I am still figuring out if I want them to have grown up together, if they meet in church, or some combination of the two. Subria and Shiloh get to know each other better when they go away to the same overnight summer camp. I won't share that as part of this post, because that part of the book really focuses on the camp experience. I'll share that another time. Here are some excerpts that show how their relationship starts to blossom after camp. There are secondary characters here that I'm still figuring out (siblings and friends). I know there are a lot of names, but don't feel like you have to keep track of them, because I will be cutting out a lot of the secondary characters. Just focus on what's happening with Shiloh and Subria. Enjoy!
***
Subria loved Saturdays. It was so wonderful to sleep late and not
have to wake up to the sound of the alarm clock. Subria got out of bed, stretched slowly, and
walked over to her window to open the shutters.
One of the things she enjoyed most about the view from her window was
how the leaves in the oak tree mimicked a kaleidoscope, filtering the sun and
making a shimmering pattern on the grass in the backyard. She opened her window a little wider so she
could enjoy the breeze.
Subria turned on the radio, and
although she knew her mother would kill her if she knew how much water she was
using, Subria stayed in the shower for about twenty minutes listening to the
sounds of Luther, Chaka Khan, and Loose Ends.
Something about R&B music soothed Subria deeply – the blends of
vocal runs, saxophones, and bass solos awakened her, and made her feel like she
was flying sometimes. Although she had a
beautiful alto voice, the shower was the only place she felt truly free to sing
out loud, practice harmonies, and even laugh at her cracking voice as she tried
to hit notes that were a little out of her range. It helped that no one else was in the house. She didn’t feel like being judged for whether
she could hit each note on key, or with perfect pitch. That was Nairobi’s thing. It felt nice to be able to mess up and not
worry about performing perfectly for once.
Just as she dried off and got getting dressed,
the phone rang. Subria answered it,
hoping it was April or Robin inviting her to do something with them. She had spent the last few weekends preparing
for and taking the PSAT and SAT, and she definitely wanted a break.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Subria." She almost dropped the phone, but she played
it cool.
"Who’s speaking?" she
asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"It’s me – Shiloh."
"Oh, hi, Shiloh. How are you?" It was a good thing that her heart rate
couldn’t register over the phone.
"I’m good. What are you up to?"
"Not much. What about you?"
"Well, I’m over my uncle’s
house," Shiloh said, "and he lives around the corner from you. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or
something."
"What made you think of me?"
Subria asked, grinning, and leaning against the kitchen counter.
Shiloh paused. He wasn’t prepared for this question, even
though he should’ve been. "I don’t
know. I got some bad news, and you’re
the first person who came to mind when I thought of who might cheer me
up."
"Oh," Subria said,
genuinely surprised. "What
happened?"
"I don't really want to talk
about it over the phone. I just want to
do something fun to take my mind off of things."
"Well, what did you have in
mind?"
"We could go to the movies,"
Shiloh suggested.
"We could do that," Subria
said, coyly.
"What’s the last movie you saw?"
Shiloh asked.
"Promise you won’t tell my
parents?" Subria asked, nervously.
"Promise," Shiloh
responded, his curiosity piqued.
"Love Jones," Subria
responded, covering her face, embarrassed, even though he couldn't see her. Although the movie was rated R, Subria really
enjoyed love stories, and it was rare to see a positive depiction of a budding
relationship between a Black couple in the movies.
"Really?" Shiloh asked,
quite surprised, considering that Pastor Pitts had specifically mentioned that
movie as a "secular influence that she be avoided."
"You promised you wouldn’t tell!"
"I won’t, but I’m just
surprised. It's a little . . . worldly,"
Shiloh said, smirking.
"Yeah, I know," Subria said,
laughing at how much he sounded like Pastor Pitts. "Well, what’s the last movie you saw?"
"My class went on a field trip
to see Rosewood. It was good, but I left
feeling really angry."
"So, if we go to the movies, we
should go see something lighter. The new
Jurassic Park movie came out last week.
Do you want to go see that?"
"Sure. Where do you usually go to the movies?"
"At the Kings Plaza Mall on
Flatbush Avenue. You know where that is?"
"Yeah. Far," Shiloh responded.
"It’s not that bad. All we have to do is go downtown, and we can
catch a dollar van from there. We’ll get
there in no time."
"You ride those dollar
vans? You know they’re illegal . . . and
dangerous!" Shiloh responded.
Although he was surprised that she would do something so risky, it
piqued his interest in her even further.
"Yeah, but it’s cheaper,"
Subria said, defensively. "If New
York City Transit was so concerned about keeping people from taking dollar vans
instead of riding trains and buses, then they should stop increasing the cost
of tokens every year."
"Still – it is kind of far."
"Well, the Brooklyn Academy of
Music is having their Dance Africa festival.
We could go to that. That way, we
would be able to talk."
"Have you ever gone before?"
Shiloh asked
"Absolutely," Subria
said. "I usually go with my family
every year. It’s really fun. Lots of vendors, and music, and food."
"Okay. Let’s do that," Shiloh said. "I’ll come pick you up in ten minutes?"
"Can you give me 30?"
Subria asked. She didn’t really need 30
minutes, but she wasn’t ready to see him in ten minutes, either.
"Okay," Shiloh responded,
sounding slightly disappointed. "I’ll
see you in 30 minutes."
In exactly thirty minutes, Subria's
doorbell rang. She checked herself out
in the hallway mirror just outside of the living room, and walked quickly over
toward the door. She looked out of the
kitchen window just to be sure it was Shiloh before she undid the locks.
"Hi," Subria said, pulling
the door open, and standing slightly behind it.
"Hey," Shiloh responded,
walking into the house and standing by the door.
Subria wasn't sure what to do. She knew that shaking hands would be too
formal, but they had never hugged before either, so she just kind of stood
there until he surprised her by leaning in, kissing her on the cheek and
hugging her quickly around her right shoulder with his right hand. She blushed, despite herself.
"Do you want something to drink
before we go?" Subria asked.
"No, I'm okay," Shiloh
responded.
"We should probably get going
then," Subria said. "I'll just
go grab my bag."
Subria jogged over to the dining room
table, grabbed her back pack and headed to the refrigerator to grab a bottled
water before joining Shiloh at the door.
"I'm ready."
"Sorry I couldn't invite you
inside, Shiloh," Subria said as they walked over to Halsey Street to catch
the B26.
"It's okay," Shiloh said,
smiling.
"It's just that my parents don't
like me to be alone with boys in the house," Subria said, looking slightly
embarrassed.
"It's okay – really. My parents are the same way."
"So, do you want to tell me what
happened?" Subria asked, sitting down on a bench at the bus stop.
"Remember when I got accepted to
the High School film program at NYU last summer?" Shiloh asked, sitting
next to her.
"Yeah, how could I forget? That was amazing. I was so impressed that you got in! And I can't believe you had Spike Lee as a
teacher."
"Yeah, that was cool,"
Shiloh said, remembering how much he learned particularly from Spike Lee. "You know, you were one of few people
who have actually been interested in my work.
I mean, really interested. You’re
always asking me about it, and really happy for me. It’s so funny, sometimes," Shiloh said,
staring out across the street. "You
think you know who your friends are until something really great happens, and
the people you thought would care don’t even seem to care that much."
"Yeah," Subria said,
frowning. "I think your work is
amazing."
"That’s what I mean. You’re always so encouraging. When your family first came to IFG, I thought
of you as one of the little kids, but that’s not really true about you. You’re different. I started to see that at camp. You're more mature, or wise or
something. I can’t believe I’m telling
you all of this," Shiloh said, shaking his head and looking away from her.
Subria wasn’t sure what to say, but
she was dying to hear where this was going.
"So, what happened?" Subria asked, as the bus pulled up.
"Okay, so you already know I got
accepted to the film program at NYU, right?" Shiloh responded as they paid
their fares. Thankfully, the bus was
pretty empty. Subria stood back and let
Shiloh get on the bus first, and he walked about three rows back and stood back
so Subria could sit next to the window.
"Yeah, the Tisch School, right? I’m not surprised. You’ll do great there." Subria was also happy that he was staying in
New York, but she kept that part to herself.
"Well, it costs a lot, and
librarians and community newspaper reporters don't make that much money."
"Yeah, I’m hoping for a
scholarship, too."
"For track?"
"Yeah."
"I'd love to see you run again some
time," Shiloh said.
"I told you at camp that you're
welcome to come any time," Subria said.
"So, what were you saying about
school?" Subria asked.
"My school gives out a $10,000
scholarship to one student each year. I applied
for it, but I just found out that I didn't get it."
"Oh no! I'm sorry, Shiloh" Subria said, turning
to face him a little more. She didn't
care that their legs touched. "What
are you going to do?"
"I'm not sure yet," Shiloh
said, frowning. "I was hoping not
to have to work this summer, but I guess I'll have to. My uncle is going to try to help. I was hoping to avoid taking out loans, but I
may have to."
"It'll work out, Shiloh,"
Subria said. "You can't not go,
right? This is your dream!"
"I know," Shiloh said.
"Well, God will make a way for
you. Don't worry," Subria said, as
she rang the bell to get off the bus.
When Subria and Shiloh arrived at the
festival, they just walked around for a while, looking at wooden beads, and
cowrie shell bracelets and necklaces.
Shiloh was very interested in the tables featuring resources from local
bookstores, while Subria was more attracted to the booths with incense, oils,
and Afrocentric paintings and figurines.
"Are you going to buy something?"
Shiloh asked.
"No," Subria said. "I can't afford that stuff, but I did
get business cards for their shops. The
only problem is some of them are from out of state. Some are on Fulton Street, though. How about you?"
"I want to buy some books from
that table over there," Shiloh said.
"Okay," Subria said,
heading toward that table. "You can
put them in my back pack."
"Ah, and I was wondering why you
carried a back pack instead of a purse," Shiloh commented.
"Please," Subria said,
wrinkling her nose. "I hate purses."
"If I put my books in your bag,
will you let me carry it for you?" Shiloh asked.
"Sure. But would you carry it even if I were the
type of girl who liked pink bags covered with flowers and butterflies?"
Subria said, smiling.
"Uh, no," Shiloh said,
grinning. "I would just carry my own books and let you hold on to your
little frilly bag."
"That's messed up, Shiloh,"
Subria said, nudging him.
"Do me a favor?" Shiloh
asked.
"What's that?" Subria
inquired.
"Will you please call me Shy?"
"Okay," Subria said.
Subria and Shiloh ended up spending
most of their free time together that summer.
They went to the African Street Festival at Boys and Girls’ High on the
Fourth of July, and down to the Brooklyn Bridge to watch the fireworks
afterward. They held hands for the first
time as they skated together at Empire Roller Rink, and they spent the day together
at the festival at Grant’s Tomb during Harlem Week in August. Shiloh even taught Subria how to drive.
"How are you feeling about IFG,
Subria?" Shiloh asked, as they headed for the train station after bowling
at Chelsea Piers and stopping for ice cream.
"I don't know," Subria
commented, putting a spoonful of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in her
mouth. "I never really liked it
much. You know my aunt is the praise and
worship leader at her church, right?"
"Yeah," Shiloh responded,
skillfully scooping chocolate syrup and whipped cream off of his hot fudge
sundae.
"Sometimes I think about what it
would be like to go to her church. Jazz
and Nairobi have been going to both churches ever since we joined."
"Really?" Shiloh asked.
"Yeah," Subria said. "They never miss a service unless they're
sick. Jazz plays the drums, and Nairobi
is one of the lead singers in the children's choir."
"How come you don't go with
them?" Shiloh asked.
"Going to both services would
make it impossible to do anything else on Sundays. And sometimes I'm traveling with the
Engineers, or going to some other track event."
"Sometimes I think about leaving
IFG and going to another church," Shiloh admitted. "I met this guy back when I first
started going to Hayden. You remember me
talking about Sam?"
"Uh huh," Subria said,
finishing the last of her ice cream.
"His family goes to the Harlem
Christian Church, and it's not too far from me.
I've visited a couple of times, and I really like it."
"How would your parents feel
about you leaving?" Subria asked.
"I don’t they would care,"
Shiloh said. "They might be looking
for another church home, too. I've been
catching them watching sermons on BET in the morning, and the preachers don't
sound anything like Pastor Pitts. I think
they especially want Nadira to have a different church experience than what
Amira and I had."
"Remember Athena and Namibia
from camp?" Subria asked.
"How could I forget them?"
Shiloh asked, smiling.
"I've kept in touch with
them. Even when I met them at camp, they
talked about God in a way that was so unfamiliar to me. But at the same time, it made me think. I felt kind of jealous of their understanding
of God. I still do. They talk about loving God. I don’t know what that feels like. I fear God, but unfortunately, I can't say
that I love Him."
"I know what you mean,"
Shiloh said. "I want to experience
God like Sam and Athena and Bia do."
"Me too," Subria said, admitting her
spiritual longing to someone else for the first time.***
As Subria got closer to her
graduation from high school, she wanted to be more excited about her
future. She had applied for and been
accepted to Sinai University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Subria remembered Sinai from stories her
counselor had told her about the school back when she went to Camp Saranac. Subria had been accepted to numerous Ivy
League schools closer to home, and she'd miss Shiloh and her family, but Subria
believed that a private Christian college would be a good place for her.
Subria couldn't entirely enjoy this
new stage of her life, however. Subria's
relationship with her father had grown closer now that he had been spending
more time at home, but although she was maturing, and about to move away from
home, Steven still had a hard time treating her more like the woman she was
becoming. Subria felt like the part of
her life he really understood and accepted was her involvement on the track
team, and while she appreciated his support, there was so much more to her than
that. Renee protested, but Steven wouldn't
let Subria have a boyfriend, so although she and Shiloh were developing a
closer relationship, the only reason Steven allowed them to continue to spend
so much time together was because he saw Subria and Shiloh as more like brother
and sister. Thankfully, Renee had
faithfully kept the promise that she made to Subria years ago. She never let on that Subria had feelings for
Shiloh, and the feelings were now quite mutual.
"What’s wrong?" Shiloh
asked Subria as he walked her to the train station from his dorm.
"Nothing," Subria said,
pouting.
"Come on. I know you better than that. What’s up?"
"I don't know if my father is
going to let me go to the prom!"
"Oh," Shiloh said.
"It’s not fair. This is one of the most important days of my
life. I don't think he understands how
important this is to me!"
"I’m sure he does care. He's not like that," Shiloh said,
dismissing his personal frustration with Steven's unwillingness to allow Subria
to date.
"Yes he is, Shy. Did your parents let you go to your prom?"
"Yeah, but it wasn’t that big of
a deal," Shiloh said. "People
make more out of it than they really should."
"That’s easy for you to
say. You got to go," Subria said.
"True," Shiloh said,
conceding the point. "My parents
were cool about me going, but they just didn’t say much to anyone at church
about it."
"Do you think they could talk my
parents into letting me go?" Subria asked, hopefully.
"Maybe. Is there someone you want to go with?"
Shiloh asked, sounding more jealous than he meant to.
"Of course not!" Subria
said, blushing. "It’s nothing like
that. I just want to go. He’s just concerned that I’m going to do
something inappropriate, even though I never do."
"Well, maybe I have a solution,"
Shiloh said.
"What?" Subria asked. "I’m open to anything, at this point."
"I could go with you,"
Shiloh suggested.
"Are you serious?"
"Well, I know you’re saying that
you don’t mind going without a date, but speaking from experience, you have
more fun when you go with someone."
"I don’t know if I want to hear
about this," Subria said, frowning.
"No, really. If you don't go with a date, all the shady
guys just keep asking you to dance, and it’s hard to say no when you’re not
there with someone."
"Well," Subria asked,
hesitantly, "did you go with Arisleyda?"
"We were supposed to go
together, but we broke up before the prom."
"So you were one of the shady
guys asking the stag girls to dance?" Subria teased.
"Forget you, Subria. I’m just trying to do you a favor." Shiloh noticed the hurt look on Subria’s
face, and decided to be more honest. "I
shouldn’t have said that. What I meant
to say was it would be nice to go together.
My prom experience wasn’t so great.
I don’t want you to have the same experience, and I think it would be
fun to hang out with you. Besides, your
father trusts me, so he'll probably say yes."
"Well, I'd love to go to the
prom with you, Shy," Subria responded, smiling, "but you have to be
the one to ask him."
"Just tell me when," Shiloh
said, confidently.
Subria was awakened on the morning of
her prom by the loudest boom she had ever heard. She jumped up from her bed and pulled open
the shutters only to discover huge drops of rain slamming against her window. She pressed her face against the window and
groaned.
Subria walked slowly over to her
closet and pulled out the prom dress that she and her mother so carefully
selected from Bloomingdale's on 59th and Lexington. Initially, Subria's mom tried to talk Subria
into wearing Song or Nyasia's old prom dresses, but Subria had been wearing
their second hand clothes for years, and she talked her mom into finally
letting her get something special of her own.
Subria and Renee had gone shopping
for the dress in early March so that they wouldn't have to compete with the
hundreds of other girls who would be shopping for prom dresses in the
spring. Subria knew what dress she
wanted as soon as she saw it. It was a
black, backless, flowing Ralph Lauren dress – simple, and sophisticated. Now, despite the excitement Subria felt when
her father agreed to let Shiloh escort Subria to the prom, she was concerned
about the dress being ruined by the rain before she could even get there.
Subria flicked on the television, and
turned to the news to see when the rain was supposed to end. To her chagrin, the meteorologist forecasted
rain throughout the day. She turned the
TV off, threw the remote down on her bed and went upstairs to her mom's room
and knocked.
"Come in," Renee said,
yawning.
"Hey, Mommy," Subria said,
sulking, and flopping down next to her mom on her parents' bed.
"Rainy day, huh?" Renee
said, frowning at Subria.
"It's supposed to rain all day,"
Subria said, near tears. She put her
head in her mother's lap, and Renee rubbed her back like she used to when
Subria was younger.
"Where's Daddy?"
"At an early meeting,"
Renee replied.
"Jazz and Nai are still asleep?"
"Probably," Renee
replied. "Don't worry, Bria. I'm sure it'll stop raining."
Renee was right. At around 2:00 that afternoon, the clouds
rolled away, and the sun was shining through the kitchen window as Subria sat
in front of the stove, so her mom could straighten her hair. Subria had finally come to embrace her hair. She had gone through a lot of drama in her
early years about her light complexion and what some other Black girls called
her "good hair," because her hair was so long. Subria was brought up to believe that
everyone's hair was beautiful, and it troubled her that so many other people
didn't believe the same thing. She kept
her hair in cornrows most of the time primarily because it was more convenient,
especially for track, but also because she loved the connection to her African
heritage. For this occasion, however,
she didn't mind having her mother press and curl it for her. Subria wanted to have a more sophisticated
look.
Subria heard the doorbell ring at 7:00
on the dot. Although she was very
nervous about going downstairs and seeing Shiloh, she was delighted that he was
so punctual. Her stomach dropped when
she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
Subria knew it couldn't be Shiloh, but the whole occasion had her on
edge.
"It's me, Subria," Nairobi
called from outside the door. "Can
I come in?"
"Yeah," Subria responded.
Nairobi opened the door slowly, and
her mouth dropped open when she saw Subria.
"You look so pretty, Bria!"
"Thanks," Subria said,
smiling and blushing slightly.
"Did you see him?" Subria
asked.
"Yes I did," Nairobi said
mischievously.
"Well?"
"He looks really handsome . . .
and nervous. Just like you,"
Nairobi said, teasingly. "You
should go downstairs."
"You go down first. Tell him I'll be down in a few minutes."
"What are you waiting for?"
Nairobi asked.
"I'm just not ready to see him
yet," Subria said, defensively.
"So why did you tell him to get
here at 7:00, then?"
"I thought it would take him
longer, coming from Harlem."
"Come on, Subria! You know he likes you!" Nairobi said,
moving a few loose hairs away from Subria's eyes. "Why else would a guy who's about to be
a sophomore in college ask you to your prom?"
"Just go down and tell him for
me, Nai. Please?"
"Okay, but if you're not
downstairs in three minutes, I'm sending him up here."
"Nairobi!"
"I'm so not joking, Subria!"
By around ten after seven, Subria
finally mustered up the courage to go downstairs. She rounded the corner into the living room,
and Shiloh was sitting on the couch with Jazz.
Shiloh stood up as soon as he saw Subria.
"Wow," Shiloh said, walking
over to her slowly.
"Okay, yall," Jazz
said. "I'm out. You kids have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he
said, putting his arms around both their shoulders before jogging out of the
living room.
"You look gorgeous, Subria,"
Shiloh said.
"Thanks, Shy," Subria
responded, smiling and checking out his tuxedo.
"You look really good, too."
She could tell that he had just had a hair cut. He had a few stray hairs around his ears, but
Subria didn't know how he'd feel about her bringing that up or wiping the hairs
from his skin. One of Subria's favorite
things from the time she spent at Joonyaz
was seeing guys right after their haircuts.
Her uncle was a master at giving sharp fades and tight line ups. Shiloh had that clean look about him.
Thankfully, the doorbell rang, so
there wasn't too much uncomfortable silence between the two of them.
"The limo's here," Renee
called from the kitchen.
"Shall we go?" Shiloh
asked, extending his arm.
"Sure," Subria said,
interlocking her arm with his.
Subria enjoyed riding with Shiloh
down the Grand Central Parkway in a limousine.
They shared the limo with Jameela and India and their dates, but Subria
found herself wishing that they had rented their own limo instead. She didn't feel as nervous around Shiloh
anymore, and although splitting the cost of the limo made it more affordable,
she actually started to find Jameela and India's dates annoying.
"So, your name is Shiloh,"
Jameela's date asked.
"Yeah," Shiloh
responded. "How about you?"
"I'm Fella."
"Fella?" Shiloh asked.
"Well, my real name is Shawn,
but everybody calls me Fella."
"Okay," Shiloh said,
stifling a laugh. "It's nice to
meet you."
"My name is Zaquise,"
India's date said, "but people call me Zaq."
"Hey, Zaq," Shiloh
responded.
"Sorry for not introducing yall,"
Subria said, halfheartedly.
"It's all good," Fella
responded. "We'll have a lot of
time to get to know each other tonight, right Meela?"
Jameela smiled uncomfortably as Fella
grabbed her around her waist and kissed her neck.
"What is he talking about,
Jameela?" Subria asked, sounding a lot like her mom.
Zaq looked at India sheepishly, and
India blushed, suddenly finding the view from the window more engaging than the
conversation taking place.
"Yall didn't know?" Fella
asked. "We're going to a hotel
after the prom is over."
"We never talked about doing
anything like that!" Subria said, directing her deadliest gaze at Jameela.
"I know," Jameela said, "but
I didn’t think yall would mind."
"Of course we would mind,
Jameela!" Subria said, almost yelling.
"Did you know about this, India?"
India shrugged, continuing to look
out of the window. Subria hated how India allowed Jameela to talk her into
things, even if it made India uncomfortable.
"What? Yall are not down?" Fella asked.
"No, we're not," Shiloh
responded. "It's not a problem,
though. We can just have the limo drop
us back off by Subria's house after the prom.
We'll split the cost of the limo for the time we shared with yall, and then
yall can go where you want."
"I'm cool with that," Fella
responded, smiling.
Subria was so thankful both to hear
Shiloh's solution, and to see that he didn't seem to be offended by what her
friends and their dates were planning.
She looked over at him and mouthed, "Thank you."
"Let's listen to some music,"
India chimed in, ever the one to end uncomfortable silences. She turned on the radio, but the tension in
the limo only dissipated a little. Each
couple focused on one another, and there was no more group conversation for the
remainder of the ride.
When they arrived at Terrace on the
Park in the Flushing Meadow Park section of Queens, there was a huge blue and
white banner hanging over the entrance that said, This Is How We Do It - the theme of the Brooklyn Tech's class of
'98. Fortunately, Jameela, Fella, India,
and Zaq stayed near the entrance to talk with some friends. Before Subria and Shiloh left to go upstairs,
she agreed to hook up with the girls in the lobby at around 10:00.
They walked into the hall, and
surprisingly there were a lot of kids there already dancing to Destiny's Child and
Janet Jackson. As soon as the DJ put on
Spice Girls, however, everyone on the dance floor returned to their seats. The DJ noticed, and he played Déjà Vu - Uptown Baby by Lord Tariq and
Peter Gunz to get the crowd moving. By
the time he put on Put Your Hands Where
My Eyes Could See by Busta Rhymes, there was virtually no room on the dance
floor. Thankfully, Subria had Nairobi
teach her some of the latest dance moves so she could impress Shiloh. He had some moves of his own, too, though,
and at one point was in the middle of a circle being cheered on by the
crowd. Everyone asked Subria who he was
afterward, but she didn't know how to introduce him. Although she would've loved to say he was her
boyfriend, she simply introduced him as her friend.
When the slow songs came on, Subria
took a deep breath and tried to squash the tension building inside of her. She remembered back to how nice it was to
dance with him at the final banquet at camp a couple of years before, however,
and she felt more at ease.
Unfortunately, Raphael came over and asked if he could cut in while
Subria and Shiloh were dancing to the next slow song. Subria could tell that Shiloh didn't want to
stop dancing with her at that moment.
She didn't want to stop dancing with him, either, but she also didn't
want to be rude to her friend.
The DJ played Show Me Love by Robin S., and Subria politely thanked Raphael and
went back over to where Shiloh was sitting.
She took his hand and led him back to the dance floor. They danced once last time to We Trying to Stay Alive by Wyclef Jean
and John Forte, and by around 10:00, Shiloh and Subria were ready to
leave.
Jameela, India and their dates were
not ready to leave so early, so they talked the limo driver into taking Subria
and Shiloh back to her house, and then coming back to pick up the rest of
them. Subria went upstairs to her house
to change, and since Shiloh planned to spend the night over his uncle's house
in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn near Subria's house after the
prom anyway, he went over to change his clothes, too. Shiloh was back over to Subria's house in
about twenty minutes. Shiloh explained
to Steven why he and Subria came back early from the prom, and much to Subria
and Shiloh's surprise, he offered to let them borrow the car so they could go
back out if they wanted.
Shiloh and Subria decided to go to
spend the rest of the evening at Astroland Park in Coney Island. They were both starving, so they went to
Nathan's to get hot dogs and french fries.
Shiloh thought about trying the frog legs, but then thought better of
it. Shiloh wanted to take Subria on the
Cyclone, but she didn't think it would be a good idea right after eating. They decided to ride on the ferris wheel, and
then take a walk on the beach instead.
"I had a good time with you at
the prom tonight, Shy," Subria said, taking off her shoes.
"I enjoyed myself, too,"
Shiloh said.
"Thanks for asking me."
"It was my pleasure,"
Shiloh said, stopping and sitting on one of the benches. "So, how are you feeling about leaving
for college?"
"I'm excited," Subria
said. "But I'm a little scared,
too."
"That's understandable,"
Shiloh said. "I thought about going
away, but I think New York is one of the best places to study film."
"That's true," Subria said.
"Have you decided what you're
going to major in yet?"
"Sinai has a five year program
where you can get a B.S. and M.Ed. in Physical Education. I really want to teach Phys. Ed. in middle
school, and I want to be a track coach."
"That doesn’t surprise me,"
Shiloh said. "You'll make a great
teacher, and an amazing coach."
"Thanks," Subria responded.
"What types of courses do you
have to take for that major?" Shiloh inquired.
"Kinesiology, Health and
Wellness, uh . . . Exercise Physiology and other P.E. and Health Methods
classes."
"Sounds interesting,"
Shiloh said, stretching his head back, looking up at the sky and sighing.
"What's wrong," Subria
asked.
"I don't want you to leave,"
Shiloh finally admitted. Subria wasn't sure how to respond.
"I'm going to miss you, too,"
Subria responded.
"I want to ask you something,"
Shiloh continued, "and I don't want you to think it's just because you're
leaving."
"What is it?" Subria asked.
"I was wondering if you wanted
to go out with me," Shiloh asked, biting his lip.
"I was hoping you'd ask me that,"
Subria said, grinning from ear to ear, and embracing him as hard as she
could. He returned her embrace. "I would love to be your girlfriend." Subria wasn't so concerned about what her
father would think. The place that
Shiloh occupied in her heart crowded out all those worries.
"May I hold you?" Shiloh
asked. He smelled like the Egyptian Musk
oils she usually smelled when emanating from the table of the incense seller
near the train station by her house. Subria
gazed at Shiloh as he silently looked out on to the water, and then she laid
her head on his shoulder. She heard
Shiloh call her, but she was too scared to answer him.
"Subria . . ."
She couldn't ignore it this
time. Subria was sure he would ask, but
what would her answer be? The sound of
her racing heart was almost deafening, but she focused on reading his lips so
that she wouldn't have to look into his eyes.
"Can I kiss you?" Shiloh
asked.
She couldn't lie. Subria wanted him to kiss her more than
anything. She wasn't sure whether she
mouthed the answer, or simply communicated with body language, but Subria
definitely said yes. The background city
noises were barely audible. The
promenade was completely empty. Subria
felt like melting into his arms. 
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