Crooked Smile (WINNER of the MJFA'S 2017)

Chapter 13 - The Elephant in the Room

"Why are we running?" Marilyn asked in a hushed voice. "We weren't doing anything illegal. We weren't really going to steal the car! And you have a concussion. You're not supposed to run anyway."
"No. But we are two black kids in a wealthy neighborhood inspecting cars late at night. That sure looks like trouble to me!" he whispered back.
"This isn't a purely white neighborhood. I only live a few streets away. It's my neighborhood, too!"
"We'd better not find out, girl."
"Not sure what impression us hiding in the bushes is going to make, though!" she hissed and at the same time tried to get rid of some twigs that were poking her in the back of her neck.
"Oh, shhh! And stop fidgeting!"
There was a couple strolling down the sidewalk, and so Marilyn's only response to Michael was her pouting her lips in his direction, which he commented on with a grimace.

The couple appeared to be in a soft-spoken conversation, of which Marilyn could only catch fragments, and they walked leisurely and slow. When they had almost come up to the driveway Marilyn and Michael were hiding next to, they entered the cone of light emitted by a street lamp.

Marilyn just wanted to tell Michael that the people they were hiding from were actually black, too, which made hiding even sillier, when something else about the lean, long-legged girl with the perfect braids and the flat sandals hit her.
"I know her!" Marilyn exclaimed a little louder than she had wanted to, and quickly covered her mouth with her hand, as if that could do anything about her being heard. But maybe it was the wind blowing the other way, or the couple being too consumed with themselves, because they didn't seem to hear anything.
"I know her," Marilyn repeated in a whisper.
"Really?"
"Yes! That's Josie! She's a classmate of mine! "

For a moment they just sat there, watching the couple, that had stopped at the opening of the driveway. They were standing close to each other, holding each other's hands. Josie's Indian blouse billowed slightly in the breeze, momentarily pressing against her body and showing a glimpse of her figure, then flaring up again, obscuring her. In contrast, her braids flowed down her back rich and heavy like water from a fountain.
"Girl, she's beautiful!" Michael whispered, his voice saturated with what was probably awe. "Is she a friend of yours?"
Marilyn shrugged indecisively. Partly, because she really wasn't sure, if she should call Josie a friend of hers, but mainly, because hearing Michael talk like that about another girl seemed to glue her tongue to the roof of her mouth, and she needed some time to free it again.

The young man moved Josie closer. She raised her face to him, letting the flood of her braids rush even further down her back, and he kissed her mouth. First carefully and shy, then deeper, letting go of her hands to pull her body into his.

"Oh my Gosh!" Marilyn gasped, clasping her hand over her mouth again, this time is surprise.
Michael broke into a hushed laugh. "Oh, wow! They are making out, and we have front row seats. They are giving us the full show! Geez!"
"She has a boyfriend!" Marilyn whispered.
Michael grinned. "Well, I'd say that's obvious!"
Marilyn turned to him. "Yeah, well... here comes the best bit: It's not HIM!!!"
Michael looked at her, his eyeballs and teeth gleaming in the darkness of their hiding place as his mouth formed an exaggerated 'O'. Then his grin returned. "So she's cheating on her boyfriend with that brother?"
"It sure looks like it. And you know her boyfriend, too! Well, you saw him, at any rate. He was there at my house the other day. His name is Thomas."
"That pale-faced, skinny guy with the light-brown hair, who didn't know a screw wrench from a hex wrench?"
"No, that's Brian. No, Thomas was one of the other two. The tall one. I don't remember him saying much, though. Well, not to you anyway."
"The other two didn't leave a lasting impression on me."
Marilyn smiled to herself and turned back to the scene. "Gee! Can you suffocate from having a tongue shoved down your throat?"
Giggling, it was Michael's turn to cover his mouth with his hand. "I don't know. But that girl is sure bound to find out!"
"God, I swear I know him from somewhere..."
"Girl, you really don't want to drag God into this!"
Marilyn dismissed his remark with a wave of her hand. She knew, she had seen the guy before, and it bugged her that she couldn't place him.