That's What's Up!

by Paula Chase

  As if reading her mind, he said, “But your moms and pops not planning to crash the beach with us, are they?”

  Mina rolled her eyes at the thought. She could seriously see her parents trying. But they were old pros at cheer events. Mina knew they’d gladly find other things to do rather than have their ears pierced by the girls’ constant, rowdy giggling and multi-group conversations.

  “Nope,” Mina answered, a smile in her voice and on her face. “You’ll have me all to yourself on beach night.”

  Doubts

  “S.O.S. please someone help me.”

  —Rihanna, “S.O.S.”

  Later that afternoon, Mina turned around in the passenger seat to look Michael in the eye. Only half-teasing, she asked, “So remind me again why you’re ditching on my first Nationals as a Blue Devil?”

  His dark chocolate face pleaded with her to drop this, not to have this conversation with Brian in the car. Mina got the message loud and clear, but wasn’t having it. Torn between understanding that Mike had his own thing, and totally irked that he’d choose Nationalsweekend to do it, had her feeling especially pouty. She pressed when there was no immediate answer. “Seriously, Mike, you know I need all you guys there giving me that good juju.”

  “I’m breaking the karmic chain?” Michael grinned.

  “Why yes, in fact you are,” Mina said primly, but she couldn’t keep a straight face. She turned sideways in the seat, tucking her legs beneath her so she could see into the back of Brian’s Explorer, where Michael sat directly behind her. Her voice lost its pouty bossiness as she pleaded, “You know I would never ask you to choose between your fashion gig and me ...”

  “Except you are,” Brian said. He took one hand off the wheel for a hot second, so Michael could lean forward and give him a pound. His large eyes narrowed as he gazed Mina’s way, smiling slyly.

  She gave his arm a light shove then turned down the Go-Go music, which Brian kept on constant blast.

  “No, I’m not.” She squinted in concentration, turning back to Michael. “For real, Mike, I’m not asking you to choose. But ... I mean, I just really want you there.”

  “Diva, you know Brian and JZ gon’ hold it down for you,” Michael said. “And you can call me fifty-eleven times a day to updateme if you want. I swear I won’t screen your calls.”

  He and Brian laughed good at that one.

  Mina turned front again, letting it go. She wasn’t going to win this one.

  “The turn right here, son?” Brian asked, looking in his rearview at Michael’s nodding head.

  “Yeah, just on your left where that big marquee is.” Michael pointed. “I appreciate you dropping me off, kid.”

  “No problem.” Brian glanced over at the silent Mina. He poked her side, pushed her knee and plucked at her to tease her out of her mood. “Man, you know the drama I would have caught if I’d said no.”

  “You could have said no. It wouldn’t have mattered to me,” Mina huffed. Hearing the bratty tone of her own voice, she peeked back over the seat, in time to see a flash of hurt on Michael’s face. She smiled sheepishly. “Alright, so I’m acting like Jessica, right?” she said, referencing Jess instead of using the word “bitch.” To her they were often one and the same. She got the chuckle she wanted from Michael. “My bad.” She tapped his knee lightly with her fist. “I just wanted you there. But I know it’s a big deal that you’re gonna be working on costumes for The Players.”

  “Well, I let you slide this time with that ’tude. I don’t want to embarrass you in front of Brian,” Michael said.

  But it wasn’t his usual acid-tongued response. They’d been friends long enough to read one another’s thoughts. Mina suspected Michael felt more and more like the fifth wheel now that she and Brian were together so often. If it weren’t the whole clique hanging out, and even sometimes when it was, Michael made himself busy with Bay Dra-Da or spending time with Rob, a dancer with The Players.

  She hadn’t meant to make Michael feel bad about not going. She made up for it with gossip. “Ooh, speaking of Jessica, you won’t believethis,” Mina said. She regaled Michael and Brian with the story of Jessica temporarily squashing their beef, sharing both her skepticismand weary relief.

  “I wouldn’t trust that.” Michael shook his head. “You know how she is.”

  “I think y’all being hard on ol’ girl,” Brian said. “She seems alrightto me.”

  “Pssh.” Mina rolled her eyes. “Okay, new boy. You have no idea.” She struggled to put her pool of thoughts on Jess into a simple sentence,but only came back with, “Jessica wouldn’t know friendly if it smacked her in the face.”

  “Alright, yeah she’s definitely a diva. And I can see she’s mad bossy. But ...” Brian shrugged. “Twins are tight. So I can see her doing this for her sister.You sound a little paranoid.” He snickered. “You act like she out to get you.”

  “She is,” Mina said. She looked to Michael, her eyes prompting him to agree.A twinge of disappointment pinched her when Michael’s face remained neutral and he shrugged. She slid slowly back into her seat, facing front once more.

  She’d wanted, needed really, Michael to set her mind at ease. If not agree with her, maybe give some advice on how to steer through this truce without getting burned. But his silence spoke volumes. She’d hurt his feelings by snapping on him in front of Brian. They could do that when it was just the two of them—or if it was a true joking diss session with everyone around—but Mina had been genuinelysnotty about it.

  It wasn’t cool and she knew it.

  “Well, I don’t know about out to get me, but there’s always been bad blood between us,” she muttered finally.

  Michael’s continued silence spoke louder than Brian’s, “You’re paranoid, toughie. Just chill and ride with it.” But Mina tried to take stock in his words, just the same. What else could she do?

  See what my girls think, she suddenly thought to herself, the idea giving her needed comfort.

  Later, she chatted online with Jacinta, Lizzie and Kelly and IM’d with Carla about Spanish homework. Although the worksheet with fifty vocabulary words was getting left in the dust amid the cyber convos, it was getting done ... sort of.

  How in the world did people multitask before the invention of Instant Messaging, Mina wondered.

  She couldn’t imagine trying to do this back in the day, when dialingsomeone up on the telephone was the only way to go. First of all, her mother would come running the second she heard Mina’s chattering. Second, unless you wore an earpiece with a mic, holding the phone between the shoulder and chin was so 1990s.

  She laughed aloud as Carla asked for the answer to number thirty—the same word Mina was having a problem with. Instinctivelyshe looked it up on a free translation site, and keyed in the answer.She cracked up at Carla’s response.

  Imacutie: did u get that frm spanish4dumes?

  BubbliMi: YUP

  Imacutie: I went to another site and got a totally different answer

  “Shoot,” Mina exclaimed. The sites were horribly unreliable. When she’d first discovered them she’d sworn she’d sail through Spanish with ease. Then Ms. Cortez, her Spanish teacher, had chosen Mina’s paper as an example of how not to translate. And that had been the end of that ... well, that had been the end of using it regularly. She still used it for simple vocab words. And the sites were still, obviously, the worst solution ever for foreign language slackers like her and Carla.

  She responded to Carla and saw that the chat with the clique was getting interesting. The truth was, they could have been debating the merits of paint drying and it would have been more exciting than her homework. She tapped off a quick “l8r” to Carla, barely giving her a chance to get in her own goodbye, before pushing the homework aside and placing herself comfortably in the middle of the ongoing chat.

  She muted the loud ringing of each IM to preempt any parental intervention.

  Liz-e-O: so r u guys down 4 hooking up over break? Pls say

&nbs
p; yes. I cannot sit home w/the ‘rents for 3 days!

  CinnyBon: mos def’ I don’t see whas the big deal about the

  Xtreme anyway

  K-Lo: I’m in

  Mina jumped right in defending the event.

  BubbliMi: don’t get it twisted the Xtreme is THE biggest cheer event in MD but I think the hype is cuz its during spring break. Been years since that happened.

  CinnyBon: where u been Princess?!

  BubbliMi: Spanish HW. Sry I had 2 keep dippin out

  Liz-e-O: hello this is about the Losers NOT going to Freak Fest err ... I mean the Xtreme LOL

  BubbliMi: not 2 rub it in ... but I think it’s definitely gonna be some wildin’ out

  CinnyBon: Lizzie u gon’ stop all that loser talk or we gon’ throw some bows up in here.

  Liz-e-O: ;-)

  K-Lo: we could get 2gether at my place. Grand wouldn’t mind CinnyBon: hanging out at the mansion again? So boring. j/k

  Mina snickered. They never tired of chilling at Kelly’s big house with the theater room, tennis courts, swimming pool and music studio.With so much to do, right there, it was the ideal sleepover spot and not just because Kelly lived in the most exclusive nabe in Del Rio Bay. Kelly’s grandmother welcomed them with open arms. She was so excited that Kelly had such a nice group of friends, Mina suspectedthe girls could stay over every weekend and Mrs. Lopez would be swazy with it.

  Every now and then they’d walk to the country club for “teen” night or the park located in the center of the neighborhood and bump into Jessica and Mari-Beth, who lived one street down from Kelly. There were always a few tense, awkward minutes as the girls teetered on the edge of indecision—say hello or ignore one another—beforeMari-Beth said something snide and uncalled for, breaking the ice and keeping the world from spinning off its axis, which she seemed to think would happen if she wasn’t a snot.

  Which reminded Mina. She brought the girls up to speed on her latest encounter with Jessica. Her friends wasted no time giving their .02.

  CinnyBon: eeent I wouldn’t trust that!

  Liz-e-O: Ok whas “eent”?

  BubbliMi: 4 real

  CinnyBon: like a buzzer, u know wrong answer. Mina leave that madness alone. Go on ignoring Jess and b about ur business. 4 real

  K-Lo: Mayb she’s sincere Cin. I believe Jess would do it for Sara. They’re twins and close.

  Mina expected that from Kelly. She was the only person Mina knew, other than herself, who attempted to make lemonade out of any lemons thrown at her.

  Liz-e-O: well as close as anyone can b 2 Jess w/o getting burnt to a crisp by her heat-seeking cruelty

  BubbliMi: ROFL I know thas right!

  CinnyBon: w/e. y’all 2 new 4 me ... always so ... hopeful Liz-e-O: umm ... and that’s bad cuz?

  BubbliMi: let’s not even get started. I know how Jess is but I’ll take her 4 her word. Moving on! Cinny I thought u were go-n home this weekend?

  CinnyBon: not if I can help it

  K-Lo: Y? sounds like u and Raheem been getting along better

  Liz-e-O: says who?

  CinnyBon: Somebody done told u wrong!

  BubbliMi: Kell holding back on us. U got scoop which means u been talking 2 Angel. Y’all back on again?

  K-Lo: sort of

  CinnyBon: that must mean yes and instead of handling y’all own biz u talking about mine

  BubbliMi: r u 2 back Cinny? Nothing wrong w/that?

  Mina guessed. Even though Kelly and Angel’s should we date/shouldn’t we date had gone on longer than their actual thirty-day relationship, and Jacinta was up and down about Raheem more than an elevator, she was determined to be supportive of her friends’ BF decisions. They were of hers.

  CinnyBon: we’re not back 2gether

  K-Lo: u mean officially?

  CinnyBon: K jus say what u know cuz these questions r on my last nerve!

  Liz-e-O: u’ve been called 2 the mat K-Lo

  BubbliMi: dish! Dish!

  K-Lo: LOL Angel said when ur home u hang out w/them and that sometimes u and Raheem ::ahem:: hang out alone Liz-e-O: ::smooches::

  CinnyBon: n that = us being back 2gether how?

  Liz-e-O: umm ... cuz ur not just hooking up w/any ol’ body right?

  CinnyBon: no but ... look it’s a long story. We not back 2gether. Real talk!

  Mina jumped in and changed the subject. She could practically see Jacinta’s face—eyebrows mashed together in a V, lips pursed and neck rolling as she typed.

  BubbliMi: Kel, when were u gonna tell us about u and Angel? CinnyBon: yeah little Miss Can’t-Handle-The-Hustle K-Lo: I was going 2 tell u guys. It just happened Saturday. But Angel’s giving up hustling so we’re gonna start from scratch BubbliMi: WHAT?!

  CinnyBon: yeah right.

  Liz-e-O: is he serious abt it?

  K-Lo: well I think he’s serious

  CinnyBon: no harm Kell but u know a playa will say anything 2 get w/u

  BubbliMi: if he’s serious thas cool K!

  Liz-e-O: mayb u’ll be the 1st to turn a bad boy good CinnyBon: y’all blve him?! Again—Y’all 2 new 4 me LOL BubbliMi: Cinny come on he doin it 4 luv <3 <3 Yay luv

  K-Lo: LOL

  Liz-e-O: Yay luv?! see even I’m not that new, Cinny.

  CinnyBon: I’ll belve it when I see it thas all I’m sayin

  K-Lo: guess we should say the same ‘bout u and Raheem being over

  Liz-E-O: Ouch Cinny she told u

  BubbliMi: Kelly—1 Cinny—1 Match point

  CinnyBon: w/e boogee princesses we hung out 2 or 3 times no big deal. We still friends. That’s all!

  BubbliMi: friends w/benes

  Liz-e-O: Like u and JZ b/coming friends? ::smooches:: CinnyBon: now there u go. U worse than Mina. I jus like flirting w/JZ and his fine azz

  BubbliMi: um-hmmm ...

  CinnyBon: y’all r seriously up in my biz. w/friends like u I don’t need enemies fo’ sho’

  BubbliMi: its cuz we luv u. Yay luv! LOL

  Liz-e-O: ok don’t u have Spanish hw 2 do? j/k BubbliMi: actually I do. L8r dudettes

  Reluctantly, Mina exited the chat and let the Spanish vocabulary words roll off her tongue in hopes that saying them aloud would help her understand their meaning.

  “Just yes or no ... do you wanna go?”

  “Forget yesterday, we’ll make the great escape.”

  —Boys Like Girls, “The Great Escape”

  The chat marched on without Mina for another half hour, talk bouncing between a possible sleepover at Kelly’s and Kelly and Angel’s second attempt at the boyfriend/girlfriend thing, before endingin a loose plan, but strong vow, to make this the “least-suckiest-spring-break-ever-even-though-we’re-the-only-ones-not-going-to -the-Extreme.”

  After signing off Jacinta fumed.

  She was going to get Angel. Him and his big mouth, telling Kelly about her and Raheem.

  It wasn’t that she was hiding her weekends with Raheem from the girls ... okay, she was. But in her defense, she’d been struggling from day one to keep her two worlds from colliding. Being in The Cove wasn’t like being in The Woods. She felt right at home in both neighborhoods. But sometimes clicking over from one mind-set to another was unsettling, like traveling from the earth to the moon’s zero gravity.

  After all the advice she gave her friends about life, love and the pursuit of a decent boyfriend, she’d look like a hypocrite, not to mention weak, to go back with Raheem after he’d shamed her by kissing another girl the night of the party while she was only a few feet away.

  That’s exactly why she wasn’t going home over spring break. She’d decided for sure as soon as her father’s Navigator crossed the DRB Bridge Sunday morning.

  Fridays and Saturdays were hard enough. She wasn’t about to spend four days at home, tempted to race out of the house each time Angel called. She knew exactly where she wanted to be during break—O.C. And not because of the cheer competition either.

  The idea had come to her on Sunday afternoon
when Mina hyped over JZ’s flirting. Jacinta laughed aloud at the thought of Mina’s nagging.Sometimes she and JZ flirted just to set her off. Jacinta was surprisedMina hadn’t figured that out yet.

  It was all in fun.

  JZ wasn’t interested in doing the exclusive thing with anyone. And Jacinta wasn’t looking for a new boyfriend. They made the perfectflirt match. She liked hanging out with him because, ironically, he reminded her a little of Raheem, only without the drama.

  The more Jacinta thought about trekking down to O.C. with the guys, the more it made sense.

  It would be the perfect distraction. A whole weekend away, no Raheem, no slipping back. It’s just what she needed to prove, once and for all, that she and Raheem were really over.

  All she had to do was convince Lizzie and Kelly to roll with her. Kelly would be easy. Since going out with Angel, Kelly was down for more than people might assume from someone so quiet.

  Lizzie’s going to be the tough one, Jacinta thought. She hopped into bed knowing exactly how to get Lizzie on board.

  The next afternoon, she texted Lizzie and waited by the auditorium until she emerged. As she expected, Lizzie balked at the idea.

  “Come on, Lizzie,” Jacinta said, her voice coming as close to pleadingas it ever got. “Do you really feel like sitting home doing nothing the whole break?” Her eyes flashed skepticism in her honey brown face.

  “I thought we were just going to hang at Kelly’s,” Lizzie said. She scanned the empty hall nervously, as if expecting someone to pop their scheming right then and there.

  Cinny immediately pounced, anticipating Lizzie’s reluctance. “Well, change of plans.” She pulled Lizzie into the dark auditorium, where only minutes before Lizzie had been helping to pack away props and costumes.