Ace of Spades Sneak Peek(45)

“Is she okay?”

I nod. “I just worry about not getting into college, her wasting her money on me for nothing.”

“It’s not wasted on you, no matter what happens. I get worrying about money, though. My sister’s sick right now and money’s tight. We can’t help her with medical bills, so I get it. But don’t let it take up too much space or make you feel sad.”

His sister is sick?

“I’m sorry about your sister.”

Terrell looks away. “No need to be sorry. Let’s do something else.”

I nod, taken aback by his abruptness. I should ask him if he’s okay. I feel like all I do is talk about myself, never check to see if anything is bothering him. I need to be a better friend to Terrell; he’s been so nice to me. But before I can say anything more, he’s up and running toward the jungle gym. I push myself off the swing, which creaks as I stand, and follow him. Terrell climbs the neon-green steps and crawls into the dark purple tube on top and doesn’t come out.

I wait …

… and I wait.

What if he’s stuck?

I survey the tube again. He seemed to fit fine when he was going in …

“Terrell?” I call out.

No reply.

I tiptoe, trying to see into the tube, but it curves up, blocking my vision. I sigh, moving to climb the steps slowly. My body still hasn’t fully recovered from when those boys beat me up, plus I’m pretty sure this was made for children, and I don’t want Ma to be charged money she doesn’t have for my senselessness if I break it. When I get to the top, I lean into the tube and I see Terrell in there, seated with his head ducked like he was waiting for me.

“Took you long enough,” he says.

So, he was waiting for me.

“I’m not coming in there,” I tell him, trying to sound serious despite the smile I’m holding back.

“Okay, I’ll just sit in here until you do.”

“That’s cool with me.”

He stares at me, and me at him. I sit down, resting my back against the pole by the steps.

“It’s pretty cold out,” he says.

“Really? I can’t feel it.”

“Sure about that?”

“Very sure.”

“Okay, if you’re very sure.”

He moves toward the entrance of the tube, climbing out and sitting on the slightly lifted entryway.

“I think I can convince you to come inside,” he tells me, running his hand over his miniature dreads.

I raise my eyebrows at his confidence.

“How?”

He smiles at me, eyes crinkling in the corners and dimples defined as he reaches into his jeans pocket, then takes his hand out with his fist closed.

“Come closer and I’ll show you what’s in my hand. Trust me, you’ll come in when you see it.”

I’m not sure what could convince me to do that, but I move forward, staring at the gaps between his fingers, hoping to see a glimpse of whatever is hidden there.

“I’m closer, open it.”

He looks ready to laugh.

I watch his hand again as it opens, revealing … nothing.

I stare at his empty palm and then back up at him.

“You’re so full of shit,” I say, which only makes his grin wider.

“And rice,” he says, before moving back into the tube.

I pretend to hesitate before following him in, sitting closer to the entrance, still a bit worried I’ll break it.

It’s not as dark in the tube as I thought it would be, but it is smaller than I expected. I have to slide down slightly in order to fit.

Terrell, on the other hand, has to duck, seeing as he’s taller. When I’m in, he moves closer to me, hitting his head, which makes me snort.

There’s a shimmer on his hoodie that catches my eye. A metallic green alien print in the middle of the hoodie.

It’s weird, the alien kind of looks like him.

“Told you I’d convince you to come in,” he says in a low voice.

“I came in because I wanted to,” I say, which isn’t entirely true. A part of me probably likes being in such close proximity to Terrell. Besides, he was right, it was kind of cold outside the tube.

“Who’s full of shit now?” he says.

“Still you,” I tell him, shivering again.

We fall into a comfortable silence. I try not to think about bad things, like Aces or college or Andre. I try not to think about how this time two weeks ago, I wasn’t worried about being kicked out of school. I was probably at Dre’s. Happy. Instead I block those thoughts. I think I’ve cried in front of Terrell one too many times today.

I glance at him. He’s resting his chin on one of his knees now, looking up at me. When he catches me staring, he smiles.

“Are you cold?” he asks.

“Kind of,” I finally admit.

He sits up, banging his head once again, which causes him to swear under his breath. I watch with warm cheeks as he pulls his hoodie off and tosses it to me.

“Wear this,” he says.

I take the hoodie, pulling it on over my school shirt and tie. It’s warm and comfortable and feels like I have a big blanket wrapped around me.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”