Tsea (9 page)

“What are we watching?” My best friend of ten years yelled from my bedroom. I finished washing my hands in the bathroom, glancing at my reflection in the mirror. My thick black hair was messy and I combed it to the side to keep the strands down. My pale face and long nose were as familiar to me as the inside of my palm. I thought my face was a little pointy but there was nothing I could do about that. I shrugged and stepped out of the bathroom to shake my head at Cece.

“I told you. It’s a surprise.” I smiled when I saw Cece lounged on the bed, her thick black hair in a bun on top of her head. Her tall, lithe body was dressed in her favorite cut off jeans and a black tank top.

“You know we have two completely different tastes in movies.” She reminded, rolling onto her stomach.

“And music, and clothes, and TV shows and …” I listed.

“I get the picture.” She cut her eyes at me. “Come on. I’m bored. You promised you’d entertain me today.”

It was the last week of summer and there was so much to do to prepare for school. Only Cece would claim to be bored when junior college was right around the corner.

I walked toward the television on the dresser and turned it on, logging onto my favorite site that streamed movies online. “I thought your mom and dad went to Chetumal today?  Why didn’t you go with them?”

Her mouth gaped. “Are you kicking me out?”

“What if I am?” I teased, my eyes disappearing with the force of my smile.

She laughed. “It doesn’t matter if you are. I wouldn’t leave anyway.”

“That’s what I thought.” I nodded and then returned my attention to setting up the movie. I finally succeeded and flopped unto the bed, waiting for the film to load.

While the small bar at the bottom of the screen slowly advanced, Cece rolled her body next to mine. “When are you going to update this place?” She asked, glancing at me with her stunning almond shaped eyes.

For a minute, I grew distracted by just how gorgeous she was. The pretty little girl in the school yard all those years ago only blossomed as Cece matured. Whenever we hung out and people assumed that we were dating, I’d receive incredulous looks. I already knew Cece was out of my league and I had come to grips with being just friends. At least I got to be with her way more than any of her many, many crushes.

“Yo!” She slapped me in the shoulder and I rubbed the spot, narrowing my eyes. “Hey!”

“Stop ignoring me.” She laughed. “Let’s get some paint this weekend and take this bedroom to the next level.”

I turned on my back and stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars my dad and I had put on the ceiling when I was nine. “I like it.”

She observed the stars with me. “You do?”

I faced her. “Yeah, I do.”

Cece smiled. “That’s nice… I think you should upgrade.” She closed one eye and held her fingers in the formation of a square. “I think we could keep the blue walls but make it a darker shade with some brown carpets or better yet, no carpets at all!”

I flung my arm out and put her decorating-happy hands down. “You are not touching my room.” I replied firmly and then swung around to check the progress of our movie. The bar hadn’t moved more than an inch in the minute that we had been talking. “Ugh.” I face-palmed, “Adam is probably downloading his anime again.”

“Your cutie little brother? He would never do that to me.” Cece said dramatically.

“Adam!” I hollered. “Adam!”

“What!” My little brother yelled back.

Hopefully, Mom and Dad didn’t hear us. They hated when we shouted across the hall like that. “Get off the internet!” I commanded.

“No!” He returned just as loudly.

“For me?” Cece tried.

“No!” The answer was sharp and immediate. Cece was a part of our family and my thirteen year old brother treated her as such.

“Well, that stinks.” Cece groaned and sat up. “Wanna talk in the meanwhile?” She jerked her head toward the television.

“About what?” I sat up and blinked at her.

“Um,” She pulled her tank top up for modesty and glanced away from me. “I’ve been talking to Shawn again.”

“C!” I groaned. Shawn Anthony had been after Cece since hormones and puberty kicked into his body. My best friend normally told Shawn where to stick it, but lately she’d been entertaining him.

“He’s not the same guy he was in primary school!” She defended. “He’s changed!”

“People that crummy don’t change.” I insisted, folding my arms stubbornly.

“He says he’ll show me around the sixth form. Maybe we could all hang out together.” Cece suggested quietly.

Shawn was attending his second year of junior college and was undoubtedly looking forward to Cece’s eighteenth birthday this August. Cece’s parents hadn’t allowed her to date until she was of age. Until Shawn came into the picture in full force, Cece hadn’t cared about the dating part of her life. We had each other and that was all we needed. Stupid Shawn would mess that up. I could feel it.

“That’s never gonna happen.” I mumbled.

She caught the sentiment and argued. “He’s been back there for two years. He can help us…”

“I mean,” I interrupted “we won’t ever be able to hang out. Shawn and I don’t see eye to eye.”

Though Cece easily moved past the childhood bully, I just couldn’t un-see all the mean things he’d pulled when we were little. Shawn Anthony was a jerk and once a jerk, always a jerk. It was just like her to go after the ones that were no good. Cece had a terrible track record when it came to guys. There was Ashley in primary school and Tristan and Kent in high school. They all turned out to be massive scum bags that lost interest when, after a few months of talking, they asked Cece out and she informed them that they’d have to wait until she was eighteen.

Shawn was biding his time and it unendingly annoyed me.

“At least attempt to get along,” She slipped closer and blinked her thick black lashes. “For me.” I tried to keep my frown in place, but she darted her hands out and tickled my side. “You know you love me.” She said while her fingers danced over my stomach.

“Stop.” I squirmed, but she didn’t until I let out a bark of laughter. “Hey,” I laughed and captured her hand. “Okay, okay. I’ll try. I promise.”

“Thank you.” She blew me a kiss and then stood. “Now, let’s go beat the living crap out of your brother. I want to see this movie you think I’ll enjoy.” I laughed as she marched to the room next door and banged on the door. “Adam!”

The white door swung open and Adam glared at us. “What’s the big deal?” He checked the time on his watch. “I’m trying to enjoy myself before I have to head to the store and you two keep bothering me.”

I snickered as Cece narrowed her eyes at my brother. She insisted that we looked exactly alike, but that was because Cece couldn’t tell any Asians apart. She’d spent her life with me and she was still clueless. My little brother was tanner than I was. His skin had a healthy cream glow. His eyes were slanted and dark brown and his lips were wider. Adam took after mom, while I took after dad. No matter how often I explained that to the girl beside me, it just didn’t take.

“Please get off the internet. David and I are trying to watch a movie.” Cece folded her arms and tapped her foot on the hardwood floor. She had two little sisters and so the bossiness was ingrained her.

“Um, let me think about it.” Adam pretended to ponder her request. “How about ‘no’.” My little brother slammed the door in our faces. I laughed at Cece’s expression. She was about to fist her hands and pummel the door again, when I caught her fingers in mine.

“Sh,” I winked and led her to the main computer table down the hall. Dad used the space to keep track of the store’s inventory and receipts. Right beside the computer sat the modem that fed wireless internet to each corner of the house. “We have a choice.” I said quietly so that Adam did not hear. “We can let him win or we can all lose.”

Cece grinned wide. “You are diabolical.” She whispered.

I tilted my head to the side and raised my eyebrows in inquiry.

“Do it.” She quipped and I pulled the modem from the wall.

Immediately, Adam’s door burst open and he lunged toward us. “David!” He shouted. “Fix the internet!”

“Catch, C!” I tossed the modem at her and we took off toward the backyard and into the sunshine, laughing all the way. None of us got to watch anything else for the rest of the afternoon. And that was perfectly okay with me.

On Saturday, I lounged on the stool in front of the cash register at my family store. My cousins sat in the other chairs, manning their own machines. The sign above the grand building proudly proclaimed ‘Kim’s Groceries’.

My grandparents bought the land for the store when I was eight but sent for my aunts and uncles in China before they decided to build the huge grocery store on the northern highway. Sitting behind the cash register all day during the weekend was supremely boring. My cousins and I had to stay focused, keep an eye out for thieves, and remember to give people their correct change. It was all very dull. The only reason I didn’t go crazy was because of Cece. She loved sending me funny pictures and memes when I was at work. Whenever I wasn’t busy with a customer or restocking the shelves, I’d be exchanging text messages with her.

Rider, my older cousin, winked at me from the stall next to mine. He wore a grey T-shirt and comfortable jeans pants. He played with the slippers on his feet, slapping it against his heel as he spoke. “That your girlfriend again?” He inquired.

“That’s none of your business.” I insisted.

Rider narrowed his eyes at me. “I know you. You get that stupid grin on your face whenever she rings up your phone. It’s pathetic.”

I put the phone down and clutched my heart. “Man, thanks so much for pointing that out. I seriously – I could not live another day without those words of wisdom.”

Rider laughed. “Somebody’s defensive.”

Sky, Rider’s younger sister, passed by with a discarded blue grocery basket. “Leave the boy alone,” Sky instructed her brother and then stepped to the side as a customer brushed past her. “He’ll find out soon enough that we don’t marry outside of our community.”

I shook my head. “You two are jumping way ahead of yourselves.” I glanced at Rider. “I’m not in love with her.” I then turned to Sky. “And I’m not marrying anyone anytime soon.”

“Ha!” Sky slipped her glasses firmly on her nose. “That’s what I said. It’s how things are done.” I rolled my eyes. The long-standing Ancient Chinese tradition of having an arranged marriage at a young age had been lost somewhere in the Caribbean Sea.

“Grampa and Grandma don’t believe in that.” I insisted, defending myself even though I didn’t have to.

“Grampa and Grandma have become creolized. They have forgotten our traditions, but Mama has been working on them both. Soon, you will feel the effects of that.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes and smiled when I read the text that Cece had sent. The photograph depicted a chubby child with her face screwed up in fright. She was frozen with her arms pumping by her sides and her body twisted. The caption read: ME RUNNING AWAY FROM MY RESPONSIBILITIES. I snickered. Rider made kissy faces in my direction. I ignored him.

People never understood my connection with Cece. In Belize, Asians tended to stick to themselves or they hung with others of their own race. Over the past few years, we had been breaking the stereotypes and merging with other cultures. But for the most part we were still generally known to be a quiet, close-knit community. When I started hanging out with a little black girl from the north side, my parent’s friends wondered why Mom and Dad allowed the association. It was unusual for a Chinese boy to latch on to a Creole girl. However, my parents didn’t make a big deal. They were cool with it then and they’re cool with it now. As long as Cece didn’t distract me from school or work, they saw nothing wrong with our friendship.

I noticed a customer walking toward me and put my phone away. She was a pretty Latina girl with long dark hair that curled to her waist and a wide smile. She tucked her hair behind her ear and batted her eyelashes at me as I checked her items. Cece would say that she was flirting, but I tended to believe that Cece told me such things because she didn’t want me to feel bad about my dry as a desert love-life.

“Hi,” The girl said when I was half-way through her items. I waved a bag of rice in front of the scanner and eyed her dubiously.

“Hi,” I replied in a dull voice, waving a carton of eggs over the scanner next.

“I’ve always seen you in here but I never had the chance to talk to you.” She explained, biting her pink lips.

I nodded, unsure what she wanted me to say. “Uh, yeah. I’m always here.” I retorted lamely.

She tilted her head. “So, a couple of my friends are meeting up at the Platypus Park later, like around nine o’clock.” She glanced around the store that was starting to fill up now that the seven o’clock Saturday rush hour had begun. “If you’re free later, you should stop by. It’s a couple of us from the sixth form.”

“Sure. I’ll think about it.” I smiled shyly at her and declared her total. She handed me the money and then winked.

“Keep the change.” The girl said breezily before gathering her bags and strolling away. I glanced up, hoping that Rider hadn’t caught the exchange. He hadn’t. My cousin was too busy with his own customers to pay my strange conversation any mind.

The hours flew by as they did when the store got busy. I kept my eyes swept downward and my head focused on the numbers that I calculated when I handled people’s money. It was as awkward for me to stare a customer in the eye as it probably was for a customer to find the cashier eyeing them. I was ducking my head and minding my own business a few minutes before closing when someone slapped a biscuit package before me. My smile bloomed unconsciously. I’d brought Cece a pack of Oreo cookies the day that we became best friends. Since then, the little black circles of goodness were dubbed ‘ours’.

“What can a girl do to get some service around here?” I heard her voice and jerked my head up in surprise. Cece’s answering grin was wide and brought a sparkle to her brown eyes. She was dressed in a fancy blouse and light blue skinny jeans. Her curly brown hair was out and it fell past her shoulders in beautiful waves. It was probably wet from a recent shower.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I begged Mom and Dad to get me out of the house. I’ve been trapped in there all week.” Cece responded. Just as I had a responsibility to my family – and so to the store – Cece had a job with hers. She was the unofficial summer babysitter to her younger sisters. At least I got paid for
my
work. Cece was often informed that the roof over her head and food on the table was her allowance.

“I can’t believe they let you go.” I blinked in surprise.

“Yeah. Plus, once they heard I’d be with you they were chill.” Cece winked. Her parents trusted me for some reason. I’d received my ‘hurt-my-daughter-I’ll-break-you’ speech from Mr. Walker the minute I became aware that girls were more than playfellows. I never overstepped my bounds and was careful to always keep the door open whenever Cece and I were alone in a bedroom. I’d gained Mr. Walker’s respect and I didn’t play around with that. Still, I was surprised that they’d simply dropped her off here knowing that we had no plans.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What did you say we’d be doing tonight?”

“Hanging out and watching movies.” She smiled and waved at Rider who was tallying the last customer’s items. My cousin nodded at her.

“What are we
really
doing?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“So, Shawn invited me to the Platypus Park tonight…”

I groaned. “Nope. I won’t be a part of this.” I shook my head.

She slapped a dollar and twenty five cents on the silver counter and ran a hand through her hair. “Why not?”

“Because I can’t stand Shawn.” I insisted, putting her change in the cash register.

“Come on. I just want to go, peek around and see what it’s like and then come back and hang at your place.” I slanted her a disbelieving look. Cece was a convincing liar but I had spent too many years with her to turn a blind eye to her tells. “I promise.” She repeated. “That’s all I want to do.”

Seeing that I was not convinced, Cece grabbed my hand. “Please,” She gazed at me with her big brown eyes. “I really want to go.”

Darn it
!

The puppy dog eyes. She knew I was powerless against that. It was a ploy she used only when she was desperate.

“Fine.” I groused, grudgingly agreeing since it meant that much to her. “But only for fifteen minutes and then we’re leaving.”

“Deal!” She grinned and shook my hand, the gold bangle on her wrist twinkling as brightly as her eyes. “This is going to be so much fun!”

Yeah, I doubt that
.

… For more look out for
CECE & DAVID
by Nia Arthurs in the Amazon store…