On the Come Up

Hours later, Bri dreams her recurring nightmare. In it, she's five. Lawless has been dead about a year. Jay puts Bri and Trey in the car and when Bri comments on the marks on Jay's arm, she says she's sick. Jay drives to Grandma and Granddaddy's house, at which point Trey begins to cry. Jay asks Trey to take Bri inside and says that she'll be back later. Jay kisses Bri and then drives away. Bri races into the street, screaming for Jay.

Bri jerks awake and finds Jay sitting next to her. She explains to the reader that the nightmare is a memory: Jay did leave her children, as she couldn't keep up with both them and drugs. Bri started calling her mom “Jay” a few months later, after seeing Jay in the park with terrifying, bloodshot eyes. Jay didn't get custody again until five years ago. Bri doesn't want Jay to know she has these dreams, as she knows it'll make Jay feel guilty. Satisfied that Bri is okay, Jay says she got an email from Mrs. Murray about Bri's performance. She reminds Bri that she needs to focus on her education.

Bri puts on her fake Timbs and notices that white cloth is showing through, so she takes a Sharpie to the spot. She's saving money to buy real Timbs and is about halfway there. She sells candy at school, which is against the rules. Bri races out to the bus and greets Mr. Watson. She explains to the reader that Midtown School of the Arts is in the nice neighborhood of Midtown. A few years ago, it started busing in students for a "diversity initiative." Bri heads for the back of the bus, sells Deon a candy bar, and is thrilled when he comments on her Ring performance. Now, rapping feels possible. Except for Curtis, an annoying kid, everyone on the bus compliments Bri.

Mr. Watson pulls up at Sonny and Malik's houses. Bri hopes that Malik might notice her lip gloss, and tells the reader that she's had feelings for Malik since they were ten. Sonny and Malik congratulate Bri, insult Milez, and make Star Wars references before starting to punch each other. They stop when Sonny gets a text. Bri notices his face light up but can't see the name on the screen. He refuses to tell her who it is, so Bri thinks it must be a guy. At a stoplight, everyone on the bus rolls down their windows to heckle the Garden High students on the sidewalk, but Bri accepts compliments from several of them.

When the bus gets to Midtown, Bri feels herself fade into the background. She doesn't attract attention for anything good. She notices boys dancing to "Swagerific" as Sonny says he's doing SAT prep at lunch, while Malik needs to edit his most recent film. Bri thinks that she just has to get through one more year. They line up to go through security and wonder if the guards Long and Tate are still on a power trip: last week, they gave Curtis extra screenings even though the metal detector didn't go off. Malik grumbles and Bri explains that since the riots, Malik has gotten into Civil Rights stuff and the Black Panthers.

Everyone goes through without an issue until Bri. Though the detectors don't go off, Long makes her go back through and then asks to search her bag. Bri panics: her candy stash is in there, and if they find it, she could be expelled. Malik starts to film as Bri snatches her backpack out of Long's reach. Long throws Bri to the ground and pulls her hands behind her, securing them with plastic wrap. He calls her a hoodlum and Bri says nothing. She's afraid and doesn't want to die.