Can't Stop the Shine Read online

  “I don’t know, Mari,” said Colby. “Shauntae just told me he was here. You better go find him, too, ’cause she was getting that look on her face. You know how she gets when she sees a dude she wants to get with.”

  “Please,” dismissed Mari, “Shauntae knows better. She can get with, and probably has got with, every dude at Crunk High, but she betta keep her hands off Qwon. She ain’t no fool.”

  “Whatever you say. Anyway, he’s probably out back. Come on. I’ll go with you,” said Colby.

  Outside, the party was jumping. DJ Love was putting it down, and about a hundred teenagers were working it out on the grass dance floor. Mari and Colby stood against the back of the house, craning their necks, looking for Qwon. Spotting him, Colby pulled Mari toward the side of the house. “There he is. Over there by the cooler,” she said.

  As they walked up behind Qwon, he and his boys were crowded in a circle around something.

  “Haaay, Qwon,” said Mari, tapping him on the shoulder.

  Qwon turned around and grinned a crooked smile. “What’s up, birthday girl? Happy birthday,” he said, bending down and giving her a peck on the cheek.

  “Thank you,” said Mari, wrapping her arms around his neck so he couldn’t get away.

  “Dog, girl.” Qwon laughed and disengaged himself from her. “Don’t choke a brother.”

  “Oh,” said Mari, slightly embarrassed.

  Spying Colby, Qwon said, “What’s up, slim?”

  “Hey, Qwon.”

  “Girl, when are you gonna gain some weight? Mari, you need to take your girl to IHOP and get her two big stacks of pancakes.”

  “Shut up, Qwon,” said Colby.

  He laughed, rubbed one hand over his intricately woven braids and started to turn back toward his boys. It was then that Mari saw Kalia in the middle of the group, looking slightly guilty. When she spotted Mari, she looked at Qwon and started smirking.

  “Your sister is looking kind of tight tonight,” Qwon whispered in Mari’s ear.

  “You think so, huh?” she said, seething.

  “I’m thirsty. I think I’m going to get something to drink,” she heard Kalia say.

  “Aw, baby, I’ll get it for you,” said one tall, gangly guy.

  “Hold up, man. I got it,” said another, dipping his hand in the cooler for a soda.

  “Oh, I think I want some water. I’ma go inside,” said Kalia, satisfied with the heated look on Mari’s face.

  “Can I come with you?” asked Qwon as she sauntered away.

  “Have a few more birthdays and maybe,” she threw over her shoulder.

  Mari balled up her fist and Kalia stuck out her tongue at her sister.

  “She gets on my nerves,” said Mari to Colby.

  “Your sister can’t help that Qwon ’n ’em like her,” said Colby.

  “You gettin’ on my nerves, too,” said Mari, stepping away from Qwon and his boys. “Where’s Shauntae? I wanna know what Qwon said about me.”

  “I saw her trying to push up on Dewayne earlier.”

  “For real? That’s like a waste of time ’cause Dewayne is so gone over Kalia that it ain’t even funny. Plus, he’s like the biggest nerd evah.”

  “He is kinda cute though,” said Colby.

  “Who? Dewayne? You must be joking. There that fool is now. Him and Shauntae,” said Mari, waving her over.

  “I gotta give it up to you, Mari. Your party is the party of the summer,” said Shauntae, walking up.

  “Thank ya very much.” Mari grinned. “So what’s up with you and Dewayne?”

  “Ain’t nuthin’, girl,” said Shauntae, wiggling her hips and throwing her arms in the air as DJ Love cranked up T.I.’s latest hit. “This is my song.”

  “It’s mine, too,” said Qwon, turning around. “Come on. Let’s make it happen.”

  Before Shauntae could even answer, Qwon pulled her into the dancing crowd. Mari stood by, stunned.

  “What the hell just happened here?” she said. “How is she gonna…” Mari couldn’t even finish her sentence and Colby didn’t know what to say. Helpless, they watched Shauntae get into a groove with Qwon. They hadn’t been on the dance floor two minutes before they were bouncing up against each other, Shauntae’s arms around Qwon’s neck and her massive breasts bumping against his chest. Mari thought she was going to throw up at the totally enthralled look on Qwon’s face as his hands slid up and down Shauntae’s back.

  “I know he is not rubbin’ on her butt at my party,” said Mari.

  “I don’t think so. That’s kinda like her lower back,” said Colby.

  Mari swung around and glowered at Colby, opened her mouth to say something smart, but then realized it wasn’t Colby who had her angry.

  “I’m going inside,” she said and walked off. Colby followed. Passing through the dining room, they stopped to look at the humongous triple-layered red velvet cake, inscribed in red frosting with Happy Birthday, Kalia and Mariama.

  “At least the cake will be good,” said Mari.

  “Umm, hmm,” seconded Colby.

  Just then they heard a familiar tune coming from the piano in the living room. Someone was playing some Stevie Wonder. She couldn’t tell until she got around the corner what song it was, or that, to her surprise, it was her mother playing. Colby was still following, and behind her, streaming in from outside, was more than half of the party, drawn in by Elaine’s singing. After he was told, DJ Love took a break.

  It had been years since Mari’d seen her mother sit down at a piano, and she was playing her favorite Stevie song, “As.” Also standing in awe around the piano were Dewayne, her father, Kalia and lots of other family and friends of their parents. As soon as Elaine got to the chorus, everybody who knew the words started singing. Old and young alike were rocking back and forth and dancing.

  There was a thunderous applause when Elaine finished, and Mari went up to her mother and hugged her. Kalia just stared at Elaine, dumbfounded. Mari dragged her mom over to Kalia, screaming, “I told you Mom could get down! I told you! I bet you can’t get down like that.

  “All you play is that classical stuff,” she added. “I wanna see you rip it.”

  People were still hugging Elaine and clapping.

  “Is that a challenge, Mari?” demanded Kalia.

  Kalia marched over to the piano, sat down and started one of the longest, most elaborate runs of the keys that she’d ever attempted. Whatever song she was playing was ominous in its introduction. She slowed her pace, segueing into a slower R & B flow, and by the time she started singing, she knew where she was going.

  Kalia sang the words from Alicia Keys’s “If I Ain’t Got You,” dripping with emotion. As she progressed, she threw her everything into it. Her fingers were flying over the keys, and she was belting out the chorus. No one was talking. The whole party had moved indoors and was wrapped up in her performance.

  Mari loved to hear her sister sing and play, but she was really surprised to see Kalia performing for a crowd. Besides competitive or official school concerts, Kalia did not sit down and play for anybody, and she certainly never sang for just anyone. It took them years to convince her to join her junior high school chorale. Though she always seemed nervous before her group had to sing in front of the entire school, that night she was totally confident.

  Mari looked across the way at her dad, who surprisingly had his arm around her mom’s shoulders. Ronald was grinning at his elder daughter and proudly nudging folks around him. Pangs of jealousy set into Mari’s heart. He rarely looked at her like that, she thought.

  Ronald Jefferson was hardly ever at home. The owner of three fast food restaurants, The Fish Frys, he was always working. Between worrying about the competition from the more established Captain D’s and Long John Silver’s to being a microman-ager of his own locations, the forty-four-year-old was barely able to support any of his daughters’ extracurricular activities, and he certainly hadn’t attended any of the yoga classes his wife taught or the events she
helped organize as a part of the committee for the National Black Arts Festival.

  Turning her attention back to Kalia, who was jazzing up the bridge of Alicia Keys’s hit, Mari couldn’t even remember the last time she saw her parents get dressed up and go out anywhere together. She recalled when she and Kalia were children how her parents used to leave them with family or babysitters at least once a month and get fly and go out to plays or dances or even just dinner with friends. Their house was always filled with people for card parties and get-togethers, and there were family vacations to Disney World, Busch Gardens and Savannah.

  Mari missed those happier, carefree times. And she knew her mom did, too, even though she couldn’t tell it that night. As Kalia crescendoed toward an impressive ending, a petite Elaine hugged her husband’s waist. Mari pictured her parents back when she was in elementary school. A former dancer, Elaine, now forty, was a beautiful young mother and a fabulous host. Every once in a while, Elaine would perform with a dance troupe. A slight woman, extremely graceful, always with her head held high, she could do it all—ballet, modern, jazz and African dance.

  Her parents were acting like they did when she was young. Ronald and Elaine were being loving and supportive parents. The only problem for Mari was at the moment all of the love and support was focused on Kalia, who was receiving a standing ovation, applause and cheers for her performance. Half-heartedly clapping, Mari walked over toward where Shauntae and Colby were standing.

  “I guess y’all are all caught up in my Alicia Keys wannabe sister, too?”

  “Don’t hate on your sister, girl,” said Colby. “She sure can blow—and play, too.”

  “But she need to let them lime-green pedal pushers go. She looks like she’s been fishing in those high-water pants,” Shauntae snickered.

  “I know you are not talking about my sister,” warned Mari.

  “You were,” said Shauntae, the penciled-in eyebrows on her smooth fair skin arching in attitude.

  “She’s my sister, so I can.”

  “Stop being so protective about your prissy-ass sister,” said Shauntae. “She ain’t all that now. So what, she can sing and play the piano? A lot of people can do that.”

  “Well, I think she’s tight,” said Colby. “She’s got skills.”

  “Who asked you for your opinion? You always got something to say,” said Shauntae to Colby, who looked away to hide her hurt feelings.

  “Why don’t you leave her alone?” Mari said to Shauntae.

  “For what? I can say what I want,” said Shauntae, adjusting her ample chest in the too-tight blue halter she was stuffed into. She smiled at a couple of guys who were staring at her thick hourglass frame and shoulder-length sandy-brown naturally curly hair that kept her the center of male attention wherever she went.

  “Not at my party you can’t,” said Mari, moving closer to Shauntae.

  “You just think you all that because your sister can sing. She can sing. You can’t.”

  Mari heard a bunch of “oohs” from around the room and realized that all eyes were on her and Shauntae.

  “What is your problem? Why are you always roastin’ on people? That is so childish,” said Mari.

  “No, what’s childish is you trying to front on me because Qwon is all up on me and not paying you any attention—at all.”

  More “oohs.” Louder this time.

  “Now what are you gonna say?” challenged Shauntae.

  Mari was on fire. She could feel the heat rising up the back of her neck. She wanted to knock Shauntae down, but she settled for something just as satisfying.

  “The only reason Qwon is on you is because he knows you’re the biggest freak at Crunk High.”

  Hoops, hollers and laughter erupted. People slapped palms and gave one another dap. Embarrassed, Shauntae tried to play it off with a “Whatever,” and a flip of her hand. She ended up rolling her eyes and walking out of the room.

  Mari was satisfied. She hated the way that Shauntae treated Colby, but she also felt that Colby needed to stand up for herself. She’d been letting Shauntae run all over her since Mari met them both five years ago at a YWCA sleepaway camp. When they got back from their two-week stay, they found that they lived right across town from one another. Shauntae lived in a mixed-income apartment complex, Colby stayed with her grandparents in a shabby house not too far from Shauntae, and they both were juniors at Samuel Odette Williams “Crunk” High, where Kalia was a part of the magnet performing arts program.

  “Let’s take a group picture,” said Kalia, walking up. “This may be the last time we have a joint birthday blowout ’cause who knows where I’m going to be next year.”

  “Mom and Daddy are outside,” said Mari, reflecting on Kalia’s words. Kalia was right. This was probably their last birthday party together. Mari hadn’t even started her sophomore year yet, and she was already wondering what her junior and senior years were going to be like without Kalia around. True, her sister annoyed her, but it was an annoyance that she’d gotten used to having around.

  The four of them—Mari, Kalia, Elaine and Ronald—hugged up together under a big Happy Birthday banner. Flashes were popping and the summer was ending. There was a good vibe in the air, and everyone was having fun. It would be a long time before all of the Jeffersons were this happy again.

  Chapter

  2

  Mari walked into Greenbriar Mall in her normal gear—a denim miniskirt, white sneakers and a too-tight white baby T that screamed It’s All About Me! in red across the front. Bopping down the mall, she slathered on lip gloss and pulled her ponytail tight. She was supposed to be meeting Colby for some back-to-school shopping, but her heart wasn’t really in it. Peering at the latest styles in the store windows while navigating the massive number of black teenagers kicking it at the mall, Mari realized she wasn’t ready to go back to school, especially since she’d just passed her driver’s test. She wanted a little more time to get her skills up before she had to get back in the grind. Even though Shauntae had acted a fool at her birthday party, she’d really enjoyed her summer, hanging out with her girls.

  In the beginning of the summer her mom had her in a local leadership development program for a few weeks with a bunch of nerds, and she also went to a cool summer camp for track-and-field athletes for about ten days. She’d been to like five or six hot parties with kids from public school in the past two and a half months.

  Mari wished she went to Williams High with her friends. She’d hung out with the Crunk High crowd all summer, and now she was going to have to go back to boring, stuffy, mostly white East Moreland. Even Kalia got to go to the livest high school in the city, Mari thought as she spotted Colby standing in front of their favorite shoe store.

  “What’s with the grumpy face?” said Colby as Mari walked up.

  “Hey,” said Mari. “I am so not ready to roll back to the most uppity school in the city.”

  “Well, at least you get to do cool stuff at your school,” said Colby. “I wish we got to go to plays and the symphony and go out of town like y’all do.”

  “Well, that’s what rich people do,” said Mari, walking into the shoe store. “But y’all ain’t just sitting around over there at Williams. You’ve got the best football and basketball teams. Our games are so boring, and we lose every time. Your parties and talent shows are tight, and everybody says your proms are off the chain. I don’t know why Kalia didn’t go to her junior prom, but you’ll get to go this year.”

  “Yeah, if somebody asks me,” said Colby, twisting her long braid extensions into a messy bun.

  “Somebody will and you’ll get to go. You’ll probably end up being the queen of the hypest prom in the city. I don’t know why my parents put me at East Boredom anyway.”

  “Uh…’cause you’re smart. Smart enough to get that full scholarship to go to that private school,” said Colby.

  “Everybody knows that Mari’s got some big brains,” said Shauntae, walking up behind Colby. “You don’t need
to remind us.”

  Mari opened her mouth to say something, but was stunned into silence when she saw who was with Shauntae.

  “Hey, look who I found,” said Shauntae, grabbing Qwon’s hand.

  “What’s happening, ladies? What are y’all doing up in here?” said Qwon, slipping his hand from Shauntae’s grasp.

  Seeing that Mari still wasn’t able to find her voice, Colby stepped in. “You know, trying to get some new gear for school. Catch some of these sales.”

  “Me, too. Check out my new kicks,” said Qwon, stepping one foot forward.

  “Those are hot, baby,” cooed Shauntae, tightening the belt on her hot pink Apple Bottoms jeans, which accentuated her Coca-Cola bottle shape. “You should get me the ladies’ version and then we’ll be matching. That would be so cute.”

  “What’s up with your money, chicken?” asked Qwon, eyeing her.

  “You weren’t calling me that a few minutes ago when you were all up on me in the movies,” spit Shauntae.

  “That was different,” said Qwon, glancing around the shoe store. “Look, I’m about to be out. I just came over here to check out what they had in here.”

  “Ain’t nuthin’ in here for you.” Shauntae smirked with her hands on her hips.

  “Cool, ’cause I know everyone else been up in it anyway,” Qwon threw over his shoulder as he left the store.

  “Whatever,” said Shauntae, eyeing some hot-pink stilettos.

  Mari hadn’t said a word through their whole exchange. She didn’t know if she was more disgusted with her choice of men or how Shauntae could let herself be so insulted by a guy.

  “What’s wrong with you, girl?” said Shauntae, snapping her lime-green freshly painted inch-long acrylic nails in Mari’s face. “I know you ain’t trippin’ over Qwon. He ain’t even got nuthin’ goin’ on.”

  Mari regained her voice. “How do you know?”

  “Didn’t you just hear me say we were in the movies? He can’t kiss or nuthin’. He don’t even know what to do with his hands.”

  “Just shut up, Shauntae,” said Mari, raising her voice and her hand. She was more disgusted at Shauntae’s behavior.