“Um, Evvie?” Anne Marie calls, bringing me back from my pool dreams.
“What?” I’m fannin’ myself, tryna sound pleasant.
“I think that’s for you,” Anne Marie says, lookin’ past me. I turn around and—oh come on now! What the hell is she doin’ here?
“Hi, Evalene! Don’t you look pretty,” Miss Ethel says, looking me up and down. I know I look pretty. I’m in my new peach-colored swing dress that hugs me in all the right spots and makes my bosoms look like a movie star’s. And even though this humidity is doin’ a number on my hair, it looks a damn sight better than Miss Ethel’s on a good day. I always try to look decent, but I look even better today, and I certainly don’t need her to tell me.
“Why, thank you, Miss Ethel,” I say, because I was raised right. “Thought you wouldn’t be gettin’ back in town till late.”
“We just got in.” Miss Ethel smiles a phony smile and glances around at everybody here like she ain’t never seen colored people havin’ a cookout in her whole life. Hell, maybe she ain’t.
“I just happened to see you out here, and I wanted to make sure you wadn’t plannin’ on stayin’ out to all hours, since I’ll need you bright and early. In all her four years, Abigail has yet to sleep in.” She tries to joke. Oh, this woman. Go home!
“Don’t you worry. I’ll be there on time like always,” I promise, flashing my best, most white-people-pleasing smile. Yes. Always on time to feed and tend to that li’l demon spawn you spat out into the world.
“Well,” she adds, “you’ve been late before. But I know what it’s like to be young. You just don’t make that a habit, ya hear? Bye-bye.” Miss Ethel looks around, a little lost, but when she gets her bearings, she scoots herself back out to the main road. I couldn’t imagine why she’d be in this neighborhood at all until I spy the brown paper bag under her arm, tied with blue string. She got herself some grub from Miss Johnnie’s. White people will venture into deepest Africa for colored-people food.
“Daggone! Boss lady keepin’ a eye on you,” Leon teases as he flips some burgers on the grill.
“She needs to keep them eyes to herself,” I tell him.
“She pay pretty good, though, right?” Anne Marie asks, bringing out a fresh pitcher of lemonade. Hallelujah!
“You are an angel,” I say, grabbing it from her hands and pouring myself a glass. “She pay good enough. She could pay better, and I’m finna tell her so. ’Specially if she wants me to stay on when school starts up.”
“You goin’ back to school?” R. J. asks, a bit too eagerly.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Ya know? You workin’ now. You sixteen. Seventeen soon, right? You could just quit and work if you want to,” he explains.
That comment gets me so mad that for an instant, the ground rumbles beneath us.
“What the hell?” Leon exclaims, holding on to a picnic table for support.
“Language!” Anne Marie scolds, but she also looks frightened.
Leon sucks his teeth at her and I take an easy breath and the earth settles down, like nothin’ unusual has happened. Shit. I must start watchin’ my temper.
“Was that a baby earthquake?” R. J. asks.
“Could be, but I doubt it,” I say.
“It has been a while since we last had one,” Leon says.
“We should watch the news to see if…”
And before Anne Marie can finish tellin’ us to watch the news for an earthquake report, which won’t be there, I shift the focus.
“I am not gonna quit school. Imma get my diploma come hell or high water.” I mean it too. Mama didn’t make it all the way through school cuz she had to work. My grandmother doesn’t trust anything learned from books, so I’m sure she never made it very far. I intend to be the first Deschamps girl to do it. If for no other reason than for my little sisters to know it’s possible.
“Diploma’s just a piece a paper,” R. J. continues. “ ’Sides, somebody gonna marry you soon enough, so none a that’ll matter,” he says with that crooked smile a his. Leon laughs to himself; Anne Marie shakes her head. I ain’t in no mood for this today. Does he have no pride? This boy’s been following me around since I’s seven years old. Wadn’t interested then, and I sure ain’t now. ’Specially not when there are so many others out there I’d like to be makin’ time with. Well… one. Just one in particular, who might just be the finest boy I’ve ever seen in my life. This same one in particular who promised me he’d be at this damn shindig not two days ago, and so far I ain’t seen hide nor hair a him.
“It’ll matter to me, that’s for sure,” I say.
“That’s good. Give them pretty li’l babies you gonna have a mama they can look up to. Course, you already a famous hero.”
I groan. I do not wanna talk about that goddamn article again. It’s been over a week since it came out. Enough already.
“Oh, will you give it a rest?” Leon shoves a hot dog in R. J.’s face. “Here. Give your mouth somethin’ else to do, please.” I can’t help but giggle, and I smile at Leon.
Anne Marie fills a bowl with fruit punch in addition to the lemonade. Festive.
“I don’t know why you ain’t proud,” mouthy Bernadette says. “If I’d gotten my name in the paper for savin’ some lives, I’d never stop talkin’ about it.”
That’s for damn sure.
“I don’t like makin’ a fuss, and if people forget about it, they won’t expect me to do it again. Cuz I ain’t never doin’ that again.”
They laugh and let it drop.
Sun’s gettin’ lower and lower. Dammit. When I see Clayton next, Imma kill ’im!
I shouldn’t be surprised. You know how babies can get all excited about a toy when they’re playin’ with it, but if you hide it from ’em when they ain’t lookin’, they forget it was ever there? Sometimes I think Clay’s like that with me. The first time I can remember feelin’ belly butterflies over Clay was when I was eleven. He never paid attention to me back then. But in the last couple years—really since I got to high school—he’s been different. He’d nod if he saw me in the halls, and sometimes he’d tease me, but never in a mean way. The first time I wondered if maybe he liked me for real was last summer.
I know it’s childish, but somehow I got roped into playin’ jailbreak with some neighborhood kids. I was runnin’ for home base, and I happened to see Clay talkin’ to one of his friends on the street. I didn’t slow down, though. I made it to home base: an old Cadillac that probably hasn’t been used since Roosevelt was in office.
I’m fast, so I was the first one there, but I ducked down behind the car so Clay wouldn’t see me runnin’ around like an idiot. I figured I’d just stay hidden, and eventually he’d leave.
When nearly all my team members made it to home base, I will admit I got excited because we won. Jailbreak is dumb, but I always enjoy a victory, and we crushed the other team. They started whinin’ about it (sour grapes), but the game was over, so I walked back out to the street… and he was still there! On the corner, starin’ right at me. I kinda waved then, cuz it was awkward, and he half smiled. I turned to go in the opposite direction, and I tripped over absolutely nothin’ and fell on the ground. Right into a mud puddle. A couple of my teammates cracked up. I felt a strong urge to cry, but I couldn’t, because before I could do anything, Clay was at my side, helping me up.