On the Come Up(107)

“Unfortunately for you, you stuck with me for a couple more months,” he says, and looks at Curtis. “Bruh, you better watch yourself. I will drive three hours to whoop some ass.”

Curtis innocently puts his hands up. “My bad.”

“Uh-huh,” Trey says. “I’m watching, Curtis.”

I sigh. “Don’t you need to go pick up Jojo?”

Trey’s taking Jojo to a Markham State basketball game. Jojo’s been geeking out about it all week like it’s an NBA game. Poor baby, he doesn’t realize Markham can’t play worth shit.

“I’m going.” He kicks my door. “But keep this damn door open, too. Ain’t nobody got time to be called ‘Uncle Trey.’ I oughta tell Granddaddy y’all up in there, passing cooties.”

He goes off down the hall. Curtis waits a few seconds before he leans over and kisses me. “Cooties, huh?”

But there we go, getting interrupted again. My mom loudly clears her throat. “That ain’t studying.”

“That’s what I said,” Trey calls from wherever he is.

Curtis gets this ridiculously cute sheepish look about him and oh my God, I almost can’t deal. “Sorry, Mrs. Jackson.”

She kisses her teeth. “Mm-hmm. Bri, which one do you prefer?”

She holds up two outfits. One’s a navy pencil skirt with matching blazer that Aunt Gina bought for her. The other is a gray suit that Aunt ’Chelle bought.

“They look so much alike—does it matter?”

“Yes, it matters,” she says. “I gotta look right for my first day.”

She starts at the school district on Monday as Dr. Cook’s secretary. One of the first things he wants her to do? Schedule monthly meetings with the Midtown Black and Latinx Coalition so he can make sure things are going smoothly. The other order of business? Look into a new security firm for the district.

“What, you’re not gonna go with the one Grandma bought you?” I ask.

Mom’s lips thin. Grandma bought her a floral print suit. It’s loud. It’s bold. It’ll blind you if you stare at it too long.

“I’m saving that for church,” she lies. “C’mon now. Help me choose.”

“The navy,” I say. “It says, ‘I wanna be here, I mean business, but I still got some style, and I may cut you if you cross me.’”

She snaps her fingers and points at me. “That’s what I’m talking about. Thank you, baby. Y’all can get back to studying . . . studying!” she adds with raised eyebrows. “Curtis, you’re welcome to stay for dinner. I’m making gumbo.”

Yes, Grandma is actually letting her cook in her kitchen. No, I don’t know where the aliens put my real grandma or if we’ll ever get her back.

“Thank you, Mrs. Jackson,” Curtis tells my mom.

My phone buzzes on the floor, and Sonny’s smiling face appears on my screen. I hit the speaker button. “What’s up, Sonny Bunny,” I tease.

“Shut up, Bookie.”

“Hey, Bri,” Miles calls from the background.

“Hey, Miles.”

“Y’all better have some adult supervision over there, I know that!” Mom hollers.

“Chill, Aunty Jay. Nothing’s happening,” Sonny says. “Bri, you need to get on Twitter. Something huge just happened.”

“Huh?” I say.

“I’m serious, Bri. Get on Twitter.”

Curtis grabs his phone. I type in the address on my laptop. “What for?” I ask.

“You won’t believe who posted your freestyle from the other night,” he says.

“What are you—”

My notifications are at 99+, like Twitter can’t keep up anymore. There’s one tweet that people keep liking and retweeting. I click it and stare at it. Then I stare at the profile pic and name, too.

Mom comes over and stares at it with me.

“Oh my God,” she says.

“‘This girl is the future of hip-hop.’” Curtis reads the tweet aloud. “‘@LawlessBri, we gotta do a song together. Let’s make it happen!’”

It was tweeted by . . .

Oh my God.

“Goddamn, Princess,” Curtis says. “That’s some life-changing shit—stuff.”

Mom still side-eyes him. “Bri, you wanna do it, baby?”

I stare at the tweet. This is major. It could be the shot I need.

“Yeah,” I say, and look at my mom. “Long as I can do it my way.”





Acknowledgments


Like last time, this will probably sound like a rapper’s acceptance speech, but hey, for this book, it should, right? I first have to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It has been quite a journey, and I wouldn’t have made it this far without you. Thank you for carrying me and keeping me. Whatever you want to continue to do through me, I’m yours.

To my incredible, amazing, phenomenal editor Donna Bray. There aren’t enough adjectives in the English language to describe someone as awesome as you. This wasn’t an easy journey, and I wouldn’t have survived it without you. Thank you for being there every step of the way and for believing in me as much as you do. Also, thank you for being so patient haha. We got it done!