Honey & Spice

Kiki goes to the studio to meet Aminah, her best friend and producer. She tells Aminah she was at the library, though Aminah guesses she is lying. Kiki mentions she ran into a new guy. Aminah notes that the listener questions coming in to their show are about how to “catch” a man, which Kiki thinks is uncharacteristic of Blackwellian women: “We were the choosers, we never begged” (15). Kiki realizes the strife is over one guy and immediately suspects Fellow Superhuman from earlier. Aminah checks their social media platform, ProntoPic, and identifies Malakai Korede, a new transfer. Kiki looks at his profile and thinks his posts are amusing and charming. She decides he’s not a cookie-cutter player but is “evolved,” which is dangerous. She’s mad that he’s turning Blackwell girls on one another. On her show, Kiki warns her listeners to beware of men with too much sauce, of “Wastemen”—men who will distract girls from their purpose and waste their time. She compares this new guy to coffee that is bad for you and keeps you up all night. She reminds her listeners to remember they are beautiful and take control of their power.

Kiki visits Dr. Miller, her tutor and mentor, Kiki’s “most hallowed female authority figure, aside from Beyoncé and [her] mother” (23). Kiki has loved Dr. Miller ever since she backed Kiki up during a discussion with a white classmate, Percy, who feels that “diversity stuff looks good on the CV” (24) and dismissed Beyoncé’s Lemonade as frivolous and pandering. Dr. Miller is one of two Black lecturers on campus; the other once gave a talk in which he encouraged students to look less Black to avoid trouble. Dr. Miller’s support is important to Kiki. Black students are scattered across Whitewell College, a liberal arts university in rural southern England, a predominantly white demographic environment. Although the Black community has the African-Caribbean Society to unite them, Kiki is often the only Black student in her seminars, and she’s encountered instances of both benevolent and overt racism. Dr. Miller tells Kiki about a summer internship she can apply for through NYU Brooks Media and Art Institute. To have a strong application, she thinks Kiki needs to build the audience for Brown Sugar. She encourages Kiki to interact more with her listeners, open herself up to new ideas, especially the ideas of others, and suggests she work with another promising student.

Aminah and Kiki walk to the student bar for the Friday night gathering of the Blackwellian crowd. The two young women bonded as first years when a drunk frat boy insulted them both. They are not part of any of the Blackwell cliques but are known to and accepted by everyone. Kiki likes being apart because she doesn’t want to get entangled in a group or friendships that might turn on her. She recalls how, when she arrived, the African-Caribbean Society didn’t really have a space of their own on campus. Kiki challenged Zack Kingsford, ACS president and “reigning Monarch of the Mandem” (35). She suggested that the society host a club night once a month on their own terms, with their own music. “We’re treated as guests here,” she said. “People to fill up quotas. Like they’re doing us a favor. Let’s make ourselves at home” (37). Zack put Kiki in charge of organizing the event, and it became FreakyFridayz, a popular event.

When they arrive, they are greeted by Kofi, fellow student and DJ, who adores Aminah. Aminah believes in making him work for her attention. His parents are Ghanaian, hers Nigerian, and Kiki calls them a “Pan-African diaspora fairy tale waiting to happen” (37). As the event is a collaboration with Brown Sugar, Kiki sees herself as in charge of keeping the peace.

Kiki stands up for a first year who is being intimidated by Simi, an older student who runs a gossip channel called The TeaHouse. Kiki sees herself in charge of romantic cleanup while Simi glorifies romantic mess, and she is sure Simi hates her. Kiki calls Simi an “agbaya” —Yoruba for bully —and Simi says Kiki is trying to do an “Edgy Black Girl look” (42) with her braids and nose ring.

Kiki sees two women confronting Malakai: Shanti, known for her beauty blog, and Chioma, one of the girls known as the “Vegan Cupcakes.” Kiki is impressed by his range in attracting both girls and thinks Malakai must be “a developed player in the game, the final boss you encounter after defeating them all” (45). Malakai answers the two women in a way that placates them both but, when he looks at Kiki, she feels the impact. She pretends to Aminah that she’s not affected by him. Zack approaches to tease Kiki and return her lip gloss, which she left at his place. Kiki realizes she got involved with Zack precisely because she didn’t like him; she knew feelings wouldn’t get involved. She tells Zack to leave her alone and he keeps pressing that he wants her back. When she insults him, he returns that he was just with her out of charity. Kiki stands up for herself, deciding, “If Zack wanted to be a predator then I was going to be a force majeure, the lovechild of Șango and Oșun, thunder, lightning, a flood” (57).

Kiki walks over to Malakai who has been watching her exchange with Zack. He asks what she needs him to do, and she tells him to kiss her. She intends to humiliate Zack, but gets involved in the kiss. This is her first honest kiss, and she thinks, “I hadn’t expected it to be like that—a whole world created in a kiss” (63). As they pull away, she is aware that people are watching and applauding, and she realizes Malakai challenges her, is at her level. Malakai says he listened to Kiki’s show and realized she was talking about him when the two girls he dated turned on him. She chastises him and he tells her she’s a hypocrite since she just used him to make Zack jealous. He never lied to the girls or led them on; he told them he wasn’t into commitment. Kiki doesn’t believe he’s totally innocent. He tells her he’s interested in getting to know her but realizes she doesn’t owe him anything. Kiki says he can get her a drink and reflects, “He looked like a bad decision. The best kind of bad decision” (71).