“Come on. Do it for the ’Gram.” Dray takes out his cell phone.
I can see that Imani doesn’t want to. Dray gestures for her to come over even though she shakes her head again. Dray is trying to control her like he controls Donna. Imani drops her book bag and slowly walks over to him. I wonder if her skin is itching now. I want to stop her, but Dray grabs Imani’s hand and gets down on one knee next to one of the rims, pulling her down with him. She almost stumbles but lands on his lap. He extends his phone and takes a few pictures of Imani on his lap, himself and his dark sunglasses, gold teeth, and gold chain, and expensive rims. Imani walks away really fast when Dray lets her go.
“You want one, too, Fabulous?” Dray asks just as Kasim walks out of the café and pulls down the gate.
I’m relieved when Kasim comes over and puts his arm around me. He pulls me in and kisses my forehead. The only person who has ever done that is my mother and, when I was little, my aunties in my old neighborhood.
“Aw, shit!” Dray says, leaning against his car. “Fabulous and my man Ka. That’s what I’m talking about!”
“Dray said he’s gonna give us a ride. You cool with that?” Kasim asks.
I turn to Imani. She shakes her head.
“Yo, what’s your name, shorty?” Dray takes off his sunglasses, and he’s still wearing his eye patch underneath. He licks his lips, and his good eye looks Imani up and down as if she’s a piece of freshly fried griot.
“Imani,” she says.
“Come on. I’ll take you home. Imani.”
Imani turns to me and pops her eyes out as if this is all my fault.
“No. We’re okay. We’ll take the bus,” I say, taking Imani’s hand.
“Fabulous, I’m not gonna let y’all just take the bus,” Kasim says.
I glance over at Imani again, and her eyes tell me that she’s surrendered. Dray wins, so we both walk over to where Kasim is holding open the back door. I slide in first. Then Dray nudges Kasim.
“Imani. You could ride with me in the front,” Dray says.
I start to pull Imani in with me, but Kasim has already taken what was supposed to be her spot next to me. I want to say something, anything, but by the time the courage rises to my throat, Imani is in the passenger seat of Dray’s car and the door is closed.
Heavy bass music blasts in my ears. From my spot behind Dray, I can see his whole face in the rearview mirror, and even though it’s dark outside, he’s put his sunglasses back on. Kasim tries to talk to me, but I can only keep my eyes on Imani, who has pressed herself against the car door trying to be as far away from Dray as possible. In the café, this song was “my shit.” But now, she’s as still and quiet as stone. Even as Dray inches his hand toward her lap.
Kasim tries to do the same and I turn my head away from him each time he comes closer to whisper something in my ear or kiss me. I want to say that it’s not him. It’s this car. It’s his friend—his fam. It’s Dray.
I’m so distracted that I don’t even notice when we reach American Street. I thought we were going to drop off Imani first. But Dray finally turns down the music, and loud yelling takes the place of the heavy bass. My cousins. I can’t tell which one. But all I hear is “Get the fuck out of the car, bitch!”
“Oh, shit!” Kasim whispers, and he quickly opens the door on his side.
I get a glimpse of Chantal and Pri coming out of the house. Then the passenger-side door swings open and it’s Donna reaching in to pull Imani out. She grabs the sleeve of her coat, but Imani fights back.
“Oh, shit!” I say, for the first time in my life. I jump out of the car and aim straight for Donna. “No, no. Donna, leave her.” I try to pull her hand away from Imani.
“Dammit, Fab! Get the fuck away from her!” Pri yells.
“Bitch, you’re gonna take advantage of my cousin just so you can fuck my man?” Donna yells. She manages to get Imani out of the car and finally lets her go.
Imani’s eyes and mouth are wide. She fixes the sleeve of her coat and doesn’t say a word to defend herself.
“No! That’s not true!” I yell.
Donna ignores me and goes around to Dray and gets in his face. “You posting pictures on Instagram with bitches on your lap, Dray? And you had to do it with a bitch from my school on top of that?”
“Pri, Imani didn’t want to,” I say to my cousin.
Pri has come to stand beside me. “Go inside,” she says, quietly, with fire in her eyes. Not for Imani, thank goodness. For Dray.
I won’t leave my friend. I go to pull her away from the chaos of Dungeons and Dragons.
“Oh, hell no! You’re not getting her outta this, Fab!” Donna yells. “She’s guilty, too!”
“No!” I yell back. “She didn’t want to take that picture and she didn’t want to sit there. Leave her alone!”