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Brick City, USA

he moment the soles of my crisp white Concords hit the concrete and my brother and I stood in front of our new foster homeour third one this year, our umpteenth this lifetimeI knew this was destined to be a hot mess. Some ish, fareal. And there was no way we were staying here. Straight up. Seriously, Id been in foster homes since I was nineso I could tell the strict from the dont-give-a-damn; the halfway decent from the get-me-the-hell-out-of-here; and the money whores from the fake saviors. So, based on sight alone, I knew these fools were all of the above. Hey, how yall doing? Apparently, that was the head of the foster-home welcoming committee. Im Cousin Shake. I blinked not once, but twice. What the heck is a Cousin Shake and what . . . in the bejesus . . . does he have

Ni-Ni Simone

on? Sparkling rainbow doo-rag, rainbow sequin shortset, and black gazelle glasses with no lenses. And wait, hold up . . . Hold. Up. Is he rockin high-top L.A. Gears on his feet? What the . . . Cousin Shake continued, And this is my boo. He pointed to a ve-foot-tall honey-colored woman standing next to him. Im Ms. Minnie, she said. Welcome, sweets! I couldnt believe this. Not only did Ms. Minnie have on the same exact short-set as Cousin Shake, she wore a curly-blond lace-front wig with the hairline practically glued on her eyebrows. Nasty. And to make matters worse, she smiled at me and on the right side of her mouth were two gold teeth: one on the top and the other on the bottom. Gross. Know what? Maybe Im crazy and none of this is real. I clicked the heels of my sneakers together. Nothing. I was still in Oz a.k.a. Newark, New Jersey. Better known as hell. Hi, Cousin Shake, my eight-year-old brother Malik said, grinning. I sucked my teeth. Clearly Malik didnt listen. He knew he was supposed to follow my lead and speak when I said to speak, but instead he gave Cousin Shake a high-ve like they were boys. Wassup? You got it, baby. Cousin Shake clicked his tongue. Know what, baby, you a lil chunky like me. He continued, proudly, So maybe Ill change the baby up and call you Baby-Tot-Tot, you know, short for toddler. Word. Malik nodded and smiled in amazement. Yeah, I like that. Baby-Tot-Tot. Thats hot. Oh heck no! Malik, get yo behind over here, I snapped.

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And yeah, everybodys heads turned and they all looked at me like I was crazy, but so what? You must be trippin! Baby Tot-Tot, did you have crack in your cereal this morning? We didnt eat this morning. Malik shook his head and looked at me confused. You know that foster mother had our things packed and us standing on the curb for two days. She told me dont even think about eating! I placed my hands on my hips. It wasnt two days it was just today and you get my point. I turned to Cousin Shake and said, Get this straight, my brothers name is Malik and if you cant call him that, dont call him at all! I spun on my heels toward Ms. Thomas, my caseworker. The look on her face said that she was ready to dump us and get back to her ofce. But the look on my face let her know that wouldnt be happening anytime soon. Get us out of here! Ms. Thomass eyes pleaded with me. Give them a chance. Please behave. Theyre nice people. Oh no, oh no, oh no Cousin Shake stuttered. We dont beg children to behave, we chop em in the throat and make em do it! Chop em in the throat? I wish somebody would . . . Hmph, this old dude really dont know me. I snapped my ngers and swung my neckpractically into a 360. You might wanna bring that down, Cousin Crazy. What kinda boom-boom-bull is this? Hold me back, Minnie! Cousin Shake spat as he spun around, broke out into the cat daddy, and topped it off with the bounce. Hold me back! Am I dreaming? Am. I. Dreaming? Why is he dancing? I looked at my caseworker and she looked at her watch.

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Let it slide, Shake, Ms. Minnie said, stretching out her arms before Cousin Shake. Let it slide. She aint ready for you, Shakadean. She. Aint. Ready. For. You. Hell nawl, she aint ready, cause I will slide some bilingual on dat. Cousin Shake-O aint the one-O. Comprend-O? So, what you aint bout to do-O Youre here! An excited voice interrupted Cousin Shakes stupid tirade, and before I could turn to see where the voice had come from, this woman had snatched a hug from me and quickly followed up by hugging and kissing my brother on both cheeks. I didnt know you were coming so early, the woman said, now shaking my caseworkers hand. Im Grier and this is my husband, Khalil. She pointed to a tall and dark brown man who held two large Target bags. Were the foster parents. Well, were all a family, us, Cousin Shake, Ms. Minnie, and my children. We live here together. She pointed to the house in front of us. I quickly scanned the two-story colonial, with the large front and backyard, and the long and wide driveway with the seven-foot basketball hoop at the top of it. For a moment, I wondered if these clowns were hustling. Then I looked back at them, soaked in how ridiculous they were, and knew right away that they were too played to be hustling anything other than a nine-to-ve. I was denitely in Squareville.com. Ms. Grier carried on, Im so sorry were late. But we were picking up some things for the kids rooms. She beamed in excitement. I could hardly sleep last night I was so nervous about you all coming. I hope youre hungry, because Ms. Minnie cooked a feast! So lets go inside.

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I thought I smelled a meal! Malik said, letting my hand go and reaching for Ms. Grier. Shut up, I snapped. You dont smell anything. I snatched his hand back. Grier, Cousin Shake tried to whisper but failed. What kinda lil baby-lifers tryna bring up in here? If you want me and Minnie to leave, all you have to do is tell us. Im not a lifer, thank you! I wiggled my neck. Im Gem! Cousin Shake, Ms. Grier said, agitated. Would you and Ms. Minnie please cut it out? She looked back at me and smiled. Honey, youll get used to them. I twisted my lips and popped my eyes. No I wont, cause I dont do old and crazy. I turned to my caseworker. I know you can see that these people are nuts! Cousin Shake broke out into his cat daddy and bounce routine again. Lawd, please take away these evil thoughts running through my mind. Take away the thoughts about how I need to go inside, grab my belt, and whoop dat Cousin Shake! Ms. Grier yelled. Dont cuss at these children. Cousin Shake snorted. Okay, then let me put it like this. He looked me dead in my eyes. Some-bleep-bleepin-body need to bust yo bleep-bleepin bleep. Cause if you keep tryin me its gon be a mother-suckin bleep-bleepin problem. He took a step back and mouthed, Now try me. Please. He arched a brow. I bleepin dare you. Gem, you have to be respectful! Ms. Thomas squealed, embarrassed. Oh no she didnt! You dont tell me what to do! Gem. Ms. Thomas spoke in a low and patient tone. Im

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trying really hard to nd you a home, but at sixteen I need you to work with me. Now, I have done my part. I have found you home, after home, after home, but your behavior causes you to be removed from everywhere we place you. I need you to help me to help you. Whatever. I ipped my hand dismissively. She continued, I know youre hurting. I rolled my eyes. I hated when people tried to analyze me. And besides, I wasnt hurt I was pissed off. Its not that serious, I assured her. Im just ready to leave. Ms. Grier said, Try to give us a chance. My mother died when I was a teen and my sister and brothers lived different places until Cousin Shake took us all in and raised us together. So I understand what youre going through, but I think if you gave us a chance youll like staying here. I have twin daughters, both in college. Toi, the oldest, is here in New Jersey. She has a son, Noah. My youngest daughter, Seven, is away in New Orleans at Stiles U. For a moment my eyes brightened up. I always wanted to go to Stiles U. Maybe I can arrange something where you can visit Seven on campus. My eyes narrowed. Im not interested. Well, hopefully that will change. She smiled. I also have a son, Amir. We call him Man-Man. How old is he? Malik asked, excited. Seventeen. Seventeen! Malik gasped. A big brother! He turned to me. Can we at least have some chicken and Kool-Aid before we go? Malik begged, like he was starving. I swear it smells like K.F.C. If looks could kill, Malik would be cremated. I hated

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that he was so needy! Always begging somebody! I was embarrassed and the more I stood here, the more I thought about how I needed to leave. To hell with this caseworker and this ridiculous family. I was over it. I looked at Malik and said, How about this. If you rolling with me, then lets go. If not, then peace, cause Im out. Ill see you around. I hesitated for a moment and when Malik didnt budge, I felt a swift kick to my gut. I took a few steps backward as I struggled to hide the tears that lled my eyes. Youre really not coming with me? I said, more to myself than to Malik. When he didnt answer, I sucked in a breath, hit them all with a two-nger peace sign, and took off down the street; and as I rounded the corner I heard Ms. Grier say, We have to go after her!