Cover Girl

by Brittani Williams

  “I’m looking for Sincere. I was hoping he’d be here by now.”

  “Girl, you know how guys like him are. It wouldn’t be right if he didn’t make a grand entrance.” Stacey laughed.

  “Yeah, that’s true. I’m really hoping he shows.” Brooklyn blushed. Her stomach was all in knots as she continued surveillance of the room.

  “He will, girl. Stop tripping. Let’s get out here and have some fun!” Wanda stood up from her seat and began making her way over to the locker to put her sneakers inside.

  Brooklyn laughed the comment off, though deep down inside she was about to burst from all of the anxiety.

  “Let’s go!” Stacey came over and pulled Brooklyn from the seat.

  She got up and within minutes was focusing on showing off on the floor. Everyone was cheering her on as she flew around the rink doing dance moves and tricks good enough for a competition. As the center of attention, she was in her element, and so were her girls, who followed behind her. They soon grabbed onto her waist and formed a line to do their routine. Their favorite song to jam to was playing, “Roxanne, Roxanne” by U.T.F.O. The melody meshed perfectly with their moves.

  Brooklyn was leading the pack, singing along, when she felt the hands behind her replaced by a larger pair. The hand switch was followed by a whisper in her ear.

  “You’re looking good tonight. I’m glad I decided to stop by.”

  She quickly turned her head and saw Sincere behind her. She couldn’t stop blushing for a second. She almost stopped dead in her tracks, which could have sent the ten people behind her tumbling to the floor, but she focused and kept up the pace.

  “I bet you didn’t think I’d show up.”

  “No, I knew you would. I just thought you’d have a tagalong,” she said with confidence.

  Sincere burst into laughter. He loved her attitude. That had him drawn to her like a magnet. He laughed because he knew exactly who she was talking about, and in a way it was true. Maxine was definitely one that liked to hang on his arm every chance she got.

  “I know you’ve heard that saying—Don’t bring sand to the beach. I came here because I wanted to spend some time with you.”

  By now, the group behind them had dispersed to different areas of the floor. Sincere was still skating behind her, his hands firmly gripping her waist.

  “Spend time with me? Why? You hardly pay me any attention.”

  “That’s not true at all. I pay close attention. Shit!” Sincere snickered as he looked her up and down. “I can tell you everything you had on this week.”

  Brooklyn smiled and again couldn’t contain her blushing. One of the most popular guys around had actually been checking her out. For the past year, all she could focus on was him. This day was like a dream come true. She could barely think of what to say next without sounding like a child.

  “That’s pretty funny. I never thought you’d be a stalker,” she replied after a few seconds of contemplating what to say. She laughed.

  Sincere joined in the laughter as he slowed down and began pulling her off the floor and over to the tables, where they sat down across from each other, both still smiling.

  “So you know you’re going to be mine, right?” He sat up.

  “Who said that?” she replied, with a girlish grin and a giggle.

  “I did.”

  “What about Maxine? That is your girl, right?”

  “She is, but I’ll drop her in a heartbeat for you.”

  Brooklyn sat there stunned. At least he is being honest about Maxine, she thought. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy though. Maxine wasn’t going to just accept that, and if being with Sincere was what she wanted, she’d definitely have to fight for him.

  “So what if I said OK right now, would you drop her?”

  “I just said I would, so does that mean you’re mine?”

  “That means I’ll be yours when you get rid of her.”

  Sincere smiled, pausing to take it all in. He’d been after her for so long, but he also knew it was going to be hard to get rid of Maxine. The feelings he once had for her had long disappeared. Brooklyn was special, and now that he had a chance, he wasn’t about to let it slip by.

  Finally, after a minute he said, “I’m going to do that, for sure.”

  Rene and Wanda were on their way over to the table area to break up the conversation that was keeping their ringleader away. Still on skates, they startled Sincere and Brooklyn when they bumped into the table.

  “Sorry to break up this little union here, but we need our girl,” Wanda yelled, placing her hands on the table to brace herself from falling.

  Sincere laughed. “It’s cool. We’ll have plenty of time to spend together, so I’ll let her go for now.”

  “Well, excuse me, Mr. Sincere. I hope you live up to your name. If you hurt my girl, we’ll have to kill you.” Rene smiled, her left hand on her hip. Just then, she noticed Maxine walking toward the table. “Let’s go. The wicked bitch of the west is on her way over here,” she said, just before pulling Brooklyn out of her seat.

  “I promise it won’t be long,” Sincere whispered as Brooklyn and her friends skated away. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, even as Maxine walked up and stood in front of him, trying to block his view.

  “What were you doing talking to her?” she asked, continuing to move her head in front of his every time he tried to get a glimpse of Brooklyn.

  From the distance Brooklyn was looking back at him and smiling, confident he was going to do as he’d promised.

  “What? I’m a grown-ass man, Maxine. I can talk to who I damn well please.”

  “I’m aware of that, but you’re my man, so I want to know why the hell you’re all up in her face?”

  Sincere looked at her, his face twisted in a knot. He wanted to just get it over with and drop her at that point, but he knew the outcome wouldn’t be good for any of them, including Brooklyn, and he was trying to avoid bringing drama her way.

  Maxine stood there, waiting for his answer, hand on her hip and tapping her foot against the ground.

  “Let’s drop this before it gets out of control. I came here to have fun, and that’s what I intend to do.” Sincere began skating away from her, gently pushing her out of the way as he passed her.

  “Sin, don’t walk away from me,” she yelled over the loud music. “I’m not done talking.”

  But Sincere skated away unfazed by any of the obscenities she yelled. Eventually she’d give up, like every other time he’d ignored her after a disagreement.

  Maxine stood there getting angrier by the second as she watched him talking to Brooklyn yet again. They stood there laughing and giggling as she stood in the distance with the screw face.

  “So what happened over there? I see your girl’s standing there upset.” Brooklyn knew what she wanted, but she wasn’t in the mood to fight that night. She just wanted to know what the hell had her so upset.

  “Nothing. She’s always angry, especially when I’m talking to someone else, but I’m a grown-ass man.” He laughed.

  Brooklyn joined in the laughter while still looking over in Maxine’s direction.

  “Anyway, I’m about to bounce up out of here. I just wanted to come say good-bye before I left.”

  “Well, that was pretty thoughtful.” Brooklyn smiled.

  “I’m going to make good on that promise too. Just give me a little time.”

  “I’m patient, and I’ll be here.” She reached out and touched the back of his hand.

  Sincere smiled before moving toward the lockers to retrieve his sneakers and return his skates. Brooklyn stared at him until he left the building. She turned around with the same huge smile on her face, but it quickly turned to a frown as Maxine and her crew approached her.

  “Look, bitch, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but Sincere is mine. He’s not going anywhere, so you need to get that through your head,” she said, pointing in Brooklyn’s face.

  Brooklyn could feel the heat ri
sing in her body as she tried to refrain from knocking Maxine upside her head. “Listen, if you have a problem, Sincere is who you need to straighten it out with.”

  “No, my problem is with you. You think you can just walk up and steal my man from right under me?”

  “I’m not going to sit here and argue with you, Maxine. I have to go.”

  “I’m not done talking.” Maxine blocked Brooklyn’s path.

  Brooklyn’s friends noticed the commotion and quickly ran over to cover her. Once Maxine and her followers noticed they were outnumbered, they began to disperse.

  “This ain’t over, bitch!” Maxine spat. “Not by a long shot!”

  Brooklyn thanked her girlfriends for responding when they did. That night they left the party without any more drama and caught the bus home. She was exhausted both mentally and physically by the time she reached her room. It had been an eventful evening. She was happy, though. For once, she could go to bed with Sincere on her mind, knowing that soon they’d be together.

  Chapter Three

  Touchdown 1985

  “Mom, did you get a chance to look at that packet I left on the table a couple of days ago?” Brooklyn asked as she ran into the kitchen to get a bowl of cereal before heading out to school.

  “What packet?” she asked, hungover from the night before.

  Brooklyn’s mom had just got in the house a few hours earlier after a long night of clubbing. Half of her body hung off the sofa, with one shoe on, and she reeked of alcohol.

  “For the modeling agency. I need you to look it over and sign off on it,” Brooklyn replied, annoyed.

  “Modeling? Girl, how you gonna model, walking around here dressed like a boy? Don’t make me laugh.” Janice flagged Brooklyn and laughed as she got up from the sofa. Though she didn’t spend much time with her daughter, she did know her taste in clothing, and no way did it resemble that of a model.

  “Mom, I’m serious. The woman from the agency believes I have a lot of potential.”

  “Don’t let them sell you a dream. You can’t believe everything that comes out of someone’s mouth, especially someone you don’t even know.” She lit a cigarette and took a seat at the kitchen table.

  “Mom, could you just sign it please. It’s something I want to do. I mean, I could be out in the streets doing drugs and God knows what else, but I’m trying to do something with myself. I thought I’d have your support.” Brooklyn took a seat at the table and began eating her bowl of Frosted Flakes.

  “Support? Don’t come talking to me about support. Tell that shit to your deadbeat-ass father. I’m the one keeping a roof over your head. Matter fact, go see if you can find his ass and get him to sign your little permission slip or whatever the hell it is.” Janice walked out of the kitchen still mumbling about support.

  Nothing was ever easy with Janice. A permanent bar-hopper at night, most of the time she was either hungover or asleep. She worked as a barmaid at most of the neighborhood bars, and when she wasn’t working, she would pull up a stool or hit the dance floor with a drink in her hand. Most days Brooklyn and her brothers didn’t see her. They’d gotten so used to it, they stopped complaining about it. Brooklyn had to become the mother around the house, cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry or anything else her mother was slacking at.

  Brooklyn hadn’t seen her father John in years, but shit, she barely saw her mother and they lived under the same roof. She was only five the last time she’d seen her father and remembers that day as if it’d just occurred. He hadn’t said good-bye and never even bothered to reach out to her.

  It didn’t take long before her mother met Bill, who’d later become the father of her younger brothers, Kevin and Jason. Bill turned out to be an abusive alcoholic, who Janice finally kicked to the curb after years of being punched and kicked herself. Unfortunately for Brooklyn and her siblings, now nine and eleven, Janice picked up the drinking habit that she once despised. She couldn’t count on both hands the number of times her mother lay pissy drunk on the living room sofa or floor and she’d get her changed and up in the bed before her brothers could witness it.

  From the outside looking in, some would say Brooklyn and her two brothers had it made. They always wore name-brand clothing, thanks to the boosters who would stop by and drop off clothing that Janice had either paid or done favors for. They always had a full refrigerator, courtesy of their corner store credit, and their house was fully furnished with expensive furniture that her mother of course got on a discount. At least she was good for something, Brooklyn would always say, even when she was pissed at her.

  It was times like these when their neighbor, Ms. Rose, came in handy. Ms. Rose, in her fifties, was one of those women who felt the need to take care of other people’s children when their parents weren’t around. And Janice didn’t disapprove. So whenever Brooklyn needed a parent to go up to the school for a meeting or to sign a permission slip and her mother was unavailable, she’d run over to Ms. Rose.

  After eating and hollering up to Kevin and Jason to get up for school, Brooklyn grabbed her things and headed across the street to Ms. Rose’s house. As usual, she was wide-awake and making breakfast for whoever stopped by before school to grab a plate. Brooklyn could smell the aroma of bacon as soon as she walked in the door.

  “Morning, Brooklyn.” Ms. Rose smiled as she opened the door and walked back toward the kitchen. “Did you eat yet? Breakfast is almost done.”

  “Yes, I ate already. I came by to see if you could sign this packet for me.”

  “What’s it for? You know I don’t just sign my name on anything.” She laughed.

  “It’s for a modeling agency. They came to the school for career day, and the woman wants to give me a shot. She thinks I have potential.”

  “That’s great, darling. Sure, I’ll sign it for you. Anything that’ll get you out of this neighborhood, I’m all for it. I believe you have the potential to do anything that you put your mind to.”

  “Thanks so much!” Brooklyn ran over to hug Ms. Rose, nearly knocking her over. “You’re always there when I need you to be.”

  “Well, just don’t forget about me when you hit it big.” Ms. Rose laughed.

  “I could never forget about you!” Brooklyn smiled. “I’m going to run. I don’t want to be late.”

  “OK. Let me know how things turn out,” Ms. Rose replied, retrieving the last bit of bacon from the frying pan. Ms. Rose took pride in caring for others. She’d lost her own son in a car accident, and after years of depression, she found that giving support to the children in the neighborhood was the closest she’d ever come to being a mother again.

  Brooklyn, already out of the kitchen and almost through the front door, was so excited, she couldn’t wait to drop off the packet at the counselor’s office. She was so focused on getting herself a modeling gig, she didn’t even stop by Stacey’s house to meet the girls to walk together. By the time she realized that she’d forgotten, she was a block away from school. She ran into the building and straight to Ms. Thomas’ office with the packet in hand.

  “Good morning, Brooklyn. What can I do for you today?” Ms. Thomas asked with a smile.

  “I have to get this packet to Mesa Grimes from the modeling agency.”

  “OK. Well, you can leave it here with me, and I’ll make sure that she gets it.”

  “Thanks.” Brooklyn turned to leave the office.

  “Brooklyn,” Ms. Thomas called out, “what made you want to get into modeling? I never thought you’d be into something like that.”

  “I never thought I would either, but she believes in me, so I’m going to give it a shot,” Brooklyn replied with confidence before turning and leaving the room.

  Ms. Thomas picked up the phone and dialed the agency number that Mesa had left the previous week. She was well aware of Mesa’s confidence in Brooklyn, and although she’d never mentioned modeling to her, she always knew she was a star. Mesa was excited and promised to pick up the forms later on that day.


  Brooklyn hurried to class but was caught in the hallway by her girlfriends, who were all pretty annoyed that she hadn’t waited for them so that they could all come to school together as they normally did.

  “I thought that you must’ve been sick or dead,” Stacey yelled. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming to school early? We were almost late waiting on you, until I called Ms. Rose and found out that you left early.”

  The others nodded their heads in agreement.

  “I’m so sorry. I had a meeting with the counselor this morning that I couldn’t miss,” she lied. “Besides, it’s not like you’ve never left me before.”

  “Let’s get to class before we’re all late,” Rene blurted out, trying to defuse the situation before things got out of hand.

  Growing up, Stacey and Brooklyn had always been as close as sisters, but just like sisters, they occasionally had fights. Sometimes the fights would end with a friendly hug, but there were other times when they came close to an all-out hair-pulling brawl. Most people thought that their bumping heads was inevitable, since the two were so much alike.

  Brooklyn and Stacey stood there staring at each other, both waiting for the other to speak or make a move. Rene and Wanda, used to their antics, decided to just walk away, knowing they’d follow suit. Rene took the first step and headed toward her class at the end of the hall. After Wanda headed up the stairs, she looked back to see the two of them still standing there.

  Stacey, arms folded and lips pouted, said, “I hope this doesn’t have anything to do with Sincere.”

  “It doesn’t. I already told you I had to meet with the counselor.”

  Deep down Stacey was jealous of Brooklyn and Sincere. She’d never been lucky enough to catch the interest of a man like him. Regardless of how cute she dressed or how perfectly her makeup was applied, it just wasn’t enough. Besides that, she didn’t want to lose her friend. She knew that without Brooklyn by her side, she’d lose the shine that kept her in the limelight.

  Brooklyn nudged Stacey on the shoulder and laughed. “Don’t worry. No one’s taking me away. Even if I snag Sincere, you’ll still be my girl!”