Free It's Raining Benjamins by Deborah Gregory

means it for a change!
    â€œYeah, I know, Cheetah Girl,” Derek says, grinning and showing off his gold front tooth. “Does that mean you’ll go out with me, yo?”
    I want to scream.
Ay, caramba!
Bubbles,
please
say
no!
    â€œAll right. We can move, we can groove,” Bubbles responds.
    I think I’m going to faint! Dorinda’s mouth is hanging open, too. I look over my shoulder, and see that the twins are busy talking to Derek’s friend, whom we don’t know.
    â€œBubbles, we have to go,” I blurt out.
    â€œHold up, Miss
Señorita
, I’m trying to make things happen, you know what I’m saying?” Derek says, interrupting me.
    â€œ
Sí
,” I say nastily, like, “DUH! I can see that.”
    â€œI’ll check you tomorrow,” Derek says to Bubbles. “Make me another choker, too.
Ayiight
?”
    â€œBet,” Bubbles says, as Derek and Mackerel move off to work the room.
    Galleria, Dorinda, and I make our way to one of the banquet tables, and sit down with our food.
    â€œBubbles, are you really going to go out with Derek?” Dorinda asks amused.
    â€œNo, silly-willy! I’m just trying to make up for what happened,” Bubbles says, exasperated. “And you’ll notice I got our choker enterprise back in business, too—we’ve got new orders from both Derek and Mackerel. By the way, who was that guy they were with? Does he look familiar?”
    â€œ
Tales from the Crypt
, maybe?” I retort. Now I wanna ask Bubbles about those orders for five chokers she told Derek we had. “How come you didn’t tell me we got orders for five chokers?” I ask defensively.
    â€œâ€™Cuz we
don’t
have orders for five chokers, Chuchie. Use that
cabeza
of yours for a change and some coins,” Bubbles huffs, knocking on my head with her knuckles. “I just said that to Derek, the
gnocco
, to drum up some business.”
    â€œWhat’s a
gnocco
?” I ask, annoyed.
    â€œA blockhead,” Bubbles says mischievously. Here she just got in trouble for calling Derek names, and already she has a new one for him? That’s Bubbles—always in trouble.
    As for me, I don’t care what she says—I
do
use my
cabeza
—because I’m not the one getting all cuckoo over some
blockhead
with a gold mine in his mouth!
    The twins stop talking with Derek’s friend and come over to join us at our table. “One of the ushers asked me if she could buy two of our chokers for her daughters—they’re twins, like us,” Aqua says excitedly, then pulls out a piece of paper with a name and phone number on it.
    â€œWe could sell two to her
right now
—because we have the five that we remade,” Bubbles points out.
    â€œI’ll be right back with the cash,” Aqua says, grabbing the chokers from Bubbles and jumping up to find the usher.
    We sit there, not saying a word. As for me, I’m still fuming at Galleria for knocking on my head with her knuckles.
    Then Angie pipes up. “His name is Spider, by the way—and he is a member of this church.”
    â€œWho?” Dorinda asks, puzzled.
    â€œDerek’s friend. He goes to DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx.”
    â€œLook at Angie, trying to make moves!” Bubbles says proudly. “Houston’s in the house!”
    â€œWell, I was just trying to be nice, since Derek is the one who invited y’all,” Angie says, kinda embarrassed. (The twins never talk about boys.) “You know our daddy would ship us back to Granddaddy Walker’s Funeral Home in little pieces if he ever even
thought
we were going out with boys!”
    â€œHow gruesome,” Bubbles chuckles.
    â€œI’m saving myself for Krusher,” I coo.
    â€œYou couldn’t even win a contest for a date with him, Chuchie. How are you gonna go out with him?” Bubbles asks, rolling her eyes at me.
    I’m going to kill