Who You Wit'?

Chapter 6

If Mina had any lingering day after regrets or jitters, Jacinta couldn't tell. The ride to school was same as always: Jacinta walked to Mina's house. Brian drove up in his Explorer and blew the horn once. Jacinta hopped in the back, mumbled a "how y'all doing?" to the guys; Michael, still waking up, gave his usual nod while JZ hollered, "hey, girl," louder than necessary at six-thirty AM as Mina waited impatiently for him to relinquish his hold on the front seat. The two exchanged a few obligatory barbs, "Move, big head," followed by, "Why can't you sit in the back?" even as JZ obliged. Then Mina stepped in, bent over the middle console, and planted her sweetie kiss on Brian's lips. End scene. It was the same morning every school day-had been for fifteen months. For all of Mina's confusion and uncertainty yesterday, today was just today, same as last Monday and every Monday before it.
Jacinta toyed with that thought as the clique joked around her, amazed at how the world kept going even when something huge was happening to people. Watching Mina nag at JZ and tease Michael, all while keeping her arm just near enough to Brian's on the console that they touched, Jacinta had to remind herself that just twelve hours ago, Mina had been a total wreck. A bitter envy stung Jacinta at the way Mina went wherever her emotions carried her. She thought she was used to Mina's very public highs and lows. Whether she was being embarrassed in front of half the student body on a beach or rambling in the hallway excitedly, Mina wore how she felt on her sleeve and dared anyone to give her grief for it which Jacinta did. At first, Jacinta teased Mina's brimming emotions because it irked her. She wasn't used to being around girls so open with their feelings, and sometimes, be- ing around Mina was like having a single fly swarm your head. You could swat and swat, but the fly kept flitting about. Jacinta poked fun at Mina simply because it was easier than admitting that she wished she could be so free with her emotions, at least every now and then. But crying in public or gushing about how much she loved Raheem just wasn't her.

She wished it was because then, maybe at some point the other day, she could have found a way to bring up her own minicrisis. Mini was putting it mildly. But she was sticking to that adjective to hold off the panic lurking at the corners of her mind. The clique's clucking grew louder as Michael joined in, his early morning freeze thawing at the same exact spot as always as the SUV glided slowly out of The Woods and onto the main strip, where it would take ten minutes to get to DRB High. Always ten minutes. Twenty if Brian stopped at the Blarney Bean, an early morning hangout that served the hottest coffee ever. Her disdain for the Blarney was the minority opinion. The shop was routinely packed with students and commuters alike in the morning. The only equivalent was Rio's Ria in the afternoon, after the high and middle schools let out. If Jacinta didn't know better, she'd swear both places laced their food with crack to keep the streams of people spilling out of their doors. She loved the Ria. But slurping up Blarney iced or hot coffee was one 'burb habit Jacinta passed on. She silently willed Brian to bypass the coffeehouse this morning and cheered inside when the truck crawled along in the dense traffic instead of joining the left turn lane. No espresso today, she thought relieved. Just the thought of the strong coffee's thick scent tugged at her empty stomach, making it cramp.

The involuntary contraction stopped her swirling thoughts. She held her breath for a beat, waiting and getting what she wanted another lurching clench. Yes! Jacinta relaxed in the leather seats and waited for the cramps to grow from a whisper to a squall in her belly and for the first time in days, allowed her mind to go to the other reason she was glad her period was coming. It was late. Three days late, to be exact. She shuddered at the four letter word. JZ nudged her. "Want me put the window up?" Jacinta shook her head. It was an unseasonably warm morning, and the cool spring air floating into the truck actually calmed her. Still, she absently hugged her arms closer to her body, as if warding off the chill coursing down her spine from the thought of L-A-T-E. JZ gave her one last confused frown before answering Brian about their weekly pickup game. Mina loudly reminded Michael that he would be missing the game or risk her wrath because he'd promised to deliver Mina's prom dress that day. Jacinta laughed along with everyone else at the empty threat. Michael was every bit of five inches taller than Mina's petite five feet. She was hardly someone to fear, unless you just didn't feel like hearing her mouth.

No one knew that better than Michael, and he went along good naturedly. Yesterday had been the first time Jacinta had ever seen perpetually upbeat Mina so freaked out. Check that. Mina could overreact with the best of them. But it was always coupled with a bright side or a plan. Mina had been planless, yesterday, torn about the pact and the fact that there was no way she could take it. No matter how many times Jacinta pointed out that everything couldn't be bro- ken down into steps, her friends believed in preparing like some people believed in God. In Jacinta's opinion, as much as she had grown to love her 'burb girlfriends, their obsession with planning was exactly why they were always so lost when some- thing unexpected hit them. Not like her. Shit happens...all the time. That was Jacinta's philosophy. It was why when Raheem smacked her at the cheer competition, then Jacinta had smacked him back to remind him that he was fool crazy for raising his hand at her. It was why she and Raheem broke up, then got back together and argued on occasion. It was why, since Raheem had made it official that he was committing to Georgetown, he'd suddenly been "we, we'ing" her to death.