Courtin' Jayd (5 page)

“The likelihood that he'll stop hustling just because you're knocked up isn't too good,” I chime in. “He'll probably start hustling even harder if he knows he's got another baby on the way.” I automatically glance down the hall to make sure my locker door is shut, which it is. Even nice schools have kleptomaniacs. Not that I have much to steal, but it would still creep me out if someone invaded my locker.

“Yeah, doesn't he have like two or three kids from his other baby mamas?” Nellie says, sending Mickey's already testy attitude into overdrive. If she is pregnant, it's going to be a long nine months.

“Look, I know y'all may not think he's a good man for me but he is,” Mickey says, slamming shut her locker door and marching off toward her class. Nellie and I look at each other as if to say, “See what you did?” I know Mickey's pissed at us for telling her the truth, but that's what friends are for, even if she doesn't want to hear it.

“Mickey, wait,” I say, grabbing her arm and stepping in front of her. I look into her hazel contacts and feel her pain and fear. I know she knows he's not good enough for her or her baby, no matter how much she tries to front. “I didn't want to tell you like this but your man made a move on me Monday when I tried to leave your house,” I say, shocking Nellie. Mickey, however, looks anything but surprised.

“Your shit is way out of order, Jayd,” she says, snatching her arm away from my hand and almost causing a scene. I knew I should've kept my mouth shut. “No matter what it seems like in your world, everyone doesn't want your ass.” When the final bell rings above my head, signaling our tardiness, my friends walk off to their class and I go to mine without another word. What the hell did I just start?

As I turn back toward the main hall to get my tardy slip, because I know Mrs. Peterson will ask me for it, I notice the girl's bathroom door open and see Misty's head emerge before she races down the other end of the near-empty hallway. She looks at me and smiles deviously, like she knows our secret. Ah hell nah, she didn't hear us talking while we were in there. Mickey's business will be around the entire campus before lunch if Misty has anything to say about it, if not sooner. She and the rest of South Central have history class right now, my girls included. I hope Misty keeps her mouth shut for the time being.

“Jayd, what are you doing out of class?” Jeremy says as he walks into the hall from the office where I'm headed. “You're always on time. This must've been good,” he says, holding one of the two doors open for me, allowing me to walk through. He's such a gentleman even when he's violating school rules.

“Too good,” I say as we approach the attendance office. Usually a teacher wouldn't make me go through all this for being a minute or two late. But Mrs. Peterson would be all too happy to make me walk back to the office and bring an unexcused tardy slip back to class. I might as well save myself the walk and beat her to the punch. “And what about you? What's your excuse for being late?”

“Oh, I just got here. I almost didn't come but that would've meant missing the opportunity to sit next to you,” he says, stretching his arms above his head while yawning. His faded Old Navy T-shirt lifts above his belt displaying his slightly hairy stomach and firm six-pack. I wonder if he realizes how strong of an effect he still has on a sistah. “What happened to us hanging out yesterday? Too embarrassed to chill with a loser?” he says, smiling his bright whites and sparkly blue eyes at me. Damn, the boy seems to get finer every day.

“No matter what you think of your skills player, you don't have game,” I tease, taking the small pink slip from the student assistant and heading to class.

“Yeah, don't remind me,” he says and I realize I've bruised his ego. He's still sore about losing the game against KJ a couple of days ago and I just rubbed salt in his wound. “I'll be the first to admit that KJ's got skills on the court, no matter how much of a jerk he is.”

“Yeah, all too true,” I say. Jeremy opens the door leading back into the main hall toward our classroom, across the courtyard. There's no one in the hall now except for us. If we could stay alone in our own little world we would probably still be together. “I've got to hand it to you. You've got some skills too, surfer boy,” I say, gently bumping into him, making him lose his balance.

“Well thank you for the props, Lady J. But your boy needs to be humbled.” If Jeremy only knew the half of it. To let KJ's fans tell it, he hasn't lost a game of one-on-one in the past three years and he doesn't plan on breaking his record anytime soon.

“That'll never happen. Waiting for KJ to retire his ego is like waiting for OJ to admit he did it.” Jeremy gently brushes his shoulder against mine, making me smile. I struggle to continue my thought as memories of our first kiss come into my mind. Why couldn't Jeremy and I stay in that moment forever? “If KJ's sure about one thing, it's that he's the greatest basketball player that ever walked the planet. If Michael Jordan walked in here right now, KJ would challenge him to a game and expect to win.” Giving Jeremy a good laugh, we walk into the classroom and meet Mrs. Peterson's angry glare.

“Thank you for joining us, Mr. Weiner and Miss Jackson.” Why does it sound so bad when she says our names together? I must've doodled them on my Spanish notebook a hundred times and they read well to me. “I trust you two know the way to the attendance office because I'm not letting either of you in here without a pass,” she says without looking up from her usual post behind her desk. Her retirement cannot come soon enough. In fact, I'm going to throw her a going-away party, but she won't be invited.

“Here you go Mrs. P. No worries,” Jeremy says, taking the pink pass from my hand and joining it with his before putting them both on her desk, wiping the annoying smirk from our teacher's face. Now if I had done something that audacious, I would've been in detention for the rest of the week.

“Don't make a habit of being late,” she says, reluctantly looking at our passes before pointing us toward our seats. “You only get three tardies before a mandatory detention is issued. Now class, please write down your assignment and turn it in before the end of class. If you finish early, please work silently on your papers due in two weeks.” Before Jeremy and I can get comfortable in our seats, Mrs. Peterson looks up from her stack of papers and dead at me. “Miss Jackson, did you rethink your assignment?”

“If you mean did I choose to do my paper on a leader besides Queen Califia, the answer is no,” I say, not backing down from her original challenge of my chosen topic. The class is silent and it's not because of the no-talking rule in her class once the bell rings—they're suspended in time, waiting for Mrs. Peterson to go off.

“Fine then. Have it your way. But like I said, this is a nonfiction report and you'll need to research and find supporting documentation. Fairy tales won't do.” Jeremy and I look at each other and roll our eyes at her sarcasm. She's such a hater and everyone knows it. I don't know what's got her bra so twisted every day, but I hope she gets over it before she's the first person to croak from perpetual hating. She might be the first, but she probably won't be the last.

“Hey, don't let her get to you. You know you've got it going on,” Jeremy says, making me blush. If Rah doesn't return my calls soon, he might lose some of his clout with me. Jeremy's a sweet guy and if I can give Rah another chance, I can certainly entertain the idea of giving Jeremy a second chance too.

I've been calling Rah for the past three days with no return answer or text. I know Nigel would have told me if it were something serious. So I can only guess Rah's silent treatment has something to do with his current ex-girl Trish. This brings back very unpleasant memories of the last time we were a couple. I don't know why he shuts down like this, but he's not getting away with keeping me in the wind for this long. I'm going to find out what's up with him one way or another.

During the long bus rides home, I had a chance to think about my approach with Rah. I hate when he keeps me guessing. As I wash my hands in the kitchen sink, I see Bryan approaching the driveway. I hope he'll come clean with me if he knows anything about Rah's silence.

Making his way in from his day job at Miracle Market, Bryan throws his backpack down on the living room floor and takes a seat in front of the couch. I already put my stuff up in Mama's room, ready to braid his hair and grill him for info on Rah at the same time.

 

“Bryan, have you heard from Rah this week?” I ask, adjusting his head as I run the sharp comb down his scalp, making a clean part. “Damn. I forgot how much hair you have on your big-ass head. I should charge you for a head and a half.” Thick hair runs in our family and braiding it is no joke.

“Less talking, more braiding,” he says, picking up the remote control from the coffee table and leaning back into his chair. I grease his scalp and begin to pull the cornrows into place. This must be how a surgeon feels when she makes her first incision and then stitches it back to perfection.

“You didn't answer my question. Have you heard from Rah?” Mama already came in here once warning me not to get hair all over the living room floor. If she lets me work with Netta, she won't have to worry about it. Just like with Rah, I'm still waiting to hear back about that too. Mama hasn't said a word about it again and I don't want to call Netta without her permission. I'm learning patience but it's not easy.

“That's not your business and ease up on the pulling, girl,” he says putting his hands on his head to relieve the pain. “Ouch Jayd, damn. Don't take your frustrations out on me.” I push his head forward before untangling the crooked braid. He's right, I shouldn't take it out on him but I know he knows more than he's saying. I'm sick of this stupid code of honor between dudes. Don't they know how much we sistahs worry?

“It is my business and I'm serious Bryan,” I say, starting the braid over, this time easing up on his scalp. “Have you heard from him?”

“Yeah, okay. I ran into him yesterday on the courts by his grandmother's house,” Bryan says, relaxing back in his chair again. “He asked about you. What's up with y'all?” He seems to know more than I do. Why would Rah ask my uncle about me but not return my calls? It's as if he doesn't want to have contact with me and that's not the vibe he gave me this past weekend. What's really going on?

“I wish I knew,” I say, somewhat relieved that he's okay, but even more confused as to why he's avoiding my calls.

“Jayd, I don't want to know the whole story, but I do know the nigga loves you and wants what's best for you. Just trust him and let him come to you when he's ready to talk.” Bryan may have a point. But I don't care how much he tries to defend him, Rah is wrong for making me worry. He knows this is driving me crazy and he can only blame himself if he doesn't like the way his little game plays out.

A
fter I finished braiding Bryan's hair yesterday, I helped Mama make dinner and then retired to our room to study, with still no word from Rah. I started to send Nigel a text, but I knew he would either be at practice or studying like I was and it wasn't that serious. He's well aware of his boy's disappearing acts and wouldn't entertain my panic for a second. I am going to make it a point to catch up with Nigel today. Rah can't ignore me forever.

This morning's unusually cool with no sun breaking through the gray clouds. I'm glad I packed my miniature umbrella and layered up today. Being caught in Compton without proper weather gear is one thing, but being by the beach where the air is cool and the sea breeze is already strong is a whole other experience. Jeremy sent me a text saying he was still good to pick me up in the mornings if I was okay with it. And truthfully, I wouldn't mind the chauffeur service at all.

“Watch the grass young lady,” our crabby old neighbor Mr. Gatlin says from his driveway. He would be the only other person out this early in the morning to disturb my illusion of solitude. “Can't you tell by now when you're getting too close? These kids today ain't worth nothing.” If he weren't my elder I would've cussed his ass out a long time ago. But I'll leave that to Mama. She's the only one who can get him to shut up when he gets way out of line.

“Good morning to you too, sir,” I say, making sure to step on the sidewalk directly between the two sides of his grass. This dude makes the craziest person appear sane.

“Never mind all that back talk, little missy. Just stay off of my lawn, you hear?” Shaking his rake in my direction as I continue to the bus stop, something catches Mr. Gatlin's eye, making him forget all about me.

“Good morning, Henry,” I hear Esmeralda say from across the street. Her voice is deep and sultry and she doesn't sound like she's hissing, which is what I usually get. What the hell?

“Good, good, good morning, Esmeralda,” Mr. Gatlin stutters. I don't know if he's afraid of her or nervous because he's digging her. But whatever it is, I know I don't want to know anything about it. My imagination is already running wild at the thought of those two together. Yuck. I can't resist asking Mama what she knows about this after school.

 

“Jayd, how did you get here before me and don't tell me your bus came early,” Mickey says, blocking my locker. As cold as it is outside, she's wearing a jean miniskirt. At least she has on a North Face jacket with the chinchilla hood, but it doesn't make much sense to leave her legs out like that. Maybe she wants to enjoy the short and tight pieces of her wardrobe before her belly's too big to rock them if she's pregnant, even if that means turning into an icicle.

“I thought you weren't talking to me,” I say, stopping in front of her as I wait to see if she'll move out of my way before I have to move her myself. Jeremy dropped me off in front because there was no parking and he needed to holla at Chance before school starts. I wanted to get to my locker and to class early for once this year, and now that looks like it's not going to happen.

“Whatever. Look Jayd,” Mickey says, stepping to the side and letting me reach my combination. “I know you were right about my man hitting on you,” she says, surprisingly calm. “This isn't the first time he's flirted with one of my friends and it won't be the last. I just thought he'd be more careful with you.” I unlock the door and put my heavy backpack down on the floor. I don't have time to rationalize Mickey's behavior.

“Why would I be any different?” I ask, switching my books and notebooks for my first two periods out of the overstuffed locker and into my backpack. It's time to clean my locker in the worst way. With all the fliers and other crap that gets passed around this school, a girl's locker can fill up pretty quickly.

“Because y'all go to my school out of the hood. That's usually not his type, but I guess you're close enough to our hood for him,” she says, popping her Big Red gum before continuing. “Also, I don't know if I should tell him about the baby just yet.”

“Why not? Are you waiting for something to change?” I say, closing the metal door and heading out of the crowded hall toward the main quad. I wonder where Nellie is. Maybe Chance or her parents gave her a ride this morning. Mickey usually finds out the same morning if Nellie's going to need a ride from her. It must be nice to have so many options.

“I don't want to be just another baby mama to him. Maybe Nigel would be a different kind of daddy and husband,” Mickey says, and I know where she's going with this. I can't let her take Nigel for a ride, especially if she's not sure he's the one.

“Oh hell no Mickey,” I say, stopping in my tracks and looking up at her. “What would make you any better than Trecee if you played Nigel to be the daddy when you don't know if it's the truth?”

“Well, for starters, Nigel really could be my baby-daddy. It's no secret that my man's not the only one I'm dealing with,” she says rubbing her flat stomach like she's nine months pregnant. This girl is crazy if she thinks it's going to be a big bowl of bliss being a teenage mother, no matter who the daddy turns out to be.

“Yes, and it's also no secret that your man's very dangerous. Do you think he's going to be happy that Nigel's the one you're claiming to want a family with? No Mickey, think about it. He'll kill Nigel over this and we don't even know if you're pregnant yet.” I follow her out the double doors leading to the outside and push my way through the crowd of students rushing in. She stops at a tree to the side of the building and looks past me to make sure no one from our crew's coming.

“Yes we do,” she says, taking a small piece of paper from her Gucci bag and handing it to me. “I went to the clinic yesterday. They said I'm about five weeks pregnant.” Oh shit, now it's really on. Neither Nigel nor her man will take this news lightly. Even more importantly, how's she going to deal with the mess she's made?

“Okay, so what do you want to do?” I say, giving her back the positive test results and watching Nellie head our way. Nigel, Chance, and Jeremy aren't far behind, but stop to sweat Reid about something. I wish I could say that rehearsing with him is horrible, but it's not so bad. Reid's actually a good actor and since I already hate him, playing his wife isn't that difficult. It's Laura who's sending the hating vibes that make the days feel long. Every chance she gets she's showing off in front of Mrs. Sinclair and hanging on to Reid like I want her man.

“For right now, nothing. And please don't tell anyone, especially not Nellie. I don't want to hear her mouth about this yet,” Mickey says, stuffing the paper into her pocket. There's barely enough room in that skirt for her behind, let alone anything else.

“Okay, but you know she's going to figure it out eventually and so will the boys.” As Nellie approaches, I notice Misty, KJ, and the rest of his crew walk out of the cafeteria on the other side of the main quad. Misty looks our way but mainly at Mickey and gives her a devious grin. Before I can warn Mickey that Misty might know her little secret, Nellie walks up glowing, like she's the one with the bun in the oven.

“So, did you take the test?” Nellie whispers as soon as she reaches us. She acts like we're undercover spies on a mission. “Am I going to be an auntie?”

“It's too early in the morning for this conversation,” Mickey says, avoiding the question and Nellie's eyes. Misty and KJ are staring at us in a way that lets me know they now both know about Mickey's baby. I've got to tell Mickey before it's too late.

“What are you waiting for, Mickey? These types of things don't simply disappear.” Nellie sounds like her preachy self, which means we could have this same conversation for the rest of the day if Mickey doesn't tell her the truth, and soon.

“What's the rush in finding out? I'm still going to be pregnant whenever we find out.” Mickey sounds naïve about this entire situation. It's almost as if some distorted version of her Cinderella story has come true. I know she thinks having a dude's baby will guarantee her financial security for life, but it won't. And hiding it won't help her either.

“Yes, but are you acting like it? You haven't even been to the doctor yet and that's not very responsible if you're going to keep it.” Nellie steps up to Mickey and rubs her belly just like Mickey did a few moments ago. They're both acting crazy as far as I'm concerned.

“Of course I'm going to keep it,” Mickey says, pushing Nellie's hand away and staring her down. Jeremy, Chance, and Nigel walk up to us and notice the tension between Nellie and Mickey.

“Keep what?” Chance says, putting his arms around Nellie's slender waist. He bends down and rests his chin in the nape of her neck, making me miss Rah even more. Nigel pulls Mickey into him and kisses her hard on the lips, causing Jeremy and me to feel uncomfortable. The bell for first period rings and the students in the quad begin to dissipate. KJ and the rest of South Central linger behind and Misty continues her stare-down at Mickey. My Spanish class is across the walkway and I can run from here to there while the bell rings if need be and still make it on time, because I've got to talk to my girl.

“This new shirt I bought,” Mickey says, looking down at her tight red shirt between kisses. “You like it? At first I thought it made me look fat but I think it's growing on me now.” And that's not the only thing.

“Looks good to me,” Nigel says, opening her jacket and eyeing her sparkly Apple Bottoms top. The V-neck cut is low, allowing Nigel a good view of her goods from his position, which he's enjoying. There's no shame in their game.

“Okay you two, that's enough. You're causing a scene,” Nellie says, noticing Misty and company still staring at us from across the quad. I wonder how Chance deals with her tight ass sometimes. I guess he's glad to be dealing with any part of Nellie at all.

“I think they were staring before we came over,” Nigel says. But Nellie's not amused. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was more jealous over Nigel than being overprotective of Mickey's virtue.

“Way to knock 'em up, man,” KJ yells at Nigel, stopping the kissing marathon and looking past Mickey at his newly proclaimed enemy.

“Mickey, I need to holler at you for a minute,” I say, trying to distract their attention before the secret's out. Maybe if she tells Nigel first it won't be so hard on him. But Nigel looks vexed enough to fly right about now.

“Yeah, go talk to your girls for a minute while I straighten KJ out,” Nigel says, signaling his boys to follow him over to where KJ is sitting. Doesn't anyone have to go to class?

“Nigel, we're going to be late for first period. We can deal with him at lunch,” I say, but he's not deterred from his goal. He looks back at me and smiles.

“Jayd, what's up with you? Are you really that worried about being tardy?” Chance and Jeremy look at me and then back to Nigel. “I'll walk you to class and tell Mr. Donald it's my fault you're late or you can just go. We got this,” Nigel says as he walks across the grass with Chance and Jeremy by his side.

“Yeah, what's up with you, Jayd?” Nellie says and I know Mickey's going to be pissed at me, but it's better than Misty bursting her bubble.

“Mickey, I think Misty overheard us talking in the bathroom,” I blurt out, trying to save precious time and my girl's secret at the same time.

“What? Are you sure?” Mickey says, charging after Nigel before I can answer her. I look back at Nellie, who's totally confused.

“So, what's the big deal?” Nellie says, still out of the loop. “It's not like Misty knows anything. We don't even know if Mickey's pregnant yet.” I want to tell her so bad but it's not my place, it's Mickey's. Noticing my quiet response, Nellie runs after me as I take off after Mickey. “What is it, Jayd? What aren't you telling me?” I ignore her shouting, trying to reach Mickey before it's too late.

“Nigel, let's go,” Mickey yells, but not before he reaches South Central. The final bell rings above our heads, yet we all stay put. It must be nice being able to stroll into class anytime you want to because you're an athlete.

“Nah, not until we settle this once and for all.” Nigel steps up to KJ, Del, and C Money, who rise to meet Nigel, Chance, and Jeremy's stance. They are all tall dudes, making me feel like a Lilliputian. Nellie and Mickey are taller than me but I know they feel small in comparison too.

“Want a rematch? You name the time and place and I'll be there,” KJ says, his boys laughing behind him as they walk off to class, leaving my boys behind.

“Westingle, next Sunday afternoon. Don't be late,” Nigel yells after them. Chance and Jeremy look at each other and then back at Nigel. They have no idea what they're getting themselves into. Playing ball in Redondo Beach is one thing. But playing ball on the Black side of town is going to blow them away.

“Your loss, man. I wouldn't miss it for the world.” KJ may be cocky, but Rah and Nigel have been playing on their home turf forever and have total confidence when they're there. I'm sure Jeremy's going to get the boot as the third person now that it's a game on familiar ground, which is unfortunate because between the two white boys, Jeremy's got the most game, on and off the court.