Running Scared

by Leslie McGill

  “Okay. I’ve decided to ask Mrs. Walker if she can watch Jessie for me tonight.”

  Rainie turned and looked at her mother. Her mother was looking down at her fingernails. She looked up and gave Rainie a little half smile.

  “Thanks, Mom,” Rainie said. She hugged her mother. Tears came to her eyes, and she brushed them away. “I love you, you know.”

  Her mother patted her on the back. “I love you too, baby,” she said. She pulled away with a puzzled look. “Hey, have you lost some weight?”

  “Oh, maybe a little,” Rainie lied. “I’ve been running a lot.”

  “Well, don’t get too skinny. Guys like us curvy girls.”

  “Who cares what guys like, Mom?” Rainie said in exasperation. “I want to look the way I want to look.”

  “Fine. I don’t want to fight with you,” Mrs. Burkette said, fixing herself a cup of coffee. “Have a good day at work, and have fun at Eva’s. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Rainie kissed her mother on the cheek and ruffled Jesika’s hair. Grabbing her backpack, she left for work.

  CHAPTER 16

  Joss

  Here we are!” Joss called out from the back booth at Primo’s.

  She was sitting in a booth with Carlos, Eva, Ferg, and Durand. She waved Rainie over. “Slide over!” she whispered to Eva. Eva slid toward the wall, leaving space for Rainie beside Durand.

  “Dang! I hoped you’d be wearing that cute little apron!” Durand said, moving over to give her more room.

  Rainie rolled her eyes. “As if I’d ever wear that thing in public!” She laughed. “How long have you guys been here?”

  “Just got here. We waited for you before ordering. What do you like on your pizza?” Joss asked.

  “Anything you want is fine with me,” Rainie said.

  The waitress came to the table and took their order.

  “So did you guys work on science today?” Joss asked the guys.

  “We meant to,” Ferg said.

  “Yeah, but it quit raining, and one thing led to another, and before we knew it…” Durand said.

  “They shot hoops all day,” Eva said, rolling her eyes. “Blew off the whole day.”

  “Hey, I told you it wasn’t our fault,” Carlos said. “We were walking toward the library, and my uncle drove by. He was on his way to the Trinidad Rec Center and told us he needed players. So it’s his fault!”

  Carlos’s uncle was a police officer who coached basketball at the rec center.

  “So who played?” Joss asked.

  “Some guys were there from Coolidge, and then some others from Cap Cent showed up—JaQuel Rivas, Jair Nobles, Luther Ransome, Chance Ruffin, that freshman Tyrell Wilkins—just a lot of guys,” Durand said.

  “I can never figure Jair out,” Eva said.

  “I know, right?” Carlos said. “One day, he’ll be trying to prove he’s a stud by trying to punch anyone around, and the next day he’s okay. Today was one of the good days.”

  “Good thing too!” Ferg said. “I don’t have enough eyes to watch Jair as well as Luther and Chance. They’re the ones I don’t trust. At least Jair’s not sneaky. But Luther and Chance? They’re dirty.”

  “I hear that!” Rainie said. “They came into FreeZees the other day, poured themselves huge cups of yogurt, and never paid. Chance even dumped his on the floor, and I had to clean up after him.”

  “What a pig,” Joss said.

  “They cheat, and lie, and do anything they can to get ahead,” Carlos said. “Seriously, if one of their grandmothers were in the way of what they wanted, they’d run her right over. There’d be tire marks down her housedress!”

  The girls laughed at the image.

  “Luther’s the smart one, and he gets Chance to do his dirty work,” Durand added. “I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard that Chance has stolen tests for Luther so he can keep his grades high enough to stay eligible for sports.”

  “I never understood why they haven’t gotten caught,” Eva said in disgust. “Everyone knows they’re cheaters.”

  “Wish they’d get caught,” Ferg said. “Just not during football or basketball season,” he added with a laugh.

  “Wait, back to your plans for the day,” Rainie said. “I’m a little confused. So you guys were on your way to the library but got waylaid, right? Did you have all your science stuff with you when you played ball?”

  No one answered.

  “You are such liars!” Joss yelled. “You were never going to the library.”

  “And here I was so impressed,” Rainie said when she quit laughing.

  Right then, the waitress showed up and put two large pizzas on the table.

  “Saved from any more confessions,” Durand said. “Man, I’m starving!”

  He helped himself to two pieces. “What kind do you want?” he asked Rainie.

  “Just give me one of those,” she said, pointing to the pepperoni pizza and sliding her plate over.

  Durand put the slice on her plate. Soon it was quiet, as they all tore into their food.

  Joss watched Rainie pinch off a piece of cheese. She played with it without eating it.

  “Aren’t you going to eat that?” Durand asked as he reached for another piece.

  “It’s still a little hot,” Rainie said. She looked as if she took a bite but wiped a napkin across her lips. Joss could swear she spit the pizza into the napkin. Rainie did this with the rest of the slice until only the crust was left.

  “Mmm, I’m stuffed,” Carlos said when the last piece was gone.

  “Me too! I love Primo’s pizza,” Ferg added.

  “How about you?” Joss asked Rainie. “Are you full?”

  “Mmm. I’m stuffed. That was great!” Rainie answered.

  Joss shook her head at the lie.

  “So what’ll we do now?” Rainie asked.

  “Let’s sit on the hill and watch the sun go down,” Eva said. Cap Central sat on a slight hill. Students liked to sit behind the school building and look out over Washington, D.C., as the sun set.

  “Shotgun!” Ferg yelled, racing toward Eva’s car. He got in the front seat, and Carlos and Joss got in the back.

  “Good thing you drove, Butler!” Carlos said to Durand. “There’s not enough room for you and Rainie in Eva’s piece of junk.”

  Durand turned to Rainie. “So you want to ride with me?” he asked, pointing to a red coupe parked behind Eva’s car.

  “Sure.”

  “Hey, you two,” Eva yelled out the window. “Don’t get lost!”

  Rainie waved, and Eva closed one eye in an exaggerated wink. Rainie rolled her eyes and got in Durand’s car.

  CHAPTER 17

  Rainie

  When did you get this?” Rainie said, looking around the car. In the back were a pair of sneakers, a basketball, and a hooded sweatshirt.

  “It’s actually my grandfather’s,” Durand said. “He can’t drive anymore, so he lets me drive it. I guess I’ve sort of taken it over.”

  “Great for you, I guess,” Rainie said. “Not for him so much.”

  “Yeah, it was sad when he gave me the keys,” Durand said. “My mom was glad. She freaked at the thought of him still driving. So now I take him to doctor’s appointments and other stuff. I spend time with him whenever I can.”

  Rainie was touched. “That’s really nice,” she said, smiling.

  “He means a lot to me,” Durand said. “I used to spend almost every weekend at my grandparents’ house when I was little. After my grandma died, he was really lonely, so I try to keep him company.”

  He pulled into the Cap Central parking lot and pulled in next to Eva’s car. Ferg was taking a folded quilt out of the trunk.

  “We call bench!” Carlos said. There was one bench behind the school. It was usually occupied by a couple. Those not lucky enough to grab the bench usually just sat in the grass. The best spot for enjoying the view was obvious because the grass was trampled down.

  Eva and Ferg sprea
d out the quilt. Eva sat down, and Ferg stretched out beside her. Rainie felt awkward. She didn’t know if she should sit on the blanket or in the grass.

  “You want to learn some moves?” Durand asked her. “It won’t hurt if you fall on the grass.”

  “Sure!” Rainie said. “MMA or self-defense or something. Just how to get away from someone who’s grabbing you.”

  “They’re pretty similar,” Durand said.“Different legal moves. But basically the same. Okay, so come at me, and I’ll show you some tricks.”

  Rainie pushed at his chest. He didn’t budge. “Okay, well, this isn’t going to work,” she said. “You have to pretend to be me.”

  Durand put his hand on his hip and the other in his hair. “How’s this?” he said in a high voice.

  “I never look like that,” Rainie said, laughing. “Just quit being so … so, you know. Unmovable.”

  “Okay. Just come at me and grab me.”

  Rainie put her arms around his chest and tugged, trying to make him fall. He still didn’t budge.

  “See? You can’t be a nice person if you’re gonna win,” Durand said. “Wrestlers start with one kneeling on the mat and the other standing up, but you’ll never find yourself in that position. So you need to learn how to disable a guy. Or better still, how to get away. If someone was attacking you, you just want to get away. How about if I take you down, and you try to escape?”

  Rainie nodded and braced for his attack. He bent her over his arm, and using his legs, kicked her legs out from under her. She fell back onto the grass. For a moment, her breath was knocked out of her.

  “Shoot! Sorry, are you all right?” Durand asked, falling to his knees beside her. He looked concerned.

  “I … I’m fine,” Rainie whispered. Durand’s face was so close, she could feel his breath. Her eyes seemed to be locked on his, and she couldn’t look away.

  “Still want to work on escaping?” he asked softly.

  No, she thought. I want to stay here forever. “I probably should,” she said instead.

  “Dang!” Durand said with a shaky laugh. “Okay, don’t actually do it, but you know you can always knee somebody, right? Like, where it hurts. You can also push against somebody’s throat or his eyeballs. Bite, spit, whatever. There are rules in MMA and wrestling, but if you’re in trouble, there aren’t any rules.”

  Rainie sat up. Durand stood up and reached his hand down to help her to her feet. They walked over to the blanket. Joss and Carlos had joined Eva and Ferg. The blanket wasn’t too big, and there was not much space left to sit.

  “Homes, don’t even try to sit over here,” Carlos said, shoving Durand toward Rainie. “There’s no room over on this side.”

  Durand sat down. He reached up to Rainie and pulled her down so that she was sitting between his outstretched legs, her back against his chest.

  “You’ve got grass in your hair,” he said softly, pulling it out gently.

  Rainie felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  He folded his arms around her and held her close.

  “Okay, everybody, get ready!” Eva said excitedly. “The sun’s almost down.”

  In the distance, they could see the busy streets of Washington. The national aspects of the city and its famous people could have been thousands of miles away. To them it was just D.C., their hometown.

  As the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, Carlos stood up. “And that’s all, folks,” he announced, clapping his hands together.

  The others stood up. Rainie and Durand shook out the blanket. They folded it, and Rainie handed it to Eva.

  “So are we coming over to your place?” Ferg asked Eva.

  “Nah, we gotta work on our project,” she said. “And so do you guys. You gotta get a good grade on it. It’s the only thing that’s gonna pull your science grade out of the toilet.”

  “Yeah, between science and math, I’m in big trouble,” Carlos said. “English ain’t so good either.”

  “ ‘Ain’t’?” Joss repeated in disgust. “No wonder you’re failing!”

  “I’m not failing, I’m just not doing so good this semester,” Carlos said.

  “It’s like everyone needs help this year,” Ferg said as they reached the cars.

  Rainie kept quiet. She didn’t want anyone to know how much trouble she was in with her grades.

  “Okay, Butler, I guess we’re going with you,” Carlos said. He kissed Joss and got in the car.

  “See you later,” Ferg said. He quickly kissed Eva and gave her a hug. “Study hard, ladies!”

  Rainie’s eyes met Durand’s. He gave her a big goofy grin and blew her a kiss.

  CHAPTER 18

  Joss

  The girls got into Eva’s car. Joss turned around in her seat to face Rainie.

  “Still say there’s nothing going on with you and Durand?” she asked with a laugh.

  “I don’t know where that came from,” Rainie said, shaking her head. “Must have been the sunset.”

  “I’ll tell you where that came from,” Eva said. “Girl, he’s in love. You can just tell from looking at him.”

  “Oh, please,” Rainie started. “We’ve been friends since—”

  “Well, you’re more than friends now,” Joss said, turning back around in her seat. “And I give you my blessing, by the way.”

  “Me too!” Eva said. “You guys look really cute together.”

  “We’ll see,” Rainie said.

  Eva pulled into a parking place in front of her house on the corner of Nineteenth Street and Lang Place. The car was crooked and stuck out into the street.

  “Nice parking job!” Joss said sarcastically. “Are you going to straighten it out?”

  “Nah,” Eva said, locking her car. “My dad will be taking it to work soon. It won’t be here long.”

  She opened the front door. A chubby, naked toddler was sitting on the floor of the living room. The little girl grinned when she saw Eva and ran over with her arms outstretched.

  “Oooh, how’s my baby sister?” Eva said, picking the girl up. “Ma, Carmen is naked again!” she yelled. “She needs a diaper before she has an accident.”

  A young boy ran into the room, then ran over to give Joss a hug.

  “Hey, Diego!” Joss said, kissing the top of his head. “How’s my favorite little guy?”

  “Big little guy! I’m your favorite big little guy,” Diego said.

  “You’re right,” Joss said with a laugh. “You are my favorite big little guy.”

  “Evie! Evie!” a little girl yelled, throwing herself into Eva’s arms. “Can you play Barbies with me?”

  “Not now, Tina,” Eva said, kissing her. “We have work to do.”

  “Ma?” Eva yelled. “Ma? We’re home!”

  Joss had to laugh at the look on Rainie’s face. “A little overwhelming, isn’t it?” she said.

  Rainie nodded, her eyes wide.

  Mrs. Morales came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Okay, okay,” she shouted. “You don’t have to shout at me. Hello, Joss. Nice to see you. And you must be Rainie,” she added in a friendly way.

  “Sorry,” Eva said, untangling the arms of her younger siblings from around her legs. “Ma, this is Rainie. Rainie, Ma.”

  Right then, a puppy came running into the room and had a little accident on the floor.

  “No, no, no!” Mrs. Morales said, picking up the squirming mess. “I told your father if he kept this dog, he’d have to clean up after it. Now where is he? Mario? Mario? The dog peed again.” She started to walk out and turned back to the girls. “Sorry,” she said. “We must look like crazy people.”

  “That’s because we are crazy people,” a deep voice said. A big man with huge forearms walked in the room and took the puppy from his wife. “Hello, girls. Joss, how are you, chica? Rainie, glad to meet you. I’m Evie’s dad. Sorry about the mess,” he said with a laugh. “We’ve got two here who aren’t housebroken. I suspect th
e dog will learn his manners before the baby.”

  As if she knew she was being talked about, Carmen gave a big smile.

  “Come on, let’s go to the basement and get out of the chaos,” Eva said. She led the way through the kitchen and down the basement stairs.

  The basement was filled with a washer and dryer, old toys and furniture, an ancient television, and two worn couches. Eva switched on the TV and flopped down on one of the couches.

  “Make yourselves at home,” she said. “I share a room with Tina, so we’ll stay down here tonight.”

  “Your family seems nice,” Rainie said.

  “They’re okay. They make me crazy, though,” Eva said. “And I worry about my naked baby sister. She won’t wear clothes. Everything we put on her she takes right back off.”

  “She’ll grow out of it,” Joss said with a wink.

  “Hey, wanna see our scum?” Eva said, jumping up off the couch. “It’s over here.” She walked to a dark corner of the basement. On a shelf were four bowls covered with mold.

  “So none of the antibacterial soaps kept mold from growing,” Joss said. “What do we do about that?”

  “It’s still okay,” Rainie said. “It’s still a conclusion, even if it’s not what we expected. Want me to start taking notes?”

  “I want to get in my pj’s first,” Eva said. “It’s really hot down here. Plus, I want a snack.” She started for the stairs. “I’ll be right back. You guys can get changed in the bathroom down here if you want.” She ran up the wooden basement stairs. Her heavy footsteps echoed.

  Joss wondered whether Rainie would change out of her jeans. “Do you want to get changed first?” she asked. She thought she knew what the answer would be.

  “No thanks, I’m good,” Rainie said, as expected. “You go ahead.”

  Joss didn’t want to let it drop. “You are going to change, though, right?” she asked. “I mean, it is awfully hot down here.”

  “Whatever,” Rainie said.

  Joss narrowed her eyes. She looked at Rainie for a long moment without saying anything. “Suit yourself,” she said finally as she turned to go into the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”