Free Flipping the Script by Paula Chase

maybe they get their drugs from Colombia”—she shrugged—“but he’s Puerto Rican.”
    â€œHow do you know where they get their drugs?” Greg said, scowling.
    Kelly tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted from her right foot to her left. “I don’t.”
    â€œG, you know your girl just reppin’ for her people,” JZ said. He beamed at Kelly as he called out, party-style, “Puerto Rico. Ho-oh.”
    Kelly smiled gratefully and stepped so she and Greg were hip to hip. Her face fell when he shifted his weight away, his eyes intent on Rob as if he didn’t feel the tiny bump from Kelly.
    â€œWhatever they are, they pushing mad weight from what I hear,” Rob said. “I just thought maybe y’all girl was messing with Angel and didn’t know. But she messes with the other dude, so ...” His shoulders hunched quickly, dismissing the rest.
    â€œWell, I guess that was the hood four-one-one,” Michael said, hoping to break the wave of anxiety he felt pulsing from Kelly. There was some teetering, but the cloud that accompanied the arrival of Angel’s car showered the group in tension.
    Greg’s usually smiling face was tight. Not that Michael blamed him. Dude couldn’t seem to emerge from Angel’s shadow, even though he and Kelly had now been dating longer than she and Angel ever officially had. He also felt bad for Kelly. Even though she’d made sure not to even look Angel’s way, the old vibes from her ex had soured the moment anyway.
    He started to throw in the towel, ask Rob to walk home with him and call it a night. It wasn’t Rob’s fault he didn’t know that Angel was a sore subject, but he’d opened a can of worms for sure. The light banter they’d all been exchanging seconds ago fell as silent as the night.
    Kelly, standing next to Michael, shifted uncomfortably, then cleared her throat. “Are we ready?”
    â€œAren’t we going to wait for Cinny?” Lizzie said. She stood on her toes, looking over the top of the circle at Jacinta’s backside wiggling in the gloom.
    â€œMan, for what?” JZ said. He raised his voice, turning his head in the direction of Jacinta’s back. “She need come on or get her ass left.”
    â€œI know I wouldn’t walk through here alone. It’s mad quiet,” Rob said. He shrugged his jacket closer to his ears and snugged his hands in his pockets as he looked around the dark street. “I know the burbs supposed to be safer. But seriously, it’s crazy quiet here.”
    â€œTold you,” Jacinta said, as she stepped back into the circle.
    As if Jacinta’s voice were a starting gun for a race, Kelly quick-stepped to the gate and the others followed.
    â€œOh, so you still hanging?” JZ said. He sauntered a step ahead of Jacinta. “I figured you was gon’ dash with your boy.”
    â€œAnd if I did, you’d just be texting me all night.” Jacinta grinned up at him. “So I figured I might as well stay here.”
    â€œShe got you there, kid,” Michael said.
    The raucous laughter of the clique echoed in the silent night, quickly breaking up the somber mood.

JZ vs. JZ
    â€œShorty made me smile when ain’t a damn thing funny.”
    â€”Lloyd ft. Lil Wayne, “Girls Around the World”
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    J Z joked along, taking Jacinta’s ribbing in stride.
    He lobbed his retorts through barely clenched teeth, even throwing in a few about Brian being whipped and Todd’s case of blue balls so it wouldn’t look like he was singling Jacinta out in his “friendly” wrath. He flopped his hood onto his head, sunk his hands into the pockets, and sauntered in the middle of the pack’s fast pace.
    â€œAre we there yet?” Michael said, whining good-naturedly.
    â€œTold you we should have drove,” Brian said. He stopped, stooped down, and hefted Mina onto his