The Green (10 page)

“Have you heard from Nando, Mom?” I
asked.

“Yes, he left a message on my phone telling
me not to worry, he was fine, and he would call again soon.” I was
surprised she didn’t cry. That was a first.

“You know what Ma, I’ll go work on that essay
right away and I’ll try to finish it quick, or at least get a
really good start and then I’ll come out and watch something with
you. And you can pick it!” God, why did I sometimes feel like the
parent here?

After putting my plate in the sink, I
unlocked the padlock, headed into my room and shut the door. I
turned on the ancient computer that we’d gotten as a hand-me-down
from someone and got my Northwestern application out. At least the
computer was good for typing up papers. We had some cheap old
dial-up service that no one even uses anymore; so going online was
more of a chore than anything.

About halfway through the essay my purse
started singing. Jay-Z. Big Pimpin’. Shit. I hoped it was just
Javier or something. I dove for my purse and hit the button, hoping
Mom didn’t hear the ringtone through the thin walls. It was not
Javier.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Uh, hi. I was told to call this number. I,
uh, need some supplies for a party this weekend. Can you hook me
up?” asked an unfamiliar voice.

I grabbed a pen and some paper.

“What can I get you and I’ll need your
address for the delivery.”

“I’ll need 2 of the finest.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Damn. Two ounces!
That’s two hundred bucks profit.

“All right. Can I deliver a little later,
like around ten?” I had promised Mom I’d watch TV with her.

“No, I won’t be around later. Any chance you
could come now?”

Javier would be pissed if I passed up a sale
like this. I had no choice.

“Sure thing man, give me your address.”

He rattled off his info and I hung up. I
quietly put the padlock on the door and got out the supplies. I
measured out two ounces and put it in the box. I wrapped the box
and stuffed it in my purse, along with the address. I unlocked the
padlock and carefully fixed it in place again.

“Mom, I’ve gotta run out for a minute,” I
told her as I walked across the living room.

“Where are you going? We were going to watch
TV together,” she protested.

Think, Ariceli. Simple.

“They called from work. I accidentally took a
key home that they need and I have to drop it off. I’ll be quick.
Then we can watch TV.”

She seemed to accept this as a satisfactory
answer. Phew.

“How you going to get there? Don’t you need
the car?” she asked, obviously confused.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, since I haven’t
seen you in a few days. Nando’s friend Javier stopped by and when I
told him I needed to get a job but I didn’t have a car, he said I
could borrow his for awhile. I guess he had an extra.” I looked her
in the eyes. That wasn’t a lie, at least.

“That Javier, he’s a nice boy. He is a good
friend to your brother Nando.” She sighed and put her hand to her
heart. A tear slipped from her eye.

I couldn’t stand there anymore and watch her
cry for her piece of shit son. She would probably never believe
that Nando was really the one that left all those bruises on me. I
could scream. But I didn’t. I opened the door and ran out into the
cold night, to deliver my drugs to another fine house in Lavender
Grove.

I was super excited for date night. Mom was,
as per usual, at work, so there were no introductions to be made.
When I saw James’ silver Honda pull into the lot, I walked out to
it.

I opened the car door and slid in next to
him.

“Good evening,” James offered, in a
super-fancy tone.

“Why, good evening yourself,” I said,
attempting to keep with the theme, but instead it came off lame.
Ugh, not a good start.

“So, you’ll have to give me directions to
this theater,” he said, making a right onto Gifford Street.

“Take the next left and then it’s just down a
couple miles,” I said, pointing out the stoplight in front of us.
“Can I change the radio station?”

“Of course, I mean, I am partial to
commercials, but they aren’t for everyone.” He smiled.

I found a pop station with a song I
recognized and turned it up a little, singing along.

“Seriously? You like this crap? You may just
have to walk the rest of the way!” he shouted above the bass,
turning it down.

“Okay, old man, what do you listen to?” I
asked, slapping his hand away from the knob.

“How about anything BUT that!” he said.

“Oh, that’s helpful. So, Country? Bluegrass?
Opera? Gangsta Rap?” I laughed.

“Opera is highly underappreciated. You should
try it,” he said with a straight face.

“For real? Opera?” He so did not strike me as
an opera-lover.

“Um, no, my parents listen to it, but I guess
it isn’t awful. It’s not like I drive around bumping it in my
Honda.” We pulled into the crowded parking lot.

On our way to the ticket counter, we walked
closer together than I have with any other friend. We were almost
touching, but there was a mere millimeter of space between us,
dancing with electricity.

“Two for ‘A Day To Die,’ please,” he asked
the short kid in the window and slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the
counter.

“Hey, I’ve got money.” I protested, not quite
comfortable with someone paying for me, even if it was supposed to
be a date.

“I invited you. That’s how this is supposed
to work, you know?” he said, bumping me with his shoulder as we
made our way to the concession stand.

“Well, I’m buying the pop and popcorn, my
treat,” I said, elbowing him out of the way to get in line.

The lights in the theater were low and James
led us to a pair of seats he spotted in the middle. We settled in
and I contemplated where I should put the popcorn. I decided to
hold it. We reached into the bucket at the same time, our hands
touching. I pulled back awkwardly.

“Ladies first,” he said, sitting back in his
seat.

The film started, plunging the room into
darkness. I sunk down into my chair as low as I could, one hand
half covering my eyes.

“Ari, you can’t possibly be scared already,
it’s just the opening credits,” he whispered, leaning in towards my
ear. He was so close his warm breath tickled my skin.

By the middle of the movie, I had my face
completely turned form the screen and had given up the popcorn to
James. I couldn’t eat while blood and guts were flying everywhere.
Every time something jumped off the screen and the crowd reacted
with shrieks, I found myself burying my face into James’s big
strong arm. He smelled delicious. I felt his arm slide around me,
pulling me in tighter. Mmm, maybe horror movies weren’t so bad
after all.

“Did you even look at the screen? I swear,
you hid your eyes the whole time!” He teased me as we strolled out
to the car through the throng of people.

“Oh, I saw plenty. But next time, I pick,” I
said, as he unlocked the car door and let me in. We continued to
argue about movies the entire ride back to my apartment. He pulled
into the lot and parked the car.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to the door,” he
said, jumping out of the car. I followed his lead and met him at
the front of the car.

We strolled up the front walk in silence. The
night was surprisingly mild. My heart pounded in my chest and I
wondered if he could hear it.

“I’ll call you tomorrow, this was fun,” he
said. We both just stood there for a moment, looking at each other.
And then he reached out and gave me a hug. A hug! You hug your
grandma. What the hell was I supposed to do with that? I hugged him
back and said goodnight, taking out my key and unlocking the door
of the building.

“Bye,” I said one last time.

A hug? Seriously.

$$$

The hardest part of dealing drugs was making
sure I had time to deliver stuff and make it to all of my clubs and
activities. The minute someone noticed I was not attending the
proper amount of French Club meetings, NHS meetings, class council
meetings, cheerleading practices, and cheering at every home game,
the questions would start. And if you ask enough questions,
eventually you get the answer you’re after.

James and I were working on an article on the
NHS’s new project at the Slate Park Soup Kitchen. I was still
confused as ever as to where we were at with our relationship, if I
could even call it that.

We talked pretty much every day on the phone.
But all I was scoring was his affectionate hugs and smiles. Not
only that, but I had to endure Naomi’s tales of hot make-out
sessions with Dean while I was getting absolutely nowhere.

“I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, Ari, but
you look really tired. Is everything all right?” he asked as we
formatted the article in the computer for the upcoming issue.

Yeah, it’s just fine. Between clubs,
cheerleading, homework and dealing drugs, I get about four hours of
sleep a night or less.

“I’m fine. I’ve just had a lot of work to do
lately.” I smiled, trying to make myself look a little perkier.
Great, so in addition to everything I looked like shit. Well thank
you very much.

“You’re coming to the soup kitchen tomorrow
night, right?” he asked. “I can pick you up on the way, if you
want.”

“That sounds good. I’ll let you know. I may
have to drive myself if they need me at work afterwards,” I said,
making sure to leave myself an out in case Nando’s phone rang. It
did that a lot lately. Those Lavender Grove people sure loved their
pot. I even got a few new customers in the neighboring suburb of
St. Anne’s.

At least I was making good money. I had a
shoebox under my bed that was quickly filling up with green. I gave
my mom one or two hundred bucks every week and the rest I put into
that box. Just in case.

“So you sent your Northwestern application?
How did your essay turn out?” he asked.

“It was a little rushed, so I hope it was
good. I wish I’d had a little more time so somebody could read it
for me,” I said, rolling my eyes in his direction.

“Well, I’m sure it was just fine. Should I do
a cheer for you? You look like you could use one…” he said,
standing up from the desk.

“Aw, what the hell. Go for it. I could use a
laugh today!”

“Okay, here goes.” He stood up and assumed a
cheering position with his legs tight together and clapping his
hands stiffly.

“Let’s go, let’s go, L-E-T-S-G-O. Go! Let’s
go! Gooooo Ari!” He threw both arms over his head and made
ridiculous jazz hands.

“Thanks, I feel so much better now,” I said,
sarcasm dripping from my voice.

“Hm, it sounds to me like you need a little
more cheer in your life, Ari. I’ve got one more for you, it’s my
favorite.”

“Oh god, no. You’re lucky no one is around to
see this, or tape it and post it online.” I giggled.

“Oh, here it comes, I can feel the
spirit…have you got it, let’s hear it!” He shook his body, looking
more like he was having a seizure than anything else. “Jump, shake
your booty, jump jump, shake your booty.” And he did just that. In
fact, he was still shaking his booty when Ms. Simmons walked into
the newspaper room to see how our article was coming along. By that
point, I was laughing so hard tears streamed down my face.

“Nice dancing, James. I take it that means
you two have finished your article?” she asked coolly, though I
could see her stern mouth turned up in a tiny smile at the
corner.

“Um, no Ms. Simmons, but we’re almost done.”
His face was the color of a tomato. He sat back down next to me and
stared at the computer screen. When she walked out, we convulsed
into laughter again.

“So you have to admit, that totally made your
day, didn’t it?” He threw his arm around me.

I leaned into him, happy to be so close. And
wishing we weren’t just sitting here in a stupid classroom. And
wishing he would just kiss me. But he didn’t.

“You made my day. You win.” I smiled.

“I would hope so. Those dances are reserved
for you and only you, Ari.”

*sigh*

Javier showed up Sunday morning
unexpectedly.

“Is something wrong?” I wasn’t used to seeing
him during the daylight. I could almost swear he was a vampire.
Hmm. Maybe that’s what I should do, write a book about a bunch of
drug-dealing vampires and make an easy million. Okay, stop. I
needed to focus here.

“Nope, nothing’s wrong. What are you doing?”
he asked, plopping on to the couch.

“Not much, just homework and stuff,” I
answered. “Pop?”

“You know it. Hey, you wanna go for a ride
with me? I got something I wanna show you.” He flipped the top on
the pop and took a sip.

“That’s fine. I can’t be gone too long. Mom’s
off this afternoon and I have a ton of homework to do,” I said.

“Man, you stress too much. We’re just going
for a quick ride. Come on, Junior is waiting for us outside.” He
grabbed his pop and opened the door for me.

“All right, let me grab my coat.” I followed
him out the door.

Junior was waiting in the parking lot in
Javier’s Mercedes.

“This is a nice car. It looks like what all
the kids at school drive.” I slid into the soft leather seats in
the back.

“Yeah, well, when you got this kinda green,
you can afford nice whips n’shit.” He laughed. “Glad I could
impress a fine girl like yourself.”

“Funny. Where are we going?” I asked.

“I wanna show you where your product is
coming from.”

“Don’t you import it from somewhere? I mean,
it’s cold right now, it’s not like you could grow it here this time
of year,” I said.

“You’re in for a bit of an education today
Ariceli, and I don’t mean the kind you’d be getting at Cambridge
High School!” He chuckled.