"Ta,ta,ta! Ta, ta, ta!" Chay heard him practing as she stepped on Tristians porch. The duffel bags were wearing her down for the whole two blocks she walked to get over here. Today was the big day. In a few hours they would be on their way to the competition. She didn't know if she packed enough clothes or practiced enough ripples.
Tristian answered the door with his trumpet in his hand.
"Hey best friend!" He exclaimed
"Hey best friend?" She leaned in to give him a hug but lost balance because of her heavy bag.
"Let me help you with that." He grabbed her bag and sat it in the living room next to his. Chay went over and made herself home on the couch and started drinking her Arizona . It was queerly quiet in the house.
"Yo mom left for work already?" She asked
"Yea. She had to be there at 8 today"
"You didn't go to school today then, didn't you?"
" Hell naw!"
Chay started laughing.
"I didn't go either. My mom wanted me to get ready for the trip. Plus Baker made call time all the way at 5 o'clock. What do he think we were gonna do?"
"Yea."
There was an awkward silence. Chay pretended she was oblivious to Tristian staring at her. She just continued scrolling on her phone. Eventually she spoke.
"So what have you been doing all day?"
"Practicing."
"Of course."
" You don't understand, this Copland is amazing."
"That's what all the horn players say. Yo ass probably is just happy to have a horn."
Tristian sucked his teeth.
"I'll never forget that day dude. That whole horn tho-"
"Yea,yes,yes. Just call me the horn breaker."
" Don't make it so bad. Maybe when we get to Michigan you can break all of Jefferson's horns so that they'll have to forfeit."
"Yea, and use my powers for good."
"Exactly!"
They both started cracking up. Now there's and awkward silence again.
"I heard you playing my song on the porch."
"What song?"
"Secret Rendezvous?"
"Oh. Yea."
" I love that song dude."
"Have you even listen to the song before?"
"I heard the band play it. That's all that matters."
Tristian sucked his teeth
"Im just playing. Yea. I know its about a thot."
Tristian started laughing. "How is the lady a thot?"
"She's singing about messing around with a dude who she knows already has a girl."
Tristian sat on the couch. He leaned over towards Chay.
"Well, what if the situation was flipped and she had a man?"
Chay shrugged as she drank her juice. She wondered why Tristian was so close to her. He continued.
"And what if the dude she was messing with, was her best friend, who has loved her for a long time and knows she loved him back?"
Chay took the bottle away from her mouth. "Umm, you want some of my juice?"
Tristian leaned over on top of her. Juice stained all over the carpet.
