Tsea by Nia Arthurs Page A

She cut her eyes at me. “Come on. I’m bored. You promised you’d entertain me today.”
    It was the last week of summer and there was so much to do to prepare for school. Only Cece would claim to be bored when junior college was right around the corner.
    I walked toward the television on the dresser and turned it on, logging onto my favorite site that streamed movies online. “I thought your mom and dad went to Chetumal today?  Why didn’t you go with them?”
    Her mouth gaped. “Are you kicking me out?”
    “What if I am?” I teased, my eyes disappearing with the force of my smile.
    She laughed. “It doesn’t matter if you are. I wouldn’t leave anyway.”
    “That’s what I thought.” I nodded and then returned my attention to setting up the movie. I finally succeeded and flopped unto the bed, waiting for the film to load.
    While the small bar at the bottom of the screen slowly advanced, Cece rolled her body next to mine. “When are you going to update this place?” She asked, glancing at me with her stunning almond shaped eyes.
    For a minute, I grew distracted by just how gorgeous she was. The pretty little girl in the school yard all those years ago only blossomed as Cece matured. Whenever we hung out and people assumed that we were dating, I’d receive incredulous looks. I already knew Cece was out of my league and I had come to grips with being just friends. At least I got to be with her way more than any of her many, many crushes.
    “Yo!” She slapped me in the shoulder and I rubbed the spot, narrowing my eyes. “Hey!”
    “Stop ignoring me.” She laughed. “Let’s get some paint this weekend and take this bedroom to the next level.”
    I turned on my back and stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars my dad and I had put on the ceiling when I was nine. “I like it.”
    She observed the stars with me. “You do?”
    I faced her. “Yeah, I do.”
    Cece smiled. “That’s nice… I think you should upgrade.” She closed one eye and held her fingers in the formation of a square. “I think we could keep the blue walls but make it a darker shade with some brown carpets or better yet, no carpets at all!”
    I flung my arm out and put her decorating-happy hands down. “You are not touching my room.” I replied firmly and then swung around to check the progress of our movie. The bar hadn’t moved more than an inch in the minute that we had been talking. “Ugh.” I face-palmed, “Adam is probably downloading his anime again.”
    “Your cutie little brother? He would never do that to me.” Cece said dramatically.
    “Adam!” I hollered. “Adam!”
    “What!” My little brother yelled back.
    Hopefully, Mom and Dad didn’t hear us. They hated when we shouted across the hall like that. “Get off the internet!” I commanded.
    “No!” He returned just as loudly.
    “For me?” Cece tried.
    “No!” The answer was sharp and immediate. Cece was a part of our family and my thirteen year old brother treated her as such.
    “Well, that stinks.” Cece groaned and sat up. “Wanna talk in the meanwhile?” She jerked her head toward the television.
    “About what?” I sat up and blinked at her.
    “Um,” She pulled her tank top up for modesty and glanced away from me. “I’ve been talking to Shawn again.”
    “C!” I groaned. Shawn Anthony had been after Cece since hormones and puberty kicked into his body. My best friend normally told Shawn where to stick it, but lately she’d been entertaining him.
    “He’s not the same guy he was in primary school!” She defended. “He’s changed!”
    “People that crummy don’t change.” I insisted, folding my arms stubbornly.
    “He says he’ll show me around the sixth form. Maybe we could all hang out together.” Cece suggested quietly.
    Shawn was attending his second year of junior college and was undoubtedly looking forward to Cece’s eighteenth birthday this August. Cece’s parents hadn’t allowed her to date until she was of age. Until