Free Famous by Simone Bryant Page A

Vuitton loafers.
    â€œWhat you doing?”
    Trying not to die of embarrassment. “About to head to lunch.”
    â€œYeah, me, too.”
    Silence.
    â€œSomething wrong, Dionne?” he asked.
    She shook her head like he could see her. “Nope.”
    â€œLet’s go to the movies tonight.”
    Dionne perked up, but her spirits were shot back down.
    â€œI can’t. I have practice tonight,” she said.
    After begging and pleading with her parents to let her stay in the group, they’d given in. But there were big-time stipulations like keeping up her grades, staying on track for college, no profanity, sexy music or nasty dancing.
    â€œPractice for what?”
    â€œMe and a couple of my friends are starting a group,” she admitted.
    â€œSo my baby gonna be famous?” he asked, sounding excited for her.
    â€œWe’re just getting started so I don’t know ’bout all that.”
    Famous? Like the next Destiny’s Child? Her mind hadn’t even gone that far yet. She was just working up the nerve to be able to write sixteen bars to fit the song Starr was supposed to write.
    â€œDon’t forget about me when you give your acceptance speech at the BET Awards,” he joked.
    Whoa! BET Awards. Acceptance speech. His brain was moving faster than Starr’s.
    â€œI had to beg my parents to let me be in the group,” Dionne admitted, looking up as the doors to the building opened and a group of teenagers walked in and then noisily jogged up the stairs.
    â€œYour dad, too?”
    â€œYup.”
    â€œCrucial.”
    Dionne smiled. She’d forgotten how crucial was slang for everything back in eighth grade.
    â€œI’ll be home tomorrow night and we can catch a flick then,” she said, not caring that she sounded hopeful. She made the choice to go for Hassan. Somehow she would find a way to make it work.
    â€œOkay. That’s whassup,” he said. “Lunch is almost over. I’ll call you later.”
    â€œOkay.”
    She ended the call, thinking of him looking good and catching the eyes of plenty of girls at school. For the first time she kinda regretted going to a different school than Hassan. And after the Diva of Dumb called her out with that hair-braiding ish, Dionne was trying to remember why she was at Pace, too.
    She grabbed her pocketbook and jogged down the steps to walk out the door and into the cold air. She pulled her jacket collar around her ears to shield her from the swirling winds and made her way to the main hall.
    â€œHey, Dionne! Wait up.”
    She turned and looked as Eric caught up to her. They had talked briefly around the time Starr was planning her big birthday bash. He was someone who fit in with her life at Pace, but she never forgot about Hassan. Plus Eric’s text had started to creep her out, making her think that he was a major perv.
    They’d actually made up at Starr’s party and he’d promised to not be such a horny toad. That lasted all of two daysbefore he’d called her one night and wanted to know what she was wearing—if anything. Ugh!
    She gave him a brief wave and turned to keep it moving to the cafeteria. No time for his mess, she thought, as she breezed through the doors of the caf.
    Dionne paused as all eyes turned her way. She felt everyone staring at her as she made her way to the table, mindful of keeping her head held high. “What did y’all get for lunch?” she asked, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
    Starr pushed her asymmetrical bang away from her eyes. “A blogful of gossip,” she answered, slightly caustic.
    â€œI wonder who she is talking about,” Dionne said, removing her denim trench before she grabbed a handful of grapes from Marisol’s tray.
    Marisol and Starr exchanged a brief look.
    â€œIt’s not you?” Marisol asked.
    Dionne shook her head. “So everything the Diva of Dumb says is gospel now.