The Friend

Alicia

In this neighborhood, life had no meaning to it. It was just about getting paid and then getting out, leaving behind the neighborhood, family—everything. In Harlem, those details had nothing to offer you anyway. At least that's what Alicia's best friend/roommate Maxine believed.

As Alicia sat up in her bed, she tore up the poem that she was writing in her journal as another song played from Maxine's speaker. Maxine rose from her desk and began to dance to the fast-paced beat, her hips gyrate in the air. For a second, Alicia watched her with a serious face. When Maxine winked at her, showing her gap-toothed grin, Alicia couldn't help it, she laughed, shaking her head. Sometimes Maxine didn't care where she was. If the music was tight, she was sure to get up and start dancing. And why shouldn't she? She was a fantastic dancer.

That's why Alicia liked hanging out with Maxine. The girl had no shame. If she felt the music, she got up and danced. If something rubbed her the wrong way, she spoke her mind on it. They had been close since they were little. Ever since Maxine sat next to her in kindergarten and offered her half of her mini-size Snickers bar when their teacher refused to give Alicia any candy for not participating at all in class.

"Look, look, look," Maxine grabbed her attention.

"I'm looking—" Alicia said.

"This is how you supposed to be when Dezzi comes over, got it?" Maxine said.

She proceeded to drop it low next to her chair, right on time to the change-up in tempo. As she stuck her tongue out a little, sexily, Alicia's head lifted as she continued watching. Maxine's cute gap-tooth smile appeared again and she broke out laughing. When the song changed, she crashed next to Alicia on the bed. Faking irritation, Alicia grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked her with it. Maxine cackled loudly, clapping her hands repeatedly.

As much as Maxine didn't mind expressing herself publicly, people didn't mind paying attention to her over it. Teased for gap-tooth when she was little, it soon became her thing that guys practically drooled after. Maxine's smile could stop hearts. It could make them beat faster, too. Men fell in love all too easily with her at first glance because of it. Plus, it did help that she was equipped with all the right features in all the right places, hour-glass figure, flawless, caramel skin, light-brown eyes, soft, permed hair and smooth, full lips. All the right features...well, except for in her head. Maxine wasn't the brightest light bulb in the bunch, but then again that's why she and Maxine got along. While Alicia overanalyzed everything, Maxine dived right into situations without a care in the world.

"How I'm supposed to be when whocomes over?" Alicia asked.

"Your man!" Maxine sighed.

"Don't spread that rumor now. Dezzi—he's not my man."

Maxine looked up at her, "Then why does he keep calling you, huh?"

"I don't know, but he does not come over and I am not with him," Alicia rose from the bed, "We grab some Starbucks once after internship's over and he thinks we're practically married now. I hate guys like that!"

"Well, you can't afford to hate any man that comes sniffing your way, okay?"

"I'm not desperate, Maxine," Alicia rolled her eyes.

"I didn't say you were—"

"Would you give Dezzi a chance?"

"It's not about me. It's about you."

"That's a hard no."

"I think the two of you would look nice together—"

"He looks like a mutt. His face all scrunched up. How is he 23 with a face of a 57-year-old? Plus, every day when I see him he's wearing this smelly, old hoodie that's got lint all over it and gray, acid-washed jeans. I just—I can't," she breathed.