dead wrong. You know I be on the DL, yo,” Coco said.
“Yeah, but up on stage you swear your ass is the boss, Miss Diana Ross. You be playing it,” Danielle said. She was sounding critical of Coco’s style of singing and dancing.
“That’s not true. I just do my thing, yo. I just be getting mine.”
“Yeah, yours and everyone else’s,” Danielle said. “There’s no ‘i’ in team.”
Coco faced Danielle and gave her deep, cold stare.
“Are you for real?” Coco asked at last. Her tone was over the top, serious. Danielle immediately knew she had crossed a line, but wouldn’t back down. Josephine, in the middle, grew uneasy. The silence lengthened.
“This food really sucks,” Josephine said. “I think maybe we should bounce, y’all?”
“Now, I’m gonna ask,” Coco said. “We are a group, rrright?” she purred like Eartha Kitt.
“Y’all gonna fight over some bullshit? C’mon,” Josephine said playing peacemaker.
“We a group, right, yo?” Coco repeated.
“Yeah we’re a group,” Danielle said, “and everything should be equal—including time at lead.”
“Well, it’s good that you brought it up,” Coco said. “Cuz I don’t wanna be running around with peeps who suppose to be down wid ya, yet keeping shit behind ya back.”
Josephine’s half-smile faded. Tension was at an all time high. Coco’s lips curled as if they were trying to touch her nose. Her reversed baseball cap made her look angry. She stood street fierce like someone ready to pop-off on any challenger—A bully, only a lot prettier than most.
Danielle was the hunted, caught but not fully captured. She was confident about the avenue of escape. With her light brown hair and cool dark eyes, Danielle appeared to be calm under Coco’s intense pressure. In the group, Danielle moved with athletic grace on stage. Her trained body always invited the movements, turns and rhythms of motion. Her voice was always ready to shout and share the chorus. Now Danielle wanted to be a lead, if she could weather the storm Coco was ready to bring.
“But Coco is the lead,” Josephine said. “We build off of her. I mean we can’t always change the lead. Have you ever witnessed a lead change in like say, SWV? They always have the same person singing, and they don’t do so badly.”
“Yeah, maybe she’s the only one who can really sing,” Danielle deadpanned. “Yeah what about, the Spice Girls?” She asked.
“Yeah, and what about them?” Coco demanded.
“They don’t count. They ain’t even Hip Hop you don’t stop.” Josephine opined.
“Ahight, okay yo. Cool,” Coco said reflecting, “if that’s what it’s all about then we’ll practice the routine with everyone at lead. Is that ahight with y’all?”
“Yep, me personally, I’d rather try it that way.” Danielle agreed.
“No, no. I’m cool with all that. But I’m saying, someone has to follow. That’s me. I’m not taking it personal,” Josephine said.
“It’s not a matter of taking it personal, Jo.” Danielle was about to conclude, but Coco interrupted.
“You’re taking it that way. Why else would we be sitting here arguing about this bullshit then, yo?”
“I’m just saying…” Danielle was about to speak but Coco impatiently cut her off.
“Just saying what, yo?” Coco asked and sat down.
Josephine jumped in. “You’re just saying that you want to lead sometimes, and Coco said okay. Me, I say yeah. Now, can we just end this? I’m getting a damn headache. It’s about a record deal, y’all. Right now we’ve got nothing so we just fighting for crumbs.” Josephine said and glanced at her two friends who were still ready to lock horns. “What’s the matter with y’all?” Josephine finally asked.
“Ain’t nothing the matter. I’m allowed to give my opinion on the group which I help get started, right? When are we starting these practices?” Danielle asked.
“Let’s do it now, yo,” Coco said.
The words sounded more like a challenge than an arrangement for rehearsal. They all rose. The sound of skidding chairs signaled their fate like the bell that begins a round in boxing. Suddenly Coco remembered her calculus test.
“No, I think we better wait ‘til tomorrow. I’ve really got to study and tighten up on da calculus thing, yo. We could do this tomorrow. I still wanna go to a good college for free; know what I mean, yo?”
“Yeah, cool,” Danielle said. “This kid’s beeping me, anyway.”
She checked the incoming message on the pager, worn next to her navel. Her blue jeans were a little tighter than the other girls wore. She had a slender body that connected in a voluptuous form. Danielle flaunted it, she made no attempt to hide her beautiful assets.
The fact is Danielle accentuated it by continually showing up in outrageous combinations. She was light-skinned, could have passed. Even the Spanish people would always try to converse with her in their native tongue. Danielle rushed to the pay phone. Her manicured fingers eagerly dialed the digits from the pager.
“Hi Cory,” she said.
Coco shouldered her knapsack, lit another cigarette, and headed to the door. She threw a peace sign to Danielle, whose eyes shifted just in time to catch it. Danielle nodded.
Coco and Josephine walked to the bus stop in silence. Coco puffed, her right hand clinging to the cigarette like a drunk about to throw a dart.
“What do you think it is?” Josephine asked, finally breaking the silence. She had been thinking about the incident at lunch. Coco flipped the cigarette away. It spiraled through the air and into a puddle. The water doused the fire and soaked into the cigarette butt, turning the puddle into an ashtray.
“I don’t know what you’re talking ‘bout,” Coco said.
“The little skit at the chicken place,” Josephine reminded Coco. “Or am I bugging?”
“You probably bugging, yo,” Coco said.
“No, you and that bitch, Danielle were going at it. I guess she thinks she deserves more props.”
“That bitch gets all the props from her boyfriends,” Coco said as a mischievous smile appeared.
“No, you didn’t go there like that?” Josephine rejoined. “I mean, personally if you asked me, I think she’s been drinking way too much.”
“We all have our turn when we take a nip of sump’n, sump’n.” Coco said in Danielle’s defense.
“Way too much,” Josephine said. “And when she does, it’s not like you.”
“Like me? Whatchu
