Was black beautiful? He did not even want to have to think about such questions. He just wanted to play ball games, laugh about Joe Namath, touch Dee’s hair and smell Herbal Essence shampoo on it.
As Osei left the cafeteria, Ian fell into step beside him, which was kind of a relief, as it was always easier to walk onto a playground with someone at your side rather than alone—even if it was a boy like Ian. O could even forgive Ian’s earlier remark about black people being better athletes; he’d heard much worse. He wasn’t sure if Ian forgave him for choosing to sit with Casper, however.
It appeared he did. “Hey,” was all he said.
“Hey,” O returned warily.
They wandered the playground together, a boy named Rod trailing behind them until Ian waved him away. Fourth graders were playing kickball. Some fifth graders were arm wrestling on the pirate ship. The girls were playing hopscotch and jumping Double Dutch. Blanca was leaning against Casper, who was tolerating it with grace. Everywhere O went with Ian he noticed other students dropping their eyes as they approached; it was like not wanting to make eye contact with an unpredictable dog—who might be friendly but might just as easily bite you. As they passed, some of the students gave Osei strange looks. Walking around with Ian felt a little like being inducted into a gang he was not sure he wanted to join—or that even wanted him as a member. He wondered how he could ditch Ian without offending him.
They stopped by the pirate ship to watch the arm wrestling. One boy was clearly stronger but his opponent had his arm at a curious angle and was using the resulting leverage effectively so that they were at a standstill, arms shaking with effort.
Ian glanced around and paused, his attention further afield. “Huh,” he said. “Don’t like that.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.” Ian shrugged. “Well—I don’t know. No, it’s nothing.”
Ian didn’t seem like the type to be hesitant. “What was it that you did not like?” Osei persisted.
Ian turned his flat eyes on him. “I thought I saw something, that’s all. But I may be wrong.”
“What did you see?”
Ian held his gaze for a second longer than was comfortable. “OK, brother. Look over at the Double Dutch.”
You are not my brother, O thought. He hated it when white people used that word, trying to take on some of the coolness of black culture without wearing the skin and paying the dues. Still, he looked across the playground. There were two sets of girls turning ropes, and two girls jumping—one of them Blanca—while others stood around watching. He could see nothing out of the ordinary; it was a scene he’d witnessed many times on different playgrounds. Girls loved to jump rope. Osei couldn’t see the appeal himself. He liked to do things where you move and get somewhere, rather than staying in one place. “What am I looking at?”
“There, it’s happening again. Casper.”
Casper was the only boy among the girls. Right now he was picking something from a hand held out, palm up, to him. Dee’s hand. O’s girlfriend had returned and he hadn’t noticed. And she hadn’t come straight to him. And she was feeding another boy. As Osei watched, Casper popped whatever it was in his mouth.
“What was that?”
Ian narrowed his eyes at the pair. After a moment he turned back to O. “Strawberries.”
Resentment pulsed through Osei, which he did his best to tamp down. The small smile that appeared briefly on Ian’s face told him he had not succeeded in hiding it.
It was impressive how one word could rattle the black boy so easily. With Dee haplessly appearing at the right moment with a handful of strawberries, Ian couldn’t have managed it better than if he’d planned it.
O stepped toward the jump rope area, but Ian put his hand out to stop him—though he was careful not to touch that dark skin. “Let’s see what they do. That’s the second strawberry she’s given him,” he added. As they watched, Casper pulled the leaves off, popped the fruit in his mouth and grinned at Dee, who grinned back, clearly pleased.
“That must be a good strawberry,” Ian remarked. “I wonder if she’ll give him all of them.”
O’s brow crumpled briefly before he smoothed it out like a sheet on a bed. “I love strawberries,” he said in a light tone that didn’t fool Ian. Now he just had to push it a little further, like pressing on a bruise that doesn’t seem to hurt at first.
“Those strawberries are probably from Dee’s mother’s garden,” he said. “She grows her own, you know. They’re a lot sweeter than what you get at the grocery store.”
“Have you tried them?”
“Me? No. I’ve just heard about them.” Ian decided not to explain that Dee brought some in for her class every year.
They stood in silence, watching Dee and Casper chat to each other as the girls jumped rope next to them.
“It’s just like Casper to get the first taste.”
Again O was quick to respond. “What do you mean?”
“Well…he gets everything he wants, doesn’t he? The girls are crazy about him—all of them.”
“But—he is a nice boy. He was nice to me.”
“Sure he was nice to you. That’s the easiest way to get what he wants.”
“What does he want?”
Ian took his time, surveying the playground and all of the activity he knew so well and would have to leave soon, to move on to older and harder playgrounds. “I don’t want to say anything, since it’s none of my business.”
O turned to face Ian, pulling his eyes away from Dee and Casper. “What business?”
Ian shrugged, enjoying the moment. There was no need to rush this.
“If you have something to say to me, please say it now.” O’s dark eyes had turned fierce, though the rest of his face remained still. Ian wondered what it would be like to fight him.
“Look, it’s great you’re going with Dee,” he said at last. “Impressive, since you’re a bl—a new boy. You move fast. All in one morning! Maybe that’ll work out.”
“But…I know that there is a ‘but’ coming.”
Ian waggled his head in a gesture that wasn’t a yes and wasn’t a no. “Dee is probably the girl most boys want to go with in the sixth grade.”
“Not Blanca?”
Ian snorted. “Too obvious. Too…trashy. I’m amazed Casper puts up with her.”
“What about Mimi?”
Ian froze. “What about her?” He tried to sound casual.
“She is…interesting. She told me she has visions sometimes.”
“What?”
O jerked his head at the barking sound, and Ian tried to rein himself in.
“Is she your girlfriend? I am sorry, I did not know.”
Ian wondered why O felt he needed to apologize. “What did she say?”
“Nothing. It was nothing.”
“What did Mimi say?” Ian repeated himself lightly, but the underlying menace was clear.