Maggie’s and Kellie’s faces contorted. Maggie’s perfectly manicured nail went up in the air. “What we’re not going to do is act like Coreland ain’t the shit on the low. We just like to stay low-key out here to keep out bumble bee head ass bitches.”
Shanae’s head bucked. “Bumble bee head ass bitch! Yeah, you’re Uncle Mega’s child because in what world does that description make sense?”
The older Maggie got, the more Mega’s traits showed themselves. She had the poise, grace, and elegance of her mother, but the insults of her father. It was a balancing act that she managed with expert precision.
“Maggie!” A loud voice called out from the side of the section. Angie walked smoothly into the section like she belonged with her little entourage behind her. “Girl, when I heard about this party, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come. You know you and your best friend tend to be a little lame at times,” she said with an arrogant snicker.
The tip of Maggie’s ear tingled. Angie graduated today with Travis. She was one of the most popular girls at Coreland High School who got everything that she wanted. Well, not everything, because she wanted Travis in the worst way. The first time he rejected her, she took it as a bad day, a one off. After the fifth time, she developed a hatred for Maggie. Angie couldn’t understand what the hell Travis saw in Maggie.
Yes, Maggie was beautiful, that couldn’t be denied. You needed more than beauty to be on the arm of a pro-baseball player. At least that was how Angie felt. To her, Maggie was a boring daddy’s girl who would never be able to keep a man like Travis happy.
“Angie, first, congratulations on your graduation. Being number sixty-seven in a class of seventy-four has to be such an accomplishment. I’m sure the colleges and universities that don’t need SAT or ACT scores for acceptance are chomping at the bit to have you on their roster. As for the lame comment, I rather be lame than a dummy.” There was no smile on her face or humor in her tone as Maggie spoke.
Angie’s face dropped as her little cronies quietly giggled behind her. Yeah, she wasn’t a bright one. The time that she should have used to study was used for more salacious activities. Her mother had given her the Ronnie advice since she was twelve years old.Use what you got to get what you want.As long as she was able to do that, did the grades really matter?
Serenity burst into laughter. “How you come over here like a Billy badass, but you’re a dummy. Sixty-seven out of seventy-four, damn.”
“Look, bitch! You don’t fuckin’—” Angie’s words were cut off mid-sentence when Shanae stood and placed her finger on Angie’s lips. Angie was too stunned by the action to react.
Shanae shook her head. “See, that’s not what we’re going to do. It’s obvious that you are dumb. You are at a party thrown by my cousin for her man where all of her people are. If shit really pops off, who do you think might not make it home tonight?”
Shanae stayed to herself because of that crazy gene Ned had seeped into her theoretically by osmosis. She was raised and surrounded by trained killers who taught her how to protect herself. Ned often described his oldest daughter as an aftershock. People always feared the earthquake but rarely gavea second thought to the aftershock. That was where they fucked up.
Angie heard the subtle threat. Her thoughts went one hundred miles a second on whether to call the bluff or back down. She already felt like an idiot with Shanae’s finger still over lips. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, and she didn’t like what she saw. She was the center of attention in a way that she didn’t want to be.
From across the venue, seated in a section with the guys, Jamal had eyes on the girls’ section. It was in his blood to be observant as Jacob and Galiana’s son. “Warrior, what your girl got going on over there?”
Warrior wondered the same thing. He hadn’t taken his eyes off his girl since they arrived. “Travis, who is that?”
Travis paused his conversation with Akon to focus on the girls’ section. He sighed when he noticed Angie. “Ugh, that’s Angie. She’s this chick that tries to stay on my dick. She doesn’t like Maggie because she’s not Maggie. Let me see what the fuck this girl got going on.”
Akon extended his arm to stop Travis from getting up. “Nah, lead from the back on this, Mr. Baseball. You don’t need to be in the mix of bullshit. Be last in the pack for this one just in case.”
Warrior led the pack since it was his girl who had her damn finger across another human’s mouth. On the walk to the section, he glanced at the section where all of their parents were. Multiple eyes were on them, so he gave a nod of confidence that shit was cool.
He walked into the section with a smile. His arm wrapped around Shanae’s waist before he kissed her temple. “What you got going on, baby?”
Shanae melted in his arms. “Nothing at all. Angie and her friends were just leaving. There’s a late night study group that she needs to be at.”
Angie was beside herself with embarrassment. The embarrassment tipped over when Travis stopped beside her, glared at her for a second, then shook his head. She kept her eyes on him while he sat next to perfect Maggie. He kissed her lips, then wrapped an arm around her waist.
With a huff, Angie turned on her heels, then stormed out of the section. All of the girls in the section watched as she and her little crew left the venue. It was comical.
“I guess this is a foreshadowing of what I have to look forward to,” Maggie said to Travis. Ironically, that was the first time that a female had the guts to say something directly to her. Yeah, she heard the smug comments that were said behind her back or when she walked past. This was different though.
Travis tightened his hold on her waist. “Mags, can I tell you a secret?” He waited for her to nod before he continued. “You are about to be one of the most envied and hated on females out here. As much as people are rooting for us, there are others who want to see us crash and burn. We gonna show them something though. You wanna show them something with me?”
Maggie smiled. “Yeah, let’s show them how love can be young and real. You still better let those heifers know that your forever is a quiet lune. I will have my aunties help me break in those bitches cars and houses, spray it with adhesive, then fill it with glitter and fuckin’ sprinkles. I got connections and you know that.”
Travis roared with laughter. His girl said the craziest, yet cutest things. “You’re going to use your connections to put glitter and sprinkles in a bitch’s car and house? Do you think that’s the best use of your resources, Mags?”
With a turned up top lip and an arched brow, she responded, “Um, yes, it is. Could you imagine glitter and sprinkles over everything that you own? Not just sprinkled on everything but stuck on everything.”
Travis could imagine that. His and Maggie’s relationship hadn’t been perfect. They were still teenagers that were petty. One particular petty argument last year led to Travis becoming the owner of a single bedazzled retro J. He almost lost his mind, and that was just one foot of a pair of sneakers. “Yes, baby, I can imagine. You’ve given me a sneak peek on how talented you are.”
Oh, she’d forgotten about that. Like a perfectly scripted play, a popular line dance song glared over the speakers. The women in the venue jumped up and headed to the dance floor. It was the perfect opportunity to exit the conversation.
“Oh! Mega! You know this one. Let’s do it together.” Ruth jumped up and grabbed her husband’s hand to pull him from his seat.
