It’s interesting how life works. Actually, I find it pretty f***ing funny. It’s funny how a person’s life changes once they stumble across that one person or thing that gets them going--gets them thinking. It has the potential to make you view life in a different perspective. It’s like putting on a pair of glasses for the first time—it makes everything around you more vivid. That thing has the power to take over you, make you go insane trying to have it; like an addiction. Well, in that case, everyone has an addiction. Mine just happens to be a girl with magical fingers.
I can still clearly remember the moment I met her, that moment my conscience put on a pair of glasses for the first time. That moment still flashes through my mind like wildfire. She made me see things that weren’t visible before. She made me feel things that I thought weren’t even tangible. And I still work myself up trying to figure out what it was about her that got me hooked.
I was comfortably sprawled out on my bed with my feet dangling off of the edge, bobbing my head to the music through my headphones. Outside the summer trees swayed with the wind and the sun was slowly devoured by dark grey-ish, blue-ish swirls of tired clouds on the horizon. Resting my arms behind my head, I continued to melodically nod to the rhythm of my music, transferring myself into another dimension of beats, rhymes, and life. I was too caught up in my music that I didn’t even notice my phone ringing off the hook at the corner of my bed. Feeling it vibrate the second time, I sat up. Slipping my headphones off, I reached over, grabbed my cell and answered.
“Hello?” I let out a yawn.
“Yo, Mike! What are you on dude!?” It took a second for me to realize that it was one of my closest buddies, Jaye.
“Yoo Jaye what’s good? I’m just kickin’ it at my crib right now.”
“I thought I’d hit you up cause there’s ‘spose to be a rager tonight, and I heard the Dj is f***in’ raw.”
Fumbling the phone to my right ear, I walked over to a rusty old mirror that hung on my wall and examined myself.
“Uhh yeah man, I’d be down. What time does it start?” I said while running my fingers through my wild mane of black curly hair within the mirror’s reflection. There was a short pause on the other end of the line, like Jaye was in serious thought.
“Uhh…nine, I think. But if we’re tryna go we should be leave within the next hour.” I nodded and continued to stare at myself in the mirror, fighting with my hair and trying to untangle it with my long fingers.
“…Funk mann, I need a haircut. S***’s outta’ control…”
“What?” Jaye retorted through the phone, loudly into my ear.
“Nothin’ man. Look, why don’t you come pick me up in the next thirty minutes; I’ll be ready by then.”
“Alright, cool.”
“Oh...and if you’re comin’, come through the back.”
“I got you. Peace out.” I remained in front of that mirror after that, putting up a fight with my hair, but shortly gave up. The clock kept ticking, and before I knew it, Jaye was outside honking his horn like it was nobody’s business. I flicked off the light, slid through my window, hopped in his car and sped off into the dreary night.

The party was crackin’! As soon as I stepped through the door, the bass boomed and rattled my bones. Every possible face I see at school on the daily was at the scene huddled in groups in corners of the room, sipping out of red cups and shouting at each other through the explosive music. Jaye and I just stood there at the entrance, scanning the big crowd and trying to put names to faces we knew. We both stuffed our hands in our pocket jeans and bobbed our heads to the inevitable rhythm and beat of A Tribe Called Quest’s Buggin’ Out blaring from the speakers.

While Jaye wandered off into the crowd of sweaty people shaking their a**es and sipping their drinks, I escorted myself to a table bombarded with empty beer cans and red cups. Leaning against it, I continued scanning the crowd trying to locate the source of the music—the Dj booth. Popping open a beer, I sipped and bobbed my head, trying to look as smooth as smooth could be. All of a sudden, the music began to switch up and De La Soul’s Me, Myself And I oozed from the surround system. D*mn, the Dj is dope as funk! Who is it though…? It was too hard to tell because of how packed the scene was. On the other side of the room, I noticed the booth, but couldn’t make out who it was behind the turn tables.
Jaye strolled out of nowhere and took a spot next to me leaning on the table, “Yo Mike, you need to check out the turn tables man. S***’s dope as f***.” I craned my neck at him.
“Word? You been over there already?” I shouted over the music.
“Yeah man! The Dj got some dope a** tracks too; I peeped the playlist.”
“Really? What was on it?” I said between sips.
“Hella Tribe, some Wu-Tang, Nas, some Notorious BIG, plus some DJ Shadow.” My eyebrows shot up to the ceiling.
“D*mn yo. Who’s the Dj?”
“I don’t really know, but she’s raw as f***.”
“…She?”
“But aye, I’ll be right back. ‘Bout to hit up the bathroom real quick.” With that, he was gone again, speed walking towards the exit. “What the f***…?” I said to no one in the distance.

After a while I got tired of being in the same spot, so I worked my way into the crowd. The crowd was out of control, pushing and elbowing each other while couples grinded and juked one another like it was nobody’s business. I swear I almost had my can knocked out of my hand by random drunkards pushing their sweaty bodies into me. “GODD*MN!” I helplessly shouted into the crowd. I was half way through the crowd, and to the other side when I stopped in my tracks. About five feet in front of me was the Dj booth, and the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my life.

She was stationed behind the turn tables, leaning over and flipping through her records. Once she found the one she wanted, she gracefully slipped it on to the turn table, put her headphones on, and started nodding her head, getting into the rhythm. The way her fingers graced upon the track and scratched the record made something in me snap. She looked so professional; so vibrant. The tempo of the music changed, to LL Cool J’s Jingling Baby booming from the speakers.

So there I was-- my feet glued to the floor, being bum-rushed by sweaty teenagers in a huge a** crowd watching this girl scratch like a pro on the turn tables. I swear my eyes were popping out of their sockets. This mysterious girl held my attention like no other. The way she scratched her record on the turn-table made it look easy; too easy. I honestly didn’t care that I was being ransacked and elbowed; my gaze clung onto her. I was hooked on the way her head bobbed while she switched records with a determined expression on her dark-complexioned face. Nervously trying to occupy my hands, I gripped my beer and sipped anxiously, trying to control my sudden feelings of lust. As if she knew I was helplessly watching her, she looked up into the crowd and straight at me. “D*mn,” I couldn’t help blurting. For a good minute, we just stood there staring at each other. I didn’t know what to do next, but all I knew was I wasn’t about to take my gaze off of her, nor blink because I was afraid she’d vanish into the hot, sweaty atmosphere of the party like an mirage in a desert. What she did next literally changed my life—she smiled at me. When she did, I swear I almost lost my grip on my drink. Her smile was so modest…yet super duper fly. Soon after, she just returned her gaze back on her turn tables and continued her mixing. Meanwhile, I was swallowed by the overbearing crowd of ratchet teens.

I ended up being bum-rushed across the room where the table with the abandoned can of beers toppling to the floor was. “This f***in’ party is O.C.!” I shouted over the blasting music. Leaning all of my weight on the worn-out table once again, I took refuge and did another scan of the crowd. Where the f*** was Jaye? The dude just straight ditched my a**. I decided to chill my a** out right there by the table; I wasn’t trying to be bum-rushed by some sweaty a((, horny mugs again. To pass the time until Jaye appeared, I craned my neck again in the direction of the DJ booth hoping to still see her standing there. When I did though, her figure was no where in sight. What the…?
“So how are you liking the party?” A cute, uplifting voice beamed from the side of me. I turned around to find her standing in front of me, her face radiating under the strobe lights. Was I hallucinating? I remained dumbfounded and silent as my brain worked overtime trying to process what was happening. “Hellooooooooooo? Is anybody home?” She contested with a grin on her face. When she said this, it registered to me that maybe this wasn’t a dream afterall. “Oh my bad, I’m buggin’.” I said shaking my head. “It’s cool. Kinda reckless if you ask me,” I responded, motioning towards the crowd. She smiled once more, this time letting out a soft chuckle. I couldn’t help but stare when she did.
“Yeah, low-key, it really is. People are buggin’ so hard.” She replied. I nodded in agreement.
“Yeah but I saw you rippin’ it up on the turn tables! Yo, you’re dope as funk!” My excitement took over me. The beauty reached over to the table, grabbed a beer, popped the lid, and took a slow sip.
“Thanks, I was just trying to keep the party going until the other DJ came.” My eyebrows raised. “You’re lyyyyyyyyyyyyyying! Yo, funk the other DJs! You know you’re raw as funk, no need to play it off.” I said, as I watched her sip some more. Her cool a**.
“Noooooo, I’m not even that good. I have so much more to learn. And I’m definitely not as good as your friend Jaye.” I scrunched my face together like she just blurted some hecka disturbing news. “Get…oh don’t even! Don’t even front, you know you got mad skills, witcho’ modest a**!” She looked up at me and continued laughing her cute a** laugh, and I felt like my ultimate goal in life was just accomplished.

“Sooo should I call you by your DJ name or…?” I tried to smoothly contest. She made an upside down frown.
“Nahh, I don’t have a DJ name yet; it’s too hard tryna’ think of one. But if you’re wondering, my name is Jocelyn.”
“Jocelyn, huh? That’s the coolest name I’ve ever heard in my life, if I might add.” I coolly responded. She rolled her eyes and shook her head horizontally. “Nahh mang, not even.” I smiled and shook my head too. This girl is hecka modest for no reason. Jocelyn walked over and leaned her weight on the table next to me still clinging onto her can.
“So how did you learn how to DJ anyways?” I looked over my shoulder at her, noticing how close the space between our shoulders was. She glanced up at the ceiling above us in deep thought. “Well, I actually learned through my dad. He’s a DJ too, and he does hella deejaying gigs every now and then for pocket money. The first time I deejayed was over the summer on my birthday. Hella people came to my house, and dad was just like, ‘Here, play some music for them.’ He gave me his headphones and I just started…deejaying.” I swear I went into total delirious mode just hearing all of this.
“Yo, that’s soooo tight! How long did it take you to learn?” My excitement was crashing through the roof. Jocelyn just calmly stared at the ceiling some more with a sly grin on her smooth, spotless, dark face. “Ehh…about a week. It took me a minute to get the mixing down.” I couldn’t believe this girl. Here she was talking about mastering how to deejay in a week calm as can be like that wasn’t abnormal at all. I let out a hiss and shook my head. She looked at me with a confused and amused expression. “What?”
“I don’t know man. You’re just…interesting to me.” She cocked her eyebrow.
“How?”
“I can’t even explain it right now. I’m just hecka curious about you.” I looked over at her to find her looking straight at me, still smiling. Her eyes…they have a mind of their own. I don’t even care if they’re just brown—still. Just looking into them caused a ticking bomb to explode in my conscience; my thoughts rapidly sprouting newly formed thoughts like branches growing on a tree. For some reason, her quizzical gaze was too intense and beautiful for me to match, so I just turned away, smiling and biting my lower lip. This girl…
The party got more amped up as the music changed. More people rose from their seats and from the corners to join everyone else in the middle of the floor. Jocelyn leaned on her hands and nodded her head to the music while I watched her watch the mob of drunken dancers. “So,” she asked at me shortly after, her gaze still in the crowd, “didn’t you come with Jaye?” I nodded. “Yeah, but I honestly don’t know where that foo’ went. He told me he was going to the bathroom and whatnot and I haven’t seen him since.” Jocelyn nodded but then glanced up at me.
“Wait, out of all this time talking, I just realized I never axed your name.”
I snickered to myself. “Axed? Yeah, how are you not about to axe what my name is?” She rolled her eyes and buried her face in her palms. “C’mon you know what I meant!” Her expression went from quizzical to embarrassed in an instant, which made me even more attracted to her. “Haha, I’m just playin’ witcha. The name’s Michael. But you could call me Mike if you please. Whatever floats your boat.”

Jocelyn stuck out her hand. “Well, nice to meet you Mike.” I met her half way and shook her hand. I couldn’t help but notice how tiny her fingers were. “Witcho baby a** hands.” I snickered once again. “So I’ve been told.” She replied. After that, we just remained leaned against that table together, chatting and laughing at everyone sloppily dancing on each other in the middle of the floor. Then the strangest thing happened; a tiny yellow balloon randomly came tumbling somewhere from the direction of the crowd and stopped at Jocelyn’s feet. When she noticed it, she scooped it up and examined it.

“So what are you ‘bout to get on after this?” I asked just to break the silence. She shrugged and continued to stare at the balloon. “I don’t even know, G. I might just call it a night and go back to the crib. I’m kinda tired, low-key.” I nodded. “Yeah, I feel you.” She sighed and looked up at me, her eyes still glowing like brown jewels. “Plus I don’t really like hitting up parties like this. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like to party every once in a while, but sometimes I just wanna be low-key ya’know?” I nodded some more. “Yeah, I feel you. I’m like that too.” Then there came the silence again, even though the loud music above us rattled my bones.
I intriguingly watched her stare at the balloon. I don’t know what it is about this girl, but she just held my attention. Everything about her—from her facial expressions, the way she talks, acts, to her worn-out black chucks made me want to know more about her; read her like a book. All I knew was I wasn’t about to leave this party without finding some sort of way of keeping in touch with her.
“Well, I think it’s about that time I start heading back to the booth now.” She interrupted my flowing thoughts. “Already? Can’t stay and chat for a little longer?” Jocelyn shook her head. “Nahh, I can’t. The people in the crowd are starting to sit down. I would if I could though.” She rose from her leaning spot on the table and let out an exaggerated stretch, causing her shirt to lift showing off a hint of her flat, smooth tummy. I tried to play it off and not look, but sadly failed. “Well, what if I wanna talk to you again outside this party? How can I make that happen?” She turned around and shot me a sexy, teasing smile. “We’ll think of something.” Before turning on her heel she handed me her balloon and disappeared into the crowd. I just stood in awe.
Too much was going on around me, I so decided to stay low-key until Jaye came. But who was this girl, though? She wasn’t any girl I’ve met ever before in my life. She was down to earth, cool, funny, not to mention extremely attractive. The more I talked to her, the more I wanted to find out about her. The party was overcrowded, unbearably hot, and noisy as hell, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts of Jocelyn to notice. I also didn’t notice Jaye strolling up to me coming from somewhere within the crowd.
“Yo dude, I’ve been looking for yo’ a** everywhere!” He shouted over the blasting music. “Dude, are you serious right now? I’ve been in the same spot ever since you left me about an HOUR ago.” This kid was really buggin’. “Really? ‘cuz after I got out of the bathroom I came back over here to find that you disappeared. Sooo where did YOU go?” He protested with a suspicious look on his face. “Oh,” I calmly replied, “I tried to check out the DJ.”
Jaye’s eyebrows suddenly rose. “Yo, really?”
“Yeah man.”
“Isn’t she dope?” He said while starting to laugh.
“She’s f***ing awesome.”
“That’s what’s up. But aye, you tryna’ leave this party and hit up Jack’s house? The whole crew is gonna be there and they’re tryna’ have a rap session.” I shrugged and responded, “That’s coo’.” We started migrating into the busy crowd, trying hard not to get bum-rushed again. Still in my hand, I clinged on to the balloon making sure it wouldn’t slip from my long fingers. “Yo, watch out.” Jaye called from a couple of feet in front of me, his short body already getting bumped by random people getting buck.

While navigating through the crowd, I kept stealing glances over at the DJ stand across the room. I wanted to see her one more time. When I did, she was back behind the turn tables, performing a thorough scan of her record case. I made sure to snap mental pictures of her face so that when I got back to school on Monday, I’d automatically know what I needed to search for in the halls. I’ll never forget those eyes and those magical fingers; the two things I’d now long for to be meant for only my possession. For the rest of the night I securely kept that balloon within my grasp and carried it around everywhere I went like it was my childhood blanket, and when I got home early that morning, I tied it to the edge of my bed frame.