Page 36 of Summer Breakdown (Training Seasons #2)

“You’re cheating!”

“No we aren’t, bro,” Ezra replies but Jasmine can see that they’re clearly cheating.

Jasmine is letting Frankie be soft because she’s never been happier to see her.

The kitchen is decorated ridiculously, and Lani is hyped up on sugar, but Frankie did this for her.

For Marcel who pretends not to care that his father ditched them again.

“Marcel knows the answer.”

“Ten,” he replies seriously, and Zach rests his forehead against the table as he laughs. Ezra slaps Marcel on the back, but thankfully, he curbed his strength.

“See,” Ezra replies, looking up at Frankie with a shrug. “Ten.”

“But the question was about gardening flowers,” Mali replies with a furrowed brow.

Jasmine wonders if Mali is down. She’s not as happy this evening, which is not to say she’s not engaging because Mali unhappy is like someone dosed up with serotonin anyway.

But Jasmine does want to know if she’s alright.

Marcel sneaks Lani a cookie and she shrugs. “Maybe we should let them have a point because they tried hard.” She wants Marcel to win so badly.

Marcel looks over at Frankie, and she sighs. Jasmine gets it. He’s already heartbroken because Cam isn’t here. She sent cookies, but she’s not coming. Jasmine is blaming Andrew .

“I think they get a point.”

“Oh my God,” Jasmine says with a laugh. Her competitive streak comes out even as Frankie blushes. “You’re such a soft quiz leader.”

“Ma, you’re not using it to your advantage,” Marcel says. “Just ask Frank to give you points. She’d say yes.”

“True,” Ezra replies, and Frankie’s entire face gets dark. But Jasmine knows it’s true, she would.

“That’s cheating,” Jasmine replies.

“Mama, we should get the points,” Lani says, licking the chocolate of her cookie. “Ask Frankenstein for one hundred points. She’d have to say yes because you’re girlfriends.”

“What?” Mali asks, spinning to face Frankie, then back to Jasmine. “Are you official?”

Frankie’s eyes are wide, and Jasmine laughs. Jasmine thinks they’re dating even though Frankie hasn’t kissed her back, but it’s not something she’ll shout out loud before talking to her.

“Girlfriends like girls who are friends.”

Lani frowns. “But you hold hands and Frankie kissed you. Frankie likes girls, and you’re a girl.”

Jasmine snorts, but before she can reply Lani has spun to Frankie. “Mama likes girls.”

Jasmine rolls her eyes, looking over at a wonderfully blushed Frankie, then back to Kehlani. “If we were dating, I would tell you, Lani.”

“‘Kay,” Lani says, swallowing her biscuit. “Marcy and I think you would be the cutest.”

“That’s because you want Frankie to come over for dinner.”

Lani giggles. “And because Frankenstein is pretty.”

“She is,” Jasmine replies. Frankie pulls her cheek between her teeth, her fingers tapping her thighs. She’s so cute.

“Cam-Cam is pretty. Marcy thinks so,” Lani says casually as if Marcel isn’t on fire now .

Jasmine smiles. “Baby, remember how we talked about not telling people everything?”

Lani nods like she does remember that conversation. “Did I say something wrong?”

Jasmine smiles. “No, but sometimes if Marcel tells you things it’s just for you.”

“Oh,” she whispers, her hands against her face. “Just for me.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Sorry, Marcy,” she says, walking around the table to hug him. He kisses her on the cheek, and she climbs into his lap.

“I forgive you. Cam having a nice face is just a fact. Like Mali and Frankie do. And like this girl in my class.” Jasmine smiles anytime someone casually mentions Frankie has a nice face and—

Jasmine’s eyes widen. Her entire body tensed in a desperate need to be cool.

“Do you have a crush on a girl at school?” she asks. Marcel’s head drops to the table again. Jasmine looks over at Frankie who is positively giddy about the news. It’s unreasonably fun to have someone who cares about the little things with her.

Marcel groans. “No.”

“Okay.”

“ Ma .”

“I didn’t say anything!” She gives it a few seconds. Marcel isn’t great at being pushed, but he does tell her eventually.

Marcel sighs. “She’s called Tabitha, and she doesn’t know I exist.” Jasmine never had a crush at school.

She was in a committed relationship before she truly knew what a crush was.

Watching it play out on Marcel’s face is everything.

She wants Frankie to spend the night so she can dissect it with her.

“How do you know her?” Jasmine asks as casually as she can.

“She’s in my art class. ”

“Have you spoken?” Ezra asks. Marcel’s still bright red, but he’s getting so much better with talking in a group. Jasmine thinks he’s adorable.

“She followed me on Instagram, and she liked my story.”

“Tight,” Zach replies with a small smile. “Did you like hers?”

Marcel groans. “I liked all of her posts.” Her boys always been a romantic. Frankie laughs and Marcel rests his forehead on the table again. He’s picked up Frankie’s dramatics already. “I’m not cool.”

“You’re cool,” Ezra replies. “You have sick hair, and you have a skateboard. Man, girls and boys will be throwing themselves at you.”

“In an age-appropriate way,” Jasmine replies quickly. Marcel rolls his eyes but its fond. Jasmine has had all kind of talks about intimacy with Marcel. It makes her stomach churn to think he might even be thinking about holding someone’s hand.

“I liked all of Mal’s photos the day I followed her,” Zach says with a shrug. “She’s obsessed with me.”

“I am,” Mali replies with a smile. “Girls like nice guys, and guys that show they like them.”

Marcel looks up at her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah!” Mali replies. Everyone should listen to Mali about relationships. She’s so healthy about everything in her life. Jasmine wants to know what’s wrong tonight. “Invite her to a match or something.”

“Should I?” Marcel asks Jasmine and she shrugs.

“If you’d like too.” Then, her nonchalance disappears, and her smile is wide. “What does she look like?”

Marcel sighs, but it’s heartfelt. Like just thinking about her is enough to make him happy.

“Like summer in a person, I guess. With braids.”

Jasmine squeals. Lani mimics her. Maybe she’d want to come with them to get their nails done.

“She’s black? ”

“Yeah.” Jasmine’s heart settles. She wonders what her life would be like if she’d had anyone at school that liked her for real.

That liked what she looked like. That knew what it was like to look different to everyone else.

It’s not something she thinks about often, because through the hardship and the pain – she got Marcel and Kehlani.

She’d do everything a million times over to get them.

But it was harder than anything she’d ever want her kids to do.

“I am being as cool about this information as I can be,” Jasmine replies.

“It’s not cool,” Ezra replies as Frankie says, “It’s not that cool, sweetheart.” Jasmine glares at them but it doesn’t last long.

“I don’t mind,” Marcel replies. “Mum’s the coolest person I know. Even if she’s not most of the time.”

Lani walks around the table again, holding onto the edge.

She sits next to Mali on the bench. Shuffling closer every few seconds.

Jasmine knows what she’s going to do because she asked if she could hug Mali earlier.

It’s wild they haven’t hugged yet because Mali might be Lani’s favourite of the group.

After Ezra. She doesn’t have a ranking list or anything, but Mali does come with colourful hair and an unmatched energy.

“Hi!” Mali says. Jasmine adores how excited people are to talk to her.

“Hi,” Lani replies looking up at her.

“You okay?”

“I’m sleepy.” Jasmine’s surprised she’s still awake. It’s only nine, but her eyelids have been drooping for forty-five minutes.

“Yeah?” Mali asks. “I’m sleepy too.”

Lani rests her head against Mali’s arm. She’s so cute with her curls out and her yellow sweatshirt.

“Do you want to hug?” Lani asks.

Mali’s bottom lip pops out. “ Yeah?”

“Yeah, but I might be heavy. Mama said it was okay if you said yes.”

Mali laughs but it comes out watery. “You’re not heavy, and I do say yes.”

“Mal, are you alright?” Frankie asks.

She sniffs. “It’s so silly. I’m on my period, and I thought Lani didn’t like me.”

“What?” Jasmine asks with a frown. Zach’s brows furrow a little, but then he gets his phone out to take photos.

Jasmine knows Mali will have been genuinely upset, and Zach probably let her fall asleep on him on the sofa while he told her exactly why Lani did like her.

Marcel goes over after school sometimes, but that’s usually to see Zach.

Mali wipes her eyes and then lifts Lani into her lap. “It’s stupid because I only want her to touch whoever she wants, but she wanted to hug everyone but me and then I spiralled thinking that kids hate me.”

“I like you loads,” Lani replies with her eyes wide. Jasmine knows she’s going to ask Frankie to draw something for Lani to colour to give it to Mali. And maybe Jasmine wants something too. “You have a fairy hair and you’re so nice.”

Mali sniffs and Jasmine smiles. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm,” Lani replies moving until her legs are either side of Mali’s body. “You’re just only one apple tall, and I’m one apple tall. So what if I was too heavy?”

“Oh, you’re so cute,” Mali says, wiping her eyes again.

Lani rests against her. “You can cry if you want. I cried earlier.”

“You did?” Jasmine didn’t forget that she was sad, she just hoped this evening was enough that she didn’t think about it.

But her dad not being there for her is something she’s fully aware of at four, and it breaks her heart.

Lani won’t remember it when she’s older, but right now, it’s the end of the world.