Chapter Thirty-Eight

We’re at lunch with the crew, going through the usual convo and planning for the next few weeks. Halloween is coming up, and I can’t wait. Zahra and I put rush orders on the Black Panther suit and Storm’s matching black cutout jumpsuit and thigh-high boots. When she showed me the white wig she’d found and ordered to contrast with the black suit… Yeah, I can’t wait!

Still, there’s something that I can’t shake, and I’m doing my best to not spoil the excitement that swirls around all of us. I keep my eyes closed for a few moments, retreating into my subconscious mind, hoping I can settle whatever anxiety trying to creep to the surface.

Gamba notices it, too. “What are you anticipating, kiddo? I thought this was supposed to be the fun part of the year.”

“I’m not sure, and that’s what worries me,” I reply. “Whatever is scratching at my subconscious, it doesn’t feel right.”

Zahra gently pulls at my forearm, which brings me out of my meditative state. “Are you okay, baby? You’re on edge. I can feel it on you.”

“I’ll explain later, when we have a chance to be alone.”

We are intent on outshining everyone during the costume party that weekend, but the girls are more hyper about something else entirely. From the annoyed looks on my boy’s face, I have reason to be worried.

“I can’t wait for the Bicentennial Ball.” Kendyl’s bouncing in her seat like she’s won the lottery as she stares at Kyle from head to toe. “I get to see you in a tux, looking all… Whew, let me calm down.”

Did she say tuxedo?

Man, is it too late to get off this train before it leaves the station?

The dreamy stare Zahra gives me answers my question before I can get it out of my mouth. By the gods, why? “I haven’t had the chance to see you cleaned up yet, baby. The ball is the perfect time.”

“Um, prom, anyone?” I protest. “Where does it say in the rule book that I have to wear a tux twice a year?”

“Bro, don’t. Resistance is futile,” Kyle groans as he shows his outward disgust. “Just accept that you’re going to be assimilated into the Borg and get in line to get your tux like the rest of us.”

Kendyl punches his arm, giving me a glare that has me put my hands up in surrender. Nope, I’m not about to get caught up in that power struggle. “We don’t ask that much of y’all, and you get to see us at our sexiest, too? Win-win.”

“Listen, bro, I’m feeling it at prom time, but I don’t know about this.” I’m still in protest mode, and I’m not about to back down, either. “Is this one of those Oakwood Grove things that I should’ve been warned about way before now?”

“Look, as much stress that Z and I are gonna be under getting things planned out for Anniversary Week, the least you two can do is get your lives together and be the eye candy we need you to be,” Kendyl huffs, which completely throws me off.

Did I miss the memo or something? “What stress are you talking about? All you’re doing is coordinating outfits, right? Okay, I get that, but what exactly are the events for Anniversary Week? Can the uninitiated get an entry-level information packet or something?” I’m disturbed by the “thought you knew by now” glances from everyone around me, and I drop my head and bang it against the table top a few times to get my life together. “So what’s this madness with Anniversary Week anyway?”

Kendyl pipes up quick like this whole week has been her idea the whole time. “This is the week when the Founding Families came and settled Oakwood Grove two hundred years ago. We rock all kinds of events, but the one that means the most is the Anniversary Ball.”

“So what has you and Z tripping right now, though? It sounds like y’all got caught up, and I’m trying to figure out who needs to bleed.”

Zahra sighs, gritting her teeth as she glares at Kendyl. “Mayor Lance blindsided me earlier in the week. He wanted Oakwood Grove student participation in planning the Anniversary Week festivities. I got Kenni to tag along with me to see about the details, and as it turned out, it was an ambush. Chrisette was there, all smiles and whatever, and Mayor Lance asked the three of us to coordinate other events.”

“Wait, he has to know that you aren’t vibing with Chris like that,” Kyle jumps in, with a concerned expression splashed all over his face. “That’s a recipe for disaster, that’s for sure.”

“I want the record to reflect that I warned her that Chris was behind this setup,” Kendyl announces. “Out of all the kids at school, and he singles you out? Come on, babe, we willingly walked right into that buzzsaw.”

“And it was worth it, if I remember correctly,” Zahra claps back as she pulls out her phone. “Let’s see, we managed to get a large budget to get all the events we wanted to have completed, including the parade, the carnival, and Theater in the Park, something we’d been wanting in the town square for a while now, and we got him to make calls to Atlanta to get first-run advanced copies of Dune Part 2, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Marvels before they hit in theaters to show for the Theater in the Park idea you and I came up with on the fly.”

“Okay, okay, okay, you got what you wanted, but so did he. We still have to work with that twit,” Kendyl points out. “My pimp hand is already twitching at the first sign of her slick shading anything we do.”

“We can handle her, trust. She’s outnumbered, and she can’t run back to ‘Dad’ because she can’t get what she wants. Eww, it still makes my skin crawl when she called him that,” Zahra mentions, gagging at the mention of Mayor Lance. “We have to suck it up for the ball, and we get to do what we want in the park. Gotta give to get.”

“Remind me to hire you as my agent when I’m ready to go to the pros.” Kyle’s in shock, and so am I. I never realized how ruthless she could be. “You’ll have these GMs shook.”

“Yeah, yeah, enough of all that. I still haven’t gotten what I want for the ball, so I’m about to correct that right now.” Zahra leans in close, cooing in my ear low enough for the rest of them not to hear. “If you’re a good boy, I promise I’ll let you see what’s underneath the dress I’m wearing after the ball.”

I close my eyes tight, shivering when she kisses my earlobe. She ramps up her attack, like she has to convince me further. “Nod so I know you’ll get your tuxedo for the ball, pretty please?”

Kyle lets out an exaggerated grunt when I comply without hesitation. “See? No fair, Z. I had a shot to at least get an honest protest from my ace.”

That quip earns another punch from Kendyl. “Keep it up, and I’ll change my choice of Halloween costume from Wonder Woman to the Wicked Witch of the West.”

“Okay, damn, you don’t have to play so rough.”

“So, now that that’s been settled, I need to know what your color schemes will be, so Ky and I don’t clash or copycat.” Kendyl pulls out her phone to jot down notes. “And I’m deadass, too. I’m not about to get dragged. Nope.”

Zahra pipes up for the both of us before I have a chance to say anything. “Black, gold, purple. We’re Kindaran, girl. Anything less would be blasphemous.”

Kendyl glares at Zahra, irritated over her choices. My baby’s right, though. Anything other than those colors, and there would be hell to pay. “I hate you, chica. Fine. Crimson and silver. You’re lucky I love you, sis.”

Zahra sticks her tongue out at Kendyl, putting her head on my shoulder. “You’ll be all right, promise. Besides, I didn’t get to show up and show out last year because my date flaked on me. I’m flossing this year, and it’s gonna be in home country colors.”

“I hope you’re able to find a corsage in those colors, bro,” Kyle points out. “Otherwise, you may have to go outside the city to get what you want. The last thing you wanna do is have the parents give you the business because you screwed up tradition.”

“Yeah, first impressions are everything, pretty boy,” Zahra stresses to me like I don’t already know the drill. “Although I’ve been told that you’ll be getting that out of the way this weekend.”

“Uh oh, you get to meet Mr. and Mrs. Assante?” Kyle leans back in his chair. “May the gods have mercy on your soul.”

“Stop it, Ky. My parents are not that bad.”

“If you say so, Z.” Kyle focuses on me, his expression turning serious. “Don’t listen to her. Be on point from the jump, my boy. Her father makes my father nervous every time they’re in each other’s space.”

Yeah, that makes me feel much better.

“Don’t let Ky put crazy thoughts in your head, baby. I promise, my dad is hard on everyone…who isn’t Kindaran.”

“That’s that BS, for real.” Kyle scoffs. “We’ve been best friends for years, and that’s the reason he gave me hell when we were growing up?”

“Sorry, bestie, but you survived it, right? Did you die? You’re still alive.”

“That’s cold, girl. I’m heading to class before I get abused again.” Kyle kisses Kendyl before he leaves the table. “I’ll get with you and TK to set up the tux-fitting time. Holla.”

Heading to our next class, Zahra pulls me into a cleared hallway, pinning me against the wall, studying my facial expressions. “Don’t let Ky get in your head, okay? I’m serious.”

“That’s not freaking me out.” I’m lying, but I find the convenient excuse to throw her off the trail. “I had another nightmare last night. I’m not sure why they’re happening more frequently, but I’ve been distracted all day.”

She caresses my face, massaging my neck to relieve some of the tension. “Have you told Ms. Kynani?”

“She’s supposed to be heading over after school.”

“Okay, I have volleyball practice. Playoffs are coming, and we need to be ready.” She kisses my lips before she trots off toward her class. “Call me after you’re done so I can prep you for dinner this weekend?”

“Yeah, hopefully Ms. Kynani doesn’t take too long.”

…

“Thank you for coming by, Ms. Kynani. Unk and I wanted to ensure you were with us before we headed over to my girlfriend’s home to visit with her parents this weekend.”

My anxiety levels spike the moment those words are uttered. By Nyati, I’m gonna meet her parents! I’m not ready for anything like this yet. We’ve only been together for a short time. No matter how I try to spin it, I can’t avoid working through the worst-case possibilities in my head. I’m coming close to getting physically ill, and the dinner isn’t for a few days.

Not gonna lie, Unk kept the conversation between us light, explaining that everyone has gone through the “meeting the parents” phase at one time or another. After a few minutes of conversing, even he’s convinced that I’ve built things well beyond the realm of it turning out positive. Gamba did what he could to emanate as much energy from within to help balance me, but nothing’s working. At. All.

Kynani’s become the last-ditch effort to settle things down before we make the trip. I’m probably asking a lot, considering the original reason she’s supposed to be here, but I can’t worry about that. Getting through the dinner is more important to me.

“Yasir, I want you to sit down with me for a few moments.” Kynani escorts me to the couch, motioning for Unk and Lennox to step out of the room. “Now, why are you building this meeting up in your mind as though it was going to make or break your relationship?”

“I mean, put yourself in my shoes… If I was your child, wouldn’t you be skeptical of the girl I was dating?” I flip the situation, playing a real-life version of devil’s advocate. “He’s a Kindaran historian, among other things. I did my homework on him; he’s one of the most well-respected professors in the world. I have no idea how I’m supposed to hang in a conversation with him.”

“Have you had a conversation with him?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then, until you have a conversation with him, how will you know if you can keep up with whatever subject matter he may bring up at dinner?” Kynani invited an alternate version that somewhat settles me down. “You have yet to meet the man, and you have him built up like he is going to take one look at you and deem you unworthy. What if he likes you immediately? Have you thought about that?”

I open my mouth to form a response, but then I sit with her last words. “Well, maybe you’re right, Ms. Kynani. All of this is new to me. I just don’t want to mess things up. I really like her a lot…and that’s probably the first time I’ve said that out loud to anyone.”

“Listen to me, Yasir. You are a son of Kindara, you are a newly realized mwali duati, and you have the support of an uncle who has helped raise a well-adjusted young man,” Kynani asserts. “Not to mention you have a Vodaran priestess who can help you realize your true purpose in this world. He cannot possibly deny the greatness in you.”

I blink a few times, absorbing every word she’s saying, and my energy shifts in the moment. Confidence courses through me like an electrical current, and it removes all the doubt I had before. I don’t know how she’s managed to do it, but I’m grateful on several levels.

“See, I already sense the shift in you, young one. Now, when we meet your girlfriend’s family”—Kynani extends her hand, taking my hands and squeezing them—“I am sure they will be very pleased to meet you.”

I breathe a sigh of relief, feeling my heartbeat slow down. “Yes, I’m ready. I just hope they’re ready for me.”

“Good, now let us see what we can do about those nightmares.”