Growing Yams in London Read Free Page B

goodbyes, I noticed Laura
walking in from the balcony with Mr DJ. It took me a few minutes to speak. Mel and Tanisha simply followed my eyes.
    ‘Oh great!’ I said finally, and turned around.
    ‘No, wait! It’s not what you think, Makeeda, look!’ Mel said as another boy followed Laura and Mr DJ from the balcony.
    ‘Three is definitely a crowd,’ Tanisha added. ‘Go and say goodbye to him, then.’
    ‘Happy birthday, Mel!’ I said, hugging her. ‘He was probably just being nice to me.’
    ‘Makeeda, I don’t . . .’ Mel replied, but I was halfway out of the room before she finished.
    I had a terrible feeling that it didn’t mean anything to him. I was feeling too weird about it, so I just continued racing downstairs.
    ‘Ohmigod, Makeeda, what is up with that?’ Tanisha said, chasing me.
    ‘What?’ I said. There was no way I was going to be shown up by Laura again.
    ‘Why didn’t you say goodbye to him?’ Tanisha asked.
    ‘Listen, high schools in England may not be as obviously segregated as the ones in America, but there is definitely that thing about cool people like him never looking at people like me .
. .’
    ‘Makeeda, you’re hardly a geek!’ Tanisha interrupted.
    ‘No, but I’m not like Laura or Mel. I know that boys like Mr DJ aren’t really interested in girls like me.’
    ‘That’s garbage, Makeeda!’
    ‘Hey, why are you two arguing in the cold?’ Dad said, interrupting us.
    ‘Uncle!’ Tanisha said, hugging Dad.
    ‘I can’t believe how much you’ve grown!’ Dad said.
    ‘It’s been five years, Dad,’ I reminded him.
    ‘I know, Makeeda, but I didn’t expect to see a beautiful young lady, instead of the scruffy teenager I knew!’ he said, making us laugh.
    ‘Oh, thanks, Uncle,’ Tanisha replied.
    ‘You know, you look more and more like Jennifer,’ Dad said gently.
    I expected Tanisha to go quiet, with that blank expression she got whenever anyone mentioned her mother, but she didn’t. I was surprised to see her smiling broadly at Dad’s words.
She seemed proud.
    ‘How was the party?’ Dad asked, as we all got into the car.
    ‘Great!’ Tanisha said.
    ‘OK,’ I mumbled. My phone beeped.
    Nick:
How was the party?
Me:
Gr8 :(
Nick:
Huh?
    I was feeling too weird to explain. Besides, Nick wouldn’t be interested. All he cared about was maths and smoothies; that’s why he did so well in his SATs, was my
maths tutor and had sold a load of smoothie recipes to a supermarket. Nick was a year older than me and never let me forget it. We grew up together as our mothers were friends. He reckons
we’re related, because our maternal grandmothers are from the same village in Ghana and are now neighbours in Kumasi. So, since we were little, he’s told people that we’re cousins
and has always acted that way. That’s probably why he switches off when I mention my love life.
    I stared out of the window, and left Tanisha to tell Dad how English parties compared to the ones in America. I couldn’t shake the feeling that once again Laura had got the one guy I
fancied.

 
Chapter 3
A Bad Hair Day

    I looked up at the school gates. It was already four-thirty and most of the other kids were long gone, except for Bharti. Bharti and I had been friends since we met in primary
school. We called each other’s parents auntie and uncle. She was sitting on the wall reading another horror book, twisting her hair, and holding yet another chewy bar as part of her latest
diet. I never saw the point in depriving yourself of your favourite food, but Bharti always had some new idea for losing weight. She was a little bit chubby, but no way as obese as she
believed.
    ‘Finally! What took you so long?’ Bharti asked.
    ‘I had to help Mrs Hipman set up the Year Seven activities for tomorrow. It’s got really cold, hasn’t it?’ I said, doing up my jacket.
    ‘Tell me about it. Mr Burns kicked me out of the reception ten minutes ago! I thought you had detention?’
    ‘Not