Onyx and Starr

by Lady Lissa

  Onyx and I became best friends by the end of that week. I had gotten over my crush that fast, so he was like another sibling to me. We played ball, we watched television, we ate at each other’s houses, and we even did our homework together. This went on for the rest of the school year and from that point on.

  I almost died three years later when Onyx was promoted to sixth grade and I was promoted to fifth. On the low I was hoping that he would have failed because now that he’s been promoted, that means we won’t be attending the same school next school year. Even though I will still see him every day, I’m used to seeing him at school too. What am I going to do without my bestie for the next year?

  The following school year was the most miserable of my life. I had gotten so used to being near Onyx that not having him around was pure torture. On the bright side, I was able to see him at home. We still played basketball, chilled and did homework together. Playing basketball with Onyx was the highlight of my days. He’s just so funny and competitive. I love those games.

  Fast forward five years…

  Middle school was everything and nothing, just as I thought it would be. It was exciting because I am finally with the big kids and Onyx. He’s been at this school without me for an entire year, but being back together at the school is awesome. He introduced me to all his friends and showed me around the school. He has been a Godsend. Middle school is also nerve wracking because this is where the students aren’t always so nice. Some of these little boys have such attitudes if you don’t talk to them. This is the time where they begin to try and talk you into being their little girlfriend and if you refuse, they call you all kinds of trashy names. But I don’t care. If I don’t like them, I am not having it. I am almost thirteen and the last thing I need is a boyfriend; especially some immature kid with bad acne and even worse breath. Not only that, but my mom would kill me.

  I am happy to be in middle school mostly because of Onyx though. We have remained the best of friends all these years and really missed each other this last year. I notice that Onyx has changed a bit since we last went to school together and I’m not sure if I like this change in him. Onyx is starting to act like the other boys when it comes to girls, just not towards me. He’s starting to take interest in these lil hot girls and he’s paying less attention to me and our friendship. He’s now a player on the boys’ basketball team at Bunche Middle and so am I; the girls’ team that is. So between school, studying, practice and games, we rarely have any time to spend together. I miss the times we used to spend shooting hoops and laughing at anything we could think of.

  I must admit that Onyx is pretty good at basketball. He scores a lot of points when he plays and the girls, those same old hot girls, are always screaming for him like he’s their man. I can’t stand them girls, especially Mandy. Mandy is the head cheerleader for our school and she is trying to get together with Onyx. She’s actually been chasing him for quite a while, from what I understand. I wish she would leave my friend alone. I see the way she looks at him and I know he likes the attention he’s getting from her. But for some reason, he seems to be playing hard to get. I’m happy about that because if she likes him and he starts to like her, I’ll never get time with my best friend.

  I decide to ask my mom to take me to the game tonight. Onyx and the boys are playing tonight against our school’s biggest rival. I usually don’t ask my mom to take me to the boy’s games because I know she’s usually tired when she gets home from work. But this week, she’s on vacation so she ain’t as tired as she usually is. She agrees to take me and we head over to the gym around six since the game starts at six-thirty. Once we get there, we head inside and grab some nachos and soda before we go find our seats. We find seats not too far from where the team sits and I’m glad. If we are sitting this close, Onyx will be able to see that my mom and I are here to support him.

  When the team comes out to the tune, Dream Team is in the House by the L.A. Dream Team the crowd goes wild. The way everyone is screaming and jumping out their seats, you would think that this is an NBA basketball team instead of a middle school varsity team. I try not to get caught up in the hype, but seeing Onyx in his uniform makes me want to stand up and clap for him, so I did just that. The team begins their practice session before the game begins. Onyx finally looks my way, sees me and my mom and waves happily. Thrilled, I wave back as if fanning a flame, before sitting down next to my mom.

  As we watch the team practice, Onyx just keeps hitting three pointers back to back to back. I am so proud of him because he has come a long way from when we used to shoot hoops for fun. My mom leans in and says, “Onyx is a pretty good player.”

  I look back at her and respond, “Yea, I know. He’s one of the best players on the team. You’ll see.”

  “If he keeps this up, he may make it to college on a full blown athletic scholarship,” my mom says.

  Thinking about Onyx going away to college when he’s only in eighth grade is not something I want to do right now. I just smile and continue watching the team practice. When it’s time for the game to begin, Onyx slaps the ball over to our team and the fight is on. By half time, the score is 24-18 in our favor. I really think we will win this game. When the half time buzzer beeps, before the team heads to the locker room, Onyx heads over to where my mom and I are seated, along with his parents and brother.

  Before he can make it to where we are, Mandy jumps out in front of him, all smiling and twisting her hair. I have never been so upset in my life. Like, why didn’t she just wait until after he came over to speak with us? I can’t make out what they are saying, but Onyx suddenly gets this huge smile across his face. By the time she’s done talking to him, he turns around and heads straight for the locker room. That evil witch. She blocked him from coming to speak with us.

  I try to keep my composure, even though I’m pretty upset about not getting to speak to Onyx before he went to the locker room. I just wanted to tell him that he’s playing a good game and how proud I am of him. In the first half alone, he scored four, three point shots and four, two point shots for a total of 20 out of 24 points. Coach always says that Onyx is one of the best players on the team. As far as I’m concerned, he is the best player on the team.

  Once half time is over, the game resumes and it’s getting to be too close for comfort. At the end of the third quarter, the other team is leading 38-34 but I’m not giving up. I know what Onyx is capable of and I have confidence that they will win this game. The fourth quarter is underway and for every shot we make, they make one as well. The only good thing about the shots our team is scoring, is that Onyx is a beast with his three pointers. He can also shake a dude off of him in a heartbeat, in flip flops if he wanted to. It’s the last twenty seconds of the game and the score is 57-58 with their team up on the score and to make matters worse, they have the ball. The captain of their team is bouncing the ball, as if he’s trying to run out the clock. Onyx steals the ball from him and with only four seconds left, he shoots a three pointer and all you hear is SWISH!! The crowd goes crazy as the ball falls through the net!

  I grab my chest because that was a very close call. I cannot believe that we won the game like that. I turn and hug my mom as I look at the 60-58 score on the scoreboard. My mom turns to Onyx’s parents and says, “Your son is very talented. He will go far if he keeps this up.”

  “Thank you. We are very proud of our boy,” his dad says.

  Onyx had disappeared into the locker room, so we hang around with his parents and wait a few minutes for him to emerge. I also notice that Mandy is also waiting around. Seeing her is like ugh! She’s really like a thorn in my side and she’s starting to aggravate me to the max. What is it with her and what is it about her that irks me so much? Doesn’t she have some place to be; like with her own damn family or something? Onyx finally exits the locker room and people who watched the game are congratulating him on his performance. He is smiling like he’s won the lottery as he thanks them. Mandy runs up to him and throws her arms
around his neck in a tight embrace. Ugh! All of a sudden, I feel the need to snatch her by her darn hair and throw her down on the floor, just so I can punch her in the face and kick her in the gut. But of course, I don’t do that because I will not make a fool of myself in public. And I will not embarrass my mom like that either. If I do that, she will have my butt when we get home anyway.

  Mandy finally releases her hold on Onyx and as he begins to walk this way, she slips her fingers through his and they walk together. What the hell is going on? Is he dating this THOT now? We really must have a conversation about this because he needs to make better choices in his life. When they finally get to where we are standing, I immediately jump in his arms and give him a hug. I am just that happy to see him so I can let him know how proud I am of him. He hugs me back.

  “Wow! I guess you enjoyed the game huh?” he says in my ear.

  “Yea, you were awesome! You really played a great game!”

  “Thanks,” he says smiling as we release each other.

  “You did great son,” his dad says, shaking his hand and giving him a hug.

  “Thanks dad,” Onyx responds.

  “You were awesome honey,” his mom says.

  “Thanks. Hello Mrs. Landry. Thanks for bringing Starr to watch me play,” Onyx tells my mom.

  “You are welcome Onyx. You really played a great game out there. You have a bright future ahead of you if you keep this up,” my mom gushes.

  “Thanks Mrs. Landry,” he says.

  “Who’s your friend son?” his dad asks.

  “Oh, this is Mandy. She’s captain of the cheerleading squad,” Onyx says.

  “It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell. You have a very talented son right here,” Mandy says.

  I look at him with a questioning gaze, then look at her and roll my eyes.

  “Thank you, we are very proud of him. Captain of the cheerleading squad huh? Your parents must be equally proud of you because you were awesome out there,” Mrs. Maxwell says.

  “Yea, they are and thank you.”

  “So, mom and dad, Mandy invited me to go eat pizza with her and her family. Can I go?” Onyx asks.

  “Which pizza place are y’all going to?” His dad asks.

  “Pizza Hut,” Mandy says.

  “Okay, well sure. But you know that this is a school night so you need to be home before ten,” his mom responds.

  “Okay, I will.”

  “Well, you kids have fun,” Mr. Maxwell says.

  “Thanks guys,” Onyx says as he and Mandy turn to join her family.

  “She seems like a nice girl,” his mom says.

  “Looks can be deceiving,” I say under my breath.

  “What was that Starr?” my mom asks.

  “Nothing mom. Are you ready to go?”

  “Yes I am. Renee, Thomas, we will see you guys later,” my mom says to Onyx’s parents.

  “Sure thing, Nina.”

  We turn and walk away, heading to the parking lot. Once we make it into the parking lot, we get in the car and head towards home.

  “Mom, can we stop for something to eat?”

  “Sure, what do you wanna get? Burger King? McDonald’s?”

  “How about Pizza Hut?” I ask hoping she won’t pick up on the real reason I suddenly want pizza. But this is my mom we’re talking about, so I should have known better.

  “Pizza Hut? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “About Onyx?”

  “What about Onyx?”

  “Do you like him?”

  “Mom, we are friends, best friends at that. That’s it,” I say, hoping that she will drop it.

  “I know that you guys are friends, but maybe you like him more than friends,” she says.

  “Are you kidding? We are just friends,” I say again.

  “Well, we’ll just stop at Burger King because I need to get home and see about your siblings and your father,” she says.

  “Okay. Maybe some other time,” I say.

  We stop at Burger King, ordering enough food for everyone in the household, then head home. I can’t wait to talk to Onyx and find out what’s going on with him and this Mandy chick. For some reason, I do not like her at all. She just seems really fake to me and I don’t like fake.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Onyx

  Four years later…junior year in high school

  Mandy and I are still together and kicking it. She’s an awesome chick but she has a jealous streak in her too. Sometimes, she and I get into disagreements concerning Starr. I tried telling her on several occasions that Starr is and always will be my best friend and nothing or no one will ever change that. Mandy and I have been together since the end of our seventh grade year, but if she thinks that she can change things between me and Starr, she is sadly mistaken. I’ve told her that on several occasions and it still hasn’t sunk in her thick skull yet. I love her but I already told her that if she keeps forcing me to choose between them, she will lose that battle. Starr and I have been friends for almost ten years and ever since I moved here, she has been the only real person looking out for me. How can I ever think of dissing or dismissing her because some girl I’m dating doesn’t like her?

  I know y’all probably think I’m crazy for making this choice, but that’s who I am. I am loyal to my friends and Starr was the first friend I made when I moved here. I can’t forget that. I knew her years before I even knew Mandy was alive. I have made other friends since then, especially being on the basketball and track team.

  I just don’t get why Mandy is so threatened by my friendship with Starr. You would think after all this time that she would be used to our friendship. And besides, Starr has a boyfriend also so she shouldn’t feel threatened in any way, shape or form.

  She and I are chilling at her crib when I get a text message. I look at my screen and sees it’s from Starr. I immediately open the text. That’s just something I do; when Starr sends a text, I open and answer it when I receive it. She does the same when she receives a text message from me.

  Starr: Wyd?

  Me: Chillin…wassup

  Starr: Wanna shoot some hoops?

  Me: I’m not home

  Starr: OK. Well hmu when u get back

  Me: U know this

  Starr:

  “Why is she always texting you?” I can feel the tension fill the room as soon as the question escapes Mandy’s lips. It’s like a fog in here all of a sudden. I have been thinking that maybe she and I may not belong together. If she can’t get rid of her insecurities, we shouldn’t be together.

  So, when she asks the question, the first thing that pops in my mind is, Oh shit! Here we go again.

  “Aww man! Why do we always have to go through this shit? I already explained shit to you from day one. You knew way back in seventh grade when you wanted to “be friends” that Starr and I were best friends. I just don’t understand why you insist on making this shit more difficult than it is,” I tell her.

  “I’m just asking. It just seems like every time we’re together, she texts you. Why doesn’t she do that when you aren’t here?” She asks looking pissed off.

  “She does. If she has something to ask me or speak to me about, it shouldn’t matter when she messages me. She knows that you and I are a couple and you know that she has a boyfriend too. So what’s the damn problem? Why are you so threatened by her when you know we’re just friends?” I ask.

  “Are you just friends Onyx?”

  “Ain’t that what I just said?”

  Man, she wears me out with this shit. Same shit, every single day. I’m starting to think that this shit between us has run its fucking course. I mean, how can she still be this insecure after four years? Four years we been in this relationship and she still worried about my friendship with Starr. If we are going to continue this way, maybe we should just end things right now.

  “Look, I need to know how much longer we are going to go through thi
s shit? I mean, after four fuckin’ years, you would think that you know your place. But we are still going through this same bullshit and I’m tired, If you can’t or won’t change, and you’re always going to be insecure about where you stand, we’re done,” I tell her.

  “What do you mean we’re done?”

  “I mean, I can’t take it anymore with you and I’m done,” I repeat.

  “You’re serious right now?”

  “Hell yea, I’m serious. So tell me, how much longer you gon’ do this lil song and dance,” I ask again.

  “That depends. How much longer am I gonna come second with you?” She asks with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “You are not second with me. You come first but you can’t seem to get that shit through your head. Starr is my friend, my best friend and the fact that I have to keep telling you that every five minutes makes no damn sense. You’re a pretty smart girl and you usually catch on pretty quick too. It’s almost like you drank some slow juice or something,” I tell her.

  “You say you love me but it’s something about the way you look at her that makes me think you have feelings for her. And I see the way she looks at you so I know she has feelings for you. How can I compete with that?”

  “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that we’re friends and that’s it, nothing more, nothing less. We have never been more than what we’ve always been, best friends. I really don’t know what else to tell you. Whatever demons you’re battling concerning Starr and I, that’s something you have to deal with?” She is trying to make it seem like Starr and I have been doing some shit behind her back. Totally not true. We respect each other too much to ever cross that line. Not to mention, we are both involved; well at least I was.

  “This is not in my head and I resent you for saying that it is. I see the two of you together and you look like a couple. That makes me feel like I don’t even belong; like I’m not your girlfriend and she is,” she says with tears in her eyes.

  “I can’t make you feel some kind of way if you don’t. If you think something is going on between us after I have been telling you there isn’t, what do you want me to do? Maybe we don’t belong together anymore and it’s time for us to go our separate ways,” I say.