It's Saturday and the whole morning and afternoon have been spent discussing Vince's 40-12 win yesterday which I couldn't care less about, although I did bud my head in when my dad mentioned the amazing wide receiver Chase.
Ending my dad's praising of Vince everyone went to the grove except Vince and I who are watching Atlanta. I personally didn't go to the grove because I am not trying to be embarrassed when Sawyer throws a fit, Vince on the other hand said he was too tired which is understandable, but really he just doesn't want anyone to see his mad helmet air.
"So how did Chase do yesterday?" I hesitate as the credits roll up.
"He was good 3 touch-" Vince stops and looks at me when he translates what I just asked. "Ahh Hell no Daya he has a girlfriend who he is in love with," Vince announces to our whole complex.
"I know I was just wondering how his game was doing, if he's starting off the season on a good note, If he's receiving well," And if he would ever consider giving me my first kiss, like as a random act of kindness.
"Daya stop bullshitting I see you look at him and Laia everyday like you want to be her," Vince laughs and shakes his head like me being ungrateful and wanting to be someone else is amusing. "I don't want to be her." Okay maybe a little, but in a healthy way.
"Mhmm, but you don't deny looking at them." Shit he caught me on that one.
"I look at everyone."
"Please Daya, you know one day you're going to be all alone because you just envy everyone if you don't live your own damn life," my dad's voice speaks through Vince's chapped lips. I look him up and down noticing he's dressed in black jeans with a white t shirt that he somehow managed to keep clean while eating chips and salsa 20 minutes ago.
"Can I go?" I ask as Vince starts to play with his still matted dark curls.
He doesn't even deserve them seeing that he can't even comb his hair properly, hell he wants to shave his head and get waves like all his friends who get new durags every weekend.
"How did you know-" he shakes his head wiping the wrinkles from his pants. "Fine Vicki is here don't be a weirdo we won't be there long," Vince gets off the couch and slides into his jordans that were just under the coffee table.
I should've known he was going to some Saturday night party the minute him and his strong cologne sat down on the couch. To Vince I look reluctant when I get my shoes, but really I'm eager to see a bunch of high kids smoke and drink away problems they don't have.
Vicki pulls up in front of our condo in her mom's black jeep comanche that has words written on the dusty gray windows.
Still in a car, that makes a wheezing sound and has bird poop on one of the wheels Vicki looks gorgeous with her hair touching the car ceiling and her body in a black long sleeve bodysuit with jeans. She looks so good Vince has a goofy ass smile on his face one he's only been allowed to show since him and Vicki got together.
Before they were best friends who met each other in middle school, and since Vicki stuck her hand out they've been inseparable. She's Prevez he's Price so every orientation they would be standing right next to each other. Even through Vince's first kiss at Roxbury park with Jessica Hamlin and Vicki's first hickey under the bleachers they were best friends. Of course they had to screw it up and get together right before senior year.
"You ready Daya?" she shouts as the window slowly rolls down.
"Yup," I lie. Vicki's been driving since she was a sophomore with no tickets and a license, but it's not her i'm worried about it's her car that continues to wheeze as Vince and I get into it. She calls it Lauryn, which is a huge insult to the 8 time grammy winner. "Where is this party?" I ask getting worried about telling people I went to a party I knew nothing about.
"Don't worry about it," Vince scuffs.
"It's just this party at this rich girl's house, I'm just the sober driver," Vicki rolls her eyes as she tries to keep them on the not so busy road. I rest my head on the window and try to block out Lauryn's wheezing and the hip hop station that's playing one of their 3 annoying songs.
For the whole ride which seemed about 15 minutes I slept, but I wasn't fully asleep making me hear parts of Vince and Vicki's conversation. All I heard was Vince say "Come on it's not that big of a deal," and Vicki say "She needs someone," which made me wake right up. I don't need anyone I'm worth something, I recite to myself as we all get out of the car in front of a medium sized house. I say medium sized because it's way smaller than Harper's, but bigger than all the other houses on this street. We're obviously In Marina like a block away from the school because I've seen this block so many times.
"Just stick with me you'll be fine," Vicki says as we both walk into the loud house behind Vince. He's already walking to the back of the house greeting a bunch of guys from his team.
"I'm fine," I shrugg noticing a group of girls by the kitchen island who Vicki need to talk shit with.
"If you say so." She quickly runs off to the girls who either have a cup in their hand or a blunt between their glossed lips.
After I stand around the loud house just looking at phone and getting a text from dad saying to watch out for Vince, Vince gets the idea to actually introduce me to someone.
"Sage this is Daya my little sister, Daya this is Sage this is her house ," Vince pulls a skinny blonde from her group of girls over to me. I've seen her around school before either talking with the skater boys or aesthetic art kids, her throwing this party wasn't in my many assumptions about her.
Vince doesn't care enough to supervise the conversation and goes over to Vicki to wrap his arm around her and make Vicki's friend's who are hooking up non stop jealous.
For about 5 minutes we just talk about how we're wearing the same doc Martens, and she tells me about being a trainer. She goes off to making sure her house doesn't blow up stopping me from asking her about giving the male athletes of our school water everyday. The only important thing I got from that conversation was where the bathroom was.
I walk up the long stairs and down the hallway passing some baby pictures of Sage. Standing across the bathroom that's closed is Ziyah Daniels with a blunt in his hand. He's a junior in my french class who everyone says is a pothead, but I think they just say that because he's super skinny with dreadlocks . We sit next to each other every month when Madame changes seats maybe because we're both black with glasses. I'm not going to lie I was really hoping I'd run into Chase when I got up here.
"Daya, right?" he blows some smoke as I stand next to him. That must be his cool pothead approach, he asks me questions all of time he knows it's definitely Daya. At least I can actually hear someone's words over this loud annoying music.
"Yes."
"Nice shirt," he points to my Whitney Houston shirt.
"Thanks. Do you plan to smoke in the bathroom? I mean it makes sense you cover up if you take a shit," I hold my breath so I don't breath in the smell of his weed.
"Nah weirdo, are you planning on wearing a shirt with a black icon everyday?"
"Maybe, what's wrong with black icons?" I shoot his chill expression some daggers and he puts his blunt in between his lips.
"Nothing you just wear those shirts everyday what was yesterday Gladys Knight?" I smile impressed that he knows who Gladys Knight is, he seems like the guy who's just in to SoundCloud rappers and Kendrick Lamar on a good day.
A majority of my shirts are graphic tees with famous black faces on them, I get compliments on them from adults, but I never noticed anyone born after 1990 looking at them.
"Yesterday was Nina Simone may she rest in peace," I sigh.
"May she rest in peace," he repeats holding his blunt up a little. He exhales a big ball of smoke that hits me right in my face. "Shit my bad."
"It's fine it's fine." I start taking off my now foggy glasses.
"Nah that won't work." He grabs my glasses that I'm wiping on the bottom of my shirt. He's just a big blur now, but I can see he's taking a black glasses cloth out of his pocket and wiping my lenses with it, while his blunt is in his mouth.
"Here," he approaches me making the blur bigger, and puts my glasses on my face almost poking my eye out.
"Thanks."
"No problem, and by the way there is no one in there I'm just smoking here to be by myself." He points to the door reminding I actually came up here for something and not to have a conversation away from the pounding music.
"You're an ass," I laugh and go into the bathroom as Ziyah blows more smoke.
"Je vais juste fumer," Ziyah mumbles as I close the door. I know I'm just going into the bathroom to look at my phone, but I hope he's not out there when I'm done.
I get back downstairs and Vince and Vicki are both holding Vicki's best friend Jada who looks like she's about to fall asleep, how romantic.
Jada has been Vicki's best friend since freshman year, and babysitting job since last year when she first smoked. I wouldn't tell this to her face, but she's that one friend everyone has who is loud or to many ghetto. She gets into the occasional altercation once in awhile, and when she talks one can hear her from down the hall, which makes me wonder how she's able to ditch 6th period so many times.
Putting aside all of those qualities and principal visits she actually gets good grades not top of the class good grades, but the grades that people who see her in the halls don't expect.
It's just them holding her everyone else is still smoking or drinking only paying attention to the song playing and the more rule breaking teens walking in.
"Vicki your man is filling me up," Jada moans as Vince puts his arm around her.
"Girl your tripping." Vicki says as they start to walk to the door signaling me come along with them.
"Oh my god Whitney Houston is alive!" Jada screams loudly. She points to me directing everyone's attention on me and my graphic tee.
"It's just a shirt girl." Vicki shakes her head struggling to get Jada passed the fancy couch.
"No it's not she's coming back to haunt me because I watched the documentary," Jada cries as she looks at my shirt giving me the signal to head to the door.
We get to the car and Jada falls asleep the minute Lauryn starts her wheezing down the empty streets that have a few noisey teens on the sidewalk. With her mouth open and snores coming out she lays right on my shoulder. All Vince and Vicki do is laugh as the smell of what was ever between Jada's bright red lips takes up the backseat.
Luckily she lives right in an apartment complex down the street, unlucky for her her mother was waiting at her door with a bonnet and the keys to the closet of her belt collection. My dad,Dani, Soyer, and Tara on the other hand are asleep when we get home, which gives Vince the opportunity to plant a nice sloppy kiss on Vicki almost making me barf.