Ace of Spades

Chiamaka, usually called Chi at school, has worked hard to be popular. She believes that “the people at the top in high school get into the best colleges, get the best jobs, go on to run the country, and win Nobel Prizes” (22). Chiamaka catches up with her friends, Ruby and Ava. Ruby has also been made a prefect. Chiamaka knows that Ruby and Ava are not really her friends and that their relationship is a transactional attempt to gain power at school. They discuss the new headmaster, whose arrival was a surprise to Chiamaka. Her friends, however, already knew that the old headmaster was planning on retiring.

Chiamaka’s best friend, Jamie Fitzjohn, arrives. Chiamaka has a crush on Jamie. He tells her that she was “cocky” for being so sure that she would be made Head Prefect, but Chiamaka knows that she has worked harder than anyone else to receive the honor. She is confident that her final year at Niveus will make all her sacrifices and hard work worthwhile.

Devon finishes music class. His next block should be math, but Mr. Taylor allows Devon to skip classes on occasion to work on his application to Juilliard. At Niveus, senior students often miss classes here and there to focus on extra lessons in their area of interest.

As Devon heads to his locker, students stare at him and whisper. A girl asks Devon if he has seen the photo of him that is circulating around the school. Devon does not know what she is talking about. She shows him a photo of him kissing another boy. Devon is horrified.

Chiamaka and Jamie are lab partners in their chemistry class. Jamie is a legacy student with highly influential parents and “generations of family members who’ve attended Niveus” (34). Chiamaka’s parents are not American—her father is Italian, and her mother is Nigerian—so she does not have this privilege, despite her wealth. Jamie tells Chiamaka that he has something to tell her at lunch. Chiamaka believes that Jamie is finally going to ask her out. Meanwhile, everyone in the class receives a text from an anonymous sender who goes by the alias of “Aces.” The text includes a picture of Devon kissing another boy named Scotty. Scotty is one of Chiamaka’s ex-boyfriends, though she only dated him to gain popularity.

At lunch, instead of confessing his feelings for her, Jamie says that he is dating Belle Robinson, a beautiful girl with blond hair and blue eyes. Chiamaka is devastated. She thinks back to the winter break of their junior year. In a flashback, the narrative describes a scene in which she and Jamie are in Jamie’s car. Jamie is driving and accidentally hits a girl with the car. Chiamaka wants to get out of the car and call an ambulance, but Jamie insists that they cannot call anyone because his dad will kill him. Jamie takes Chiamaka’s phone, locks the car doors, and drives away, ignoring Chiamaka’s protests. Ever since the accident, Chiamaka has had terrible nightmares.

The next day, Devon is on his way to school. He tries to convince himself that the photo is not a big deal, even though he has not yet come out to anyone at school or to his family. He worries about what his mom would say if she knew he was gay, because in the past, she has acted “like being gay is something pitiful” (49). At school, Devon confronts Scotty, his ex-boyfriend, to ask him why he leaked the photo. Scotty insists that he did not share the photo with anyone. Devon does not fully believe him because their relationship was toxic and caused him lots of heartache.

Devon finds his friend Jack, whom he worries is avoiding him. Jack tells Devon, “They’re gonna kill you. They won’t let you deal for them like before” (54). Jack also states that he wants no part of whatever Devon has gotten himself into, because he “can’t have [his] brothers targeted” (55). Devon says he will talk to Andre Johnson, a boy for whom he sometimes deals drugs, but Jack reacts with disgust.

Whispers surround Chiamaka as she walks down the hallways. There has been another text from Aces. Ruby tells Chiamaka that Aces has claimed that Jamie rejected Chiamaka at lunch the previous day. Chiamaka denies this, although it is true. Chiamaka reflects that she has been adept at limiting herself to “the role of [Jamie’s] best friend” (62), despite the fact that she has feelings for him. In fact, Chiamaka and Jamie have been sleeping together for several months.

After school, Jamie and Chiamaka go to a candy shop. Jamie loves candy, but he is diabetic and cannot eat it as often as he would like. As they go to pay, the shopkeeper accuses Chiamaka of stealing. Chiamaka denies the accusation and is angry that he is treating her like a thief. She tries to prove her innocence but finds a packet of licorice in one of her pockets. The shopkeeper threatens to call the cops, but Jamie talks him out of it. After they leave, Chiamaka insists to Jamie that she has no idea how the licorice got into her pocket. She can tell that he does not really believe her.

Devon leaves home early in the morning but does not head to school. Instead, he goes to Andre’s house. Some boys guarding the front door let him in. The narrative reveals that he and Andre grew up together, and that they are now secretly dating. Andre is 18, Black, and from the same neighborhood as Devon. Andre tells Devon that he already knows about the photo of him and Scotty; he also got the anonymous text. He promises Devon that he will deal with it but warns him not to let anything else get out, because he has “a boss to answer to—he won’t like [Devon] being here if he finds out” (71). Devon promises to be careful; Andre tells him that he loves him. At school, Devon receives another anonymous text about Chiamaka and the incident at the candy shop.