When star athlete, DeAndre Parker clashes with a tough no-nonsense female classmate, he quickly learns that unlike basketball, there's no playin' hard in the game of love.
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Just before sixth period lunch Monday afternoon Troiann caught me in the hall at my locker. The clever and nervous smile on her let me know she was up to something.
I eyed her cautiously. "What?"
"I've got a confession to make. I've been messing around with Marcus Hamilton." She said his last name like there was some other Marcus that would come to mind at the admission.
DeAndre had beaten her to the punch but I played along for the affect anyway. "Marcus 'the Dog' Hamilton?"
Troiann rolled her eyes. "I'm just hooking up with him, Cree. I don't even let that boy cuddle with me. But I do wanna make it up to you."
"How?"
"I've set you up on a date this weekend."
I hadn't heard her right. She hadn't said she was setting me up on a date with a complete stranger. No, my best friend wasn't stupid.
Seeing my reaction, Troiann went on. "Oh come on, Cree. It's about time you get out there and try."
"But I—"
Troiann went on, touching my hair and spouting off about her plans for the date. "Friday you'll go home and shower, and straighten your hair, paint your nails and ooh, I'll get you the outfit."
I took a step back, touching a strand of my hair. Usually, I wore my natural, textured hair down on my shoulders or sometimes up in a ponytail. I straightened my hair sometimes, but when I knew I would only sweat it out at the studio or stuff it in a hairnet at work, I would just leave it as it was. Still, my hair always looked presentable.
Looking down at my jeans and sweatshirt, I wondered what was so bad about my choice of clothing.
"What's wrong with how I am?" I dared to ask.
Troiann smiled politely. "Cree, babe, you're cute, but we're gonna need you to be bad to land you a play thing. Repeat after me, three S's, shower, straighten, and style."
I was partly curious, but before I could say anything, I felt myself being nudged forward, hard. Someone had walked into me, too forceful for it to be a mistake.
I looked over, finding Draya and a couple of her girls walking by.
Troiann spotted her too and took off before I could stop her. She caught Draya by the arm and cornered her in front of a locker. "Um, excuse you."
Draya smirked. "Excuse me? Your friend should watch where she's standing."
Oh I hated Draya Young.
Troiann shook her head. "Uh-uh, don't you go walking into my friend like that. Watch where you going before you catch it."
Draya laughed, looking to her friends as if Troiann were a joke. "Catch it?"
