and shouting. "ISAAC! IKE!"

Everybody turned to look at him. His blond hair waved like a flag as he jogged up. He wore a t-shirt along with his swim trunks. Isaac was watching him as he approached. "What is it?" he called back.

"Ike," the boy said, finally coming to a halt as he reached them. "Mom's leaving right now because Mackenzie slipped and busted his mouth open on the steps. She wants to know if you want to come along or if you'll stay and watch the kids until she gets back."

Isaac sighed. "When'll Mom be back?"

"She said she'd be back before closing. She's gotta take Mac to the ER," he said. "Well?"

Isaac shrugged. "I'll stay. Bring the kids over here, though."

"Okay," the boy said, shrugging, before turning and running off again.

"Who was that?" Randy heard Laurie asking.

"My brother," Isaac explained.

"He's cute," Samantha interjected. She received a playful ribbing from Phil, who then slung his arm around her shoulder. She laughed happily, and tossed her soaked red curls. Randy pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She wondered what it must be like to be older and beautiful and so comfortable with whom you are. Randy had always felt ill at ease with her body and personality. She always felt so...bland.

A while later, the brother appeared along with 3 other kids; all were blond and lanky. He had his arm draped around the smallest one.

"Where's Zoe?" Isaac asked as he saw them approach.

"Mom took her with her," the other said. Isaac nodded and made a broad gesture to the group.

"Taylor, meet Samantha, Lia, Bennie, Laurie, and..." He paused, and squinted hard at Miranda. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's Randy isn't it?"

"Yeah," Randy replied meekly, looking at her long thin toes, flustered.

"Everybody these are my brothers, Taylor and Zac, and my sisters Avery and Jessica," he said. He stood up and dusted off his palms. "Whaddya say we head over to the wave pool?"

There was a collective murmur of confirmation, and they all rose to their feet. Randy fell into step behind Laurie and Tim, quietly contemplating running away and staring again at her toes. She became aware of another pair of feet next to hers; long, narrow feet that slapped against the hot concrete. Her eyes traced his legs and abdomen, and finally she met his face. He was looking straight ahead looking somewhat complacent, if not a little bored. He became aware of her then, and he looked at her. His blue eyes were curious and laughing. "Hello, there," he said down at her. She looked away quickly, her cheeks heating up.

"Hi," she mumbled back. The youngest girl suddenly darted between them, and weaved ahead of them towards Isaac.

"Don't run," he called warningly after her. She didn't glance back but tossed a reckless 'okay' over her shoulder at him. He sighed. "Do you have any little brothers or sisters?"

"No," she admitted. "Only Lia."

"The dark haired girl?" he asked. "She's pretty. You two look a lot alike."

Randy shrugged. He chuckled. "You do," he insisted. "You're very pretty, too."

She squinted up at him, and shielded her eyes with the sun. "Don't I know you?"

He shrugged. "Probably, but does it matter? I don't know you."

She stepped a foot or so away from him, and walked at a farther distance. "I think it matters," she argued. "Where have I seen you before?"

"I'm in a band," he commented, his expression turning sour. "Do you like music?"

"I'm here with the high school band," she said. "I guess I do."

"I'm not in that kind of band," he told her. "It's my career. I really enjoy it."

"Do you get paid?" she asked. He nodded, his blond hair brushing against his shoulders. "Did you ever consider cutting your hair? You look like a girl." She slapped her hand over her mouth, her blue eyes widening. He looked back down at her, frowning for a moment, but then laughing at the comical look upon her face.

"Yes," he said. "I did consider cutting my hair. Our manager thinks it might be good for our image if we all did, but Zac is adamantly against it and Isaac says he's afraid his hair will get even frizzier. I couldn't care less, though. Does that answer your question?"

"Why is Zac so firmly against it?" she asked, answering his question with a question.

"He likes long hair," Taylor said with a noncommittal shrug. "I don't know. It's his fixation, not mine. I think he likes it because this way he can just pull it back and not have to deal with it. Although, it does require more washing than a normal haircut..."

"But you don't mind cutting it off?" she asked.

"No," he said, his voice distant and cool. She sighed. He reminded her a lot of Lia. Calm and laid-back; almost snotty but sociable; more condescending than anything, but deep down really friendly. She practiced being like him. Lifting her chin arrogantly and staring down her nose at everything. She lowered her eyelids over her eyes, like perhaps she was sleepy.

"Are you okay? You're squinting." The voice startled her. She glanced awkwardly at Taylor.

"Uh, yeah," she stammered. "I'm fine. I was just trying to read a sign that was far away."

He nodded, skeptical but not willing to fuss about it. "So, you're a tag-a-long?"

She pouted. "No."

He smiled at her response that came too quickly to be honest. "I know how you feel," he conceded almost sheepishly. "I often end up being Isaac's little tag-a-long brother when I'm with his friends. It's a nuisance, but I guess I get plenty of praise elsewhere. Can't really complain, you know?"

She nodded despite the fact that she obviously had no clue what he was talking about. "I hate being 'Lia's little sister'. Everybody seems to think that I enjoy being classified as that, but I don't."

"You despise it," Taylor said.

"Exactly," she agreed, shaking her head disdainfully. "Do you have that problem, too?"

He shrugged. "Not really. Not anymore, but I used to, and it bugged me to know end."

"I see," she said. He peeked down at her out of the corner of his eye. She was striding along beside him, looking curiously at his younger brother in orange and yellow tie-dyed swimming trunks. "Is he okay?" she asked.

"Who? Zac?" Taylor asked. He laughed easily. "Oh, yeah. That's just his way of drawing attention to himself. I can guarantee it, though, that if you went and tried to talk to him, he'd hide behind the nearest trash can and not come out until he was positive you were gone. He's actually pretty bashful."

"I can imagine," she replied, her voice tinged with disbelief. Taylor's lip curled up. Frankly, he liked her. She was spunky, despite the fact that she had initially come off as an unconfident runt. Her shoulders were turning pink, as were her cheeks. Maybe he'd suggest that she should put on more sunscreen. Maybe she'd let him rub it into her shoulders. He felt his own face blushing at the thought. Maybe he'd just keep quiet and let the day take its course.

That night, they sat together on the bench near the front gate of the park. Taylor's mother was coming to get him soon, and the band kids were being rounded up as they spoke. On another bench across the crowded sidewalk were the others, chattering about how they should all keep in touch. The guys were from Tulsa, come to find out. The girls were a matter of 40 miles away in Claremore.

"I like you," Taylor told her, his spindly legs stretching out in front of the bench. Her own feet brushed the ground.

"I like you, too," she said softly. A soft, hot breeze lifted a few drying strands of her from her face. It felt so nice.

"It's a shame we won't get to see you more often," he expounded.

Her eyes searched him. "What do you mean? You can drive to Claremore in less than an hour."

"Oh, it's nothing like that," he explained, his voice sounding older and more clerical. "We're hitting the studio again next week. After the release, there will be a lot of promotional stuff going on and then the world tour."

"Wow," she respired. "You're life has got to be pretty wild."

He shrugged. "It's always been that way. You would like it. The touring, I mean. All of the places and the people..."

"Oh, no," she said, furiously shaking her head. "I'm way too shy for all the people. I'd hide out in a tour bus or a hotel room."

He chortled. "You say that now..."

She shook her head again, but smiled up at him. "So you'll call and everything?"

"I'll call," he assured her. "You know, I think we've got a spare weekend coming up here in a week or two. I'll call you then. Maybe we could catch a movie or something."

Her heart fluttered. "I...sure."

He sighed with relief. "Great."

"RANDY!" someone shouted. She saw the gathering of kids, and ambled to her feet. She took her bag, containing all of her articles of discarded clothing and other necessities, and swung it over her shoulder. She waved to Taylor and said good-bye before hurrying to get in line to get back on the bus. Taylor shouted good-bye to her just before she walked out the gate. She turned and flashed him one last smile before she went.