magic
my man
is you
turning
my body into
a thousand
smiles.
black
magic is your
touch
making
me breathe.
-black magic
-Sonia Sanchez
---
I walk confidently down the street to the place where Dizzee and the boys resided. After Mylene, Yolanda and I's heartfelt conversation, I left Yolanda alone to find her brother. I walked into the place swinging the door open. The bell rings behind me as the boys turn in my direction.
"Hey, Mani." Zeke greets me first.
"Hey." I smile at him and turn to Dizzee playing pinball in the corner.
"Queen." Shao looks at me. I nod at him not giving him much attention as I pass.
"Hey, Dizz." I grin at him, kissing his cheek.
"The Notorious Three are gonna have size and strength." Ra-Ra turns their attention back to himself as he speaks. "So we're gonna need coordination, like flash said 'Being in unison, no disarray'."
"So I said 'maybe you could write rhymes for all of us'-"
"And I said 'it's not a rhyme battle, it's a DJ battle, I'm the DJ meaning I'm in charge, I'm the conductor'." Shao cuts him off staring at Zeke. Zelda had informed me of the DJ rumble they were having against the Notorious Three earlier.
"I mean it's just a suggestion." Ra-Ra backs down from him. I frown at them before speaking.
"I like it." Dizz speaks at the same time as me.
"Me too." Boo agrees.
"Me too." Zeke agrees with us nodding at them.
"Really?"
"Yeah, Shao you still gonna be the conductor, we just gonna be your instruments." Zeke states before Shao can object. "You know, like, I'm a Tuba, Boo-Boo's a cymbol, Ra-Ra's a violin, Dizzee's a Triangle, and Mani is a drum."
"I'm partial to the Picolo Flute." Dizzee turns to them from beside me. They all look at him wierdly before turnign bakc to their conversation. Zeke glances at them and then looks to Shao.
"What you think?" Shao turns to him. "You know I could write something for you, you know, something special for the conductor."
Shao looks down chewing and thinking over Zeke's words. Boo-Boo hits the table as he looks back to Zeke.
"You gotta write fast."
Ra and Boo whoop in excitement as Zeke nods. I smile at Ra-Ra giving him a thumbs up.
"We only got a week, and we gotta rehearse, can't have the orchestra fucking up the main event." He watches Zeke closely. "You dig?"
"Aight." He stands grabbing his plate. "Then I'm gonna see you first thing in the morning."
"Where you going?" Shao asks watching him as he moves over to the trash.
"He going play piano for his girl." Boo laughs.
"Don't give me that look." He speaks to Shao.
"Besides we're going to help Mylene out, I only came to get Zeke." I cut in moving over to my cousin in the doorway.
"Oh, so what you sing now too?" Shao scoffs at me.
"Yeah." Boo answers for me.
"And she's damn good at it." Dizzee adds smiling at me.
"I blew her off to get that flash tape, so I owe this to her." Zeke explains as he begins tugging me out of the door.
"I'm gonna have those rhymes though, I'm gonna have the rhymes!" He yells over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm trusting you books, make 'em good!"
And we were off jogging down the street to the back entrance of Pastor Ramon's church. Zeke pulls me through the alley and pulling the heavy door open as we rush in.
"It's about time!" Mylene greets us as we come into view. I leave her and Zeke and walk over to Yolanda and Regina.
"Here, put this on." Regina hands something to me and I unfold it suspiciously. My face twists up in disgust as a dress hangs from my hands in front of me.
"What don't give it that look, it's the look they're letting Mylene go for, so that means you too." Yolanda informs pushing me to the bathrooms.
"Fine." I groan walking into the bathroom to change. I push myself into the innocent wholesome dress and walk back out to the girls.
Zeke looks at me as I walk on the stage.
"Wow, this church does work miracles."
"Shut up, fool." I snap as I take my spot next to Yolanda and Regina.
"Let's go."
Mylene went through the song as we sang out the background. I swayed my hips around the beat with Regina as Yolanda danced around us.
"Come set me free!"
The song continued letting us move and sing more with each other. The beat took over the break down of the song hit letting us dance more. Jackie popped up on stage dancing to the beat.
"Come rescue me." Mylene sang as the break down ended. We sang out again still dancing around genuinely having pure fun with it. Regina's smile wouldn't stopped as she shook her hips to the song next to me. I laughed following her lead as we sang out the rest of the song.
"And I will ascend above the highest of the clouds and make myself, and make myself like the most high!" We carry out the note with Mylene.
"Whoo!" Everyone cheers. Mylene turns to us moving in utter happiness.
"I can't believe that just happened." Yolanda laughs. I smile at her and hug her tightly as Mama Lydia steps up to us.
"You girls were amazing, you must come and have dinner at our home."
"Of course, Mama Lydia." I answer for us as they nod. She smiles sweetly at us before pulling each one of us into a motherly hug.
"I would be terrified of Mylene doing this, but I know that you girls have her back, it gives me a little more peace at night."
"Don't worry Mama Lydia, Mylene's our girl, we always got her." Yolanda responds to her. She smiles once again leaving to go back to Mylen who speaks to Papa Fuerte and Jackie.
"Let's get changed."
---
We took our seats at the table with full plates of food. I sat next to Zeke and Yolanda across from Papa Fuerte. We grab hands with each other linking ourselves. I look at Zeke and smile leaning to him.
"You did good on that piano Mr. Tuba."
"You did pretty good yourself Mrs. Picolo Flute."
I smile at him turning my attention back to everyone else as Mylene's father begins to pray.
"Lord heavenly Father-"
"Ramon," Mama Lydia cuts in and looks at Jackie. "Mr. Moreno here, he brought peace to our family and reunited us in our home, perhaps he should give the blessing?" She suggests to her husband.
"My wife, as always, is correct, Mr. Moreno please." He gestures to him. Jackie makes a sound of agreement before Papa Fuerte speaks to him
"Oye, pero make it fast, less is more."
"Yeah, oh, sure." He leans back into his seat thinking over his words.
"This one is when I grew up poor on Arthur Avenue, the guinea section of the bronx." Papa Fuerte glares at him as he speaks, thinking he's going to make it long. I bow my head as he begins the prayer.
"Dear Lord, bless this food as the porridge thickens, but give us more Lord, because we're skinnier than them Puerto Ricans."
I turn to him along with everyone else in silence. I hold in my laughter as everyone freezes waiting for Pastor Ramon to either laugh or explode in anger. I look over at the man as he, thankfully, begins to laugh.
I giggle along with everyone else as Zeke snorts quietly next to me. Papa Fuerte looks at Jackie for a second without laughing as everyone lets go of each other's hands.
"To Jackie Moreno." Pastor Ramon lifts his glass still laughing.
"To my brother," Fuerte cuts in. "Who's seen the light." He waves his hand at Mylene drawing a smile from her.
"And to Mylene, for coming home." Mama Lydia thanks.
"Cheers!" She concludes, Papa Fuerte following her.
We all take sips of our water, Mylene and Zeke smiling sweetly at each other.
"And I would just like to say to my beautiful daughter, and to all of you." She looks at us. "We all have flaws, we all wrestle with demons, but uh I-" She laughs suddenly. "But God he loves us anyway,"
Mylene looks at us with a weird grin across her face. I laugh at her as Mama Lydia laughs again.
"And he-" Laugh. "And as much as he loves you all, I love you more." She concludes smiling at all of us.
"Mami, you sound drunk." Mylene states looking at her. She doesn't drop her grin as she turns away tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I think what your mother is trying say is that, um, we all fall down, and we all deserve second chances." He looks at Mama Lydia as she nods at him.
"And it's true, just ask the piano man right there, hm?" Fuerte points at Zeke. I look over at him in confusion as Papa Fuerte continues. "A chance to be a future leader, he blew his big shot, but then he just picked himself back up."
He stands from his seat and towers over us. "And he said, I'm not giving up, pick me, I'm a leader, so here's to him." He lifts his glass to Zeke and everyone raises theirs as Zeke and Papa Fuerte toast.
"Go get that internship."
---
"Oh come on, where is he?" Crash complains about Dizzee not being at the writer's bench. "He just missed that entire car he did."
"It's not like he doesn't know what it looks like." Daze laughs at him. I turn my head catching sight of Dizzee running down the steps with Thor's book in hand. I finished my drawing two days after we met Thor and then gave it over to Dizzee to do his.
"Look here he comes."
"Yo, Rumi!" He greets jumping off the back of the bench next to me.
"What's up, Crash?"
"You just missed that whole cart you did." He stands in front of him now.
"Yeah? Was it impressive enough?" He asks greeting him.
"Fucking jay right it was." He smiles at him. I move to stand next to them as they converse.
"You seen Thor? We were supposed to meet here at the bench."
"Nah, I ain't seen him since you two brought him around here the other day."
"Man once a phantom, always a phantom." Daze cuts in from behind us. We nod in agreement at the his statement.
"Hell yeah." One of the guys speak.
"If you see him, tell him we were here."
He nods his head to me to follow him as he gets ready to leave.
"You're never gonna see that dude again, bro." Someone says as we walk off.
"Yo, check the tunnel, I hear he's working on a new piece there."
"Later, Rumi! Queen!"
"Bye guys!" I call behind me catching up to Dizzee's quick pace. We jog up the strairs greeting the guys who sit there.
"You coming to the tunnel with me?" He asks once we reach ground level. I nod as he grabs my hand and pulls me further behind him.
"Ouch." I wince as my foot hits another rock.
"Watch your step." Dizzee laughs as we enter the dark tunnel looking at the walls with the help of the flashlight. One of Thor's drawings come into view and we keep going. Dizzee stops and fills in a letter on a random drawing on the wall.
"Hey, he's gonna pop up, because who doesn't want to hang with Rumi 411." I smile at him. He laughs coming closer to me and pulling me against him and into a kiss.
"Okay no, it stinks in here." He laughs at my sour expression and pulls me from the wall.
"Well, we need to meet Zeke anyway." I shuffle behind him as we leave the train yard and walk a couple of blocks down the street to an abandoned mansion.
"Well, this is new." I voice as we climb over the concrete fence.
"Yea."
---
"All right Dizzee I wrote this rhyme for you, Boo you take that rhyme, this one's my verse." Zeke speak to himself as he hands the boys their parts. "Ra this verse's for you."
"All right let's get this practice started." Shao speaks from his turn table. We all move to the wide open area as the boys read over their verses. Shao scratches the record starting off the beat.
"Yo, Dizz is up first, let's hope he rhymes as good as he paints." Shao speaks directing his attention to Dizzee who moves around and gets ready to begin his rap.
"When I first came out my brothers said to me, go by the name of Pretty Dizzee D, the name was too long for the goddamn song, but I made it sound so differently. Yo, Pretty Dizzee D became my title, to the ladies I'm a lover to the men, I'm an idol," he looks at me winking and then turns back to them. "Krylon in my hand almost all the time, I'm writer on the walls and on the rhymes, so I'm down with my crew, my Get Down Brothers. Our DJ cuts like no other, he goes by the Shaolin Fantastic, he comes from the heart and is never ever plastic, I'm out."
"Whoo, that was good! That's good!" Zeke shouts.
"Whoo!" I yell as Boo speaks.
"That's tight."
Dizzee walks over to me taking his seat as the guys calm down.
"Yo I like that, who's next?" Shao announces. Ra steps up as Shao scratches the record and starts it over.
"From the apple to the-from the-from the apple to the orange, to the peach to the pear, I'm MC Ra." he stutters out trying to catch they rhythm.
"Yo, get on the one." Shao watches him as he starts over again.
"From the apple-from the app-from the apple-" Ra looks up in embarrassment at us as Shao cute the beat again.
"Yo, I don't think we could use you Ra." He plants his hands firmly on his hips. "You stutter like that against the Notorious Three, we getting rolled up, lit up, and smoked out."
"Alright." He hangs his head moving to his spot on the old sofa. I smile at him as he slumps in his seat.
"Alright Boo, you're turn." Zeke speaks from his spot next to the turn tables.
Boo nods and dances across the floor to the beat. He twists back to Shao and Zeke and begins his rap.
"Said I like your figure, I'm good at math, I'd like you even better in a bubble bath. I'm good at figthing 'cause I like the action and when I sing, girl call me Micheal Jackson. Stop the love you save may be you own, darling take it slow, or one day you'll be all alone, you better stop the love you save may be your own, darling look both ways before you cross me, you're headed for a danger zone." He belts out, like Micheal Jackson.
"Oh my god!" I shout in surprise at him and move forward to lean on the arm of my chair as everyone looks at him in awe. He looks at me and then to Shao and Zeke.
"What'd I do?" he asks. "Singing right? I-I know." He stutters
"Alright I won't do it no more." He finishes.
"Boo, you're the missing link." Dizzee decides to speak.
"I'm not no missing link." He denies.
"Nah bro, you got what we need." Shao add making Boo smile at his words.
"Some shit like that we might just have a chance against the Notorious Three." Shao clarifies. He slaps Zeke's hand as Ra and Dizzee get even more excited.
"A hundred percent." Dizzee confirms as Zeke hugs Boo. Excited chatter filled the air as they celebrated.
"Let Ra try again." I speak watching him as he smiles slightly at the the boys. He looks at me in alarm, but I just nod encouraging him to do it.
"Alright." Shao sighs moving back to his table. Ra moves back to the middle of the floor as Dizz, Boo and Zeke takes their seats.
"From the-from-from the the apple-to the orange to the peach to the pear, I'm MC Ra-"
Shao cuts the beat once more glancing at me as he speaks to Ra.
"Look, we can't, we can't use you Ra."
"Look man, I've been here before you ever came around, this is my idea!" Ra yells moving to the table.
"And?" Shao asks rudely. I scoff leaning back watching Ra-Ra.
"I'm part of this!"
"I got it." Dizzee whispers to me before standing.
"Yo, Ra, your mind's just flying too fast." He walks over to them."
"Shao can you drop a beat that he can double time to or something?" He turns to Shao this time. Shao looks down thinking and then moves and grabs a record from behind him.
"You're good." Dizzee speaks quietly to his brother. Shao sets the record on the turn table and puts the paper back down. Shao scratches and this time a slower beat come from it.
Ra walks back to the middle and then starts to rap.
"Um," he begins and then his mouth flies faster than I could keep up with. "From the apple to the orange to the peach to the pear, I'm MC Ra, the truth you dare peach to the pear, I make it with the plum you do it real fluid then gimme some." Dizzee moves back moving his arms quickly on time with Ra pepping him up.
"You come in the door, you ask for more, put your back into, what you waiting for?"
"Oh, shit!" I squeal and jump from my spot. I reach Ra-Ra and throw my arms around him into a hug. He stands frozen not believing it did it.
"Ohhhh, shit!" Zeke yells too. Dizzee yells in excitement and kicks the air.
"Oh damn!"
"I knew you were good." I laugh with him as the other boys celebrate.
"Next time don't count him out." I poke to Shao from next to the table after moving away to let Dizzee at him.
"That's it, that's what I'm talking about." Dizzee brags as they move to Shao who is clapping. He grabs Ra-Ra's hand and speaks to him.
"I was wrong, that shit, it's a serious joint." Shao nods at him.
"Wait, wait hold up, it needs something." Zeke adds from his position.
"Yeah, something for the conductor, when I'm switching records, something to keep the hype on the star, I'm a bad motherfucker."
Zeke looks at his notepad where he keeps his raps. He stops at Shao's last words and then speaks.
"Shaolin's the Dj who we call conductor, 'cause Shaolin Fantastic's a bad motherfucker!"
"Yeah!" Dizzee nods at his words.
"Whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey." Ra-Ra stops us as we talk to each other about the words Zeke just spewed.
"Hold, Hold on."
"That's tight." Dizzee continues.
"Ya'll just can't say 'motherfucker'." He shake shis head at Shaolin.
"Why?"
"It's a curse, bro." Boo-Boo explains, he then smiles suspiciously at me and Zeke. "Say 'muddafuckee' like the Puerto Ricans do."
"What the fuck?" I ask out loud looking at him as Zeke looks straight ahead.
"Puerto Ricans, don't say 'muddafuckee'."
Boo turns to himon the sofa smiling. "Then how they say it?" He asks him.
"You sound Chinese." He cuts Boo off.
"And you both sound racist." I interject looking at them
"How they say it?" he asks again at the same time as my statement.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Ra-Ra points at us. "Say it like you Bruce Lee, motherfuckerr!" He drags out the word making Boo laugh.
"Ya'll stupid." Zeke voices my thougths as I shake my head at them.
"Beyond stupid." I add.
"And you're smart."
"Look, but seriously ya'll can't curse." Ra-Ra speaks seriously this time.
"Does Cowboy curse in his rhymes?" Ra-Ra asks Zeke.
"I'm not Cowboy."
"Alright," Boo adds again. "Say mother plucker."
"Hey, Boo-Boo, ya not helping." Shao finally speaks up. "Books, come here, say that again."
He grabs some records, putting 'em in place. Zeke stands and walks over to him.
"Shaolin's the DJ who we call conductor, 'cause Shaolin Fantastic's a bad mother-"
The Shao cuts him off by scratching the record and then letting it play.
"Okay." They all nod along as they gather around the table. They repeat the words again as Shao hits some of the scratches along with their word before scratching out 'fucker' again. They whoop as they finish, liking what they're coming up with.
---
Author's Note~ Happy Easter!!! (if you celebrate it)