25
I
'm sitting at the table finishing up my math homework for tomorrow. I know I waited until the last minute, but this weekend has been so action-packed that I'm just now getting around to it. It
would
consist of a bunch of story problems that I hate! Ugh!!!
LeRon is in the kitchen rummaging around in the refrigerator for something. I don't know what it could be, because he ate so much at dinner that I was embarrassed for him. As soon as Pastor Stokes said he was treating, LeRon started ordering stuff off the menu that he didn't even know how to pronounce. He knows good and well he wouldn't ever go up in a restaurant ordering roast duck. He needs to stop playing.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“My math homework.”
He nods. “You should've gotten that done before all of your fun.”
“Yeah, I guess. But my mom lets me be responsible for how I get my work done, as long as it's done. I get straight A's, so I must be doing something right.” I'm not about to let him stand up here and clown me, for real.
“Straight A's! You must be really proud of that.”
Why is he trying to have a conversation with me? Does he not see me trying to finish my homework? I'm trying to be
responsible.
Good grief!
“Umm ... yeah. I am. I need to get scholarships if I want to go to the college I choose.”
“So where do you want to go?” he asks.
“Spelman, I think.”
“All the way to Atlanta, huh?”
I put my pencil down and look at LeRon. If I send him a mental vibe or two that this isn't conversation time, maybe he'll let me finish this. I've got eight story problems to go, because the first four took an hour. I don't want to be up all night long!
LeRon swallows a bite out of the huge hunk of cake he's holding. “Oh, I'm sorry. You're trying to get your work done.”
“It's okay. I'll ... ummm ... let you get back to your cake now.” Okay, this is really awkward.
“All right. See you in the morning,” LeRon says and then starts toward his and Gwen's bedroom with his cake and a glass of milk.
Good! Go to bed, man!
“Umm, Gia?”
Grrr! What now? “Yes?”
“I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for how I've been treating you.”
Huh? Okay, totally did not expect this.
“It's okay,” I reply.
“No. It's not okay. Your mother has gone out of her way to make sure Candy feels welcome in this family, and I haven't extended you the same courtesy.”
I take a huge gulp. How am I supposed to respond to this?
Am
I supposed to respond to this?
“I forgive you, LeRon.”
“Well, thanks. But I want to prove what I'm saying, Gia. I've decided to set up a little office in the corner of the living room so you can have the other bedroom. You're used to your own space, and it's not right that you have to share with Candy. How about you, your mother, and I go and pick out paint and decorations for your new room?”
“Thank you, LeRon!”
I am so excited, I can almost give him a hug. I said al
most
. It's a process, people.
“You're welcome, Gia. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Well, who saw this one coming? Definitely not me! I guess that's how God works, though. Sometimes He does things for you when you least expect it.
So what color should my new room be? I'm thinking Tweety yellow ...
26
“G
ia, hide me!”
Why is Candy convinced that she can go through the entire school day without someone peeping out her ri-darn-diculous outfit? She plans to wear her winter coat all day?
“Candy, you need to take that coat off and put it in your locker,” I say as she darts behind my locker door. A group of cheerleaders are walking down the hall.
“No! If we do this properly, no one has to know about this.”
Kevin and Ricky are coming toward us, because we usually walk to breakfast together.
“Oh, no!” Candy whines. “Tell them to go away!”
“I will not. You are not going to make me be a part of your punishment, Candy. You're just gonna have to suck it up!”
Kevin is the first one to notice Candy's lame gear. “What in the world are you wearing?” he asks.
Now, you know your outfit is looking crazy if tight-Wrangler-and-patent-leather-church-shoe boy is clowning you. Dang!
Ricky throws his head back and laughs. “Gwen is off the charts! I can't believe she's got you looking this foolish.”
“Don't blame this all on Gwen. Her daddy was in on this too!” I exclaim. “I actually think it was his idea.”
Candy's eyes drop to the floor. “I didn't think y'all would laugh at me too!” she says.
“Okay, okay. We're sorry,” Kevin says. “This will be our one and only time laughing at your ... ensemble.”
Valerie is marching down the hall with her minions, because today is the day we vote for Homecoming court. She's handing out brownies with her picture on them, to remind people to vote for her. Ricky, on the other hand, is wearing a
Romeo for Prince
button to remind people
not
to vote for him!
Hilarious.
Of course, Valerie stops at our little crew and hands everyone a brownie. She stops at Candy.
“Oh my goodness,” Valerie says as she looks Candy up and down. “Please tell me that is a Halloween costume of some sort. Who are you supposed to be?”
Candy mumbles, “It's not a costume.”
“What did you say, chica? I didn't hear you. Did you say that this eyesore of an outfit is
not
a costume?”
Candy takes a deep breath and points her chin up. “No. It is not a costume. It's what I'll be wearing for a while.”
“What? Have you lost your mind? Hi-Steppers don't roll like that.” Valerie looks like she's about ready to faint.
“I know, right?” Kelani chirps. “Those pants are not the business.”
Jewel adds, “And those shoes, mami! What are you thinking?”
Okay, since when did Jewel start with the Latina jargon? It's sooo not cute.
“Are you three finished?” Ricky asks.
Valerie's face turns into a twisted frown. Candy's eyes widen with panic. “It's cool, Valerie! It's just a dare that I lost to Gia. Right, Gia?”
She's looking at me with pleading eyes, but I am not about to lie for her, so I don't say anything.
Valerie seems skeptical. “Mmm-hmm. So why weren't you at my hayride on Saturday?”
“Umm ... I-I wasn't feeling well.” So I guess she's just gonna keep lying, huh? She hasn't learned her lesson at all.
Valerie hands her box of brownies to Jewel and gets right in Candy's face. “I think you're lying. You don't do it well, honey. Now, what's really going on?”
Candy takes a long, deep breath. I don't think she wanted to spill her guts about this punishment thing, but Valerie is not gonna stop until she gets the truth.
“I'm on punishment,” Candy says.
“For what? What could you have done that would be sooo bad that your parents would make you wear this?” Valerie's hand sweeps the air up and down Candy's gear.
Then, something apparently clicks in Valerie's head. “Did you get caught shoplifting?”
Candy doesn't answer. She just looks away.
“Oooh! Your parents are dead wrong for this!” Kelani says.
Valerie puts a hand up to shush Kelani. “So how long is this going to go on?”
“A month,” Candy replies in a voice barely above a whisper.
“A month! This is not good. We're going to have to evaluate your A-squad status if you're going to be looking like an idiot for a whole month.”
I have to cut in. “Okay, Valerie. That's enough. I think she already feels bad as it is, you don't have to rub it in. Plus, she's only allowed to come to practice during her punishment, not perform.”
Valerie frowns. “So your actions are going to cause a hole in the Hi-Steppers line? This is completely unacceptable. This is grounds for removal from the squad.”
“Chill out, Valerie. She's not being kicked off the squad for this,” I say matter-of-factly.
“Says who?” Valerie asks with mucho attitude.
“Says me. As co-captain of the squad, I have just as much say as you do.”
“We'll see about that.”
Kevin says, “Valerie, why don't you go and hand out the rest of your little brownies now?”
Valerie flares her nose in Kevin's direction. “Are you trying to dismiss me? Lames cannot dismiss me.”
“I wasn't trying to dismiss you, Valerie, but I do think you're done here.”
“Don't get it twisted!” Valerie huffs, snatches her brownies from Jewel, and marches down the hallway.
Everyone else, including Jewel and Kelani, look at Kevin. We all have admiration in our eyes. Did he just stand up to Valerie and totally dismiss her? Wow!
Maybe Kevin really is changing.
In homeroom, we get the Homecoming court ballots and have to cast our votes. I scan down the page to see who's running. The only ones I really know on the ballot are Valerie, Ricky, and Romeo.
I go ahead and mark Valerie's name, because aside from her foolishness, I really think she deserves it. I'm torn when it comes to Ricky and Romeo, though. I know Ricky really doesn't want to be prince, but there is no way in the world I can vote for Romeo.
So, I leave it blank.
Jewel collects the ballots and, of course, she reads every single one of them. Has she ever heard of the term “secret ballot” ?
When she gets to my desk, she quickly reads over my choices. “Why didn't you vote for Ricky?” she asks.
“Because he doesn't want to be the Homecoming prince.”
Jewel shakes her head and frowns. “He is so weird. Why didn't he just withdraw his name from the ballot?”
“He didn't want to hurt the feelings of whoever nominated him.”
“Oh. Well, don't you know that it was your cousin who nominated him? I heard she was gonna run for princess too, but then she chickened out.”
Hmmm ... that's interesting. I had no idea how desperate Hope was to date Ricky. She's resorted to all kinds of foolishness just to get that boy's attention.
“I hope Ricky doesn't find out it was her, because he'd be pretty salty,” I say.
“Well, I voted for him and I hope he wins! I can't stand Romeo. He's sooo conceited.”
Umm ... yeah. This is information that I already know. But I think Jewel is just a little bit heated that Romeo's with Valerie now. She'd put in some work on him after he played me like a dummy, and he pretty much ignored her.
Â
“So, I figured out a way to let everyone know that Hope is not your date at Homecoming,” I say to Ricky as we sit at the lunch table.
“Cool! Spill it.”
“Well, we can ... wait a minute. Kevin, what are you eating?”
Kevin swallows a huge bite. “Egg salad on white bread.”
“Good grief, Kevin. We are not in third grade! I'm gonna need you to upgrade your lunch food.”
“What? I like egg salad. The way Granny makes it, it's sweet and savory at the same time!”
I throw a napkin at Kevin. “You're relapsing, Kevin! Resist the inner corny. Please!”
“Gia, leave Kev alone and tell me your plan,” Ricky says.
“How do you feel about a dance step and matching outfits?”
Ricky bursts out laughing. “Umm ... about the same way you feel about egg salad sandwiches.”
“No, seriously! Think about it. If you, Kevin, and I come dressed similarly and we do a dance step together, it kind of makes Hope look like she's tagging along.”
“One problem,” Kevin says. “I don't know how to dance.”
“Well, Ricky and I will do most of the dancing. You'll just be our hype man.”
“What's a hype man?” Kevin asks.
“Seriously, Kev,” Ricky replies. “It's like how Flavor Flav was to the rest of Public Enemy.”
Kevin frowns. “Flavor Flav? Do I have to wear a clock?”
“No, Kev! You just get the crowd pumped as we dance.”
Kevin still doesn't look agreeable. I think we lost him as soon as we said Flavor Flav.
“What kind of outfit?”
“I'm thinking a mixture of jeans and Tweety.”
“No way I'm wearing Tweety, Gia. Forget it,” Ricky says.
“Okay, how about jeans and orange tops?” I ask.
Ricky calms down a little. “I'm listening. Would you wear a T-shirt?”
“No, I have a fitted orange blouse. It'll actually be pretty cute.”
Kevin asks, “Aren't girls supposed to wear nice dresses at Homecoming?”
I shrug. “I don't know. I've never been. But I'll accessorize. Is that all right with you, Kev?”
“Gia, everything you say is pretty much all right with me,” Kevin replies as he takes another bite of his sandwich.
Ricky and I stare at Kevin in shock. This is the second time today that he's caught us off guard. I thought he was cured of his crush on me, but I guess he was only in remission.