Free Sweet 16 to Life by Kimberly Reid

find a lip gloss that rolled behind a planter full of long-dead mums, I hear voices coming from Mrs. Jenkins’s house. No, a little farther away than that, and it’s a guy’s voice. I don’t think Mrs. Jenkins has had a guy at her house since Mr. Jenkins passed away seven years ago, which is probably why she’s so mean. I stand up to see MJ on her porch talking to Lux.
    I back up to my door so they can’t see me. I can’t make out the words, but Lux’s voice is angry. I step back out onto the porch enough to watch them and hope they’re so deep in conversation that they don’t catch me spying. Okay, so it isn’t exactly a conversation. Lux is doing all the talking, though it sounds more like the kind of yelling you do when you don’t want anyone to overhear. When he puts his finger in MJ’s face, I’m expecting her to break it along with his arm because MJ has a good four inches and forty pounds on Lux, not to mention she’s an all-around badass. So I’m shocked when she not only backs away from him, she starts talking so softly to him that I can’t hear her voice at all, making gestures like she’s trying to explain herself. MJ Cooper does nothing softly, and apologizes to no one even if she probably should. Lux must be satisfied with MJ’s response, because now he’s walking to his car.
    Before I leave the porch, I wait a few minutes to make sure Lux is long gone and MJ is inside her house. My bus is also long gone, but it’s worth missing most of first period to have caught this scene. Now I know for sure that MJ is lying about Lux being her side dude.
    Â 
    I’m at my locker between second and third periods reading a note from Reginald. He must have had his mom stick the note through the slots because it wasn’t here before second period and unless he’s skipping, he should be in class at North Denver Heights right now.
    Sorry for the old-school approach, but I think I must have your number wrong.
    Uh no, I’m just evil and ignored your texts.
    Doing anything this weekend? I have tickets to a Broncos game. Hit me up if you’d like to go.
    Three hours in the cold watching a sport I don’t like. Now that I’m not with Marco, I never want to endure that torture again. See what I mean about the things a cute boy will make you do?
    â€œHey, Chanti. You got a second?”
    It’s Marco. I’m serious about that whole Universe thing. I really believe it has a LoJack on my love life. I throw the note into my locker guiltily, as though just being near it Marco will know I’m talking to another guy. As though he’d even care.
    â€œThat’s about all I have,” I say, pointing to my wrist and an imaginary watch. “Third-period bell is about to ring.”
    â€œWhat I said the other day before you left my house . . . that was out of bounds. I shouldn’t have—”
    â€œIt’s okay, Marco. This whole thing is kind of weird, but we’ll get used to it. Seriously—no worries.”
    â€œThis isn’t just about my parents hating you, or me not wanting you to play detective. It’s about the attention you tend to attract—cop attention—that my family doesn’t need right now.”
    â€œIs something going on?”
    â€œI told you about my cousin living with us.”
    â€œYour cousin?”
    Marco looks at me like I should know exactly why his cousin should have anything to do with whether we’re together or not.
    â€œRemember, not long after we first met? I told you my cousin David’s parents had recently been deported and how he was supposed to go, too, but my aunt and uncle brought him to us before INS took them away. When we were dealing with the whole school burglary ring and Donnell, I told you then I couldn’t have the cops in my business.”
    â€œOh, right. I forgot about David. You hadn’t talked about him since that