Katy spun around and threw me a horrified look. “Mitch Adachi? Oh no, girl, stay away from him.”
Though I obviously had not known Mitch for a long time, I definitely knew him more than I did Clemence, and wasn’t happy these two girls would talk shit about my friend.
“He’s a good guy and I would appreciate it if you cut down on the shit talk,” I ground out.
“Hey, love and light,” Katy shot back. “I’m just saying what most of the people on campus already know. He does not do relationships.”
“And what if I don’t, either?” It wasn’t a total lie. I’d always been too busy training to start anything myself.
“Then, uh, good for you?” Katy glanced at Clemence, who merely shrugged.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready.” What I didn’t tell them was that I didn’t need an audience while I changed about fifteen times looking for a good enough outfit. It was ridiculous, considering that Mitch had already seen me in shitty clothes and drenched in sweat, but still, this was the first time we’d be hanging out together outside of campus…I didn’t want to look bad, okay?
Clemence and her “friend” shot each other another look and nodded doubtfully. “Okay, that’s fine. We’re headed out.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, turning toward the wall to slip on a bra.
The two busied themselves behind me. I ignored the noise, sighing with relief when I heard the door open. Unfortunately, they weren’t ready to leave.
“Aurora?”
I looked over at my shoulder. “Yes?”
Katy threw me a sad look. “Good luck.”
***
“Whoa, look at you.” Mitch pushed open his car door from the inside, allowing me to jump in.
Whoa, look at you?That’s it?
After going through about eight outfit changes before settling on a cute tank top and printed leggings, I’d spent another thirty minutes applying makeup, which is something I absolutelyloathed doing.
Fighting the frown on my face, I climbed into his hybrid and looked around in surprise. Muffling a snicker, I teased, “So after all that crap aboutmy car, you’re here driving this egg shaped masterpiece?”
He rolled his eyes. “I care about nature, remember? I’ll take an egg shaped car over a gas guzzling pollutant any day.”
“How gallant of you.” I snorted, biting back my smile.
The trip to North County was a lot longer than I anticipated. Back in Ohio, mostly everything was within twenty-minutes of each other. The almost forty-minute drive up toward the north side of thesame city was ridiculous.
Fortunately, Mitch eased the inexplicable tension running through my muscles by telling me stories about the different b-boys and b-girls I’d be seeing at the event. He described each of their signature moves in great detail and even instructed me to visualize myself competing against each one. By the time we reached the tiny club, I was actually feeling amped up and ready to go.
“Five dollars.” A stoic looking bouncer held his gigantic hand out toward me. When I didn’t budge, he repeated in a firmer tone. “Five dollars.”
I scrambled for my purse, feeling my cheeks warm in embarrassment. “I don’t think I brought cash…”
Mitch stepped in front of me. “She’s with me, Rob.”
“Go on in.” When the man, who had to be over six feet tall and about three hundred pounds, stepped away from the door, it reminded me of a huge boulder rolling away from a guarded treasure inside a cave. Then again, maybe there was something valuable hidden within the club.
I stepped around the bouncer and gazed around anxiously. The venue was a lot bigger than the old pub near Cal State, and though a sizable crowd had already gathered there were more areas to stand and even sit! I sighed with relief when I spotted a couple of empty stools toward the back wall.
“Wanna sit over there with me?” Mitch motioned toward the seats and I couldn’t help the involuntary jump of my heart at hearing the words ‘with me.’
“Sure.” I forced my voice to come out steadily.
As we meandered our way through the active cyphers I quickly realized that it was a totally different experience attending one of these events with another person—not to mention with a b-boy…and not to mention, with Mitch.
“Hey, Kickwit. Is thistheAurora?” a deep voice boomed behind us.
I turned around and spotted a few b-boys walking in our direction. With similar expressions of curiosity etched on their faces—not to mention the matching shirts they were wearing—these dancers looked more like clones than anything. Of course, that didn’t prepare me for the realization that their matching shirts all read ‘Annihilation.’
Crap. Was this really the crew I was going to try out for? I looked at each of their faces and cringed. They all looked really intimidating.
Putting on my bravest face, I lifted my hand. “Yeah, I’m Aurora.”
“I’m Anthony.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I remember you from Mitch’s condo.”
“Ourcondo, honey. We’re roommates,” he replied, but not unkindly.
“Oh, sorry.”
He nodded. “This is Woody, the member you’ll be replacing…um, no pun intended.”
The other boys snickered behind him, except for Woody, who looked aghast. “Replace me? My cast will be coming off in a few weeks!”
Anthony ignored Woody’s waving fluorescent colored arm. “This is Leo, Dylan, and Marty.”
“Your parents weren’t the only ones obsessed with old school movies,” Marty joked, instantly calming me down. Maybe these guys weren’t so bad after all. It wouldn’t surprise me if Craig was the only bad one in the bunch. I’d hate to think Mitch would spend most of his time with a bunch of asshats. Birds of a feather and all that.
“Nice meeting you all,” I said sincerely. I glanced at each one individually and shot them a kind smile.
“So I heard that you’re trying to shove it to Craig,” Woody commented in admiration. “About time somebody knocked him off that fake pedestal he put himself on.”
Dylan laughed and proceeded to stretch out one arm while curling his fingers at the end so it looked as if he were holding a gigantic…well, you know.
Mitch stifled a laugh, elbowing him.
I shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not trying to shove it to anyone. I just want to prove what I can do,and Iwill show you all.”
Mitch shot me a proud look and all at once my insides squirmed. Of course that feeling quickly went away when I noticed Craig making his way toward us with a few girls in tow behind him. Seriously, he looked like a real world version of a hip hop star, complete with desperate groupies. The scantily-clad females surrounded us and almost simultaneously winked at Mitch. It was obvious that they knew him personally and I really hated that they did.
Craig didn’t speak one word, only bobbing his head in a greeting. However, when his gaze landed on me, his eyes immediately narrowed and a grimy smirk appeared on his face.
If he thought he was going to scare me, he had another think coming. I pursed my lips and shot him the bitchiest face I could muster. Unfortunately, his twitching lip was the only response I received.
I waited for him to say something—anything—but before either of us could budge, a girl who looked to be around my age staggered in between our group trying to squeeze by. Craig’s gaze finally tore away from me. “Yo, Bamboo. Surprised to see you show up after I roasted you last time. You must be some sort of masochist or something…but you know, I can help you out if you like that kinda stuff.”
The girl’s pink lips twisted in distaste. “You must be delusional if you think I’d ever want to mess around with you. You’re fucking disgusting.”
My eyes widened. I waited for Craig’s reaction, but he remained silent. Interestingly, the girl didn’t.
“Besides, it’s about time that I smoke you out there.” She crossed her arms and lifted her chin with a snort.
This time Craig couldn’t help but th
row out his usual barrage of insults. “The only smoking you’ll be doing is whatever drug you’re on that makes you even come close to thinking you’ll be beating me. Seriously, that shit must be strong.”
Without waiting for Bamboo’s response, Craig turned around, and as if he were some master puppeteer, his entourage of females spun around, following him down the row of cyphers.
Mitch shot me a quick look. “I’m gonna have to head off with the other guys before Craig starts a bullshit fight with the other competitors. Just for a bit.”
“Are you all competing together?” I asked, watching the other guys trail behind Craig and hissheeple.
Mitch shook his head. “No, this is an individual battle again, but I have to sign up and all that stuff. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” I replied, feeling myself wilt again. It was an odd feeling—one I didn’t like.
As I watched him walk away, I shook my head with disgust. “This isn’t what you wanted, Aurora. You came here to find yourself, not someone else.”
Mitch
It wasn’t a cardinal rule for b-boys to be single. In fact, I’d seen a lot of my peers come to battles with their girlfriends in tow, looking as happy as could be. The thing is, relationships never mixed well with me personally and since I never wanted to deal with the repercussions of a bad breakup ever again, it was something I never specifically tried for.
But I didn’t count on Aurora waking up a drive in me that I hadn’t felt for so long.
Knowing she was rooting for me and hearing her cheers pushed me more than I had felt in a while. Each time I took my turn, it was as if the only thing I could focus on was on her smiling face. After each run, I’d turn toward Aurora and her alone, and beam when she threw me a thumbs up—which she did after every single run.
“Awesome job, Mitchie,” some girl cooed in my ear after the semi-finals. Any other time I would have jumped at the opportunity for another “agreement” but this time all I wanted to do was return to Aurora’s side.
“We’re running low on time, so we are skipping our usual break and going straight to finals!” Julian yelled out, almost blowing out the speakers.
I hung my head and sighed. Guess I’d have to return to Aurora after the event.
Once again I’d made it to the final round, battling who else but Craig. I glanced over at the stools and noticed Aurora trembling—fuming—once her gaze landed on Craig’s trademark smirk. He walked toward me, pure confidence dripping from his pores.
I kept my face expressionless and cracked my neck, keeping my mind focused on the battle, although every now and then it’d teeter back to the b-girl at the stools. Craig and I had been here many times before. We were always the two best b-boys in our crew and to be honest, in the area. Either he was going to win or I was…unfortunately, a majority of time he won.
B-boy politics.
It was something Aurora didn’t understand and a lesson I hoped she’d never have to learn the hard way. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes the popularity and following of particular breakers would sway judges to vote a certain way.
Craig’s stronger than life personality often won over my laid back attitude.
Julian walked toward the center of the floor, attempting to hype the crowd up. I hopped from one foot to other, amping myself up for battle. It was an unspoken rule in my crew that Craig always opted to go first, another intimidation factor, I guess. So, I took the opportunity to glance over at Aurora who was, surprise!—still fuming.
I watched closely as Craig did his normal run, which was quite predictable, by the way.
Swipe. Air baby. Air flare to 90.
As soon as he cut to his ending pose, I jumped right in, not wasting a second.
My feet flew under me; my arms flexing, preparing for my power moves. The music, though blasting loudly, sounded nothing more than muffles to me. My vision narrowed, tinted dark at the edges. The orange glow of the ceiling lights seemed hazy—almost muggy. Before I knew it, I felt myself in a chair freeze.
The crowd roared, but Craig was obviously not affected. He jumped right, pretending to dangle a fake dick toward me. For as many “insults” as b-boys do, I thought the whole cock serve was a bit dumb, but you can’t break tradition.
“He thinks he’s got this in the bag,” I muttered. “Not this time.”
By the time I finished my final round, the crowd was leaning over in anticipation. It was a close one, I was sure of it. There was no way Craig could take this away from me. Not again.
Julian’s scrawny body burst through the rows of people circled around us. He looked over at the judges who pointed toward…
“B-boy Cruel!”
The roar of the crowd was deafening. I shot Craig a congratulatory smile, but he basically ignored it, grabbing the nearest girl and placing a sloppy kiss on her lips. She didn’t seem to mind and looked as if she were in heaven. In fact, the only girl who didn’t seem to be fawning after Craig was waiting for me at the stools. She stood as soon as I neared her, clapping her hands slowly.
“Hey,” she said quietly.
I usually didn’t mind losing to Craig, but for some reason I especially felt the loss that day. I caught Aurora’s disappointed eyes and shrugged. “Eh, it happens.”
“You deserved the win,” she suddenly growled, furrowing her eyebrows together. “That shit was not fair! Craig’s moves were…sloppy. You were clean and you hit each one of your power moves perfectly. That was fucking bullshit! You know what? I’m going to the judges and giving them a piece of my—”
“Whoa, there, horsey.” I grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
Furious, she eyed my hand and then looked up at me with a scowl. “Let go, Mitch! That wasn’t fair and you know it. Somebody has to put those dumb judges in their place!”
Once again I shrugged, not wanting to go into full detail of the circle jerk going on in each event. “What’s done is done. It’s all subjective, anyway. So, let’s cut with the dramatics, okay?”
“But…” Her little pout was about the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.
Smiling, I nudged her toward the side. “Wanna get out of here?”
Shock, anger, disappointment, and outright annoyance flashed across her face. She peered into my eyes as if looking for a secret of some sort. When she didn’t seem to find anything, her face softened. “Yeah. I’m actually ready to go. This place smells like a jockstrap.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t even want to know why you recognize a jockstrap scent.”
“I grew up—”
“Yeah, yeah, at the gym.” I motioned toward the door. “Lead the way.”
We walked out of the humid club, relishing the cool, fresh, evening air filling up our lungs. After a few deep breaths, we both visibly relaxed, ready to put the night’s events behind us. Once we reached my car, Aurora paused before climbing inside.
“Hey,” she said in a soft voice.
I froze with my hand on the handle, staring at her from across the top of the tiny car. “Yeah?”
“You were a winner to me. Tonight, I mean.” Her face flushed, casting splotchy patches of red across her cheeks. She cleared her throat awkwardly. “You’re always a winner, though.”
My voice came out raspy. I wasn’t used to such sincere compliments, and in all honesty it made me feel a bit strange, so I did my best to alleviate the tension. “That’s the worst lie I’ve ever heard, but thanks.”
“It’s not a lie. I really do think you are one of the best breakers I’ve ever seen.” In a shy tone she added, “If not the best one.”
A lump grew in my throat and I had to consciously remind myself to breathe. It was the first time I’d ever felt any sort of emotion like this.
This girl was unraveling me.
Aurora
“You sure you don’t mind waiting? You can grab anything in the fridge, if you’d like. Make yourself at home.” The sound of water almost drowned Mitch’s voice out so I had to s
train my ear to hear anything.
“No, I’m good.” Thinking twice about it, I added, “Are you sure you’re up for a movie? Aren’t you tired from the battle?”
“Nah, it takes me a while for me to wind down. Besides, I rather not be anywhere close to this condo when Craig comes around to gloat.”
My eyes darkened. “But isn’t this your place? Can’t you kick him out?”
“I share it with Anthony, and those two are like butt buddies or something.”
Before I could say anything more, he closed the bathroom door, leaving me alone in his living room.
“Okay, guess I just have to entertain myself.” I sighed and wagged my eyebrows up and down. I always hated being left alone in somebody else’s house. It made me feel…like a creep. I rolled back and forth from the balls of my feet to my heels and tapped my fingers on top of my thighs. “So what do we do now, Aurora…maybe stop tapping your legs and talking to yourself like some sort of weirdo.”
I shook my head and walked toward the kitchen, figuring that grabbing a beer would be the most “normal” thing to do.
“He did say to feel at home,” I reminded myself as I walked past the tiny dining area.
The kitchen held that typical bachelor pad vibe with a sink stacked high with dirty dishes and greasy pans. The counters were also filled with old pizza boxes and plastic containers.
“Doesn’t anyone ever clean around here?” I scrunched up my nose and opened the fridge to find, well, canned beer, bottled beer, and a half-eaten burrito.
I stifled a laugh and grabbed a Bud Light, closing the door swiftly to save myself from the rancid burrito smell. It was then I first noticed the different photographs hung up on the refrigerator door.
I couldn’t help but smile when I spotted an old picture of Mitch. He had to be around fourteen years old at the time, looking a bit scrawny and awkward. I popped off the cap of my beer, scanning the different photographs slowly. It was like hopping into a time machine.
There were photos of a younger Mitch doing some of his signature moves, though I must admit they look a hell of a lot better now. There were also some pictures of him with a few members of the crew. They all looked like they were in high school, complete with really bad haircuts and too baggy clothes.
Breaking Promises (B-Boy #1) Page 9
