The day James and Amanda came over was during the spring of my sophomore year. I was fifteen years old, and you couldn't tell me I wasn't grown. I knew everything about life, except for its sexual aspects. My hormones were boiling over, and I was ready to get rid of my V Card. It was time. After all, my first pseudo sexual encounter had come several years before.
It all started in 7th grade, the day of the middle school dance. Jasper and I were both in 7th grade at Hamden Middle School, which had a notorious reputation. My younger brother, Horace, was only in 6th grade, and we hadn’t even met Rasean yet. James was also in 7th grade, but he was such a bad ass that his parents sent him to St. Rita’s, a private school. Lame!
During this time, Snoop Dogg and Biggie Smalls had just released their debut albums, and all the boys chose sides in the East Coast/West Coast rivalry. Despite our differences, we all sat together during lunch. We called our female counterparts “The Fly Girls.”
The Fly Girls sat right next to the cookie stand and juice machine in the café. These girls were fresh to def. Their crew was outfitted in sports bras and overalls like TLC; bangles, T-shirts, tennis shoes, and cuffed bottom jeans like Salt N Pepa; or braids, shades, and Timbs like Da Brat. Whatever the flavor of the day was, The Fly Girls wanted everyone to know.
Each of them had a turn. One would leave the table, go get a red juice (everyone’s favorite flavor), and look right at the boys gawking at her. Then she would apply gloss to her lips to make them look even better right before her first sip. After she took the red juice back to her table, she pranced back and forth to the register, returning with one cookie at a time for each of the ten occupants at the table. It was easy to be distracted by this procession for the entire lunch period. They did so much walking back and forth I don't know if they ever had a chance to eat!
The day of the dance was also the same day my brother’s 6th grade class was scheduled to visit Hamden Middle. Horace was cool with some of us there, but I couldn’t be seen with the rest of those twerps in the lunchroom. After a difficult social studies test, I needed a good distraction. Still, I chose to take my burger and avoid them all together. I ventured into enemy territory. Well, it was more like foreign territory than enemy territory. The complexion of the crowd was a little different on this side. I was just more comfortable to follow the flow where fellas flowed, a few grills were gold, and the jokes were cold. Besides, "Rump Shaker" was my favorite song at the time, and I knew just where to find Wreckx-N-Effect!
As I crossed the café’s overpass looking down into the bosom of the crowd, I found myself really looking down into the bosom of the crowd! Wow, I thought to myself, these girls need to have a song, too, just in a slightly higher range.
I fumbled my way down the stairs, trying not to bump into anyone. Those spiked hair guys looked fragile. The Extra SMedium T-shirts they wore didn't add any dimension to their frames, either. As I approached the glass door to exit the café, a girl wearing a deep green tank top, a pair of navy blue velour pants, and flip flops was about to walk in. Her stride was graceful and well practiced. The sun illuminated her olive green eyes before they made contact with mine.
Mom taught me it was common courtesy to hold the door open for a lady, so I did just that. The small passage way gave us a good excuse to brush closely by one another. The scent of honey swirled around me as the wind blew her brown hair. "SHANNON" was written in bold font in a perfect shade of pink across her butt.
As I was still standing in the doorway, clumsily flirting, I grinned. “Nice to meet you…SHANNON."
She looked back and giggled, finally ending with a wink and a smile as if she was luring me to further inquire.
It wouldn't hurt to know her last name, but my brother’s class was here, and I was in foreign territory. This probably wasn't the best time for me to explore new terrain. I smiled back and continued outside.

CHAPTER 2 A FRESH ONE
Everyone was going to the dance that night, and I knew Shannon would be there. If I wanted to make the best impression, I would at least need a haircut. I put my burger down to see how much money I had in my pocket. Dad would give me allowance for helping Mom out around the house. I opened my velcro-closed wallet and counted out seven singles, which wasn’t enough for a cut.
Earlier in the school year, Jasper introduced me to Tommy and Cyrus. They both were always fresh, and were always talking about money. While Cyrus chose to earn his money by dealing tapes and candy bars at the bus stop, Tommy bragged about how good he and his boy Frank were at a game called “Quarters”. All you had to do was put your money down, guess heads or tails, and the winner takes all.
I had seven dollars, but I needed ten. I wished I had some candy bars to sell like Cyrus. I only had a Snickers wrapper somewhere at the bottom of my book bag. No way could I start a business like his.
In the distance, the crowd roared where the quarters game was going on. That was it! "It's as simple as heads or tails," Tommy once told me. It was worth a shot.