AmazingBooks

The Perfect Plan

Ms. Ty Scott King

Smokin’ Penz Multimedia Group

must be secured from the publisher to

use or reproduce any part of this book,

except for brief quotations in critical

reviews or articles.

Published in Dothan, Alabama by

Smokin’ Penz Multimedia Group.

www.mstyscott.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-

Publication Data

King, Tiffany

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

This book is dedicated to…

Every girl who has ever felt like she
needed to change herself in order to fit
in. I hope this book helps you to realize
just how special you are and that God
made you to stand out!
My amazing husband, Michael (aka:
Mike/Chef King/ “my man”). Thank you
for your daily love, support, laughs,
encouragement, and amazing food. I
never want to know where I’d be
without you.
My family who has supported me since

before I was “Ms. Ty Scott” to the
world. You all keep me grounded. Nuff
love.
Every friend and fan who has helped to
fuel the vision God has given me. Thank
you for your continued prayers and
support.

Chapter 1

2,920+ Days

I was eight when my parents called us

all in for a family meeting at the dining

room table and announced that they were

getting a divorce. I don’t remember

whether or not I really knew what a

divorce was, but I knew they had to do

something because they had been arguing

non-stop. My brothers, David and

Darren (who almost everyone usually

called “The Twins”) had been

whispering that this might be coming, but

I was still sad when they finally said it

was happening. I even cried because it

hit me so hard.

A few days later, we got home from

school and Dad was all packed to move

out. It was really strange. The way my

parents interacted that day was a mixture

of sadness and relief. I guess they both

knew that this was exactly what we all

needed; a fresh start. When my dad

headed towards the door to say his

goodbyes, the twins acted cool. They

were twelve then, so I guess looking

hard was starting to be really important

to them.

Plus, Dad had been raising them to be

tough and not show their emotions much.

I remember him telling the twins a lot

that, “Men are strong not emotional.” So

I wasn’t shocked when all they said was,

“Bye, Dad” like he was just going to the

grocery store. Me on the other hand, I

was a sensitive little girl who’d had her

daddy around all 2,920+ days of her

tender eight year old life. So, this was

the biggest thing that had ever happened

in my world. And it hurt! But, I had

always tried to be just like my brothers,

so I sucked up my tears and gave my dad

a huge hug. He held me close to him so

long and so tight that I started to feel like

I couldn’t breathe. When he finally let

me go, I could see the tears that were

trying to escape his eyes. But, I’d never

seen my dad cry before, so I figured it

was just the cold air getting to him.

As we walked him down the driveway

and watched him get into the driver’s

seat of the mustard-colored U-haul

moving truck, he gave us the handsome,

crooked smile he was known for; the one

my Mom said he used to win her over

when they were just teenagers growing

up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It was

that same handsomely crooked smile that

I would grow to resent not many years

after that day.

When we walked back inside our four-

bedroom, Park Avenue house, we were

still innocent kids. Of course, I was

crushed that Dad wouldn’t be coming

home that night… or any other night…

not to our house anyway; but, he’d

promised to pick us all up from school

on Friday so that we could spend the

weekend and help him get everything

decorated at his new house. We didn’t

know exactly where it was, but he’d

mentioned that it wasn’t far from Turtle

Hook Middle, which was where David

and Darren went to school.

I could tell that night at dinner when they

didn’t eat as much as they usually did,

that Dad leaving was a hard blow for

them too; but, we had no idea what was

about to break loose, so we carried on

content about our little piece of Heaven.

The twins had video games to pass the

time and I had a bookshelf full of

fairytales I liked to read over and over

again. And when I got tired of those, I

had plenty of cd’s. That night before we

went to sleep, the three of us talked

about how time would fly over the next

three days and before we knew it we’d

be hanging out with Dad at our second

house. We liked the sound of that, second

house, because it made us feel rich.

Speaking of rich, people were always

pretty shocked when they found out that

we lived on Park Avenue. The looks on

their faces were priceless, every time.

One time, this lady’s jaw even dropped.

Mom and I had gone to Manhattan one

Saturday because she needed a really

nice dress for a party her and Dad were

going to. I don’t actually remember much

about this story because I was only three

years old then, but Mom thought it was

so funny that she’s told it practically a

million times; so it always feels like I

know it.

Anyway, we were in this boutique in

Manhattan and the sales lady asked my

mom if she needed anything. Mom told

her she was just looking and proceeded

to push me around in my stroller. When

she didn’t find anything, she headed

towards the door to leave. Just then, the

sales lady accused Mom of stealing a

necklace she’d been eyeing. My mom,

who swears she’s never stolen anything

(worth talking about) in her life, was

speechless. Nothing like this had ever

happened to her before, so she stood

there like a deer caught in the headlights.

Of course, that made the sales woman

even surer that she’d definitely been

right in her accusation. She was about to

pick up the phone and call the police

when Mom found her voice. She told the

lady that she hadn’t stolen anything and

she was going to leave. If the police

wanted to waste their time to find her for

something she knew she didn’t steal,

they would just have to come to her

house on Park Avenue.

Mom said that that’s when the lady’s

draw dropped. It wasn’t until we were

on our way home that she realized the

sales woman let her go because she

thought we were rich people who lived

on that Park Avenue. What a fairy tale

life that would have been. But, the

reality is, our Park Avenue didn’t make

us rich. We were middle class, on the

verge of becoming lower class statistics,

in a single-parent home.

Just like we thought, those three days

flew by faster than the days go by

between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We woke up that morning buzzing about

how Dad was gonna pick us up from

school and we were gonna ditch our

wanna-be-real Park Avenue house for

the super cool house we just knew he’d

found. We hoped it was in Brooklyn

‘cause that’s where everything

happened.

We figured he would pick up the twins

first, since they got out of school earlier,

and then swing by and get me. So, they

told me to make sure I was ready and

waiting by the flag at 3:45. We made

sure that we got our bags packed before

we left the house and Mom made sure

that we had our toothbrushes and enough

clean underwear to get us through the

weekend. She even made sure that we

had wash rags and towels because as

she put it, “Your Dad isn’t always the

best with details and I don’t want you

out there stinking like you don’t have a

Mother who takes care of you.” We left

everything right at the entrance of the

doorway so that all we’d have to do

when Dad picked us up was run into the

house and grab everything. We didn’t

want to waste any of the time we had to

hang out with him.

I don’t know how that day at school

went for the twins, but it was a blur for

me. I made sure I listened to my teacher,

Ms. Carroll; but, during recess I didn’t

play because I refused to get my clothes

messed up. Dad was a stickler about

looking good, and I didn’t want to

disappoint him by looking like a raggedy

doll. I made sure that I was extra careful

during lunch too, and I was proud

because I didn’t spill a drop of

chocolate milk on myself. I did spill

some by accident on my best friend,

Max, though. She knew I was nervous

about seeing my dad, so she was cool.

When the end of the day came and it was

time to line-up for Ms. Carroll to lead us

through the hallway, down the stairs, and

outside to the pick-up area, I wanted to

break the line and run ahead of everyone

else; but, of course I didn’t. I was

excited but I wasn’t crazy. I wanted to

see Daddy, but I wasn’t going to risk

getting in trouble over it. So, I suffered

in the line as everyone seemed to be

dragging their feet; especially the line

leader for the week, Patrick. Geeze, that

boy knew how to walk slower than a

turtle. When we finally made it outside, I

walked to the flag so fast that when I got

there my legs felt like they were on fire.

I waited and waited and waited for what

seemed like forever. I didn’t have a

watch, but I knew that it had to be after

3:45 because all of the buses were gone

and Ms. Carroll was walking towards

me. “Ayana, come with me so that I can

call your mother. She’s usually here by

now.” “She’s not the one coming,” I told

Ms. Carroll. “My dad and brothers are

coming to pick me up today.” I was just

a kid, but I’m pretty sure that I caught a

hint of uncertainty in Ms. Carroll’s voice

when she said, “Well, since it’s getting a

little late, let’s go back inside so that I

can make sure he’ll be here soon. Do

you have your dad’s number?” “No

ma’am. But, my mom does. You can call

her,” I said.

As we turned to walk back into the

school, I heard a horn blow. I whirled

back around excited (and honestly a

little smug), knowing it was going to be

my favorite three guys. Instead, I was

super disappointed to see my mom and

brothers pulling up in our beat-up, once

blue now gray Toyota that had seen far

too many road trips in its 15 plus years.

Ms. Carroll smiled down at me and

waved at my mom as I got into the

backseat.

The first question out of my mouth once

we pulled off was, “What happened to

Daddy? I thought he was picking us up

today.” At first the response was silence.

The twins looked away not wanting me

to see their disappointment and anger.

Finally, Mom broke the ice and said that

Dad called her at work and told her that

he had “an emergency situation” he

needed to handle. He said he was sorry

and would call us later. As Mom relayed

the message, I caught that same

uncertainty in her voice that I’d heard in

Ms. Carroll’s. I’m sure she hoped he

would call so that we wouldn’t feel bad,

but deep down I think she knew then that

he had divorced us too.

Chapter 2

Middle School Changes

As the days passed, turning into months

and then years, we fell into a routine and

talking about Dad wasn’t a part of it.

The twins were High School football

stars and I was a bonafide Middle

School nerd. For real… I was full

blown.

Turns out that I was the only one in my

family who was near-sighted, and since

Mom couldn’t afford to get me contacts,

I had to get glasses. To make it worse,

my bad eyes meant thicker lenses. Yea,

welcome to my world! I didn’t just get

my nerd credentials because I wore

glasses though, I earned them because I

was a book worm and I was in the band.

Double wammy.

Mom always had to work whenever I

had a band recital, so my brothers had to

come instead. I wouldn’t have minded so

much if it didn’t seem like all the girls

were trying to get with them. The

flirtation was ridiculous, obvious and

badly executed. I mean… black girls

usually didn’t toss their hair ‘cause they

were always afraid the tracks from their

weave would show. But, from the time

Darren and David stepped foot on

school property, all I could see was

weave flying every which way.

Mom would ask them how my recitals

went and they’d always say, “Everything

was really good, Mom,” while giving

each other knowing side-glances. I don’t

know how Mom couldn’t tell that

something was up. That’s why I wished

she would’ve asked them more specific

questions like, “How did Ayana do?”

But, to their saving grace, she never did;

which was lucky for them because they

would never have been able to give her

any real details ‘cause they were always

too busy collecting numbers. I swear if

they weren’t my brothers, I would’ve

called them out for being so stupid.

One bright side of Mom working so

much though was that I got to go to

practically every one of the twin’s

football games. The fact that they were

star athletes shaved off some of my nerd

points; just some. The High School

crowd was so much cooler than

everyone I knew in Middle School;

which didn’t count for much since I

mainly knew other nerds like me. But,

hey.

Uniondale High School had cute boys

and pretty, popular girls who wore

make-up and had some of the best

clothes. Most of them probably rode the

train to Manhattan or Brooklyn to shop

‘cause their style was nothing like the

wanna be’s over at my school. Every

time I went to a Uniondale football game

it was like I was in Hollywood getting a

chance to glimpse stars.

I always wished I was old enough to go

to Uniondale the same time as my

bothers. I just knew that if I had them

around, I wouldn’t have been forced to

hang out with the other nerds. No one

could deny that I was the twins little

sister because as we were always told,

“Y’all have those Roberts’ genes.” So, I

tried to ride off of the reputation they’d

left at Turtle Hook… but that wasn’t

enough. I was non-athletic and even

though a lot of people told me I was

pretty, I didn’t have the confidence to

pull it off. Looking back, I wish I had

realized that I was every bit as pretty as

they’d said. I’m sure it would have

changed a lot of things for me…

probably not all for the better though.

Honestly, it probably would have just

made me more trifling at an earlier age.

Anyway, back to going down memory

lane. Every time I went to a game, I got

to hang with the who’s who. I was a fish

out of water, but I didn’t care. It was

nice to be popular… even if it was just

because of who my brothers were. The

school day after the football games was

always hard for me. I felt like I had to

return to my normal, boring, nerdy life;

like I’d gotten the chance to live out my

dreams and then I had to wake up and be

the invisible girl again. I needed a way

to stand out. I needed a new look. I

wanted to try one of the hairstyles I’d

seen some of the girls wearing at the

games. They also happened to be the

ones getting the most attention from most

of the boys, including my brothers.

So, one day while my Mom was standing

in front of the mirror curling her hair I

asked her, “Can I go to the hairdresser to

get my hair cut?” She looked at me from

the reflection in the mirror and said,

“Hairdresser? Little girl, you know I’m

the hairdresser around here. Plus, why

would you want to cut it?” I had to think

fast. If she knew I wanted to cut my hair

to look cool, she’d give me some long,

drawn out speech about how our

outsides aren’t as important as our

insides and how the people who don’t

already see me as cool don’t matter

anyway. I knew she meant well… and

that she was right. But, I was in 8

grade

and I didn’t care about right, I cared

about fitting in. So, I thought quick and

told her, “It’s getting in my face during

band practice.” “Well, just pull it back

into a pony tail, Ayana.” Dang it, she had

me there.

Think. Think. Think. “I do, Mom. But,

then it just hangs over my shoulders

anyway. It’s just annoying.” “Ok. Let me

think about it,” Mom said. “How much

cutting are you talking about?” I knew if

she was asking, I had a good shot. So I

ran into my room and grabbed my Alicia

Keys cd; the one where she had on all

black, and her hair was cut in a bob. I

held it up to the bathroom mirror so that

my mom could see it in the reflection

without having to stop curling her hair.

“Are you serious, Ayana? That short? I

think you’re too young for such a grown

hair cut. Heck, I’m too young for that,”

she said laughing. My mom’s laugh was

infectious. Seriously, even strangers

laughed when they heard her laugh. It

seemed like her laughter came from way

down in her belly and like she meant

every single chuckle. Plus, her whole

face lit up when she laughed. I had to

fight hard not to laugh too. If I did, I was

sure to lose this one. I had to show her

just how serious I was. “Mom, it’s not

that short,” I whined as she shot me a

“You know it is” look in the mirror.

I stared back at her with puppy dog eyes

as I thought about how I was finally

ready to leave my nerdy, invisible girl,

tomboy ways behind… starting with a

more grown-up hair style; one that she

didn’t give me at our kitchen table. I was

thinking too about how Darren was

always the one pointing out how much of

a tomboy I already was. He’d go out of

his way to say stuff like, “You always

dressing like a boy with those baggy

jeans.” “It’s the style,” I’d shoot back

annoyed. Then he’d respond with the

quickness, “Yea, for boys… and girls

who don’t have shapes.” I guess those

thoughts must have made me look really

pathetic ‘cause a few weeks later Mom

finally gave in.

I’m not sure if it was just the sulking I

did that helped my cause or if it was the

heat wave and humidity that hit us out of

nowhere that September too; but,

whatever it was, I was getting my hair

cut. So that Friday, I bragged about it at

school all day. “Why would you cut your

hair?” Max asked me. “You’ve been

growing it out since last year.” “I just

want to do something different so people

will finally notice me. Aren’t you tired

of feeling like people are looking past

you, Max?” “You mean boys don’t you?”

Max asked with a raised eyebrow. She

already knew my answer would be yes,

but I said it anyway, “Yes, Max, boys.

Wouldn’t you, just once, like to get some

attention from a cute one?” She tried to

act like she didn’t care, but dropped that

act with the quickness. “You know I

would, girl! You’re so lucky your Mom’s

letting you do this. I wish my parents

would let me. But, my dad is way too

strict. He thinks that if our skirts aren’t

past our knees, we’re gonna fall into sin.

And my mom is right there with him.”

Every time Max talked about her

parents, I felt a pang of jealousy. She and

I had known each other since before we

could talk, and we always had a bond;

because unlike most people we knew

our parents were still together. We

always took it for granted that they were

happily married. Anyway, I snapped out

of it because it wasn’t Max’s fault that

we didn’t have that in common anymore.

“Yea,” I said, “your parents are serious

about keeping you under lock & key.

They don’t ever want you to grow up.”

“Mmhhmm,” Max said as she shook her

head in agreement.

The rest of the day went by fast and on

Saturday morning I woke up before

everyone else; anxious to get my new

look. Mom took me to Divine Design &

Styles on the corner of Fulton &

Tennessee Ave. I’d never gotten my hair

done in a professional salon before, so I

was taking it all in. The magazines, the

washing bowls, the hair dryers and

worst of all… the wait! My appointment

was supposed to be at 8:30 that morning,

but it was almost an hour later and we

were still waiting. Mom said she wanted

to make sure that I was in the chair

before she left to go run errands and

check back in on David and Darren, who

were still knocked out and snoring the

house down when we left. She had to get

them to football practice, then she’d

come back to get me. Finally, Ms. Rita

(who Mom knew from way back), came

over and introduced herself to me. She

was really pretty and came across really

nice, but the first thing I noticed about

her was her extremely long, claw-like

nails. She was really going to do my hair

with those?!

As Ms. Rita led me to one of the chairs

with the bowl attached, I started to

panic. I was instantly more nervous

about her washing my hair than I was

about getting it cut. I always sucked at

math, but I swear Ms. Rita’s nails

looked like they were at least 5 inches

long! Mom noticed that my eyes were

getting big like they were going to pop

out of my head and she gave me a, “You

should have listened to me when I told

you that you didn’t want to get your hair

cut” look.

But, before I had time to think about if

this was my Mom’s way of punishing me

for wanting to cut my hair, Ms. Rita had

one of those black apron looking things

around my neck and she was leaning my

head back into the bowl. As soon as she

started washing my hair, all of my fears

went away. Her 5 inch looking nails

were perfect for scrubbing away all of

my dandruff.

In that moment, I promised myself that

when I got a job one day, I would

always make sure I went to Ms. Rita to

do my hair. No offense to Mom, but not

even the wait could keep me from this

treatment.

After the wash, Ms. Rita took me to her

chair. While she was running the comb

through my shoulder-length hair she

asked my Mom, “Lisa, why are letting

your baby cut all of this long, pretty

hair? Didn’t you tell her that women are

paying an arm and a leg for weave so

they can have hair like hers?” My mom

nodded her head in agreement and

responded, “Rita, you know these girls

think they grown and know it all. I’ll let

her cut it so she can miss it.” I was

willing to take that chance though if it

meant me looking like Alicia Keys and

getting some attention from the boys for

once. I was determined to get that

attention.

Before I knew it, Ms. Rita was making

the first cut. “I usually turn people away

from the mirror,” she said, “but I want

you to see all this good hair you’re

letting go of.” I always thought it was

strange when people said, “good hair.”

Let me rephrase that, when black people

said, “good hair.” I really never heard

white people say it, unless they were

talking to or about a black person. I

never liked when black or white people

said it though, it just made me

uncomfortable. But, I didn’t want to be

rude to Ms. Rita so I just said, “Yes,

ma’am.”

She cut for what seemed like forever,

and the pile of hair on the floor just kept

stacking up. A lot of the women around

us kept asking how much more of my

“good” hair was she gonna cut? And just

when I was starting to get really annoyed

by their obsession with my hair, my

cousin Roxanne (who everyone called

Roxy) walked into the salon with her

Mom.

Roxy and I lived on opposite ends of

town, but her and my aunt Layla always

came to our side of town to get their hair

done. As Roxy put it, “Those stuck up

white people on our side of town don’t

know nothing about black hair. You

know we can’t trust them. They’ll try to

cut all mine off out of jealousy.”

Roxy was always saying off the wall

stuff like that. Plus, she had hair a lot

longer than mine. As a matter of fact,

hers was almost down to her waist. And

even though short hair was what a lot of

the older boys wanted right now, Roxy

would never have to cut hers to get one

because all of the boys (who called her

Foxxy Roxy by the way) wanted her

regardless.

“WOW, A!” Roxy blurted as she was

walking up to me. “You look SEXY,

cous!” “Excuse me?” Aunt Layla and my

mom said at the exact same time. “What

you mean ‘sexy?!’” my mom demanded

to know. “Oh ma’am,” Roxy said

blushing when she realized that she’d let

that slip out. “I meant… you look very

beautiful, Ayana.”

I had to hold in my laughter because

Roxy always tried to act like an angel

when adults were around, especially my

mom. But, when we were alone or with

friends, she was for sure the wild child

of the bunch. Plus, she never called me

by my full name. As a matter of fact,

Roxy was known for shortening

everyone’s name to just a letter. I guess

that made it easier for her to keep track

of everyone… especially all the guys

who were constantly trying to talk to her.

“Thanks,” I shot back with a smile. I did

look SEXY! Mission accomplished.

Roxy picked up the latest issue of

Essence magazine and plopped down in

the chair next to me while our mom’s

walked to the front of the salon to talk.

They always had something to talk, and

laugh, about. As sisters, they were as

close as they come.

Mom and Aunt Layla had seen some stuff

and lived to tell about it. They always

told us that we had it much easier than

they did; but, we really didn’t get what

they were telling us. They were always

warning us about the traps, but we

seemed determined to fall into the ditch

for ourselves. I guess we were just too

nosy and hard-headed for our own good.

Finally, when Mom noticed that Ms. Rita

was done cutting my hair, she came over

to let us know that she and Aunt Layla

would be back in an hour or so. They

were going to run errands and check on

the boys while I was under the dryer.

“Do you want to come with us or do you

want to stay here and keep Ayana

company?” Mom asked Roxy. Making a

big show of sucking up, Roxy pulled the

magazine away from her face and said,

“Aunt Lisa, I’ll stay here and keep Ayana

out of trouble.”

Again, I almost burst out laughing. She

would keep me out of trouble? Hahaha.

Yea right. I could tell my mom didn’t buy

Roxy’s innocent act, but she just said,

“Ok, see you girls in about an hour.”

Then she looked at Ms. Rita and told her

to call her if we got out of control.

While I sat under the dryer, Roxy talked

non-stop; giving me a ton of ideas about

what to wear for the week. She was

always really good at fashion stuff so I

didn’t mind her going on and on. Plus,

her chatter was helping me to keep my

mind off of how I was burning up under

the dryer. I started to fan myself while

Roxy said, “Make sure you keep your

hair up too, ‘cause I know you. You’ll

try to go all band-geek again.” I hated

when Roxy called me a “band-geek,” but

I knew she was right. When it came to

boys, she was the expert; so, whatever

advice she gave, I was definitely going

to follow. The timer went off on my

dryer and Ms. Rita came over to check

that my hair was dry. “You’re going to

have to wait for your Mom to come back

before I style it for you,” she said,

“’cause you’re not gonna get me in

trouble for making Mommy’s baby look

too grown.”

About 15 minutes later, Mom and Aunt

Layla came back, and Ms. Rita and Mom

talked about how my hair should look.

When it was all said and done, they did

find a way to keep me from looking “too

grown.” But, I was happy. My plan was

to style it in the bathroom myself at

school anyway. That’s what my cousin

Roxy said she always did, and Aunt

Layla was none the wiser.

Chapter 3

New Girl?

When Max met up with me on Monday

morning, she couldn’t stop staring.

“Wow, you look so different with your

hair cut like that! I’m still surprised your

mom let you get it. It looks really good;

and it makes you look like you should

already be at Uniondale High with the

twins. You trying to grow up on me?”

she asked while laughing and poking me

in my side. I laughed too. “Plus, your

outfit is on point.” “Yea, I saw Roxy at

the salon and she told me what to wear.

Just wait ‘til we get to school!” I said. “I

have my flat iron in my bag. I’m gonna

really hook it up. My mom thinks I’m

keeping that ‘young’ look she likes; so, I

just gotta pray I don’t get caught

switching it up.” I noticed the look Max

gave me, but ignored it. Her and Roxy

weren’t fans of each other at all. I’d

been forced to play referee between

them one too many times. They were just

so different.

Roxy thought Max was lame, and Max

thought Roxy was a bad influence on me.

I got tired of putting out fires between

them, so I tried never to have them

around each other or even bring one up

to the other. I slipped this time though.

But, surprisingly Max didn’t warn me

about playing “Roxy Says” as she liked

to call it. Instead, she just gave me a

look that said all I needed to know… she

still didn’t like Roxy. I ignored her look

and told her how I’d been in the

bathroom mirror since early that morning

working on my hair.

By the time my brothers woke up, I’d

changed it back to the kiddy style Mom

wanted me to have. If I hadn’t, they

definitely would have busted me out to

her and ruined my plans. Mom had to

pass their school to get to work, so she

always dropped them off in the

mornings. That gave me just enough time

after they all left to grab the flat iron,

throw it into my book bag, and meet Max

at our usual spot.

Mom trusted Max. She always had; said

it was the fact that Max’s parents were

“raising her to be a decent person.” Plus,

she knew that when Max and I walked to

school together, we always got there

early because it gave us extra time to

talk, laugh, and eat breakfast on the

bench near our homeroom. But, that

would have to change because from now

on I’d need to make time to do my hair

before the bell rang.

As Max and I turned the corner from 2

Street to Jerusalem Ave., we heard a

whistle from behind us, but we ignored

it and kept on walking. We were almost

near the front of school, so we assumed

it was someone whistling at one of the

girls who had just gotten off of the bus.

The whistle came again, this time with a

guy shouting, “Hey, new girl!” We knew

for sure this time that he wasn’t talking

to us because we’d both been at Turtle

Hook since the 6

grade. So, again we

kept on walking and talking. We cut

across the lawn to the side door that

would take us right to our favorite bench

outside of Mr. Block’s class.

When I leaned forward to open the door,

we heard the same guy’s voice say,

“Hold on, let me get that.” Before I knew

it, a hand reached out in front of me,

pulled the handle, and opened the door

wide for me and Max to walk through. I

looked behind the door to see who it

was and the shock must have registered

on my face.

It was Bryan Dunlap. Thee Bryan

Dunlap. I almost choked on my spit. If it

wasn’t for Max, I would have stood at

the door and passed out from holding my

breath too long. “Thanks Bryan,” she

said as she grabbed my hand and pulled

me into the building. “Yea, thanks

Bryan,” I said, as I finally managed to

break out of my deer-caught-in-the-

headlights brain and body freeze.

“You’re welcome,” he said smiling

down at me with his cute chocolate face

and gigantic dimples.

“What’s your name?” he asked with his

hand outstretched. “Mine?” I blurted out.

“Of course, Dummy,” I thought to myself.

“Who else’s name would he be asking

you for… Michelle Obama’s?!”

Before he could respond to my dumb

question, I shook his hand and answered,

“My name’s Ayana. And this is my girl,

Max.” I didn’t want to leave Max out,

plus I wanted Bryan to look away for a

minute so that I could sneak a peek at

myself in the glass. Thank God I was

looking good! I hadn’t been able to get to

the bathroom to do my hair yet, but I was

straight. He said a quick, “What’s up,

Max,” and turned back to me. I had to

look away for a second ‘cause I almost

got caught up in the sea greenish, kinda

blue ocean he called eyes. “I’m Bryan,”

he said. “Nice to meet you, Ayana.” Was

he joking? Everyone knew who he was.

But, I didn’t wanna kill the vibe so I just

went along with it. “Nice to meet you

too, Bryan.” I had no idea what to say

next. Apparently, he didn’t either, so we

just stood there and stared at each other

until the first warning bell broke the

silence.

Where the heck did the time go? I still

hadn’t done my hair and now I only had

3 minutes until homeroom started. I

wasn’t complaining though. Bryan

Dunlap had held the door for me and

asked me my name! “That’s my cue,” he

said. “It was nice to meet you, Ayana.

I’ll see you around.” “Nice to meet you

too, Bryan,” I managed to reply. As he

turned and walked away, I tried to look

unaffected but I could feel my lips

curling up into a huge smile. As his

almost 6’ frame faded down the hallway,

all my brain kept repeating was, “Bryan

Dunlap knows my name. Bryan Dunlap

knows my name. Bryan Dunlap knows

my name…” It took the bell ringing for

me to snap out of it and realize that Max

had left me smiling like an idiot, in the

middle of the hall, 3 doors down from

Mr. Block’s class.

“A little late,” said Mr. Block when I

rushed past him just as he was about to

close his homeroom door. “Yes, Sir. I’m

sorry.” “It’s ok. There’s a first time for

everything. I’ll let you get away with it

this time,” he said with a grin. Mr. Block

was my favorite teacher and I’m pretty

sure I was one of his favorite students. I

never gave him a hard time because he

was so cool. He always told us that as

long as we did our work first, we could

do other things at our desks when we

were done. For me, that meant writing

songs. So, I practically wrote a new

song a day in Mr. Block’s class. And

today would be no exception. I had a lot

more to write about now that Bryan

Dunlap knew who I was.

When I got to my desk, I looked over at

Max who sat one aisle over and three

seats back and whispered, “Why did you

leave me?” She whispered back, “I

wasn’t trying to be the third wheel! Plus,

I didn’t want to be late. What did I

miss?” she asked while leaning forward

in her desk. “I’ll tell you after class,” I

whispered as Mr. Block walked in front

of the board and told us to turn to page

48 in our workbooks.

I could barely focus on whatever he was

talking about because I had “Bryan on

the brain.” Sounds like some kind of

sickness you could catch, which was

fine by me; I was willing to catch that all

day. I replayed our conversation over

and over again. Each time I did, I tried

to remember exactly where he was

standing and how he looked at me. Then

a thought flashed through my mind…

why did he think I was a new girl? We’d

gone to the same school since 2

grade.

I knew that because we were both in

Mrs. Shavenik’s class that year. And we

had both had Mr. Murray in the 4

grade. Did he really not remember who I

was? There weren’t even any other

Ayana’s in our elementary school, and

I’d only come across one other Ayana

since I’d been at Turtle Hook. Could my

hair cut have made me look that

different? Even if it did, shouldn’t he

have at least remembered my name?

“Stop over-thinking it, ‘Yana,” I told

myself. “Just be happy that he knows

who you are. You got what you

wanted… a boy noticed you. And not

just any boy; thee Bryan Dunlap!” I

almost squealed out loud. Needless to

say, I didn’t learn whatever Mr. Block

was trying to teach us that day and I

didn’t write a song either. All I did was

daydream about being Mrs. Bryan

Dunlap.

But Bryan wasn’t the only boy who

noticed me that day. I got so much

attention that I actually started to feel

over-whelmed. Lunch was a total circus

when Mike Crawford literally pushed

Phil Johnson out of the way to sit next to

me. Max was just as blown away by all

of the attention as I was. And she wasn’t

the only one shocked by it all. Having

the attention of so many boys got me the

attention of a lot of the popular girls too.

I would hear about it the next day in P.E.

Chapter 4

Jealousy & Enemies

The next morning, Mom had to leave a

little early for an appointment with a

client at her job, so she took the boys

with her. That gave me an extra 30

minutes to myself, so I used it to curl my

hair. I had to admit that I was looking

even better than I did the day before.

Once again, the outfit Roxy had told me

to wear when I saw her at the salon was

working for my good. I was so ready to

get to school and show off that I almost

forgot my book bag.

I was a few minutes late meeting Max

and she didn’t waste any time asking me

what had happened the day before in the

hallway with Bryan. “Nothing much

really ‘cause the bell rang and we had to

go. But, he did say that it was nice to

meet me and that he’d see me around.”

“Yes!” she said and high fived me. For

as long as I’d known Max, she was

excited when something good happened

for me and sad when something bad

happened. She just had that caring thing

about her. In a way, I think that’s why we

were such good friends. She kind of

balanced me out. Life (well, my dad

leaving) had taught me at a young age

that caring could get you hurt feelings.

So, having a best friend like Max was

good for me. She made sure that I never

went too far left.

Breaking into my thoughts, Max asked

me, “So, why do you think he thinks

you’re a new girl? Doesn’t he remember

you from elementary? And what you

think about all the boys that were trying

to holla at you yesterday? They think

you’re new too?” I had to laugh because

Max and I always fired off questions

before the other even had a chance to

start responding. “I guess they didn’t

remember me,” I said. “I figured the hair

cut must have thrown them off. But

hopefully most of them put two and two

together by now…” “And got 7,” Max

cut in. I busted out laughing. “You so

stupid,” I said. “You know I’m not the

stupid one,” Max said. “These boys are

so slow sometimes. Well, most times.”

We laughed off of that one for a good

minute.

By the time we got to school, we’d

talked about a million different things

(like we usually did). We were so caught

up in our conversation that we didn’t

notice the group of girls standing by the

flag pole until we got right up on them.

When I almost bumped into one of them,

she gave me the nastiest look I’d ever

seen, held out her hand and said, “Uggh.

You might have a new hair style and new

clothes, but you’re still the same old

nerd. Watch where you’re going!” Her

crew of clones busted out laughing as

though she’d said the funniest thing

they’d ever heard. I was embarrassed

but I was mad too ‘cause her nastiness

was uncalled for. So, I shot back, “You

just mad ‘cause this nerd probably got

your boo’s attention yesterday.” I had no

clue if she had a “boo,” but I knew that if

she did that would be the lowest and

hardest punch I could throw. Before Ms.

Nasty attitude could respond, Max

hitched her arm through mine and rushed

me towards the side entrance of the

school.

“Are you trippen? Do you know who

that was? Of course you do!” Max

yelled; scolding me like I was a puppy

that had just chewed up her favorite pair

of Jordon Retro’s. “Are you trying to

make her your enemy? ‘Cause it sure

looked like it to me!” “Calm down,

Max,” I huffed back. “I’m not trippen.

Did you hear what she said? I don’t care

if Zoe is one of the most popular girls in

school. She deserved that. I had to set

her straight.” “You know how she holds

grudges, Ayana. She’ll probably never

let this go.” I had a feeling that Max was

right. Zoe, Max and I had been friends

all throughout elementary school. We did

everything together; until Philly came

along. Well, his name was Phillip but

everybody in the neighborhood called

him Philly. Zoe talked non-stop about

him every day-his eyes, his voice, what

he was wearing. She paid attention to

every detail.

One day we were in the hallway after

school, waiting for Max to get something

out of her locker, and Philly walked up.

“What’s up, Max,” he said. He never

even looked in me or Zoe’s direction.

“Hey Philly,” Max said back. Before

anything else could even happen, Zoe

turned bright red and stomped off. I went

after her, which left Max and Philly

alone at her locker. I followed Zoe into

the bathroom where she had locked

herself in the stall and was crying like

someone had just died. Zoe was a lot

like me, over dramatic, but this was

ridiculous. “Zoe, open the door,” I

pleaded. “You can’t stay in there

forever.” “Yes, I can!” she yelled back. I

tried not to laugh at how ridiculous her

response was. Obviously she’d lost all

logic and forgot that she was in the girl’s

bathroom at school and eventually she

would have to come out and go home.

But, I tried a different tactic anyway.

“Ok, don’t worry about opening the

door. Just tell me why you’re crying like

someone just died.” At that, Zoe flung

the door open so hard I thought it was

gonna fly off the hinges. Now her eyes

were as red as her face. “You know why

I’m crying, Ayana!” she shouted so loud

that I’m sure whoever was in the

hallway could hear her. Before she

could really go off, I pulled her in to

give her a hug. “It’s ok, Zoe. You know

that Max is your friend. Nothing’s gonna

happen with her and Philly. She was just

talking back to him to be nice.”

What Zoe said next really caught me off

guard. “You know that Max is prettier

than me, and she has a better personality.

He’s gonna like her more than he likes

me. Obviously, he already does.”

“What?!” I thought to myself. “Zoe,” I

said, “you’re beautiful and so is Max.

You know this isn’t a competition. We’re

all best friends. Max isn’t shallow

enough to let a boy come between us.

Whatever Philly thinks about her isn’t

gonna change who we are to each other.”

Zoe’s breathing slowed down a bit and I

knew she was starting to think clearer.

That’s when Max walked in. “Zoe,

what’s wrong? Why’d you storm off like

that?” Obviously I’d misread Zoe’s body

language because when she raised her

head off my shoulder she was still fire

hot. “Don’t come in here acting all

innocent, Ms. Goody Two Shoes. You

know what you did!” Immediately the

hurt registered in Max’s eyes and her

shoulders started to droop. “All I did

was speak back,” Max protested,

shaking her head. “Well, you didn’t have

to do that!” Zoe yelled again. “You know

I like Philly. You could have just stood

there and let me talk to him. But no. You

couldn’t wait for the chance to try to

push up on him. At least you could have

done it behind my back. I thought you

were my friend.”

“Hold on,” I broke in. “Zoe, you’re

going overboard.” “So, you’re just

gonna take her side?!” she shot back at

me. “You’re just gonna act like she was

right and I’m wrong for calling her out

on it?” “I’m so-” Before Max could

apologize I jumped in. “No, Max. You

shouldn’t be the one apologizing. Zoe’s

out of line. She’s just jealous because

Philly spoke to you and not her. She

needs to stop trippen.” Next thing I

know, Zoe lunged forward and slapped

me right in my face. It was a hard slap

too. “Shut up, Ayana! You’re always

taking up for her like she’s yours or

something; always protecting her.”

Before I could say or do anything, Zoe

stormed out of the bathroom just as fast

as she had walked away from Max’s

locker. When the door slammed shut

behind her, it was just Max and I

standing there in stunned silence. What

the heck had just happened? How did

everything go crazy that quick? I could

tell that Max was trying to decide if she

should go after Zoe or stay and make

sure that I was ok. She decided to stay

because like we both knew, Zoe was one

of those people who exploded and then

needed cool down time.

When I got home Mom noticed the

redness on my face and asked me what

happened. While she was icing my

tender cheek, I told her the whole story.

“You have a right to be mad, Ayana. She

should never have put her hands on you.

But, she’s obviously dealing with a lot

of jealousy and some insecurity issues.

Nothing you or Max said in that

bathroom was going to calm her down.

Do you want me to call her mother?”

“No, I don’t want her to get in trouble.”

“Ok,” Mom said. “Are you going to be

alright?” “Yes, ma’am,” I assured her by

nodding my head. “I love Zoe. I know

she’s messed up for doing what she did,

but this will blow over. She’ll apologize

and I’ll forgive her.” Well… that’s what

I thought was going to happen.

The weekend went by and neither Max

nor I heard anything from Zoe. For years,

we’d made a habit of meeting at my

locker every morning before school

started, so when Monday rolled around

we expected her to show up, but she

never did. We didn’t see her until

lunchtime. She was sitting at a table with

another girl named Tangi that we kinda

knew. They were talking and laughing.

As soon as we walked up, they got

silent. “Hey Zoe,” Max said. But, Zoe

didn’t respond. She just kept eating and

acted like she didn’t hear her. So I said,

“Zoe, Max said ‘hey.’” At that, Zoe

looked up and said, “Why are you

talking to me, traitors? Y’all should have

taken the hint when I didn’t call over the

weekend or show up at your stupid

locker this morning. But, since you’re

both slow, lemme break it down… I’m –

done – with – the – both – of – you!”

Then she turned back to Tangi and

started talking to her like we weren’t

even there. It took everything in me not

to snatch her by her ponytail or throw my

lunch in her face. Instead, I grabbed Max

by the elbow and we went and sat down

at one of the lunch tables on the other

side of the cafeteria.

Max looked just as surprised and angry

as I was. “So, she goes off on you for

nothing. I defend you. She slaps me. And

now we’re the traitors?!” I demanded to

know. “I know, right? That’s crazy,” was

all Max could get out. We ate our food in

silence; both processing what we knew

was the end of our friendship with Zoe.

After that day, she never spoke to either

one of us again. And to tell the truth, I

was fine with it. She had too much

drama going on for me to try to keep up

with her anyway. I knew Max and I were

the best friends she could ever have had,

and if she wanted to throw that away that

was her fault. The ironic thing was that

not even a month later, Philly’s Dad sent

for him to come and live in Atlanta and

he ended up moving. So, Zoe lost us

over a boy she’d never be able to get

anyway. I was glad that it all happened

though ‘cause we got to see her true

colors.

Fast forward back to now and I could

care less if Zoe was mad at me. She

deserved to have hands laid on her, so

just talking back to her was actually the

nice thing to do. No matter what

happened between us though, I would

always know the truth because she’d

said it herself that day years before in

the girls’ bathroom… she was just

jealous; and her jealously had made me

her enemy.

Chapter 5

The Suck Up

After the drama of the morning, I was

glad to go to Mr. Block’s class and focus

on something other than Zoe. Mr. Block

was teaching about the history of the

computer. Any other teacher would have

put us to sleep talking about early

programming languages, the original

internet and how the “war” got started

between Microsoft and Apple, but Mr.

Block had a way of making learning fun.

He was interesting and exciting and that

spilled over onto us. He was the first

teacher that inspired me so much that I

actually thought one day I might like to

be a teacher too.

I had Mrs. LaSalle for 2

period. She

was an older lady with wiry white hair;

Unlike Mr. Block, who was divorced,

she’d been married for 39 years. On our

first day of class, she told us the story of

how her and her husband had met in

school when they were our age. They’d

gotten married at 17, and had come from

Switzerland to explore America when

they were 19. They loved it here so

much that they never left. I ended up in

Mrs. LaSalle’s class because I’d whined

to Mom about how I was tired of taking

Spanish, so she let me try out French. So

far, I was enjoying it and learning a lot.

For instance, I knew how to say, “Je

m’appelle Ayana Roberts. Bonjour. Au

revoir” and all kinds of other stuff. The

only problem was, outside of school, I

didn’t know anyone that spoke French. I

mean, there were a couple kids in my

class that lived in my neighborhood, but

no one that I’d be caught dead talking

to… like Marie Colin (aka: “The Suck

Up”). Her nickname described her to a

tee and I couldn’t stand suck up’s; with

the exception of my cousin, Roxy, who

sucked up to actually get something other

than satisfaction.

As soon as the bell rang, Mrs. LaSalle

said, “Bonjour. Je suis un peu fatigué.

Comment vas-tu?” It took me a couple of

seconds to realize that she’d said,

“Good morning. I’m a little tired. How

are you?” I guess it took almost

everyone else a minute too; so, before

any of us could respond Marie said,

“Comme ci, comme ça.” Mrs. LaSalle

smiled at Marie’s quick reply of, “So

so” and proceeded to review our days of

the week and a few other things for the

quiz we were having in a two days.

During the review, all I could think was

that Marie really got on my nerves. She

wasn’t just a pretty face, she was smart

too… and she wanted to make sure that

everyone knew it. Her eagerness to

please was actually what made her so

unpleasant to be around. We’d had a few

classes together last year, and this year

she was no less annoying.

So, when the review ended and class

was about to let out, I was relieved. But,

just before dismissal, Mrs. LaSalle told

us that we were going to have to do an

end of the year presentation and she’d

already paired us up. There were a few

loud groans from some of the boys

around me, who I’m sure wanted to have

the freedom to pick a girl as their

partner. As Mrs. LaSalle started to go

over the names, I found myself praying

that she didn’t pair me up with Marie.

“Please, God. Not Marie. Not Marie.

Not Marie.” “Marie,” Mrs. LaSalle said,

“You’re partner will be Ayana.” “Why

me, God?!” I yelled on the inside. On the

outside, I didn’t even try to hide my

disappointment; but, Marie gave me a

smile anyway. “How could someone so

smart be so clueless?” I thought.

When Max and I met up at our lockers

before 3

period and I told her what just

happened in Mrs. LaSalle’s class, she

busted out laughing and said, “I told you

not to take French. You shoulda’ stayed

in Spanish then you wouldn’t be stuck

with “The Suck Up.” Even though I was

bummed about it, I couldn’t help

laughing at my misfortune. What were

the odds?

Chapter 6

Transformations

Before we left school that day, I made

sure that I toned my look back down to

“young Ayana.” That way my mom

would never know who I’d been

transforming into once she left for work.

One way or another, whether at home or

when I got to school, I worked it out so

that I could make that transition every

day for the rest of my 8

grade year…

without ever getting caught. The twins

didn’t pay much attention to me anyway;

they had too much going on. They’d led

Uniondale to a State Championship that

year, so the press (and of course the

girls) were all over them. On top of that,

David was nominated for the National

High School Scholar-Athlete Award and

Darren got the NFF Receiver Award for

the position he’d played since he was on

the peewee team-wide receiver. They

were both getting acceptance letters and

scholarship offers from colleges left and

right. But, they were holding out for one

in particular and they were determined

that they were going together. They’d

always been like that. I guess as twins

that was to be expected. I’d always

envied their bond. That’s probably

another reason why I loved Max so

much… she was as close to a twin sister

as I was ever gonna get.

I got home, threw my book bag on the

kitchen table, and went straight to the

bathroom to pee. When I came out,

Darren and David were going crazy.

“Bro, I got the letter!” Darren said while

waving around an envelope and doing

what he liked to call his “I’m the Man”

dance. I always thought he looked crazy

doing it because his arms and legs went

flying everywhere, but he’d been doing

it since he was five. It was still hilarious

every time. “You did?!!!” yelled David.

Lemme get the rest of the mail so I can

see if mine came too.”

David grabbed the envelopes that were

left on the living room couch and went

through them. I sat down in the recliner,

kicked my feet up, and leaned back to

watch and laugh. They were always pure

comedy. If a letter didn’t have David’s

name on it, he tossed it over his head,

and it went flying up in the air and into a

pile on the floor. Ever since they’d gone

to State, the mail we got doubled, maybe

even tripled; so much so that our

mailbox was stuffed every day. Finally,

David got to the only envelope he cared

about… the one that matched Darren’s.

Even though I already knew the answer, I

asked anyway, “Where are they from?”

“University of Alabama… Roll Tide!”

They hollered in unison. The twins had

wanted to go to ‘Bama ever since I

could remember. They knew everything

about their football program, and they

wanted to wear those jerseys. So now,

whatever was in the envelopes they

were holding would be the deciding

factor. But, they knew the rules. They

couldn’t open their letters until Mom

came home, no matter how much it was

killing them to wait. For us, reading the

letters as a family had become a

tradition; and we weren’t about to break

it now.

I could feel their impatience, but I had

homework to do; so, I jumped up from

the couch and left them to breathe heavy

and pace back and forth by themselves.

It would be about two hours before Mom

got home, so I was sure they’d

eventually move on to playing video

games or something to pass the time. As

for me, I had Math, History, and English

homework, so I was going to be busy

right up until she came through the door.

As soon as I sat down at the kitchen

table and cracked my English book open,

the phone rang. Unlike a lot of people,

we still had a home phone because it

came with our internet bundle. And since

it was usually for one of the twins, I

didn’t move. Darren grabbed the

cordless and answered it on the third

ring. “Roberts’ residence.” Mom had

told us to keep it professional when we

answered the phone, just in case it was

one of the College scouts calling. She

didn’t want them to think that we didn’t

have home training. “Yea, she’s here.

Hold on.” Darren cupped the mouthpiece

but instead of whispering (since I was

right there behind him), he dang near

shouted, “’Yana, it’s for you. It’s some

dude trying to sound like he got bass in

his voice!” I was so shocked that it was

a boy calling for me that I didn’t have a

smart comeback for Darren. But, I did

give him my best evil-eye and a good

punch in his arm. That last thing actually

ended up hurting me more than it hurt

him because his muscles were super

toned from football practice every day.

So, I answered the phone whimpering

like a wounded puppy instead of the put-

together powerhouse I wanted the boy on

the phone to hear.

“Hello.” I drew my breath in and waited

to hear whose voice was on the other

end. Since my new look, I had been

getting a lot of attention at school, but no

one had asked me for my number. I

didn’t know what to expect. “Ayana, it’s

Bryan Dunlap.” I almost dropped the

phone. Was someone playing a joke on

me? Maybe this was part of Zoe’s way

of getting back at me for what I’d said to

her in front of her friends. I guess it took

me a minute to respond because the

voice said, “Hello, Ayana? Hello?” “I’m

here,” I managed to get out. My voice

cracking from nervousness. “Oh ok,” he

said. “I thought my cell was acting

stupid again. You know how these smart

phones can be real dumb sometimes.” I

started to say what Mom said, “Smart

phones are only as dumb as the people

who use them,” but I caught myself just

in time. I couldn’t insult Bryan Dunlap

(if this was even him for real). “I was

calling to see what you’re doing next

Saturday around 5? I thought you might

wanna come and see me play this pick-

up game over at Reid Park in Westbury.

My cousin lives out that way.” Bryan

was on the school basketball team,

which made perfect sense since he was

about 6’ tall. He wasn’t the star player

but you’d never know by his swag. He

was more like Lamar Odom than Lebron,

but no one seemed to care. “My cousin

lives out that way too. Y’all probably

already know her.” “Who didn’t know

Roxy?” I thought to myself while shaking

my head. That girl had a reputation she

shoulda’ been embarrassed about. “But,

back to Bryan’s question,” I told myself

and refocused. “Next Saturday night?” I

repeated, like a fool. “Yea, I’d like you

to come cheer me on,” he said. Even

through the phone, I could hear the smile

in his voice. “Then maybe afterwards

you can come with us to get something to

eat at IHOP.”

Just when I was about to answer, Darren

came back into the kitchen trying to act

like he was the popo or something.

“Who you talking to, ‘Yana? I need a

name. Now.” I rolled my eyes at him and

asked Bryan, “Can you hold on a minute,

please?” Before he even had a chance to

respond, I mouthed to Darren, “Please…

don’t do this to me now.” What I really

wanted to mouth was, “If you don’t

leave me alone, I’m gonna tell Mom,”

but I knew I couldn’t say that because

then I’d have to tell Mom that Bryan

called me and she’d want to know every

detail that led up to that happening. That

would force me to incriminate myself,

and if there was one thing I’d learned

from watching my cousin Roxy it was

that you never ever give your mom the

information she needs to block your next

move. I guess Darren decided to take

pity on me because he left without a

fight. “Ok. I’m back,” I said. “I’m still

here,” Bryan responded, “waiting for

your answer. You gon’ come see me and

get something to eat with me

afterwards?” “Sure!” I said. I’d meant to

hide my enthusiasm, but I was positive

that hadn’t worked.

I wasn’t positive though about how I

was going to pull off going to eat after

the game. Mom had strict rules about me

being out past 7:00pm without her

supervision, unless I was with Darren

and David; and I sure as heck wasn’t

about to ask my brothers to go with me

on my first date! Oh well, I’d have to

figure that out later because I wasn’t

gonna miss my chance with thee Bryan

Dunlap. No how, no way.

“Ok, great!” I heard Bryan say. He

sounded relieved and just as excited as I

was. I’m sure he’d tried to hide the

latter, but who were we fooling? We

were both young and happy to be wanted

by someone of the opposite sex. “Ok

then, Bryan,” I said. I’ll see you around

school and I’ll be there next Saturday.”

I’m not sure how we said our goodbyes,

but when I hung up the phone I realized

that I never did ask Bryan how he’d

gotten my number. Oh well. In the grand

scheme of life, I really didn’t care. All

that mattered was that he had called and

we had a date. Wow. My first date!

Chapter 7

Fool-Proof

By the time Mom got home, the twins

were practically a nervous wreck and I

hadn’t done any of my homework. All

they could think about was what those

letters said, and all I could think about

was what Bryan Dunlap had said. I’d

used the time I was supposed to be doing

my homework to think about how I was

going to stay out after the game. I had a

fool-proof plan and Roxy was going to

be my accomplice. I just had to talk to

her first; but, I had a feeling she

wouldn’t mind playing that role one bit.

Mom could feel the nervous energy

when she walked through the back door

and into the kitchen where the twins had

joined me at the table (which was a

mess because my books were still

spread out in front of me). “What’s going

on in here? Why is everyone so on

edge?” she asked looking around. Since

I couldn’t tell her what was going on

with me, I just rolled my eyes towards

the boys who could hardly contain

themselves. “We got letters from

Alabama, Mom!” Darren yelled. “Yea,

we’ve been dying to open them, but we

know the rules,” David chimed in. “So,

hurry up and take your shoes off and

change your clothes.” “Yea, we know

how you like to get comfortable first.”

“And then come back here so we can

finally open these letters. The suspense

is just about killing us.” They talked

over each other and finished each

other’s sentences (like they did

constantly), so I didn’t know who was

saying what. All Mom could do was

follow orders while laughing to herself

as she closed her bedroom door. About

five minutes later, she came back

wearing her Florida Gators sweat suit.

Of course, the twins hated when she

wore it, especially in public; but, Mom

was proud of her Alma Mater and she

wasn’t gonna let the boys obsession with

Alabama keep her from showing her

school spirit.

She sat down at the head of the kitchen

table and said, “Let’s pray.” We took

hands and bowed our heads. Mom had

taught us that no matter what was in

those letters, we had to give God thanks

in advance because He always worked

things out for our good. She said she

wanted the twins and I to learn that no

one had more wisdom or power than

God; so, regardless of whether we got

accepted into a certain college or not,

God would make sure that we were

where He wanted us to be. “Father

God,” Mom prayed, “Thank you for

bringing us to this place once again.

Thank you for blessing my boys with

gifts and talents that have caused many to

seek them out. We pray that what is in

these letters is Your will and we thank

you in advance that Your will is perfect.

Lead us where you would have us to go.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.” “Amen,” the

twins and I agreed in unison.

“Ok, Mom. Put us out of our misery!”

David said. “You boys go ahead,” Mom

replied. To that, David and Darren tore

their envelopes open so fast I was afraid

they were going to rip the actual letters.

As if on cue, they started reading at the

same time, “Congratulations, you have

an opportunity to become an educated

man and play great college football. A

University of Alabama degree is one of

the most prestigious in America. As the

head football coach at the University, I

want to formally extend a scholarship to

you.” That was all they needed to read

before they erupted into chants of: “Roll

Tide. Roll Tide. Roll Tide. Roll Tide…”

while jumping up and down like they’d

won the lottery. Of course, Mom and I

were no better because we joined in

acting like million dollar winners for

life too.

If there was anyone around to take a

picture of us at that moment, they would

have posted it on Instagram with the

caption, “This is what crazy looks like!”

But, we wouldn’t have cared if someone

was there. This was the biggest cause

for celebration our family had had in a

long time. This was our victory. So

when Darren broke out his “I’m the

Man” dance, it was only right that we all

went in.

“Everybody get dressed up,” Mom said.

“I know it’s a school night, but we’re

going out to celebrate!” She didn’t have

to tell us twice. The boys ran down the

hallway to their rooms and I followed,

leaving all of my books on the table…

they’d be there when we got back. I’d

have to stay up a little later than usual,

but this was one of those times that I

didn’t mind. I was proud of my brothers,

plus I wasn’t about to miss a good plate

of food.

Thirty minutes later, we were all

dressed up and ready to go. “So, where

we headed?” Mom asked. “You know

our favorite place,” said David. “Joe’s

Crab Shack it is then,” Mom said.

Usually I’d protest and ask for something

a little fancier, but this was the twins’

celebration… so I let them have it. Mom

called Aunt Layla while we were on our

way to Joe’s and she agreed to meet us

there. This was perfect. Now I could go

over my plans with Roxy for next

weekend.

By the time dinner was over, Roxy had

tweaked my plan just a bit and we were

ready to execute it. On the way home,

while the boys were in the back talking

about what Alabama life was gonna be

like, I asked, “Mom, can I spend the

night at Roxy’s next Saturday? If you say

yes, I can ride back with Aunt Layla

from the shop after Ms. Rita does my

hair.” She shot me a side glance, making

sure she didn’t take her eyes off the road

for too long, and said, “You two always

have things all figured out don’t you?” I

laughed and said, “We do that to help

you and Aunt Layla out.” “Sure you do,”

she said with a slight grin. “You know

your Aunt Layla can’t see the wool

Roxanne is pulling over her eyes

sometimes. So, I think it’s best if you

two stay at our house for the weekend.” I

started to argue, but realized that if I did

Mom would know I was up to

something. So, I just nodded my head

and acted like I didn’t care one way or

another where we spent the night. I knew

dang well though that if Roxy had to

come to my house, I’d never make it out

to eat with Bryan after the game. I was

panicking on the inside, but held my cool

on the outside. “Let me think about it,”

Mom said. “Ok,” I answered as

indifferent as I could manage.

My homework was still waiting for me,

just like I’d left it. So, I took a shower,

put on my favorite pink pajamas, and

rushed through it. I knocked it all out my

9:00pm and took my butt to bed. I was

tired from all the strategizing I’d been

doing all day. This fool-proof plan had

better work!

Chapter 8

Divine

Morning came too quick and before I

knew it I was groggily getting ready for

school. I met Max at our usual spot and

told her about the twins getting accepted

into the University of Alabama, the call

I’d gotten from Bryan Dunlap, and the

plan Roxy and I had. She was excited

about everything, until I got to the part

about Roxy and I’s plan. “What if your

mom says Roxy has to come and spend

the night at your house?” she asked

sounding pessimistic. “I don’t know,” I

shrugged, “I just hope and pray that she

lets me go to Roxy’s instead.” “Your

mom’s right you know,” Max said.

“About what?” I asked, trying to act like

I didn’t know what she was getting at.

“You know about what,” Max said

firmly. I could play dumb all I wanted,

but I knew they were both right about

Roxy. She was good at putting up a front

for her mom and a lot of other people,

but my mom and Max could see right

through her. Not wanting to go down that

road, I changed the subject. “What

happened with you last night?” I asked.

“Same old, same old,” Max said with a

shrug. She told me about her night at

home and I swear it sounded just like

something that happened on The Cosby

Show one time. The more Max talked,

the more I missed my Dad. But, I was

too tired to think about why his calls had

stopped coming; so, I listened and

laughed at Max’s recap of her night for

the rest of our walk to school.

By the time I made it to 2

period, I was

still fighting to keep my eyes open; but,

Mrs. LaSalle’s announcement woke me

up faster than a Starbuck’s double shot

of coffee. Even after all the years she’d

been in America, her accent was still

kind of heavy when she spoke. “Ok,

everyone. Prendre vos places

rapidement.” As we quickly rushed to

take our seats like she’d said, Mrs.

LaSalle gave the students at the head of

the rows packets. “Take one and pass the

rest back,” she instructed them. The top

sheet of the stapled papers read:

“Travel Agent to the

Riche, Célèbre, et Français

French 1

End of the Year Team Project

I should have known it was coming

soon! We only had three months left ‘til

school ended and Mrs. LaSalle wasn’t

going to drop the ball on this. I loved the

title about the “Rich, Famous, and

French,” but I was struggling to accept

the consequences of what this

assignment meant… I was going to be

stuck working with Marie Colin, aka:

“The Suck Up,” for at least the next

month, depending on how fast we got

this done.

After giving us a few minutes to look

through our packets, Mrs. LaSalle said,

“Everyone should remember the partner

that was assigned to you. If you don’t,

come and see me after class. This

project will count for 30% of your

grade, so you must do your best. I want

to see where you and your partner both

put in work, so the last page of this

packet has a time sheet for you to log the

hours you spend working, together and

separately. I want to see a team effort.”

It took all of my strength not to let out a

loud groan when Marie raised her hand

to ask a question. “Oui, Marie?” asked

Mrs. LaSalle. “If we get done with the

assignment early, can we turn it in?”

“Always kissing up,” I said under my

breath. At least I thought I said it under

my breath, until Marie, Mrs. LaSalle,

and half the class looked at me. I

covered my mouth and looked away.

Even though I was just saying what

everyone else was thinking, I was still

embarrassed for saying it so loud. After

the silence hung in the air for what felt

like five minutes (it was probably only

about thirty seconds though), Mrs.

LaSalle responded to Marie. “I’d rather

you hold on to it until the due date, just

in case you and your partner decide to

add or change anything.” “Ok,” was all

Marie said in return.

And for the rest of the class, there

wasn’t another peep out of her. Mrs.

LaSalle reviewed our packets with us

then she did a short review on French

nouns and pronouns. When she was

done, she let us use the last ten minutes

of class to meet with our partner and set

up times to work on our project.

I went over to Marie’s desk and said,

“Since we live in the same

neighborhood, we can just meet up after

school one or two nights a week and get

this knocked out.” At first, Marie had no

response. She just stared at me like she

didn’t hear me. Then she said, “So,

you’re just gonna act like you weren’t

rude earlier?” Whoa. I was shocked.

Outside of knowing that she was a suck-

up, she’d always come across as pretty

quiet and passive. I didn’t expect her to

call me out. I was still embarrassed

about my slip of the tongue earlier, so I

hung my head and mumbled, “I’m sorry.

You weren’t supposed to hear that. No

one was. I’m sorry.” “Well,” Marie said,

“Now that I know how you really feel

about me, let’s just keep it 100 ok. I’m

used to people not understanding me

anyway. I know I’m different, and I’m

cool with that.” All I could do was nod;

her confidence was definitely not

lacking. She was a straight shooter and I

admired that.

Like I said before, Marie was pretty and

smart. Her family was from Portland and

they’d moved to Uniondale for her

mom’s job. That was stuff I’d learned

about her last year in our English Class.

Our teacher, Mr. Dexter, was always

encouraging us to share; so, once a

week, he turned our classroom into an

Open Mic spot. He would give us a

topic every Monday, and we had to “step

to the mic” every Friday. It was fun. We

all got into it and learned some things

we probably never would have known

about each other. Sometimes people

would rap, sing, dance, and even crack

jokes; but, Marie always did poetry, and

her poems always had something to do

with God. They were alright.

“Ok, I agreed. We’ll both keep it 100.

So, when do you want to get started?”

“Any day other than Wednesday,” she

said. “My Mom and I go to Bible Study

on Wednesday nights.” “Ok, how about

next Thursday at 5:30pm?” I asked.

“That’ll work. Where we gonna meet?”

Marie asked. I really hadn’t thought

about that. Even though we lived only a

few blocks from each other, I’d never

been to her house and she’d never been

to mine. I didn’t know if she had any

sisters or brothers, but I knew that if the

twins were around, we probably

wouldn’t get any work done. Marie

might be a suck up, but it seemed like no

females were immune to my brothers. At

least I’d know what to expect if Marie

came over; plus, I know it was selfish

but I decided I’d be a lot more

comfortable at my own house. “We can

meet at my house,” I said and wrote

down the address. “Ok, next Thursday,

5:30pm. I’ll be there,” Marie said and

quickly walked away.

Chapter 9

An Invitation

On the way home after school, I told

Max what happened with me and Marie

in French class. After laughing

hysterically, she pulled herself together

and gave me the “poor you” look. Then

true to her always-seeing-the-bright-side

self, she said, “I’m sure it won’t kill

you.” I prayed to God it wouldn’t.

I figured that after Marie and I got done

on Thursday night, I’d start going through

my clothes and deciding what to wear on

my date. I know I was getting everything

together early, but my outfit had to be

perfect!

It was hard, but I’d left Mom alone about

me spending the night at Aunt Layla’s. I

had threatened Roxy about staying on her

best behavior, hoping that Aunt Layla

would happen to mention how good she

was being to Mom and she would let me

go. And, it worked! Roxy had told her

Mom that we were going to the park and

to see a movie afterwards. When Aunt

Layla asked her who was taking us to do

all of this, Roxy made up a story about

how her friend Camille was moving

away. Supposedly, Camille’s mom was

doing all of this to help her celebrate

before their last day in Uniondale. Mind

you, Roxy didn’t even have a friend

named Camille. But, bless Aunt Layla’s

heart; she believed every word that

came out of her precious Roxanne’s

mouth. So, everything was set. Now all

we had to do was make it to next

Saturday without any slip up’s and we’d

be good to go.

The days flew by fast. That next

Thursday, Marie came over at 5:30pm

on the dot so that we could start our

project. Everyone was home and Mom

met her at the door. I was rounding the

corner when I heard her say, “It’s nice to

meet you, Mrs. Roberts.” “Just call me

Ms. Lisa,” my Mom said as she opened

the door wider for Marie to come in. I

doubt Marie caught it, but I noticed how

my mom put a stress on the “Ms.”

A few months back, she’d sat me and the

twins down and told us that her and Dad

had gotten a divorce. We were surprised

because we thought they’d been

divorced; especially since we hadn’t

heard from or seen Dad in years. But,

with tears in her eyes, she told us, “I

never wanted to do this alone. I always

wanted to raise you all with two parents

here so that you could see the way a

family is supposed to be. But, sometimes

things don’t work out like you thought

they would.” We hated to see Mom cry,

so it turned into all of us crying. Then

David (being no-nonsense like he could

be sometimes) looked around and said,

“Ok, we can’t do this all night. What’s

done is done. Now, let’s eat!” At that,

we all busted out laughing.

“Ok, Ms. Lisa. Hey Ayana,” Marie said

to me over Mom’s shoulder. “Hey,” I

responded, “I see you met my mom. My

brothers are in their rooms, so let’s get

to the kitchen before they make their

grand appearances.”

Once we were at the kitchen table with

all of our directions about our

assignment spread out, Marie jumped

right in. “I’ve already done some

research and I got a list of the French

billionaires from Forbes magazine.

Here, take a look at the top 5,” she said

as she handed me a sheet of paper. I

looked down and saw that the richest

person on the list was a lady named

Liliane Bettencourt

who was worth $30

billion dollars. Immediately, I drifted off

into a daydream of what it would be like

if I had that kind of money.

“Ayana,” I heard Marie saying as I

snapped back into reality. Nope, I

wasn’t on my 590 foot yacht, cruising

out to my own private island with 100 of

my closest friends. I was sitting at our

imitation wood dining room table with

legs that were barely holding on after

over a decade of daily use. “I’m with

you now,” I said. “I was just off in La La

Land… spending that money though.” “I

know right,” Marie said as she laughed.

For a minute, I tried to remember if I’d

ever heard her laugh before. I decided

that this was the first time. And she

actually had a decent laugh. I’d expected

something a lot more “suck upish” (not

sure what that would have sounded like

exactly), but she had a nice laugh. Good

for her.

“So, I was thinking,” she went on,

obviously without noticing that I was

analyzing her laugh, “

Liliane Bettencourt

is the perfect person to do our project

on. She’s rich and famous, and with that

kind of money, she probably travels all

the time. Plus, she’s a woman and I’m

always inspired by strong women. We

can set her up to go to a couple of these

cities.” Again, Marie handed me a piece

of paper with a list on it. Lyon, Aix-en-

Provence, Strasbourg, and a few other

cities I’d never heard of, and I’m sure

most Americans hadn’t ever either, were

on it. “You pick two and I’ll pick two,”

Marie continued. Then we can find out

what there is to do in those cities and list

some of the hot spots.”

As I was listening to her plan of action, I

made another decision about Marie. She

was destined to be great. Really! She

had a good head on her shoulders, she

was pretty, and she had confidence. She

had to because I never saw her break

down when people picked on her. Most

times, she’d just ignore whoever said

anything and move on like nothing ever

happened. None of that changed the fact

that I still found her really annoying

though; but, hey, like Max had said,

working with Marie wasn’t going to kill

me. In fact, it was looking like it was

going to help me get a much needed “A”

on the project.

After about two hours of researching the

four cities we’d picked, we decided that

we had a good enough start.

It wasn’t until Marie was packing up her

stuff to leave that I realized that the

twins never bothered us. After I walked

Marie to the door, they popped up and

told me why. “Mom warned us about

messing with you and your friend,”

David said. “She’s not my friend,” I

snapped back. “Really, why not?” he

asked. Before I could answer, Darren

chimed in. “We heard y’all talking and it

sounds like she’s a nerd like you. Seems

like you too should be besties,” he said

laughing like he’d just told a joke that

was funnier than anything Kevin Hart

could have come up with.

“Haa, haa, haaaa. I guess you’re gonna

give up football for comedy now,” I said

as I swatted for him. He was too fast so I

missed and he took off running. He ran

into the back yard, I ran after him, and

David ran after the both of us to see how

this was all going to end. I chased

Darren around for a while; but, after I

started losing my breath, I gave up, fell

out on the grass, and the twins fell out

next to me. Darren started laughing first,

then David. It was contagious and before

I knew it, we were all laughing so loud

that Mom came outside to see what was

so funny. When she saw us all just laying

on the grass, she looked at us like she

didn’t know whose kids we could

possibly be and said, “Y’all need to get

yo’ life.” Hearing Mom trying to stay up

on slang made us laugh even harder.

The phone rang as she walked back

inside and I heard her call my name.

“Ayana.” “Yes, ma’am,” I yelled back.

“Come inside and get this phone.”

Before heading inside, I saw my chance

to get Darren back; so, I punched him in

the arm. “I know that hurt you more than

it hurt me,” he said laughing like a crazy

person as I ran inside. He was right… it

did. Shoot! I had to stop forgetting how

much him and David worked out with

the team.

“Hello,” I said as Mom handed me the

phone. “Hi, Ayana. It’s me, Marie.”

“Hey, Marie. Did you forget

something?” I asked while looking at the

kitchen table to check. “No, I didn’t. I

was actually calling to see if you want to

go to church with me on Saturday night.

We’re having a concert and I thought you

might like it.” I racked my brain but

couldn’t think of any reason why she

thought I would like it. We barely talked

at school, and all we’d talked about

today was the project. So, why would

she think I’d want to go… to church…

on a Saturday night… with her? I mean, I

had nothing against church or God or

anything. I just didn’t feel like going;

especially not when I already had a date

with Bryan Dunlap. My first date! I

wasn’t gonna miss that just to go to

church. No offense God.

I started to just be straight up, but I

didn’t want to risk Marie telling on me. I

didn’t know her like that, so I didn’t

know what she was liable to blab.

“Thanks for inviting me,” I said, trying

to sound as sincere as possible. “But,

I’m actually going to spend the night at

my cousin’s house this weekend. She

lives over in Westbury.” “Really?!”

Marie said sounding happier than I

thought she would. “My church is New

Hope! In Westbury,” she continued on

excitedly. “It’s right around the corner

from the skating rink. You know where

that is don’t you? Maybe your cousin

will want to come to church too.” “I

doubt that,” I said without thinking. I

really didn’t want to make Roxy sound

evil, but truth is… she was out there.

“Well, you never know,” said Marie,

sounding too hopeful for me. “Maybe if

you invite her, you’d be surprised.

Sometimes all people need is an

invitation.”

Chapter 10

The Big Night

Before I realized it, I’d agreed to visit

Marie’s church. I even said I’d see if

Roxy wanted to come. Why I’d agreed

was really beyond me. I think I was just

tired and didn’t feel like being on the

phone anymore. Saying yes was the only

thing I could think of that would get

Marie off my back and off the phone fast.

I wrote down her cell phone number and

told her I’d call her on Saturday when

we were on our way. Of course, I’d

decided that I’d make up an excuse when

I saw her at school on Monday; but for

now, I’d let her believe that I’d actually

show.

After I hung up, I jumped in the shower

to get that grass itch off of me, then went

to Mom’s room and kissed her

goodnight. I yelled, “Goodnight,” to the

twins and hopped into bed. That night I

had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that

Roxy and I ended up going to Marie’s

church and Roxy jumped up on stage

during the middle of the sermon and

started doing that old dance… the

running man. When I woke up the next

morning, I knew that I definitely was not

going to invite Roxy to church! It was for

everyone’s good.

Saturday morning came quick and I was

back in Ms. Rita’s chair getting my ends

cut. As usual, she acted like she did

when she’d first cut my hair. “I stiiiiiill

can’t believe your mother let you cut all

that hair off!” She added some sauce to

her dramatics for the sake of her other

customers; who had mostly heard this

story before. I looked at them with pity

as they smiled at Ms. Rita and acted like

they’d never heard a word about this

until today.

I was pretty sure Ms. Rita was getting

senile, but I would never say that to

Mom. She would just tell me I was being

disrespectful. So, I kept my mouth shut

as Ms. Rita went on and on about my

hair. Finally, Aunt Layla walked through

the door and her, Ms. Rita, and the other

ladies started gossiping about somebody

named Lynn. Of course, they didn’t say

much because I was sitting there, but as

soon as Ms. Rita put me under the dryer,

I could tell the story had gotten juicy by

the way they were rolling their necks

and giving each other high fives. Every

now and then a “Girl, stop!” would be

so loud that I could hear it from under

the dryer. But, besides that, I was

watching a silent movie and it was

funnier than anything I’d seen in a long

time.

When my ears were practically burnt

from the heat of sitting under the dryer, it

automatically went off. I got back into

Ms. Rita’s chair, she styled my hair, and

Aunt Layla and I were on our way. Of

course, I would change the style after

she dropped me and Roxy off, but until

then… Plain Jane it was.

I don’t know how I managed to stay calm

and not give it away that me and Roxy

were going to meet Bryan Dunlap for my

first date instead of going to say goodbye

to our fake friend Camille! Where was

she supposed to be moving to again?

Dang, I couldn’t even remember. I hoped

Aunt Layla wouldn’t ask me. For as long

as I’d been alive, she had always been

my favorite aunt. She just had that thing

where she was easy to talk to. I could

tell her anything… except this. I wasn’t

about to be the one to ruin my big night.

I’d seen Bryan in the hallway at school

on Friday after 5

period. As soon as he

saw me, he smiled and stepped in front

of me to stop me from walking past him.

Of course, I didn’t want to make it

obvious that I was glad he did that, so I

played it cool. A few people noticed.

Unfortunately, that hater Zoe was one of

them. She was standing nearby at her

locker and I swear I heard her gasp; but,

when I looked her way, she turned her

head like she was looking for something

and didn’t even notice us. Yea right. I

wasn’t buying it. I knew she saw us.

And, I knew she was jealous too.

Practically all the girls wanted Bryan to

notice them; ‘cause like I said before, he

was fine and he had his swag on 100 at

all times. That day was no different.

Everybody seemed to be in a hurry to get

to 6

period and then to the weekend, so

we moved out the way so we wouldn’t

get ran over. I bent down to get a drink

from the water fountain and when I

looked back up, I caught Zoe staring at

us with her mouth wide open. I signaled

for her to pick her chin up off the floor

and she stomped away embarrassed.

Bryan caught the whole thing and started

laughing. “I’m gonna pay for that one,

I’m sure,” I told him. Still laughing he

said, “Don’t worry about her. I heard

about how you popped off on her. She

probably ain’t gonna say nothing to you

ever again.” “I doubt that,” I muttered.

“Anyway,” Bryan said. “We still good

for tomorrow night, right?”

He was trying to sound cool, but it

wasn’t working. I could tell that he was

just as excited as I was. “Yea, we’re

still good,” I said back; trying to keep

my voice straight in spite of the frog that

had jumped into my throat all of a

sudden. “Good!” Bryan said staring

down at me with a big kool-aid smile.

And just as I started to get lost in his

eyes, the warning bell rang. Shoot! I

didn’t even say bye. Instead, I ran off

like Cinderella did from the ball when

she was trying to beat the clock and get

home. I couldn’t afford to be late to Mrs.

Carter’s class again.

Chapter 11

Close Call

As soon as Aunt Layla and I pulled into

her driveway, I was ready to bolt outta

the car. We’d talked most of the way to

her house, and I’d successfully avoided

every question about fake Camille; but, I

knew I couldn’t keep it up. I’m surprised

Aunt Layla couldn’t see straight through

my lies like I know my mom would have

been able to do. But, if she believes all

the lies Roxy tells her, I guess I

shouldn’t be too surprised.

I called Roxy’s name as soon as I

walked inside the house, but no

response. “She’s probably upstairs in

her room with her headphones on. I keep

telling her not to do that when she’s

home alone, but that girl has a head as

hard as a watermelon.”

I always felt like Roxy and Aunt Layla

definitely had it better than me, Mom,

and the twins (at least when it came to

where and how they lived) thanks to

Roxy’s dad (Aunt Layla’s ex-husband),

Perry Mitchell. I used to call him my

favorite Uncle Mitch until one day Roxy

told me they were getting a divorce

because he had cheated on her mom and

left her for a woman almost half his age.

How Roxy knew every single detail was

still beyond me. But sure enough, just a

few hours later, Aunt Layla confirmed it

with Mom. You would have thought

Uncle Mitch cheated on my mom the way

she reacted; but as she said, “You do

wrong by my sister, you’ve done wrong

by me.” I might have understood more if

I had a sister, but I guess I could kinda

relate since I had Max.

Anyway, Roxy and Aunt Layla were

ballin’ because of my ex-favorite Uncle

Mitch. Since he didn’t hold back on the

fact that he had cheated, and went on to

marry “the youngin’” as Aunt Layla and

Mom took to calling her, half of

everything he had automatically became

Aunt Layla’s. And he had a lot! So, her

and Roxy walked away from the divorce

with a huge house, a new black on black

Benz (which was just one of three cars),

vacation homes in the Hamptons and on

South Beach, and a ridiculous stack of

money in the bank. I always wondered

since Aunt Layla was doing good, and

her and Mom were so ride or die for

each other, why we couldn’t at least

have one of those expensive cars that

just stayed parked in Aunt Layla’s

garage? But, Mom said that was none of

my business. She said, “Your Aunt

Layla’s always there for us when we

really need her and that’s all that

matters.” I knew better than to push the

issue, unless I wanted hands laid on me

for trying to be all up in grown folks

business; and I sure didn’t want that.

I ran up the winding staircase two at a

time and busted into Roxy’s room like I

was the Fed’s. I scared her so bad, she

screamed as if an axe murderer was

about to kill her and cut her into tiny

little pieces. I fell out laughing from the

look of horror on her face. “Dang! I

should’a had Instagram up to catch that.

Your face was classic. Somebody

woulda’ saw that and hired you for the

lead in a scary movie,” I said laughing

so hard I thought I was gonna pee on

myself. Roxy on the other hand didn’t

think it was funny at all. She was still

trying to catch her breath, which only

made me laugh harder. I seriously had to

pee, so I ran into her overly decorated

pink bathroom and locked the door

behind me. I knew better than to leave it

open because judging by the look on

Roxy’s face, she was out for revenge,

and I didn’t want her to get me while I

was in the bathroom; that’s the worst.

When I went back into Roxy’s room, she

looked much calmer. I figured she’d let

me think I’d gotten away with it and get

me back later. That’s usually what she

did. She was known for waiting ‘til you

forgot all about what you did to her. That

girl knew how to hold a serious grudge.

I was about to apologize when she

blurted out, “I’m not going.” “What?

You’re not going where?” I figured she

was talking about somewhere Aunt

Layla wanted her to go. “I’m not going

with you. Tonight. I’m not going.” I

searched her face to see if she was

serious or just trying to get me back for

busting in and scaring her, but her

expression didn’t give anything anyway.

So, I questioned her again. “You’re not

going where?” “I’mmmmm notttttt

goingggggg withhhhh youuuuuu,

‘Yanaaaaa,” Roxy said dragging out

every word in order to make it even

more painful for me. Then she said,

“You wanna mess with me? Well, let’s

see how you like to be messed with.” I

was shocked.

Even for Roxy, this was overboard. She

was being beyond dramatic. “Dang,

Rox,” I said, trying not to whine. “I was

just playing with you.” I sat on the bed

next to her and put my arm around her.

She pushed it off like it was a boulder

that was too heavy for her shoulder,

stood up, walked to the other side of the

room, sat down in her leather desk chair,

and folded her arms across her chest.

Why Roxy had a leather chair at her desk

never did make any sense to me. Why

she had a desk didn’t even make sense.

She hardly ever did her homework

anyway. But, I couldn’t think about that

right now. I had to focus on the matter at

hand.

“Look, Rox. I’m sorry. I was just being

silly. I’m sorry I scared you, ok? But, I

really need you to go with me tonight.

You know how much this means to me.”

“Exactly,” she said staring back at me

with a raised eyebrow and a serious

attitude. “What?!” I said trying not to

sound as mad as I felt inside. “I was just

playing. Why are you being so mean?” I

asked. For at least one minute, Roxy

didn’t answer. She just looked past me

like I wasn’t even there. Finally she

blurted out, “I was just about to smoke

some weed when you came in. Girl, I

thought you were my mother busting up

in here. My heart jumped into my throat.

I just knew I was caught and going down

like a weed head on one of those old

episodes of Cops!”

I was still trying to process Roxy’s

confession… smoke… weed… Cops…

when Aunt Layla knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Roxy said, while giving me

a look that could have killed all nine of a

cat’s lives in one tragic accident. I knew

better than to say a word to Aunt Layla,

or anyone else for that matter, about

what Roxy had just told me. “So, what

time do you girls want me to drop you

off?” Aunt Layla asked while looking at

Roxy. I shot her a pleading look and

tried to send her the subliminal message,

“Just come through on this for me, Roxy.

I really need it!” Roxy looked away

from her mother and directed the

question to me. “What time do we need

to be dropped off, ‘Yana?” Aunt Layla

was looking right at me so I couldn’t

give away my relief. Roxy was actually

gonna go! I said a silent thank you to

God. I know thanking God was wrong on

a lot of levels since we were lying to

our parents about this whole Camille

thing, but I was too excited to really

think it through.

Roxy and I had gone over our story a

few days before, so I was ready to

answer Aunt Layla’s question without

fumbling. I boldly looked her in the eyes

and rattled off the information I had

rehearsed in my mirror over and over

again the night before. “The send-off

party for Camille starts at 5:00 pm. Can

you drop us off at about 4:45 pm so that

we don’t miss anything? Please.”

“Sure,” Aunt Layla said. I couldn’t get

over how much she trusted me and

Roxy… especially Roxy after all the dirt

she’d done. My Mom would have had

endless questions. She would have even

asked for Camille’s mom’s number just

in case of an emergency, or just in case

she felt like calling. ‘Cause like she

always said, “Checking up on you all

randomly is my prerogative.”

As Aunt Layla turned to leave, she

stopped suddenly, looked at Roxy and

said, “I forgot. Where am I dropping you

two off at again? And where is

Camille’s mom taking you?” My heart

sank. I know she was just asking

questions, but she asked Roxy, not me.

Did she finally figure out that we were

up to something? Roxy was quick on her

feet though. I guess she’d been

rehearsing our lines too. “You can just

drop us off at Reid Park, Mom. Camille

lives right around the corner. I don’t

want everybody looking at us like we

need my mom as a chaperone,” Roxy

whined. “I’ll call you when we get there.

It’ll only take us five minutes, I

promise.”

Aunt Layla cocked her head to the side,

stood in the doorway with her hand

resting on the doorknob, and waited for

the answer to the second part of her

question. But instead of answering right

away, Roxy balled up her face and let

out an over-exasperated sigh. I

wondered why she had to have an

attitude. I was convinced that she was

going to mess things up with Aunt Layla

big time because had it been my mother,

I would never have made it out of the

house alive! Catching an attitude was not

something that Ms. Lisa tolerated. I

would have caught a beat down… quick.

Finally though, Roxy answered the

second half of Aunt Layla’s question.

“Then Camille’s mom is gonna take us to

IHOP. Not my favorite, but Camille

loves it,” she said with a shrug. Even

though she came super close to killing

our chances of making it out of the

house, I had to give it to Roxy for her

Emmy worthy performance! Deep down

I know that I shouldn’t have been, but I

have to admit that I was pleased with the

both of us for not lying about every

detail. At least the part about going to

IHOP was true.

“Ok, Roxy,” she said. “I’ll loosen up the

reigns a little bit and let you walk over

to Camille’s house from the park; but,

you better call within five minutes of me

dropping you off or I’m coming right

back. You hear me?” “Yes, ma’am,”

Roxy said with enough sweetness to kill

a honey bee. The fact that Aunt Layla

thought she was “loosening the reigns”

on Roxy was crazy. What reigns did she

think she had on her?! That girl ran free

like a wild horse. In that moment, I

thanked God for making Aunt Layla so

amazing and gullible at the same time.

Looking at her diamond-encrusted

watch, Aunt Layla furrowed her

eyebrows and told us to be ready and

downstairs by 4:30 pm. Then, just as she

started to close the door, she flung it

back open and said, “I forgot to give you

money. Did you get your friend a going

away present or do we have to stop

somewhere?” Her eyes searched Roxy’s

room, and when she didn’t see a gift bag

she continued on. “If we need to make a

stop at the mall, we’ll definitely have to

leave earlier. That crowd is crazy on

Saturday’s.” A gift? Dang it! That was

the one thing we hadn’t thought about.

But, Roxy stayed as cool as a cucumber

and came through one more time. How

this girl fabricated all of her lies so

quickly was beyond me. “Mom, these

aren’t like your days when people gave

gifts for every little thing. We’re gonna

keep in touch with Camille on facebook.

She don’t need no gift.” “She doesn’t

need a gift,” Aunt Layla said while

correcting Roxy and closing the door

behind her at the same time. As she

walked away from Roxy’s room door

we heard her say, “These kids are so

weird. Lord, help me.”

I busted out laughing; relieved that we’d

pulled it off. Roxy on the other hand,

jumped up off her bed, rushed to her

desk, pulled out the drawer that had pens

and paper in it, and snatched off a little

clear bag that was taped to the bottom.

“I’mma go smoke this so that I can be

ready to turn up tonight.” Before I could

respond, she disappeared into her

bathroom and turned on the shower and

the fan. I guess that’s how she masked

the smell from her mother.

Shaking my head, I wondered if having

Roxy on my side was the good thing I’d

thought it was less than 24 hours before.

But, I really didn’t have time to worry

about her and her issues. I only had two

hours to get ready for my date with

Bryan, and I needed to make every

minute count!

Chapter 12

Love Anyway

Even though Roxy had the fan on in the

bathroom, it still had the strong stench of

an ashtray when she came out. I wasn’t

about to go in there and come out

smelling like straight trees (that Aunt

Layla would definitely pick up on). I had

to give it some time to air out. So,

instead of jumping right into the shower,

I went down the hall, got the iron and

ironing board out of the closet and set it

up in Roxy’s room.

“That stuff made me hungry and sleepy,”

she giggled while eating from the bag of

Cool Ranch Doritos she had stashed

under her bed. I shook my head and

rolled my eyes while ironing my clothes,

but I didn’t let her see me. I didn’t have

time for her to get dramatic on me again

and change her mind about going.

Twenty minutes later, when the bathroom

finally smelled decent again, I wrapped

my hair, threw on my shower cap, and

washed up. Feeling fresh, I came out and

put on the outfit I’d ironed and hung over

the back of Roxy’s desk chair. Then I

realized Roxy was snoring; she was

knocked out! I shook her as hard as I

could, “Wake up, Roxy! You gotta get

ready.” “Huh?” she responded groggily.

“You need to get ready!” I snapped at

her. I would never have done that if she

wasn’t so out of it, but desperate times

called for desperate measures. When she

dozed off to sleep again, I knew what I

had to do.

Roxy was young, but she had curves in

all the right places. Those curves made

her heavier though; but, I finally

managed to prop her up on my shoulder

and drag her into the bathroom. I used

my free hand to turn on the water in the

sink, and managed to grab some to

splash on her face. Immediately Roxy

started flailing her head all over the

place like she was a fish out of water.

“’Yana, what the heck are you doing?”

she sputtered. “I’m trying to get you to

wake up and not ruin my big night before

it even gets started,” I shot back. “Ok,

ok!” she said angrily. “I’m up. Stop

splashing me in my face!” I let go of her

and she stood on her own; so, I turned on

the shower for her and walked out.

Hopefully she’d have the good sense

God gave her to get in it and pull herself

together.

We managed to make it to the top of the

steps at exactly 4:29pm. Aunt Layla

wasn’t a lot of things, but she was a

stickler for time. Roxy and I knew better

than to be late. As we made our way

down the winding staircase, Aunt Layla

looked us over from her position at the

bottom. When we got to the last step, her

eyebrows rose slightly and she nodded

her head towards Roxy’s shorts, which

immediately sent Roxy into defense

mode. “Mom, why are you looking at me

like that? My shorts pass the finger test!

Look,” Roxy said holding her hands

down at her sides. Sure enough, her

shorts stopped right at her middle finger.

What she should have said was, “My

shorts barely pass the finger test.” But, I

wasn’t about to side with Aunt Layla, so

I quickly spoke my agreement. “Yup,

they sure do,” I said beaming at Aunt

Layla like Roxy had passed the test with

flying colors.

Obviously not in the mood to fight with

Roxy, for probably the billionth time

about her clothes, Aunt Layla let it slide.

To ease the tension, she looked over at

me, winked, and told me that she loved

my “I’m the Beauty & the Brain” t-shirt.

A few months before I’d begged Mom to

buy it for me, and it just seemed perfect

for tonight. “Awww. Thanks, Aunt

Layla,” I said back. Roxy took that as

another opportunity to let out an

exaggerated huff. I guess she was

growing impatient. “Are you two done

with your love fest yet?” she asked

sarcastically. We both looked at her and

laughed. This was one of those times we

just had to see past Roxy’s flaws and

love her anyway.

Chapter 13

The Big Date

When Aunt Layla pulled up on the side

of Reid Park in her freshly washed and

buffed black on black Benz, heads

whipped around to get a closer look at

who was in the car. They probably

thought it was some big time celebrity.

So, when I stepped out followed by

Roxy, everybody went back to what they

were doing; girls sat on the bleachers

trying to get the attention of the guys who

were playing on the court.

They must have been playing shirts

against skins because half the boys had

their shirts pulled back over their heads.

I always wondered why they did that

instead of just taking their shirts off, but I

knew better than to ever ask David or

Darren. They probably would have told

me something that wasn’t true anyway.

So I figured that one day if I got curious

enough, I’d just ask one of the boys who

did it. That day hadn’t come yet.

As we started to walk away from the

car, I spotted Bryan on the court. He had

on a gray t-shirt, black mesh basketball

shorts, and black and gray Jordan’s.

Even on the court he kept his swag. He

saw me too and immediately that kool-

aid smile spread across his perfect, cute

face. I started to walk towards him like I

was in a trance, but Roxy grabbed my

arm and guided me back towards the

sidewalk. “What are you doing?” I asked

while pulling away from her grip.

“Trying to save you from slipping up and

missing your big date,” she said through

clenched teeth. I looked back and

realized that Aunt Layla was still parked

in the car and watching to see where we

were going. We had to at least act like

we were walking to Camille’s fake

house. So for now, I would have to

ignore Bryan.

When he realized that we weren’t

coming towards him on the court, his

smile faded and he went back to

dribbling the ball. “Come on man, you

gon’ play or not?!” I heard a guy yell out.

“Yea, I’m playing,” I heard Bryan say

back. “You wouldn’t be rushing me if

you knew I was about to take it to the

hole,” he added.

After that, the crowd of girls on the

bench started chanting for Bryan, and I

almost broke away from Roxy to go get

in somebody’s face. But, what was I

gonna say? “Stop chanting for my man?”

Bryan wasn’t mine. We hadn’t even gone

on our first date yet. And we never

would if I didn’t stay cool and keep

walking. So, Roxy and I rounded the

block and walked through the

neighborhood next to Reid Park for

about five minutes. Then she called Aunt

Layla to say that we were at Camille’s

doorstep and about to ring the bell.

Aunt Layla seemed satisfied and told

Roxy to send her a text when we made it

back to Camille’s house from IHOP so

that she could come and pick us up. I

heard what she said through the phone

and shot Roxy a petrified look. That was

another thing I hadn’t considered in my

supposedly fool-proof plan. Even Roxy

seemed stumped for a minute, but as

usual she rebounded quick.

“Actually, Mom,” Roxy said with that

innocent tone she seemed to have

mastered when talking to her mother,

“Can you just pick us up from IHOP at

9:30 pm?” Aunt Layla hesitated for a

minute then said, “Ok. 9:30 pm. That’ll

give me a chance to meet Camille and

her mother.” I shot Roxy a look that said,

“We’re dead!” But, she just smiled and

said, “Ok. Thanks, Mom.”

“What the heck are we gonna do when

she picks us up and doesn’t see fake

Camille or her fake mom?!” I screamed

at Roxy. That got us looks from two girls

sitting on their stoop, but I didn’t care. I

needed an answer before this all blew

up in my face. “Dang, ‘Yana. Calm

down,” Roxy said while holding up her

hands. “I’ll just tell my mom Camille’s

mom got a call from one of the other

girl’s mom’s and had to take her home.

I’ll tell her that the IHOP Manager was

watching us to make sure we were ok.”

I raised an eyebrow and gave Roxy a

look but she seemed convinced that her

lie would work, so I exhaled and finally

started to relax. This had better be an

epic night after all of this stress!

We started to make our way back through

the neighborhood towards the basketball

court, and stopped half-way so that I

could fix my hair into a style that made

me look like one of the older girls I’d

noticed when we’d passed by the court

earlier. When we got back, there was a

small gap in the stands next to two girls

that I recognized as cheerleaders from

the twins’ school, so Roxy and I

squeezed in. They looked over at me like

they knew me, but quickly turned away

when the rest of the girls in the stands

erupted in cheers. I looked out on the

court just in time to see Bryan with the

ball; positioning to shoot a lay up. When

it went in without touching the rim, the

girls on the bench cheered even louder.

“Ok,” I said to Roxy, “I guess Bryan is

popular with the ladies everywhere.”

“Yea, I can see why,” she said back

without taking her eyes off of him. “You

didn’t tell me he was so fine.” “Oh yes, I

did!” I said; not noticing her dreamy tone

of voice or the glint in her eye liked

she’d just seen a prize she wanted.

As if on cue, someone on the court

called half-time and all the guys rushed

over to the stands to see which girl they

could convince to rub their sore

shoulders. I knew better than to be that

thirsty, but I did wonder if I’d do it if

Bryan offered up his fine body. Just as

the thought rushed through my mind, he

ran over to where me and Roxy were

sitting. “Hey Ayana,” he said as he

flopped down next to me on the metal

bench. “I’m glad you came! I would give

you a hug, but as you can see…” he

didn’t bother to finish his sentence.

Instead he just extended his arms wide

as sweat dripped down his face and

shirt. “Yea, I understand,” I giggled.

“I hate to interrupt,” I heard Roxy say

from over my shoulder, “But, my cousin

‘Yana here is being so rude,” she said to

Bryan in her sweetest voice. “I’m

Roxanne, but everyone calls me Roxy.

I’ve heard that some of the boys even

call me Foxxy Roxy. You can call me

Foxxy Roxy too if you want. Bryan,

right?” she said and reached across me

to shake his hand. What the heck was

Roxy doing?!

Not wanting to be rude, Bryan took her

hand and shook it, but dropped it quickly

when Roxy started batting her eyelashes

at him. Ignoring her, he looked at me and

said, “We’ll be done soon. You still

wanna go hang at IHOP afterwards,

right?” “Yea,” I said with a smile. “Ok.

Stay right here and cheer me on then,”

said Bryan. “In case you haven’t

noticed… you have a fan club. I doubt

you’ll be able to hear me,” I told him.

“I’m sure I’ll know your beautiful voice

above the rest, Ayana,” Bryan said just

as they called all of the players back to

the court.

My smile from his compliment quickly

turned into a scowl as I turned to Roxy

and fussed, “What was that all about?!”

“What?” Roxy asked trying to act

innocent. “You were flirting with him

right in front of me, Roxy. Even a blind

man would have been able to see that!

Why would you do that?” “Ah, it was

nothing, ‘Yana. Just calm down! At least

now you know he’s loyal.”

“Yea,” I thought to myself, “But, what

about you?!”

Chapter 14

Glad You Came

Once again, I let Roxy’s foolishness

slide and decided to focus on the game

so that I could cheer Bryan on like he’d

asked. Sure enough, every time I yelled

for him, it seemed like all the other girls

in the stands did the same. But, I refused

to let that bother me either.

By the time the game was finally over,

with Bryan’s team walking away as the

winners, Roxy had been approached by

a couple of guys. They all came with the

same hook, but Roxy took the bait and

ate it up every time like she’d never

heard it before. As her cousin, and as

close as we were, I should have seen it

sooner; but, it took all of that for me to

realize just how starved for attention she

really was.

Bryan walked over to us and asked if we

were ready to go. I nodded my head,

“Yes,” and he grabbed my hand to help

me step down off the stands. “Oh, I

guess the cousin don’t get no kinda

love,” Roxy said with an attitude. I shot

Bryan an “I’m so sorry look” and

grabbed Roxy’s hand myself to help her

down. We followed Bryan to the other

side of the court and over to the crowd

that was going to IHOP. As he

introduced us to everyone, the

cheerleaders from Darren and David’s

school were the only other girls, so I

tried to be extra nice. Roxy on the other

hand was stand-offish and barely said

hello to them. I shook my head,

embarrassed that she obviously didn’t

care the least bit about helping me make

a good impression with Bryan and his

friends.

We were about to leave and walk the

five blocks to IHOP when someone

called out, “Yo, B. Wait up,” and ran

over to us. Bryan turned around and

dapped the tall boy with the fade and

earrings in both ears. Out the corner of

my eye, I could see Roxy raise an

eyebrow. Bryan turned to me and said,

“Ayana, meet my cousin, Samuel. He

was supposed to be out here earlier, but

he came up with some lame excuse. I

guess he just didn’t feel like getting

killed by me on the court today.” “Come

on, Bruh,” Samuel said and laughed. “I

could whoop you with both hands tied

behind my back.” This time both him and

Bryan laughed.

They looked so much alike that I’m sure

people mistook them for brothers pretty

often. “I had to help my Mom out with

some last minute stuff. You know I gotta

hold it down for the fam,” Samuel said

seriously. “Yea, I know,” Bryan assured

him. They looked at each other in silence

for a couple seconds, and then Samuel

broke the ice.

Turning to me he smiled and said, “It’s

nice to meet you, Ayana. Bryan told me

everything about you. In fact, he won’t

shut up about you!” Of course he

expected Bryan’s reaction, so he moved

away before he could get an elbow to

the chest. I looked at Bryan and smiled

and he looked away embarrassed. Then

Samuel saw Roxy and asked, “And who

is this you’re with, Ayana? Are you and

Bryan trying to hold out on me?” Before

either of us could introduce her, Roxy

stuck out her hand and gave Samuel the

same “Foxxy Roxy” lines she’d spit to

Bryan earlier. He and I looked at each

other, laughed, and walked away.

Samuel would find out who he was

dealing with soon enough.

Bryan and I led the way to the IHOP.

Well, he led the way and I walked

beside him. As we talked and laughed, I

couldn’t help but wish that my time with

him would never end. But, before I

could drift off into full blown fantasy

land, imagining Bryan and I ten years

from now graduating from the same

college and planning our wedding,

everyone started clowning us.

“Look at them. They think they so cute,”

Roxy said loud enough for us to hear.

One of the cheerleaders chimed in with,

“Yea, they got their heads in the clouds.”

“I bet they think it’s gonna last forever,”

the other one said. “But, ain’t nothing

forever except Heaven,” said Samuel. At

that, all the girls busted out laughing and

Bryan and I turned around and did the

same. “Heaven, Dude?” Bryan asked.

“That was random. How’d you pull that

outta thin air?” “I don’t know, Bra,’”

Samuel said, now laughing at himself

too. “I guess I got inspired by this church

or something.”

Just then, one of the heavy, iron church

doors swung open and Marie came

running out toward us. “I’m so glad you

came, Ayana! I have to admit, I didn’t

think you would come but I kept praying

anyway. This is so cool! I love it when

God answers my prayers. And you

brought people with you! Wow!” As

Marie rambled all I could think was,

“What the heck?! What is she talking

about? What did us walking to IHOP

have to do with Jesus answering her

prayer?”

Everyone else looked equally as

confused as they glanced back and forth

from Marie to me then back to Marie.

Still oblivious, Marie started

introducing herself to everyone. Turns

out the cheerleaders names were

Jas’mine and Jabby. I’d been so caught

up in hanging out with Bryan that I’d

never even asked them. “Oh well,” I

thought, “Marie served her purpose.”

Ready to get my date back on track and

the crew to IHOP, I started to brush

Marie off. But, when I hesitated to come

up with a quick enough exit speech, she

grabbed my hand and started walking me

towards the same iron door she’d come

out of. I grabbed Bryan’s hand and

pulled him along with us, while calling

Roxy’s name at the same time. If I was

going, I wasn’t going alone!

Chapter 15

Church Flow

I heard the heavy door shut behind us

and for a minute my eyes strained to get

used to the darkness. Why was it so dark

in here anyway? I thought church was

going on? Why was Marie purposely

messing up my date?! Before I had a

chance to grow any angrier, lights started

flashing and I could feel it under my feet

when the bass boomed from the

speakers. The lights flashed like they do

on tv during a Super Bowl Sunday half-

time show, and the cheer of the crowd

sounded just as massive as a stadium full

of fans.

My eyes finally adjusted and I realized

that Marie must have led us in from a

side door because we ended up right in

front of the stage where six kids, about

my age, started to sing and rap.

Everyone around us, including Marie,

was singing alone. I looked up and saw

the words on the most enormous tv

screen I’d ever seen in a church. Well, I

hadn’t been to church in a while, but

still. I had never seen a tv that big in

church before.

I looked behind me to see if I could

make out Bryan’s facial expression. I

was still holding on to his hand and by

the way he looked back at me with a

slight pain in his eyes, I’m pretty sure I

was squeezing it too tight. Or, maybe

being in church was painful for him.

“Dang it,” I thought. “Why did we have

to run into Marie?” She was messing

everything up! I looked behind Bryan

and saw that not only had Roxy been

dragged in, but so had Samuel, Jas’mine,

and Jabby. The rest of the crew had

gotten away. Good for them!

I released the death grip I had on

Bryan’s hand and turned around to talk to

him. “I’m sorry about all of this,” I

whispered. “After this song is over, I’ll

tell Marie that we need to go. I’ll make

up some kind of excuse.” “You mean

you’ll lie… in church?” asked Bryan

with a sudden look of horror on his face.

I guess he imaged that God would strike

me dead for lying in the church. Maybe

he was right. “Uhmm, ok. I’ll tell her the

truth then… we don’t want to be here.”

But, just as I leaned over to talk to

Marie, one of the kids on the stage

yelled into the mic, “We’re so glad y’all

are here tonight! We’re excited about

what God is gonna do in this place!

Everybody bow your heads and close

your eyes for prayer.”

Right after prayer, another one of the

kids on stage asked everyone to give it

up for a guy named Pastor Paul. Then a

tall guy wearing blue jeans, black

Timberland boots, a red polo shirt, and a

black and red fitted walked onto the

stage from a side entrance. The crowd

behind us went crazy clapping.

I’d never been to a church before where

everyone was so excited about being

there; especially not people my age. I

looked over at Marie and she was lost in

the excitement over this Paul dude too.

“Thanks everybody,” Paul said. “That’s

a great welcome for me, but now I want

y’all to give it up for Jeeeesuuuus!!!!”

He drug out Jesus’ name like he was

about to bring a rapper to the stage; and,

it worked too ‘cause the crowed went

even more crazy. “Yea, that’s it!”

shouted Paul. “Give God all of the glory.

You can appreciate me, but make sure

that you only worship Him.” I looked

over my shoulder to see how my crew

was reacting to everything. Like I

thought, they looked just as stunned as

I’m sure I looked.

I gotta admit though that I forgot all

about being mad at Marie for dragging

me in here; curiosity over what was

gonna happen next kept me glued to my

spot. It was like I was watching a movie

and it was just starting to get juicy. Paul

let the crowd cheer and scream for a few

more minutes; some of them even

jumped up and down, while others like

Marie just raised their hands and moved

their lips (even though nothing came

out).

Just as I was snapping out of my trance

and ready to leave without saying

anything to Marie, Paul asked everyone

to return to their seats and grab their

Bibles. This was it. It was our chance to

head out while everyone else was

walking too. But, when I turned around,

Marie was leading the way towards a

row with seven empty seats and Bryan

grabbed my hand. “This is our chance to

get outta here,” I whispered to him so

that Marie couldn’t hear. “Don’t you

wanna leave?” “What? Leave? Now?

Ahhh, nope,” he said with a smirk on his

face. “It’s just getting good! I wanna see

what happens next. Don’t you? So far,

this is better than any church I’ve ever

been to. Maybe that Paul dude will

elevate like David Blaine or

something!” he said excitedly.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Bryan ‘cause

I knew he was just trying to be funny. He

was right though. This was too kooky not

to want to know how it would end.

Apparently, the rest of the crew was

interested in seeing how this played out

too ‘cause we all stood in front of our

seats and stared toward the stage at Paul.

“Alright, let’s get into this Word,” Paul

said looking out at the crowd. “Turn to

Matthew 3:13. If you don’t have your

Bible, follow along on the screen.”

Immediately the words to the scripture

popped up on the jumbo screens on both

sides of the stage. “Ok, everyone ready?

Let’s read together. ‘Then Jesus came

from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized

by John.’ Short and sweet,” Paul joked

and everyone around us laughed. “You

may take your seats,” he said.

“In case you didn’t know,” Paul

continued, “John was Jesus’ cousin. If

you saw John today you’d probably think

he had a negative zero swag. As a matter

of fact, you’d probably think dude was

homeless.” I looked over at Roxy and

even she had a smile on her face. This

guy Paul was pretty funny.

“John wasn’t concerned about his dress

code. All he cared about was baptizing

people, which was how he got his name.

Duh.” Paul stopped and laughed at

himself. “Anyway, one day John was

baptizing people like he usually did and

his cousin Jesus came through. John

wanted Jesus to baptize him ‘cause he

knew his heart couldn’t be all the way

right, but Jesus said he wanted to be

baptized by John. John kinda hesitated,

but he went on and did it anyway.

He dunked Jesus in the water and when

he brought him up, Heaven opened and

the Holy Spirit came down in the form of

a dove. The dove stayed on Jesus and

that’s when John knew that Jesus was the

Messiah; the one who came to save the

whole world. That was the signal God

had told John He would give him. But,

God took it one step further. You know

God’s the one who made up ‘Go big or

go home’ right?!” Paul paused while the

crowd laughed. “So anyway. While the

dove was still on Jesus, a voice came

from Heaven. It was God’s voice and He

said, ‘This is my Son, who I love; with

Him I’m well pleased.’”

Paul paused and scanned the crowd

again, but this time he didn’t smile. He

looked around the room seriously and

when he talked, his voice was kind of

raspy. “I remember how old I was when

I first heard this story. I can also

remember where I was and who I was

with. Ok, since you asked I’ll tell you.”

His laughter broke the ice. “I was at

Mercy Mile Church for a youth service;

a lot like this one. I remember it clearly

because I didn’t want to be there. As a

matter of fact, I hated that I was there.

But, I had to be because this girl that I

really liked had invited me. I was

serious about getting her, so I sucked it

up and came.”

He paused, looked out towards us in the

audience, and winked at a lady on the

front row. Marie laughed then looked

down our row and said, “He got her too!

That’s Pastor Paul’s wife.”

Pastor Paul went on with his story. “That

night, a guy named Pastor Mike taught

this same message for the first time. He

didn’t do it like me though,” he joked

while popping his collar. At that, Bryan

laughed out loud. “But, he did it in his

own way. Pastor Paul also told us why

we should get baptized. He didn’t shove

it down our throats, so I won’t shove it

down yours either. I’ll just tell you what

he said because I’ll never forget his

words; they changed my life. Pastor

Gabe simply said that we should get

baptized in order to show that we have a

new life in Jesus Christ.”

“That’s it. It’s just that black and white,”

said Pastor Paul. So, my question to you

today is, have you been baptized yet? If

not, we’re having a Baptism Service on

the first Sunday morning of next month.

I’d like to invite you to come and show

everyone, but most importantly God, that

you’re serious about your new life with

Him.”

Pastor Paul closed his Bible and asked

everyone to stand for prayer. The lady

Marie told us was his wife joined him

on the stage. They held hands and she

asked everyone to bow their heads and

close their eyes.

“Dear God,” she said, “We love you

today. We thank you for everything

you’ve done for us in our lives so far.

We know you’re going to do more in and

through us, and we thank you for that too.

Right now we ask that you will seal the

word we heard tonight in our hearts. We

pray that over the next few weeks, you

will give many here tonight the desire to

be baptized, just like your son, Jesus,

was baptized. We also pray that if there

is anyone here tonight who has never

accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior

that they would come to the altar right

now.”

Feet rustled as people left their seats. I

guess they were walking to the bottom of

the stage like Pastor Paul’s wife had

prayed. All of a sudden, I felt like my

ears were clogging up. I was getting hot

and my palms were starting to feel

sweaty.

Pastor Paul’s voice sounded distant

when he said, “Yes, come. Come now.

Don’t let anything or anyone stop you

from coming to this altar. The angels in

Heaven are rejoicing.” Then, equally as

distant, I could hear people singing. It

sounded like the same kids who were on

the stage earlier when we came in, but

again I couldn’t be sure because my ears

were muffling everything. The words to

the song were faint, but it sounded like

they said, “Your heart is racing. You’re

not sure. But, He wants you more than

anyone. He loves you more than

anyone.”

For some reason that I couldn’t explain,

those words felt like they were coming

from inside my heart. Before I knew it, I

was brushing past Bryan and Marie so

that I could get to the altar. I stood

behind a couple of other girls, and as hot

tears streamed down my face I could

hear them crying too.

“It’s ok to cry,” Pastor Paul’s wife said.

“God understands your tears. He’s happy

that you came to Him and that you trust

Him enough to cry in front of Him.” I felt

relieved by her words. “Now, raise your

hands to God,” she said, “as a sign that

you surrender your life to Him today.” I

did what she said and it was like a wave

of wind hit me. It must have hit the other

girls standing there too because

everyone dropped to their knees.

“Don’t be afraid,” I could hear Pastor

Paul say. “What you just felt was God.

He’s here right now. Talk to Him like

you would talk to your best friend. Tell

Him that you need Him and you don’t

want to live your life without Him

anymore. Open your mouth and tell Him

that you don’t want to leave here today

without knowing that you’re with Him

and He’s in you.”

I said everything Pastor Paul told us to

say. Then I said some things I felt like I

should, since talking to God was

supposed to be just like talking to my

best friend. I figured I should get it all

out while He was listening. I stayed on

my knees for what felt like a long time. I

told God all about how much I missed

my daddy, and how much I liked Bryan,

and how I was sorry for all the lies I’d

ever told, and how I felt bad for being

mean to my brother’s sometimes, and

how I shouldn’t have been selfish about

my date and instead talked to Roxy about

her weed smoking, and how I’d try to be

a better daughter and respect my mom

more. I wanted to tell God more but I

was worried that everyone else would

be standing. So, I got up, wiped my eyes,

and walked back toward my seat.

Marie stuffed some tissue into my hand

as I pressed back by her. Bryan looked

down at me and patted me on my

shoulder as I sat down. Before church

was over, Pastor Paul and his wife

congratulated everyone who came to the

altar. They said that we’d done

something a lot of other people were

scared to do. They told us that it was

important to keep talking to God, reading

our Bible’s and coming to church. They

said they hoped to get to meet each and

every one of us soon. Then they prayed

that everyone would get home safely.

The lights came on and without a word

me and crew got up from our row and

walked to the nearest exit.

Chapter 16

Enough is Enough

“Did you girls have a good time

tonight?” Aunt Layla asked when we got

in the car. She had shown up at the IHOP

at exactly 9:30 pm to pick us up… just

like she’d said she would. Roxy had

already run through our alibi about

Camille and her mom having to leave,

and Aunt Layla bought it without

hesitation. “Yea, actually we did,” Roxy

said.

After that, the rest of the ride to their

house was pretty much a blur for me; just

like it had been walking to IHOP, eating,

and saying bye to Bryan, his cousin, and

the cheerleaders. My body was there,

but my mind was somewhere else. As

much as I’d looked forward to this first

date, all I could do was think about what

had happened at church.

Finally, Aunt Layla pulled the Benz into

the middle garage and we all went

inside. “For people who had fun, you

two are really quiet tonight,” Aunt Layla

said as we walked into the living room.

She laid her brown and gold-trimmed

Louis Vitton purse on the end table and

plopped down on the couch. “You all

must be really tired,” she said while

looking back and forth between me and

Roxy. “I just have some things on my

mind, Aunt Layla,” I said. She looked at

me for a minute then broke out into a

smile. “Sounds like boy trouble. Tell me

all about him.”

Before I could get a word out though,

Roxy blurted, “Ayana got saved tonight!”

“What? Really?” Aunt Layla asked, half

excited half confused. “How did that

happen?” “Well, I know we told you we

were going to Camille’s house to say

goodbye. But, that was lie. We actually

went to go meet the guy Ayana likes…

Bryan somebody,” Roxy rambled on.

“And while we were walking to IHOP,

we ran into some girl Ayana knows and

she ended up taking us inside her church.

The Pastor was really cool. That’s when

Ayana got saved!” Roxy let everything

out so fast that Aunt Layla had to take a

few minutes to play it all back in her

head.

While she was doing that, I was

wondering what the heck had gotten into

Roxy?! On one hand, I was glad that we

weren’t lying anymore (considering

what I had just told God earlier that

night), but on the other hand, Roxy knew

my mom didn’t play that. Aunt Layla

might not lay a finger on her, but my

mom was gonna lay all five and them

some on me!

Breaking through my thoughts, Aunt

Layla finally turned to me and asked, “Is

this true, Ayana? Did you and Roxy look

me and your mother in our faces and lie

to us about where you were going

tonight?” I knew better than to say what I

was about to say, but my senses escaped

me and I said it anyway. “We didn’t lie

about where we were going. We only

lied about who we were going with.” “Is

that right?” Aunt Layla asked with a

raised eyebrow. “So, you’re telling me

that what you did was ok then?” Back to

my senses I said, “Oh, no ma’am. What

we did was definitely wrong. I’m just

saying… we didn’t lie about

everything.”

That’s when Aunt Layla’s voice got icy

and she said, “I need you to go upstairs

and get your things together. I’m taking

you home right now.” I knew better than

to hesitate. As I turned to go up the

winding staircase, I heard Aunt Layla

tell Roxy, “Enough is enough.”

About ten minutes later, Roxy barely got

her room door open when I tore into her.

“What the heck was that all about?! Why

would you tell your mom we were

lying?” “Calm down, ‘Yana. You know

my mom is cool.” “What?” I huffed.

“She’s not acting too cool right now! I’m

about to go home and get hands laid on

me while you get off with a lecture.”

“You’re probably right, ‘Yana, but it’s

not like your mom’s gonna kill you.

You’ll be ok.” I stared at her in

disbelief. How could she be so terrible?

“Plus,” she went on, “I felt soooo guilty.

I had to tell.” “I felt guilty too!” I

screamed back, “but I wasn’t about to be

a guilty fool and tell on myself. Dang,

Roxy. I can’t believe you put me out

there like that!”

I expected Roxy to yell back at me, but

instead she looked at me and said softly,

“For once, I actually did the right thing,

‘Yana. My mom was right… enough is

enough. I had to tell and set us both free.

I need a fresh start and looking at the

way you were about to go, you need one

too. It’s time for me to do better. I gotta

make some changes. I know you’re mad

at me right now, but I hope you’ll forgive

me soon.”

I grabbed my bag and bumped Roxy on

the shoulder as I headed to the staircase

and down to my doom. I was glad she

was finally getting a conscience, but I

hated that now that she was trying to be

Ms. Goodie Two Shoes, I was gonna

have to pay for it.

Chapter 17

Done

That one night cost me a sore butt for the

rest of the weekend and I was grounded

for three months. While she was giving

me the belt, Mom said, “The only reason

I’m not grounding you for the rest of your

natural born life is because the Lord

ordered your steps. You better thank Him

every night that you got saved.”

Being grounded meant I couldn’t talk on

the phone, I couldn’t have company, and

I couldn’t go out with my friends. I guess

that meant the only thing I could do was

talk to God and thank Him. But, I wasn’t

trying to thank God! Why would I do that

when He’s the one who gave Roxy a

conscience all of a sudden? As far as I

knew, she hadn’t even tried to call me to

apologize. She at least owed me that for

turning into Mother Theresa on me. Now

because of God and her, I would never

get to have a real date with Bryan. As

far as I was concerned, I was done with

Roxy and God!

Monday couldn’t come fast enough. I

didn’t feel like going to school, but that

was better than being trapped at home

like a prisoner. I met Max at our usual

spot. As we walked to school, she told

me all about her weekend while I gave

her the mean mug. “What?” she asked

laughing. “It’s not my fault you’re

grounded. You know your cousin Roxy is

always bringing you trouble.” “I know. I

know,” I whined.

When we got to my locker, Bryan was

waiting for me. “Bye, girl,” Max said

and walked away with a wave. Bryan

gave her a head nod as she passed him.

“What’s up, Ayana? I heard you were

grounded,” he said sounding like he

hoped he was wrong. “Dang, bad news

really does travel quick,” I said glaring

at him. “Hold up,” Bryan responded

while backing away with both hands up.

“I was just asking.”

“Well, how’d you know to ‘just ask’ in

the first place?” “My cousin hollered at

your cousin, and she told him.” Bryan

said. “Yea, I bet she did,” I shot back.

“Daaaang, why you say it like that?” he

asked. “’Cause, I’m done with Roxy,” I

said with an attitude. “She’s too shady

for me.” “Really?” asked Bryan, “’cause

Sam said she called him crying. She said

she felt bad you got in trouble, but she

had to tell. Her conscience was messing

with her. All that God stuff, I guess.”

“Well, she picked the perfect time to

care about God,” I said sarcastically.

“Ok. I can see this is one subject I need

to stay away from,” Bryan responded.

“Lemme walk you to class.” “Fine,” I

said and shrugged. Don’t get me wrong, I

was happy to see Bryan, but what was

the point? It would be months before we

could go out again. “Uggghhhh… this

sucks!” I yelled into the crowded

hallway.

Before Bryan could ask me what I was

yelling about, Marie walked up beside

us. “Hey!” she said with a smile. “It was

really good to see y’all the other night.

Are y’all gonna come back?” Bryan

started to answer, but I interrupted. “It

was cool Marie, but you won’t see us

there again anytime soon.” I could feel

Bryan’s eyes piercing through me. “Hold

up, Ayana. You’re on your own with

that,” he said. “I’mma go back ‘cause

that was the first time ever that I didn’t

fall asleep in church.” Him and Marie

both laughed, the bell rang, and I walked

away and left them standing in the

hallway looking just as stupid as they

sounded. They could go to church all

they wanted, but I was still mad about

being grounded… and it was all God’s

fault.

Chapter 18

You Got Jokes

A week later, I was still on lock down

and about to go crazy! While the twins

wouldn’t stop talking about their campus

visit to the University of Alabama that

weekend, I was wondering how I was

gonna pass the time with no phone, no tv,

and no internet. On top of that, since

Mom was flying to Alabama with the

twins, I was going to have to stay with

Aunt Layla and Roxy… who I was still

salty with.

I was getting over my whole mad at God

thing though ‘cause I realized He was the

one person I couldn’t afford to stay mad

at. After all, He was the reason I was

breathing. Plus, Mom taught me never to

bite the hand that feeds you and I'm not

crazy. God was definitely making sure I

was eating.

As I packed my bag for the weekend, I

started thinking about some of the stuff

Pastor Paul had said at Marie’s church

about John baptizing Jesus. I busted out

laughing when I remembered how he

said that if we saw John today, we’d

probably think he had “negative zero

swag.”

“What are you in here laughing with

these walls about?” Mom asked as she

walked into my room and plopped down

on the edge of my bed. “I was just

thinking about what Pastor Paul said at

church.” “You mean, the church you

ended up in after you and Roxy lied to

me and your Aunt Layla?” I lowered my

head as I mumbled, “Yes ma’am. That

one.” “Do you know how lucky, no

blessed, you are that you all ended up in

a church and not in some crazy persons

van against your will? I know we went

over this already, ‘Yana, but you have to

be more careful about your choices. God

really kept you in your dumbness. You

do know that, right? He protected you,

Little Lady. And don’t you ever forget

it!” she said as she stared at me sternly.

“I know He did, Mom,” I told her while

nodding my head in agreement. “Even

though I got grounded and I’m about to

go crazy, I have come to my senses and

remembered that He’s still good.”

Darren and David couldn’t resist being

nosy, so they came in to see what Mom

and I were talking about. “None of y’alls

business,” Mom told them jokingly.

“That’s right,” I chimed in. “This is an A

& B conversation, so C & D your ways

out.” The twins erupted into laughter and

Darren said, “’Yana, you’re the corniest

cornball ever. You sure you’re not from

the mid-West? You know… where the

cornballs grow.” He fell on the floor

laughing like he’d just told the funniest

joke ever. And even though it definitely

wasn’t, me, David, and Mom couldn’t

help but to laugh hysterically too; more

at Darren than at his joke, but it didn’t

really matter. We were just enjoying the

family time.

Chapter 19

Scott Free

“Hurry up, ‘Yana! You’re gonna make us

miss our flight!” David yelled. “I’m

coming! Geesh, you act like I’m not

hurrying. Maybe if you would help me

with my bag instead of flapping your

gums, I would already be in the car,” I

fussed back. “Fine,” David said through

gritted teeth as he snatched the bag out of

my hand. “It’s not even heavy,” he added

grumpily. I had to laugh. I knew David

was really nervous about their visit to

Alabama. This was what he’d wanted

his whole life and it was finally here. I

figured I’d cut him a break and not snap

back. He’d thank me for it later. Well,

maybe not, but I’d always know that I

looked out for him. Darren, on the other

hand, was already in the car with Mom.

He was as cool as ice with his chill-

mode on 100. I guess it had registered

with him that they were already in; this

visit was just a formality. I wish David

had gotten that same memo to his brain

‘cause he practically threw my bag into

the trunk and ordered me to, “Get in the

car now, ‘Yana, so we can go!” “Ok.

Ok,” I whined. “Mom, you gonna let him

talk to me like that?” Mom looked up

from texting and said, “It’s getting late.

We need to go.” I took that to mean that

she was gonna let David talk to me like

that. Ok. Pass #2 for him, but that’s as

many as he was gonna get from me

today.

Mom bowed her head to pray like she

always did before we got on the road. It

didn’t matter if our trip was 10 minutes

or 10 hours, Mom believed in asking

God to cover us “to and fro” as she liked

to say. “Heavenly Father,” she started,

“thank you for this day. Thank you for

blessing us with life. I thank you for

blessing me with three beautiful babies

who are growing up so fast before my

eyes. As we travel today, I ask that you

protect this vehicle and protect the plane

that we will get on in just a few hours.

Take us safely to our destination and

bring us back home safely. In Jesus’

name. Amen.” “Amen,” the twins and I

said in unison.

As Mom drove to Aunt Layla’s, the

twins started their Alabama talk again

and I started wondering how things were

gonna go with me and Roxy. “Oh well,”

I thought to myself. “I’ll find out soon

enough.” A little while later, we pulled

up in front of Aunt Layla’s house. Mom

put the car in park and we both got out

and gave each other hugs and kisses. Just

as I expected, the twins threw me the

deuces; so, I reached through each of

their windows and smacked them one by

one in the back of their heads. “That’s

for good luck,” I said and ran off

laughing before either of them could

retaliate. Aunt Layla was waiting

outside and as I grabbed my bag from the

trunk, Mom went to talk to her. They

giggled like they were still teenagers and

hugged each other goodbye. I loved their

relationship. It made me want to

straighten things out with Roxy.

“Welllllll,” I thought… we’d see.

I stood on the porch and watched as

Mom and the twins pulled off and

headed down the driveway and unto the

street. I was gonna miss them, but I knew

they’d be back in a couple of days. Until

then, I was going to try to see if I could

get Aunt Layla to ease up on the terms of

my grounding. I was hoping she’d at

least let me watch some tv.

As we turned to go inside, Aunt Layla

put her arm around my waist and pulled

me close. “I hate that you and Roxy lied

to me and your mother,” she said softly.

“I wish you girls understood that you can

talk to us about anything. When we were

growing up, we didn’t have it nearly as

good as you two do. Your grandmother

wasn’t trying to hear nothing about us

liking boys. And if your grandfather had

gotten even a whiff that we liked a boy,

he would’ve had us wearing paper bags

to school.” At that, Aunt Layla let out a

laugh as she remembered my

grandparents. Roxy and me had never

gotten the chance to meet either of them

because they both died when we were

babies, but I could tell that Aunt Layla

missed them. “I’m sorry we lied, Aunt

Layla. I don’t know about Roxy, but I’ve

learned my lesson. I’ve had a lot of time

to think since I’ve been grounded.” “I’m

sure you have,” said Aunt Layla. “No

facebook will take the fool right out of

you,” she added and laughed out loud

again. “You can go upstairs. Your cousin

is waiting for you.”

As I walked up the stairs, I had mixed

emotions about seeing Roxy. Sure, I

wanted us to be close cousins like Mom

and Aunt Layla, but I wasn’t sure if I

even liked Roxy that much. I mean… if

she wasn’t my cousin, would she even

be my friend? I was still trying to figure

out my answer when I knocked on her

door. “Come in,” she said from the other

side. As I stepped in and closed the door

behind me, I could smell a faint hint of

weed. Hadn’t this girl learned anything?!

I was the one who got grounded while

she got off scott free, yet she was still up

to her old, trifling ways; smoking weed

in the house with her mother right down

stairs. “Hey ‘Yana!” she said to me like

nothing was wrong. I kept my cool and

said, “Hey Roxy. I just came to say

what’s up. I’mma go put my stuff down

in the other room.” “You a’right?” she

asked with her eyebrows gathering into a

frown. “Yea, I’m good. I just didn’t want

to interrupt… whatever you were

doing,” I said slowly. “You can smell

it?” she asked me, while fanning the air

with her hand like that was gonna do the

trick. “Yup,” was all I had the energy to

say in response.

At that, Roxy got up quick and went to

the bathroom. I could hear the water

running. I guess she was washing her

face. When she came back, she pulled

her hair up into a high bun, grabbed her

sweater, sat down the edge of her bed

and put on her pink and white Nike’s. “I

need to go for a run,” she said. I stared

at Roxy like she was an alien. One

minute she’s lying in the bed, high as a

kite, and then the next minute, she’s

wanting to be all healthy and go for a

run? “Fine,” was all I could manage to

say as I opened the door and lugged my

bag to the room across the hall.

About twenty minutes later, Roxy

knocked on the guest bedroom door and

came in before I could even respond.

She looked me dead in my face and said,

“I gotta do better. I’m gonna do better.

It’s first Sunday tomorrow. We’re going

to church. Be ready at 10. By the way,

I’m gonna get baptized.” Before I even

had time to think about what she said or

ask any questions, she left. I could hear

her walk to her room and close her door,

and that’s where she stayed all day.

“She hasn’t been feeling good the last

couple of days,” Aunt Layla told me as

we sat at the dinner table. “So, I guess

it’s just you and me tonight, Kiddo,” she

went on. In spite of her warm smile, I

could tell Aunt Layla was worried.

“Your mom said I could ease up on your

punishment just a bit, so how about we

catch something on Netflix tonight? I’ll

let you pick.” I was worried about Roxy

too, but the fact that I could actually

watch tv pushed that worry to the back

of my mind. “Sounds like a plan to me!”

I said to Aunt Layla happily. I ran

upstairs, took a quick shower, brushed

my teeth, threw on my pajamas, and

grabbed a blanket. I stopped by Roxy’s

room before heading back downstairs,

but her door was still closed and the

light was off, so I decided not to bother

her. We’d seen “Coming to America” at

least three times before anyway. It was

our favorite old school movie.

I went back downstairs and spread out

on the couch next to Aunt Layla. Then,

just when the princes came to the hood

and got their stuff stolen, my eyes started

to get heavy and I realized I couldn’t

hang anymore. So, I said goodnight to

Aunt Layla and headed back upstairs. On

my way past Roxy’s door, I could hear

her crying softly. I moved closer to the

door to knock and make sure she was ok,

and that’s when I heard her talking…

well, praying actually.

“God, I know I messed up over and over

again. You keep giving me chances

though, so this time I promise I won’t let

you down. I’m gonna stop sneaking

around behind my mom’s back and I’m

gonna stop smoking. I promise. I just

need your help, ok?” I didn’t want to

eavesdrop anymore, so I turned to walk

away. But then I heard her add, “And

God, help me to be a better cousin. I

could tell by the way ‘Yana looked at me

today when she smelled the weed that

she was disappointed in me. I want us to

be close again. I know I got her in

trouble, but please let her forgive me. I

was just trying to do the right thing.”

This time, I did turn and walk away from

her door; and as I slinked into the guest

room, I felt horrible. How could I have

been so quick to get mad at her? She was

right. She was just trying to do the right

thing. Yea, I did get in trouble, but I

guess I had it coming for lying anyway. I

was so mad about being grounded that I

didn’t even realize how much Pastor

Paul’s message had touched Roxy. As a

matter of fact, it had touched Bryan too.

And me.

I hurried back downstairs to Aunt Layla

who was still on the couch watching the

movie. “I thought you were going to

sleep, ‘Yana? I’m about ready to call it a

night too.” “I am, Aunt Layla,” I said. “I

just wanted to know if I can send one

text, please. I really need to.” She

looked up at the giant clock on the living

room wall, looked back at me and said,

“I guess it’s not too late for one text. But,

just one. I don’t want your mother

thinking I let you go wild over here. I got

my antennas up now. No more getting

over on me.” “I know, Aunt Layla. And

again, I’m so sorry. Just one text. I

promise.” As she nodded her head in

approval, I kissed her on the forehead

and ran back upstairs to grab my phone.

Chapter 20

First Sunday

The next morning, I could hear music

coming from Roxy’s room when I got up

to brush my teeth. I was surprised

because she was usually the one you had

to drag out of bed. I was thankful that I’d

packed a dress because I figured since it

was Sunday morning I couldn’t go in

jeans like I did the first time. Well,

according to Marie, I could… but, this

was gonna be a special day, so I wanted

to dress up.

By the time I got dressed and made my

way downstairs to the kitchen, Roxy was

already eating a bowl of cereal. She

pushed one towards me and I sat down

in the chair across from hers. “My

favorite,” I said with a smile. “I know,”

she said smiling back. We ate our

Frosted Flakes in silence; both deep in

our own thoughts. “What’s this, a kitchen

or a library?” Aunt Layla asked jokingly

as she bounced in looking like sunshine

in a yellow dress with yellow and white

heels to match. Roxy and I both laughed.

Aunt Layla grabbed a yogurt from the

fridge and Roxy got up to put her empty

bowl in the sink. I didn’t want to make

us late, so I put the spoon down, raised

the bowl to my mouth, tilted my head

back, and gulped down the rest of the

sugary goodness.

“I just need to get my purse and then I’ll

be ready,” I said as I climbed the stairs

quickly. When I got back downstairs,

Aunt Layla already had the car running

and Roxy was waiting to lock the door

behind me. I figured this was the perfect

time to talk to her about what I’d heard.

“I heard you praying last night,” I told

her. “And you don’t have to worry. I

forgive you.” “You just don’t know how

much that means to me, ‘Yana,” she said

and hugged me tight. Then she whispered

in my ear, “My mom doesn’t know I’m

getting baptized today. I wanted it to be a

surprise.” I smiled and nodded my

understanding as we got into the car.

We walked into New Hope and sat down

a couple aisles from the front just as the

choir was singing their last praise &

worship song. When they were almost

done, Pastor Paul got up and walked to

the center of the stage. “Good morning,”

he said staring out at the sea of people.

“It’s great to be in God’s house today.

And I’m glad you all are here too. Even

if you weren’t though, I would still

worship Him.” He laughed and so did

the congregation. “Seriously though, this

is a special day. Not only is it first

Sunday, but it’s also baptism day!” Some

of the people around us clapped and

cheered. The energy was electric. “We

like to open our service with the

baptism, so when I call your name,

please come and meet me up here on the

stage.” I looked over at Roxy thinking

she might be a little nervous, but she was

the opposite; calmer than I can ever

remember seeing her.

Pastor Paul called about three names and

when he said, “Roxanne Mitchell,” Aunt

Layla’s jaw dropped and her eyes

started to water. She hugged Roxy so

long I thought she’d never make it to the

stage on time. But finally, Aunt Layla let

her go and she made her way up to stand

in line. Pastor Paul called a few more

people to the stage. Then he had a tall,

wiry-framed woman lead them to the

back while we watched the

announcements on the giant screens.

After the last announcement, one of the

screens rose up and there was a

baptismal pool behind it. Everyone

getting baptized was now dressed in

white robes, and Pastor Paul and another

guy were already in the pool.

One by one, the people who were getting

baptized walked down into the pool as

their names were called. When they got

to Roxy, Aunt Layla grabbed my hand

and squeezed it. She was crying even

harder now. “I baptize you, Roxanne, in

the name of the Father, the Son, and the

Holy Ghost,” said Pastor Paul.

And with that, Roxy went down into the

water. When they brought her up, I could

see her smiling. And as she looked out

and saw her mom, me, Samuel, Bryan,

and Marie in the audience waving and

cheering for her, I could see her smile

get even bigger.

The crew had gotten my group text the

night before and found us during the

announcements. And while we were all

standing there staring at Roxy’s smiling

face, I realized that God had the perfect

plan all along. More perfect than any of

us could ever have imagined.

Chapter 21

After Effects

About four months later, me, Roxy,

Marie, Max, Bryan, and Samuel were

sitting in a corner booth at IHOP,

laughing about something crazy Pastor

Paul had said at Youth Service that

morning about Daniel in the lion’s den.

I’d convinced Max to come with us to

church so that she could see how much

Roxy had changed. I could tell she

wasn’t totally sold, but at least she was

willing to be nice.

“The way he breaks stuff down is

ridiculous,” said Samuel. “I know

right!” Roxy chimed in while staring at

him like he was the most amazing thing

she’d ever seen in her life. I kicked Max,

Marie and Bryan under the table and the

four of us busted out laughing. “What?”

Samuel asked, looking back and forth

between us. “Nothing man,” Bryan said

while holding back a smile. “You just

keep doing you.” “We will, Playa. Same

to you,” Samuel answered with a laugh

and a nod in my direction. I lowered my

head and blushed. Bryan looked at me

and put his hand on the back of my chair.

I couldn’t have been happier about how

good things were going with us.

As a matter of fact, things were going

really good overall. The twins were

only a couple of weeks away from

graduation, Roxy, Max, Marie, and I

were inseparable these days, and church

was giving us all life.

I regretted being stupid enough to lie to

my mom and Aunt Layla, but I was glad

for the way God had worked things out.

Just like Pastor Paul always reminded

us, “God made sure it all came together

for our good.”

I snapped out of my own thoughts just in

time to hear Marie ask Roxy, “So, what

made you decide to get baptized when

you did?” “Yea, you never told us,”

Samuel said turning his face so that he

was staring Roxy straight in the eyes.

“Wellllllll,” Roxy responded with a grin

that stretched from ear to ear, “it’s kind

of a long story; so, how about I break it

all down for y’all another day? I

promise… it’ll be worth the wait.”

Talk About It

I hope that this book has made you laugh,

cry, and laugh some more. But, I also

hope that it’s made you think.

So, take a few minutes to look over these

questions, and your answers should lead

you to make better choices than Ayana

and Roxy did.

1. Did Ayana have the right

intensions when she asked

her mother if she could get

her hair cut?

2. Was it ok for Ayana to sneak

around behind her mother’s

back to change her hair

before school so that she

could look more grown up?

3. Do you think the way that

Ayana treated Marie in the

beginning was ok?

4. Should Ayana have stopped

being selfish and told her

Aunt Layla that Roxy was

smoking weed?

5. Did Roxy finally do the right

thing by telling on herself and

Ayana even though it got them

both into trouble?

About The Author

Ms. Ty Scott King is an international

poet, rapper, author, and speaker with a

voice that is captivating generations.

Founder of Smokin’ Penz Multimedia

Group and the R.I.S.E. Up Arts

Initiative, Ms. Ty Scott King is

developing a global platform for poetry

and music while mentoring youth in the

area of creative arts.

Ms. Ty Scott King has successfully

released her self-published poetic

autobiography: Scott Free as well as

two cd’s: E3:20 and Kings & Queens.

Ms. Ty Scott King and her husband,

Michael, are foodies who can be found

traveling the world and ministering the

gospel. To keep track of Ms. Ty Scott

King, visit: www.mstyscott.com

Document Outline

Chapter 1 2,920 + Days
Chapter 2 Middle School Changes
Chapter 3 New Girl?
Chapter 4 Jealousy & Enemies
Chapter 5 The Suck Up
Chapter 6 Transformations
Chapter 7 Fool-Proof
Chapter 8 Divine
Chapter 9 An Invitation
Chapter 10 The Big Night
Chapter 11 Close Call
Chapter 12 Love Anyway
Chapter 13 The Big Date
Chapter 14 Glad You Came
Chapter 15 Church Flow
Chapter 16 Enough is Enough
Chapter 17 Done
Chapter 18 You Got Jokes
Chapter 19 Scott Free
Chapter 20 First Sunday
Chapter 21 After Effects

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