every Saturday, right?"
"Meets," I corrected.
"Meets, games, whatever," said Manda, waving away the mistake mindlessly with her hand. She was clearly tired of this conversation, and no wonder. I had explained the intricacies of my track schedule whenever a crucial social opportunity popped up.
"Do you have one this Saturday?"
"Yes. I have two duals a week, plus a relay, invitational, or championship meet every Saturday."
"Oh," Manda said, glancing at Hy.
"Why?"
"Well, I’m taking them shopping in the city this Saturday …" Hy explained.
"To look for prom dresses …" said Manda.
"And other stuff," said Sara, defensively.
I couldn’t believe it. After all the smack-talk about the Clueless Crew, Hy was willingly hanging out with them? And without my sane brain to bounce off of? Sure, I talked about the Clueless Crew behind their backs and then went out with them on weekends, but that’s because I’ve got history with them. Ihave to. But Hy is under no such obligation.
At first, I was cool with it.You don’t even like shopping, remember? And New York City is a dirty, disgusting, dangerous place. But as soon as we got to history class and I saw them going over the New Jersey Transit bus schedule, I felt sick to my stomach. I told Bee Gee that I had to go to the girls’ room, giving him the conspiratorial raising of the eyebrows that implies "feminine problems." The teacher gave me a pass, no questions asked.
I sprinted to the bathroom. I was so upset, I forgot to give the code as I burst through the door. Uh-oh. When I hit the tiles, I saw three Hoochies slicing up a cloud of cigarette smoke with their pastel-painted talons. One of them was Marcus’s girlfriend, whose synthetic pants wereobscenely tight in the crotch.
"Fuck! It’s just an IQ," grunted Camel Toe when she saw me.
"Fuck! I just lit that cigarette," griped her friend.
"What the fuck?" asked the third, murdering me with her black-lined eyes. "Why didn’t you give the fuckin’ code?"
I apologized for forgetting to say "It’s cool" as I walked in.The code. The fuckin’ code.
"You better be fuckin’ sorry," said Camel Toe. "You made me waste a fuckin’ cigarette."
I wasn’t sure where wasting a fuckin’ cigarette fell on the Hoochie brawling scale, but I wasn’t about to find out.
"I’m sorry," I said as I quickly hightailed it out of there.
Their whoops and cackles echoed off the walls, loud enough that I could still hear them as I headed back to history class.
I never get to be alone when I want to.
A period later, I was still fuming. So I decided to confront Hy. I followed her to her locker, and tried to get some answers as she applied her lip gloss.
"What’s going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"You knew I had a meet and planned the trip anyway …"
"Girl, I must have been trippin’," she said in between puckers. "You’re not mad at me are you? Ain’t no thing."
Iwas mad. And hurt. And confused. Since when did I become "no thing" in Hy’s eyes? Since when did I even care?
"I’m not mad."
"You better not be. That’s some triflin’ shit."
I watched her looking at herself in the mirror and a strange feeling passed over me. Stranger than I already felt.
"What is it?" Hy asked.
I said the first thing that came to mind.
"Did you know that when you look in the mirror, that’s not what you really look like? Your image is actually reversed."
Hy laughed, but it wasn’t a legit ha-ha funny laugh. "Girl, you don’t even know the half of it," she said softly, almost to herself.
the twenty-fourth
Scotty called me tonight. We’ve been talking to each other a lot more on the phone since I asked him to the wedding. But tonight’s phone call was different.
"I think you’re right," he said. "I think Kelsey likes me."
No kidding. Jesus Christ, I was tired.
"She booked a
"Meets," I corrected.
"Meets, games, whatever," said Manda, waving away the mistake mindlessly with her hand. She was clearly tired of this conversation, and no wonder. I had explained the intricacies of my track schedule whenever a crucial social opportunity popped up.
"Do you have one this Saturday?"
"Yes. I have two duals a week, plus a relay, invitational, or championship meet every Saturday."
"Oh," Manda said, glancing at Hy.
"Why?"
"Well, I’m taking them shopping in the city this Saturday …" Hy explained.
"To look for prom dresses …" said Manda.
"And other stuff," said Sara, defensively.
I couldn’t believe it. After all the smack-talk about the Clueless Crew, Hy was willingly hanging out with them? And without my sane brain to bounce off of? Sure, I talked about the Clueless Crew behind their backs and then went out with them on weekends, but that’s because I’ve got history with them. Ihave to. But Hy is under no such obligation.
At first, I was cool with it.You don’t even like shopping, remember? And New York City is a dirty, disgusting, dangerous place. But as soon as we got to history class and I saw them going over the New Jersey Transit bus schedule, I felt sick to my stomach. I told Bee Gee that I had to go to the girls’ room, giving him the conspiratorial raising of the eyebrows that implies "feminine problems." The teacher gave me a pass, no questions asked.
I sprinted to the bathroom. I was so upset, I forgot to give the code as I burst through the door. Uh-oh. When I hit the tiles, I saw three Hoochies slicing up a cloud of cigarette smoke with their pastel-painted talons. One of them was Marcus’s girlfriend, whose synthetic pants wereobscenely tight in the crotch.
"Fuck! It’s just an IQ," grunted Camel Toe when she saw me.
"Fuck! I just lit that cigarette," griped her friend.
"What the fuck?" asked the third, murdering me with her black-lined eyes. "Why didn’t you give the fuckin’ code?"
I apologized for forgetting to say "It’s cool" as I walked in.The code. The fuckin’ code.
"You better be fuckin’ sorry," said Camel Toe. "You made me waste a fuckin’ cigarette."
I wasn’t sure where wasting a fuckin’ cigarette fell on the Hoochie brawling scale, but I wasn’t about to find out.
"I’m sorry," I said as I quickly hightailed it out of there.
Their whoops and cackles echoed off the walls, loud enough that I could still hear them as I headed back to history class.
I never get to be alone when I want to.
A period later, I was still fuming. So I decided to confront Hy. I followed her to her locker, and tried to get some answers as she applied her lip gloss.
"What’s going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"You knew I had a meet and planned the trip anyway …"
"Girl, I must have been trippin’," she said in between puckers. "You’re not mad at me are you? Ain’t no thing."
Iwas mad. And hurt. And confused. Since when did I become "no thing" in Hy’s eyes? Since when did I even care?
"I’m not mad."
"You better not be. That’s some triflin’ shit."
I watched her looking at herself in the mirror and a strange feeling passed over me. Stranger than I already felt.
"What is it?" Hy asked.
I said the first thing that came to mind.
"Did you know that when you look in the mirror, that’s not what you really look like? Your image is actually reversed."
Hy laughed, but it wasn’t a legit ha-ha funny laugh. "Girl, you don’t even know the half of it," she said softly, almost to herself.
the twenty-fourth
Scotty called me tonight. We’ve been talking to each other a lot more on the phone since I asked him to the wedding. But tonight’s phone call was different.
"I think you’re right," he said. "I think Kelsey likes me."
No kidding. Jesus Christ, I was tired.
"She booked a
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