Cool Like That

by Nikki Carter

  Melody nods. “And what do we know? You’re the one with the two hottest boys in the program on lock. I don’t know how you pulled that off.”

  “I wouldn’t say that Rashad is on lock,” Sienna says.

  Here she goes throwing shade again. I don’t know about having him on lock, but I know he’s digging me.

  “What are you saying?”

  “Nothing.”

  Right. I didn’t think so. This is a prime opportunity for me to use my new cardinal rule—let my haters be my motivators!

  “Speaking of Rashad…”

  He’s walking toward our table, alone, looking fine as ever. He’s got his locs tied back in a scarf that matches his short-sleeved, button-down shirt. I’m telling you this boy looks like he stepped out of a Sean John catalog. He’s got the swagger game on lock.

  “Ladies,” he says as he takes the empty seat at our table.

  “Hey, Rashad. Where have you been all weekend? You’ve been ghost,” Sienna says.

  He shrugs. “Been hanging out with some friends of mine in Brooklyn. What y’all been up to?”

  “Saw the Statue of Liberty today,” I reply. “It was off the chain.”

  He grins. “I’ve been meaning to take you for a walk in Battery Park. We can go next week because I want to show you the World Trade Center site.”

  “What’s up with all the sightseeing dates, Rashad?” Sienna asks. “Don’t you do parties?”

  “Why, Sienna? Are you inviting me to one?”

  “Yes. Next weekend we’re going to a huge party at the Oasis. Jay-Z is supposed to be there.”

  Why is she bringing up this party to Rashad? She already knows I’m gonna be rolling with Ricky that night. This is just hateration to infinity. I’m starting to think she’s my competition and not some other random girl.

  “Wow, Jay-Z, huh? I’ll go if Gia is gonna be my date. I can’t roll up in a party like that without a beautiful girl on my arm.”

  Crap! How do I answer this without messing up everything in my neat little triangle? I could strangle Sienna because I know she knew exactly what she was doing. I cannot stand her right now. “I told Ricky I was gonna roll with him that night, Rashad. We’re making up some dance moves for the party.”

  Rashad lifts his eyebrows in surprise. “Dance moves? Wow. I didn’t see that one coming.”

  I can’t really read his reaction. He looks surprised but not disappointed that I would be making up dance moves. Maybe he’s just stunned that I can’t be his date for the party.

  “You can take me,” Melody says. “My boyfriend isn’t here, and I don’t want to show up alone either.”

  “That’ll be cool, if Gia is okay with it,” Rashad says.

  I couldn’t wipe this smile off my face if I wanted to.

  “Of course I don’t mind. As long as you’re not trying to hook up with her!”

  “Look at you, Princess. Making demands. You trying to be my wifey?”

  This wifey phenomenon is something I don’t fully understand. Does wifey mean I’m the number-one girlfriend or the girlfriend who hooks up? I don’t know. And because I don’t know, I cannot agree to such a thing.

  “Wifey? Hmm…I don’t know about that,” I reply.

  Rashad chuckles. “I love when you play hard, Gia.”

  “Thank you.” That was a compliment, right?

  Sienna looks completely heated! Why is she mad that Rashad is over here at this table openly digging me? I wonder if there is some history there that someone isn’t telling me.

  “So, Gia, I didn’t come over here to talk about parties. I came to invite you to church tomorrow.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. A friend of mine dances at the Allen Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens. They’re doing this huge production tomorrow, and I thought you’d like it.”

  Sienna frowns. “Jamaica is far from here, Rashad.”

  “We’ll have to take two trains and a bus,” Rashad explains. “You up for the adventure, Princess?”

  “Sure! What time do we leave in the morning?”

  “The last service starts at eleven fifteen, so we probably need to leave around nine thirty. You don’t have to get really dressed up either.”

  Sienna pouts. “Rashad, why didn’t you invite us to church too?”

  “Nobody really needs to be invited to church, Sienna. It’s open to the public. But I didn’t ask you, because you usually go out kicking it on Saturday. I didn’t know you’d be up in the morning.”

  “I can get up,” Sienna says.

  “Well, then, I’ll see you in the morning.” Rashad runs one hand over my braids and adds, “Catch you later, Gia.”

  All three of us watch as Rashad walks away. Melody immediately resumes eating her dinner, but Sienna gazes after Rashad for a while. Yeah, somebody needs to tell me something because her interest in Rashad is not just in passing. She’s digging him.

  Sienna rolls her eyes at me. “What is it about you? You’re not that fly.”

  “Why are you hating on me when you’re kicking it with a recording artist?”

  “Girl, bye. Nobody is hating on you. I do not have to hate.”

  “So you telling Rashad that I was going to the party with Ricky wasn’t hating?”

  Sienna looks me up and down. “No. That was the truth. He needs to know what he’s working with.”

  “Rashad and I aren’t exclusive, and I’m not his wifey. If you want to audition for the role, be my guest.”

  “Whatever. Rashad can’t do anything for me. He’s too broke and too immature.”

  It’s funny. She has so much negativity to say about him behind his back, but she’s riding hard when he’s present. This is why I don’t fool with girls too much. Me no likey the drama. No, ma’am, I do not.

  So why is it that every time I look up, I’m right smack in the middle of drama?

  11

  I feel like all these boy shenanigans are getting the best of me. I never do this, but I’m calling my mom because I really need to hear something that doesn’t come from another teenager. Real talk: our advice is really not all that good.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hey, Gia. How is New York?”

  “Fun. I’ve seen Canal Street and Chinatown, and today we went to see the Statue of Liberty.”

  My mother laughs. “And what about your classes?”

  “My creative writing teacher is really cool. She made the sightseeing part of my assignment. I have to write journal entries on what I see.”

  “Well, that sounds like a lot of fun, so why do you sound so sad?”

  “Mom, is it okay to like more than one boy? I’m asking because my friend is in this kinda triangle. She’s known the first guy for a really long time, and there’s a new boy who’s really cool too. Does it make her not a good girl if she likes both boys?”

  “Is your friend cool with you telling me her business?” my mother asks. There’s a hint of a smile in her tone, like she knows I’m talking about me. She’ll just have to guess because I’m definitely not coming out and telling.

  “Oh, she asked me to ask you.”

  “Well, I think it’s okay for a girl to have a crush on more than one boy, but when it’s time to be serious, it should be with only one.”

  “But what if I’m—I mean, she’s—not ready to be serious yet?”

  “Then you—I mean, she—should not feel pressured to be serious. She’s got her entire life ahead of her to be in a relationship, and I’m sure she has college and her studies to think about.”

  “But how does she keep from hurting the first boy’s feelings?” I ask.

  “The boy she’s known for a really long time? Sometimes people’s feelings get hurt whether we mean for that to happen or not. I think she should just let her old friend know the new one is not coming to replace him and that there’s room enough in her heart for her to like both of them.”

  “Okay.”

  My mother clears her throat. Oh, no, she’s about
to go in with the mom advice. “Gia, you aren’t up there hooking up, are you?”

  I almost laugh at my mother using slang. She usually doesn’t, but I know she can’t bring herself to say what she means without using slang. Not on the topic of hooking up.

  “No, Mom! I’m not doing anything like that. I’m just hanging out with friends. Ricky and I are meeting a lot of cool, new people, but I miss Kevin, Hope, and even Candy.”

  “They miss you and Ricky too. Sometimes Kevin just comes over here and watches television all day with Candy. It’s like he’s wishing you’d come home any day. I sure hate that his grandparents didn’t let him go to New York.”

  “Well, if Kevin had come, Ricky wouldn’t be here, so either way, someone would’ve been missing someone.”

  “You’re right. But I sure would feel a lot better if Kevin were up there in New York rather than Ricky.”

  “What? Why, Mom? Ricky is my best friend.”

  “Mmm-hmm. I know all about this best-friend stuff. Ricky’s mama and I talked, and you two are more than best friends.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Gia, don’t make me come up there. I’m not playing. I love Ricky, but I will knock him out with a two-piece if I hear he’s trying to get you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “Mom, Ricky is not like that at all.”

  “All right. Well, I’m gonna get off this phone. Candy asked me to make her and Kevin some caramel popcorn for their movie marathon.”

  When will Candy learn that my mother is not capable of making anything delicious come out of the kitchen? I’ve seen her do inhumane things to hot dogs and turn macaroni and cheese out of the box into unrecognizable goo. “Okay, Mom.”

  “Oh, and I think you should stick with Ricky, honey. I’m sure the new boy is nice and probably handsome, but Ricky knows you through the good, bad, and ugly. Don’t throw all that away.”

  I gulp. “Mom…”

  “You don’t have to answer me, Gia. I know what it is. I’m glad you called me. Love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom.”

  Can I just say that now I’m more confused than ever? Of course my mom wants me to kick Rashad to the curb. She doesn’t know him. She knows and loves Ricky, so her opinion is biased.

  Argh!

  It looks like I’m going to have to figure out this one on my own.

  “Speak.”

  “Hey, Gia. It’s me, Candy.”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to call me. What’s up with you and Kev?”

  I can hear through the phone Candy suck her teeth. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I’m doing, and how things are going at home?”

  I answer her questions with silence. She knows what it is.

  “Gia, you get on my nerves! Ugh!”

  “Are you gonna answer my question or not? If not, I’ve got some bidness I can be taking care of right now.”

  Candy laughs. “What bidness, Gia? You know you don’t have any bidness!”

  “Pressing the “end” button on my phone in four…three…two—”

  “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you about Kevin.”

  “Spill.”

  “So, I’ve been thinking he’s kinda cute.”

  “This is not news, Candy.”

  “Dang! Can you let me finish?”

  “You may continue.”

  “Anyway, since you and Ricky have been gone, I’ve been spending time with him, and he’s not just cute—he’s cool as what too.”

  “Of course he is. He’s been one of my besties for-like-ever, so how can he not be cool?”

  “I know, so speaking of the besties thing…do you have a problem with me crushing on Kevin? I know you had a little crush on him….”

  “No ma’am.”

  “No ma’am what? You don’t want me kicking with Kevin? I totally understand.”

  I close my eyes tightly and shake my head. I feel a foolishness headache coming on. “No, Candy. Stop playing. I have never had a crush on Kevin. That was him lovin’ me. Don’t get it twisted.”

  “So are you saying you don’t care if we kick it?” Candy asks.

  Is that impatience I hear in her tone? She’s got a lot of nerve, since she’s the one calling me with ridiculousness. The nerve.

  “I don’t care, but what about the ’rents? Gwen is one hundred percent against teen dating, and your dad is even worse.”

  Candy chuckles. “You don’t have to worry about that part. I got this.”

  I roll my eyes even though Candy can’t see me. “The last time you tried to scam Gwen, you ended up wearing clown clothes to school.”

  “She won’t suspect a thing.”

  “Isn’t that the same thing Latavia said when she borrowed Beyoncé’s weave glue? You see where she is now.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Gia, shut up. I can’t even believe I asked you about any of this.”

  No, this chick did not press end on me. I was not done talking. See, I was gonna warn her to duck when Kevin says words that start with the letter P, because he will straight torpedo you with a spit bomb to the eye. But it’s whatever!

  12

  Sienna makes good on her promise to be up in the morning for church services. It looks like she’s told the entire crew too because Xavier, Sushil, Ricky, Melody, and Sienna’s roommate, Janine, are all standing with me in the lobby waiting on Rashad. Her hating is out of control. She knows that this is supposed to be a me-and-Rashad thing, and she’s invited half the program.

  Rashad laughs out loud when he finally joins us. “Group outing, huh?”

  I shrug. “Yep, pretty much.”

  It was my plan to keep my activities with Ricky and Rashad separate for the rest of the summer. After hanging out all day at the Statue of Liberty with Ricky and thinking about senior year, I know I’m feeling him just as strong as ever.

  These are two worlds that are not supposed to meet!

  “Let’s go then,” Rashad says.

  He sounds somewhat irritated, but the way I see it, this is all his fault. If he didn’t want anyone tagging along, he shouldn’t have asked me to go in front of them. He’s the one who put everyone in our business.

  On the subway, I choose a safe seat between Melody and Xavier. I want to sit next to Rashad, but I wouldn’t dare throw that in Ricky’s face.

  “So, Ricky, Gia tells me you play football at your school back home,” Rashad says.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “What position do you play?”

  “QB one.”

  Rashad laughs. “Sorry, I don’t speak jock. What’s that?”

  “I’m the starting quarterback.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Ricky narrows his eyes. “Gia tells me you like poetry.”

  “Yes, I do. Spoken word too.”

  “Sorry, I don’t speak lame,” Ricky says.

  I scoot to the edge of my seat, ready to leap between them if they go to blows. Some girls like to see guys fighting over them. I’m not one of those girls.

  “Seriously?” Sienna asks. “Y’all beefing over Gia? For real?”

  Why does this girl insist on being a hater?

  “I’m not beefing with anyone,” Rashad says. “But I can’t speak for Ricky.”

  “We’re on our way to church, y’all,” I say to interrupt the madness. “Let’s think about the goodness of the Lord and not drama!”

  I guess I put the mama mack down on everybody because for the rest of the ride everyone is pretty much silent. It’s not helping cut down on the mean mugging, but, still, it’s better than them flexing on one another.

  We step off the 1 train at Times Square to catch the E train that takes us over to Jamaica. Sienna stumbles off the train and clutches her midsection as soon as she steps onto the platform.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  She shakes her head and then slaps her hands over her mouth and runs to a garbage can. She barely makes it befor
e she spews out what looks like an entire day’s worth of food. I close my eyes because I cannot see vomit without getting sick to my stomach.

  “Maybe we need to go back to the dorm,” Janine says.

  “You don’t look so good at all.”

  Sienna shakes her head. “I’m fine. I just need some water.”

  “And gum,” Melody says.

  I’m glad somebody said it because I’m not rolling with her if she’s got a serious case of dragon breath. No, no, and no.

  Rashad says, “If you’re sick, you should go back and lie down. We’ve got a long way to go still. What if you get sick again, and on the train? You won’t be able to change clothes. Ricky, why don’t you be a gentleman and see the girls back to the dorm?”

  Ooo! Rashad is dead wrong for that. I do not endorse, in any way, shape, or form, Rashad trying to clown Ricky on the sly. It is the opposite of cool.

  “I’ll take them back,” Sushil says, saving Ricky from responding. “Ricky and Gia haven’t been in the city long enough to be leading the pack on the subway.”

  Rashad nods, rolls his eyes, and then walks toward the E train that’s coming. I guess we’re supposed to follow him and his ego over to board the train. This is not a good look on Rashad. I don’t like hater Rashad.

  But let’s ponder for a moment what’s going on with Sienna. She must have gone out last night and had too much to drink yet again. I don’t understand why getting completely wasted is a fun thing for her. The girl has got some serious issues.

  This train, for some reason, is more crowded than the first one, and there really isn’t a choice of seats. If I want to sit down, it has to be next to Rashad, so I squeeze in next to him and an elderly woman.

  “Hey, Princess,” Rashad says.

  “Don’t you ‘Hey, Princess’ me,” I fuss. “You don’t have to be like that toward Ricky. He’s my best friend, you know.”

  “Be like what? I don’t care if he’s your best friend. He’s in my way. I’m trying to be with you, Gia. Do you not get that?”

  “Be with me? You’re not even gonna see me after the summer.”

  “Who says?”

  “I’m going back to Cleveland, and you’re going back to Atlanta.”