owned the world. Then I would call her name and say, “Hey, we
are
going to the dance together?” and she would just kind of go into a half swoon and maybe giggle a little and it would be all set.
When I got to school I was feeling good. Math was the first class and we had one of Galicki’s famous pop quizzes. I was sitting in the back of the room where I always sit and dreaming about laying some serious lip on Celia when I heard Mr. Galicki calling my name.
“Yeah, wazzup?”
“I said”—Mr. Galicki raised his voice—“that I’m really surprised that you did so well on the pop quiz. You really understand parallelograms.”
Hey, what can I tell you? I met Froggy, who was coming from band practice, and told him the good news.
“That’s two things,” he said. “You got five left.”
“That wasn’t luck,” I said.
“Math?” Froggy said. “You’re good in math?”
It was luck. I had to be careful. I needed to get a yes from Celia before I used up my streak. I stopped right there in the hallway and told myself to calm down.
“Calm down and think hard, my Nubian selfhood.”
I needed a soda. I went to the cafeteria, looked around to see if Maurice was there, saw he wasn’t, and went and dropped a quarter in the machine.
“Yo, it ain’t working!” Tommy from the ball team called to me. “It takes your money, but you don’t get a soda!”
I had only put in a quarter, but the machine was whirring and humming. Then a bottle of soda came down.
The guys came over and started pounding on the machine, but nothing happened for them. That was my third lucky thing on my streak. I had four to go.
Okay, I had to go for the big time. Celia was from Santiago, DR. Just looking at her made me want to move to the Dominican Republic. I decided to go the whole nine with her, flowers and everything. The plan was this. I buy some roses, take them over to her house, which is up on 153rd and Broadway, give her the roses, and ask her to the dance. There’s a guy on 135th who sells roses, so I bought six. A dozen sounds good but six is cool.
Then I get a little nervous. Celia can make you nervous because she is so fine. Anyway, girls make me a little uptight. But I’m working on the streak so everything is everything. I buy the roses, and I come home. Ellen is checking me out and I tell her to mind her business. Then I call Celia’s number, which I had gotten from Ramona Rodriguez, who is also fine, but she goes with Paco, and nobody messes with Paco.
“Hello? Mrs. Evora? This is Jamie Farrell. Is Celia there?”
“Who?”
“Jamie Farrell,” I repeated. “I go to school with Celia.”
“Oh, she had to go to the doctor,” Mrs. Evora said. “She has an allergy to certain flowers and she has to take treatments.”
“Roses?” I asked.
“She told you?”
“Something like that,” I said. “Will you tell her Jamie called?”
“Yes, Gamie called to find out about her allergy,” she said.
Right. Gamie called to find out about her allergy. I gave the flowers to my mother. That was four good things that happened. But the flowers cost me a lot and if I was going to take Celia to the dance I’d at least need money to stop for something to eat afterward and a taxi to get her home.
My streak was running low and I was getting nervous. I still hadn’t actually asked Celia to go to the dance with me.
“So just do it,” Froggy said. “Walk up to her and say, ‘Hey, mama, let’s you and me start working on the
lambada
so we look good for the natives at the dance.’ ”
“What’s the lam—what did you call it?”
“Call the chick quick,” Froggy said.
So I’m lying in bed listening to the news, which sounds like the same thing they’ve been telling us for the last year, so I don’t see why it’s news, when there’s a knock on my door. I figure it’s Ellen coming to borrow something, so I don’t say anything. Then the door opens and it’s my dad and he flicks the light on.
“Can I
are
going to the dance together?” and she would just kind of go into a half swoon and maybe giggle a little and it would be all set.
When I got to school I was feeling good. Math was the first class and we had one of Galicki’s famous pop quizzes. I was sitting in the back of the room where I always sit and dreaming about laying some serious lip on Celia when I heard Mr. Galicki calling my name.
“Yeah, wazzup?”
“I said”—Mr. Galicki raised his voice—“that I’m really surprised that you did so well on the pop quiz. You really understand parallelograms.”
Hey, what can I tell you? I met Froggy, who was coming from band practice, and told him the good news.
“That’s two things,” he said. “You got five left.”
“That wasn’t luck,” I said.
“Math?” Froggy said. “You’re good in math?”
It was luck. I had to be careful. I needed to get a yes from Celia before I used up my streak. I stopped right there in the hallway and told myself to calm down.
“Calm down and think hard, my Nubian selfhood.”
I needed a soda. I went to the cafeteria, looked around to see if Maurice was there, saw he wasn’t, and went and dropped a quarter in the machine.
“Yo, it ain’t working!” Tommy from the ball team called to me. “It takes your money, but you don’t get a soda!”
I had only put in a quarter, but the machine was whirring and humming. Then a bottle of soda came down.
The guys came over and started pounding on the machine, but nothing happened for them. That was my third lucky thing on my streak. I had four to go.
Okay, I had to go for the big time. Celia was from Santiago, DR. Just looking at her made me want to move to the Dominican Republic. I decided to go the whole nine with her, flowers and everything. The plan was this. I buy some roses, take them over to her house, which is up on 153rd and Broadway, give her the roses, and ask her to the dance. There’s a guy on 135th who sells roses, so I bought six. A dozen sounds good but six is cool.
Then I get a little nervous. Celia can make you nervous because she is so fine. Anyway, girls make me a little uptight. But I’m working on the streak so everything is everything. I buy the roses, and I come home. Ellen is checking me out and I tell her to mind her business. Then I call Celia’s number, which I had gotten from Ramona Rodriguez, who is also fine, but she goes with Paco, and nobody messes with Paco.
“Hello? Mrs. Evora? This is Jamie Farrell. Is Celia there?”
“Who?”
“Jamie Farrell,” I repeated. “I go to school with Celia.”
“Oh, she had to go to the doctor,” Mrs. Evora said. “She has an allergy to certain flowers and she has to take treatments.”
“Roses?” I asked.
“She told you?”
“Something like that,” I said. “Will you tell her Jamie called?”
“Yes, Gamie called to find out about her allergy,” she said.
Right. Gamie called to find out about her allergy. I gave the flowers to my mother. That was four good things that happened. But the flowers cost me a lot and if I was going to take Celia to the dance I’d at least need money to stop for something to eat afterward and a taxi to get her home.
My streak was running low and I was getting nervous. I still hadn’t actually asked Celia to go to the dance with me.
“So just do it,” Froggy said. “Walk up to her and say, ‘Hey, mama, let’s you and me start working on the
lambada
so we look good for the natives at the dance.’ ”
“What’s the lam—what did you call it?”
“Call the chick quick,” Froggy said.
So I’m lying in bed listening to the news, which sounds like the same thing they’ve been telling us for the last year, so I don’t see why it’s news, when there’s a knock on my door. I figure it’s Ellen coming to borrow something, so I don’t say anything. Then the door opens and it’s my dad and he flicks the light on.
“Can I
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