Step Up by Monica McKayhan Page B

they should at least mix the music up a little bit—play a little Frankie Beverly and then a little Kanye West—a little Marvin Gaye and then a little Beyoncé. What happened to the compromise?
    The Fourth of July used to be one of my favorite holidays—right up there next to Christmas and my birthday. But this year I wasn’t quite feeling it. It was hot and muggy in Atlanta and the mosquitoes were eating me alive. And every time one of my little cousins popped a firecracker, I nearly jumped out of my skin. One time I thought my water would break and I snatched the pump from my cousin Nate.
    â€œWhat did you do that for?” he asked, unaware of the fact that he was getting on my last nerve.
    â€œBecause,” is all I said.
    â€œBecause what, Tameka? I was using that pump!” Nate yelled.
    â€œNot anymore.” I smashed the fire out on the sidewalk.
    I was always glad to see my twin cousins, Nick and Nate, but only for a short time. I knew it wouldn’t be long before they started to run me crazy, and being pregnant didn’t help much at all. In the city for less than twenty-four hours, they’d already broken my iPod, drank up all of my favorite juice that was in the refrigerator and destroyed my bedroom. Their Wii had been hooked up to my television since the moment they arrived.
    However, I was glad to see their sister, my older cousin Alyssa, despite the fact that her little brothers drove me crazy. I hadn’t seen her since my Grandpa Drew’s funeral and we had so much to catch up on. She hadn’t seen me since my stomach had grown to be the size of a small watermelon and my ankles were swollen. The last time she’d seen me, we had sat huddled in the small bathroom at Grandpa Drew’s house awaiting the results of my home pregnancy test. It was the day that my life had changed forever.
    â€œWow, you are really big,” she said as she dropped a heaping spoonful of potato salad onto her plate.
    â€œThanks a lot.”
    â€œI didn’t mean it like…an insult or anything.” She smiled. “It’s just that…your stomach grew so fast….”
    â€œI know, and it’s only gonna get worse. I’ll get bigger before I get smaller.”
    â€œYou talked to Vance?” she asked the million dollar question that everybody wanted an answer to.
    â€œNot often. He’s so busy with classes and basketball, he doesn’t have much time for his pregnant girlfriend.” I said it sarcastically.
    â€œDoes he know that he’s just as much responsible for the baby that his pregnant girlfriend is carrying?”
    â€œHe knows,” I groaned and took a bite from my pickle. I changed the subject. Everybody seemed to have their opinions about Vance and I really wasn’t in the mood for hearing them. “What about your little college boyfriend? He still around?”
    It was no secret that Alyssa had been dating an older guy. Much older. He was in college and her parents had no idea about him.
    â€œT.J.?” She smiled and I knew the answer to my question. “I’m gonna have his children someday.”
    â€œNot anytime soon, I hope.”
    â€œOf course not anytime soon, Tameka. I have to finish college before I even think about getting serious with anyone. I think I’m in love with him, though.”
    She didn’t need to tell me that. Her eyes said it all. It was obvious that she’d already slept with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend who attended FAMU. The evidence was written all over her face.
    â€œI hope you’re using protection,” I said.
    She was shocked by my comment; didn’t know what to say, so she simply rolled her eyes.
    â€œI’m serious, Alyssa. Make sure you’re using protection. You don’t want to end up like me, pregnant at sixteen.”
    â€œI’m protecting myself, okay?” she whispered.
    â€œGood,” I whispered back.
    Â 
    I took a