Tonya searched her mind for the rap artist's name. "Who?
Faybo? Girl, we need until next week for me to teach you to do it like that. You have to have skills like me to learn that fast." Tonya popped her shirt collar, boasting.
Lela hit her friend's shoulder playfully. "Whatever. Teach me anyway."
Out of the two of them, Tonya was the dancer. When they were kids, she was always coming up with dance routines for their dance group, the Spray Peppers, named after the female rap group Salt-NPepper.
Tonya was Pepper, Lela was Salt, and Naquetta was Spinderella. You couldn't tell them that they weren't going to be superstars when they grew up.
Tonya made a mental note to bring Lela up on a few new dance moves before tonight since Lela was still stuck in the 1980's. The last time they went out, Lela took it upon herself to try to resurrect the Cabbage Patch. She had a crowd of mostly 20-year-olds weak from laughing at her old-fashioned dancing. Lela would take it back to the 80's in a heartbeat, and had no shame in her game.
"Aiiight," Tonya replied, giving in. "Good thing you got me as a friend, girl," she added while turning down the music. "Leave it up to you, and you'll be doing the Running Man, with no one to tell you that it's not cool."
"You know me well," Lela laughed while turning the music back up.
The stoplight had turned green, but Lela did not go. Something in her right field of vision had her full attention. Before she could formulate words to speak, Tonya read her mind.
"Is that Tyrese's car?"
"Yeah, but I thought he would still be at the auto shop," Lela said with a tinge of suspicion.
Parked directly in front of The Fat Cherry, his car was hard to miss. He drove the only Caprice in town that was a rolling advertisement for the Auburn Tigers football team. The car had orange candy paint with a blue leather interior. In big blue letters, TYRESE was spelled out on the trunk. To match his car, most days he would be dressed down to the socks in Auburn University paraphernalia.
Lela swooped into the parking lot and parked directly in front of his car.
"That's his car alright, and look-a-here."