Spin it Like That

by Chandra Sparks Taylor

  I nodded. I was already starting to blow up, and although the gig with DC would generate more hype, I would be just fine without it. My skills spoke for themselves.

  Impact Records had only been around a few years, but they had a great reputation. Kyle had told me that the guy who started it had once been DC’s protégé, but he didn’t like the gangsta rap and controversy that DC Records was known for, so he had started his own label. I had quite a few CDs by Impact artists, and all of them were good. Once Derrick and I won All-City, we would be a great addition to Impact’s roster.

  “You coming?” Derrick asked.

  I got out of the car, and we headed to the auditorium, where we met Kyle, who was also graduating. Loretta was only a junior, so she was still in class, but knowing her, she would find a way to come to the auditorium to hang out with us.

  “Did you hear about DC?” I asked Kyle as we waited for practice to start.

  “Yeah. I’m not surprised he’s been arrested. I told you he’s bad news. Did you ever talk to him?”

  I stood to let a few kids into our row; then I told him about the job.

  He nodded. “That will be good exposure for you,” he said. “It’s coming at a good time, too. Let’s make up some flyers announcing that you’ll be in All-City so that you have a lot of support behind you. We can pass them out at Twilight every week.”

  “That’s if I still have the gig,” I said.

  Kyle shrugged. “If not, we’ll get you another one. It’s not like you’re not good at what you do.”

  Before I could respond, our senior class advisor, Mrs. Winston, called us to order and went through a rundown of the ceremony. I tuned her out. I couldn’t understand why we needed to practice walking in and out of the auditorium. We had all done it hundreds of times. A couple of lyrics popped into my head, so I grabbed my backpack, got out the notebook I usually kept with me and jotted them down.

  I was humming, and so engrossed in what I was doing that it took a few seconds for it to register that Kyle was nudging me.

  “What?” I said, annoyed.

  Mrs. Winston was staring at me. I stared back, not having a clue what was going on.

  “Miss Richardson, would you care to join us?” she asked.

  “Oh.” I jumped out of my seat and headed to the front of the auditorium. Derrick had gone up to ask her a question earlier, so he was already standing at the podium.

  “I hope that’s a copy of your speech,” Mrs. Winston said, pointing at my notebook. She had been bugging me about my speech for the last two weeks.

  “Uh, no, it’s in my other one,” I said, snapping the notebook shut in case she asked to see what I was working on.

  “I want a copy of that speech when we practice on Wednesday, Miss Richardson. No excuses.”

  “Okay,” I said, and turned around and rolled my eyes. I didn’t see what the big deal was about writing down a speech. I had learned that I rapped best when I freestyled, and I figured the same would be true with my speech. She probably wasn’t even going to read what I handed in, anyway.

  I stood onstage while Derrick went over his speech; then we ran through the rest of the program, which consisted of everybody walking across the stage pretending to get their diplomas. It seemed that that piece of paper was going to remain a dream for a few kids, because several of them got pulled out of line and were told they wouldn’t be graduating.

  If it hadn’t been so pathetic, I would have laughed. Those kids should have known by now they weren’t getting their diplomas. It really made them look stupid to have even shown up for rehearsal.

  School was letting out just as practice ended, and although I wanted to hang out, Derrick and I decided to head home. Just in case my deal was still in place with DC, I didn’t want to give Mama any more reason to be mad at me.

  We dropped Loretta off at some open call at Green Acres Mall for a modeling gig. I was so ready for her to get out of the car. She spent the entire drive critiquing models in some magazine, telling us why she should have gotten the job instead.

  When we walked into the house, I grabbed the mail and flipped through it while Derrick went to check on Mama. Right after we had taken the SATs junior year, Derrick and I had started getting letters from colleges across the country. Even though we had both decided to attend Morgan State in Maryland, schools were still recruiting us, so I had gotten used to three or four letters a day arriving for me. At the bottom of the pile was a manila envelope with DC Records’ return address. I tore it open, and inside was the contract Jessica had promised.

  I showed it to Derrick, who had headed into the den to watch TV after popping some popcorn.

  “How’s Mama?” I asked.

  “She was asleep, and I didn’t want to wake her.”

  I nodded. “I guess they still want me,” I said as he read the cover letter and then the contract.

  “Maybe it came before DC was arrested,” he said, putting down the contract and flipping through the channels with one hand and wolfing down a handful of popcorn with the other.

  “That’s true. I hadn’t thought about that. I’d better call Jessica.” I looked around for DC’s card, but I couldn’t remember what I had done with it.

  “Check the letterhead,” Derrick said without taking his eyes off the screen.

  I stuck out my tongue at him.

  “I saw that,” he said, still not looking at me.

  I mushed him in the head, then ran into the other room when he picked up a pillow and aimed it at me.

  After locating the phone number on the letterhead, I went to my room and called. Jessica sounded even more stressed than she had the first time I’d talked to her.

  “Hi, it’s Jasmine Richardson,” I said.

  “Hey,” Jessica said, sounding relieved. “Reporters have been ringing the phone off the hook. Hang on a second.” She clicked to the other line and came back a few seconds later. “Ugggh…they’re driving me crazy,” she said. “So what’s up?”

  “Yeah, I heard about DC getting arrested. Is everything okay over there?” I really wanted to ask if I still had my job, but I didn’t want to seem so cold and insensitive.

  “Everything’s fine. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this has happened. When you’re a successful black businessman, somebody is always looking for a way to bring you down. Even though DC’s not here, it’s still business as usual. His partner, Ron, is keeping things moving.”

  “I didn’t realize he had a partner,” I said.

  “Hang on,” she said, clicking over again. A few seconds later she was back. “Not many people know, but you’re family, so I can tell you,” she said, laughing as she continued the conversation as though we hadn’t been interrupted.

  “So does that mean I still have a job?”

  “Of course. Unless you hear from me, DC or Ron, nothing has changed. Like I said, it’s business as usual. Did you get the contract?”

  “Yep. I’ll get it back to you tomorrow,” I said, realizing that that meant I had to tell my parents that evening.

  Jessica and I talked for a few more minutes, until she got another call she had to take; then we hung up.

  Since I wanted to get on Mama’s good side, I decided to go ahead and start dinner. I looked in the freezer, trying to find something I could make quick. I finally decided on some spaghetti. I put the ground beef in the microwave to defrost, then grabbed some jarred spaghetti sauce and a box of pasta and set them on the counter before I went to join Derrick in the den, where he was watching an episode of Wild ’N Out.

  When the timer went off on the microwave, I headed back to the kitchen, and Derrick followed me.

  “So is DC still in jail?” he asked as I cooked the meat.

  “Yeah, but I still have my job. I told Jessica I’d send the contract back tomorrow.”

  He nodded, then got up to put on the pasta.

  “Can you believe we’re graduating on Thursday?” I asked, sitting at the table.

  “N
ope,” he said. “This school year really just flew by. We’ll be in college in the fall.”

  “Not if we get this record deal,” I said.

  When he didn’t respond, I looked up to find him staring at me strangely. “What?” I said.

  “We’re still going to college if we get the deal,” he said firmly.

  I shrugged. “If you say so.”

  He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Daddy walked in.

  “If it isn’t my two favorite kids,” he said.

  “Hey, Daddy.” I walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

  He and Derrick nodded at each other before Daddy headed to the refrigerator, where he grabbed a beer before settling at the kitchen table.

  “How was your day?” he asked.

  Derrick looked at me, and I knew it was now or never. “Actually, it was really good,” I said.

  Daddy patted his knee, indicating I should sit on it. I laughed and shook my head. Sometimes he still thought I was six instead of sixteen. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I do it out of habit.”

  I sat down at the table next to him. “I got a job offer,” I said, really excited.

  “Really? Doing what?” Daddy asked, then took a sip of his beer.

  “Deejaying every week at Twilight.” Daddy frowned. “They’re going to have teen nights,” I said quickly. “There won’t be any drugs or alcohol.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mama asked, walking into the room.

  I groaned to myself. I’d been hoping that I could tell Daddy everything and he could pass the information on to Mama.

  “Jas got asked to deejay at a teen party every week. It’s a really great opportunity,” Derrick said.

  I smiled my thanks at him for having my back.

  “That’s great, baby,” Daddy said, leaning over to give me a kiss.

  “How are you feeling, Mama?” I asked, trying to gauge her mood.

  “My headache’s much better,” she said, walking over to stir the ground beef. “Thanks for starting dinner. So tell us about this club thing.”

  I sucked my teeth and looked at the floor so no one would see me roll my eyes. Mama had absolutely no tolerance for anything dealing with music, always calling it a “thing.” Derrick kicked me under the table, and when I looked at him, he shook his head, which meant I needed to chill.

  I repeated the details, and she seemed unimpressed, although Daddy was really excited.

  “I use to play that club back in the day. Remember, baby?” Mama didn’t have a chance to respond before Daddy turned back to me and Derrick. “A lot of rap pioneers got their starts at that club. A lot of the younger cats did, too. It was a great place to vibe and just hang out,” he said, grinning. Luckily he didn’t wait for us to respond. He turned to me. “This will be great exposure for you.”

  “I know,” I said, thankful that I had sold Daddy on the idea.

  “It would be great exposure,” Mama said with her back to us, “if she needed exposure, but since she’s going to college, she can put this music thing on hold.”

  She dumped the spaghetti sauce into the meat, then turned to look at us. “Besides, you all seem to have forgotten—Jasmine and Derrick are on punishment for the rest of the summer. And after you got fresh with me last night, you deserve it.”

  Alarmed, Derrick and I looked at each other. I glanced at Daddy with pleading eyes, knowing he was a sucker for them. He smiled at me and winked before heading over to the stove, where he wrapped his arms around Mama.

  “Baby, maybe we overreacted last night,” he said, kissing her on the neck.

  I wanted to throw up—they were too old for that mess—but I knew Daddy was doing this partly for my benefit.

  Mama turned around in his arms. “You ain’t slick. You keep at it, and you’ll be on punishment for the rest of the summer, too,” she said, pointing a wooden spoon at him.

  “What?” he asked innocently, kissing her on the lips.

  “You know those kids were wrong last night,” she said, throwing a glance at us.

  “But they’re really sorry. Right, kids?”

  I nodded so hard my curly hair was bouncing all over my head. “It won’t happen again,” I said as it occurred to me how I could seal the deal.

  I jumped up and hurried over to them, but before I could tell them, Mama looked at me strangely. “You say you’ve got a job. Derrick’s not going to be doing this with you?”

  I glanced at Derrick, but there was really nothing he could say. “No. They just wanted me to do it.”

  “You keep saying ‘they.’ Who offered you this job?”

  My first reaction was to get defensive. Mama had never asked me who I was working for before, but then, Derrick had always been with me. I knew if I told her DC Records, she wouldn’t let me take the job.

  “The club hired me. One of the teachers at school recommended me,” I said quickly.

  Mama looked at me like she knew I was lying. “So why is there a letter from DC Records on the coffee table?”

  “Oh, that was because of the talent show. They just sent a letter congratulating us on winning.” I couldn’t believe how easily the lies were flowing. I didn’t look at Derrick, but I knew he wouldn’t say anything.

  I changed the subject. “I forgot to tell you the best part of all,” I said.

  “What?” Daddy asked. Despite everything, he was still excited.

  “They’re going to pay me a thousand dollars every week for the entire summer, so I’ll have the money to pay for school myself.” The thought hadn’t crossed my mind until a few minutes earlier, but I was desperate to get Mama and Daddy to say yes. Although they hadn’t said so, I knew it was going to be a struggle putting me and Derrick through school at the same time, not to mention the cost for Derrick to go to med school after that.

  Mama grew suspicious when I mentioned the part about college.

  “A thousand dollars a week? Who pays a sixteen-year-old that kind of money?” she asked. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded and turned to my brother. “Right, Derrick?”

  “Yep. She’ll be able to pay for school and still have some spending money,” he said. “Shoot, she might be able to pay for me to go, too.” He was teasing, and we all laughed.

  “Maybe I should call them,” Mama said.

  “No,” I yelled, and she looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Mama, I can’t have you calling. I’ll look unprofessional.” I turned to Daddy. “Please, let me do this myself.”

  I thought about showing them the contract to prove that I wasn’t lying about the money, but then they would know my deal was really with DC Records. I realized I was going to have to handle things myself. I had planned to have my Uncle Henry look over the contract before I signed it, but I knew he would tell Mama and Daddy, so that was out. I was on my own on this one.

  chapter 4

  The day of our graduation was extremely gray and dreary, but I was so excited. Finally, I was about to move on with my life.

  I had sent my signed contract to Jessica over at DC Records, along with my own contract, and she had immediately sent it back complete with DC’s signature. He had been released due to lack of evidence the day before, and I was relieved.

  I stood in front of my mirror, trying to get my hair to cooperate. The weather was humid, which made my hair frizzy, so I finally decided to pin it up before slipping on my white sundress. Although I liked the dress, I was extremely uncomfortable, since I usually wore jeans and T-shirts.

  “You look beautiful,” Daddy said, watching me from the doorway.

  “Thank you,” I said. I smiled at him in the mirror as I applied my lip gloss.

  “What happened to my baby?” he said.

  I laughed and went to give him a hug. “I’ll always be your baby, Daddy.”

  “I know,” he said, kissing me on my forehead. He looked around my room, and his eyes landed on my turntable.

  “Remember the first time I showed you one of those?
” he said, pointing to it.

  “Yeah. I was five. You were cleaning out the garage, and we found the turntable and some records in a box,” I said, smiling at the memory.

  “Even back then you had talent. Never lose sight of that,” he said. “No matter what path you find in life, don’t give up on your dreams. I think that’s my one regret, that I didn’t follow my heart.”

  “Why didn’t you go back to music after Derrick was born?” I asked.

  “I thought about it, but your mother and I agreed that it was best that I find something more stable.”

  “But you could have done it on the side,” I said.

  He nodded as he took a seat on my bed. “Yeah, I could have, but then I wouldn’t have been able to spend much time with my son, and that was important to me. I didn’t want to just be the daddy he knew from a distance.”

  “But you had so much talent,” I said. Every now and then Daddy would play tapes of him and Uncle Henry, and they were really good.

  “And so do you. That’s why I’m telling you to never give up on your dreams.”

  Derrick came and stood in the doorway. “You guys ready?” he asked.

  Daddy stood and nodded. “I’m so proud of you both,” he said, gathering us to him for a hug.

  We headed to the living room, where Mama was waiting with her camera. She made us put on our caps and gowns, and then we took what felt like ten thousand pictures before we piled into Daddy’s Toyota 4Runner and headed to the school. Derrick and I had to go line up so I didn’t get to see the rest of our family—our grandparents; Uncle Henry and his family; and Mama’s sister, Lela, and her family had all come.

  Derrick was pacing, nervous about giving his speech.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  He glanced up from the paper he was clutching and nodded.

  “You’re going to be great,” I said.

  “Thanks,” he said as he pulled at his tie.

  “Relax.” I placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping my calmness would rub off on him.

  “Mr. and Miss Richardson,” Mrs. Winston said, “how are you this evening?”