I have no intention of sounding any alarms, but after our conversation with Kynani, there’s no choice but to lay all the cards on the table with the rest of the clique. I know Zahra’s going through a lot of the same emotions I am, but she’s got her best friends here to help her through it. As much as I would like to lean on my people—or at least my former people—that’s no longer possible, not after everything that happened when I was up there last time.
Now I’m stuck trusting people on the strength of my girlfriend’s connection to them. It’s not exactly a bad thing, though. I’ve gotten attached to them, and some of the others in our circles at Oakwood, but there’s something about that built-in trust that’s always been there. But this is a huge bomb to drop, and we have no idea how they may react to it.
Zahra told me before everyone arrived that they might be a bit confused over where the chat would take place. Anytime something serious needed to be discussed, she and Kendyl would camp out in her bedroom, door locked, with the explicit request from her parents to not disturb them until they got whatever the crisis had been calmed down. If that’s the case, Kyle and I being in the room will really throw Kendyl off.
Not to mention, we won’t be in her bedroom to talk this time.
The minute Kyle and Kendyl walk through the door, all Zahra’s concerns are realized. All we can do is get them where they need to be and try to keep them from freaking out.
We’re camped out in the basement, with all sorts of pillows and blanket pallets sprawled all over the floor. We even put the fruits and pastries that Zahra and I brought from the grocery store out on trays to cushion some of the blow of what we have to say.
Once everyone is settled in their spaces, my anxiety levels shoot through the roof.
I’m not ready. Nope. This is a bad idea.
As soon as I sense the hesitation in Zahra, I’ve completely forgotten about anything I’m going through, period. I whisper in her ear, “Are you okay? I can feel your hesitation. I’m here with you, baby.”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” she utters in a low, hushed tone. “I understand if you’re not ready to trust them. I can just tell them about what’s going on with me.”
I shake my head, letting her know we’re in this together. “I’ll be okay. I have to trust them sooner or later, right?”
Zahra kisses my lips and nods before she turns her attention toward Kendyl and Kyle, noticing the confuzzled expressions on their faces. “What?”
Kendyl’s never one to beat around the subject. “Girl, get your life together and let us know why we’re here and why it’s not in the usual spot?”
Zahra exhales slowly, grabbing my hand as she braces herself. “Okay, so a lot has been going on that we haven’t had a chance to tell y’all about. It’s going to seem unbelievable, but you’re my best friends, so there’s no way we could hide this from you. And I’m hoping Yasir can trust you with this, too.”
“You’re starting one of your famous rants, chica. Just spit it out,” Kendyl says. “I promise, we can handle whatever it is that you’re dealing with. What’s going on with you two, and why are you both looking like it’s the end of the world?”
“Yeah, when we got done with our tuxedo fittings, I’d never seen him so focused on making sure Anniversary Week goes great for you,” Kyle chimes in. He glances at Kendyl, then back to us again, confusion spread all over his face. “So what’s really good, and why are we just now hearing about it?”
Zahra flinches for a moment, placing her hands over her ears to calm herself. She murmurs to herself, and I recognize that she’s having a conversation with her trillsage. Is that what I look like when I’m talking to Gamba? I make a mental note to figure out a way to not look like I’m spaced out when those convos need to happen.
She pops out of it seconds later, and she focuses her gaze on Kendyl. “Kenni, remember that situation at the mall with those Beach Creek boys, when I tried to get Yasir’s attention?”
Kendyl nods, looking up at Kyle before she turns her attention back to me. “I remember. We always knew you could sing.”
Zahra sighs, offering a small smile. “Yeah, but I didn’t know how to answer your questions back then. I know now, and I’m scared that you’ll see me differently once I tell you.”
Kendyl reaches over and pulls us to where she and Kyle are to join in a tight group hug. If they keep this up, I’m gonna have to take back everything I said about not trusting them. “Z, we’ve been damn near blood for over a decade. You are my sister. We love you too much to worry about what you’re having a hard time telling us. And Yasir…I know I gave you the business when we first met, but you mean the world to my girl, which means you’re my people, too.”
“You know you’re my ace, bro, so you know I got your back, whatever it is,” Kyle adds his piece. “You’re my dawg. We might not be Day Ones, but it’s felt like it since we had a chance to really hang.”
I’m gonna need them to stop making this so damned easy.
“If you tell me that you’ve developed superpowers, I’m gonna scream,” Kendyl interrupts me. “Just get it out. I wanna be right, so spit it out, sis.”
“Okay, okay, okay, sheesh. Yes, Yasir and I are metahuman. Happy now?”
Kendyl just smirks like she unlocked the cryptex from The Da Vinci Code. “Yes, I’m happy now. You made it sound like it was something we needed to be afraid to know.”
Zahra smiles big and breathes out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re my aces. You have no idea how much I stressed over telling you about any of this.”
“Of course, only you would have best friends who could, and would, understand any of this and not run for the hills,” Kendyl expresses as we burst into laughter. “But now the question is how do we keep this under wraps with the rest of the cliques we run in, and what does this mean for all the Anniversary Week shenanigans? I mean, you’re both whole enhanced beings now. Doesn’t that come with a secret identity or some other nonsense that we’re supposed to keep hidden?”
“Yeah, we’ve really been reading too many comic books.” Kyle breaks out into more laughter. “I mean, it’s obvious that you both have abilities. When will you find out what Yasir’s are?”
“Hopefully soon, but we’ll have that conversation with someone who can help with those answers. But considering that he is supposed to be the bodyguard-slash-beast in the equation, I am wondering what that might look like,” she continues. “I do have a thing for boys who know how to handle themselves and take the lead.”
“Yeah, it’s the reason Ian got to you freshman year before it all fell apart,” Kendyl points out. I give her a hard glare, and she simply shrugs. “What, you know it’s true. I’m just glad you came to your senses before things got out of hand.”
It gets quiet in seconds.
The cliché of being able to hear a pin drop on a hardwood floor doesn’t cover how quiet it is right now. I shift my gaze between the three of them, and they’re all having a hard time maintaining eye contact.
This can’t be life right now.
“Wait, what was that?” Yeah, she can’t just drop a bomb like that and I’m supposed to act like it didn’t hit. “Is that the reason why Ian’s still so fixated on me? Y’all used to go out?”
I shudder at that hard truth as the silence gives me all the answers I want. Leave it to Kendyl to be her blunt-force-trauma self at the wrong damn time.
“Damn, Kenni, did you have to drop the anvil on my head like that?” Zahra says. “I’m still trying to get that idiot out of my atmosphere, and he still manages to show up like a bad rash. His fixation with Yasir is just begging for more drama.”
“It’s begging for more than that, baby. He’s trying to get me locked up,” I growl, doing my best to keep Gamba at bay. He’s been pretty quiet during this whole bit, which makes me wonder if he’s just waiting for the perfect time to show himself. “I would’ve been able to at least sidestep a lot of this craziness if I’d known.”
“Speaking of bad rashes, how are we supposed to deal with him and his girl Chrisette tomorrow night at the Theater in the Park event?” Kyle asks.
“She will be with Ian the rest of the night anyway, and as long as they’re boo’d up, that will be less stress on all of us,” Zahra replies. “What we need to do is let them pick a spot and then pitch our spot way away from them instead of the other way around. The minute they see us camped out, it gives them control.”
“Say less, I’m with that plan.” Kyle grabs a donut. “Any other drama that we need to see about? I’m sure that we can’t be the only ones going through it.”
Zahra nods at Kendyl. “I have one thing on my mind, considering the ball is a couple of days away now. What we need to talk about is how we better outclass the entire town at the ball. The dresses we finally were able to pick up from the seamstress are fire. And what about the tuxedos that the boys ordered, though? Let’s talk about that for a minute.”
Kyle quickly kisses Kendyl and rises from their spot. “Yep, I’m about to head out. This is not the part of the convo that I signed up for. Until you say it’s cool, I’m leaving my boys out of the mix, but no cap, I’m gonna end up looking at my dawg a little differently from now on.”
“I’m still the same, my boy, but yeah, I get what you’re saying,” I reply, tapping fists before I kiss Zahra and follow him out the door. “We’re gonna let you ladies hash out whatever you need to for the ball. All we need to do is show up and look boss.”
Zahra stands to give Kyle a hug, laughing at his impromptu exit just when things are getting interesting, and she encourages Kendyl to escort him out while she takes my hand to head up the stairs. “Believe me, things are going to be a lot different from now on. There’s no such thing as normal anymore.”