When did you get this?” Rainie said, looking around the car. In the back were a pair of sneakers, a basketball, and a hooded sweatshirt.
“It’s actually my grandfather’s,” Durand said. “He can’t drive anymore, so he lets me drive it. I guess I’ve sort of taken it over.”
“Great for you, I guess,” Rainie said. “Not for him so much.”
“Yeah, it was sad when he gave me the keys,” Durand said. “My mom was glad. She freaked at the thought of him still driving. So now I take him to doctor’s appointments and other stuff. I spend time with him whenever I can.”
Rainie was touched. “That’s really nice,” she said, smiling.
“He means a lot to me,” Durand said. “I used to spend almost every weekend at my grandparents’ house when I was little. After my grandma died, he was really lonely, so I try to keep him company.”
He pulled into the Cap Central parking lot and pulled in next to Eva’s car. Ferg was taking a folded quilt out of the trunk.
“We call bench!” Carlos said. There was one bench behind the school. It was usually occupied by a couple. Those not lucky enough to grab the bench usually just sat in the grass. The best spot for enjoying the view was obvious because the grass was trampled down.
Eva and Ferg spread out the quilt. Eva sat down, and Ferg stretched out beside her. Rainie felt awkward. She didn’t know if she should sit on the blanket or in the grass.
“You want to learn some moves?” Durand asked her. “It won’t hurt if you fall on the grass.”
“Sure!” Rainie said. “MMA or self-defense or something. Just how to get away from someone who’s grabbing you.”
“They’re pretty similar,” Durand said.“Different legal moves. But basically the same. Okay, so come at me, and I’ll show you some tricks.”
Rainie pushed at his chest. He didn’t budge. “Okay, well, this isn’t going to work,” she said. “You have to pretend to be me.”
Durand put his hand on his hip and the other in his hair. “How’s this?” he said in a high voice.
“I never look like that,” Rainie said, laughing. “Just quit being so … so, you know. Unmovable.”
“Okay. Just come at me and grab me.”
Rainie put her arms around his chest and tugged, trying to make him fall. He still didn’t budge.
“See? You can’t be a nice person if you’re gonna win,” Durand said. “Wrestlers start with one kneeling on the mat and the other standing up, but you’ll never find yourself in that position. So you need to learn how to disable a guy. Or better still, how to get away. If someone was attacking you, you just want to get away. How about if I take you down, and you try to escape?”
Rainie nodded and braced for his attack. He bent her over his arm, and using his legs, kicked her legs out from under her. She fell back onto the grass. For a moment, her breath was knocked out of her.
“Shoot! Sorry, are you all right?” Durand asked, falling to his knees beside her. He looked concerned.
“I … I’m fine,” Rainie whispered. Durand’s face was so close, she could feel his breath. Her eyes seemed to be locked on his, and she couldn’t look away.
“Still want to work on escaping?” he asked softly.
No, she thought. I want to stay here forever. “I probably should,” she said instead.
“Dang!” Durand said with a shaky laugh. “Okay, don’t actually do it, but you know you can always knee somebody, right? Like, where it hurts. You can also push against somebody’s throat or his eyeballs. Bite, spit, whatever. There are rules in MMA and wrestling, but if you’re in trouble, there aren’t any rules.”
Rainie sat up. Durand stood up and reached his hand down to help her to her feet. They walked over to the blanket. Joss and Carlos had joined Eva and Ferg. The blanket wasn’t too big, and there was not much space left to sit.
“Homes, don’t even try to sit over here,” Carlos said, shoving Durand toward Rainie. “There’s no room over on this side.”
Durand sat down. He reached up to Rainie and pulled her down so that she was sitting between his outstretched legs, her back against his chest.
“You’ve got grass in your hair,” he said softly, pulling it out gently.
Rainie felt like she couldn’t breathe.
“Thanks,” she said.
He folded his arms around her and held her close.
“Okay, everybody, get ready!” Eva said excitedly. “The sun’s almost down.”
In the distance, they could see the busy streets of Washington. The national aspects of the city and its famous people could have been thousands of miles away. To them it was just D.C., their hometown.
As the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, Carlos stood up. “And that’s all, folks,” he announced, clapping his hands together.
The others stood up. Rainie and Durand shook out the blanket. They folded it, and Rainie handed it to Eva.
“So are we coming over to your place?” Ferg asked Eva.
“Nah, we gotta work on our project,” she said. “And so do you guys. You gotta get a good grade on it. It’s the only thing that’s gonna pull your science grade out of the toilet.”
“Yeah, between science and math, I’m in big trouble,” Carlos said. “English ain’t so good either.”
“ ‘Ain’t’?” Joss repeated in disgust. “No wonder you’re failing!”
“I’m not failing, I’m just not doing so good this semester,” Carlos said.
“It’s like everyone needs help this year,” Ferg said as they reached the cars.
Rainie kept quiet. She didn’t want anyone to know how much trouble she was in with her grades.
“Okay, Butler, I guess we’re going with you,” Carlos said. He kissed Joss and got in the car.
“See you later,” Ferg said. He quickly kissed Eva and gave her a hug. “Study hard, ladies!”
Rainie’s eyes met Durand’s. He gave her a big goofy grin and blew her a kiss.