Mystery Girl

She's Perfect

Sitting on the edge of the curb outside of the LAX, Nicole sighed as she listened to her stepsister go on and on about how LUCKY she was to be staying with her aunt in California for the summer. Why was she lucky? Because Los Angeles was where they were filming the new Mindless Behavior music video of course!  

“You are so, so, so LUCKY,” Danielle said for the millionth time. Nicole pulled the phone away from her ear as she continued on another rant.  “I wish I could be there, but I’m stuck on the other side of the country.”

“Come on Dani, you know I don’t care about Mindless Beha-”

“I don’t care! Just take lots of pictures, okay?”

Nicole sighed and agreed, and Danielle, satisfied, said goodbye and hung up the phone. Pocketing it, she stood up as her aunt’s bright purple convertible pulled up.

“Hey, Aunt Sandra.”

Aunt Sandra exited the car, one heeled sandal at a time. She was a flamboyant character, never carrying what people though of her, but always making sure she looked good. Today she wore a brown sundress, patterned with gold flowers. Gold, twisty earrings hung down the sides of her face and she sported her usual toasty brown short haircut. “Nicole, how great to see you again!”

The two hugged and Sandra helped her load the bags into the back of the car before letting Nicole hop in the passenger seat. Then they took off down the road towards the coast to the private beach house that she would be staying in for nearly three months.

“So do you have a boyfriend yet?” Sandra asked, slipping on a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses.

“Aunt Sandra!” Every time they spent time together, she always opened with that question. “I told you I’m not really looking. I’ll be a senior next year and I have other things to focus on.”

Sandra sighed and gripped the steering wheel, her perfectly manicured fingernails tapping the leather. “Aw, loosen up. You’re going to want to find someone sooner or later. Haven’t you even thought about it?”

Nicole just shook her head and brushed one of the dark twists from her very brown eyes. Of course she had thought about it; most teenage girls have at this point. But her goal has never been to find a boyfriend. It was rare that she had crushes in school, and she didn’t think anyone at school would like her anyway.

When they pulled up to the house, Nicole gasped and examined the tall house. The front door let out to the porch and the stairs led straight out to the beach. And the beach? It was indescribable as how the sparkling blue waves crashed along the sand.

“It’s beautiful, Aunt Sandra!” Sandra beamed and unlocked the door to the house. The inside was just as nice. There was a full kitchen and a family room along with three master bedrooms.

“Alright, get unpacked,” the aunt said cheerfully, dragging in the suitcases. “We’re going out later tonight.”

“Out?”

“Oh, and don’t wear anything you brought. I have outfits for you in your closet.”

“What’s wrong with what I wore?” Sandra examined Nicole’s outfit. “Just get dressed.”

She sighed and went to her room, closing the door before examining the contents of the closet. Inside she finds several sundresses, some sandals and blouses and shorts. After a moment of looking things over, she picked out strapless lavender blouse and some short white shorts. After slipping on some silver sandals, she went out to show Sandra.

“Perfect,” she said, grinning. Nicole sighed and folded her arms.

“Perfect for what? You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

Sandra just giggled and ran to the car, and Nicole followed reluctantly. When her aunt giggled, it was never a good sign.

….

The convertible pulled up to a secluded cove on the beach, which would have been beautiful if not for the white, metal trailers spread around the sand. Men and women with clipboards ran around and buff men all in black pushed back a pressing crowd of screaming girls. After a path was cleared, the car managed to squeeze through and park on an empty patch of sand.

Nicole stepped out onto the sand, wincing as the sun shone into her eyes. “Where are we? Some kind of movie set?”

“Somewhere better.” Her aunt was already trekking across the sand, holding her dress up as she headed towards a woman with long black hair. “Come on.”

Nicole caught up to the two women who were squealing and hugging each other. When they pulled apart, Sandra introduced her.

“Nicole, this is my best friend, Keisha Gamble. Kee, this is my niece, Nicole.” Nicole reached out and shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Gamble.” The woman was short, shorter than Sandra, and wore gray shorts and a black t-shirt that was tied in the back. Despite the heat she wore white sneakers and an orange snapback.

“Please, call me Auntie Kee,” she said, cheerfully.

“Okay…Auntie Kee.”

Keisha threw her head back and laughed, folding her arms in front of her chest. “She’s perfect, Sandra!”

Nicole frowned and looked over at her aunt who was still grinning. “That’s the second time someone has said that,” she said. “Why am I perfect? What am I perfect for?”

The two aunts looked at each other and exchanged a knowing look and Nicole sighed again.

“Soon,” Sandra assured her, and they began to walk towards the trailers, the two women’s heads bent together as they whispered and giggled, a frustrated girl trailing behind them.

Two giggling aunts? She thought. This can’t be good at all.

The three of them finally reached a large white trailer, and Keisha led the way through the door, but Nicole followed a little slower. This was her first time meeting someone famous, and she was a little nervous. Someone famous, she thought. That is who is in the trailer right? Wonder who it is?

When she walked in, Sandra and Keisha were talking quickly to three boys that looked around her age. One of them with a blonde fro-hawk and big sunglasses, another with two long, thick braids on either side of his head. Another had a head full of thick curly hair in an afro. No way.

Keisha turned and smiled at Nicole in the doorway. “Hey, come on in and meet Mindless Behavior. Well, ¾ of them anyway. Nicole, this is Prodigy, Princeton, and Ray Ray. Roc will be out soon.”

She nodded slowly and smiled politely at the three of them who just stared at her, mouths slightly open. What are they looking at?  After shaking each of their hands, the braided one called Ray Ray spoke up.

“You’re right Aunt Sandra. She IS perfect!”

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on? Aunt Sandra, why did he call you Aunt?”

Sandra grinned and tugged one of the boy’s braids. “Kee and I are so close, that I consider her boys my little nephews. Keisha is Mindless Behavior’s manager.” Dani would be flipping out if she were here.

“Well, that’s all well and good, but can someone explain why I’m ‘perfect?’” Perfect for what?”

The five others of them exchanged a look, then all turned to face her. “Nicole,” Sandra began. “How would you like to be Roc Royal’s girlfriend?”

At that moment, a boy with short curly hair came out of the other room. He studied Nicole, looking her up and down, then licked his lips and smiled before speaking.

“She’s perfect.”