Dorinda Gets a Groove
Page 9
“Well, I think the Lord would appreciate you giving thanks to Mrs. Bosco down here first!” Ms. Dorothea snipes.
We take our seats—which are about halfway back from the stage in the orchestra section. Soon, the place fills up, and we can all feel the electricity in the Garden as the lights go down, and the spotlights start roaming the walls.
“She’s coming!” Twinkie yells in a shrilly voice, clapping excitedly.
The crowd starts chanting, “Mariah! Mariah! Mariah!”
“Do you think we should stick around to meet her afterward?” Galleria yells to me and Chanel as the crowd starts screaming with anticipation.
“It’s worth a try!” Chanel says. “I mean, after all, Do’ Re Mi and her family are VIPs—está bien?”
“You know who else are VIPs?” I say. “The Cheetah Girls!”
Gaileria’s eyes light up, and I can see how amped she gets by my attitude. “That’s right, baby,” she says. “Marian’s gonna help us fly—’cuz the Cheetah Girls are gonna do or die!”
Who’s Got the Groove
We thought we had it goin’ on
writing songs and gettin’ along
that’s Miss Chanel acting swell
and Galleria always freer
popping gum and acting glum
when the groove ain’t right
and Toto bites with all his might!
Got a new member in our crew
Now she’s got the rhymes
That’s Miss Dorinda to you
Always true and
definitely crew
on the new school tip
without a slip
Who’s got the groove?
Who’s got the moves?
Miss Dorinda got it goin on’
till the break of dawn
she’s riffing songs
or doing rhymes
on the banjo chords
and the mighty keyboard!
Who’s got the groove?
Who’s got the moves?
Miss Dorinda got it goin’ on
till the break of dawn
So can’t we all get along?
(I told you Tiffany is dope so let’s cope and make her crew)
(Shut up, Chanel, before the copyright police come and get you, mamacita!)
The Cheetah Girls Glosary
Angling for info: Being nosy.
Beef jerky: Static. A fight. A beef. As in, “Why she always trying to start a beef jerky with me? I’m not the one wearing a weava-lus hairdo, she is!”
Blazin’ amazin’: Phat. Dopa-licious.
Blow up your spot: When someone is trying to make you feel large or important. As in, “Did you see the way Loquanda was talking about you to Rerun? She was definitely trying to blow up your spot.”
Bringing in the noise: Causing trouble. Acting rowdy. Or, having a good time and showing off your skills.
Brouhaha: A fight in a restaurant or a public place.
Buggin’: Getting upset or acting cuckoo.
Diddly widdly: Nada. Nothing. Not even a crumb. As in, “I’m not giving her diddly widdly, ’cuz she wrecked my flow.”
Dim-witty: Someone who needs to change the lightbulb in their brain. Clueless, but definitely not a dum-dum.
Fib-eronis: Teeny-weeny fibs. Purple lies and alibis!
Get with the program: Figure something out. Go along with something. As in, “Loquanda and I are trying out for the track team—so you’d better get with the program, or you’ll be hanging by yourself after school, okay?”
Good to go: Ready for Freddy Ready for any thing!
Graveyard shift: That spooky time of night between midnight and eight o’clock in the morning, when most people are sleeping, except for “night owls,” mummies, and vampires, or people who are working the graveyard shift. It is not to be confused with “Frankenstein Hour,” however, which is when most mummies—alive or dead—come out of their grave for a little fresh air, ’cuz they’ve got time to spare!
Gunky: Dirty. Yukky. Like muddy water.
It ain’t no thing but a chicken wing: It’s cool. Everything’s cool. Or, it could simply mean, mamacita, don’t get too excited, it’s just chicken!
Loco: Crazy. Cuckoo.
Lyrical flow: Someone who is good with words and writing songs, raps, or poems.
Milking for points: Taking advantage. Working it. As in, “Just ’cuz she got an A on the algebra quiz, she is definitely milking our math teacher for points.”
My bad: Excuse me, I made a mistake. Oopsy, doopsy, this one’s on me.
On the D.D.L.: On the down, down low. To do something without other people knowing about it. For example, “I want to make my mom a beaded necklace for her birthday, so I’m gonna have to do it on the D.D.L. so my brother won’t give away the surprise.” Can also mean, on the divette duckets license, which means buying something on the cheap.
Peeped: To catch on to something or pull someone’s sleeve about something. As in, “I peeped Janessa cheating on the math test!”
Peep the situation: To try to figure out something. To look for clues to a situation.
Pickpocket: A sneaky bozo who goes around stealing wallets out of people’s purses and pockets without them knowing it, then disappears faster than Houdini.
Plagiarism: Using someone else’s words without giving them credit. In the case of songs, it can be very few words. For example, using the words Living la vida loca would qualify as plagiarism, since Ricky Martin already made that phrase famous in his song.
Radikkio: Ridiculous.
Right on the duckets: Right about something. As in, “You were right on the duckets. Crystal just told me that Tiara is not gonna show up. She left us hanging!”
Snarkle: A cross between a cackle and a giggle.
Stomping: Good. Dope. Tight. As in, “That song is stomping.”
Street gravy: Gunky, dirty mud-filled water from the sewers.
What’s the deal-io: What’s the deal?
Acknowledgments
I have to give it up to the Jump at the Sun peeps here—Andrea Pinkney, Lisa Holton, and Ken Geist—for letting the Cheetah Girls run wild. Also, Anath Garber, the one person who helped me find my Cheetah Girl powers. And, Lita Richardson, the one person who now has my back in the jiggy jungle. Primo thanks to the cover girl Cheetahs: Arike, Brandi, Imani, Jeni, and Mia. And to all the Cheetah Girls around the globe: Get diggity with the growl power, baby!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Gregory earned her growl power as a diva-about-town contributing writer for Essence, Vibe, and More magazines. She has showed her spots on several talk shows, including Oprah, Ricki Lake, and Maury Povich. She lives in New York City with her pooch, Cappuccino, who is featured as the Cheetah Girls’ mascot, Toto.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2001 by Deborah Gregory
ISBN 978-1-4976-7724-1
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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