How Do U Want It?

xvii

"Wake up! Wake up!" O'Shea yelled as he plopped on the bed.

"Boy! Getcho big ass out my bed! What the hell you want?" I drowsily said and I chucked a pillow at him.

"You just turned 16 Ebelle, you must don't know what this mean." O'Shea said as he threw the pillow back at me.

"I turned 16 almost a week ago. And I hope it means you gettin' the FUCK out my bed!" I put agression in my voice as I sat up.

O'Shea huffed and said, "Was I this angry at 16? Damn." .

I sucked my teeth, "You 18. You act like you were 16 a long ass time ago."

"2 years? That was a long ass time ago." He said laughing.

"Whatever, whatchu want?" I folded my arms and rubbed my eyes.

"If we gon' associate you gotta learn how to drive." O'Shea said cheesing.

"So I gotta learn how to drive in order to earn your approval?" I rolled my eyes and laid back down, trying to go to sleep.

"Ebelle come onnnnn." O'Shea tugged my feet pulling me out the bed.

"You won't leave me alone about this huh?" I groaned as my body hit the wooden floor.

"If you start drivin' you gone be the baddest in the game." He persuaded.

I sighed loudly, "Okay! Okay!" Pulling the covers from around me, I got up and threw the covers back on the bed.

"Be ready in 20 minutes, I ain't got all day." He said before exiting my room.

"Boy yo lame ass got all the time in the world." I muttered as I dug through my dresser for something to wear.

Successfully finding my garments for today, I grabbed a towel and hopped in the shower.

I knew for sure I wasn't gonna be ready within 20 minutes, so O'Shea would've just been mad. Why he wanted me to drive so badly; I don't know why.

"Hurry up!" O'Shea yelled from outside of the bathroom door.

"I just got in here!" I stomped in the shower.

This boy was gonna kill me. I quickly scrubbed all over my body thoroughly before leaving the warm water to brush my teeth. I didn't put much effort into my hair as I pulled it back into a ponytail.

Dressed in something simple as a white tee and blue jeans, I thought: why not get my white air force ones out?

I pulled open my closet door to reach down and find my designated pair of shoes, but I felt a light item fall on my head. Quickly, I stood up straight because whatever fell startled me. I heard something hit the ground behind me, I turned on my heel to bend over to pick it up.

It was nothing other than one of my prom pictures, with Tupac and I hugging eachother.

To be honest, I never knew if I was officially over him. He crossed my mind a few times, I will admit, but I thought nothing of it. We passed each other by all the time in school. Sometimes he'd sit at my table with Snoop, but we'd act like we were invisible to each other.

As I started at the 3 month old photo in its entirety, O'Shea called my name. "Ebelle, come on!"

"I'm comin'..." I hurriedly placed the photo back on my closet shelf, slid my shoes on and went downstairs.

"Y'all," O'Shea said trying to get everyone in the room's attention, "Our little young lady is about to drive, all thanks to me!"

"Why you gotta make a scene?" I muttered to him before the guys started laughing stupidly.

"Because, its trippin' me out that you almost grown. When I met you, you were 13! That shit is crazy!" O'Shea started laughing.

"I coulda taught her," Eazy suggested before passing a blunt to Yella. Even though him and I weren't on the best of grounds, I pondered over the suggestion: it'd be better to be riding around in a 64 Impala than whatever Cube had to offer.

"Yeah, Eazy can do it." I folded my arms and looked at Cube.

"Why?" O'Shea frowned at me.

"Because she wanna ride in a real nigga car." Eazy stood up from the couch and playfully pushed O'Shea out of the way. For some reason, talking to or associating with Eazy wasn't taboo anymore.

"Come on, you can drive around in a real G ride." Eazy said opening the front door for me.

"I better not see y'all on the news wrapped around a tree or some shit." Dre sucked his teeth and shook his head.

"Don't trip." I laughed before stepping outside into the warm Compton air. Eazy's off white 64 Impala sat right before the curb, and I didn't hesitate to get inside.

"What you doin'? Get in the driver's seat." Eazy said as he stood by the car waiting for me to get out.

"Don't you think you should demonstrate before I actually start?" I asked him looking at him crazy.

"Nah," he sucked his teeth, "You smart. Drive."

With reluctance, I got out of the car and proceeded into the driver's side. Eazy handed me the key and I stuck it in the ignition port, turning the key, his engine came to life almost immediately.

I pulled the PRNDL stick into D, and awaited an 'OK' from Eazy. I looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Go 'head. What you scared for?"

Slowly pushing the gas pedal, we were in motion, I started the go faster. And we got up to 35 miles per hour.

"I'm kind of glad you agreed to do this, 'cuz I have to talk to you." Eazy suddenly said as I began to yield towards a corner.

"Huh?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

It became quiet for a second, and I continued to drive down the down street at a reasonable speed. With the wind blowing my hair back, I glanced at Eazy, "Well?"

"Alright, these past few months, you know, its been fuckin' crazy. I know you know." Eazy admitted before taking his hat off and ran his hands through his hair. It wasn't in his signature jheri curl, it looked like he just wet it or something, due to its wavy texture.

"Yeah.." I mumbled before turning on to a different street.

"I apologize, for putting you through all of that. It was ... it was wrong of me. To uh, pressure you like that." I felt him eyeing me from the passenger seat.

I pursed my lips and dwelled on his apology. It sounded sincere, but that didn't mean it was honest.

"I accept your apology," I said giving him a small smile.

"Can I ask you somethin' now?" Eazy asked.

I simply nodded before saying, "Yeah."

"How long do I have to wait?"