7. Back in the days when we were cool
BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN WE WERE COOL
JUNIOR YEAR
“ T hey call me Cameo, and I’m so slick,
I got all these girls on my motherfu ? — ”
“CAMERON.”
The word cracked through the room like a starter pistol.
Cameron froze mid-bar, one foot up on a chair, arms out like he was accepting an award.
Brian doubled over laughing, Preston shaking his head, eyes on the floor – he’d seen this movie before.
Ms. Avery stood in the doorway, one perfectly-shaped eyebrow raised, arms crossed over her chest. “Finish that line,” she insisted. “I dare you.”
Cameron grinned, big and shameless. “I was gonna say mother, father, sister, brother, Ms. Avery.”
“Boy, if you don’t get your lying you-know-what down off that chair?—”
Brian lost it completely. “He thought he was at the Source Awards!”
Preston finally cracked a smile. “You always doing too much, Cameo.”
“That’s why y’all keep me around,” Cameron said, hopping down. “Star power, baby.”
Cameron was all lean limbs and restless energy – six-foot-two already, but not finished growing into himself.
Warm brown skin, an easy smile, eyes that always looked like they were imagining the next thing.
His hair stayed low and unbothered, his posture loose, not realizing how much space he would one day take up.
Brian was the complete opposite. Five-foot-ten, dark-skinned, Nigerian, compact and electric. A triple threat – voice, keys, and pen sharp enough to stop a room. Around Preston and Cameron, they jokingly called him the Short King, even though his presence never felt small.
Ms. Avery shook her head but couldn’t suppress her smile. “You three are a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“We prefer legends,” Brian said.
“Y’all prefer detention,” she shot back. “Now sit down before I forget I’m an educator.”
They slid into their seats – sort of. Cameron leaned back, chair balanced on two legs. Brian tapped a rhythm on the desk. Preston sat straight, hands folded, eyes distant as if somewhere else.
“Alright,” Ms. Avery said. “From the top. And Cameron, use your inside voice.”
“Yes ma’am,” Cameron said, immediately ignoring her. As soon as she turned around, he leaned in. “Aight, hear me out. Third period – dip.”
Brian’s eyes lit up. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“That back door still loose?” Cameron asked.
Preston glanced toward the hallway without moving his head. “They tightened it last semester.”
Brian grinned. “Yeah, tightened, not fixed.”
Cameron slapped the desk softly. “See? That’s why we keep Preston. He got that long ass neck, he can see Cambodia from here.”
“Fuck you, Cameo,” Preston said, jokingly. “Besides, I’m not skipping.”
Brian stared at him. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“That thing where you act like you’re too good for us.”
Cameron laughed. “What Brian trying to say is — and I mean this respectfully — quit being a bitch.
Preston took a swipe at him, and Cameron ducked, laughing.
“We know you, P,” Cameron went on. “Look at you right now — Brian talking and you ain’t hearing a damn word he said. You already on stage in your head, holding a Grammy and thanking God.”
Preston rolled his eyes. “Man, shut up. Y’all need to be focused, too, we got SpringFest coming up, and?—”
“Bro, tell me you’re really not talking about SpringFest right now.” Brian scoffed.
“I just want to be prepared.”
Cameron put his arm around him and said,
“Preston, my guy, relax, we know your moms’ is riding your ass to win ‘cause SpringFest ain’t just some little school talent show. That’s the one where real industry folks show up — label people, producers, folks with money.”
Brian nodded. “Yeah, that’s the one where people actually get found, not just clapped for.”
Cameron smirked.
“And you already know Talia ain’t leaving nothing to chance. She probably working the phones every day to get some executive circled on her calendar right now like, ‘You gon’ watch my Pressy whether you want to or not.’”
Preston shook his head, trying not to smile. “Y’all doing too much.”
Cameron and Brian exchanged a look, then knocked fists together, grinning like they’d just told the joke of the year. After a spell Cameron said.
“Look all I’m saying is, we got a shit ton of competitions before SpringFest even hits. Besides, we can plan all that while outside this plantation.”
A group of girls passed the open door, slowing just enough to look in. “Hey, Cam,” one of them called.
“Heyyyy,” Cameron said, flashing a smile that should’ve been illegal.
Another girl leaned in. “You performing at lunch?”
“Always, ” he said. “Tell your friends.” The girl winked and walked off as they giggled.
Brian leaned back in his chair. “Damn… I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller. Must be nice.”
“Man, your height is not holding you back, Short King,” Cameron said. Brian kept watching the girls as they turned the corner.
“Really?”
“Yeah man, girls love short, sweet and chocolate.”
“Facts” Preston chimed in.
“It’s your face that’s the problem.” Cameron added, letting out a chuckle, meeting Preston’s hand for a high five. Brian punched him in the arm playfully. “I hate you.”
Preston watched the exchange quietly, amused but removed. He liked the noise, he just didn’t need to live inside it.
Cameron noticed. “You good, P?”
Preston shrugged. “Yeah.”
“You lying,” Brian said.
“Everybody lying,” Cameron added. “That’s part of junior year.”
Ms. Avery turned around. “And that’s enough talking.”
Cameron sat back, hands up in surrender, still smiling. They weren’t kings yet, but they were close enough to taste it.
The bell rang, sharp and loud, and Cameron stood first. “Alright,” he said. “Decision time: legends or law-abiding citizens?”
Brian was already grabbing his bag ready to leave, but Preston hesitated. Cameron clapped an arm around his shoulder. “Come on, Superman. We running this shit.”
Brian nodded. “Rite of passage. You don’t skip school at least once junior year, you a lame forever.”
“I’m not trying to get caught,” Preston said. “Mr. Idleburg be posted up on Tuesdays.”
Brian groaned. “He’s right. This giraffe-neck motherfucker, they’re gonna be able to spot from the highway. He’s too big to be running through the parking lot.”
Cameron smiled. “See, this is why I’m Batman, I’m already on top of that. Brian, you go get the car, pull around to the door and we slide him in. We let Tall Boy lay down in the back seat and?—"
“Wait a minute, why I gotta go get the car?”
“Because, Short King, nobody is going to notice you running around like a little leprechaun outside. Besides, it’s my car, and we know you can’t drive so I’m taking a huge risk.”
“Then why don’t you go?”
“’Cause let’s face it, the minute I step outside, this whole school’s going to feel it collectively. Now, are you down with this plan or not? Because ten minutes ago you sounded like Tupac and now you sounding like Mariah Carey.”
Preston chimed in, defending his friend. “I mean, Green Lantern’s not wrong for asking. Besides, Idleburg is going to be around here any second.”
Cameron rolled his eyes. “Fellas, am I in the wrong crew? I thought we were the Justice League. Why does it sound like I’m talking to the Care Bears?”
“Because Idleburg likes catching people,” Preston said. “That man wakes up hoping somebody test him.”
Cameron smirked. “Idleburg? Man, he don’t know his head from his ass. He just like the sound of his own voice.”
“That’s Mr. Idleburg’s thing,” Brian added. “He talk so much he forget why he stopped you.”
Cameron cut them off. “Look, I don’t want to hear all of that.
This is junior year, and we gotta set the tone.
This is the Justice League, meaning it’s just us.
We don’t give a damn what anyone thinks about what we do, because we’re all we got.
Now, I’m about to head to my car and I’m headed to Galveston, so hopefully I can meet me a G-Town baddie and make it a legendary night.
The question I have for you is, are you in or out? ”
The two boys nodded, gaining confidence in the plan.
Cameron smiled. “That’s more like it. For a second I thought I was around a bunch of bitches. Aight, Beanstalk, use that neck of yours and peep around the corner to see if we still in the clear.”
Preston rolled his eyes and walked to the edge of the lockers to take a peek around the corner. “We’re good. We just gotta time it right.”
Across from the theater room sat the loose door, the one everyone knew about but pretended didn’t exist. The hinge was busted just enough to slip through if you knew what you were doing.
Cameron tilted his head. “Plan is simple. We slide past the theater like we going to rehearsal. Cut through the door – gone.”
Brian clapped his hands softly. “Clean.”
Preston exhaled. “Alright. But if we see Idleburg, we abort.”
Brian elbowed him, grinning. “Quit acting like a bitch.”
Preston shot him a look. “Say that again.”
Cameron laughed. “See? He nervous ‘cause he wants to see Sonobia Parker in sixth period”
“That ain’t true,” Preston said.
Brian snorted. “That’s always true.”
The warning bell for next period cut through their banter. Metal lockers slammed and voices rose, the hallway filled like a dam ready to burst.
Brian and Cameron made their way to the broken door, Preston checking the hallway once more.
“Showtime,” Cameron said.
The three boys nodded. It was time to become legends.
The day all three of the most popular boys skipped school would be something they’d talk about for weeks to come if they could time it right. With no hesitation they moved, casual, unbothered. Three boys who looked like they belonged exactly where they were.
The door was right there. Two more steps to freedom, to become legends. Preston was the best at jimmying the doors. He was on his way when something caught his eye.
“Yo,” Brian whispered. “What are you doing?”
Preston couldn’t answer. He was staring.
Across the hall, near the front office, a woman was walking with a girl – new, clearly. The girl looked bored, a polite smile on her face. She was beautiful in a way that made the world stop, yet was unaware of it.
Brian followed Preston’s line of sight. “Bro. Don’t start.”
“I’m just looking,” Preston said.
Cameron chimed in “what is going on.”
“Preston is caking again.” Brian said. Throwing his hands in the air.
Cameron stepped out into the hallways and stopped too, his face morphing into shock. “Oh shit,” he said quietly.
Brian frowned. “What?”
“That’s my cousin.”
Preston blinked. “What?”
Cameron straightened up immediately, all joking gone. “Remember I told you my cousin was coming to school down here. That’s Nairobi.”
Before either of them could respond, a shadow fell across the hallway. “Well,” Mr. Idleburg’s voice boomed, “this is interesting.”
All three boys froze.
Idleburg stood there with his arms crossed, eyes sharp behind his glasses. Their escape door sat untouched behind him.
Cameron reacted fast. “Sorry, sir,” he said, stepping forward. “We were just about to head to class. I just saw my cousin – she transferring in – and wanted to say ‘hi’ real quick.”
Idleburg looked past him to the girl, then back. “There’ll be time for that later. You boys know better than to be wandering. The bell rang five minutes ago.”
“Yes, sir,” Brian said quickly.
Idleburg nodded once. “Get to class.”
They didn’t argue as they turned and walked the other way. As they disappeared into the crowd, Preston glanced over his shoulder one last time.
The girl was still standing there.
And for the first time all day, he forgot about skipping.