“Miss Rachel, what’s wrong?” Camille asked.
From the expression on her face, we thought something had gone wrong in her family. We’d heard rumors around the church that she was having problems with her husband, Reverend Adams, but as my mama always says, “That’s grown folks’ business,” so I pretty much stayed out of it.
“Oh, nothing’s wrong,” Miss Rachel said. “I just have a lot on my mind.” She looked frazzled as she turned to me. “Jasmine, I need to talk with you. Girls, why don’t you bounce around some service project ideas?”
They all turned to look at me.
“Talk with me about what?” I said.
“Just come with me, please.”
I was real nervous as I followed Miss Rachel to her office. The first thing that came to my mind was my scholarship. Miss Rachel had barely closed the door in her office when I said, “Please, don’t tell me the scholarship didn’t come through.”
“No, it’s still on. For now.”
“What do you mean, for now?”
She let out a long sigh. “Well, your counselor sent over your transcript, and the scholarship committee is concerned because your English grade is right on the borderline.”
“What does that mean? I’m not going to get the scholarship?” My heart started racing.
“No, calm down.” Walking over to her desk, she opened a manila folder and pulled out a piece of paper. “You still have the scholarship, but they also got an update on all your grades.”
“And?” I said. I knew I wasn’t acing my classes, but I shouldn’t have been flunking anything either.
“Well, the class that has me concerned is your English class. You currently have a D, and this particular scholarship says you can’t have anything less than a C for your final grade. Now, your teacher told me that your grade could jump as much as thirty percent depending on how well you did on your final exam. How do you think you did?”
“I don’t know,” I said. My stomach immediately started churning. I hadn’t studied like I was supposed to, but I was hoping I’d known enough to at least pass the test.
“We should get our grades this week. I should be okay, Miss Rachel,” I said.
“Are you sure? Because the deadline to make a final decision is in two weeks. And if you don’t pass this class, then that’s it. They have to give the scholarship to someone else.”
“I’m sure.” I hesitated. “I think I’m sure.”
She took a deep breath. I could tell she was really concerned. “I have confidence in you. It’s just that I’m worried. This is a great opportunity, and I would hate for you to blow it.”
“Wasn’t it you that said if I’m going to worry, why pray?” I tried to smile. It was taking everything in my power not to totally freak out.
“I did say that, didn’t I?” she said, relieved. “Okay, great. I just wanted to get on the same page. You let me know as soon as that exam grade comes in.”
As we walked back into the meeting, all eyes were on me. “Is everything okay?” Camille immediately asked.
“What’s going on, Miss Rachel?” Alexis asked when I didn’t answer.
“If Jasmine would like to tell you, then she’ll be the one to share. Not me.” Miss Rachel walked to the front of the room and opened her Bible.
“She wants to make sure I don’t flunk English,” I said, sitting back down in my seat.
“Mrs. Stafford’s class?” Angel asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, but I’m good.” I wished that I’d really been as sure as I tried to make myself sound.
I don’t know how I survived the rest of the Good Girlz meeting. My mind replayed every single question on that test. Before I knew it, Miss Rachel was wrapping up the meeting.
“Hey, Alexis, did you decide what you are going to do about Cornell?” Miss Rachel asked as she stuffed some papers into her briefcase.
Alexis let out a deep sigh. “I decided I’m not going. I just have to get my parents on board. My dad came over last night and I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“Did you try to explain the pros and the cons?” Miss Rachel asked.
“He. Wouldn’t. Listen,” she slowly said. “He said he isn’t paying for Prairie View because it makes no sense that I would turn down a scholarship ‘to be with my friends,’ ” she said, making quotation marks with her fingers. “Isn’t college supposed to be about fun and friends? Yes, I know it’s about learning, but it’s the total experience, right?”
I felt Alexis’s pain. But part of me agreed with her father. I’d be hard-pressed to turn down a free ride to school myself.
“Alexis, you guys will remain friends no matter where you go to school.”
Alexis started tearing up. “Miss Rachel, I have always felt out of place, all by myself,” she said. “Until I joined the Good Girlz and transferred to Madison with my friends. Even when my parents were together, I was still alone because my dad was always working and my mom lives in her own little world. I don’t want to go off to some college by myself and feel lonely and different all over again.”
“Alexis, you will make friends wherever you go,” Miss Rachel said.
“Hey, don’t try to replace us that easily,” Camille put in.
Miss Rachel cut her eyes. “Camille is overreacting. No one said you should replace your friends. But your father has a valid point.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled. “It doesn’t matter anyway. You should have seen how mad he was last night. He basically said I was going to Cornell and that was the end of the discussion.”
I’d never heard her sound so defeated. That made me sad, because usually she was so optimistic about everything.
Could we really be going to PV without Alexis? Judging from the dejected look on her face, it looked like a definite possibility.
10
Angel
I knew I shouldn’t have been doing this. I should have at least confided in my girls, but I didn’t want them talking me out of it. I hadn’t even told them I was going with Rico. I knew they would have had a problem with Rico’s age, so I hadn’t told them how serious we were getting. Rico was right, age didn’t matter. I had tried to talk to my older sister, Rosario, about him. Of course, I hadn’t told her how old he was, but she’d immediately started telling me I was too young to be moving so fast with a guy.
No one understood. Rico was special, and the fact that he’d told me he loved me last night made me want to be with him that much more. I loved him, too. It was the first time I’d ever been in love. Yeah, I thought I’d loved Marcus and he’d said he’d loved me, but he hadn’t meant it, as evidenced by the fact that he’d been such a jerk when I’d gotten pregnant. I’d let him pressure me and ended up paying a serious price. I’d given that buster the most precious thing I’d owned, and he’d treated me like crap. I didn’t know what he meant by wanting to see Angelica, but if he thought I was going to forgive him, he could forget it.
Now I had Rico. He just wanted to be with me and said he’d wait however long it took. Shoot, he’d even said he’d wait until we got married. That’s how I knew he was right for me. I did kinda wonder why he wasn’t pressuring me to sleep with him, though. That’s all the boys at my school thought about. But maybe that’s because, as Rico said, those were boys. He was a man.
“You ready to go?” he asked.
I looked around one last time. I was on the back side of Rosario’s apartment complex. I’d dropped Angelica off with my sister, telling her I was going on an overnight trip with the Good Girlz. I hated lying to her and my mom, but “Hey, I’m going to hang out with my boyfriend and his family for the weekend” wouldn’t have gone over too well. I’d had Rico pick me up in the back because I hadn’t wanted to chance anyone seeing me.
“Hey there,” I said, tossing my overnight bag into the backseat of the red Toyota Camry before climbing in.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, leaning over and lightly kissing me on the lips.
�
��How are you?”
“Better now.” He smiled as he pulled away.
“Whose car?” I asked once we were on the freeway.
“My friend Trey’s. He’s out of town and it’s all ours for the weekend.”
Ours. I loved how in everything that Rico did, he talked about us as a couple. In fact, he’d wanted me to bring Angelica on this trip to Dallas, but I wasn’t comfortable doing that yet. He’d been bugging me to meet her and my mom, but I begged him to give me some more time. Rico didn’t like being told no, I’d learned that very quickly, but he’d left it alone—for now.
“So, what did your mom say about me coming home with you?” I asked.
“She was really excited.” Rico’s voice sounded scratchy, and he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “But, ummm, just so you know, she thinks we go to school together.”
My eyes grew wide. “And why would she think that?”
He drummed harder. “I kinda told her that.”
“Rico?” I said.
“Look, I’ll tell her the truth once we get there.” He shrugged like it was no big deal. “She’ll be cool with it once she meets you. I just didn’t want her trippin’ about you coming out of town with me since you’re still in high school.”
I hated the way he said “since you’re still in high school.” He said it with a snarl, like he couldn’t believe he was dating some teenager. It immediately got me back to thinking what he wanted from me.
I didn’t say anything as I turned and stared out the window. He took my hand. “Angel, I didn’t mean to make you mad. But my mom would worry that since you’re underage, I might get into some legal trouble by bringing you out of town.”
This was the first time Rico had acted like my age was a problem. I mean, I was almost eighteen. I didn’t know what the big deal was.
“Look,” he continued. “Once we get there, we’ll sit down and tell her the truth, about your age and Angelica.”
He hadn’t told her about my child either? I was about to say something when he squeezed my hand again. “I need you to trust me. I know my family.” He was on a roll, the way he always was once he got cranked up. He could talk anybody out of anything. “I know what I’m doing. I need to tell them in person. I need them to meet you first. Because once they do, there won’t be any doubt that you’re perfect for me.”
Now how could I stay mad at that? I forced a small smile, then relaxed for the four-hour drive to Dallas.
Rico and I talked as we headed up Interstate 45 to his hometown, which actually wasn’t quite all the way to Dallas. It was a small town called Ferris.
As excited as I was, I still managed to doze off after a few hours. The next thing I knew we were pulling onto a winding dirt road. We stopped in front of a raggedy one-story wooden house with peeling yellow paint. It was a farm, complete with a big pen with pigs running around in it. Four men sat on the front porch at a card table playing dominoes. Another man sat on a beat-up sofa smoking a cigarette.
“Well, looky who’s here. It’s the college boy,” an old toothless man yelled from the porch.
“Hey, Uncle Leo,” Rico said as he opened my car door. We made our way up the sidewalk.
“And who is this pretty young thang you got here?” His uncle leaned back in his chair and looked me up and down.
“That’s my girlfriend, Angel.”
“Umph, umph, umph,” his uncle said. “You sho is an angel. If I was twenty years younger, I would steal you from my nephew.”
The thought completely grossed me out, but I smiled anyway.
“Yo mama inside, cooking.” He nodded his head toward the front door. “She ain’t been able to stop talking about her baby coming home.”
I followed Rico inside, trying to ignore the fact that Uncle Leo was staring at me like I was a pork chop and he was the bread.
“Mama, we’re here,” Rico called out.
“Awwww, my baby!” His mother came bursting through the door. She was a big, manly-looking woman, had to be at least six feet tall. She threw her arms around Rico and squeezed him tightly. After smothering his face with kisses, she turned to me. I expected a warm greeting, too, but she stopped to study me. Finally she said, “Well, I’ll be. This must be Angel. Rico, you were right. She’s a pretty girl.”
“Nice to meet you. How are you?” I said, stretching out my hand.
“Ooooh, and she got manners.” Mrs. LeDay knocked my hand aside and pulled me into a bear hug. “Girl, come here. You family now. We hugs around here.” She stood back and looked at me again. “You look a little young to be in college, though. How old are you?”
I looked at Rico. I wasn’t going to start lying to his mother two seconds after we met.
“Ummm, Mama, where is Scooter and Tink?” Rico asked.
“Scooter out back, slopping the hogs, and Tink over there messing with that pickup truck.”
Hogs? I thought, trying my best not to laugh.
Rico did laugh. “Some things never change.” He must have noticed my astonished look, because he turned to me. “My family raises hogs.”
“Some of the best pork this side of the Mississippi,” his mother said. “We take good care of our pigs. If you want, Scooter can show you how we slaughter them.”
I had to cover my mouth to keep from throwing up.
“Ma, Angel is a city girl. She ain’t ready for none of that,” Rico said.
Mrs. LeDay smiled. “Oh, yeah. I forgot. You city folks can eat all the swine you want, but you don’t wanna know where it comes from. My husband, God rest his soul, was a city boy when we met, but by the time he left this earth, he was eating everything from pig ears to pig feet.”
I struggled to corral the expression on my face, but I know it had to be pure disgust.
Rico continued talking. “They call my brother Tink because he’s always tinkering with something. And Scooter got his name because he always has liked scooting the pigs together.”
“What do they call you?” I asked, grateful for the change in subject. “Oh yeah, R-Train.”
“R-Train? Heavens, no.” His mother looked disgusted. “Rico and that rappin’ dream. All the money I’ve paid for school and he wants to rap.” She shook her head like she didn’t understand it. Rico rolled his eyes. I could tell they had fought about it before.
“Rico has always been just Rico to us,” his mother continued. “Never did want a nickname. But he always has been the college-bound one.” She must’ve just realized that we were still standing in the hallway, because she said, “Come on, and have a seat. Dinner will be ready in a bit. Got some pig feet and black-eyed peas.” She stopped and eyed me closely. “You ain’t one of them Muslims or something.”
“No, ma’am. I’m Christian.”
“Good. Ain’t got nothing against them other religions, but I only know one God, and He ain’t no Allah, Buddha or nothing else.” She smiled again and I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like her eyes were watering up. “My Rico got him a good Christian girl.” She looked over at him. “I was worried for a minute. Been up at that school all this time and ain’t never brought no girl home.” She turned back to me. “I been after him to find him a good girl so he could settle down and come back here and take over the family business.”
Shock registered on my face. Come back here? I thought.
Rico stepped in. “Ma, please don’t start. You been driving me nuts to find a sweet girl and now that I got her, you still giving me a hard time.”
His mother looked apologetic. “All right, baby. You’re right. I got my wish now.” She squeezed my chin. “But if you gon’ be family, you gon’ have to learn to love some pig.”
“Mama, did you cook anything else?” Rico asked. “I don’t want to spring everything on Angel at once.”
“Well, I cooked some gizzards, because I know they’re your favorite.”
Pig feet and gizzards. I couldn’t wait to get back to my girls and tell them this.
The others gathered and w
e got settled in. Rico’s family was so nice and funny, although they were the most country people I’d ever seen in my life. That was funny, because there was nothing country about Rico.
His mother explained it later. “I’m just so proud of Rico. His daddy wanted all three of his boys to have a better life, so he was always teaching them stuff, but Rico the only one that ever listened. He done got citified, too. I guess six years of college in the big city can do that to you.” She cut her eyes at him. Obviously, she had some issues with him still being in school. I made a note to ask him about it later.
“So, did you talk to that counselor like I asked?” his mom said, narrowing her eyes at Rico. “They gon’ let you make up those classes so you can graduate?”
“Ma, not now,” Rico said.
She put her fork down. “When, Rico, huh? I told you, I can’t handle this farm by myself. Your daddy handled all the business and that’s not my strong suit. That’s why I’m paying all that money for that fancy school, so I can get some relief here.”
Rico groaned in frustration. “I told you, I’m trying to get my demo together,” he mumbled.
“Demo?” she barked. “You and this rapping nonsense ’bout to work my last nerve.”
He glared at her. “Can we please not have this conversation again, especially in front of my girl?”
Mrs. LeDay glared at him but let the conversation drop. She turned to me. “I’m sorry, baby. I love my son, I do, and I don’t mean to be up here fussing at him, but I want him to get it together.” She paused and a small smile spread across her face. “At least he is getting one area together. How long y’all be going out?”
“Long enough to know we’re right for each other,” Rico said quickly, taking my hand. I felt a little like a prize at a fair, but it seemed to settle his mom some, because she leaned back in her seat, still grinning. “That’s what I want to hear.” She stared at me. “Umph, umph, umph. Y’all gon’ make some pretty babies.”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t believe she was talking about babies and we’d just met.
“Oh, Lord, please don’t tell me you’re one of those modern-day women that don’t believe in children?” she said, taking in my horrified expression.
Drama Queens Page 5