Spin it Like That Read Online Free Page A

“Could you hold on for a minute?” I asked. I covered the phone with my hand, hoping Jessica wouldn’t hear me. “What?”
    â€œTake the job,” he said.
    â€œBut I can’t do it without you,” I whispered.
    â€œJasmine, this is your dream, not mine,” he said. “Take the job.”
    I didn’t know what to do. I was used to Derrick being by my side when I performed. “Will you come with me?” I asked in a small voice, suddenly scared of the thought of being without him.
    He nodded, and I felt a relief I couldn’t describe. “Thank you,” I said. I removed my hand from the receiver. “Jessica, don’t worry about calling DC. I’ll do the club by myself.”
    â€œGreat,” she said, sounding relieved. “This is a really great opportunity for you. A lot of rap’s pioneers got their starts at the club, and DC has asked a lot of celebrities to drop by, so you should get some really good exposure.”
    I smiled as I envisioned myself hanging out with some of the people I watched in videos.
    â€œHello?” Jessica said.
    I shook myself and refocused on the conversation. “Yes, I’m here,” I said.
    â€œI’ll messenger our in-house contract to you today,” she said. “Sign it and get it back to us as soon as you can.”
    â€œOkay. Thank you,” I said, and hung up. I looked at Derrick, who was smiling.
    â€œCongratulations,” he said, giving me a hug.
    â€œOh, man, wait until I tell Loretta and Kyle,” I said. “Daddy is gonna be excited, too.” I looked at Derrick, and his expression made me put down the phone. “What?” I asked.
    Before he could respond, the back door opened, and in walked Mama.

chapter 3
    â€œG ood morning,” Mama said, sounding tired. She didn’t bother to look at me as she placed a few bags of groceries on the table, and I knew she was still mad, so I jumped up to put them away. Derrick got up to help, but I waved him off.
    â€œHey, Mama. What are you doing home?” I asked nervously as I remembered our argument from the night before.
    â€œI decided to take the rest of the day off. It was kind of slow at work today, so I came on home. I was feeling fine until I stopped at the grocery store. Now my head is killing me.” She rubbed her temples. “Our argument last night has my pressure up.”
    I continued to put away the groceries in silence. I was trying to think of a way to talk her into letting me perform at Twilight every week, since I was supposed to be on punishment for the rest of the summer.
    â€œDo you need me to do anything else, Mama?” I asked once I was done.
    â€œCould you get me a glass of water and some aspirin?” she said, settling into a seat at the kitchen table.
    â€œOkay,” I said, probably a bit too eagerly. I didn’t want to give her any more reason to be angry with me.
    She smiled her thanks when I came back with the aspirin. “What do you guys have planned for the day?” she asked.
    Derrick and I looked at each other. “We have graduation practice later, and I need to work on my speech, but other than that, nothing. We were just going to hang around the house, maybe clean up,” I threw in.
    Mama stopped massaging her temples and looked at me. “What are you up to?” she asked suspiciously.
    Derrick kicked me under the table, silently urging me to go ahead and tell Mama about the job offer. I chewed my lip, trying to decide if I should say something to her or wait for Daddy to come home, since I could talk him into just about anything.
    The decision was made for me when Mama suddenly grabbed her head.
    â€œAre you okay?” Derrick asked, going to check on her.
    She tried to shake her head and winced. Derrick grabbed her arm and led her to her bedroom, where we both tucked her in like she used to do us when we were little kids. After making sure the