Page 75 of Seven Days in June

“You staying hydrated? Sleeping eight hours?”

“Sleeping be mad hard sometimes. My brain don’t turn off. But a nigga trying. My mantra helps.”

“Proud of you, my dude.”

Shane could feel Ty’s smile, thousands of miles away.

“Mr. Hall? Can I…Could you lemme hold two hundred?”

“Two hundred US dollars? What for?”

“My sister’s nigga rents out studio time or whatever, and I thought…I just been trying to get on this rap shit for a minute. Get on SoundCloud, get a deal.”

Shane burst out laughing. When Ty didn’t join him, he shut up, quick.

“Oh. Okay, but since when are you an emcee? You’ve never mentioned rap.”

“My shit’s flames.”

“Interesting. Ty, what’s your rap name?”

“Undecided.”

“Undecided is your name?”

“Nah, my name’sundecided.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” started Shane, with caution. “But the fact that you don’t even have a rap name makes me question your sincerity. Every Black male invents a fake rap name by third grade.”

The teen was silent.

“Your sister introduced you to this dude? Princess?”

“Yeah.”

“Princess lives in a hollowed-out Chrysler parked inside of a condemned Tastee Freez. Does it check out to you that she’d date a dude with a legit studio rental space? Or is it more probable that they’re hustling you?”

Cornered, Ty let out an exasperated sigh.

“I gotta get out of here,” begged Ty. “I lied. I haven’t eaten in two days. Niggas think I eat, ’cause I’m big-boneded, but I don’t. Princess and Mom take all my money. Maybe rap will get me out. This dude knows managers and producers and what have you.”

“Ty, I’m not giving you money for this. I don’t trust it. I gotta go, but we’ll talk about it later.”

“I thought you was a real one,” Ty said, and his voice was barely audible. He sounded destroyed. “Peace.”

The phone clicked, and Shane slumped against the front door. He fuckingknewTy wouldn’t be able to stay on the straight and narrow. Maybe Shane was too hard on him. Maybe he should send him money. Besieged by conflicting emotions, he took a massive chug out of his water bottle just as a tall redhead strolled by with a full-grown toddler strapped to her chest and did a double take.

“My God. You’re Ta-Nehisi Coates!”

“Nah. But he’d appreciate that you pronounced his name right,” he said, downing the last of his water. “I learned the hard way.”

And then finally,finally, he heard the buzz. Before Shane could pick an emotion to focus on, he flew through the heavy mahogany door.

Chapter 19

Heterosexual Men Love Me

EVA TOOK FOREVER TO BUZZ SHANE UP.

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