"But I don't get it." Leala put her hair into a ponytail. "How could a male African American teenager with no weapons be a threat to a police officer who's armed?"
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Harmony's older brother was found dead, and the cop who killed him wasn't charge...
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"You don't deserve him, Harmony. I keep telling you this." Leala threw popcorn into her mouth.
"I know, but I still miss him," I whined, not focusing on the movie we were supposed to be watching.
"Girl, it's only been thirty minutes since y'all broke up, and you're already missing him?" Leala jumped up with an idea. "We should go to a party. That'll get your mind off of your sorry ex."
"I dunno. . ."
"Parties are fun! Besides, a little hookup will do wonders after a breakup."
I blushed while staring at her wooden floor.
"You and David never had sex?" Leala gasped. "Three whole years and y'all never had sex?!"
I twiddled my thumb. "I mean, he's eaten me out and I've sucked his dick before. There's just been no. . ." I made a hole with my thumb and index finger with my right hand and made my left-hand index finger go in and out of the hole.
"Wow." Leala got up and began fishing through her closet. "I would've never guessed."
I shrugged. "Who's hosting the party?"
"Nicolas." Leala got out a baby blue sweater and held it up against her body.
"Nicolas Richardson?"
"Yeah." Leala tossed me a short black dress and a cropped plaid beige long sleeve to go over it. "Try that."
"Thanks," I said over my shoulder.
Leala knew that I was. . . well. . . poor. She often gave me some of her clothes that she could easily replace, not that I wanted her to; she was pretty stubborn and cared about me so I didn't mind.
After slipping on Leala's—now my—skin-tight black dress and the cropped plaid shirt, I twirled in the mirror. The dress fit me just right in all the correct places. I opened the bathroom door and Leala was zipping up her lilac pleated mini skirt in her floor-length mirror that had lights surrounding it.
"You look amazing." Leala clapped her hands. She then walked out of my sight and when she came back, she held beige socks and a brand new white pair of Air Forces—much different than my dirty, busted-up ones. "I was gonna give these to you for your birthday, but why not now?" She shrugged while handing them over.
I stared at them in awe. A little pang of jealously went through my body once I took them. Leala could easily replace all of the things she gave me, but if I gave her something of mine, I probably would never restore it.
⚜
"Remember the mission," Leala applied lipstick in her car's mirror, "find a cute guy and hook up with him." She closed the lipstick and made popping noises with her lips. "If you're comfortable. If not, just have fun and try not to think about you-know-who."
I nodded my head while breathing in. "Okay. I'm ready."
"Alrighty then." Leala took the keys out of the ignition and jumped out of her Mercedes-Benz.
I quickly followed suit. As we got closer to Nicolas's huge mansion, the music began getting louder. I'm gonna assume that his parents were probably on a vacation or something. There is no way he was bold enough to throw this party with his parents still in town.
Once we got into the house, I lost Leala in the big crowd of sweaty, drunk people dancing.
Juuussstt great.
I rolled my eyes while politely pushing through the crowd to try and get some fresh air. I've never really been to a party before. I wasn't quite sure about what I was supposed to do; a lot of the other girls were grinding on guys, but I didn't feel too comfortable doing all that.
"Didn't think I'd see you anywhere other than the park."
I turned to spot Calo leaning against the wall with a cup in his hand. "Bruh, I swear you're stalking me." I laughed.
He didn't reply while his eyes scanned my body hungrily. "Nice dress."
"Thanks." I blushed and began looking at the floor.
"Is there something interesting down there?"
"No, i-it's just. . . I-I. . . I get nervous." A wave of embarrassment flowed through my body.
Calo smiled. "Wanna go somewhere quiet?"
"Yes, please." I put my hand into his and followed him out of Nicolas's house.
The backyard of Nicolas's house was more beautiful than the front. It had golden cobblestone that made you feel like you were Dorthy, in the middle, there was some sort of statue that spewed water into a fountain, and the bushes were shaped intricately around the entire thing. Not to mention, his crystal blue pool and hot tub that were hidden in the cuts.
I began walking the trail with Calo's hand still intertwined with mine.
"I heard from your friend that you're going to protest." Calo threw away his cup in a trashcan we just passed.
"Yeah. I'm not sure when, though."
"How about tomorrow? It's a Sunday, so we could either do it right after church or, if you don't go to church, at twelve."
"Okay, but where?"
Calo was silent while he thought. During that time, I kept track of how many times our feet would hit the cobblestone at the same time. "At the Federal Courthouse downtown."
"Do you think I could do this?" I stared into his light brown eyes, awaiting a response.
"You're more than capable." Calo smiled reassuringly. He doesn't know, but when he said those words, a big weight was lifted off of my chest.
