Ambitious

by Monica McKayhan

  “Shouldn’t you be in a beginner’s class?”

  “I had those classes in middle school last year.” I smiled confidently. He seemed uncomfortable. “Are you intimidated?”

  “Of course not.” He placed his palms over his ears. “There’s more than just good looks in between these ears.”

  “You mean you have brains, too?” I asked.

  “Sometimes I do.”

  I found myself staring at the face in between the ears. I was secretly thrilled to see Drew. It was refreshing. My heart pounded a few extra times as he grabbed my pencil pouch from my binder and began searching for a pencil. He wasn’t ashamed to make himself at home with my things. Once a pencil was found, he grabbed my spiral notebook and ripped two sheets from it.

  “I’ll probably need this, too,” he said.

  “Help yourself,” I said sarcastically.

  With Drew in my algebra class, I wondered if I’d be able to concentrate. His presence seemed to distract me. As the instructor shut the classroom door and asked us to open our textbooks, I tried to forget that Drew was in the seat in front of me. I opened my algebra book and turned my spiral notebook to the first empty page. Drew passed me a note. I opened it—careful not to rattle the wrinkled piece of notebook paper.

  MEET ME AT MANNY’S AFTER SCHOOL. GOT SOMETHING TO ASK YOU.

  Got something to ask me? Why couldn’t he just ask me whatever it was before the end of the school day? Why wait until we were at Manny’s? I’d go crazy just trying to figure out what it was. What would Drew Bishop have to ask me at Manny’s that he couldn’t ask me in our algebra class?

  The fall social was only a few weeks away. From what I’d heard, it was a huge event for students at Premiere. Everybody dressed in tuxedoes and formal dresses, and sipped fruit punch from fancy glasses. Boys asked girls to be their dates for the evening, and they picked them up at their houses while parents snapped pictures of them with disposable cameras. If Drew was planning to ask me to the fall social, I’d need permission from my parents. I’d never been on a date before, and it would be very awkward for them. Poppy would definitely handle the news better. Mami wouldn’t like it at all. She’d protest at first, but then Poppy would ease her fears; convince her that the world wouldn’t end if I went on a date.

  What would I wear? Luz and I would have to go to the mall immediately to pick out a dress. I’d have Grace pull out her nail kit and give me a manicure. Kristina would do my makeup. She’d been the best makeup artist since seventh grade. She’d practiced on us so many times. Luz would do my hair. Besides me, Luz was the master hairstylist. I’d have to decide if I wanted to wear lots of curls or if I’d put my hair up. It all depended on the dress I chose, I guessed.

  My cell phone rested on my desk, and when it flashed, I knew that I had a new text message. I looked at the screen. Luz.

  Let’s go to the mall 2day. I want those boots.

  Can’t 2day.

  Why?

  Going 2 Manny’s.

  Manny’s can wait.

  Not 2day. How about tomorrow?

  Whatever.

  Luz seemed upset. I wanted to go to the mall with her, but there were more important things at hand—such as finding out what Drew had to ask me. After I had a chance to explain everything, Luz would understand why the mall would have to wait. I’d make it up to her.

  As the bell sounded at the end of class, Drew packed his things.

  “See ya later, kid,” he said then made a beeline for the door.

  He was so cute, I thought as I stuffed my things into my backpack. I took my time leaving the classroom; lost in thought. Anxiety had suddenly filled my world. I was anxious to get home and show Luz the new dance steps that Jasmine and I had learned. I was anxious to get back into the dance studio with J.C. and Jasmine to practice again. I was anxious to get to the Dance America auditions. And now, I was anxious to get to Manny’s after school just to hear Drew’s big question.

  At Manny’s I ordered a slice of pepperoni and a Cherry Coke. I slid into the booth next to Jasmine, who was already stuffing a slice of cheese pizza into her mouth. Drew and Preston walked into the door and headed our way. They dropped their things into the two empty chairs at our table.

  “What’s up, y’all?” Drew asked.

  I shrugged; my mouth was filled with pizza.

  “What’s up, guys?” asked Jasmine.

  Preston gave a wave, and then the two of them headed for the counter to order their pizza.

  “I think Drew’s going to ask me to the fall social,” I told Jasmine. I immediately regretted saying it aloud. What if it wasn’t true? What if he had something else to ask me instead? I’d be embarrassed.

  “What are you going to say?”

  “Um…probably yes.” I smiled.

  “You like him like that?” she asked. She seemed surprised.

  I hadn’t really shared my true feelings about Drew with anyone, except Luz and Grace. I’d only kept it inside; in my private thoughts—where no one could judge me. It wasn’t that I really liked him all that much. I just liked the way I felt when he was around. It was as if we’d known each other forever; as though we’d met in another life.

  “He’s okay. I mean, he’s a good friend,” I said.

  “Well, the fall social is a big deal at Premiere. Everybody goes, whether they have a date or not. I doubt that I’ll have a date, but I’m still going,” she explained. “If Drew doesn’t ask, you can just go with me. No big deal.”

  No big deal? It was a very big deal, and becoming bigger by the moment.

  Drew and Preston placed their pizza on the table. Preston turned his chair around and sat backward in it as he always did. Drew plopped down in front of me, stole the extra mozzarella cheese that was stuck to my plate and popped it into his mouth. He seemed to enjoy taking my things without asking; as if they belonged to both of us.

  “Guess what?” he said to no one in particular.

  “What?” Jasmine and I asked at the same time.

  “Yours truly will be playing the role of Walter Lee Younger in the school’s production of A Raisin in the Sun.” He cleared his throat. “No applause, please.”

  “Congratulations,” I was the first to say. I knew how important that role had been for him.

  “That’s fantastic, dude,” Jasmine said. “You should be very proud. I know lots of people who auditioned for that role.”

  “She’s right, dude,” said Preston as he grinned at Jasmine. “You should be proud.”

  I was proud of Drew, and all the small talk was fine, but I wanted to get to the subject at hand—the big question.

  “So is anybody going to the fall social?” I asked. I wanted to get it out there in the open before I burst with anticipation.

  Drew looked around the table, as if he wondered the same thing. “What’s the fall social?” he asked.

  What’s the fall social? Did he really ask that?

  “It’s one of the biggest social events at Premiere,” Jasmine explained. “The fall social and the spring talent show are two events that you can’t miss.”

  “I hadn’t really thought about it. Preston and I might show up or something, just to see what it’s all about,” Drew said and then turned to Preston. “You wanna go, man?”

  “Sure. Whatever,” said Preston.

  “When is it?” Drew asked, his eyes moving back and forth between Jasmine and me, searching for an answer.

  “It’s in three weeks,” said Jasmine. “The first Saturday in October.”

  “Shouldn’t you have a date for these things?” Preston asked.

  “It’s just a dance,” Drew said and finished off his slice of pizza. “It’s not the senior prom or anything.”

  “People take dates, though, silly,” Jasmine said.

  “Do you have a date, Jasmine?” Preston asked. Apparently, he was tired of beating around the bush. He’d been dying to ask Jasmine out.

  “Yes, I do!” she exclaimed. “My girl Mari an
d I are going stag. Right, Mari?”

  “Right.” I smiled on the outside but was disappointed inside to know that Drew had no intentions of asking me to go.

  I appreciated Jasmine at that moment; rescuing me from embarrassment. I ate in silence. Couldn’t believe I had allowed myself to be so silly, and over a guy who obviously wasn’t interested in me. I wouldn’t put myself in that position again.

  “Oh, yeah, Mari. Got a question for you,” said Drew.

  Now he’s got a question for me? What else is there besides “Mari, will you go with me to the fall social?”

  “I’m listening,” I said and picked over my pizza.

  “It’s kind of embarrassing,” he started.

  What could be more embarrassing then expecting a boy to ask you to a dance, and he doesn’t?

  “Spit it out, dude,” Preston said.

  “It’s all good that I landed the role of Walter Lee Younger. But none of that makes any difference at all if I can’t keep my grades up in math,” he said. “I’m ashamed to say that at my old school, where I was a basketball idol, I didn’t do much of my own homework. Girls came out of the woodwork…just waiting to date someone from the team. They did whatever you asked.”

  Was he asking me to do his homework for him?

  “And needless to say, he took advantage of the poor souls,” Preston teased.

  “Anyways, I’ve turned over a new leaf. I’m not that basketball star anymore. And I want to do this on my own. I’m grateful for this opportunity at Premiere, and I sincerely want to remain a student here. But if I don’t keep my grades up, I’ll be out on the street.”

  “What does that have to do with me?” I asked.

  “Will you help me pass math? You’re obviously pretty smart if you’re taking advanced classes,” he said. “I won’t require a lot of your time. Just a couple of hours a week. And I’ll pay you.”

  “You mean like a tutor?” I asked.

  “Yeah, something like that,” he said.

  “I don’t have a lot of time,” I explained. “I’m preparing for Dance America right now. And we barely have enough time as it is.”

  Jasmine nodded her head in agreement.

  “Just one day a week is all I need, Mari.”

  “Let me think about it,” I told him. I wasn’t going to be overzealous again. But I had to admit that the thought of spending one-on-one time with Drew was exciting. However, I wasn’t sure how I’d pull it off. Having a slice of pizza at Manny’s was one thing, but tutoring someone would require more time. What would I tell my parents?

  “Let me know,” he said. “No pressure. There are lots of people who would love the job, but it’s gotta be somebody that I enjoy hanging out with. That’s why I chose you.”

  I blushed at the compliment and hoped that nobody noticed. As I finished my Cherry Coke, I smiled to myself. I already knew that I’d tutor Drew, but I wanted to make him suffer. He deserved it for not asking me to the fall social. Didn’t he know when he’d broken a girl’s heart?

  ten

  Marisol

  I was so excited, I nearly ran home from the subway station. I couldn’t wait to get with Luz and go over our dance routine. My backpack in tow, I looked for any sight of Luz, Kristina and Grace as I turned the corner. The Block was empty, except for the younger boys popping wheelies on their dirt bikes.

  “Where is everybody?” I asked Hector, Grace’s younger brother.

  “Fight broke out,” he explained. “Some guys were trying to fight your brother.”

  “Nico?” I asked. “What guys?’

  “Some gang members,” Hector said. “Everybody’s over there.”

  “Where?”

  “The next block over.”

  I dropped my bag onto the steps of our two-family house and took off running to the next block. A crowd had gathered, and I spotted Kristina and Grace in the midst of it.

  “What’s going on?” I asked them.

  “Some boys have beef with Nico,” Kristina explained.

  I pushed my way through to the center of it all. Alejandro and Fernando stood in the center with their arms folded across their chests. In the midst of the crowd, my brother argued with a guy dressed in sagging jeans, an oversize hoodie and a bandanna tied around his head. As I got a closer look, I realized it was Diego, the boy who I’d seen being arrested and thrown into a police car. Diego grew up in our neighborhood, yet somehow had taken a wrong turn. He was a gang member who had been in and out of the juvenile detention center since our first year in middle school. He and Nico were once good friends. Diego had spent several nights at our house, and our families had attended the same church. When Diego’s father died of cancer, he was angry. Angry with his mother; angry at the world for allowing his father to die. He started rebelling and ended up in a gang. Rumor had it that he’d even killed a few people, although I couldn’t imagine Diego hurting a fly. He was one of the quietest boys I’d ever known—straight-laced; very respectable. And why he was standing here in the middle of the street having an altercation with my brother was beyond me.

  Standing in between Nico and Diego, I asked, “What’s going on here?”

  I was confused. Especially since I’d just seen Diego at the mall, and he had pledged his innocence. He’d talked about how the cops were always harassing him for nothing, yet he was standing in the middle of the street having an issue with my brother. I didn’t know what to make of it.

  “Go home, Mari. This has nothing to do with you,” Nico yelled.

  “It has everything to do with me. You’re my brother!” I yelled and then turned to Diego. “Diego, what’s going on here?”

  “Do what your brother said, Mari, and go home,” said Diego. “This is between me and him.”

  “You want me to take him out?” asked a guy who was standing behind Diego. He was someone I didn’t recognize from our neighborhood. He was tall and wore a do-rag on his head. With tattoos plastered all over his neck and arms, and a permanent frown on his face, he said, “Nobody disrespects us like that.”

  I stood there, confused. How had Nico disrespected them? I wanted to ask, but it didn’t seem as if they were up for much conversation. I quickly realized that talking was definitely not what Diego had in mind after I spotted the silver gun he held close to his side, with his finger strategically placed on the trigger. At that moment, my heart started pounding. I was the bravest girl in the world—standing in front of my brother, daring anyone to hurt him. But instantly, my knees began to shake and I wondered if Nico and I would both die in the middle of the street in front of all our friends. What would become of our parents if both their children were murdered in broad daylight? Mami wouldn’t survive the tragedy, and Poppy would be heartbroken for the rest of his life.

  Our parents had done their best to shelter us from the trouble that surrounded our Brooklyn neighborhood—gang activity, drugs and violence. In fact, there was a cluster of families in our neighborhood who had refused to allow the streets to destroy their children. The families on The Block were wholesome, working-class people with strict values. The parents had formed a pact to protect their children from the streets, and had done so for many years. Besides being neighbors for several years, we were one big family.

  Diego’s family had been a part of our big family—that is until his father was no longer around. Mr. Reyes had been the glue that held the family together, and once he was gone, Mrs. Reyes could no longer control Diego. She lost him to the streets. Eventually, Mrs. Reyes wasn’t able to maintain their home and was forced to move to a one-bedroom apartment in Williamsburg. Diego had dropped out of school, so he was no longer classmates with any of the rest of us, and church wasn’t an option for him anymore, either. His days of being an altar boy at our Catholic church were long over.

  “This isn’t over, Garcia,” Diego said to my brother, as his finger slowly eased from the trigger. “You’ll hear from me again.”

  Nico stood there, a mean mug on his face, as he stared a
t Diego, his eyes piercing. I wondered if he felt the same relief that I felt as Diego stuffed the gun into the pocket of his jeans and began to walk away.

  “Let’s go,” Diego barked to his tall, tattooed sidekick. The two of them took off walking.

  “Why did you do that?” Nico yelled at me.

  “Do what?”

  “Stand in front of me like that! You could’ve gotten us both killed.” Nico was enraged.

  “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I don’t need your help, Mari. I can fight my own battles.” He started walking toward home—Alejandro and Fernando beside him.

  I followed. “What was that all about anyway?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with you, Mari. Stay out of it!”

  “I’m telling Mami and Poppy.”

  Nico stopped in his tracks. He grabbed my arm and gripped it tightly; gave me that same piercing look that he’d given Diego earlier. “You better not breathe a word of this to them. You understand me?”

  I swallowed hard. Nodded my head yes. He eased the grip on my arm. I watched as he walked away and turned the corner toward home. Kristina and Grace caught up to me.

  “Mari, that was so scary. I thought Diego was going to shoot Nico,” said Grace, “and all because Nico refuses to join their stupid gang.”

  “Diego has changed a lot!” Grace added. “He’s not the same boy that I kissed on my front stoop in first grade.”

  She’d kissed him, too?

  “Is that what this is about? Nico won’t join their gang?” I asked.

  “I think he told them he would and then backed out,” Grace explained. “I’m glad he reconsidered, because those guys are just bad news.”

  I sighed. I wasn’t sure if I was more worried because gang members were hassling Nico for doing the right thing, or because he had considered joining them in the first place.

  “Where’s Luz?” I finally asked.

  It was odd that she wasn’t anywhere in the midst of the crowd. The entire neighborhood had gathered to see what was going on.

  “She’s at home,” Kristina said. “She’s locked in her room with Catalina Sanchez.”