“No.” Irish shook her head, licking her frozen cup. “The blue one goes harder.”
They sat on the stoop, eating their frozen treat while people watching. It was their favorite thing to do.
“You think your mama gon’ let you come to Clemens with me?”
She shrugged. “I don't know. She wants me to go to this high school across town. I would have to catch two buses to get there.”
He scoffed as his bushy brows furrowed. “Bruh, you could just walk to school with me. Clemens right down the street.”
“Tell her that,” Irish quipped, smiling at him.
She couldn’t believe that a boy had become her best friend. Irish always thought she would be in a girl clique, looking fly and attracting all the boys in their projects. Instead, she had been wrapped around the tall, deep voice Jovanis who made her feel so special.
“I’ll tell her fat ass, too,” he joked.
Irish laughed, unable to resist the cruel joke about her mother. “You’re suck a je—”
“Irish!”
She turned her head and noticed her stepfather, Emanuel, calling her over.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yep.”
Irish got up and jogged over to the door. Emanuel stood on the concrete stair, looking down at her with his bulging eyes.
“Come in. I wanna talk to you.”
Silently, she walked inside with him behind her. Once he shut the door, he smiled at her.
“You wanna go get some food? How does Applebee’s sound?”
Her eyes glowed at the invitation. It was rare for Irish to go out to eat. The most she’d gotten was McDonald’s every now and then.
“Yeah.”
“Alright, go get pretty and meet me here in thirty minutes.”
Irish raced down the hall, bypassing her mother, who ambled with a laundry basket in her hand.
“Irish, what did I tell you about running in the house?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Irish entered her room and went to the closet. She picked a yellow maxi dress that Jovanis had stolen for her. Since Applebee’s was a big deal, she figured there was no better time to wear it than now. Irish grabbed her jelly sandals andgot dressed. Her ginger hair was slicked back in a ponytail with baby hair. Her mother had allowed her to start wearing mascara, so she put some on along with lip gloss. After checking her appearance, she went to the living room where Emanuel was waiting.
“Well don't you look pretty.”
The fussy cries from her one-year-old sister, Ivory, became louder as she waddled into the room. Irish picked her up and hugged her tightly.
“Aww, Ivory, I’m gonna come back. I promise.”
Emanuel rubbed her wild coils. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Irish put the baby down and followed Emanuel out of the house. His Cadillac was parked out front, so she hopped in the passenger seat, feeling so giddy that her cheeks ached.
