Wear Your Crown Proudly

6. Best Friends

Trinity is the type of friend who could disappear for days without a text, but then she would reappear with a whole new life. New hair new style. She needs a social recharge and somehow when she comes back it feels like she never left.

"Come over to mine," Trinity would beg me on FaceTime. I was sweeping the floor, far away from the camera, but she knew not to do anything out of line. Going to her house wasn't always my first choice, I rather her come to mine but ever since my dad's second marriage, it became a habit and my escape.
She didn't like coming over anymore too and who can blame her.

"I don't feel like going to your house, and you don't feel like going to mine. Let's sit outside; it's nice out," I suggested. I didn't want to go out for lunch since I had just eaten.

"Be there in 20," Trinity agreed. Yes, it took us 20 minutes to meet up outside from our respective houses.

I usually had to clean, and she would wait for me. I was always late to everything, so opening the door to go outside took another 20 minutes.

I left my house in my prayer robe, holding leftover lunch I had prepared for Trinity and a water bottle.

"You wore makeup to sit on the steps?" I questioned, judging her, as I handed her a plate with a shawarma sandwich and then sat beside her.

I wondered if she really wanted to sit out here. We usually had fun, though. I had a little ramp, and she had an old trampoline that we used to play cards on. Lastly, there was a swing.

"I was going out, but I canceled my plans," she said, laughing. We spent an hour discussing our plans, and she didn't put on the makeup until after we hung up.

"Nice to know I'm backup," I sarcastically remarked.

"Alice was backup," she continued, teasingly.
"Love hearing... this! Yes, please continue. Was I at least the 13th in line of who gets to hang out with Tri today?" I intrigued her.

"Sorry, no. That was George. He was number 13," she replied, leaning her head over. Clearly joking.

"You don't say... Too bad on my list, Crazy George would have been number 3. That crackhead really cracks me up," I joined in, continuing our little banter.

"Wait, STOP! DID I TELL YOU he gave me crack the other day and told me to smoke it with him?" she suddenly exclaimed, and we both burst into tears of laughter. George was a crackhead, always with his butt crack showing, practically mooning everyone. I didn't want to judge her because she had a past.

"Wait, for real? I never saw him take crack; I just knew he did crack. You better not have smoked it," I looked at her, genuinely concerned. She was a recovering addict, but her vice was alcohol, not drugs.

"No," she reassured me.

"Not even one puff," she added, digging into her pockets and revealing a bag, shaking it around. "Better yet, I stole it."

"STOP!" I exclaimed, trying to contain my laughter.

The door to my house flung open, and there stood Harith and Sophia. They usually played outside, but he always ended up making her cry, so their playtime didn't last long.

"What's so funny?" Harith approached us with his skateboard.

"Tri," I glanced at her, then at the bag. She understood and hid the bag, pulling out her phone to text me.

"I was thinking maybe we can try to sell it back to Crazy George and make some money," her text read.

"That would never work; you're crazy. But then again, Crazy George is so dang crazy it might work," I replied.

Reading the messages, we couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Crazy George, so darn crazy!" we exclaimed, weak on our knees from laughter.

"STOP, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ME PEE!" I screamed.
Trinity got up, pacing back and forth.

"I need to PEEE NOW, STOP!" she got physically upset, on the verge of tears.
"I hate you. Why did you give me that water bottle?" She snapped, getting mad, and reached out to kick me.

"TRIII needs to PEEEEE!!  she just kicked me," I sang loudly and poorly. Harith covered his ears, completely annoyed at us. Sophia ran back inside now.

"Why can't you let me BE?" she couldn't help but sing along.

At this point, I was spread out on the grassy floor and concrete, laughing in complete pain, rolling on the ground.

"Wallah, she PEED!" Harith exclaimed, looking at her jeans turn a shade darker.

"I couldn't, I tried to make it to the door," she explained herself right away, still laughing and in complete defense mode.

"And now I'm on the floor," I added, trying to make a song out of it, but I was laughing too hard, banging on the floor. I sat up, hoping to see for myself.

"The door's wide open," Harith argued, pointing at the door before looking at us, ashamed of our behavior.

We both stopped laughing.

"I've never seen this kid so disappointed in my life," I said, reflecting on Harith's reaction.

I got up, walked up to her stool, and entered and exited the door. "I can confirm the door is, in fact, wide open. Maybe make use of it," I hinted at her to go inside.

"Why is Harith more embarrassed than me? I just peed, and he had the nerve to walk away like I shouldn't even be here right now," she said with a straight face, contemplating her life, rolling her eyes. She was serious.

"Yeah, you're right. You should be in the bathroom changing your pants," I chuckled, jumping down from the stool.

Trinity stood up and started heading inside. She was already texting on her phone like an addict. Seconds later, I received a text message:
- 'I can't believe I spent 20 minutes doing my makeup only to pee in my pants' -

Looking down at my phone, I took a picture of the wide-open door and sent it to her.

Heading home, I couldn't stop thinking about why she wore makeup to sit outside. I was just hoping it wasn't to get anyone's attention in my house.

People always fell in love with her, and yes, I mean LOVE. She had charm, charisma, and she always wanted to have a fun time. Since she got out of rehab, she hadn't been a party girl. Nobody from school knew this, and if she wanted to tell people, she did. She was addicted to drinking, but that was in the past. She didn't live for the attention; she was just nice and fun to be around. Trinity wasn't like her mom; she wouldn't settle for less. She never let anyone's image of her replicate. She believed that since she was chubbier as a kid, she had to learn how to be funny. After rehab, Trinity looked a lot older, not in a wrinkly way, but in a more mature way. She dressed the part too, wearing purses instead of school bags. She walked tall and proud and cared more about her clothes.

One of the things I loved about Tri was that she was the only one who taught me not to feel embarrassed. "It's only embarrassing if you make it," she used to say.

That's why when I missed my shots in gym the other day, I played it off. Reflecting on our hilarious encounter, I couldn't help but smile. Despite our differences and the ups and downs, Trinity was always there to bring laughter into my life.

Trinity was the kind of friend who made life brighter and more exciting, and I cherished every moment we spent together.

As I entered my house, I couldn't help but laugh one more time, reminiscing about the day Trinity peed on the steps and the uproarious laughter that ensued. It was moments like these that made our friendship unique and special.

Then I saw my dad and that laugh faded. He was with Sophia putting her to bed.