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Jace shook his head, and Mike fired back, “Where’syourlunch?”
“Not hungry.” He took a deep breath and sat back in his chair. “Did you hear about the tribute?”
Mike shook his head.
“Man, my pops is making us do a tribute to Nyleah during the show next week.”
“Is that a problem?”
“I mean…you don’t think that’s weird?”
Mike gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Didn’t y’all do a tribute last year for that dude that got shot? What was his name?”
“Simeon. Yeah, I guess that’s the same.”
Mike frowned at his friend and wondered where his head was at.
They were an unlikely pair, as the two didn’t have much in common. Jace was cool, but he only had one interest. The boy ate, drank, and slept music and all things related. Beyond his favorite rappers and the occasional R&B song, Mike didn’t have a mind for music. But he was smart. Some might even say a genius. He’d tested into the gifted program at age 6 and showed a particular aptitude for math.
As long as he could remember, his parents had drilled STEM into his head. He’d gone to every free camp they could find each summer, sometimes two or three in one year. And it worked. He wanted to be an engineer when he grew up. Hell, he was almost grown up now.
It came easy to him. So easy, his teachers were often frustrated with him. He earned straight As, but they didn’t like that he seemed so bored with it all. The comments on his report cards typically addressed his posture, his sarcasm, and his general attitude toward the class and the teacher. His parents, Detric and Juanita, would get on him about it. Appearances were important to them, but Mike couldn’t have cared less. He was getting As. What else did they want from him? What the hell elsewasthere?
“But anyway,” Jace said, “I wanted to ask you about your boy." He leaned in closer. "From the party.”
“Which one?”
“The security guy. Demetrius.”
“Oh, Meat?" Mike raised a suspicious eyebrow. "What you want with him?”
Jace leaned all the way in and spoke in a hush. “Can you give me his number? I want some weed.”
“You sure? Bruh, that don’t even sound like you.”
Jace shrugged. “It wasn’t, but it’s a lot going on right now. I’m stressed.”
“I feel you.” Mike pulled out his phone and typed. “I just texted it to you. And don’t let nobody see that.”
In a strange way, Mike felt responsible for Demetrius. They were on completely different paths in life—Meat grew up in a neighborhood where the best hope for success was graduating from high school and maybe getting a government job—but Mike loved him and considered him a play cousin.
The two had spent every summer playing together as kids, which turned to hooping as young teens, and then smoking and PlayStation more recently. Mike was the one who got Demetrius the job working security for the party, and he was the one who asked Demetrius to get them some weed. He was also the one who told Demetrius to run instead of sticking around to wait for the police with everybody else. The way he saw it, the rest of them would be able to talk their way out of charges. Demetrius, on the other hand, was already on paper. It had made sense to Mike at the time, but in hindsight, it may have been the wrong move.
Avianna Jones appeared and sat down next to Mike with her lunch tray. He scooted over to make room for her. It was spirit day at school, so she was wearing part of her cheerleading uniform and a sparkly red ribbon in her hair. She looked cute and innocent. Funny how looks can deceive.
“Hey, y’all. What y’all talking about?”
Jace and Mike glanced at each other, silently agreeing that it was none of her business. “Nothing,” Mike answered.
He watched Avianna scarf down her food and laughed to himself. She was tiny, but the girl ate like a horse. A little light-skinned horse with a red bob, a septum piercing, and a whole lot of makeup.
They weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, but they did occasionally spend time together. Nobody knew about it, and Mike enjoyed the secret. There was something kinda sexy about being in a room with his friends and knowing something they didn’t.
At that moment, the two shared a secret that Jace had no idea about.Nobodyknew what was happening under that black and red cheerleader uniform.
Thefinalbellrang,signaling the end of the school day, but on this particular day, it also signaled the moment of truth. Mike had been dreading it for a while. He'd almost stayed home from school just to avoid it. But the conversation was inevitable.
They’d agreed to meet near the trailers, and indeed, that is where he found Avianna. She was alone, and she didn’t look happy. She also didn’t look upset, though, so maybe the news would be good.
