Simi’s darkly lined eyes were looking at me analytically, like she was some kind of queen of ancient, deciding which village girl should be her handmaiden. “I knew you weren’t hanging out with Zack for popularity because you did your best to hide it. I just could never figure out why. I guess that’s why I took it out on you sometimes. You’re smart. I hated seeing you waste your time on him. At one point I wondered if you were in on it with him, but that didn’t make sense. It didn’t match who I know you to be.”
I tilted my head. “And who do you know me to be?”
Simi took a bite of a yam chip from the sharing platter in front of me. Another surprise, as I’d never seen her eat carbs. I’d assumed she subsisted on the blood of First Years.
“A leader.”
I stared at her, trying to detect a hint of mockery but found nothing. Simi was a lot of things, and while she did sensationalize the truth sometimes on her blog, she wasn’t a liar. She went on facts. She didn’t give compliments.
After a few moments, I asked, “You fucking with me?”
Simi rolled her eyes. “Look, I may not have always liked you, but I’ve always rated you.”
“That why you called me Poetic Injustice?”
Simi chuckled at her genius. “Okay, that was funny.”
Unfortunately, it was, but I couldn’t let her know that. I schooled my face to remain mock straight.
Simi cackled harder, but in an attempt at peacemaking she shoved her drink toward me. I didn’t need it, but out of diplomacy, I took a sip. I immediately choked. “Did you put vodka and rum in this?”
She shrugged. “It needed a kick. Anyway, come on, Kiki. A little bit of rivalry is fun. I was toughening you up for your future. When I leave undergrad, I’ll need you to take over as Boss Bitch of Blackwell.”
“Boss Bitch? That’s not a political post.”
Simi was irritated by my slowness. “Yes, it is. It’s just unofficial. But aside from that, Adwoa and I have been talking.” I liked that she felt comfortable enough to drop Adwoa’s name with intimacy, like she’d always said her name to me.
“And what Blackwell needs is a strong presence to keep everyone accountable. Adwoa’s a great organizer, but she doesn’t want to be president. Ask her. She’s only doing it because you flat out refused when she asked you, and we don’t have better options. But I think you should do it. I’m going to warn you, Brown Sugar’s listenership might take a dive when you go all campaigny, but I will help you boost it. My touch is magic.
“Kiki, I have watched for two years as Zack has run my kingdom to the ground. But he’s been stressed the fuck out since the announcement. He’s scared of you. That’s why he threw a desperate party tonight. You have a community mandate, and more importantly you care. You had the balls to call for a snap election. You’re a powerful girl and that’s the only kind I fuck with.”
In a weird turn of events, it turned out I might like Simi. I felt warmed, although that might have been from the lethal tincture she had mixed. She stared at me oddly, frowning. “Ew. Please don’t cry. It’s embarrassing, and I will have to rescind my cosign. Will you run?”
I weighed the notion in my mind and the horror I’d expected to detect wasn’t there. It intrigued me, sank into my thoughts better than anticipated. “I’ll think about it.”
A genuine smile glimmered on her lips, just as her phone vibrated. “Good, because—” The smile faded as she squinted at her phone and scrolled. She looked up at me, stricken, before her eyes darted up and around the room. I followed and saw that everyone else’s attention was drawn to the white glare of their screens, their faces morphing from blurry, casual joy to intrigue to discomfort, to looking at me with scandalized curiosity or, worse, like I was an imposter in their midst. The restaurant was hushed now, harsh-edged whispers taking the place of the loud squawks and bubbles of enjoyment. My blood pounded hot warning into my ear. I felt like I could chew it.
Something steely slid over Simi’s face—not unsympathetic, but briskly business. “Kiki. Listen to me. Your moves now are important. Don’t bend. Don’t cave. Remember, Zack is petty and small. He’s retaliating like this because he’s losing.”
Something was definitely wrong. The music playing from the speakers seemed to have warbled, distorted, slowed. People were either looking at me or pretending not to.
Aminah had showed up from nowhere and was grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the booth, saying something like “Let’s go now, babe, everything is okay”—which let me know that things were very much not okay. Chioma was grabbing my jacket and Shanti got my bag, and then I saw Malakai in the corner of the room, his eyes ripping away from his phone and immediately rushing toward me, assuring the girls that he would take over, that he would take me home.