「 ROSE IN THE WINTER 」
SINCERE BENNET
Chicago, Illinois
The hum of chatter and bursts of laughter greeted Sincere as he stepped out of the car with his mother and sister. The community center's yard was buzzing with activity—kids playing basketball on the court, volunteers setting up tables laden with food, and parents chatting in small clusters. It was a scene of organized chaos, a stark contrast to the quiet intensity of Sincere's usual world.
For sincere this was something he never seen in the west side of Chicago, and never believed he would. I guess up until now.
His mother, Wanda, balanced a tray of cornbread in her hands, her lips pressed into a determined smile. Lyric trailed beside her, clutching a bag of plastic cups with one hand and Sincere's sleeve with the other.
"Come on, y'all ," Wanda said, nudging him with her elbow. "Don't just stand there. Grab something and help."
Sincere huffed slightly but still reached into the trunk for another tray of food, following his mother and sister toward the building. He spotted Amirah almost instantly, her figure moving confidently through the crowd as she directed volunteers and greeted parents. She wore a fitted sweater and jeans, simple and effortless but she looked so good to him, her dark hair was swept into a high ponytail.
Amirah glanced up as they approached, her face lighting up with recognition. "Hey, Wanda! Lyric!" she greeted warmly, crouching down to give Lyric a quick hug.
"Hey, Amirah," Wanda said, her voice full of affection. "I brought the food, like I promised."
Amirah stood and gave Wanda a grateful smile. "Thank you so much. You're amazing. And thanks for helping too, Sincere," she added, her tone polite but reserved as her eyes flicked to him.
Sincere smirked slightly. "Just doing what I'm told," he said, holding up the tray of food.
Amirah nodded, her lips curving into a small smile. "Well, I'm glad you are"
The moment lingered, her eyes locking with his for a beat too long before she turned away, motioning for them to follow her inside.
Inside the gymnasium, tables were lined up along the walls, decorated with bright tablecloths and plates of food. The kids were already swarming the dessert station, while volunteers tried to wrangle them into lines. Sincere set the tray down on one of the tables, watching as his mom fussed over the arrangement.
"You gonna just stand there, or you gonna help?" Amirah's voice cut through his thoughts.
Sincere turned to see her standing a few feet away, her arms crossed but her expression amused.
He shrugged. "where you want me?"
Amirah raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching in a half-smile. "You must be use to telling everyone else what to do, huh?"
"Something like that." He laughed under his breath
"Hm, you can help pass out the drinks to the kids if you want" she smiled, he nodded following orders. He kept his gaze on her for a moment until he walked away and started doing what he was told.
Later, after sincere had been serving drinks to bad little kids the entire day. He was met with a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Ahmad; one of the neighborhood kids he knew enough about but not enough for him to be coming to talk to him.
"Yo, you're Sincere, right?" Ahmad asked, his voice low.
Sincere nodded slowly. "Who's asking?"
"I'm Ahmad. Camille's brother," he said quickly, his tone eager. "I've seen you around. You're... you know, respected. I was wondering..." Ahmad hesitated, glancing around before lowering his voice. "How do I get into something like what you do? Or do you maybe have any work I could do for you?"
