white-passing- jamal turner

fifteen

It was the first day back from break.

"It's a new year," Jamal said as we all walked down the stairs.

"And a new day," Monse said.

"Finally, we can get back to normal," Ruby said.

I smiled and held onto Jamal's arm.

"Turner!"

It was Jamal's coach. 

___________________________

Right after fourth period, a girl came up to me and handed me a flyer. 

"Cheerleading tryouts for next year are in a month!" she said to me.

"No thanks," I said. Cheerleading didn't interest me in any way shape or form. Plus, I had no experience.

"Come on, we could use a girl like you on the team," she said, "And you don't even need any experience!"

I smiled softly, looking down at the flyer and then back at her, "I'll think about it."

As I turned the corner and saw Jamal, I threw the flyer in the trash.

Jamal looked scarred, to say the least. He told me about what happened when the coach made him clean the showers in a panic. 

"I saw Julio!" he said, "AJ, I saw Julio!"

"Julio?" I said, "You mean, the garden gnome?"

"Come with me," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me to the cafeteria. We met up with the gang and carried our trays to a table.

"Guys, I got eyes on me," Jamal said.

"Me too," Ruby said, "The post-shooting lookie-loos are out in full force."

A girl came up to Ruby, startling Jamal.

"You need to calm down," I said, "You're fine!"

"I don't know how much longer I can be bullet boy. I just wanna get back to normal," Ruby said.

Jasmine butted in, "Normal? Baby, you ain't never been normal. You got that special sauce flowing through your veins. And probably all over that juicy nalga!"

Jamal and I cringed.

"Ruby said I could sit with y'all, so-

"Shoot, I forgot dessert!" Ruby said.

Jasmine still hadn't gotten the hint that none of us fucked with her, but she still kept on pushing.

"Oh, you sit. I got you! Sugar-free sweets for my super sweet treat, coming up!"

We all sat down and gave Ruby looks.

"Look, I'm sorry! But ever since my brush with death, I made a bargain with the big man! Or woman? Let's just say the universe to be gender neutral. But part of my deal was to work on my karmic energy, be a better person so shit wouldn't go sideways again. Part of that deal is to do charity, and Jasmine is my charity."

I shrugged, "Whatever. You guys wouldn't believe what happened today. The captain of the cheerleading squad said I should try out for next year."

"Why's that so hard to believe?" Ruby said.

"I don't know. It doesn't matter. I'm not doing it."

"Why not? It could be fun, and you're hot," Monse said.

I laughed, "I guess, but I don't know if I wanna make that commitment, and I probably wouldn't even make it."

"Not with that attitude you won't," Jamal said, "But speaking of commitment, what are we gonna do with the cheddar?! We need a plan of action ASAP! First thing after school. All hands meeting! This kinda gouda can get ripe real quick, and I'm not sure we can handle it if people start sniffing around."

"Cheesy," Ruby said, "But I like it."

"Right now, as it is, the money makes us targets. We need to move quickly to wash the cash and help Cesar survive."

"Yes."

"Ok, so where are we meeting?"

"My mom's sister and her family are at my house for the weekend, so we can't do it at mine," I said.

Jamal hosted too much, and Monse's dad just came home, so we agreed to do it at Ruby's since Geny was at work. 

"Abuelita!" Ruby said, "I reserved the table for a two-hour block. Did you not see my note on the fridge?"

Abuelita ignored him.

"It's fine! She knows about the money!" Jamal said.

"Alright," Ruby said, pulling out his notebook and showing us a page that said How to Lose My Virginity Before 18.

We all laughed, even Abuelita. 

"Ew!" Monse said, "And no!"

One of the bullets said Cesar's sloppy seconds. Yikes.

"Okay, team!" Ruby said, "We have 37-year-old cash that we can't spend without raising eyebrows. And we've all seen Breaking Bad. We need a cash business."

"Veinte, cuarenta, sesenta-

"Abuelita, please! We're trying to figure out how to clean the money!"

"Jamal, what about your dad?" I said, "He owns a business!"

"No way!" Jamal said, "My dad's super particular about the books. It would never work. But what if we started our own business? How's Ruben's Fancy Festivities coming along?"

That wouldn't work because the start-up would take too long. Ruby's phone rang. Jasmine was calling him, and he tried to make the call as short as possible. 

"Jamal, can you measure my neck?" Ruby said.

Jamal grabbed Ruby's phone, "Okay, no. You need to give me your phone. This is not a joke! We're trying to move the money, and you're over here playing twiddly thumbs with Jasmaspaz. Just don't text her back!"

"As if it were that easy!" Ruby said, "I have a moral obligation to fulfill!"

"Or what? The universe is gonna strike you down?"

"Maybe!" Ruby said, "Look, we're hitting a wall. Let's reconvene after a good night's sleep."

_________________________________________________________________

"Jamal, for the last time!" I said, "There's no one watching you! Now go to sleep!"

I was sleeping over at Jamal's because he asked me to. It was convenient for me anyway because my little cousins were loud and annoying and never went to bed. Suddenly, my cousins seemed like the better option. Jamal was pacing back in forth, acting like a mental patient.

"Come here," I said, patting the bed. 

Jamal reluctantly came over and got back in bed. 

"Please. Just relax," I said, rubbing his back, "If anything happens, I'll be here to protect you."

He looked at me, "You? Protect me?"

"Yeah," I said, "Come on. Everyone knows I wear the pants in the relationship."

He turned his head and jumped up.

"What is WRONG with you?!" I said.

He pointed to the window sill, and I turned my head.

"Oh, hell no!" 

 There was a garden gnome staring at us. And then, almost as if on cue, we screamed.