Kendra by Coe Booth Read Free Book Online Page B

to keep Ms. Grier’s roaches to her own apartment?
    Nana don’t have use for women who keep a nasty house.
    Finally, the bell rings, and I dry my hands and go to open the door. Adonna practically runs in. “We have to leave right now,” she says, talking all fast. “For real.”
    “Why? What’s going on?”
    “Somebody said—and I’m not sure, but I have to be there—somebody said that that girl Broomhilda—”
    “ Brunilda ,” I say.
    “Whatever. Someone said she’s gonna get jumped in front of the school today.” Adonna’s smiling, all excited.
    “Why are you so happy? She’s only a freshman. What did she ever do to you?”
    “Nothing. But you seen her.” Adonna starts walking downthe hall shaking her butt like a crazy person. “C’mon, tell me this ain’t how she walks.”
    I know she’s just trying to get me to laugh, but I’m not gonna let her. Not about something like this.
    “I’m just saying,” Adonna says, like she’s trying to explain. “You see how she dresses and all that makeup she be wearing. When she first came to our school, I thought she was a tranny or something ’cause she wore so much foundation. Not only that, but she’s always in designer this and designer that.” She shakes her head. “I’m not jealous or nothing, but you know, what’s her problem? Why she gotta be like that?”
    I shrug. “Let me get my book bag.”
    Adonna follows me down the hall to my room. “Hurry up.”
    I don’t wanna go see anybody get jumped. I saw enough of that back in middle school. And no matter how cute Brunilda thinks she is, nobody deserves to have that happen to them. Actually I kinda feel sorry for the girl. She’s probably only dressing that way because she thinks it’s gonna help her get attention or make friends, only to find that everybody is hating on her behind her back.
    It wasn’t all that long ago I was walking into that school for the first time myself, and I probably would have made all the same stupid mistakes Brunilda’s making if I didn’t have Adonna telling me how to dress, who to be friends with, and how to act all the time. Last summer she took one look at me and said, “No way am I gonna let you start high school at my school looking like that, not if you’re gonna be hanging around me .”
    And yeah, I knew I was a mess, even at the time. According to Adonna, I was too miserable, I had bad clothes, and, maybe worse of all in her opinion, I was too skinny. She said to me,“Look, you don’t have to have a booty like mine or nothing, but you gotta get some meat on you. High school guys like an ass that’s gonna make them break their neck checking you out, you know what I mean? And you gotta smile sometime, have fun, and stop dressing like you don’t care.”
    All summer she worked on me, trying to get me excited about high school and guys and dating. Like Nana was ever gonna let me date anybody. Like I was even ready for all that. Me and Adonna shopped together and ate a lot. I guess it was kinda fun, even though I know deep down I’m still the same girl with the same problems. Underneath.
    But the good thing is, I’m almost done with freshman year and nobody hates me, so she probably did something right. I mean, I’m not the one about to get my butt kicked in front of the whole school.
    I pick up my book bag off the floor. “Alright,” I say. “I’m ready.” But, of course, Adonna is looking in the mirror, smiling. I clear my throat, and that gets her to turn away from herself.
    Unfortunately, she ends up looking at me. “Your grandmother’s not here for a change. Why don’t you put on something nice? You got so many clothes you never wear.”
    I got on jeans and a tan Old Navy T-shirt. The kinda stuff I wear every day. “I don’t know,” I tell her. “I don’t wanna get all dressed up when I have stage crew later.”
    But she’s already going through my dresser. She opens the top drawer, which is now empty, and says, “What the