Chasing Romeo

by A. J. Byrd

  My boo glances up. Romeo? His name is Romeo? I wonder if I can be his Juliet.

  “Good morning,” he says warmly, and I continue to melt.

  I didn’t miss the principal’s quick wink. What the heck is all that about? Surely she’s not one of those cougar-types who prey on underage teenage boys.

  Gross.

  Principal Vincent’s gaze swings in our direction. “Are all these ladies waiting for me?”

  Callaway bobs her head while she continues to peck away on the computer. “First group toward the bulletin board were caught fighting at a school bus stop.” She then nods toward the beautifully clad fashionistas across from us. “The others were caught allegedly—” she stops to make air quotes “—‘smoking’ in the girls’ bathroom.”

  The principal lets out a long breath like we are the last things she feels like dealing with right now. Maybe getting expelled is in the cards.

  Just great! My older sister, Deborah, is going to kick my ass when I get home. For the past three years she has been me and my nine-year-old sister McKenya’s legal guardian, even though most times she’s ill-equipped for the job. It’s either that or foster care. So far she’s the lesser of two evils. But just barely.

  “All right,” she says waving for us to stand. “I’ll see you young ladies first.”

  Anjenai is the first to jump to her feet. I’m next after cramming my magazine back into my backpack. Tyler looks as though she’s preparing to remain parked in her seat.

  “Come on,” I hiss. “You got us into this mess.”

  She glares at me, but she finally climbs out of her seat. As we walk behind the registration desk, I get another peek at Romeo and mentally beg him to look up again. Unfortunately, I’m still walking and not looking where I’m going, and as a result I smack dead into the wall next to Principal Vincent’s door.

  “Ow!” I drop my backpack and rub my nose.

  “Klutz!” Tyler laughs and then clamps a hand across her mouth.

  All the kids in the office bust out laughing. I’m horrified and quickly bend down and pick up my backpack.

  “Are you all right?”

  I glance up, stunned to see him talking to me. I bite down on my gum but hit my tongue instead. “Ouch!”

  Romeo lifts his eyebrows, no doubt wondering if I ride to school on the short yellow bus.

  “Yeah. I’m all right.” I climb back onto my feet and smile. I stand there staring, waiting. For what, I don’t know.

  “Will you go already?” Tyler says, shoving me toward the principal’s office.

  I glare at her for a second and then shift my attention back to the counter. Romeo is gone. “Thanks a lot, Tyler.”

  “What?”

  I stomp off. Tyler’s my girl and all, but sometimes she can be so clueless.

  However the moment I enter the principal’s office there’s a drastic change in mood.

  “Please shut the door behind you and then have a seat,” the principal tells Tyler since she’s bringing up the rear.

  I sit next to Anjenai and can feel the nervousness radiate off her in waves. I completely understand. Neither one of us wants or deserves to be here.

  The principal pulls out her chair and gracefully eases into it while placing her satchel on the floor. “Okay,” she says, exhaling another deep breath. “Why don’t we start off with your names?” She picks up a pen.

  We each give our names and watch her as she writes them down.

  “And who wants to go first and tell me what happened?” she asks pleasantly.

  We glance at each other, but no one volunteers.

  “I see.” She glances at her watch. “Then maybe I should expel the three of you and be done with it. Is that what you want?”

  We shake our heads but remain silent.

  “All right.” The principal places her pen down and leans back in her chair to take her time to look each of us in the eyes. “Why don’t we start by telling me who threw the first punch?”

  That was easy. “Billie!” we answer simultaneously.

  “And who is this Billie?” she asks, picking up her pen again.

  We clam up and Principal Vincent tosses down the pen and lowers her head for a quick prayer. We are trying her patience and we know it, but suddenly this whole thing has the feel of being snitches. And where we come from that’s one thing you just don’t do.

  There’s a knock on the principal’s door, and she commands whoever it is to “come in,” without looking up.

  When the door opens, a tall black man in an impeccable brown suit enters. I give him a careful once-over, and I’m more than impressed with his dark Hollywood good looks and pro athlete physique for a man of his age—probably late forties.

  “Yes, Mr. Palmer?” Principal Vincent says. I notice how she straightens up in her seat and how her tone changes. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she has the hots for this Palmer dude.

  “Morning, Ms. Vincent. I just came from the nurse’s office. We’re contacting a student’s parents,” he glanced down at his notepad. “A Ms. Wilhelmina Grant. They are going to need to come and take her to the hospital. Apparently she got into some scuffle, and the nurse has determined that her nose is broken.”

  Anjenai groans while Tyler’s face lights up. My girls’ reactions don’t go unnoticed by the principal.

  “I take it that this is our Billie?”

  Palmer glances up at us. His eyes are so dark they’re almost hypnotizing. I could see why older chicks would be into him. Heck, if I was a little older…Nah. I’ll take my hottie Romeo any day of the week.

  Palmer’s interest in us perks up. “Are they Jackson’s newest Girls Fight Club?”

  “Appears that way,” the principal says, crossing her arms. “Not very talkative though. Girls, this is Vice Principal Palmer.” She then went on to introduce us to him and what little she knew of our situation.

  “I don’t see how you can punish us for something that happened off school property!” Tyler finally snaps. She’s probably tired of sitting up in this office.

  I know I am.

  Palmer’s brows shoot up. I can’t tell whether he’s annoyed or amused by Tyler’s smart mouth. I’m a little annoyed myself even though I know Tyler’s need to fight all the time has a lot to do with her mother walking out on her and her dad a couple of years ago. I know she has a lot to work out of her system, but damn. She needs to learn to let stuff go every once in a while.

  Her point is worth taking into consideration. However, Principal Vincent argues that the bus stop is an extension of school property.

  Since when?

  In the end we wind up with Saturday detention and a promised call to our parents or guardians.

  Great. I can hardly wait to hear my sister’s mouth.

  chapter 3

  Tyler Jamison—Tough Chick

  I hate Principal Vincent.

  I hate this school.

  I hate my life.

  The only thing good about this day is that I broke Billie’s nose for talking smack behind my back. At least now people will know that this new girl is not to be messed with.

  Me and the BFFs.

  It’s bad enough the Atlanta school board rezoned everything so instead of attending Riverwood High, like we’ve been planning since the first grade, we now had to come to this boring-ass middle of the road suburban b.s.

  Everybody knows the black kids up in this school are nothing but a bunch of sellouts: walking white, talking white and looking white—like those three girls outside the principal’s office, Phoenix and ’em. The kids over at Riverwood keep it real.

  Here, ain’t nobody bumping music in the hallways or working out to the latest dance moves. All I see is busy-bodies texting on cell phones and jocks actin’ like they rule the world or something.

  By the time I hike my way clear across school for my first period American history class, there’s just fifteen minutes left.

  “Surely, you’re not just now coming into my
class?” Mr. Carson, a nerdy, pencil-thin white man asks from behind his desk when I approach.

  I just shrug. “Better late than never they say.”

  A few kids in earshot laugh.

  Mr. Carson doesn’t. Instead, he just snatches the hall pass from my hand and glances at it. “Ah, coming from the principal’s office. Just lovely. Another troublemaker. Why am I not surprised?”

  “I don’t know. Why aren’t you?”

  More laughter.

  Mr. Carson’s eyes narrow. “Watch yourself, young lady.” He holds my bored gaze a few seconds and then turns to the stack of books behind him and hands me one. “I have assigned seating in this class,” he tells me, opening a black folder. “You’re sitting in the empty desk in the third row behind Ms. Dix. Ms. Dix, can you please raise your hand?”

  One hand shoots up. Einstein fails to also mention that desk behind Ms. Dix is the only empty one available. I didn’t need the visual aid.

  As I march to my chair, Mr. Carson tells me the assignment is on the board. Read chapter one, and do the review questions at the end.

  I just plop into my seat and cross my arms.

  I don’t feel like reading.

  The girl in front of me, a high yellow girl with bright shiny eyes and cheeks so round they look like the size of plums, swivels around in her chair. “Did you get in trouble in the principal’s office?” she whispers.

  I shrug. “Kind of.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Broke a girl’s nose,” I boast, puffing out my chest.

  Instead of turning and cowering away, like I hoped she’d do, the girl’s glossy lips just drop and her eyes brighten. “Don’t tell me you’re the girl who broke Billie Grant’s nose.”

  Good. The news travels fast around here. “She had it coming.”

  “Hell yeah she did.” She leans forward. “I’m Nicole and now one of your biggest fans.”

  Huh? I never had a fan before.

  “Ms. Dix, please turn back around in your seat,” Carson snaps.

  Nicole rolls her eyes and swivels back to face the front of the class but not two minutes later she turns again and whispers. “Looks like you might have another fan.”

  I frown. “Who?”

  She nods her head, and my gaze follows her lead two rows over. It’s that cute boy from the principal’s office Anjenai and Kierra were drooling over. Our eyes connect for just a second before another boy whispers something and draws his attention.

  I blink and turn my head. Damn, he is sort of good looking. But with the long lashes, he may be just a little too pretty boyish for me.

  Maybe.

  “Oooh. You better not let Phoenix Wilder hear about this.”

  I have an instant recall of the name. Surely there aren’t two chicks here with that ridiculous name.

  “Phoenix?”

  The class bell rings.

  Everyone jumps out of their seats like toasted Pop-Tarts in a rush to leave Mr. Carson’s boring ass class.

  “Don’t forget to read chapter two tonight,” he yells above the exiting herd. “There will be a quiz tomorrow.”

  “Damn. They sure don’t waste time passing out homework.”

  “Well, what do you expect?” Nicole says smiling. “We’re high school students now.”

  Is this chick always this damn happy? I grab my backpack and turn from my desk only to crash into a large chest that smells so divine it makes my knees weak. “Hey, watch where you’re going,” I yell, quickly recovering.

  “You were the one walking,” the boy says with an infectious laugh.

  I glance up to see it’s that boy from the principal’s office again.

  “Hi, Romeo,” Nicole says dreamily beside him.

  “Oh, hey.” He spares her a brief glance and then turns his attention back to me. “Hey, is it true you’re the one that broke Billie Grant’s nose?”

  “First of all, my name ain’t ‘hey’ it’s Tyler.”

  Two boys I hadn’t noticed chuckle behind him.

  “Man, I told you those girls from Oak Hill ain’t no joke.”

  I slip my backpack over my shoulder and settle my hands on my hips. “No, we’re not, so stop laughing, peanut head.”

  “Oooh,” peanut head number two coos, covering his laughter with his hand but then quickly flashes a smile.

  Despite my name-calling, the two boys are actually pretty cute. One holds a striking resemblance to the singer Chris Brown while the other could win a Bow Wow–lookalike contest if he was a few inches shorter.

  “Ah, so you are the one,” Mr. Inquisitive says. The longer he stands there, the longer that heavenly scent seduces me.

  “Yeah, so what of it?” I say, wanting this conversation to hurry up and end before I turn into Kierra and start swooning at this guy’s feet.

  “Nothing. I just wanted to shake your hand.” He offers his hand. “My older sister used to hang with Billie and got tangled up in some mess that landed her in juvie. I’m glad to see her finally get what’s coming to her. Had she been a guy, me and my boys would have handled her a long time ago.”

  So what, he was thanking me for my services?

  His hand is still suspended between us and I decide to let it hang. I didn’t bust Billie’s nose for him.

  “I’m Romeo, by the way.”

  “Congratulations,” I say. “Excuse me.” I try to squeeze my way past him. He’s wasted enough of my time.

  “Oh, all right, Ms. Thang,” he says with an open smile.

  I stop and spear him with my best “say what?” glare.

  “I mean, ‘Tyler,’” he corrects himself, still smiling.

  I turn and roll up out of there before those beautiful lips have me smiling back at him.

  “Ohmigod,” Nicole squeals, rushing up behind me. “I can’t believe you just did that. Do you know who he is?”

  “No and I don’t care,” I lie.

  “Then you’re the only girl in this school who doesn’t. He was the biggest star on freshman varsity team last year.”

  Damn. That means he’s a year older than me.

  “Girl, you got skills. Wait until everyone hears how you dissed him like that. Every girl will think you’re crazy.”

  “Look.” I stop in the middle of the hallway. “Let’s get one thing clear. I don’t care what people think about me. I’m my own person, and I do what I want to do. Mr. Romeo can go take a flying leap off a tall building for all I care.”

  “Wow.” Nicole’s eyes widen. “Can we be like best friends or something?”

  I frown and then laugh. “I already have two best friends. I’m not in the market for any more.”

  chapter 4

  Romeo Blackwell—Mr. Football

  Okay. I’ve never been dissed by a girl like that in all my life. What is she—all of five-foot-nothing and packing more attitude than her body can handle? Shoot. Half the girls in this school fall all over themselves if I just say “hi” to them, but she acted as if I was bothering her.

  My boys Chris and Shadiq razzed me quite a bit after Tyler left me standing like a fool in Mr. Carson’s class.

  “Hey, maybe we need to stop by the boys’ room so you can wash the rest of that egg off your face,” Shadiq jokes, pounding me hard on the back.

  “Very funny,” I say, as I finally head out of Mr. Carson’s classroom. When we pour out into the hallway, I see Tyler still talking to Nicole.

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to go over there to crash and burn again.” Chris laughs. “What? Are you a glutton for punishment today?”

  “I didn’t crash and burn,” I say, irritated. “I wasn’t trying to hit on her.”

  “Yeah. Whatever, man.” Shadiq gives me another pound. “I gotta head out. Catch you later.”

  “Me, too. I have biology over in the next building. See you at lunch,” Chris adds.

  I nod and rush to my locker. I’m now pretty much pressed for time. This year my locker is on the first floor, and when I get ther
e, the lock combination I was given doesn’t work. After the fourth try I hit it out of frustration, and the damn thing actually pops open.

  “Nice trick.” I glance to my right where this cute freshman girl wearing a multicolored outfit smiles back at me. I know she’s a freshman because she still has that junior-high look about her.

  “Yeah. Well. I got that magic touch,” I brag.

  Not unusual, she laughs along with the joke. It’s a little bubbly but still cute.

  She opens the locker next to mine and tries to dump all the items from her backpack, but instead half of it hits the floor. That’s when I recognize her. “Hey, weren’t you in the principal’s office this morning? The one that ran into the wall?”

  Before I can get an answer, a familiar angelic voice floats over to me.

  “Romeo.”

  I turn, and sure enough it’s Phoenix and her cronies Bianca and Raven closing in on me. “Hey,” I say and slam my locker door. I want to make a hasty exit, but the damn thing bounces back open.

  “Why didn’t you stop and talk to me in the office this morning?” she asks, pulling her innocent look and batting her eyes at me. Seriously, I’m so sick of her head games I don’t know what to do.

  We’ve been together off and on since the sixth grade. We’ve always been like the most popular couple in school. But I’m getting bored with our routine and her constant need to try and make me jealous. All Phoenix wants to talk about is fashion, makeup and fashion. Oh and let’s not forget—who was cool and who was not. The list changes every week.

  Every once in a while she’ll pretend to be interested in what I want to talk about, but I always notice a bored glaze would gloss over her eyes if I say more than five sentences.

  It’s all about her and I’m sick of it.

  “Don’t tell me you’re still mad at me about that little fight we had Saturday night,” she says, sliding close to me—mainly for her girls’ benefit.

  Mercifully, the bell rings.

  “I gotta go.”

  “Romeo,” she sputters after me.

  I toss a couple of deuces her way and keep it movin’. I’m late for Ms. Lopez’s Spanish class, but I breathe a sigh of relief when she doesn’t give me too much grief about it. So far it pays to be the rising star on campus—that and having a personal relationship with the principal. Either way I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.