So Not the Drama, page 12
Jacinta looked down at the cheesy thickness drizzling with grease. It was the only thing standing between her life back at home and life in the suburbs. If she took a bite, it would push her deeper into this fairy tale world where the black kids blended in with the white and the street corner hangouts were substituted with pizzerias and big, green front yards. How could this still be Del Rio Bay?
The side of Del Rio she was from was one hundred and eighty degrees different.
If she were home, right now, she would be chilling at the basketball court with Raheem and his best friend, Angel. But she wasn’t home; she was sitting in a pizza place with the rainbow coalition, feeling like at any moment someone was going to break out in song like this was the Disney channel.
She contemplated for the umpteenth time how possible it was to get through the year without making new friends. Ever since promising her father she would give Del Rio Bay High School a chance for at least one year, she’d asked herself that question.
So far, sitting by herself in class was no big deal. But reminding herself she had friends back in The Cove didn’t help much when she was sitting alone at lunch or at home bored after school. Calling Raheem every single night, soaking up every word about the latest happenings at Sam-Well High School, didn’t even help much anymore. She was lonely. JZ had been the only person who hadn’t treated her like she had a second head growing out of her neck.
So here she was.
Before JZ asked her to stop at the Ria and hang, she rationalized her distant attitude, almost convincing herself it was all good to be a loner. She told herself over and over she had nothing in common with any of the snooty, suburbanite clones she’d met so far.
But she wanted to be real with herself. She didn’t know that firsthand, because school had only started four days ago and she hadn’t made a single attempt, until now, to meet anyone.
She wanted to remain distant, so she could go home and rag on the ‘burb kids and their corny hangouts to Heem and Angel. But she was already tired of being by herself.
When she’d told Raheem that over the phone the other night, he didn’t say much to help things. “Yeah, well make sure you don’t cure that loneliness by letting some gray boy holler at you,” was his only answer.
That’s all he ever talked about, how Del Rio High had a bunch of gray boys, black dudes trying to act white. Jacinta had seen plenty over the last few days. But she had to admit—not to Raheem, but to herself—that not all the guys were like that.
As much as she loved Raheem, sometimes his all-about-him attitude drove her crazy. But she let his comment slide. The last thing she needed was to be arguing with him. She was lonely enough.
JZ’s invitation to the Ria was the lifeline she needed and she knew it.
Zoned in on the pizza slice in Mina’s hand, Jacinta’s brain started its campaign. It wouldn’t kill her to go with the flow. No one was asking her to be phony. And it was only for a year, then she could head back to The Cove and go to Sam-Well High next year.
I can do that, she thought, satisfied that her ghetto pass was safe as long as she kept it real.
She looked around the table at the strange faces. She locked on Mina’s for a brief second. That little “Princess” comment was the reason Jacinta didn’t feel like messing with girls like her. But was that warmth in Mina’s eyes or was she being phony, trying to show off for her friends?
Jacinta wasn’t sure and at that point, didn’t care. She and Mina didn’t have to become friends, but they didn’t have to be enemies either.
She reached for the slice and sank her teeth into it. The warm, tangy taste melted her tough exterior. Mouth full, she said, “You can call me Cinny.”
The New Cuteness
“Let’s get ignorant. Let’s get hectic.”
—Black-Eyed Peas, “Let’s Get It Started”
The hot September sun dipped behind a cloud. Finally able to see into the stands, Mina took the chance to get the fifty-some odd fans into the game. She gave Kelis a nod and the squad paired off and began stunting. They threw tosses, throwing the flyer nearly ten feet, as they cheered on the Baby Blue Devils.
A round of enthusiastic applause and cheering went up from the crowd. Whether it was because the sun was no longer beating them to a pulp or because they appreciated the complicated stunts, Mina wasn’t sure. She was just glad to hear noise from the near-empty bleachers.
It was hard to get your cheer on when hardly anyone was at the game. But the JV games were so early in the afternoon on Fridays, even the players’ parents could barely make it in time.
Under Mina’s leadership, well co-leadership since Kelis insisted on calling every other cheer. A few times she called the exact same cheer Mina was about to. Don’t think there wouldn’t be a little heart-to-heart with Miss Kelis over IM later. That’s where they seemed to have the least heated exchanges.
Still, the junior varsity cheerleaders made the best of it—dancing, cheering, and chanting—spiriting as if they were on stage in front of hundreds.
JZ gave them plenty to cheer about.
The spectators jumped to their feet when he shot down the field like lightning, weaving through his opponents until there was no one between him and the goal posts. When he scored for the second time, the thin crowd roared.
With the small group of fans into it, the rest of the Baby Blue Devils came alive, pressuring their opponent with tough defense.
Jangled by the Devils’s newfound energy, the opposing team threw an interception. JZ came back onto the field after only a few seconds to catch his breath.
Even winded he wouldn’t be stopped.
Within a few seconds of hitting the field, he barreled back down, zigzagging in and out of opponents like they were mannequins.
Mina couldn’t see much around the sideline of well-padded, hulking players. She piggybacked onto the crowd’s reaction and the announcer’s constant mention of JZ’s name, pumping her fist and yelling when they did. Feeding off the crowd’s frenzy, she kept the cheerleaders’ momentum going. They made their tosses higher, their stunts harder, their crowd-participation cheers louder.
JZ intercepted an Eagles pass and scored a touchdown and the noise level from the sprinkle of fans tripled. When he intercepted the next pass, the Eagles benched their quarterback and the Baby Blue Devils had a bona fide rising star in JZ. The crowd stomped on the bleachers and chanted JZ’s name.
The fence surrounding the field became more crowded than the stands when curious onlookers, teachers leaving for the day and athletes finished with practice, wandered over to the stadium to check out the action.
By the end of the game, JZ’s name, on the tip of everyone’s tongue, spread like the flu. The junior varsity football team walked off the field as the school’s new hot ticket.
High on the win, Mina threw on a pair of Blue Devil spirit shorts and tee and joined Lizzie and Michael at a bench in front of the school.
“Was Jay on his game or what?!” She planted herself between Michael and Lizzie.
“Oh he got his game on,” Michael agreed.
“I wonder if his dad is having second thoughts about making him play on JV?” Lizzie asked.
“You know Mr. Zimms. When he put his foot down ...” Mina shrugged. They knew the rest.
“He’s really amazing to watch. At least all that energy he usually uses to tease us gets used up,” Lizzie laughed.
Mina held her hand up for some dap. “I know that’s right.”
JZ crept up behind Mina and grabbed her in a bear hug as he chanted, “We bad, we know it.We’re here to show it.”
“Jay, you ’da man, Boo!” Mina squealed, kicking her feet as he swirled her around.
He landed her lightly then gave Michael a pound and a tight grip.
JZ’s whole face was a huge cat-ate-the-canary grin. He tapped Lizzie’s outstretched hand, giving her five. “I can’t lie. We ripped it today.”
As if he needed reinforcement, one of the first-string varsity players came up and gave him a pound. “Son, I heard you killed ’em today.”
A crowd grew around them, pushing Mina, Michael, and Lizzie farther away.
JZ bathed in the praise. “We stomped ’em good. Ya’ll shouldn’t have no problem whipping that ass tomorrow.”
Mina and Lizzie stepped onto a bench to avoid getting knocked over by more players pushing in to talk to him. Michael stood his ground, for a few seconds, talking to a few people here and there as they made their way to JZ before joining Mina and Lizzie on the bench. He stepped up on the bench’s edge.
“Alright, ya’ll, I’m out,” Michael said.
“Aren’t you riding home with us?” Mina asked.
He nodded. “Just call me when your mom gets here.”
Michael hopped down and lost himself in the growing crowd without giving Mina a chance to ask again where he was going.
From her perch, Mina laughed. “Dag, so that’s how it is when you become the man?”
“Apparently,” Lizzie answered. She grabbed onto Mina’s elbow as a burly player pushed his way in, nearly knocking her over. “The good news? Looks like more people might be coming out to the games now.”
Mina nodded. She scanned the sea of faces, shouting out the cute players.
“Ooh there’s Kenny. The new cuteness!”
“Kenny Jackson?” Lizzie wrinkled her nose. “I don’t get your taste sometimes. His eyebrows are too bushy.”
Mina poked her playfully. “Alright. Your turn. Who meets your approval, Miss Picky?”
“Okay, Kenny almost has a unibrow. So not him.”
Mina howled. “That’s wrong. His body is hella ripped, though.”
Lizzie nodded absently as she shopped for her choice.
She pointed to a blond, freckle-faced guy standing on the outer edges. “Jeff. I think he’s adorable. I have Science with him.”
Mina squinted to bring him into better focus. “He’s ... plain looking, Liz. He’s like the smallest player on the team!”
“He’s nice and funny, though,” Lizzie defended her choice.
“Alright, I’m not buggin’ over your selection. I guess he does look like your type ... a thinker,” Mina teased. “He’s probably the one everyone on the team asks to do their papers.”
Lizzie hip-bumped her and they laughed, giggling harder when a few people looked up at them.
Giggling behind her hand, Mina whispered. “Okay, remember these numbers, twenty-five, ten, and sixteen.”
“Twenty-five, ten, and sixteen,” Lizzie repeated then scowled. “Why am I remembering these?”
“Those are my gold-star selections on Varsity. I need JZ to get me a personal intro later. I’m playing one of his numbers on him. Doing him like he does us.” She shouted out. “Get me the hookup, Jay!”
Lizzie hid her face behind Mina’s shoulder. “Oh my God! You’re embarrassing me.”
Mina laughed. “He not even paying attention, Girl. Nobody is. They’re all up in JZ’s grill. Oh my God! There’s Craig!”
“Should I call him over?” Lizzie teased.
“Girl, stop playing!”
Mina kept her eyes glued on Craig as he walked up to give JZ a pound. She stared at his lips, trying to read what he was saying.
“I love his slanty eyes. They’re sexy as hell.”
Lizzie snorted a goofy laugh. “You will find the smallest thing to be attracted to.”
Mina grinned. “They are sexy, though. Look at ’em. All narrow, making his face look all exotic. Mmmm!”
“Here he comes!” Lizzie yelled.
Mina jumped, startled, even though she was staring Craig dead in the face and could see he was no closer to walking over than the sun was to falling out of the sky. She pushed Lizzie. “Not funny!”
She was disappointed when he sauntered off toward the football field instead of circling her way. She watched him until he was just a spec on the field throwing a ball and was surprised to see the crowd of mostly varsity players had swollen in the few minutes she had been Craig-watching. She nudged Lizzie with her leg. “Hey, did you know Lila messed with a football player? I’m majorly impressed.”
Lizzie had no time to answer. As soon as the words were out of Mina’s mouth, Lila was standing next to her. She announced her presence with a simple, “Hey, Lizzie.”
Lizzie poked Mina’s side. She hoped Mina would stifle her normal flow of commentary or at least not say anything else about Lila. It was safe. Mina was flirting with one of the players, totally occupied. Lizzie chuckled to herself when she saw it was number ten. Guess Mina could check that one off her list.
“So, I’ve seen you around with Jason Zimms. You guys good friends?” Lila asked.
“Yeah, we’ve been friends for awhile.” Lizzie stepped off the bench into the wave of bodies.
Lila nodded her approval. “Cool. Joel, the varsity captain, is my boyfriend.”
Lizzie didn’t respond and was sure Lila didn’t expect one, because her words flowed like someone used to dominating the conversation. “Look, we have this little thing called Lines for Lunch. We hold one every lunch period the two weeks leading to auditions.Wondering if you’re interested in joining?”
Lizzie perked up at mention of the troupe. “What’s that?”
“Some of the senior members of Bay Dra-da get together and help the new fish run lines. It’s like a clinic almost.We give you feedback on your performance.” She shrugged. “Help you get better.”
Lizzie’s face registered complete surprise. Not a lot of the serious Chamils were about helping someone win a role.
Lila burst out laughing, as if reading her mind. “Oh, it’s still cutthroat. We don’t help you too much. But the last president started it.” She waved her hand dismissively, “Some kind of help the needy act of charity. But Mr. Collins likes it ... something about nurturing new talent.”
“Can anyone come?” Lizzie asked.
Lila’s lips curled into a sly smile. “No.You have to be invited to LFL. It’s for the candidates we think have real potential,” she said meaningfully. “If you don’t mind giving up your lunch period, it can be worth your while.”
“Where do you meet?”
“The auditorium, every lunch period. Just let them know I invited you,” Lila said. She walked away, conversation over, close curtain.
Lizzie blew a low whistle. She sat down on the bench and tugged at Mina’s sock.
“You’re a trip, boy,” Mina was saying, doing her flirty laugh—soft and feminine accompanied by a light tap of the person’s shoulder she was flirting with.
Lizzie snorted and tugged again.
Mina swatted at her without breaking conversation. “So I’m saying, Ms. Claire’s class is mad hard.You had her last year?”
“Yeah. I ended up with a B.”
Mina nodded, eyes fixed on the guy in an understanding gaze, like this was the most interesting conversation ever. “Well if I ever need help I know who to call, huh?”
“What’s your screen name. I’ll hit you up sometimes.”
Mina broke her neck scrambling for a pen. She kicked slightly at Lizzie’s thigh and reached her hand out for a pen.
Lizzie shook her head as she reached in her purse and flicked out a pen.
Mina snatched it up, held her hand out, and the guy put his hand in hers. “Now don’t wash this off in the shower ’til you write it down,” she lectured gently, writing her screen name on his hand.
He smiled and winked at her. “I got you, shorty. I be talking to you.”
“Okay then. See you, Bo.”
Mina grinned, stepped down, and plopped next to Lizzie.
“Hot to death!” She fanned herself.
“Number ten, huh?” Lizzie asked.
“Number ten,” Mina sighed happily.
“Okay. Can we talk about me for a sec,” Lizzie asked.
Mina took a deep breath and turned her attention to Lizzie. “What’s up? Did I see you talking to Queen Bee?”
“Yeah. Act III of this strange drama with her,” Lizzie said, voice low. The crowd was thinning out, but they were far from alone near the bench.
“What happened?” Mina turned to sit cross-legged.
“What do you think this is all about? She just invited me to some exclusive lunch.” Lizzie paused, concentrated on how to describe it to Mina. “Line tutoring is the only way I can think to describe what it must be.”
“Tutoring? For what?”
“Drama. Lines for Lunch.”
“Cute name. I think she just knows you’re her competition, Liz. She probably wants to keep you close. Know what I mean?” Mina reasoned.
Lizzie chewed at the inside of her lip. That sounded reasonable enough and yet it didn’t.
“I don’t know. It’s scary being her new ...” she paused, again seemingly at a loss for words when it came to describe the whole bizarre situation, “... project. I’m like her charity case or something.”
“Girl, stop. She’s seen you enough to know you don’t need her charity. She’s just trying to check you out, up close.”
Mina turned, looking toward the curb. “Hey my mother is here.” She raised up and called over to JZ. “Jay! You rolling with me, right?!”
He nodded, wrapped up his conversation, and headed toward Mina’s mother’s silver BMW 7 Series.
“Come on, Chick,” Mina said. She slipped her phone out of her purse to call Michael. Lizzie was deep in thought. “You alright?” she asked, dialing Michael’s cell.
“Um-hmm.” Lizzie rose slowly.
“Mike, where are you? My mom is here, hurry up,” Mina ordered. She wrapped her arm in Lizzie’s, pulling her along toward the car. “Stop worrying.You’re in with Lila.What difference does it make why?”
Lizzie nodded, wanting to agree with Mina. Since the café invite she’d been waiting for hazing ... having to do Lila’s laundry or bring her breakfast at six A.M. But so far the popular redhead’s interest was legitimate. She guessed. She hoped.
