Mr. Donatelli stopped me in the hall. Everyone who had paid to escape class and see the talent show was entering the auditorium. The boys had gone and grabbed front row seats and reserved spots for our group, so I wasn't worried about getting a bad seat as I stood off to the side with Mr. Donatelli.
"Yes, sir?" I asked as I stuffed my hands into my short's pockets. It had gotten hot and May was definitely bringing the sunshine after several months of freezing cold and raining on and off.
"I just wanted to talk to you about the paper you and Miss Jacobs turned in," Mr. Donatelli said. "That is honestly the best essay I've read in a long time at this school. I'm actually thinking of taking it out with me tonight and showing a few colleagues from college."
I had thought our paper was brilliant, but not that brilliant. "You're showing professors?"
Mr. Donatelli shrugged. "Just a few friends, a couple of them actually do teach at KSU. My good friend Byron teaches African Studies and I think he'd like what you and Miss Jacobs put together."
I made a mental note to rub it in later when my father was around. "I'll make sure to tell Cree the good news."
Mr. Donatelli reached out and patted my arm. "Easiest A+ I've ever given out. You and Miss Jacobs make a great team. I only wish I could see what else you two could do when you put your heads together. Enjoy the show."
I headed on inside and found my spot next to Tremaine. We were in the middle row of seats sitting up front. The end seat next to me was empty as Tremaine, Marcus, Troiann and Chris all sat down to my right.
Marcus had his arm across the back of Troiann's chair, his hand playing in her curled hair and together they were lost in conversation. He had yet to claim her still and each time she tried to pull away there he was pulling her back. Tremaine joked it was love, but Marcus didn't find it funny. With Darnel I wasn't entirely sure I wanted him to be with Ashley, especially if she had him asking for space from his family and second-guessing basketball. Troiann seemed to be the exact opposite. As far as I could see, she wasn't trying to change Marcus or herself, and strangely, that was what made them work so well.
I leaned over to get Troiann's attention. "Yo, Troy, we should get into something later to celebrate."
Marcus glared at me, pulling Troiann into him. "Get your own girl, Dre."
"My own girl? Is that your way of saying you have a girl?" I feigned ignorance as I asked the simple question that had the rest of the boys instigating and looking at Marcus for a response.
He shook his head and faced the stage. "Enjoy the show."
The lights in the room dimmed as the seat next to me filled. Looking over, I found Draya sitting beside me, sucking on a sucker.
She watched me watch her, a cocky grin taking her lips as her tongue played with the sucker. "Hey, DeAndre."
I lifted my eyes to hers. " 'Sup?"
She grinned. The peach colored sucker coated her lips but not her teeth. She knew how to do it without them touching the sucker. Talk about talent.
Draya crossed her legs, her short skirt exposing how long and toned they were. "I hear you're throwing a party in a few weeks."
"Chris is, I'm just supplying the location."
Around and around she twirled the sucker on the tip of her tongue, before taking it into her mouth and sucking on it.
It was erotic watching her enjoy the simple candy, but yet it wasn't entirely doing it for me. Draya had it, but she didn't need to be doing tongue tricks—not that I minded—to get my attention. She had had it for months.
"Can I come?" she asked in a voice that held more meaning than the question really called for.
"When have you ever missed one of our parties?"
Draya smiled. "Things seem...different now."
"How so?"
"I heard you're seeing that one girl."
My jaw twitched uncomfortably. "Cree?"
Draya nodded, playing coy as if she hadn't known Cree all that well. "Yeah, that's the one. I mean, I do see y'all together a lot."
Her mouth was better when she had the sucker in it.
Draya knew Cree wasn't her competition. Cree was just my best friend, far above the likes of being on Draya's level where I just wanted to see what that box was like.
"I'm with my boys a lot as well," I countered. "Cree's the homie, as is Troiann."
Draya looked past me and her upper lip curled up at the sight of Troiann. "Since when does DeAndre Parker have girl friends?"
Since I found Cree Jacobs interesting and Troiann Nguyen was cool enough to kick it with. She wasn't sensitive and she could take it and deliver it. Cree was smart enough to carry a conversation and neither of them were really into us for our image or "wealth."
"Since I do whatever the fuck I want."
If it were too harsh she didn't let it register on her face. "Anyway, I'm hoping this party is gonna be a banger."
"Chris is throwing it, expect the unexpected. We might see some barn animals and shit."
Draya laughed. "He is a wild boy. Do you like to get wild, Dre?"
"Occasionally."
There was a twinkle in Draya's eye as she placed the sucker back in her mouth. From behind her, her friend leaned over and tapped her shoulder and whispered something in her ear and they began to carry a conversation.
A nudge from my right drew my attention to Tremaine.
"Just get some head, Dre, it ain't worth it." He looked over at Draya and back to me. "Some girls you fuck and others you just fuck in the mouth."
A few months of thinking of Draya just to get some head? What a waste that would be. "Jealous?"
He smirked. "She fine but she ain't that fine. There are other girls in this school who can give her a run for her money."
The talent show had begun but I didn't give a shit about the kid up on stage singing "I Believe I can Fly."
I sat back in my seat and gave Tremaine my full attention. "Like who?"
"Troy for one."
Troiann was prettier than Draya, but Draya had the body, not that that mattered in the long run. If I had a choice, Troy could take it—but not now that she was practically officially with Marcus.
"You can't get that," I pointed out.
Tremaine nodded. "True, but that's just an example. She ain't the baddest in the school, shit, Cree could take her."
On many levels, it was true, Cree could.
The talent show went on for another hour and it was just as basic as we all would've guessed. When Nelson Edmonds poured baby oil on himself and danced to "Panty Droppa" I looked elsewhere, finding Troiann dancing along in her seat as she clearly enjoyed the show—until Marcus pushed her, knocking off her groove.
"What?" Troiann laughed as she fanned herself. "Shit, that's gone be tough to beat."
"Cree hasn't gone yet," Tremaine spoke up. "And I'm hoping they saved the best for last."
They had.
The curtains closed for a few moments and when they opened Cree was sitting on a chair in the center of the stage. Two girls were all dressed as ballerinas with their hair and makeup done, sitting off to the side of the stage pointing and whispering at Cree. A man as tall and big as her father stood to one side of the stage with his arms crossed. Cree had straightened her hair and had it up in a bun as she sat wearing a black top that exposed her abdomen and baggy pants.
A man could be heard asking what someone's aspiration in life was and soon I recognized Beyoncé's voice as she answered that it was to be happy.
The music began to play and Cree stood up from the chair and pushed it to the side. She stood in the middle of the stage, allowing her body to become one with the music and to find the melody. She went to leap but fell and the girls on stage laughed and mocked her.
Cree sat on the stage pretending to cry as the man off to the side shook his head. She got up and tried the move again and fell once more as Beyoncé sang in the background about how it hurt to be pretty. No matter how hard Cree tried she couldn't stick the move and the girls on stage continued to tease her and the man kept on shaking his head and scowling at the girls. A few times he'd shouted out, "You can do this, Cree."
The two girls gathered their things and walked past Cree who stood appearing upset as they gawked at her on their way off the stage.
Beyoncé faded away and was soon replaced by a piano instrumental that led to vocals that I didn't recognize.
Whispers from behind me told me it was some Britney Spears song. Her lyrics somehow seemed to flow with Beyoncé's as she sung about not being a girl any more but also not being a woman.
On stage Cree was arguing with the man, seeming more and more upset as he tried to reach for her and she fought against his hold. Cree pushed him away as she went back to the center of the stage. This time, as she went into her ballet routine, she successfully landed each move. She moved fluidly with Britney and I could hear the crowd's applause as she danced smoothly without messing up. She was just as graceful and angelic as she'd been the first time I'd ever seen her dance, and hearing the rest of the school agree made me proud I'd signed her up for the show.
Britney faded away and a new song came on as Cree stopped dancing and pointed to the man, demanding he leave the stage. He made an angry face, to which Cree cocked her head to the side and challenged him back.
The man exited the stage and joined the two girls from before as they stood against the wall on the far right side of the auditorium.
Cree was back in the center of the stage. She reached up and removed the bun and let her hair fall down past her shoulders as she wiggled her hips to the song. It was an old school record. Janet Jackson's "Control" was playing as Cree went from ballet to something more modern and sexy. She played in her hair, shook her hips and imitated that of classic Janet. And then she grabbed a chair.
All eyes were on Cree as she grinded her hips into the chair, turned it around and straddled it, repeating the motion and making it look sensual.
"I think I might want that," Tremaine leaned over and whispered to me.
I leaned over in my seat, just to get a better view of the show before me. Beyond the sex appeal, beyond the dancing, I could see the story she'd written to go along with her skit. She was talking to her father, telling a story of a girl who was growing up, learning that it was painful to be a woman and to be considered beautiful, but she wanted her father to know that she wasn't a little girl anymore and that he couldn't hold her hand. And if needed, she'd push him away and take control of her life and live for herself and learn on her own. From the failed attempts at ballet, to learning the moves, and to venturing off into a territory marked for grown women who were aware of their sexual side, Cree painted an illustrious picture.
Mr. Jacobs had to notice, he had to see her angst over failing, her determination to make it, and her triumph as she succeeded at doing the one thing she truly loved: dancing.
I watched as Cree finished dancing and the whole auditorium stood up and clapped for her. She had the biggest smile on her face and I couldn't help but smile as well, knowing exactly how it felt to do something you were good at and to kill it. I knew the feeling of being high off of that feat, winning basketball games gave me that high, just like the standing ovation gave Cree hers.
No one was surprised when Cree won the cheap looking trophy and sash the judges handed out. Maybe Cree was, she appeared shocked when they placed the sash on her and handed her prize. When the show was over and we could finally get to talk to her, she still appeared not all there.
Troiann hugged her tight, smiling just as big as Cree was. "Oh my gosh, girl, you did it! I for sure thought Nelson was taking it home but you showed him."
Marcus rolled his eyes. "Nelson was wack."
Cree and Troiann shared a look, both agreeing on something we couldn't decipher from their looks.
I reached out and patted Cree's arms. "Nice job, you killed it."
Tremaine shoved me. "What the hell was that, Dre?" He reached out and pulled Cree into a bear hug, picking her up and making her laugh. "This is how you congratulate her."
"Trey! I'm all sweaty, put me down," she demanded.
Her long hair was matted to her neck, her exposed stomach and small amount of cleavage held a warm glow to it from all the perspiration. Disheveled or not, she looked good carrying her exertion around on her.
Tremaine set her down. "Nah, I like it. Damn, you were sexy. You know, you'll never have to worry about your dude going to strip clubs when he has you at home able to do it all for him."
Cree flashed Tremaine a smile and patted his chest. "That's the point, right?"
Knowing Tremaine, he was about to say something inappropriate just as her father came over with Loraine.
Cree smiled over to her father, who only stood studying her. "Did you like it, Daddy?"
We all looked his way. He had to have liked it; she'd done it for him.
"We'll talk about it at home, you ready?" Mr. Jacobs avoided the question all together as he stepped to the side to make room for Cree to walk by.
Cree looked forlorn suddenly as she glanced between our group and me before leading her father and Loraine out of the auditorium.
Troiann sighed, shaking her head. "I swear, one of these days he's just gonna push her away." She looked over at Marcus. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Marcus nodded over to Tremaine, Chris and me. "I'll catch y'all later."
Chris gathered his car keys from his pocket. "I gotta go, too, I've got this little study sess with this fine cutie with the nicest ass I've ever seen."
I smirked as he walked off, thinking, And he's still going to barely pass his courses.
"I can't believe he didn't even congratulate her," I said as I thought of the way Mr. Jacobs barely lit up at Cree when he'd come over.
"I'd be mad too if my daughter was shaking her ass like that on stage," Tremaine said.
"She wasn't being loose with it."
Tremaine's phone chirped and he held it up and smiled. "Gotta go, fun's waiting."
Everyone was leaving the auditorium and still raving over the show and Cree's dance. To my surprise, my father was in the room and heading my way after signing a few autographs.
"Dad?" I asked, unsure what he was doing at the school.
"I was at the club with Greg and he said Mitchell's son was about to embarrass his family's name and we decided to stop by to get a few pictures," my father explained. "I'm glad we did, that girl was quite impressive."
"Cree's amazing," I said.
My father actually nodded. "Definitely the best out of the bunch. I know people in case she's interested in doing something with that dancing."
"I'm not sure she's taking it seriously like that."
"Why not?"
"Her dad's not really supportive."
"That was him who escorted her out of here?" My father shook his head. "He should be proud. She could have it a lot worse."
I shrugged. "She's a dancer and I'm a baller, we only got one direction in life and that's the top."
My father patted my shoulder. "Who was the girl sitting next to you?"
He'd seen me during the show?
"Draya," I answered. "She's in some of my classes."
My father took a deep breath through his nose and gestured for me to start heading towards the exit. "Be careful with that one, Dre."
I smirked, happy he couldn't see the expression on my face. "Yeah?"
"I know her type. You don't want any trouble."
Right, because all girls led to trouble in the long run.
"You said the same thing about Cree, remember?"
"At least she brings something to the table." He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. "Stick to the goal, boy, you don't need anything holding you back. Like you said, you've got one spot in life, and that's the top. No distractions."