Drama High: Cold As Ice - L. Divine Drama High

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me. I walk over to the living room window and look outside over the neighbor’s tall trees to see if I notice anyone staring my way. I don’t have time to play 007 right now. I have to clean up this place and get ready to go, which includes a shower and doing my hair. It’s still early in the afternoon, and I know my crew’s not going anywhere anytime soon. I’ll be there as soon as I can, but I’m not rushing for anyone. Besides, I feel too good from Jeremy’s surprise visit and love confession to care about being late or who may be spying on us. I just want to enjoy this feeling a little while longer before I have to deal with my crew and their inevitable issues.

      1

      The Ultimate Betrayal

      “Yuh need fi check yuhself before yuh start kiss yuh teeth / Caw yuh nuh ready fi this yet, bwoy.”

      —TANYA STEPHENS

      Once all my chores were done at my mom’s apartment, I gave my hair a quick wash and dry before flatironing it and packing my stuff. It’s been a minute since I’ve had time to give my hair the proper love and care it deserves, but hopefully next weekend I’ll have more time to pamper myself. I sent Mickey a text a few minutes ago, informing her I was on my way. I don’t even know why I’m going to this session. I have schoolwork to catch up on, and there are always Mama’s assignments to do. Will a sistah ever get a break?

      When I pull up to Nigel’s house in Lafayette Square, a stone’s throw away from Crenshaw Blvd, I see all my friends are in attendance this sunny Sunday afternoon. I wish I were at the beach with Jeremy, as nice as the weather is. I park my mom’s little gray ride behind Chance’s Chevy and turn off the engine. Maybe I can take Chance’s car around the block before we leave. I need to make it a habit to drive his and Jeremy’s cars more often so I can sharpen my hot-rod driving skills. I wonder if girls ever race in their car crew?

      “Sorry I’m late, y’all. What did I miss?” I ask, entering Nigel’s foyer and greeting my friends chilling in the living room. They all look distracted by whatever’s on the flat-screen television. I’m surprised Nigel’s girlfriend, Mickey, would come back so soon after Mrs. Esop called her out last week about being unsure of the paternity of her unborn child. But I guess my girl’s still hopeful she’ll be accepted into the family. If there is ever an eternal optimist in the darkest of challenges, it’s Mickey. She’s dead set on marrying Nigel and becoming a housewife, even if his mama can’t stand her.

      “Damn, Jayd. You missed everything. Nellie and I are almost done with the registry and guest list,” Mickey says, flipping through baby catalogs, which has been her and Nellie’s favorite pastime lately. I’ll be so glad when this baby is born, I don’t know what to do. I walk into the living room and join the session in progress. I know they didn’t smoke down here, but my boys are definitely floating high on cloud nine.

      “You must’ve been real busy to be almost three hours late. Where were you?” Nellie asks, tagging several pages with pink Post-it notes. Party planning is definitely my girl’s thing. Maybe she can plan a small birthday celebration for me this year. My birthdays are usually uneventful, but I wouldn’t mind doing a little something on my special day. Nigel and Chance nod their greetings without looking away from the Chow Yun-Fat flick in front of them. Martial arts always mesmerizes my boys, and he is one of my favorite actors, too. Looks like I came just in time, no matter what Nellie and Mickey may think.

      “She was with her boy toy,” Rah says, taking his red eyes away from the fight scene on the big screen to glare at me. I knew he would be irritated about seeing Jeremy kiss me on Friday, but he really can’t say shit. I have to endure not one but two of Rah’s ex-heffas sniffing around him on the regular. Jeremy and I actually have a future together, unlike Rah and me.

      “He’s not my boy toy,” I say, ready to defend Jeremy and me if need be. “I know you know me better than that, Rah.” I roll my eyes at him and sit next to Nellie on the couch. Mickey and Nigel are cuddled up together on the love seat, and Chance is sitting on the floor in front of Nellie while she plays with his hair. Everyone’s coupled off except for me and Rah, yet we’re the two who brought them all together. Isn’t this ironic?

      “Then what is he, Jayd?” Rah asks, turning his body to face me completely. “You’re usually not late to a session, and you didn’t answer my calls or texts. Naturally, I got worried and went by to check on you. Before I could get out of the car, I saw your boy, Jeremy, leaving your mom’s apartment, and he looked very happy,” Rah says, waiting for my confession, but from where I’m sitting I don’t owe him an explanation.

      “Oooo, a midafternoon make-out session. I love it,” Nellie says, taking her hands out of Chance’s head and clapping. “Details, please.” Nellie is a bit too excited for the heaviness of the situation between me and Rah. I’ll fill her in on the encounter, kiss by kiss, another time. Right now I need to check my boy before he goes too far.

      “Rah, Jeremy and I are friends, and you’ve known that all along. Besides, you don’t see me spying on your ass when you don’t answer my calls, which is quite often now that Sandy’s back in your life,” I say, sucking my teeth at him. He’s got nerve enough for the both of us, with the way he carries on with his daughter’s mother.

      “Jayd, you can say whatever you like, but you know you’re wrong to be dealing with that punk again. He shouldn’t even be touching you,” Rah says, his high cheekbones flexing at the very thought of Jeremy and me kissing. I didn’t mean for him to ever witness Jeremy and me being affectionate, but it happened and there’s no going back.

      “Hey, that punk is my friend, and he helped you win that basketball game against KJ, don’t forget,” Chance says, having Jeremy’s back like a true homie. Nigel has Jeremy’s back, too, but he’s Rah’s homie first, so he’s silent, for the time being. But I know if Rah gets too carried away, Nigel will step in. We all know Rah’s not really pissed at Jeremy; he’s just jealous because I’m doing my own thing.

      “Whatever, man,” Rah says, calming down for the time being, or so I think. After a few minutes of silence, Rah comes back at me. Am I going to get to watch the movie in peace or what?

      “Just admit that the shit was disrespectful, Jayd, and I’ll let it go.” Mickey and Nellie look at Rah and then back at me. Nigel feels the gravity of the situation and turns the volume down on the surround-sound system his dad hooked up in here. The entertainment system in the game room is even tighter than this one, and I already feel like I’m at one of Magic Johnson’s theaters. But Rah’s drama is distracting us all from watching the movie.

      “I’m not admitting a damn thing,” I say, now just as irritated as Rah. This fool is really tripping and messing up my vibe. I was feeling good when I left my mom’s house, especially after Jeremy told me he loved me. Now I feel like kicking Rah’s ass. “Can you please shut up so we can enjoy the movie? We’ll talk about it later.” If I were a dude, Rah would’ve socked me in my mouth for telling him to be quiet. He looks like he’s going to hit something, and I feel him.

      “You’ve lost your damn mind, you know that?” Rah says, standing up from his seat and towering over me. “Do you really think I’m stupid, Jayd? I know you and that punk-ass white boy are more than friends—no offense, man,” Rah says to Chance, who looks like he wants to jump in but chooses against it. When Rah gets this angry, there’s no reasoning with him. Nigel gets up from his cozy spot next to Mickey just in case he needs to cool Rah down.

      “Come on, man. Let’s take a walk,” Nigel says, trying to distract him. But Rah’s eyes are set on me, and mine on him. Nellie scoots over, putting more space between her leg and mine. Chance scoots over on the floor just in case Rah takes another step and accidentally crushes Chance’s fingers underneath his new Jordans.

      “You betrayed me, Jayd. You betrayed us,” Rah says between his teeth before storming out of the living room and through the front door, passing Mr. and Mrs. Esop on his way down the porch steps. Nigel looks down at me and shrugs his shoulders before following his boy. I haven’t seen Rah this angry with me in a long time.

      “Rah, wait a minute.

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