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KYLAH STUCK HER HEAD OUT from her hiding place underneath one of the plastic fold-up tables covered with a red paper tablecloth around her spacious backyard. She looked to her right and then to her left, assuring that no one else had left their hiding spot.
"He here yet?" Her best friend Nyree whispered to her as she brushed her blonde-tinged hair away from her face, "Your patio is fucking up my knees."
"No. Shut up." Kylah responded softly before returning to her post as a lookout.
Finally, the sliding door that led to the backyard started to open and Brandon Boston Jr, also known as Kylah's favorite cousin, walked out onto the dark wooden deck.
Kylah quickly hid underneath the table as Brandon stepped down the stairs from the deck to Kylah's backyard.
She could faintly hear the sound of Brandon's sneakers squishing on the grass and then the pitter-patter of his soles creating a rhythm amid all the silence.
"Hello?" Brandon called, "Ky?"
Her phone began to vibrate in the back pocket of her shorts and Kylah counted off in her head for a moment before emerging from underneath the table, "Surprise!"
Nyree, different members of their family, and more than a couple of Brandon's friends emerged from their hiding places in the next moment, "Surprise!"
Brandon jumped a little, almost dropping the cell phone pressed to his right ear, "What in the?"
"It's your going away party!" Kylah's mother, Maya smiled as the music started to flow out of the speakers on the deck.
Maya came forward to briefly embrace him then moved to talk to Brandon's mother, Alissa, a little past the trampoline in the grassy section of the backyard.
Brandon walked to Kylah, ruffling her long light brown box braids, "Wassup, booger? You did all this?"
"Ugh, don't call me that!" Kylah pushed him away, "And yeah. You should leave with a bang, even though I can't believe you're leaving me alone our senior year."
Brandon groaned at her words, "Don't start now."
"I mean... Who's gonna go with me to Waffle House at midnight and watch crappy musicals?" Kylah complained.
"Uh, her." Brandon pointed at Nyree.
"No," Nyree shook her head adamantly, "Absolutely not. I'll do one of those things but not the other."
