by Earl Sewell
“Mike, is that you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said smiling at her.
“You don’t look anything like you used to,” she said.
“Girl, I know you’re not tripping like that. You’re like a dang Transformer. There’s more to you than what meets the eye,” I said, laughing as I continued to check her out on the sly.
“You’re all muscular now,” she said as she gripped my arm. “You look good. You look more manly and more mature,” she said.
I licked my lips and nodded my head. Finally. A girl that recognizes all of my hard work. “Yeah. That’s right. I’ve got it going on a little bit these days. But you’re looking pretty hot yourself. I mean you were okay-looking before,” I lied. “But now, wow! You’ve lost—I mean, you look like a million bucks. Turn around. Let me take all of you in.” Sabrina slowly turned so I could really see her. My eyes were all over her and it was at a time like this that I wished for X-ray vision.
“Well, thank you. I try.” A broad grin broke out on her face revealing even, white teeth.
“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you around school at all,” I asked.
“Mike, you pretty much put some distance between you and me after my eleventh birthday party,” she said.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, not sure of what she meant.
“Come on, Mike, don’t act as if you don’t remember what happened.”
“Oh, that. That was four years ago, Sabrina.”
“It may have been, but I remember it very well. I told you that I liked you in front of everyone and kissed you on the cheek and the way you reacted embarrassed me.”
“That was a long time ago. Why do you want to bring up old stuff?” I asked hoping she’d just drop the conversation.
“Because you made me feel horrible for liking you. You yelled at me and told me to never touch you again,” Sabrina recalled.
I could tell she was still searching for an explanation or at least an apology, so I offered one. “I’m sorry for making you feel bad. I was a different person at that time. But you can certainly kiss me on the cheek now. There is no doubt about it. I wouldn’t mind it at all,” I said, hoping that I’d won her over.
“Well, you still are very cute to me,” she admitted.
“So, what’s up with you? You got a man or what?” I asked feeling that it was the perfect time to pimp up and put some serious moves on her.
“Well, there is this guy that I’ve liked for a very long time. But he doesn’t notice me.”
“How could anyone not notice you?” I said utterly shocked that she didn’t have a gang of guys trying to get with her.
“I don’t know, Mike, you tell me. Why haven’t you noticed me at school?” she captured my gaze and held it.
For a moment, I was completely speechless.
“You’d better start noticing what’s in front of you, Mike, and stop letting your wicked stepsister occupy all of your time with her drama.”
“Sho you right!” I said feeling myself buzzing with lustful energy. I was about to say something very mannish but I caught my words before they fell out of my mouth when I saw Sabrina’s dad and Jordan approaching.
“Look, I’ll holla at you later. Your dad’s coming,” I informed her.
“Oh,” she said and immediately stopped smiling at me.
“So do you have an e-mail address, MySpace page or a cell phone number so that we can talk?”
“My father would have a fit if I gave my cell phone number to you,” said Sabrina.
“Oh. It’s like that. He doesn’t want you dating?” I asked.
“No. I can’t date until I’m eighteen according to him,” she said.
“Oh, that’s just dumb,” I said looking over her shoulder again at her father who seemed to be searching the crowd of churchgoers.
“I think he’s looking for you now,” I said.
“He probably is. Look, I sing in the choir. I’m doing a solo today. Make sure you listen.”
“I will.”
“I’ll see you around, okay?” she said before turning to walk away from me. I couldn’t help but study the curves of her banging body.
“Who are you looking at so hard?” Jordan asked as he approached me.
“No one,” I said and turned back to face Keysha and my mother who were chatting it up with some women. They appeared to be talking about some home remedies for Keysha’s skin.
Turning back to Jordan, I said, “What’s up with Keysha and her grossed-out-looking skin? We should call up a Hollywood producer and tell him that we have the perfect creature for the next blockbuster horror film. She looks like one of those dead creatures from that movie Resident Evil. I wouldn’t be surprised if she started foaming at the mouth and growling. She probably needs to be quarantined so that she doesn’t infect everyone.”
“Mike! What has gotten into you?” Jordan smacked me on the chest with the back of his hand. My eyes immediately met his and we locked our gaze upon each other. “You don’t talk about your sister like that. The next time you say something that mean-spirited about her you and I are going to get into it.” Jordan wasn’t happy but neither was I. I refused to break eye contact with him. “Have I made myself clear?” Jordan poked me in the chest a few times with his index finger. His thumps didn’t hurt me one bit but I could tell that he thought they had.
“I hear you,” I answered him, still refusing to break eye contact.
“Is there something going on with you, Mike? You’ve been behaving very odd lately,” Jordan asked. I cut my eyes at him because he honestly didn’t have a clue. At that moment I heard Marlon call out my name. I turned and saw him maneuvering his way through the crowd of people toward me.
“Dude, have you seen the newspaper?” he asked.
“No?”
“Here, take a look. There’s a huge photo of you running the ball back for a touchdown.” Marlon opened the newspaper and showed me the photo. Below the photo of me sprinting down the field were the words Mike “The Sonic Boom” Kendall Electrified the Crowd When HeRan Seventy-five Yards for a Touchdown to Clinch the State Championship for the Thunderbirds.
“Did you see it, Mr. Kendall?” asked Marlon as he showed the newspaper to my father.
“I didn’t know. I forgot all about the game,” Jordan said.
“That’s because you’re so busy worrying about a skin rash,” I said condescendingly. My dad allowed my comment to slide for the moment.
“Mike, I’m proud of you,” he said, but at that point it was too late and his last-minute words held no real value to me.
“I’m going to go sit with Marlon. Is that okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Jordan said. “Meet us out here at the end of service.” I could tell that my dad wanted to know more details about the game, but I didn’t feel like talking to him anymore.
“Come on, Marlon. Let’s go find a seat,” I said and followed him into the sanctuary.
five
KEYSHA
Sunday, November 4th
When I arrived home from church on Sunday, I headed directly to my bedroom so that I could grab my cell phone off my dresser and call Wesley. Barbara and Jordan insisted that Mike and I leave our cellular phones at home because they didn’t want us sending text messages while we were in church. When I looked at my phone, I noticed that I’d received several text messages from Wesley asking me to call him right away. I even noticed that I had a voice mail message that I assumed was from him, too. I smiled, because I was happy to learn that Wesley had been thinking about me.
We’d made plans to see each other again today and talk about how we were going to keep in touch. I’d even planned on going over to meet his grandmother and help them pack. I opened my closet door and pulled out a pair of blue jeans, a sweater and my gym shoes. I tossed my outfit on the bed to make sure that I liked what I’d picked. The sweater wasn’t moving me, so I decided to see what else I had in the closet that I could wear. I wanted to ma
ke sure that I had on something that Wesley would remember. As I rambled through my closet, I received another text message from Wesley saying good-bye.
“Good-bye!” I said aloud. I stepped out of my closet, sat on the edge of my bed and called him.
“Hey, babe,” I greeted him. “I just got your text message. What’s up?” I asked.
“What took you so long to call me back?” he asked. I could hear a little uneasiness in his voice.
“I went to church this morning and I didn’t have my phone with me.”
“Oh,” Wesley said with a big sigh.
“Are you okay? Is something wrong? And what’s up with this good-bye text message?” A feeling of panic gripped me.
“I’m gone, Keysha. I’m already on the road leaving town with my dad and grandmother.”
“What?” I yelled into the phone. “What are you talking about? We had plans this afternoon.”
“The plans changed. My grandmother and I came to the house this morning, packed up everything and then came to get my dad from the hospital. They released him early and my grandmother wanted to get back right away.” Wesley kept on talking but I wasn’t really listening to him because I felt my heart sinking.
“That’s not fair!” I said as a teardrop ran down my cheek. Wesley was silent. “How could you do this to me?” I snapped at him.
“Keysha, I didn’t have a choice. I had to leave with them. We’re in the car driving now,” he said in a defeated tone.
“Can they hear you talking on the phone?” I asked.
“My dad is asleep but my grandmother knows that I’m on the phone,” Wesley explained.
“Well tell her that I said that it’s not fair that you left without saying good-bye to me!” I couldn’t control the tears streaming from my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Wesley said, his voice full of regret.
“This isn’t right,” I said as I began pacing back and forth. “This doesn’t make any sense. Why would she make you leave without saying good-bye to your friends? Doesn’t she realize how important your friends are? Didn’t she want to at least meet me? What was the big rush?” I asked, smearing away the steady stream of tears running down my cheeks.
“I don’t know the answers to all of those questions. She just wanted to get back as soon as possible,” Wesley said, but his words offered me little comfort.
“I’m going crazy, Wesley,” I said, and I continued to pace the floor. “How am I going to deal with the people at school? How am I going to function without you around?” I asked.
“I know it’s going to be hard, but I’m not at any picnic here either. I have to go to another school yet again with a bunch of kids I don’t know. This isn’t going to be easy for me either, Keysha,” Wesley argued.
“When are you coming back?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet,” he paused for a moment, and in the background I heard his grandmother demand that he get off of the phone.
“What the hell?” I shouted into the phone. “You can’t even have a conversation while she’s driving?”
“Keysha, let me call you back,” Wesley said.
“Why is she being so mean? I didn’t do anything to her. She’s never even met me and she doesn’t like me. What kind of sense does that make?”
“Wesley, I’m not going to ask you to get off the phone again. Tell that fast little girl that the world isn’t coming to an end and you’ll have to call her later,” I heard his grandmother say.
“Keysha, I promise. I’ll call you as soon as I get settled,” Wesley whispered.
“Who is she calling fast? What did you tell her, Wesley?” I demanded.
“I didn’t say anything.” Wesley was trying to end the conversation. I had no choice but to let him go.
“Promise you’ll call?” I asked, conceding to the fact that I didn’t know when or where I’d see Wesley again.
“I will,” he said and then said his final good-bye. When I hung up the phone, I crashed onto my bed, placed my face in my pillow and cried so hard that I gave myself a massive headache.
A while later, once the tears had stopped flowing, I decided to find some Tylenol tablets for my headache. I exited my bedroom and ran into Mike who was coming up the stairs carrying a load of his laundry.
“Whoa!” he looked at me with horror in his eyes. “Get back, you beast. Crawl back into your cave!” Mike teased. I gave him an evil look and then offered up my middle finger.
I went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. I sat on the edge of the bathtub, placed my face in my hands and cried some more. When I was done, I rubbed my fingers though my hair and was mortified when I saw strands of my hair twisted around my fingers. I stood on my feet and looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes were red and swollen from crying, my hair was tangled up one side and branching out on the other. At that moment, I began scratching my arms uncontrollably. When I looked at my skin, there were red welts all over it.
“What’s happening to me?” I whispered to my reflection hoping to find an answer to my question. I opened the medicine cabinet and found the bottle of Tylenol tablets. Just as I was about to take two, there was a loud knock on the door.
“Hey, Keysha, guess who just pulled into the driveway?” Mike asked.
“Leave me alone, Mike. You don’t want to mess with me right now,” I yelled.
“No. I’m for real. Guess who just pulled into the driveway?” he asked again, wanting me to play his little riddle game.
“I said leave me alone! Why can’t you do that?” He was so annoying.
“Hey, I’m just trying to inform you that your ghetto mother is back.”
I swore my heart stopped beating for a moment. I glanced out the bathroom window and, sure enough, I saw my mother getting out of a car with Simon. I immediately closed the window shade and placed my hand over my heart as I tried to slow my breathing. I searched my mind trying to find a reason for my mother’s return.
Something must be going on, I told myself. But what? I rubbed my fingers through my hair once again and more hair came out. “Oh no!”
“I’m for real, Keysha. Your mother is here. Aren’t you going to go down and see what she wants?” Mike asked. He sounded happy that Justine had returned. I took a deep breath, stood and willed myself to open the bathroom door.
“Damn, girl! You look worse now than you did before. Is the mirror broke, too? It’s got to be at least cracked or something,” Mike was relentless in his criticism of my appearance. I didn’t respond to his nasty comment. I could only glare at him. I walked into my room to search for a scarf to wrap up my head with Mike trailing behind.
“Well, it’s obvious that you’re having a bad hair day and a—”
“That’s it, Mike!” I felt myself snap. Grabbing a pair of curling irons that were atop my dresser I waved them in front of his face. “Say one more word to me and I’ll crack your skull open with this!”
“I’m not—” Mike couldn’t even finish his sentence before I flung the curling iron at his head. Mike barely dodged the flying object.
“Keysha, have you lost your ever-loving mind!” Mike yelled at me. I was about to pick up something else and throw it at him, but I heard Barbara call my name from the bottom of the staircase.
“Keysha, come on down here, please,” Barbara summoned.
“Your mother wants to see you,” Mike sang. I didn’t bother to tie my hair up, I just went downstairs. I heard the voices of Jordan, Barbara and my mother coming from the family room. I could tell that there was a rather nasty argument going. I waited in the kitchen out of their line of sight and eavesdropped to find out what was going on.
“Justine, there is really no reason for you to continue coming around. Keysha is being taken care of. She now has a strong family that loves and supports her. You can go and live your life anyway you see fit. You’re not responsible for her any longer,” I heard Jordan say.
“So what are you trying to say? You don’t want your neighbors to kn
ow that I’m Keysha’s biological mother? You’re just going to act as if I don’t exist? Is that it?” I could tell that my mother was offended by Jordan’s blunt remarks.
“You may be her biological mother but you certainly were not a good provider for her,” Jordan fired back.
“I am a good mother, and I was a damn good provider when she lived with me. I did everything I could for that girl. I may not have had a lot of money but I made a way out of no way.” My mother’s short fuse and quick temper were about to explode.
“That’s not what I’ve heard,” Jordan shot back, unmoved by her anger. I could tell that he was restraining himself and attempting to be as civil as possible.
“Well, I don’t know what lies you’ve heard. But I know that I was a damn good mother to my baby.” Justine’s voice boomed throughout the room.
“You know good and well that Keysha’s life would have been much better than what it was had I known you’d given birth to a child of mine.” Jordan was beginning to lose his temper.
“Don’t try to twist this around so that I look like the bad person. I’ve raised that girl for sixteen years by myself without any help from you,” Justine snapped.
“You know what. Let’s cut to the chase here. Why are you at my house? I’ve already told you that there is no need for you to come around.” I could tell that Jordan was ready to put Justine out of the house. There was a long moment of silence before Justine spoke.
“Since I’m out of jail I’m working on putting my life back together and I think it’s time for Keysha to come back home with me.” Justine said with absolute conviction. Jordan released a loud and cynical laugh.
“Let me break the facts of the matter down to you. When I met you the only reason you wanted to hook up with me was to steal money from me. You’re a drug abuser. You’re a liar and a con artist. You wouldn’t even buy Keysha clothes or school supplies. You encouraged her to become a teenage mother and you left her home alone for days on end without food or money. If that’s your definition of being a good mother who is doing the best that she can then you’re certainly a sorry excuse for a parent. I swear, there should be a law preventing women like you from having children,” Jordan spat.