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Lanham, Maryland – Saturday, August 20, 2022 – 11:14 AM
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Noelle Bailey was sprawled across her bed, one leg bent, the other dangling off the edge as her phone hovered a few inches from her face. The fan in her room hummed against the sticky Maryland heat, but it barely did anything. Sunlight cut through half-closed blinds, striping across the knotless braids that trailed down her waist. Every time she moved, the beads at the ends clicked softly, like background percussion to her scrolling.
She wasn't scrolling aimlessly either. Noelle had a mission: re-reading her DMs with DeVantè, half to hype herself up, half to make sure she wasn't crazy for thinking there was something between them.
Flirty memes, little inside jokes, random music links. He'd even dropped a midnight you still up? once, which she pretended to leave on read but definitely screenshot for her best friend later. The boy had been circling her page for weeks, liking pictures from two months back, leaving sarcastic little comments like he wasn't obvious. Now their friends had set them up on this "first date," but let's be real—this wasn't new. It was just the official stamp.
Noelle tilted her head, smirking at his last message from last night: Don't be late tomorrow. I don't wait in lines for anybody. He put a clown emoji after it, but still. He knew she was gonna show up.
The knock came sharp against her door, three quick taps followed by the inevitable click of heels. Her mom, Monique Parker, always announced herself like a gavel hitting wood.
"You better not be late, Noelle," Monique's voice cut through the door before it even opened. And then, sure enough, the door creaked wide and Monique appeared in a cream blouse and real estate agent power heels, her hair sleek and her expression already in mid-interrogation mode. "Now, who is this DeVantè character? Where does he live? What does he do? Does his mama work? Does his mama go to work?"
Noelle groaned, letting her phone flop on her stomach. "Ma, I'm literally just going to Six Flags. Not marrying him."
"Mm-hm." Monique crossed her arms, leaning on the frame like she was both judge and jury. "That's how it starts. One rollercoaster, and next thing you know—"
