#4A Escorting For The Limelight: Whose In The Running? Part 1

Notoriously indecisive, Keke Palmer look-alike Chrysanthemum Mims could not make up her mind who to pick as her escort to the annual Tigerlily Parade. 

Chrysanthemum had just been crowned Tigerlily princess the previous weekend. She was the first African American Tigerlily princess in fifteen years to win the honor, and she did not want to let her community down by making the wrong choice for her escort. This was her last year of high school, and she wanted to make nothing but great memories during her senior year.

Chrysanthemum, or Mum, as her close friends called her, enlisted her best friend, Krista Cornellion to help her with the judging process. Krista, a freshman at Rulane University, had great discernment, was as fair as they come, and as the top speaker & person in charge of rebuttals on her debate team, Krista was an outstanding choice from an analytical standpoint.

Senior track stars Squire "Ski" Reynolds & Ahanu "Nu" Kind Heart were both in the running for the escort spot. Both had 4.0 GPAs, strong work ethics, and hearts of gold. It was going to be a hard decision for Chrysanthemum since both boys had a history of tutoring middle schoolers in math and organizing food bank fundraisers; also, both were currently hardworking track stars.

"These dudes are hotter than a bonfire," Krista said with a sheepish smile as she fanned herself with her left hand and reexamined Squire & Ahanu's senior pictures.

"Girl! I hear you! We have one Chocolate Delight and one Caramel Delight on the menu, and you know I've got a massive sweet tooth!" Chrysanthemum said with a right-eye wink & a cheeky smile.

"Girl, we had better get back down to business because right now we are starting to sound like two uber-thirsty Justin Bieber fans, and nothing about that is cute. Now please save us and hit me with the deets on these two," Krista replied with a cackle.

"Alright, alright. Miss Serious-Butt. Squire Reynolds, or Ski to his family & friends, is the African American one in the photo on the left. He is Mensa-level smart, but he is just a tad bit girl-loco. He literally has a new girl like every other month. But I don't think he's a thot-pocket-gigalo with bad intentions or anything. I think he just gets bored easily. But he is cotton-candy sweet and well liked, and he even won 'Most Likely To Succeed' in the yearbook freshman and sophomore year until Ahanu came along and took the title from him during junior year."

"I hear that Ski also has an awesome outlook on life. Apparently he was raised by his grandfather, a popular pastor, who taught him that trouble don't last always and to attempt to make the best out of every tough situation. And that is exactly what he did. I hear that he hosted Bible studies and chess tournaments in the chemo lounge periodically for his fellow cancer warriors during his chemo sessions when he was battling leukemia four years ago so that he could take their minds off of their troubles. And girl, Broadie is resourceful too. I hear he made $160 off of one of his chess games."

"WOW! Ski gives off entrepreneurial/hustle vibes. That's impressive," Krista responded with admiration.

"Doesn't he?" Mum replied as she lovingly examined Squire's picture once more.

"And this indigenous cutie in the photo on the right is Squire's best friend, Ahanu Kind Heart, or Nu, as his boys call him. He is fairly new to Ashby High. He originally came from a Blackfoot Reservation in Montana, but he and his two younger siblings moved to the Seattle area at the beginning of his sophomore year to live with his mother. I hear that he has had straight A's since kindergarten and that he is like a calm breeze to those around him demeanor-wise."

"And you know what's interesting about Nu! I hear that he is really reserved until he gets to know you; once his reserved armor sheds, he becomes a straight-up clown that could even make a dog laugh. But overall, Nu stays out of the way, doesn't socialize much, and simply focuses on his family, running track, community service, and his books. And true to his last name, Nu truly is kind; I hear when he was 16, he donated a kidney to his father," Mum concluded.

Nu sounds like he is just my type. I like the non-showy, incognito, selfless type. Krista thought to herself with a gigantic grin.

"What are you grinning about, Krissy?" Mum asked with a suspicious smile.

"Oh, nothing, sis, just enjoying the ambiance of this beautiful, uncharacteristically sunny Northwest spring day, my friend," Krista ivory-fibbed in a sing-song tone as she quickly erased the smitten smile from her face.

"Alright, girl. I'm gonna leave it alone, but I'm sensing some crushy-crush vibes in the air. Let me know if you want me to do my best JLo impression and become your "Wedding Planner" one day soon," Mum joked.

"Uh, next topic, friend. Where did you get all of this juicy intel from, girlie?" Krista asked quizzically as she expertly switched the subject.

"My brother Brody told me everything. He's pretty close with Ski & Nu; they kick it on occasion, and he is on the track team with them," Mum responded straightforwardly.

"Really? WOW! Brody done good. Hey Mum, I was thinking that maybe you should have each guy write a statement explaining why you should pick them as your Tigerlily parade escort. What do you think?" Krista asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Sounds like a plan!" Chrysanthemum replied with excitement. 

Ahanu Kind Heart had a compassionate set of brown eyes and a compassionate heart to match. He secretly wanted a girlfriend, but he simply had too much on his plate and a very demanding schedule at the moment. 

I might have to make an exception for little fluffy mama, the cute little Black & Cuban chickadee that I always see picking up Chrysanthemum from school on Fridays. Krista, I think her name is. Krista is definitely wifey material. She is easy on the eyes & kind. One day when I went to Swan Lee Christian Middle School to tutor my twelve-year-old neighbor Rex in math, I saw Krista helping a little girl named Bailey with her test anxiety. What a woman! Ahanu thought to himself wistfully.

Ahanu had recently become the full-time temporary caregiver for his two eight-year-old identical twin sisters along with his mom while his mom was temporarily bedridden for six months and recovering from breaking her back in a car wreck.

Nu was secretly beginning to feel like his little sisters, Natawista and Nzhoni were his daughters, as much as he cooked for them, helped them with their homework, gave them their breathing treatments, and took them to and from school. 

Additionally, he drove home to feed his mom at lunchtime, attended track practice five days a week, tutored middle school kids twice a week, had to keep the house clean, and then do at least 2 hours of homework each night. As a result, there were many nights when Ahanu's head didn't hit his pillow until 2:30 AM. Then he was up again at 5:30 for school, to turn around and do the routine all over again. 

Things were definitely getting overwhelming at home for Nu, so he decided that it was time to reach out to the school counselor for emotional support and tips on coping with stress. He was even beginning to get painful stress rashes & itchy hives all over his back from his workload. 

But Ahanu felt conflicted about reaching out for therapy. He had learned from an early age from his father, paternal grandfather, and his uncles on his dad's side that men were not supposed to show their emotions or talk about their problems because it showed weakness, but his mother, Chenoa, reminded him that in the Bible even Jesus wept and that Christ was once in so much distress that he asked the Heavenly Father, "Why have you forsaken me?" 

Truthfully, Ahanu's mom never agreed with his father's teachings. In contrast, she periodically reiterated to him that God gave men tear ducts right along with women and that everyone needs help sometimes regardless of their gender. 

***

Squire Reynolds was a college sports fanatic, a sweets fan, excellent at saving money and the ultimate sneakerhead. He owned over 90 pairs and was also the benevolent type; whatever was his was yours as well. He recently bought new track shoes for two kids on his track team whose parents couldn't afford them. Squire was generally a sunny-side-up, confident type of dude in every area of his life except when it came to his body image & physique. He had been called Bird Chest Ski since 9th grade by his nemesis Ryder Clarkey, and it stuck. Squire was thinking of doing something drastic to improve his physique because working out wasn't producing results fast enough. But he decided it would probably be best to run things by Nu at track practice.

This is part one of 'Escorting For The Limelight.' Please look out for part 2. In part two, we will find out who wins the escorting gig in an exciting finale.

Hi all! Part 2 has arrived! 🥰

Thanks for stopping by, Vocal family! 

Much love,

Tiffa Go 🌸