Foolish Summer | ✔

05 • S T E P H E N • 🍕

I wasn't supposed to be there at the festival. After dinner with Brad my mom banned me from leaving the house. She even called Devon's mom to make her send me home. But following rules wasn't my strong suit.

What I wasn't expecting was Mom and Brad coming down there to look for me. Honestly, it was overkill. I left a note saying when I'd be back. Didn't know why she was making such a big deal about it.

What was supposed to be a stress free day turned into a game of hide-n-seek. Thankfully these book festivals were always packed, making blending in with the crowd easy.

The downside was that it also made my mom and Brad harder to spot. At any moment they could just appear and I'd be dragged home by my neck.

"Are you a criminal on the run?"

I turned my attention back to the light skinned girl I ran over earlier. We were still in line waiting for some author to sign her book. I probably should've left her alone, but she was a Sasha Keaton fan. Those were hard to come by these days.

Sasha Keaton hadn't published a book in three years and before that she never did in person promotion for her books-no book signings or school visits or a single social media page. No one even knew what she looked like.

She was one of those low-key authors who just published her books and kept to herself. Because of her silence over the years her popularity had declined. She still remained one of favorites, though. And that girl seemed to share my opinion.

Now, she looked up at me expectantly through her purple rimmed glasses that matched her sneakers. She kept having to brush her thick curls out her face every time a breeze blew through.

I jokingly narrowed my eyes at her. "First I can't read, now I'm a criminal? I'm starting to feel like you're profiling me for being Black."

"I'm also Black," she said, making a face.

I shrugged. "All my skinfolk ain't kinfolk."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, but I could tell she was holding back a smile.

"I only asked because you look paranoid," she explained.

"Well, I-" I looked over my shoulder again. That time I saw them. Buff Brad and my mom scanning the crowd. I noticed mom had a tote bag from a publisher and wondered if chasing me down there was a ploy to get to the festival while keeping her image intact.

I ducked down, pretending to tie my shoe. The girl looked even more concerned. Either that or I was starting to scare her. I had to tell her something, just not that I was hiding from my mom. My dignity was at risk.

"I'm not a criminal." I told the girl, looking up at her. "You see that muscled out dude with the woman in green dress?"

She looked up, nodding when she spotted them. "Who are they?"

"I think the dude is experiencing roid rage," I lied. "I bumped into him, scuffing up his kicks and now he wants to beat my ass."

"Wow, you're just running into everyone today," she said, smirking a bit. "You can get up now, though. They went the other way."

I stood, double checking that the cost was clear. My shoulders relaxed.

"You know, you could tell security or something," she suggested. "They could remove him. Then you wouldn't have to hide behind me."

"Nah, it's not that serious." We were inching closer to the front of the line when something occurred to me. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" Her brown eyes doubled in size behind her glasses. She cleared her throat looking down at the book hugged to her chest. "I mean, I don't mind the company. Also, I've never met a Sasha Keaton fan. Especially not one who's a-"