My shades were placed back on my face. I wanted to cry because I knew I messed up. We shifted again to the music as my feet began to crisscross, causing me to stumble a bit. There was a light gasp, but Isnapped back. The only thing I cared about was how my family saw me. We finished out the pageant by changing into our gowns. We stood before the thick crowd as we smiled while waiting for the winner to be announced. They allowed Dean August to crown the winner. She slowly walked past each of us, some of us receiving boisterous yelling more than others. When she stood before Alyse, I could have died.
“The title of Queen of the Chi goes to the beautiful Alyse Maverick!”
Her group of friends barked louder than the students, staff, and other families. When that crown was placed on her head, I felt sick. How could this happen? My lips trembled as I continued with my fake smile. The moment we got signaled, I rushed to the back.
“You ladies did great!” Ms. Vanmyer squealed.
I snatched up my bag and stormed off. I didn’t even want to see my parents. However, as soon as I came out from the back, my mother snatched me and hugged me.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly while rolling my eyes.
Harlem came over smiling. My family stared at him, then at me. “You did great!” he said before pulling me in for a hug. “No more pills,” he whispered in my ear.
I pulled back from him, staring at him like he was crazy. I knew they were ruining me, but how could I give up something that made everything seem okay? Or did it?
He winked at me before walking off. My aunt came up to me, tapping my chin. I couldn’t tell if she was proud or disappointed, and that scared me. Before she could say something, Alyse and her crew walked by. My aunt's eyes followed them, and that was when I noticed the crazy lady who had come into the café. Aunt Nyomi turned her attention back to me.
“The prettiest girl in the world.”
“Sup, Apple?” Jesaiah’s voice came from behind me in my ear.
A smile beamed on my face because he had finally noticed me. “Jesaiah,” I said, surprised.
My mother pointed. “Apple is this your—”
He leaned forward, trying to shake her hand. “Friend. I’m her brother from Chi Kappa Chi.”
I shook my head. I hated Jesaiah and everything he stood for. He knew exactly what he was doing, and I was done playing with him. How was it that I was embarrassed and ashamed, and this nigga was walking around like he had gold up his ass? That was ending today because I was about to air all his shit out.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PRESS PLAY
After the pageant, the Zoo planned to meet up the next day to celebrate with Alyse before the crew headed back to the city. At first, I was going to decline, but since Phoebe was on her bullshit, I told them I would slide through.
Tonight was the Chi party that couldn’t be missed. Since my baby brother was here, I decided to take him. I wanted him to experience some college life, and what better way than to start with a party? I needed to get my mind off Phoebe because the shit that happened earlier was still fresh on my mind. It wasn’t that I was angry, but rather disappointed. Although I said I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, being with her changed those feelings. It was possible I felt left out knowing all my niggas were locked down but me. I was already going through this school shit, and having someone I could vent to, lay up with, and ride out my last year and a half with sounded good.
Relationships had never been a scare for me because although my father was an alcoholic, he wasn’t like that at first. He and my mother had a great relationship, displaying what natural Black love looked like. However, after my mom died, shit went downhill, and theoptimistic person I used to be died with everything else special in my life. The only thing that gave me hope was basketball. Ultimately, I knew it wasn’t the end of my career, but I also wanted something to fall back on. Everything Chev said was true. A nigga had not one excuse, and I knew I had used my brother, and that form of guilt sitting on my back was heavy.
The frat party was jumping. They did something different this time, and we all had to wear some kind of mask. It was interesting because some niggas had on full masks while others wore small masquerade masks. Jalen and I wore our motorcycle helmets. I watched through the tinted visor as more people came into the Chi house, crunching people together. Even though Jalen had come, I knew he was probably ready to shake because of Alyse. My eyes scanned the party, looking for Dio, but I couldn’t tell which one was him, since there were so many dudes the same height and weight. My eyes zoned in on every wolf, werewolf, bear, scary clown, Scream mask, and even shiesties. There was no way I was going to point him out.
I bobbed my head to the music. Then Jesaiah came over to me. I flipped up my visor for a quick second as he rolled the Black shiesty over his face. He looked me up and down like he was ready to shake and move. He never said much to me on campus, and now he was all in my face. Maybe it was because he knew Dio and I were friends. Jesaiah had never moved me. He was a nigga who thought his shit didn’t stink because his auntie worked in the dean’s office, but to me, he was just another broken Black soul trying to find his place at TSU just like the rest of us. I shooed him away.
“Better move around, nigga.” My eyes lowered on him.
Jalen stepped on the side of me while looking him up and down. He glanced back at Jalen before he walked off. I flipped my visor back down when I noticed the girls coming into the party. I only knew it was them because they all had on orange shiesties, except Morgan,who wore a blue one. Paige stepped in first, Morgan came next after Alyse while pulling on Samara’s arm, and to my surprise, Phoebe was with them. However, her mask was sitting on her head, allowing her fluffy hair to stick out. They reminded me of a younger version of the OGs girls.
As they came through the tight crowd, Jalen grabbed Alyse’s wrist, pulling her close to him. They were cute together. It was nice to see my brother with someone who understood him and cared for him with no judgment. Meanwhile, I was out here being played by a pretty face.
The music selection changed, and the crowd grew rowdy. I spotted Anika, who wore a masquerade mask, heading toward the kitchen. That was when I saw niggas standing there with Disney masks on, and I knew Dio was one of them. They were all Disney Villains: Hades, Jafar, Scar, Gaston, Shere Khan, and Captain Hook. I laughed because I knew my nigga was under one of those masks hot as fuck.
Samara awkwardly stood there searching the room, and as bad as I wanted to say something, I didn’t. I knew she was looking for his ass. When I glanced back toward the kitchen, Jesaiah was tapping their shoulders, sending them off. I could see the disappointment in Anika’s face, and that was what she got because I tried warning her, and she wouldn’t listen. My attention was drawn back to the crowd until a tug at my shirt made me look down. Her eyes gazed at my tinted visor, but I wasn’t with it.
“Xavier!” she yelled.
Eyes on her.
