Ravy and Alice laid back in the grass watching Shayla spray paint the giant canvas cloth as the sun beats down on them. While she covered the cloth with an electric green, she swayed to the smooth jazz that played.
"So how did tutoring go?" Alice sat up and asked Ravyn.
"Girl," she sighed then turned on her back to stare at the clouds."
"It was that bad?"
"The boy isn't dumb her just doesn't have time to do his work. I showed him what to do and he had no issues," Ravyn shook her head, "Andre was telling me that after practice at school his dad trains him and he's too tired to do any homework afterward."
"That's crazy. And I thought my parents were tough," the girls laughed then the doorbell rang.
Alice jumped up to answer the door then smiled when she saw Demetrius dressed in his old worn out clothes, prepared to paint.
"Yay! Demetrius is here!" Shayla cheered as he followed Alice into the backyard and gave a shy wave.
"This looks amazing," Demetrius admired Shayla's almost completed work, "What do you need me to do?"
"Just stand there and look cute," Shayla said which confused him as he tried to hide the fact that he was blushing.
The girls exploded with laughter.
"I'm joking. Just let the spirit move you," Shayla smiled, "Loosen up," she started to twist and shake her body to the music.
"There is really something off about this girl," he said to himself.
"Come on." she grabbed his hands then shook him.
Soon after, Ravyn and Alice joined in then Demetrius caught the spirit and started to paint.
"Why are you so shy?" Shayla questioned as she painted beside him.
"I'm not shy. It's just that..." he paused to get his words together, "I have social anxiety."
"For real?" Ravyn asked, "What's that?" she sat Indian style, placed her elbows on her knees, and rested her head in her hands.
"I pretty much get really nervous when I have to interact with people and then over analyze the situation and end up freaking out," he explained.
"Are you medicated?" Shayla asked.
"Shayla!" Alice scolded her.
"I'm curious," she held her hands up in.
"No, but I go to a therapist."
"That's good. Black people don't usually take mental health seriously so I'm glad your parents are making sure you get help," Alice said and Demetrius scratched his head.
"My dad doesn't think anxiety is real. He keeps saying I'm just soft and need to man up. He's convinced that I'm gay," he looked down at his sneakers and played with his fingers.
"Aww," the girls cooed in unison and gave him a group hug.
"Wait... you're not gay?" Shayla asked.
"Shayla!" Alice and Ravyn yelled.
"Well," Demetrius dragged out while debating if he should tell these girls who he just met about something so personal.
"I've already overshared. But they don't seem like hateful people. Stop dominating the conversation," he thought.
"I'm not straight," he informed them, "I don't know," he shrugged, "I've never talked to anyone about this," his heart started pounding faster.
"If it makes you feel better, I'm bi and my parents don't know. It's okay if you aren't sure about your sexuality. Labels are stupid anyway," Shayla rubbed his back.
"I'm just happy that you feel comfortable enough to share that with us. Now you have to be our friend and you get to learn the secret handshake."
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"Boy, what you smiling about?" My momma asked.
"Shayla sent me a picture of the overalls she spray painted for me to wear at the pep rally," I held up my phone to show the photo.
"And who is Shayla?" she wiggled her eyebrows.
"Get off his back Michelle. Our boy is a rapper, he's going to get all the girls," my ma said and I laughed.
"We're friends," I informed them as we walked into a vintage consignment shop.
I'm trying to find the perfect item to go with the overalls. I can't wait for this show.
"You know, I told your grandfather that your momma was a friend. He was super confused when I married her."
I was adopted at two years old. My ma and momma are the only parents I know. Ma is regular old black and momma is Dominican. Having two moms is pretty cool too. I used to think everyone had two moms until kindergarten when the teacher read a book about a family with a mom and dad. Momma says I came home distraught because I thought my family was broken.
"Ma, she really is my friend," I laughed then walked away to look at the shoes.
After I found what I was looking for, we went home and I locked myself in my room to try to come up with an epic school spirit song.
Rhyming is hard.
Hours passed and I was still in the same spot with the beat CJ made playing in the background.
"Hows it going?" my momma entered the room and sat on my bed.
"I got nothing," I huffed.
"You got this Mal," she smiled then left.
How can I rap about school when I hate it so much?
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