On the Come Up

Sixteen-year-old Bri tells the reader that she might have to "kill somebody tonight," but this is assuming she gets "the call." She's currently stuck in Mrs. Murray's class, doing ACT test prep. Bri is usually fine turning her phone in to Mrs. Murray for an hour, but today, she's waiting for a call from DJ Hype. Bri's friends, Sonny and Malik, nonverbally ask if she's heard anything, and Bri narrows her eyes at them. Mrs. Murray calls for students to submit their practice tests and Bri hastily clicks through the multiple-choice answers without looking at them.

Malik looks over Bri's shoulder and starts to say something about her test, but Bri shushes him. Sonny tries to grab Bri's phone from Mrs. Murray, but Mrs. Murray sends both Malik and Sonny outside so she can speak to Bri. Bri tries to insist that she wasn't distracted in class and is shocked when Mrs. Murray says that her grades are slipping even though she hasn't missed class lately. Bri tells the reader she hasn't been suspended in a month, and tells Mrs. Murray that everything is fine at home. With a sigh, Bri says she's waiting for a call from DJ Hype so that she can battle in “the Ring” tonight.

Mrs. Murray says she's surprised Bri would be going to the Ring and wants to be a rapper, which makes Bri's stomach drop. Bri tells the reader that she's been rapping for years now, but just for Sonny, Malik, and her mom, Jay. Battling at the Ring is her chance to get her name out there and, if she wins, continue to participate in rap battles. Softly, Mrs. Murray asks if Bri is going to follow in her dad's footsteps. Bri thinks that hearing him referred to as "her dad" is weird, as she barely remembers him and people only ever call him by his rap name, Lawless.

Bri tells Mrs. Murray that she's been preparing for this for a while and believes it could jump-start her career. Sharply, Mrs. Murray reminds Bri that if she wants to go to college or even just get through high school, she needs to bring her grades up. She mentions having this conversation once with Bri's older brother, Trey, which makes Bri roll her eyes: Trey was a genius, but despite graduating from college with honors, he now lives at home and works at a pizza shop. Bri promises to improve her grades and accepts her phone. She meets up with Malik and Sonny in the hallway. They eye the security guards, Long and Tate, and leave when the guards nastily tell them to.

Bri gets home and finds Jay blasting Gospel music, which is unusual. The house is freezing—the gas is shut off—and Jay is getting ready to head to night school to get her social work degree after her day job as a church secretary. She wants to give people on drugs the help that she never got when she was addicted. As Jay serves up Popeyes chicken, Bri moans that DJ Hype hasn't called her yet. Jay just wants to know how the practice ACT went and reminds Bri that she has to take school seriously if she wants to get into a good college. Bri rolls her eyes; she wants to rap. She mentions that Aunt Pooh said that the call would come between 4:30 and 5:30, and Jay points out both that Pooh isn't trustworthy and that there are still ten minutes to go.

Jay says that Bri is impatient like Lawless, and Bri tells the reader that Jay says this often—even though Jay is also impatient. Jay tells Bri to come right home after the battle and not stay out with Pooh and all the "things" Pooh is into. Bri starts to defend Pooh, but then notices what Jay is serving: food from KFC, Church's, and Popeyes. This is known as "Popkenchurch," and it means that something bad has happened. Bri asks what happened, but then she gets her call from DJ Hype, telling her she'll battle later.