Before the Finish Line
Saturday had already been going for a while before Jermaine finally decided to join it.
The clock on his nightstand read 10:57 AM.
He stared at it from beneath the blanket.
"Damn."
Three missed notifications.
Two from Rome.
One from Monique.
Jermaine rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
The house was quiet in that particular weekend way. No rush. No alarms. No teachers waiting for assignments. No reason to move except the fact that eventually somebody was going to yell at him for wasting half the day.
His phone buzzed again.
ROMAN NEAL — FaceTime
Jermaine answered without sitting up.
Rome's face appeared immediately.
"Finally!"
Jermaine squinted at the screen.
"You called me at eleven in the morning like somebody died."
"Nah. But you almost missed greatness."
A burst of gunfire crackled through Rome's headset.
Jermaine sat up.
"You playing Ghosts?"
"What else would I be doing?"
Jermaine laughed.
Call of Duty: Ghosts filled the television behind him, Rome's character sprinting across the screen while he talked trash to somebody through his headset.
"You getting cooked?" Jermaine asked.
"I'm carrying."
"You were negative last time I checked."
"That was tactical."
Monique's face appeared in the corner of the screen.
"Please don't encourage him."
"Thank you," Jermaine said.
Rome shook his head.
"Look who's talking. Mr. I-slept-until-eleven."
"I've earned it."
"For what?"
"Surviving y'all."
Monique laughed.
"Your cap is done, by the way."
Jermaine's eyes narrowed.
"My cap?"
"Both of yours."
Rome paused his game.
"You actually finished them?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?"
Monique gave him a look.
"I had a life before this."
Jermaine grinned.
"So what'd you do to mine?"
"You'll see."
"That's not an answer."
"Exactly."
Rome unmuted his headset.
"Hold on."
He looked back toward the television.
"Oh, he's dead."
A second later the game announced his elimination.
Jermaine started laughing.
Rome pointed at the screen.
"Connection."
"Sure."
"I know what I saw."
"You saw yourself lose."
"I saw sabotage."
Monique shook her head.
"You two are exhausting."
Jermaine leaned against the headboard.
For a few minutes, it was easy.
No future.
No graduation speeches.
No decisions.
Just Rome being loud, Monique keeping both of them from becoming idiots, and Jermaine laughing harder than he had all week.
Then somebody knocked on his door.
"Jermaine?"
His father's voice.
"Come in."
Nasir opened the door.
He was already dressed, casual enough for a Saturday but polished in the way he carried himself without thinking about it.
He looked at the phone.
"I'm interrupting?"
Rome answered first.
"Yes."
"No."
Jermaine and Monique said it together.
Nasir smiled.
"Good answer."
Rome grinned through the screen.
"Mr. Connors, tell him he can't be sleeping this late."
Nasir looked at his son.
"You been up?"
"Just got up."
Nasir nodded.
"Figured."
Jermaine pushed his hair back.
"You got plans today?"
"Few things."
Nasir stepped farther into the room.
"Graduation's next week."
"I know."
"Cap and gown?"
"Monique has them."
Right on cue, Monique lifted a finger.
"That's why I called."
Nasir looked toward the phone.
"Then I suppose I should see the finished product."
Monique smiled.
"Not yet."
Nasir laughed.
"Keeping secrets from me now?"
"Just making sure Maine doesn't ruin it before graduation."
Jermaine frowned.
"Why would I ruin it?"
Rome answered without looking away from his game.
"Because you ruin everything."
"Man, play your game."
"I am."
"Then why you talking?"
"Multitasking."
Nasir shook his head.
"You boys eat yet?"
Jermaine glanced toward the doorway.
"Not yet."
"Come downstairs."
Jermaine sighed.
"Why does that sound like an order?"
"Because it is."
The call ended.
Rome's voice disappeared.
Monique waved before the screen went black.
Jermaine looked at his father.
"You always gotta come in right when we're talking."
"Apparently."
They walked into the hallway together.
For a few seconds neither said anything.
Then Nasir glanced over.
"You happy?"
The question caught Jermaine off guard.
"Yeah."
Nasir nodded.
"Good."
Jermaine shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Feels weird, though."
"What does?"
"Graduating."
His father looked ahead.
"That's because you've been thinking about it as an ending."
Jermaine glanced at him.
"Isn't it?"
"No."
Nasir stopped near the stairs.
"It's a door."
Jermaine smiled.
"That sound like something you practiced."
"Maybe I have."
They continued downstairs.
The smell of breakfast hit them before they reached the kitchen.
Mrs. Neal's voice carried from somewhere deeper in the house.
"Roman!"
Rome shouted back from the other room.
"I hear you!"
"No, you hear me when you're hungry."
Jermaine laughed.
Nasir looked at him.
"See?"
"What?"
"You're smiling."
Jermaine shook his head.
"I'm always smiling."
"Not like that."
They entered the kitchen.
Rome was already there, somehow having made it downstairs faster than both of them.
A plate sat in front of him.
Mrs. Neal looked over her shoulder.
"Jermaine, you're finally awake."
"Good morning, Mrs. Neal."
"Morning, baby."
Rome pointed his fork toward him.
"Tell him I wasn't losing."
Mrs. Neal frowned.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Exactly."
She laughed.
The kitchen settled into its usual rhythm. Plates moving. Somebody asking for syrup. Somebody else reaching across the table without saying excuse me.
Jermaine looked around.
Rome beside him.
Nasir at the counter.
Mrs. Neal moving through the kitchen like she'd been doing it her whole life.
Nothing about it felt historic.
That's what made it matter.
He knew these mornings wouldn't always belong to him.
His father would get busier.
Rome would leave for his own future.
Monique would keep building one for herself.
And Jermaine would eventually have to figure out what came after everybody stopped telling him where to be.
He didn't have the answer yet.
For once, he was okay with that.
Later, back upstairs, Monique finally sent him a picture.
Just the cap.
Jermaine stared at it.
She'd worked his personality into every inch of it.
Basketball.
A subtle 32.
A small Naruto reference tucked into the design.
Music worked into the details, including a nod only somebody who actually knew his taste would recognize.
Nothing Was the Same.
Jermaine smiled.
YOU REALLY DID ALL THAT?
Three dots appeared.
MONIQUE:I told you I know you.
Rome sent another message.
ROMAN NEAL:Mine better be harder than his.
Jermaine laughed.
He looked back at the picture.
For a second, he could see himself wearing it.
Not just at graduation.
After.
Walking into whatever came next with everybody who had helped him get there.
His phone buzzed again.
A message from Monique.
Don't lose it before next week.
Jermaine typed back.
No promises.
Then he set the phone down and looked toward the window.
Brooklyn was bright outside.
Graduation was close.
And for the first time, the future didn't feel like something waiting somewhere far away.
It felt like it had already started knocking.