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I looked across the shadows of the courtyard and squinted in the dark amber dim upon seeing two familiar figures. “Is that Shanti and Chioma coming from the library? Are they friends now?”
“Kikiola Banjo.”
I sighed. She had full-named me, which meant there was no way she was going to get drawn away from this subject. “It’s not really a nickname per se. It’s more like an in-joke? I don’t know, he said that I’m less brown sugar and more of a scotch bonnet, so I guess he started calling me Scotch and it just stuck—”
Aminah stopped dead and I stumbled as I ground to a halt and turned around. “Um. I’m sorry. You mean to tell me that Malakai called youspicy?”
I took a minute to catch my breath and undid my braids from their bun, put my hairband in my mouth and flipped my head over to tie them again in the hopes that the time it took would lead Aminah to forget about anything that was mentioned. It wasn’t even loose but I needed a distraction. Unfortunately, by the time I had retied it Aminah was still smiling at me, smugly.
“I want a boy to call me a seasoning. Do you think I can get Kofi to start calling me Maggi Cube?”
I started stretching. “Okay, you know what? I’m not talking about this anymore.”
“Maybe Bay Leaf? No,Bae Leaf. Ha ha. Wow, Scotch and Bae Leaf. Sounds like a badass Blaxapolitan detective show.”
“So, what’s happening between you and Kofi?”
Aminah smiled slyly. “I’m gonna ignore you ignoring me because I love you. Nothing. Still making him work. I mean I’m kind of chill about it because I already know he’s going to be my husband.”
I stopped stretching my quads and straightened up. “Pardon?”
Aminah shrugged and raised an arm above her head to stretch it. “I just know it. I can’t explain it. I’m not even in love with him yet, but I feel like I’m going to be and it will be deep. He is sweet and kind and treats me like a princess and loves God. You know how fucking spiritual I am. So spiritual I am bireligio—”
“Not a thing.”
“—and you like him, and you don’t like anyone.Ilike him. We’ll probably fight over what jollof rice we’ll serve at the wedding because I don’t know if I’m ready to have Ghanaian jollof at my reception, but maybe we’ll be able to reach a compromise. When I look at him, I feel safe.” She smiled and switched arms. “The point is, he has me. But I don’t want him to ever take that for granted so I gotta create theillusionof pursuit. Know what I mean?”
I bent to stretch my other leg. “Not really, but I trust thatyouknow what you mean. Wow, Minah, I knew you liked him but I didn’t know you liked himthismuch—”
Aminah shrugged and grinned. “Yeah, me neither. But the other day we were studying together and he casually brings out plantain chips—Dad’s brand, of course—and my favorite strawberry juice drink from his rucksack. You have to go to Eastside to get that drink. They don’t sell it around here. It’s imported from, like, Kenya. He didn’t even look at me while he was doing it, he just tossed it my way and then started talking to me about the newest track he was producing and I don’t know . . .” She exhaled deeply and spread her arms out, shaking her head, her eyes and smile bright. “I just wanted to jump his bones right there in the study room and also snuggle him? It was, like, woah,this boy thinks about me even when he’s not thinking. And I feel so relaxed around him. Like moreme.Like I’m the greatest me. I only ever feel like that around you. And no offense, but I don’t want to snog your face off.”
“That’s a lie.”
Aminah inclined her head gravely. “You’re right. Come here, sexy.”
I laughed and threw my arms around her neck, kissing her cheek. “I’m really happy for you,” I said as she playfully pushed me off. “Kai should actually interview you guys for his film.” I paused as I noticed the two figures moving closer toward us across the courtyard, just behind her head. “Wait, that reallyisShanti and Chioma.”
There had long been civility between the femme factions in Blackwell and Malakai Korede’s presence had disrupted that. I had now situated myself firmly in the midst of that disruption, after purporting to help combat it. Chioma and Shanti weren’t friends; they were from two separate cliques, and the only reason I could see for these two queens to unite was war. Shit.
“Shit!” Aminah turned around just as they reached us and immediately backed up next to me, fortifying us for attack, leaning her arm on my shoulder as if we really were the Blaxpolitan detective duo Scotch & Bae Leaf. She nodded at them. “Chioma, Shanti. What’s up?”
Shanti nodded back, her large gold earrings jangling with the movement as she wrapped her fur gilet tighter around her body. “Kiki, Aminah. Hi. We’re actually on our way to dinner.”
I raised a brow and straightened, and Aminah’s shock slid her arm off my shoulder. “You guys are hanging out?”
Chioma laughed, her silver septum ring adorning her already pretty smile. “We bonded over thinking that you were a duplicitous bitch.”
I felt Aminah stiffen next to me and I surreptitiously reached out to hold her wrist to calm her down. I nodded. “Ah. Okay. I mean, that’s fair. I can see how it looks.”
Shanti rolled her tongue in her mouth. “It looked like you were being a snake. It looked like you wanted to isolate Malakai for yourself after acting like you were some kind of guru for the gyaldem.”
Chioma quickly interjected, just as I feltAminah’s tongue being unsheathed and mine begin to feel heavy: “What Shanti means, is that sometimes on the show you come across like you’re not really one of us. I mean, the femme community of Blackwellus. Know what I mean? It’s like you’re this weirdfloaterwho judges us from the outside. And we didn’t do that to you, by the way. We constantly invite you to shit—all the girls do—and you turn us down. Even Aminah shows up to stuff sometimes. And don’t get me wrong, your advice was great but sometimes it could seem a little—”
“Like you think you’re better than us,” Shanti finished for her.
An unpleasant coolness settled in my stomach. I thought my reason for reclusion was self-protection, not superiority, but despite myself I could see how warped it would look from their vantage point. Chioma nudged Shanti and Aminah straightened and took a step forward.
“Okay, what’s going on here? Is this an ambush?! Because I can fight and still look fine. My setting spray was expensive—”
