The bell rang, and students shuffled into the hallway, heading to the lunchroom. Nia walked from the left, with Jasmine and Trinity coming up from the right; the ladies met in the middle. Raven loved when all her girls came together. Even though they weren’t popular like Taylor and her crew, her friends were all she needed. They trekked to the lunchroom, all different shades of brown between them.
Walking in, Raven noticed they were only allowed to sit three to a table. The usual was four to a table, and four was what they needed.
“Guys, I’ll sit at a table right next to you. It’s no big deal,” Trinity offered. Raven studied Trinity. “Are you sure?”
“No, guys, seriously, it's fine. You know I like my space, anyway.” Trinity was right. Whenever they had sleepovers, Trinity preferred to sleep on the floor by herself. If they were going out somewhere and planned to get dressed together, she usually came already dressed and waited for the rest of them to finish. She marched to her own beat and did her own thing.
“Okay,” Nia said hesitantly.
Half of the Brown Girls Club sat down at their table while Trinity sat alone next to them.
“Is this seat taken?”
There he stood. Amir asked Trinity if he could sit at her table. Trinity sat unfazed by his beauty while Raven was dumbstruck.
“Sure.” Trinity didn’t even look up at him, and she motioned with her hand for him to sit.
Raven studied his features. He had high cheekbones with long locs surrounding his face. Raven hadn’t noticed those locs before; she was too busy staring at his eyes. He was wearing a crisp Adidas t-shirt with khaki shorts and Adidas sneakers. Around his neck hung a small, gold pendant. Raven looked closely and saw it was a picture of Africa. Raven only saw him in homeroom, but now Raven saw him fully. He was beautiful. Raven realized she was holding her breath when Nia kicked her under the table. “Get yourself together,” she mouthed.
Raven observed the cafeteria. This was the only time students were permitted to use their phones, and everyone sat eating and scrolling. Her eyes settled on Taylor, Jessica, and Brianna sitting in the room’s corner. Taylor was leaned on the edge of the table telling a story. Taylor moved closer to Jessica and they turned their heads, glancing in Amir’s direction.
Raven’s nerves set in again and she cussed under her breath that Taylor could anger her like this within mere moments. She hoped Taylor wasn’t setting her sights on Amir. He wasn’t even her type! Taylor’s latest boyfriend was Justin. He was the captain of the Lake Lacroix football team. He was dense, and Raven was sure a potted plant was smarter.
“Where are you from? You just moved here, right?” Raven heard from the other table.
“Yeah,” Amir turned to Trinity. “My mom says this is a better school district to help me get into a private school for college. I play basketball, and I’m trying to get a scholarship.”
He plays basketball. Raven wondered how that would work. Their boys’ basketball team had been bad for years. Last year, the team was so awful that they forfeited at least two games. They were getting beat like they stole something, but maybe he would change that soon.
“Hi there.”
Taylor’s voice made Raven’s stomach sink.
“I just wanted to come and introduce myself. My name is Taylor, these are my friends Jessica and Brianna. If you need help with anything, just let me know.” Taylor stood in the front with her punk posse behind her on each side. “I’m friends with just about everyone here.” She side-eyed Raven’s table.
Raven watched Nia, who was looking at Jasmine. Jasmine and Raven shared the same level of dislike for Taylor, so Raven knew Nia was trying to calm her down. Raven had her reasons for disliking Taylor, but Jasmine’s mom used to be Taylor’s maid. Taylor didn’t know Jasmine was the maid’s daughter, and Jasmine didn’t know it was Taylor’s house she was going to help her mom for the day. Once Taylor saw Jasmine at the house, it seemed like she set her sights on her for a while and told people she was the help. She and Taylor have come to blows many times over that one.
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you all,” Amir replied. He was so polite. Taylor would ruin him.
With lunch finished, Raven rushed off to math class and Amir walked in and plopped down beside her.
“Okay, guys, we’re going to pair up and do a ‘getting-to-know-you’ exercise. Pair up with the person next to you and complete this worksheet.” Mr. Smith handed out papers.
“Let’s see how we are all similar and how we’re different,” Mr. Smith called out. Raven rolled her eyes. This was busy work, and Mr. Smith knew it. What did it even have to do with math? And Amir was the person sitting right next to her . . . Here we go, she thought.
“Hi, I’m Amir . . . Raven, is it?”
“Yes,” Raven mustered, swallowing the ever-present lump in her throat. “You’re new here, right?” Raven tried to sound cool.
He nodded. “My mom, and my sister moved from Easton. This school is a lot different.”
“How so?”
“For starters, I didn’t know hanging at the car wash was an event,” Amir chuckled.
Raven squealed and covered her mouth. “You’re so wrong for that!”
Amir nailed it. The car wash was a hangout spot in town, and sometimes the girls and Raven rode their bikes the three-mile trek to sit and spy cars moving about. Some were washing their cars, but most were there to flex in front of everyone. They sold anything you could think of mixtapes, incense, weed, jewelry, fake Nike slides, candles. Scores of food trucks lined the parking lot every weekend. Raven’s dad even visited; he rode through with his souped-up old Cutlass grinning from ear to ear.
“Who else do you live with?” Raven asked.
“Just my mom and sister. My dad is in prison.”
“I’m-I’m so sorry,” Raven stuttered. She could kick herself for even asking.
“Na, you’re good. He’s been there a long time, it’s cool.”
“So, basketball, huh?” Raven chose her words carefully and didn’t know what to say now.
“That’s my thing, I guess,” he shrugged. “Nice earrings. My mom is into sunflowers, she would love those.”
“Thanks! My mom got them for me,” Raven blurted.
‘Be you, let the world adjust,’ Nia always said. Her words were so much like Blair’s when it came to Raven’s life. She knew they were right; but some things just took time, and she was one of those people who always had to learn the hard way before it really stuck.
Amir and Raven finished the rest of the worksheet, and she learned a lot about him. His mom was a social worker down at the Lakes Hospital, and he had a younger sister named Aamani.
“Okay, class, time is up,” Mr. Smith announced.
One by one, they went around the room sharing what they learned about their partner during the exercise.
“This is Raven. She is an only child, and she likes sunflowers, dancing, and ice cream,” Amir said.
Raven stood next.
“This is Amir. He transferred from Easton High School. He plays basketball, he loves math and fried chicken.” The class laughed.
Someone in the back screamed, “drums or flats!?” The class erupted in banter, debating which was better. Once someone explained to Mr. Smith what drums and flats were, he nose-dived into a ten-minute speech about how scientifically the drums have more meat and therefore are tastier.
“Mr. Smith, how could you . . . drums really!?” someone called out.
“I don’t know, Mr. Smith, the way the ranch dressing coats the flat wings, it’s a game changer for me,” another classmate admitted.
Raven looked around. This was great and unexpected. She usually would be too nervous to engage in class discussions, but she felt good today and she wished Nia was there to see.