Lance Bass tugged at the white starched collar of his church shirt, reaching up to undo the buttons. A line of sweat glistened around his collar bone and he used the back of his hand to wipe away the sweat. The hot Clinton sun beat down on him, making his clothes feel even more itchy and constricting then they had before. Popping the first two buttons and loosening his cuffs, he allowed some of the small breeze to slide through his open shirt and slide across his warm skin.

In the middle of summer, Clinton, Mississippi got as hot and muggy as it did in Jacksonville, if not even more. Thunderstorms, which were once something the people in the city wouldn’t wish for as it would bring severe weather and threats of tornados, was such a rare occurrence that many would wish for a downpour just for a reprieve from the sweltering heat. Sprinklers were spraying water in every yard, trying to keep the grass looking as pristine as it was in the early spring. The soaked sidewalks cooled the bare feet of the youth brave enough to not only go without shoes but to go outside in general.

“Lance! Over here!”

Lance craned his neck to look past the crowd of church goers to see his best friend, Darren Dale, waving his arms over his head from where he was standing in the middle of the lush green front lawn. He bounded down the stairs and made his way over to his friend as the many other church goers spilled out of the doors leaving the cool building to step out into the warm, sticky, Mississippi weather.

“Hey, D,” Lance greeted his friend with a smile, lifting his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

“Mister Logan says he’ll take us to his end of the pond for a swim,” Darren explained, his dark eyes alight with excitement. Lance briefly closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. He could practically feel the cool water on his skin in that moment. “Go ask your parents. Mom and Dad already said its ok for Jazzy and me to go. We’ve got our suits on under our clothes.”

“Alright, I’m goin’, I’m goin’,” Lance replied with a smile. He turned on his heels and hurried into the crowd. He skirted around the other church goers shouting “Excuse me”, “Thank you”, and “Hi” as he went. The bottoms of his shoes slapped against the concrete steps as he hurried to his mom’s side. “Mom, Mister Logan said he’d take us to the pond. Is that ok?”

“Oh, sweetie, I’m glad there’s some way for you ta get out of this heat,” Diane replied, giving her son a smile. She reached out her hand and ran her fingers through his sweaty hair and down the side of his head to cup his cheek. Lance made a face at the movement, muttering a “Mooom” as he turned away from her. Diane chuckled as she reached up her hand to adjust the strap of her purse on her shoulder. “Sure. You can go.”

“Just take your sister with you,” his dad, James Bass, commented as he loosened the tie around his neck. “And make sure y’all are home before dinner.” Stacy Bass, Lance’s older sister, reached her hands up to brush her hair back from her face as she stepped down

“Where am I goin’?” Stacy asked as she walked up to her family, waving goodbye to her friends as she did so. She reached up to remove the ribbons holding up her pigtails before looping them together, pulling her hair back into a single ponytail.

“You’re going with your brother and his friends over to the Thompson’s Pond,” James replied and Stacy let out a groan.

“But, my friends wanted me to go to the pool with them,” Stacy said, her jaw dropping slightly. “I was just about to ask. That’s not fair.”

“Stace, it’s just for one day, you can go tomorrow,” Diane said with a sigh, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. “You can go to the pool tomorrow.”

“Mom, I’m 12! I’m old enough to go by myself,” Lance said with a frown. “I don’t need Stace to go with me.”

“See?” Stacey said, swinging her arm out towards her brother, hitting him in the chest. “The Squirt can handle himself.” Lance made a face, sticking his tongue out at his friend. “And he’s going with his friends.”

“Stace, please, it’d be a big help,” Diane said as she used her hand to fan some cool air to her neck.

“Fiiine,” Stacy said with a long sigh, rolling her eyes. Diane lifted her eyebrows and Stacy gave a quick smile of apology. She then put her hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Might as well go check if Annaleigh wants to go. We’ve still got to get our bathing suits.”

“I’ll be right back,” Lance said before making his way through the large group of people the second time. He headed to the church steps where he spotted Annaleigh Carr sitting on the last stair, periodically looking up at her parents as they talked. She was in the middle of pulling off her socks and shoes.

“Hi, Lance,” she greeted her friend with a smile. “Your solo was good today.”

“Thanks,” Lance said with a smile. “Darren, Jasmine, and I going to the Thompson pond if you want to come. Mister Logan said he’ll take us. Stace is coming too, but we have to go home and get our bathing suits first.”

“Momma,” Annaleigh said as she got to her feet. She reached out with her small hand and tugged on her mom’s arm. “Momma, can I go to the pond? Pleeeease?” The gaps in Annaleigh’s teeth showed as she held out the word.

Caroline Carr turned away from the woman she was talking to with a small sigh. “We’d have to go home first,” she said before brushing the dark brown hair out of her daughter’s face. She then smoothed down the sleeve and front of Annaleigh’s dress. “I don’t want you getting your clothes dirty.”

“Ok,” Annaleigh said with a roll of her eyes.

“She’ll meet y’all there,” Caroline said, giving Lance a smile.

“Thanks, Mrs. C,” Lance said, returning the warm smile with one of his own. He gave a wave before hurrying down the stairs and across the grass. He could practically feel the cool pond water sliding over his body.

-

Lance quickly slapped the lid to the jar in his hands shut before lifting it up to his face, smiling at the little bugs that crawled around in the container. He gave it a gentle shake and they illuminated, casting a warm glow on his face.

After a long and relaxing day at the Thompson farm, “Mister Logan” had driven the kids back to the Bass home where the three families were spending the evening eating dinner outside, enjoying the break from the heat as the night went on and cooled down the streets.

“That’s five for me so far,” he said with a smile as he turned towards Darren, who gave him a cocky smile.

“Seven,” he replied, wiggling the jar in his hand. He then turned towards his sister as she crawled on the ground, letting out huffs of annoyance. She had a jar in one hand and used her free hand to try and scoop fireflies into the container, but they kept flying around her hand. He let out a sigh before asking in a monotone, “How’re you doin’, Jazzy?”

“I can’ get any,” Jasmine whined, sitting back on the heels of her bare feet. She shook the jar in his direction. “Darren, will ya help me?”

“Why don’ ya ask Stacy to help you?” Darren asked, nodding his head in the older girl’s direction. She had a peaceful smile on her face as she lifted the glowing jar in her hands to her face; filled with more fireflies than either of them had.

“See, it’s not too hard,” she said to Annaleigh who had a wide smile of excitement on her face after having successfully caught one of her own.

“Because she’s helpin’ Anna,” Jasmine replied. She started bouncing up and down. “Please, Darren? Plleeaaasseee!”

Darren rolled his eyes in Lance’s direction. “Little sisters are such a pain.”

“Nuh-uhh!” Jasmine said with a frown, gazing up at her brother. Darren ignored her and she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“At least you’re the oldest,” Lance replied. Stacy loudly coughed and Lance turned to give her a bright smile. “I mean, at least you can pave the way for Jasmine just like my wonderful sister did the same for me.”

“Thanks, Squirt,” Stacy replied with a smirk, walking past him, slapping the back of his head as she did so. Lance made a face at the name as he lifted his hand to rub the back of his head.

“Better than Half-Pint, eh?” Darren asked and Lance made a noise in the back of his throat.

“Moo-mmaaa!!!” Jasmine suddenly shouted, getting to her feet. She stomped her barefoot to the soft ground, planting her small hands on her hips. “Darren won’t helllp meee.” Lance turned towards the back patio of his home where all the adults sat around a small fire, sipping on beers.

“Play nicely, kids,” Evelyn Dale replied, barely looking over in their direction.

Lance wasn’t too surprised she didn’t jump up at the shout. Lance knew that Darren loved his sister and would do anything to protect her, but the two of them could get into fights faster than he could blink. It wasn’t like their parents didn’t ever stop their fights, but a lot of the times their arguments fizzled out before it really got into anything they needed to step in to resolve the problem.

“And put on your shoes, Jazzy,” her husband, John, added, leaning back in his chair. “We just got rid of your chiggers’ bites.”

“Anna, that goes for you, too,” Caroline called.

“Yes, ma’am, momma,” Annaleigh replied, plopping down into the dirt, reaching for her socks and shoes.

“Stacy, could you come help me with dessert?” Diane asked. Stacey instantly turned and hurried after her mother, her bare feet slapping against the cool concrete of the porch and then on the linoleum inside the house.

 “That’s not fairrr.” Jasmine stuck out her bottom lip, widening her eyes in her brother’s direction. Darren briefly closed his eyes, a pained expression cross his face.

“Fiiiine,” he replied, holding his hand out for her jar. Jasmine instantly brightened, practically shoving her empty jar into his chest.

“Thank ya, Darren,” she cooed. Annaleigh giggled at the expression on his face.

“Yeah, yeah,” Darren replied with a half smile, handing her his filled jar. “See, here’s how ya do it. First, ya have to find a firefly.” He held out his hand and Jasmine slid her small one into his. “Keep your eyes opened, ok?”

“Kay,” Jasmine replied, smiling up at him.

Lance peered over at Annaleigh as she got to her feet after putting on her shoes and started to spin in circles, the bottom of her play dress fluffing out, twirling around her small legs, humming to herself. “What are ya doin’?” he asked her.

“Spinnin’,” Annaleigh replied as she continued to spin—her word dripping with massive amounts of “duh”

“Just don’t throw up near me,” Lance said, purposefully taking a wide step away from her.

“I won’t,” Annaleigh cheerfully replied.

“You said that at the playground, too,” Lance reminded her. “After you spun on the swing.”

“You were the one that twisted the chains that high up,” Annaleigh replied, stopping. She put a hand to her head as she stumbled around, trying to keep her balance. She and Jasmine fell into a fit of giggles as Annaleigh crashed into her, knocking her over.

“So much for that,” Darren said with a sigh, lifting Jasmine’s empty jar over his head. “Be careful with mine, Jazzy.”

“I will,” Jasmine replied with a bright smile as she got to her feet. She took Annaleigh’s hands and the two of them started spinning together, laughing happily.

“Girls,” Darren said with a roll of his eyes. Lance let out a short laugh in agreement. A tapping sound reached his ears and Lance turned to see Darren repeatedly tapping his fingernails against the jar in his hands. “They’re not…always bad, I guess. Right?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Lance replied with a shrug. His eyebrows knitted together slightly as Darren shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“They can be nice and they smell good,” he continued. “And they’re cute, I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders. “For girls.”

Lance paused for a moment, his tongue getting stuck to the roof of his mouth. He only manged to get out an, “Mmhmm.”

Darren glanced over at Lance out of the corner of his eye before facing him. A slight smile came to his face as his cheeks turned pink. “I’m going to marry her someday,” he suddenly said and Lance blinked in surprise. “Anna. I just know it.”

“You like Annaleigh?” Lance asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Kinda, I guess,” Darren replied with another shrug of his shoulders. “She’s pretty.” Lance nodded in agreement. “She’s fun.” His eyes widened just slightly. “But, don’t tell her I said that. I like annoying her. Don’t tell her I said that either.”

“Secret’s safe with me,” Lance replied making a “zip-the-lip” motion with his fingers over his lips. And he would keep that secret for another 15 years.