Slow motion like a dream
But real time is what it seems
I love the way she dance
See I love the way she dance
Girl I love the way you dance
Melanie danced nonchalantly for the photographer in front of her, and a little for the guy with the curly hair sitting on a chair behind the photographer. She smiled at Justin as her photo shoot went on, grateful that he talked to his agent and set it up. It was easy to see that Justin supported her to the fullest, taking her to get head-shots done was a big example. Melanie grinned and laughed when the photographer told her too, but primarily because Justin was making her that Thursday afternoon. His funny faces always made her laugh but sometimes he just sat there staring-obviously intrigued by the way she moved and acted. That turned her on, no doubt. She loved seeing his eyes suddenly open a whole new window, where one could look through his eyes and also one where he could see her clearly.
“Okay, Melanie, you’re done- that was fantastic,” The photographer smiled and Melanie gave a relieved smile.
“Thank you so much,” she told him.
“It was a pleasure,” He turned to Justin, “You should be getting your pictures soon.”
“Okay,” Justin smiled, “Thanks, man.”
He grabbed Melanie’s hand and the two silently walked out of the small studio in the middle of downtown and to his truck. Justin went to the passenger side, opened Melanie’s door, closed it and got in himself. Cranking up the car, he noticed the clock had 8 PM.
Sighing, he said, “Where are we sleeping?”
“Um…my house,” she chuckled.
“Okay, but why are you laughing?” He backed out of the parking lot.
“Cause, I just think we’re funny.”
“Elaborate please.”
“We sleep together Justin, and how long have we been together- like a week?”
Justin laughed, “That is kinda funny. But, do you have a problem with me drooling on you?”
“Nope,” she smiled at him.
“Alright then-“
“Shuuttt uuppp,” she mimicked the way he always said the phrase to her, making him laugh loudly.
“Wow. That was almost as good as I say it.”
“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes, and Justin mimicked her.
Calling all cars
Please arrest her
She’s a criminal in my dreams
She stole my heart
*
“You guys!” Samuel yelled and vehemently pounded his fists on the table. His teammates sitting at the lunch table also shook their heads, but with defeat because they knew Samuel’s whining wouldn’t change anything.
Justin and Melanie had sat through the ladder half of lunch making out, backs to everyone else, and whispering irrelevant things to each other so much that their peers were getting tired of hearing their giggles. The two, who straddled the bench in order to face each other, finally looked in Samuel’s direction when he whined again.
“Y’all need to stop,” Samuel shook his head. “People are trying to eat here.”
Melanie and Justin blushed.
“Here,” Mike threw Melanie a banana, “Suck on that.”
The guys’ laughter was cut short when an upset Melanie threw the banana back at Mike.
“Justin,” Damien said from the other side of the table coldly.
“What?” Justin answered with just as much attitude.
“We have a game today, and you need to concentrate on more important things,” Damien took the banana that had landed next to him, peeled it, and took a bite.
“Melanie is important. That’s exactly what your problem is, man, and that’s why your ass got dumped.”
The boys widened their eyes, Leroy stifled his laughter, and Damien cocked his head back.
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t stutter,” Justin said gravely.
“Look, as captain, I’m trying to look out for the best interest of the team. It’s my duty to make sure everyone is ready for tonight. You making out with my ex-girlfriend isn’t preparing you for the game.”
“Why can’t she be my girlfriend? Why is she your ex-girlfriend?” Justin asked, and Melanie left the table.
“That’s beside the point! The point is that your focus needs to be on basketball!”
“It’s not like you were going over plays or anything. You were sitting there, stuffing your ugly face. I’m sorry that my game is good enough to where I don’t have to think about basketball 24/7 and can still go out and play a good game, still scoring more points than you…captain. So, as co-captain, I’m telling you to get the hell out of my ass.”
*
Jerome and Justin walked through the large masses of students on their way to 5th period. They were quiet for most of their walk, but Jerome had become tired of holding in what he had to say to Justin. He looked at Justin first, and turned his focus forward once more. He was becoming worried about his friend for various reasons that he could barely even begin to tell Justin.
“You need to stop messing with Damien, man,” He and Justin stopped at his locker.
Justin rolled his eyes passively and sighed, a trait he’d picked up from Melanie, and leaned against the locker next to Jerome. “Aw dog, ain’t nobody worried about him,” he shook his head. “I don’t get it. Why does everyone always try to tell me that? He’s just another guy that bullies people around. I’m not scared of his lame ass. When I say what I say to him, I fucking mean it. I’m not gonna be a little bitch and kiss his ass.”
Jerome pulled out his English book and looked at Justin carefully. “I know, man,” he shook his head and shut his locker, pulling the lock to check its security, “but, you’re letting him get to you-”
“No, I’m not! He’s the one who starts shit! In the words of Lil’ Jon, ‘Don’t start no shit, won’t be no shit.’.”
“See, now that’s exactly what I’m talking about, Justin. Did it ever occur to you that Damien says some of the stuff he says to you just to get on your last nerve? He knows it gets to you, just like it’s getting to you right now,” Jerome began to walk down the hall, “And, he always picks a game day to piss you off the most because he knows you’ll be in a foul mood.”
“You know what?” Justin chuckled, “that sounds just like him…incredibly stupid. We’re on the same damn team. Why would he try to mess me up?”
“Because he’s jealous,” Jerome replied simply and stopped in front of the open door that led to his English class. “Let’s face it man. You’ll probably be getting MVP. That’s something that Damien has been getting every year. Then you come along and take it from him the year it means the most? He ain’t goin’ for that shit.”
With that, Jerome disappeared into the classroom and left Justin in the hallway to think. Justin shoved his hands in his pockets and blew air out of his mouth loudly before making his way to his own class. If only they knew, he thought. If only they knew that he’d been getting MVP for a while as well-since Junior High, to be exact. Justin smirked thinking about how ironically alike he and Damien were.
3:30 PM
Their pencils were marking quickly on their papers as they rushed to finish their homework. The TV was playing rather loudly, but it didn’t phase them. They were both quiet, not wanting to talk about the day’s hectic events. Every so often, one of them would take a break, stretch and stop to watch TV, while the other would simply watch the other intently. Suddenly, a grunt escaped her lips, and she slammed the pencil down on the thick math book.
“I hate this shit,” Melanie huffed. She sat up from her laying position on the carpeted floor and crossed her legs Indian style. Tired of working, she pushed her hair back behind her ears, and leaned her back against the couch.
Justin sighed, grabbed the remote and turned the channel to wait for Dr. Phil to come on. He then went back to his own math homework.
Melanie looked at the back of his head, which was covered in thick curly hair, and let her eyes travel down his long form, all the way to his big feet. She kicked one of them lightly with her own foot, but it did not cause Justin to turn around, so she kicked him again- a little harder.
Justin turned his head around very slowly and looked at her with a bored expression on his face. Licking his lips, he stated, “What.”
“Why are you in a bad mood?” Melanie asked and chewed on the side of her finger.
Justin gave her no answer, and resumed his work.
Melanie rose her eyebrows, “Hello!” she yelled, “I know you heard me. You’re not deaf.”
“I don’t wanna talk right now,” he mumbled.
Melanie said nothing to him, but slowly crawled over his legs. She was making sure to be as quiet as possible and she began to hover over his long body. When she was ready, even though he knew she was over him, she plopped down on his back, causing him to loose the balance he bad with his arms propped up. He lay flat on the floor now, and she giggled on top of him.
“Aw, “she cooed in baby gibberish, “Why is my baby sad? Hmm?” She kissed his neck playfully, which cause him to blush. When he stubbornly groaned, Melanie poked his sides and ruffled his hair. She continued to play with him until he was laughing goofily.
“Babe, stop tickling me,” he pushed her hands away, chuckling.
“Well tell me what’s the matter!” Melanie rolled off of her boyfriend until she was laying next to him and on her stomach.
Justin propped his chin in his palm and looked at her out the corner of his eye. “I’m sad.”
“Why are you sad?”
“Because.” He stuck out his lower lip.
“Because what, Justin?”
“I don’t know,” he whined. “It’s just that I feel like I’m doing something wrong. Somebody always has something to say!”
Melanie sat quiet momentarily in order to think of what to say. He was always the one with the good advice to give. “Is this about Damien?”
“No-kind of. I know I shouldn’t let him get to me, but he does- I can’t help it. I just want to bash his head in. He knows I do, and he knows I can’t do anything about it until school is over, so he’s gonna keep on pissing me off.”
“First of all, you’re not going to do anything about it. You need to be the bigger person. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but if you let him get to you, he’s going to keep doing it,” she said.
“Well,” Justin sighed, “what did you do when Damien pissed you off?”
“I hung out with you,” she grinned.
Justin lowered his head and laughed, “So, when Damien makes me mad…”
“I’ll be there for you.”
Melanie smiled and gave Justin a kiss. “Oh! I have something for you.”
Justin gave her a questioning gaze as she anxiously crawled over to her bag. Searching for quite some time, she finally pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.
“Open it,” she ordered.
Justin did so, and pulled out two tickets to see Musiq Soulchild at the House Of Blues. His eyes widened, and so did his smile. He looked up at her like a little boy getting what he wanted at Christmas.
“Melanie!” He drawled.
“Justin!” she drawled just the same.
“Thank you soooo much! I’m gonna go call Jerome and tell him that me and him are goona see Musiq!”
Melanie’s face dropped, “You ass.”
Justin laughed, “I’m just kidding! I know they’re for us.” He outstretched his arms, “C’mere.”
Melanie fell into his arms and smiled contently, letting him kiss her all over the place. Pretty soon, she was lying on her back, with Justin on top of her and his hands finding their way all over her body. The next thing she knew, his hands were under her shirt, squeezing her breasts that had been rid of their bra when she’d gotten home from school.
Justin chuckled deeply, “You so wanna get laid.”
Melanie grinned lazily, “How do you figure?” she asked coyly.
“Touching me, making out at lunch, getting me gifts, and you’re not wearing a bra.”
“So what are you gonna do about my behavior?”
He though she’d never ask. “I’m ‘bout to tear that ass up!”
The next thing she knew, she was laying on his bed, looking up at him as he hovered over her. He began to kiss all over her jaw line, neck and chest and she ran her fingers through his curly tassels affectionately. The doorbell rang, and Justin quickly muttered for her to ignore it. Even though his comment was more of a note to himself rather than to her, she worried nonetheless.
“Your brothers are here,” she whispered and suddenly the door had been opened with a key. Justin continued to touch and squeeze her breasts, “they won’t come in here, babe.” He trailed kisses to her panties.
“Your mom must’ve picked them up. She could-“
“Shh!” Justin tugged at her underwear, the four loud voices in the house
Lynn burst into the door, “Justin, we came ho- OH MY GOSH!”
The door shut loudly.
***
Game 2
“Indians! Lemme hear you scream!!”
The Indians screamed as loud as they could because it’s halftime, which means an awesome performance, and because the Varsity boys are leading by ten. The large gym is rumbling with noise and the people in the stands are definitely pumped up. Petey Pablo’s “Freak-a-leak” is playing loudly as the steppers and the cheerleaders parade out to center court. We all split up and free-styled, me and Chasity are having fun doing the ‘chicken-head’ together. But all of this, the dancing almost every night and every day at school for nothing, is starting to get on my nerves.
I did a pirouette and started the routine. It’s really starting to bore me. Everyday I go to a dance class, and we do the same shit. Everyday I have practice with the girls after school, half of them are starting to irk my nerves. Is it bad that I’m ready to get out of here?
I made Mya’s US tour.
Maybe that’s why I’m bored, because I know something way better is waiting for me. I found out the day Justin and I left LA, but I haven’t told anyone yet- not even Chasity. The rehearsals have been postponed to the summer. As soon as I graduate, I’m going to New York to start. I feel so bad for not telling Justin- I think he deserves to know. He’s the type to stay in long relationships and we just can’t continue after school is out. I don’t do long distance- and he’s going to hate me for that because I’ll sound like Kelice.
I did a grand jete…I can’t wait to get out of here, make more money than just working at a restaurant. Justin and his other teammates walked into the gym early. I guess they didn’t have to discuss much about the game. He is so fine. It’s not just his looks either- it’s just him. Everything about him makes me happy.
The routine finally ended and everyone, except Bowen’s side of course, clapped for us. At least people have warmed up to the cheerleaders a little bit more. They’re past the booing.
The boys are going out to the court again. I’m officially bored. We’re up by ten, and will probably be up by twenty by the end of the night. I’m so over this. This has no appeal to me anymore. Is that a bad thing?
The cheerleaders are doing that ‘Dribble-it-shoot-shoot!’ cheer and we’re doing the beat with our hands and feet, like we always do. Robert and Lynn and Justin’s little brothers are sitting about four rows away from the bench and my mom and Tony are sitting right above them. When is she going to get rid of that man? He tries so hard to be nice, and it’s like ‘Dawg. I know how this works- the closer my mom gets to you the meaner you’ll get. Once you reel her in, everything will change.’
Jerome got fouled called on him, and is now yelling at the ref. If he doesn’t stop, he’s gonna get kicked out cause this is the second time he and the ref got into it. The game went on aggressively. If Bowen looses, they’re done, and we move on to the next team. Shockingly, it’s not Englewood. We have an away game on Saturday, which is tomorrow, and it’s supposedly up North somewhere. Whole ‘nother school district- I heard they were a bunch of white kids-should be easy, if none of them are like Justin.
* *
We won! Yay! One more game to go, tomorrow, and then if we win that one we’ll play Englewood for the championship. Me and all the guys walked out together, laughing and joking around like usual, without Damien, as usual. Besides, we talk about him most of the time anyway. He scored 10 more points than I did. I’m sure he’s completely elated. Not trying to make myself seem bigger, but I did it on purpose. All of my assists were to him. If he wants to be the big star that bad, fine.
Something’s different about Melanie. She hardly smiled during the game, and if she did, it looked like it was forced. When she was performed at half-time it was like she was whatever about it, and totally thinking about something else.
It’s Friday night, and I’m gonna go have a guys night out. Since all of us are 18, we’ll probably go to a club or something. Of course I’m gonna tell Melanie we’re going to dinner or something. I don’t want to get grilled- I know I lie way too much, but damn. I’m not going to cheat on her. 1) I really like her and 2) If I did, by Monday everyone would know, and it would be a big ass event.
I see her hanging out by Chasity’s car talking. I walked over and gave her a hug and a kiss.
“Me and the guys are gonna go out,” I said to them.
“Guys night?” Chasity asked.
“Yep.”
“Where are y’all going?” Melanie asked.
Pick a place, any place, Justin. “Uh…I think the Pizzeria or Papa Ti’s.” I’ve never even been to Papa Ti’s.
“Well, have fun,” my girlfriend smiled. I do feel sort of bad. “Don’t drink, smoke, or do anything you’ll regret in the morning. Don’t stay out late- you have to play at 10 tomorrow.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. “I won’t. It’s me we’re talking about here.”
“That’s exactly my point, Justin.”
I gave her another kiss and headed over to Mike’s car. Fun, Fun, Fun!
* *
2:45 AM Saturday Morning
The ground seemed like it was moving to Justin as he hopped out the car and widened his eyes. His eyes, that were tainted a soft red from the marijuana that was now in his system. Mike’s older brother and some other friends that were of legal drinking age decided to tag along. The boys all had been drinking, not even thinking about their commitments. Justin drank, smoke, and was sure to have remorse, just as Melanie had told him not to. Mike honked the horn and Justin sluggishly waved as he saw the car pull out of the driveway.
The TV was on; meaning someone was up, probably waiting on him. He was back where he started. Only this time, it would be a lot harder to sneak into the house without anyone noticing. He looked around and saw that Robert’s car was in the driveway. Justin went to his own car, went into the glove compartment and grabbed the small plastic bottle of Visine. He squirted some into his eyes, and squinted them before stepping out of the car and popping a stick of gum in his mouth. He then reached into a gym bag that was on the floor of his truck, and pulled out cologne. He was about to put it on, but decided not to and put it back into the bag. Justin closed the door, wiped his nose, and made his way up the walk.
Justin walked up the long walk, drunk, high, and tired all in one. JC escorted him up in order to ensure that his friend made it safely.
“Looks like someone’s up,” JC said quietly.
Justin looked up at the second floor of the house and saw that the corner light had just been turned on. Then, all of a sudden, the hall light turned on, and the stairway was visible the closer they got to the door. Finally, the foyer light had been turned on and the door opened. An angry stood at the top of the porch steps early in the 5 o’ clock hour. JC timidly smiled and Justin’s father, and quickly turned down the walk.
“Where the hell were you?” Randall ordered.
“I’m not in the mood-” Justin rolled his eyes.
“Of course you’re not! You’re shit face drunk!”
“Excuse me. Are you going to let me in? I’m quiet tired.”
“What if I didn’t? What if I told you had to sleep somewhere else?” Randall asked.
“Look, ‘dad’. I could easily call someone to come get me if that’s what you want.”
“What I want for you is to stop coming in this house drunk!”
“What I want is for you to stop cheating! You don’t see me standing in front of the door blocking you and your little whore from coming in.”
“You’re destroying yourself, Justin.”
“Oh fuck off. Don’t try to act all worried and shit. You’re destroying this motherfucking family.”
Justin pushed past his father and walked into the house as if nothing had happened.
*
Justin twisted the key in the lock, and quietly pushed the door open. Everything was dark in the house, except for the living room. Justin could see the back of Robert’s head, he was sitting on the couch whose back faced the door. So, Justin quickly began down the hall, but Robert called his name.
“C’mere, have a talk with me.”
Justin clicked his tongue. “Look you’re not my dad, and-”
“I know,” Robert sternly interrupted, “just sit down over here.”
Justin reluctantly walked into the living room, and sat on the couch adjacent to the one Robert was seated in.
“Where were you all night?” Robert looked at Justin.
“Out,” he answered vaguely.
“Well, the Pizzeria closed at 12, and Papa Ti’s closed at 10. So where did you go after that?”
Justin gulped, it was so much easier to lie to his dad. “I went to a friends house.”
“A friend whose parents let him smoke weed inside their house?” Justin was silent. “Lemme tell you something, Justin. I was just like you in high school. Except, you have your real parents here with you. I was put into the system when I was five. Dad was a drunk, and my mom was depressed. She couldn’t take care of me. I went from foster home to foster home because I never wanted to listen to anybody. By the time I got to high school, I was a mess. A complete mess, I hardly ever went to class, and by junior year, I dropped out. Eventually, when I got my act together, I went back and got my GED and I’m pretty successful nowadays.”
“I’m not going to drop out of school okay?” Justin squinted his eyes. “Jesus. Do you think you know me now?” He said in a low sardonic tone. “It was just one night okay? Don’t paint a picture of me as some nobody, because I’m not.”
Rodney put his hands up to calm Justin down. “I know. No one said you were, you do have a lot of things going for you. I just wish you’d appreciate the people in your life more. Respect some people.”
“I do.”
“Well, to me, you don’t. Maybe it’s because we come from different backgrounds and our definition of respect is different.”
“Maybe,” Justin spat sarcastically.
“When are you going to start respecting me?”
Justin gave a cold laugh, “I’m going to bed. I have a game in 7 hours.” He stood to leave, but Robert called him again, and Justin rolled his eyes again. “What?”
“Your girlfriend’s pretty upset. She found out where you were really at,” Robert informed, and Justin became interested. “Something about her friend being kind of involved with Jeremy…”
“Jerome.”
“Right, and he told her that you guys went to some club. So, she told Melanie and she called about an hour ago.”
“Shit.”
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