by Zuri Day
“Eww. I’m not wearing makeup!” Kyle’s declaration was clearly not up for discussion.
“Are you sure?” Jade asked, clearly amused as Kyle vehemently shook his head. “You don’t have to, young man. But the studio lights can get a bit warm. So they’ll just take steps to make sure that you’re not shiny and that your pretty mommy looks her best. That’s a great color by the way,” she said to Aliyah. “That your dress is maroon and not a loud red will read very well on camera. Once they’re finished in makeup, we’ll come back here and wait for your cue.”
“When will we meet Helen?” Aliyah asked.
“Not until you’re introduced. She prefers to meet you just as the audience does, after you’re introduced. That way the conversation is very organic and natural, as if she were meeting you for the first time...because she is! Any other questions?” She looked down. “Oh, I’m sorry, little one. I didn’t introduce myself to you. What’s your name?”
“Conner.”
“He’s my best friend!”
“Aww, that’s nice. You came here to show support as Kyle makes his debut?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s a good friend. We’ll make sure you have a front row seat in the audience. How about that?”
“It’s good.”
“Okay. As you can see, Terrell and Conner, there are snacks, drinks and, let’s see, yes the LA Times is on the table. Feel free to help yourself to anything. Other than that, just relax and we’ll be back in a half hour or less.”
A short time later, Aliyah, Kyle and Jade stood just behind the curtain that opened to the soundstage for the Helen Show. Aliyah was struck by how ordinary and plain everything looked. To her, television was a world of glitz and glamour. She was expecting luxury, everything high-end. But backstage, at least, looked like any office, USA. She found it fascinating.
“You’re on after this commercial break,” Jade whispered.
Kyle looked at Aliyah. She reached for his hand and kneeled down. “You’re going to do fine, baby. Just answer the questions like the little man you are. Okay?”
“Yes, Mommy.”
As she listened to Helen make the introduction, a woman she’d seen on TV and in magazines, the moment felt unreal.
“This kid,” Helen continues, “makes me wish I’d studied harder in school and not played hooky during my math class. He does in his head what most of us can only do with a calculator. And I can’t wait to find out how. Please join me in giving a warm welcome to the math magician... Kyle Robinson!”
They stepped from behind the curtain to thunderous applause. Aliyah was amazed at what she saw. All of the glitz missing backstage was on full display in every area caught by a camera lens. She felt Kyle’s hand tighten on hers as they walked over to a smiling, standing Helen, who when they reached her, kneeled down and gave Kyle a hug.
“Have a seat, you two. It’s great to have you on the show.”
“It’s great to be here,” Aliyah replied. “What do you say, Kyle?”
“Thank you.”
“So, Kyle. I’ve seen the videos of you working those long math problems in your head. People my age can’t even do that, at least not without a calculator. How did you learn to do it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Mommy teach you, or is this something you learned in school?”
“Mommy buys me math videos for my tablet and I play with them. And then Conner’s brother, Conrad, showed me, um, his homework for school. And it was math. And I asked him what he was doing. And he showed me. Then I said I wanted to do it. And he let me. And I got the right answer.”
“Who’s Conner?”
“My best friend. He’s right there.” Kyle pointed him out.
“Hi best friend, Conner,” Helen said with a wave. “So Conner’s brother is how old?”
“He’s like...”
“Fifteen,” Aliyah answered.
“Fifteen! You helped a fifteen-year-old do his homework?” Kyle nodded. “Boy! Where were you twenty years ago?”
The audience laughed.
“When did you get interested in numbers? Mom?”
Aliyah explained, starting with Kyle’s early ability to count and his using building blocks to do simple math equations, to her downloading the first numbers-oriented games and increasing their difficulty as he continued to master them.
“But I had no idea he was at the level all of you are seeing,” she explained. “I’m just as surprised as you are.”
“How’d you find out?”
“Through the Drake Community Center in Paradise Cove. I’d enrolled Kyle there for tutoring, mentoring and other activities they offer. His teacher, Mr. Adams, saw a paper with math problems on it that had been left in his classroom somehow and noticed that the handwriting of the answers looked very elementary. He asked his five-and six-year-old students if someone had done it. And Kyle raised his hand.
“Mr. Adams didn’t believe it, came up with some more problems, watched Kyle solve them and still couldn’t believe it. That’s when he contacted Terrell Drake, the assistant director, who was also floored. Terrell—Mr. Drake—contacted me asking how I’d taught him to work math that way. I had no idea what he was talking about so he shot a quick video to show me. That’s how this all started.”
“Such an incredible story, it really is,” Helen said, as the audience applauded. “Kyle, are you ready to do some problems here, for the audience?” Kyle nodded. Helen stood. “Well, let’s go over to the board, buddy, and do some math!”
The audience applauded, oohed and aahed as Kyle correctly answered the math problems Helen wrote on the whiteboard. Aliyah looked on as the proud mom that she was and gave Kyle a big hug when he rejoined her on the love seat.
“I tell you what, Kyle. You’re going places! And I’m not the only one who thinks so. Some pretty important people and friends of the show have also seen your video. They’ve come here to meet you and to offer something I think is pretty cool. Everyone, please help me welcome a staff member from one of the top-ranked college math-and-science programs in the country. From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it’s Mark Oberman!”
A handsome, bespectacled gentleman who appeared to be in his midforties came out to the sound of applause. He shook hands with Aliyah and Kyle, and gave Helen a hug before being seated.
“Mark, what do you think about Kyle, here? Pretty amazing stuff, huh?”
“Absolutely,” Mark replied. “It is exciting to see someone so young so incredibly gifted.” He turned to Kyle. “Good job, young man.”
“Thank you,” Kyle said, shaking the hand offered to him.
“Mark’s not just here to congratulate you. He has something else he wants to say, but first—” she reached behind her and brought out a box “—we thought you might like a new video player to try out on your flight home.”
Kyle jumped up, more animated than he’d been all morning. “Thank you!”
“It’s loaded with all sorts of fun math stuff—equations, algebra, geometry...the stuff that gave me the heebie-jeebies when I was in school, but that you’ll probably enjoy.”
“Thanks!”
“Thank you,” Aliyah said.
“Mark has something as well. Mark?”
“Yes, Helen. As many of you know, MIT has one of the best-ranked math-and-science curriculums available. Our campus is filled with bright, energetic minds who thrive in a culture that supports their dreams and aspirations, and their intellectual gifts. We seek out these types of students, not only those in high school and ready to graduate, but those who, like Kyle, show great potential at an even younger age. When those of us in the math department viewed Kyle’s video, we knew he was the type of student who’d do very well in our environment. So I’m here on behalf of the university
to offer to Kyle a full, four-year scholarship to our undergraduate program.”
The crowd broke out in wild applause. Aliyah sat stunned. Kyle’s eyes beamed. He enthusiastically shook Mark’s hand. Aliyah, batting away tears, gave Mark a hug. Helen segued into a commercial break. Kyle’s official TV debut was over.
Back on the plane, with the boys totally engaged in Kyle’s new game, Aliyah and Terrell sat in the back, unnoticed, holding hands.
“Thank you for what you did this morning,” Terrell said.
“What did I do?”
“You gave me and our center a major shout-out on national television. That’s huge.”
“I had to. You and your center are the reasons I even know about my son’s talent, that Helen found out about it and now, why I don’t have to worry about his college education. Geez! I’m still in shock over that. Totally unexpected.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Wait until this show airs tomorrow. Mama will be beside herself. My phone will be ringing off the hook.”
“What happened today is a very big deal.”
“Yes,” she said, her voice becoming lower as she looked at him with sultry eyes. “And you are a large part of why today happened. I’m very thankful for your taking interest in my son and his abilities.”
“Well, you know, I kind of have a thing for his mama.”
“Yes, she knows that. She kind of has a thing for you, too.”
He leaned over and whispered, “I can’t wait until my thing gets to hang out with your thing, so we can do some things...know what I’m saying?”
“Then we should make arrangements for that to happen as soon as possible. I’d hate to keep a good thing waiting.”
Chapter 19
Terrell had been up since five and at work since six. Part of the reason was that business was booming. The other part was because for Terrell, like most Drakes, work was his passion. Ike, Sr. both encouraged and expected hard work and stellar results. And he’d led by example. Not only that, but Terrell had also agreed to act as consultant on a totally separate project not connected with Drake Realty. He was now up to his eyeballs in work, suddenly juggling both divisions of a very busy department. Good thing he was the man for the job.
“Excuse me, Terrell?”
He looked at the intercom, surprised to hear his assistant’s voice this early. Then he looked at the clock and was shocked that it was already nine o’clock. He’d been crunching numbers and reviewing his former colleague’s open prospect for three straight hours? No wonder his neck was stiff.
Reaching up to massage a kink, he responded. “Yes?”
“I have a Lauren Hensley on line one.”
Lauren? Even with dozens of clients and hundreds of acquaintances, he could almost always put a face to a name. Right now, however, he was drawing a blank.
“Find out what company she’s with, please.”
“Sure, one moment.”
He rolled his head from one side to the next, then stood and stretched.
“Terrell, she said she’s Conner’s mother, Kyle’s best friend?”
“Oh, okay. Put her through.” He sat, a frown creasing his brow. Why would she be calling him? Had something happened to Kyle? Or worse, Aliyah? He pushed the speaker button. “Terrell Drake.”
“Good morning, Terrell. I hope I’m not bothering you too much to call you at work. I tried the center first and they gave me this number.”
“No problem, Lauren. How can I help you?”
“It’s about Kyle and Aliyah. You know his appearance on the Helen Show is airing soon.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
“Well... I’m not sure if a lot of other people know about it, such as the friends he has at the center. So I thought it would be nice to put together a little celebration for Kyle, a watch party, for him and some of his friends. Aliyah is always so focused on work, so I thought a fun afternoon would be good for her, too. I’m calling you for two reasons. One, to invite you to join us. I know you and Aliyah are friends and that she’d love you to be there. And two, I’d like to invite some of his friends who attend the center and wondered how I can get an invite to them.”
“First of all, Lauren, that’s a great idea. Where do you plan to have this party?”
“I’m not sure. Probably Paradise Cove, because most of the kids who attend the center live in or near there. Maybe a pizza parlor or... I don’t know. I need to go online and see what’s available.”
“Would you like to have it at the center? We’ve got the room and equipment to watch the video, and we’d also be willing to buy the refreshments and whatever else you need.”
“Terrell, that would be perfect! Thanks so much!”
He reached for his cell phone and tapped the calendar app. “It’s no problem. What date are we looking at?”
“We’re talking real casual here so I thought as soon as this Saturday?”
“Okay. Tell you what. I’m going to call the person who’s in charge of that age group and give him your number. His name is Luther Adams. He can help you get all of this set up and give me the details. Okay?”
“Yes, that’s great. Thanks, Terrell. I’m sure Aliyah and Kyle will appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He disconnected the call and tapped Luther’s name on his cell phone. “Hey, Luther, what’s up, man?”
“Just another day at the office, bro.”
“I hear that, man, and will make this quick. I’m calling to give you the number to a parent of one of your students. Her name is Lauren Hensley. Her son’s name is Conner.”
“Yeah, Kyle’s friend.”
“So you know who I’m talking about, obviously. She called because Kyle’s appearance on the Helen Show airs today but she doesn’t think a lot of his friends either know this or will remember to watch it.”
“Kyle Robinson is going to be on Helen?”
“That’s right, you don’t know this. Everything happened so fast but yes, Aliyah got a call on Friday for them to fly up yesterday to tape the show. It airs today.”
“He got invited because of the video?”
“Yes. Someone from her staff saw it, showed it to her and next thing you know Aliyah is getting a call.”
“That’s amazing.”
“That’s not all. Someone on the staff at MIT saw it and offered Kyle a full four-year scholarship.”
“Get the heck out of here.”
“I’m serious.”
“How do you know all of this?”
Terrell grimaced at the question. Most of the time, he forgot that he and Aliyah seeing each other was on the down low. “Because of time restraints, I offered Aliyah use of the company plane, and then accompanied them as a Drake Center representative.”
“A representative of the center, huh? Is that how you’re defining your latest rap game? You forget I know you, right? When it comes to Aliyah, and that stacked body of hers, the center is not what’s on your mind. Because if anyone should have been repping, it’s me. I’m the one who manages that age group, and the one who told you about Kyle’s math skills.”
“That’s true, and if another similar situation comes along, with more notice, I’ll be sure to include you in the plan. But this was last-minute, late Friday afternoon. Because of her schedule, she didn’t think she could make it. That’s why the company plane was offered, and why I went along. That and the fact that this gives the center some excellent publicity.”
“So you were with her late Friday? I see the rap skills are working. Man, Drake. I wish I could bottle and sell whatever potion it is you slip these women to make them fall for you.”
“Just taking care of professional business, brother. Just doing my job. Speaking of, Conner’s mother, Lauren, wants to put together a litt
le watch party there at the center. Something casual, I’m thinking the rec room with the big-screen TV—with light refreshments, you know, pizza and drinks or something like that. She wants to do it this Saturday, so my first question is whether or not you’re available this weekend, and secondly if you can be at the center because I’m not sure I can and someone from staff has to be on site.”
“I don’t think we have anything going on. I’ll have to check with the wife to be sure. I’m curious, though. Why did she call you?”
“Probably because she met me at the festival on Halloween and knows I’m the AD at the center. She wanted to be sure and invite his friends, who mostly go there. At any rate call her and handle it. Whatever you two decide is fine. Just tell Miss Marva I’ve approved the event and will have my assistant put in the proper paperwork later on.”
“All right. I’ll take care of it. But don’t think I’m not aware of your change in attitude when it comes to the shorties. I thought you were allergic to kids.”
“When I have to be around them, I take an antibiotic.”
“Yeah, one called Aliyah.”
“Ha! Don’t hate the player, bro. Hate the game.”
“When it comes to that sister, you might want to think about retiring from the game. That girl is beautiful. And studying to be a doctor? If you were smart, you’d get serious and start dating her. Real talk. You’re not getting any younger. Keep on going down this playboy road and you’ll end up being the old man in the club, wearing a polyester suit and a bad hairstyle, trying to talk to women who could be your daughter.”
“You know what, Luther? For the very first time since I’ve known you, brother, you just might be right.”
Chapter 20
Aliyah stood chatting with a few of the other mothers as workers at the center began the party cleanup. When she saw movement from the corner of her eye, she turned to see Luther approaching.
