“Brown Girls, I got it!” Jasmine flashed a card in front of them at the lunch table. Raven looked at it carefully. Jasmine got her driver’s license.
Jasmine was a year older than the rest of the girls, even though they were in the same grade. They knew she would be first to get her license—but Raven didn’t think it was this soon. Their last few conversations flashed in Raven’s mind. She didn’t mention studying for a driver’s test — it seemed out of the blue.
“How about a trip to NOLA after school today, ladies?” Jasmine danced.
“I’m down,” Trinity and Nia answered at the same time.
They turned to look at Raven.
“Okay,” she whispered. Feeling the silent peer pressure. “Wait—have you driven before? And whose car do you have?” Raven pressed.
“Girl, here you go. I have my brother’s car. Ant has to work, and I told him I wanted to practice driving anyway, and he handed me the keys. He knows I have the car.” Jasmine jingled her keys in front of Raven as Nia and Trinity squealed.
“Can I roll with y’all? I don’t have practice today,” Amir asked as he pulled up a chair at the table. His friends followed and pulled up chairs too.
“Of course! We out!” Jasmine clinked her keys once more. This was turning into a complete adventure.
The last bell rang, and Raven waited in front of the school for Jasmine.
“You ready, girl?” Jasmine was light on her feet, with her keys swinging in her hand. She had pep in her step. Trinity, Nia, and Amir came from another exit out of the school. Amir locked eyes with Raven and walked to her.
“You good?” He studied Raven’s face.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay,” She didn’t want to be a Nervous Nelly.
“So, what do you guys want to do first?” Jasmine asked as they piled into the car. Amir, Trinity, and Raven sat in the backseat. Nia climbed into the front while Jasmine fumbled with the radio.
“You said we were going to NOLA, right?” Amir asked.
“That’s fine with me. Ya’ll need to stop anywhere first?” Jasmine put on her sunglasses and peered at us from the rearview mirror. She put her foot on the gas, removed it, and placed her foot on the parking brake instead. She started the car.
“Let’s swing by Wendy’s before we get on the highway,” Nia said.
Raven’s stomach grumbled; she was a little hungry. “Yeah, I could go for some nuggets.”
“Let’s roll.” Jasmine started the car, and her brother’s loud engine roared to life. She checked her face in the rearview mirror. The windows were fogged from the car sitting all day. It was another unseasonably cool afternoon for November. Raven wore a hat over her curls.
“Put the defroster on,” Amir instructed.
Jasmine crept out of the parking lot, slamming on her brakes, and they all flew forward in the car. Jasmine fumbled with the controls. “Which one is the defroster?”
Amir reached from the back and turned the knob to defrost. Jasmine gave Amir a thumbs-up sign, and she turned the music back up. She tapped the brakes once more before giving it some gas. Trinity and Raven looked at each other.
Raven, Trinity, Nia, Jasmine, and Amir cruised. Raven rolled down her window from the back and felt a cool breeze on her face. The sun shone on her freckles and warmed her skin. Raven inhaled and closed her eyes. The sights, sounds, and smells of their little slice of Louisiana calmed her spirit.
Nia sat in the front seat dancing and moving to Pop Smoke on the radio. Jasmine had both hands on the steering wheel and was paying extra attention to the road. Trinity sat between Amir and Raven. Raven noticed the air blowing through Trinity’s hair; it looked beautiful up against the swirling air. She looked like a movie star. Trinity had her eyes closed, and she bobbed her head to the music.
Nia turned the music up louder, and they all just vibed. No one had their phones out; they were in the moment.
Amir sat on the other side, and Raven looked at him as he looked at her. They held each other’s gaze for a while before Trinity crossed her eyes at Raven, interrupting their trance.
Jasmine turned into the Wendy’s parking lot and pulled into the drive thru. She pulled up to the ordering box and slammed on the brakes again. Jasmine needed to be first at everything, and she started firing off as soon as the car made a full stop.
“I need a number three, no cheese,” said Jasmine.
Trinity sweetly cut in, “Give me a large fry, no salt, please.”
Raven shouted from the back, “I’ll take a sweet tea, light ice.”
Amir asked, “Is your ice cream machine working?”
Jasmine spoke again, “Umm, never mind, forget that number three. Give me a number one, no tomato or pickle!”
“I have a free French fry from my app, can you scan it?” Nia chimed in.
“Do you have any chocolate chip cookies?” Amir quizzed.
They shot questions into the box with no mercy. Nia still had the music high, and they were yelling out the left side windows trying to get their order straight. Nia and Jasmine were going back and forth about using a coupon when it happened.
Raven heard a loud crunch, and the car made a lurching sound as it hurled forward. Everyone in the car flew forward and flopped all over the place as the car glided over something.
“Hello, hello? Is everything okay out there?” the voice from the box was filled with concern.
Raven gulped and tried to catch her breath.
Nia stared at Jasmine, whose face was red. She looked down in her lap, avoiding everyone’s eyes.
Raven steadied herself to get a better look. Everyone seemed okay, just shaken up. She poked her head outside of the car.
Jasmine ran over the big, yellow stanchion pole in the drive-thru next to the ordering box. They ordered their food, and when Jasmine slipped her foot off the brake, she clipped a pole in the drive-thru window and took it down. Rode right over top of it. They sat tilted in the car.
Raven looked over at Amir as he held his mouth. Trinity breathed slowly and held back laughter. Nia could never hide her emotions and burst into a deep laugh with tears streaming from her face. Jasmine’s shoulders were hunched from embarrassment as cars beeped their horns all around them. They were sandwiched in, and no one could get around. They sat stuck overtop of a pole with the car leaning.
“Oh, shit!” Nia exclaimed.
“I knew it. I let her bully me right into a car accident. She done hit the Wendy’s pole. We haven’t even made it out of Lake Lacroix!” Raven cursed.
Amir glanced at Raven with shocked eyes and laughed even harder. With heads thrown back, loud guffaws escaped their throats. Raven’s eyes were crinkled at the corners, and she felt them pool with funny tears. She couldn’t control noises that were escaping her, and she snorted and covered her mouth.
Amir’s eyes widened as he attempted to slap her shoulder over Trinity’s head. He couldn’t reach her. This made them more hysterical when they realized they were sitting sideways.
They giggled so hard they didn’t hear police sirens in the distance. Lights flashed in the window, and Raven glanced to her left and spotted Khalil Jamison himself. She took a deep breath and rolled down the window again, this time not to order food, but to talk to her father.