Bridgeport Academy 2

59

"Whoa!" Kae squealed as the car turned a corner and Robyn slid down the leather seat, careening into her. Robyn put her palms up in an effort to stop herself but ended up inadvertently groping Kae's chest and making her drop her vodka-filled shot glass. Kae's face flushed—she was glad she and Robyn were getting closer, but, um, that was a little much.

"Sorry, Kae." Robyn scrambled off her, tugging her plaid wool miniskirt back into place. She huddled her black-nylon-clad knees together—she'd insisted on wearing a skirt even though Kae had pointed out that she'd be cold, and, even in the warm backseat of the limo, Kae saw she was shivering. "Didn't mean to feel you up."

"That's okay." Kae dabbed at the vodka that had spilled on her dark-wash jeans. She was actually kind of glad she wouldn't have to do another shot—it would have been the third round since they left Bridgeport. "It was kind of hard to avoid." She glanced down at her boobs, which actually looked pretty good under the cable-knit hoodie that had unexpectedly arrived in the mail today from her father, with a note telling her to enjoy those changing autumn leaves.

"Pass the bottle, sweet cheeks!" Teyana tapped the toe of one of her gold ankle boots against Robyn's calf. Robyn quickly poured the vodka into her shot glass, sloshing some down the side, before passing the bottle to Teyana. Kae glanced down at those gold boots, thinking they must have cost more than her entire outfit. She briefly wondered if they really were made of gold. 

Doing shots on the limo ride from the front gate to the Miller farm had been Robyn's idea. "It's a short ride—we need to maximize!" she had cried. Her full bottle of Henny only had a few drops left in the bottom, and the three of them and Keke were already feeling the effects.

"Chicas, I think we're here!" Keke trilled, downing the last of the liquor in the bottle. Her box braids were pulled back into a ponytail that bobbed as she pushed open the door to the limo and the four girls tumbled out onto the packed-dirt driveway. Kae stretched her limbs—the limos were definitely luxurious, but kind of small. She inhaled a deep breath of fresh air, which smelled like burning leaves and pumpkin pie. The sun had just set, and clusters of kids in thick sweaters were gathered around what had to be the kegs or spreading plaid blankets out on the stiff, yellowing grass. Kae patted her hair—she'd woven a few loose braids into her long mane.

She stepped away from the car cautiously, trying to judge how drunk she was from the way her boots responded to the ground beneath them. The boots had come with the sweater. The note said they came from the army-navy surplus store and they looked it—they were deep olive leather lace-ups, plastered with various military-looking badges. Totally funky and unique, exactly the kind of thing her dad would think she needed at boarding school to "keep her from getting too prissy." The best things about them had to be the sturdy, four-inch platform bottoms. Wearing them, Kae felt almost tall. Or at least not so shrimpy.

Teyana poked her in the back. "The beer has to be over there." She pointed toward the crowd gathered off to the side of the picturesque red barn. But Kae had decided that she was a wee bit tipsy, and so she trailed a little behind the other girls, taking in the scene. The barn stood in front of a large clearing, and the black-and-white film was already flickering across its weathered wall. It was a pretty cool effect—Kae had never been to a drive-in before, but she imagined this was even better. She spotted Jermaine and Zendaya lounging on one of the dozen bales of hay that were scattered around on the grass. Zendaya had her legs stretched across his lap, and he was sticking a piece of hay behind her ear. Unexpectedly, Kae felt a pang of envy—she wanted to have someone looking at her like that and tickling her with hay. Her eyes scanned all the figures in the crowd, surprising herself that she wasn't looking for Chris, but Rakim.

"Say something for the camera, ladies!" Bryson popped up out of nowhere, a sleek silver digital camcorder the size of a wallet glued to his face.

Keke pursed her highly glossed lips and struck a pose for the video camera. "Priorities, dummy." Teyana grabbed Keke by the wrist and tugged her toward the barn, where the keg crowd was growing larger. "Beer first, flirting later."

Bryson disappeared into the crowd, disappointed. Kae lagged behind the others, feeling uncomfortable. It was nice that Teyana and Keke and Robyn included her in their little group, and she had been able to feel everyone sort of watching them the moment they got out of the car, like they were something special. Like she was something special. And that was kind of nice—but at the same time, where was Alex? She needed someone real to talk to.

Another sleek black car pulled up the dirt driveway, sending up giant clouds of dust. Kae watched with relief as Yara and Alex and Dave piled out, giggling like schoolgirls. Dave had on the blond wig from the other night, and he threw his arms around both girls' shoulders and whispered something in Alex's ear that made her toss back her hair and shriek with laughter.

"All right, who else thinks it's totally bizarre that Dave and Alex are hooking up?" Teyana demanded. "I thought she loathed him."

Kae saw Robyn roll her eyes and stumble slightly on the uneven ground before quickly righting herself and acting like nothing had happened. "Um...I don't think it's Dave she's hooking up with, if you know what I mean."

Teyana and Keke exchanged glances, but Kae had to quickly turn away. Wait a second. Did Robyn really know about Alex and Yara, too? How? And why was she babbling to Teyana and Keke about it? Well, maybe they hadn't understood her. Or maybe they'd chalk it up to the ramblings of a drunk girl.

But from the look on Teyana's face, she definitely knew what Robyn meant.

To: AubreyGraham@bridgeport.edu

From: JheneAiko@stluciusacademy.edu

Date: Friday, October 11, 7:09 P.M.

Subject: Late

Aubrey,

Running late and still have to jump in the shower. (Get that smile off your face...) I'll meet you at the farm, okay?

Luv,

Jhene

ChrisBrown: R U here yet?

RobynFenty: Yup. Just pulled up with the girls. Movie's on, where R U?

ChrisBrown: Inside the barn, waiting for you to sneak away.

RobynFenty: Oh, yeah? Well, as soon as I get a chance.

ChrisBrown: Hurry, baby...