Tsea by Nia Arthurs

insisted, his eyes blazing with fire.
    “Hey!” A newcomer entered the fight, cutting through the tension with her voice. “Shawn, you’re standing right on our finish line.” The girl tilted her head to the side and placed her hand on her hips. Her light brown skin and big brown eyes identified her as a part of the Creole population, one of the biggest ethnic groups in Belize. She was very pretty. Her hair was braided in six thick plaits that fell to the small of her back. Her small nose flared when she stared Shawn down. Even though she was about his height, she held herself like an adult.
    “I’m sorry, Cecilia.” Shawn grinned, but his bluster was fading beneath the pretty girl’s disapproval.
    “I told you don’t call me that, Shawn.” She narrowed her eyes. “Now, leave David alone,” She brushed a fat twist behind her ear and the gold bracelet on her hand sparkled in the light, “Or I’m never sharing my fruit pops with you again.”
    “Okay,” Shawn slapped David on the back and stepped a little away from them. “I was just playing with him.”
    “Well, now you’re done. I have a race to win.” She waved her hand dismissively, shooing the big bully. He ran away. Cece huffed and then turned her attention to David. “He’s so annoying.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be afraid to tell Mrs. Foster when he gets like that. He’s a jerk.”
    “I- I will.” David replied, staring at her with new eyes.
    Cece blinked at him and a half-smile lit her face. “You need to move so I can do my race.”
    “Oh, right.” David nervously slapped his hands against the pockets of his khaki trousers and backtracked until he was out of Cece’s way. She nodded her little chin once and turned on her heels to the starting line. David watched in awe as Cece kicked up her feet and, along with five other girls, flew toward the middle of the yard where a line had been toed into the sand. Her white uniform kicked up around her legs as she raced. True to her word, Cece won. She celebrated to the ringing of the bell which called them to line up in front of the school buildings.
    David kept his eyes on Cece for the rest of the day. The next morning, he brought her a lollipop from his parent’s shop.
    “Thanks.” She said with a smile and promptly ignored him.
    The next day, he brought her a juice pouch.
    “Wow,” She grinned as he handed her the gift when the bell rang for their fifteen minute break. “Thanks.”
    Once again, Cece walked away and went to join her own friends, leaving him alone in the classroom with his book.
    The next day, David handed her a dalla biscuit.
    Cece’s eyes went wide as she grasped the package. She appraised him with her intelligent brown eyes. “You want to be best friends, noh ?”
    David nodded slowly, waiting for her reply.
    The pretty little girl placed a finger to her chin in thought. Nodding slowly, she agreed. “Okay. We’re best friends now. I’ll bring you a chips tomorrow.”
    True to her word, she did. And so began the long and fruitful friendship of David Kim and Cece Walker.

CHAPTER ONE
    “What are we watching?” My best friend of ten years yelled from my bedroom. I finished washing my hands in the bathroom, glancing at my reflection in the mirror. My thick black hair was messy and I combed it to the side to keep the strands down. My pale face and long nose were as familiar to me as the inside of my palm. I thought my face was a little pointy but there was nothing I could do about that. I shrugged and stepped out of the bathroom to shake my head at Cece.
    “I told you. It’s a surprise.” I smiled when I saw Cece lounged on the bed, her thick black hair in a bun on top of her head. Her tall, lithe body was dressed in her favorite cut off jeans and a black tank top.
    “You know we have two completely different tastes in movies.” She reminded, rolling onto her stomach.
    “And music, and clothes, and TV shows and …” I listed.
    “I get the picture.”