Make Something of It

by Stephanie Perry Moore

  Then we all started whining at once.

  He said, “I’m serious. I told you guys last night. You got to get in there and understand the real world. We sheltered you way too long.”

  “Dad, is that really what all of this is about?” Sloan asked. “Don’t you think you want to send us there because you’ll get better mileage for your campaign if that’s where we go?”

  Handing us back the plate, he said, “No, I think I’ll get better daughters, and because you guys would even insinuate that, it goes to show that I’m making the right decision. Your mom and I talked about it. We appreciate the breakfast, but next week, you’re going to school where we say you’re going to school. That’s all. You aren’t any better than anyone else, and I think public school will humble you a little bit.”

  At that time, all five of us tried to plead, but Mom cut us off. She said, “Girls, we’ve already decided. End of story. Deal with it.”

  Slade was the first one at the car ready to go to the debate. The media wasted no time rescheduling the one that got canceled a couple of days before. There was tons of speculation as to why the debate was abruptly called off, and no one was buying the story that one of the candidates became ill. I knew the real reason, and driving over there, though I was supposed to be listening to Lou give us a briefing that would help us answer any questions that came our way, the only thing I could think about was Spencer.

  This debate wasn’t in the nicest part of town. Actually, it was in the hood. While I was sure every public school didn’t look like the one we were in, this one certainly needed renovating. The grass wasn’t cut, bars were on some windows, inside it looked like the place need to be painted, and so much graffiti was on the walls. We just looked at my dad like, “Is this where you plan to send us?”

  Frustrated, he said, “Guys, your public school isn’t even zoned for over here. Just let me get through this debate. Go sit with your mom.”

  I was following the crowd. I wanted to go backstage, see if I could find Spencer, talk to him, and make sure he was okay. However, because I had to be with my mom and because of what happened last time, families weren’t allowed backstage, and at this school, it didn’t seem like there was a backstage anyway.

  “You’re preoccupied,” Ansli gave me a hip bump and declared.

  It was no use for me to try to hide what was going on from her. She knew me from the inside out. I was so happy that she was out of her pity-partying state.

  “You’ve been smiling a lot and on that phone a lot. Is it someone new I need to know about?” I asked her.

  “It’s this Hispanic guy on Instagram. I commented on his pictures.”

  “He’s not half nude or anything is he?”

  Frowning at me, Ansli said, “No, he draws. I comment on the pictures that he draws.”

  Smiling, I uttered, “Oh. He’s an artist. Like you.”

  “We’ve just been talking back and forth. I don’t know. Talking to Hugo is not a big deal or anything.”

  “Hugo? Go ahead, senorita,” I said as I bumped her back. “Do you know if he is who he says he is though? It’s harder to talk online to someone you’ve never met. It just seems a little weird to me.”

  “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you about him,” Ansli was angry. “You know what? Forget it.”

  “No, no, I’m just making sure you’re okay.”

  “Whatever, Shelby. You been going crazy over a guy you just saw one time. At least I’ve been talking back and forth with this guy.”

  “I’m not going crazy over a guy I only met once.”

  “So you’re not sitting here trying to figure out where the dude is from the other day? You’re not looking around here trying to make sure he’s alright? You aren’t hoping you run into him?”

  “NO!”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Okay, I’m lying, but it’s not because I like him. I only want to make sure he’s alright.”

  “Please. Save the lies for the spies. I’m your girl. I’m on your side. You don’t have to front with me.”

  “And don’t go telling them about …”

  Ansli said, “Like I would ever tell any of our sisters anything. You don’t trust them either.”

  “Tell us what?” Sloan, one of the three musketeers, shocked us and said.

  I got her straight. “Sloan, no one was even talking about y’all or to y’all.”

  “Whatever, Shelby. Something’s going on between you two.”

  “Good point. Something’s going on between the two of us, not between the three of us,” I teased, but she didn’t laugh. I softened, “Come on. Let’s go sit down. The debate is about to start.”

  We sat down just as the curtain pulled back. The room was packed. The local CBS news affiliate reporter Sandra Lemons, whom I admired because of her spunk, introduced all three candidates. “Let’s give it up for Mr. Avery James, the independent candidate; Vice President of First Charlotte Bank Mr. Willie Brown, the Republican candidate; and attorney Stanley Sharp, the Democratic nominee.”

  The debate was going on and on. I’m not saying it was boring, but how many ways could three different people say the same thing? They all wanted to save the city from crime, to increase the revenue, and to improve education. Not that those weren’t noble things, but it just wasn’t something a teen was interested in. Maybe I should be, but I wasn’t.

  “Mom, I gotta go to the restroom,” I leaned over and said.

  “Be quick about it, Shelby. You should’ve taken care of all that before the debate started.”

  “I mean, I can wait, but I’m just trying to go before the debate is over and everyone has to go. Or before Dad’s ready to go and I haven’t gone.”

  “Girl … go,” my mom said to me.

  As soon as I got to the ladies’ room, I didn’t have to go anymore because there was Spencer’s mom fiddling with her neckline, trying to cover something up. Had Mr. Brown choked her? As soon as the door closed, she jumped. I could see what she was covering with her hand, and it was another bruise.

  “Oh, my gosh, I’m so embarrassed,” she said, realizing who I was.

  I had on one of my scarts, so I immediately took it off and said, “Here. Use this.”

  It wasn’t my place to ask her why she was enduring torture, but it was in my heart to help. Her eyes were red and watery, and like a statue, she just stood there and let me fix her up. I turned her toward the mirror, and a few tears dropped.

  “This is beautiful. Where did you get this?” she asked.

  “I made it.”

  The melon-colored scart looked great on her black dress. It actually made it pop. I thought I saw a smile.

  “It can be a belt too,” I said as I showed her how the silk material would zip into her lap and create a whole different, cool look.

  “Can we please keep this between us?”

  “Yes. Yes, ma’am,” I said, assuring her. “I won’t say a word.”

  “Thank you. I know I was rude to you last time I saw you, and I’m sorry. There’s a lot going on right now, but you know … your dad’s a candidate. Campaigns make people crazy. There’s a lot going on in my family, you know?”

  She was trying to rationalize it since I was just a teenager. She could tell me anything, and I could act like I believed it, but I did want to know about Spencer. I couldn’t explain why, but I couldn’t let her walk away without me asking where he was.

  “And your son?” I said before she hit the door. “He didn’t like go to jail or anything?”

  She sighed, “No, honey. He’s living with his father now, and I know he thinks living with his father is like being in jail. But I had no choice. Spencer and my husband don’t get along. I’m not trying to punish him, but I can’t let him mess up what I built. I don’t even know why I shared all of this, but don’t worry about Spencer. He’s okay, and if you never see him again, your life will be much better. He’s my son, and I love him, but he is a handful.”

  “You�
��re looking at me like you’re disappointed,” Mrs. Brown shared, noticing the frown that I didn’t realize was forming on my face as I heard her tell the story.

  CHAPTER THREE

  SOPHISTICATED

  A couple of days later, all seemed right with the world. My dad was ahead in the polls. We’d been to open house at our new school, and it was actually a brand-new public school. Though I would only be there for one year, my graduating class would be the first. Lots of people were being transferred from other schools due to overcrowding. Everybody in town wanted to attend Marks High School, and though it wasn’t far from where we lived, I didn’t think this was the school we were zoned for. But my dad did have pull, and as long as I had the right attitude, maybe this could be a great year after all.

  As soon as we stepped in the school doors, my sister Ansli was smiling wider than I was. “Yes, yes,” she groaned.

  “Okay, so what’s going on with you?”

  “I’ve been dying to tell you,” Ansli leaned in and said.

  “Don’t shout it!” I told her, as our three younger sisters followed behind the two of us.

  I’m sure we looked like we were a sorority. Matching blazers with an S on them, cool plaid skirts that weren’t too short but definitely not too long, and white button-down shirts with different colored scarts that I tied in various ways to match our personalities. My dad wanted us to represent. Slade wanted to get us noticed. Yuri didn’t care. Sloan wanted somebody to comment, and Ansli … yeah, I had to figure out why she was so giddy. Her personality ebbed and flowed more than a river.

  “What is going on with you? Why are you so happy?” I asked.

  “Hugo goes to this school.”

  My eyes widened. “Are you sure? You haven’t met him yet.”

  “He told me he goes here, and I’ve seen his pictures.”

  “How do you know that’s even him? You know people lie about that stuff nowadays.”

  “Why you tryna deflate my hopes? I’ve got a great feeling about this guy. He’s not lying to me.”

  “I’m sure the Hispanic sisters are not going to be happy with him falling all over you.”

  “We actually talked about that. I was a little insecure with it at first,” she said.

  Ansli was insecure about everything. She always needed somebody to reassure her that she was on point. But I just didn’t want this guy to crush her since she was putting all her excitement in this relationship working out.

  Girls could, for sure, be cruel. Even in our previous small, little isolated private school of about a hundred students, the Sharp sisters had haters. So I knew with over three thousand students roaming around at Marks High that we were going to have issues. We were cute, smart girls who came from a highly popular family. And while I was not trying to apologize for who we were, I wasn’t trying to be punked nor did I want any of my sisters to bring unnecessary attention to us. Having my biracial sister dating a Hispanic guy was certainly going to draw some attention.

  “He said he was tired of the Latino girls. He said that they were fake and tried to act classy but were just as ghetto as could be.”

  That seemed so funny. But I didn’t really spend time with a lot of Latino girls, so I didn’t know if that was true or not. I sure knew a bunch of black girls were ghetto, and that’s why going to a public school where they were the majority was not something I was fully sold on.

  “Wait! There he is.”

  When she grabbed my arm, the five of us stopped walking, and the Hispanic hottie walked our way. I took a gulp. I could see why she was into him.

  Ansli was salivating. “He looks better in person. Oh my gosh!”

  “Who looks better in person?” Sloan said, like she was some kind of reporter.

  I mean that girl never missed anything.

  “Y’all need to go to class.”

  “Yeah, but you need to go to the mall. Didn’t you get the memo? We don’t wear uniforms at this school,” a smarty-pants wench said.

  Ansli looked at me like her eyes were begging me to get everyone out of her way.

  “Come on, y’all, let’s get to class,” I said, as I reached back and pulled one of my sisters right through the snobby girl standing in our way.

  Like I cared what she thought about our dress. Her style was so tacky; the last thing she needed to be doing was trying to talk about us. And the little goons with her seemed like they couldn’t even think for themselves. They were laughing at her stupid remark, but when I glared at all of them and left them standing there like her words didn’t faze me, they all seemed pissed. Seeing their displeasure made me happy.

  “I’m glad we already registered and got our classes at open house. Look at that line of new students,” Sloan said.

  And as soon as I glanced over there, I did a double take because I thought I saw Spencer. I had to talk to him. I had to find him. I had to apologize, but Yuri said she couldn’t find her class. When I pointed her in the direction of D hall, she finally felt like she could make it on her own, so I went back toward the registration line and realized the guy I saw wasn’t Spencer at all. It was only me wishing it was him.

  “Now, there’re some sharp girls!” Principal Garner said to us. “I wanted my kids to come in here in uniforms. I should have known Stanley’s girls would set the best example. You all look so adorable.”

  Now, I was starting to think maybe this wasn’t a great idea. I had done some work on the blazers my mom picked up for us, added some rhinestones and some ribbon, and took them in a couple of places to add some pleats. I wanted to show off our style. I didn’t want an adult to think it was cool. I waved bye to my sisters, but the principal didn’t go anywhere.

  “I’m going to be late, Dr. Garner,” I said, not wanting any special favors or anyone thinking that the mayoral candidate’s daughter had the principal on lock. But he wouldn’t move.

  “Sir, I got to get to class.”

  “I know. I just wanted to tell you your dad just called to make sure you girls were okay, so I’d been walking around school trying to find you.”

  Livid, I said, “My dad called you?”

  “Oh, it’s no big deal. I told him I’d keep an eye out. It’s a new school and all. Truth be told, he helped me get the job.”

  That was just great. My dad was always pulling strings. Now, the man felt he owed him.

  “We’ve got a hodgepodge of everybody in this school, but I know you’re going to be a leader. You’re a senior. Your dad tells me you’re a bright girl, Miss Shelby. I’ve got to learn all your sisters’ names, but at least I know you. We’ll be having an election soon for the student government association. Since it’s a new school, nobody could run last year, so I expect you to run for president. Put us on the map in a grand fashion.”

  “I’m not interested in that, sir. Politics is my father’s thing.”

  “Come on, be well rounded. I’ll put your name down. Nobody will probably run against a Sharp anyway. Well, except, I hear we’ve got Mr. Brown’s stepson coming to this school.”

  I wasn’t listening to Dr. Garner, but then I tuned in. “What? Who?”

  “Nothing, don’t worry about him.”

  “Okay, I have to get to class.” And I had pep in my step. I did see Spencer. Wow, maybe Ansli wasn’t the only one who was going to like being a Marks Maverick.

  So it was lunchtime, and at a big school, I didn’t have a lunch period with any of my sisters. I hadn’t seen Spencer, and I hadn’t made any friends. Good thing about all of that is that I didn’t always have to be with somebody, probably because I came from a big family. Anytime I had alone time was a good time. This school had everything on the menu: a pizza bar, a salad bar, hot foods, and snacks. When I saw the Chick-fil-A stand, I dashed toward it. A chicken sandwich with waffle fries and a shake had my name all over it.

  “I’m surprised you’re eating fast food. You’re one of them uppity girls,” this scruffy, deepvoiced guy huffed.

  I didn’t even loo
k up because I didn’t ask him for his opinion, and I wasn’t trying to entertain him or talk to him more.

  “Oh, you are one of those stuck-up girls. But I like them kind. Y’all sit down,” he said to the other guys with him.

  A whole bunch of guys wearing maroon and gray T-shirts with a big football on them put their trays down around me. Inwardly, I was thinking I should have sat alone at a table with some nerds or something because at least if they bothered me, it would be an intelligent conversation. These flunkies looked like they didn’t know their left from their right. Since they were a part of the team and had probably been at school in the summer, maybe the table was theirs. So I started getting up. But the deepvoiced guy, who seemed to be the captain, firmly put his hands around my wrist and pulled me back down.

  “Naw, naw, sit. I’m Fritz. This is Poncho, Joey, and Phil. We don’t want a pretty girl like you sitting all alone.”

  Needing an excuse to tip away, I uttered, “It’s okay. It’s the first day of school. Like most people, I’m new here. I don’t know anybody but my sisters.”

  “They them daughters of that man running for mayor,” the stocky Joey guy uttered.

  “I’m Shelby,” I said confirming my own identity.

  Fritz sucked his teeth and said, “You looking good in that skirt. I saw you prancing around here with your head all up high. They already had cheerleading tryouts, but I could get you on if you want. The way you working that booty, I can tell you …”

  Cutting him off, I huffed, “Okay, okay, you don’t know me like that to be talking like that.”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you, dang. How a brother supposed to talk to you? You don’t like white boys and crap, do you? There’s some around here to choose from, but um, being with da brothers is where it’s at, my sister.”

  I wasn’t trying to be with no ignorant guy, so I got up again. “Y’all can have this table.”

  Fritz shouted, “I said I don’t need you to go nowhere.”

  “You don’t tell me what I am supposed to do!”

  His partner Joey said, “Ooh.”