Spin it Like That (5 page)

“Deal.” I stuck my hand out so he could give me five; then he ran off, yelling, “Mommy, Jas is going to buy me a surprise, and I'm going to make her something!”

Kyle showed me the flyer announcing that Derrick and I would be competing at All-City, and after I made a few suggestions, he saved the changes and printed out the new version to take with us so we could make copies.

As we were heading out the front door, Kyle's mother appeared in the doorway of her office. She was a writer, so she worked from home, which drove Kyle crazy because she was always there.

“Hey, Jas,” she said. “I'm sorry I didn't speak to you earlier. I'm on deadline. Where are you two going?”

“Just to hang out for a while,” Kyle said.

“Where?” his mother asked.

“Just to the record store, Ma, dang.”

She looked at him, and he shut up real fast. “You guys be careful,” she said. She walked over and tried to give Kyle a hug, but he stepped back.

“See ya, Mrs. Adams,” I said, waving.

Kyle threw up his hand but didn't say anything.

“What was that about?” I asked once we got to the car.

“She's just getting on my nerves,” he said. “I'll be glad when I move on campus.”

Kyle had decided to attend New York University, which really surprised me. When we were in elementary school, he used to always talk about going to California to go to school, but once we got to high school, he stopped talking about it. Now that I thought about it, it was after his dad died of a massive heart attack our sophomore year that the dreams of California had stopped. I realized Kyle wanted to be closer to his mother than he was willing to admit. Mr. Adams had owned a chain of doughnut shops and left them all to his wife. Kyle had told me once that with all the money they still made, his mother never had to work again, and he and Tony could go to any college they wanted.

When we got to the record shop, it was pretty much empty, which didn't really surprise me. I headed over to the sale bin to see if there was anything good, and I almost lost my mind when I flipped through and found a copy of “Rapper's Delight.” That song was way before my time, but I still loved it, and I was excited about adding it to my collection. I found a couple more albums, then headed over to Kyle, who was busy reading a DJ magazine.

“Hey, where'd you get that?” I asked, grabbing it out of his hand.

He snatched it back. “There's another copy over there,” he said, nodding toward the register.

I had never seen the magazine before, and I flipped through, hoping I would learn some new technique or something, but all it contained was stuff I already knew. I put the copy back.

“You ready?” I asked.

Kyle nodded. He put back his magazine, then picked up a stack of CDs.

“You're buying all those?” I asked. He had at least twenty of them in his hands.

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging.

“Why don't you just download them to your iPod?” I asked.

“I like having the real thing,” he said. “I can't study the liner notes if I download a song.”

Kyle really wanted to be a producer, and he really studied his craft. He was constantly sharing information with me that I otherwise wouldn't have known.

As I stood around waiting for the cashier to ring up Kyle's stuff, I remembered my promise to get something for Tony.

I spotted a candy rack near the register, and as I was looking at the selection, this fine guy came and stood near me.

“Hey, aren't you Jazzy J?” he asked.

“You know it,” I said, deciding on a pack of M&Ms for Tony. I grabbed them and turned to head back to the register.

“Yo, I caught your performance at All-District. It was tight, ma.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Yo, can I get your number? Maybe we can hang out sometime.”

“No,” Kyle said, scaring me. I hadn't even seen him walk up.

The guy looked from Kyle to me. “Oh, it's like that?” he said. “Sorry, man.” He walked away without saying anything else to me.

“Why'd you do that?” I asked Kyle as I went to pay for Tony's candy.

“Man, don't be messing with them fools,” he said.

“Oh, what, should I be messing with someone like you?” I said, and laughed. When Kyle didn't say anything, I looked at him. “Man, why are you trippin'?”

He just looked at me and shook his head.

By the time I'd dropped Kyle off and made it back to my house, it was almost six o'clock. I grabbed the picture Tony had painted for me and headed inside, where I found Mama and Derrick sitting in front of the television.

“Where've you been?” Mama asked, not bothering to look up.

“I just hung out with Kyle today,” I said. “You still coming tonight, right, Derrick?”

He looked at me and nodded. “I guess.”

“What do you mean you guess? You have to be there,” I said. “You know I've never performed without you.” The thought of him not having my back really had me spooked. Derrick was like my good luck charm.

He sighed. “Jas, just chill. I had a long day at work today, and I just want to relax a few minutes. I'll go with you.”

I nodded as I took a deep breath. Suddenly I felt nervous, which was never the case before I performed. I hurried to my room and pulled out the outfit I had selected. It was a red shirt that I was going to tie in a knot once I left the house so my belly button would be exposed, a pair of fitted jeans and some Air Force Ones. I thought about rocking some really nice high-heeled shoes, but I had learned my lesson one night a couple of years ago. By the end of that night, my feet had been hurting so bad I didn't think I would be able to walk for a week.

I made sure all my equipment was together and added my new albums to my crate of collectibles, which never left my room. The other crates I would have Derrick load in my car.

“I'm ready,” I said a few minutes later.

Derrick hadn't moved from his spot on the sofa. I walked over to him, and he was sound asleep. I shoved him to wake him up. “Derrick,” I whined, “you're not even dressed.”

He just lay there for a minute like he was trying to figure out where he was. “Hurry up,” I said, glancing at the clock on the cable box. “I'm going to be late.” It was already six-thirty.

Derrick took a deep breath and tried to stand up. Finally he flopped back down. “Why don't you go by yourself?” he said. “I'm tired from running around and delivering mail all day.”

My mouth dropped open as I looked at him. “You can't be serious,” I said.

“Jas, you'll be fine. Loretta and Kyle will be there.”

“Yeah, but they're not you. I've never performed without you,” I said. “I don't want to jinx myself. You have to come. You have to.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but he changed his mind.

“Derrick,” I said, “we're gonna be late.”

He walked out of the room without looking at me and returned a few seconds later with one of the crates.

“Aren't you going to change clothes?” I asked. He had on a pair of khaki pants and a white button-down, both of which were wrinkled.

He shook his head. “I wouldn't want you to be late,” he said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Look, I'm sorry if I'm acting funky, but I'm just a little nervous.”

Derrick's attitude melted almost as quickly as it had begun. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of Daddy. They both had a soft spot for me, and I knew it.

We loaded the car and took the short drive to Twilight. The place was nothing like I had expected. It was actually my first time ever being in a club, and I guess I had imagined that they were all ritzy and upscale—at least, that was the way they looked on TV.

This one smelled like stale sweat and cigarette smoke, and it was so dark I wondered how people would see each other. The furniture looked like it hadn't been replaced in years, and there was a huge crack in the mirror behind the bar, which was not a good sign. It just made sense to me that the only way that crack could have gotten there was if someone had thrown something—or someone.

“You okay?” Derrick asked, sensing my nervousness.

“Yeah, I'm cool,” I said. I took a deep breath and looked around before rubbing my hands together. “Let's get set up.”

Derrick and I quickly unloaded my equipment; then I went to find the manager, who had let us in.

“Is there anything else I need to do?” I asked. The club wasn't supposed to open for another twenty minutes, and I figured people wouldn't start showing up until an hour after that, since no one wanted to be the first to arrive.

“Nah, you can just chill,” he said. He was a big, burly guy who looked like he used to be in shape a long time ago. “You want a drink?”

I hesitated. Other than a sip of champagne I had had at my cousin Janelle's wedding earlier that year, I had never had anything to drink, but the thought was tempting.

“She's fine,” Derrick said. I hadn't even heard him walk up. “You know she's only sixteen, right?”

The manager shrugged.

“Is it okay if we go outside for a few minutes?” I asked, thinking that the fresh air would help to pass the time.

“Sure,” he said, “but I can't be responsible for your equipment.”

Derrick and I looked at each other, and I wondered what I'd gotten myself into.

“That's okay,” I said. “We'll just wait over there.” I pointed to my equipment.

The guy shrugged again. “Suit yourself,” he said.

Derrick and I walked over to my turntable in silence. Once we thought the guy couldn't hear us anymore, he asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? I'm not getting a good vibe about this place, Jas.”

“Quit tripping,” I said. “Everything is gonna be fine.” I hoped I was telling the truth.

I was surprised when a few people trickled in a little after eight. By then the manager, whose name was Lenny, had turned on some track lights, which did wonders for the place. Once I put on some music, I felt at home, and I was ready for whatever the night held.

There were at least a hundred kids in the place within the first hour. I looked around for Derrick, and he was sitting at the bar checking things out. Loretta and Kyle had also arrived, and they were both on the dance floor having a good time. I couldn't help but smile as I nodded to the beat.

I finally decided to take a break around ten, when I had to pee so bad I thought my bladder would burst. I got Derrick's attention, and he came over to relieve me for a few minutes.

On the way back from the bathroom, I stopped at the bar to get a soda and gulped it down before I headed back to the DJ booth. Lenny, who was also working the bar, handed me another drink, and I smiled my thanks before snaking my way through the people on the crowded dance floor.

“Hey, girl,” Loretta sang when she spotted me. She threw her arms around me and gave me a hug. “This party is on point. You've been playing all my jams.”

“Thanks,” I yelled over the music. “I've got to get back to work.”

She nodded and turned back to her dance partner, some light-skinned dude who reminded me of Usher.

Derrick had pulled out a stack of albums for me, and I thanked him. “You thirsty?” I asked.

He nodded and took my cup from me. “I forgot how hot it gets behind this table,” he said, taking a gulp. He frowned as he swallowed it. “What is this?” he asked, holding the cup up and peering at the bottom.

“Sprite,” I said.

He took another tiny sip. “This is not Sprite. Where'd you get it?”

“Lenny gave it to me.”

Derrick glared over at the bar. “I'll be back,” he said.

“Where are you going?” I yelled just as the music went off. With the sudden silence, everyone heard me, and it seemed as though every eye in the room was on my brother as he walked over to the bar.

I grabbed an album and put it on, hoping to draw everyone's attention back to the music, but like me, most of them were still watching the scene at the bar. Although I couldn't hear what Derrick was saying, it was pretty obvious that he was upset.

He pointed at the cup, then pointed at me, and before I knew it, Lenny had punched him twice in the face. By the time it finally occurred to me what had happened, Derrick was on the floor with a crowd standing over him. I ran to him and started screaming when I saw all the blood.

“Are you crazy?” I yelled at Lenny. He looked like he was about to punch me, too, but I didn't care. “How could you hit my brother?”

Lenny went back to serving drinks like nothing had happened, and I finally figured out why Derrick was upset. “Did you spike my drink?” I asked.