The Aftermath

by Anna J.

  After rinsing the conditioner and blowing my hair dry, I plugged in my brand new flatirons so they would be nice and hot when I was done cleaning up the mess I made in the bathroom. Taking a pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer, I trimmed my ends, afterward taking small sections of my hair and binding them into a soft, bouncy wrap.

  Satisfied with my look, I then wrapped my hair into a beehive like I had seen my mother do to her hair many times, and tied a bandana tightly around it so it would be perfect in the morning. Getting rid of the evidence, I proceeded to clean the house and prepare dinner before my uncle arrived home. As I cleaned, I decided I would use a little more of the money I’d stashed to buy more clothes so I could keep up appearances.

  I took the sharpest knife from the kitchen drawer, ran upstairs, and placed it under my pillow after I had made my bed. I didn’t think I could kill my uncle, but if he came in my room again, he would get it. I would be buying a lock for my door tomorrow, whether he liked it or not. After finishing my homework, I ate dinner, cleaned up my mess, and took a bath. I put lotion on my skin so it wouldn’t be dry, then got into bed to get some sleep.

  My uncle came into the house around eight that night with one of his many girl toys. I woke up when I heard him come in, and I fed him and his company dinner, then cleaned the kitchen for the night. As I was walking by, he reached out and smacked me on my ass. I turned to say something, but before I got a word in, his lady friend was cursing him out.

  “Darryl, you ain’t got no business touching that girl like that. Keep ya hands to ya self!”

  “Bitch, mind ya business! This here is family business.”

  “Oh, I know you ain’t just call me a bitch? Nigga, I’ll . . .”

  While they argued back and forth I made my way upstairs. I felt relief for a second because I never had anyone take up for me. Everybody always acted like they didn’t know what was going on. At the same time, I wished she would’ve kept her mouth shut because I’d have to pay for it later.

  Once I was upstairs, I didn’t bother to turn the television on, opting to skip watching my favorite show, Family Matters. The antics of Steve Urkel were not going to be amusing that evening. I checked the position of the knife, closed my eyes, and anticipated my return to school. I contemplated how I would get Ashley back. I felt like the Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, hatching his plan to steal everything from the residents of Who-ville.

  I was abruptly awakened from my peaceful sleep by my uncle standing over my bed with his pants unfastened. I tried to act like I was sleeping, but my heart was beating a mile a minute in my chest as I gripped the knife under my pillow.

  “Little bitch, I know you not sleep. Open up for Uncle Darryl ,” he said as he dropped his pants to his ankles and stepped out of one pants leg before moving to climb on top of me.

  Just as he settled on the side of the bed, I jumped up and put him in a headlock, pressing the knife blade to his throat.

  “We’re not doing this anymore, you hear me? We’re family, and this shit just ain’t right,” I said to him as the knife began to dig into his flesh on the side of his neck. He was sweating bullets as he tried to breathe with me pressing on his esophagus.

  “Baby girl, I just came to give you your allowance and thank you for dinner,” he said as he tried to catch his breath. I’m sure he didn’t expect me to snap the way I did. He was really trying to hit it before he went to sleep.

  “Look, I’m tired of sleeping with one eye open. Why bring these women here and not sleep with them?”

  “Baby girl, let me . . .”

  “Don’t ‘baby girl’ me. This shit is coming to an end tonight. Make this your last trip to my room.”

  I held the knife to his back as he eased off the bed. When he got to the door he took a few bills out of his wallet and placed them on my dresser before closing the bedroom door behind him. I breathed a sigh of relief as I lay back in my bed and put my knife back under my pillow. When I woke up in the morning, Uncle Darryl was gone, but the money he left was still on the dresser. I counted two hundred dollars total.

  Taking my time in the shower, I put on one of the new outfits I bought the day before and combed my hair down as I had seen my mother do. Adding the money my uncle gave me to the change I had from the day before, I stopped at the corner store to buy a lock for my door and purchased a bottle of Nair hair removal lotion.

  By the time I got to school my confidence level was through the roof as I strutted through the halls like I owned them. Removing the remaining condoms from my locker and gathering the books I needed for second period, I made my way to the girls’ locker room so I could get ready for first period gym.

  Ashley and her crew looked at me oddly and laughed at their own jokes, hoping to make me feel self-conscious. I paid them no attention as I took off my new jeans and shirt, folded them neatly so they wouldn’t wrinkle, and then changed into my blue gym suit. I applied a small amount of lip gloss to my already shiny lips. Brushing my soft hair into a ponytail so I wouldn’t sweat out my wrap, I looked in the mirror one last time before sitting on the bench to change my shoes. I waited until I was the last one in the locker room before putting my plan into action.

  Every Tuesday like clockwork, Ashley washed her hair, leaving it curly for the rest of the day. I laughed to myself as I poured half the contents of her shampoo bottle down the drain before replacing it with the Nair. After shaking it up vigorously, I placed it back into Ashley’s locker and put the bottle of Nair in the bottom of my book bag. Tossing everything back into my locker, I made sure to put the combination lock on before heading to join the class with a bright smile on my face,

  During gym, I heard all of the little giggles and sly remarks from Ashley and the gang, but I just chilled and smiled, knowing I would have the last laugh. I breezed through the exercises and was the only girl able to climb all the way up the rope and ring the bell. I noticed the stares I got from the boys in my class as they watched my ass bounce in my gym suit, but I paid them no mind. I had a mission to accomplish. Before long, gym was over and it was time to hit the showers.

  Casting my shyness to the side and removing all my clothes, I put the plastic cap on my head the way the girl at the store showed me so my hair wouldn’t get wet. Moving toward the showers, I made sure to get one near Ashley so I could watch everything take place.

  I hung my towel on the hook under the showerhead so it wouldn’t get wet and began to soap my body as I discreetly watched Ashley get into the shower. Getting a quick peek at her body before she closed the shower stall door that came up to just above her breasts, I saw that she had a nice pair of breasts—at least a 36C. I looked down at my A cups, then briefly glanced back at her.

  I watched as she closed her eyes and put her head under the showerhead, soaking her hair so she could apply what she thought was shampoo. Before I could turn my head she caught me looking at her. My heart was beating fast as hell as she poured a huge amount of the concoction I made into her hair.

  “Damn, what the fuck, are you lesbian now? First you fuck my man, now you wanna fuck me?”

  Instead of responding, I rinsed my body under the water and lathered up again as she worked her hands through her hair with her eyes closed. When she stepped back under the water big sections of her hair slid off her scalp and ran down her body. She was oblivious because her eyes were closed. I turned my back to her, not quite believing that my plan had actually worked. She applied more of my concoction to her hair with her eyes still closed, and began to lather her hair again.

  I was cracking up on the inside as clumps of her hair slid down her body. When she opened her eyes, clumps of hair were in her hands, and even more was at her feet. Ashley began screaming at the top of her lungs, causing a crowd of naked teenage girls to gather around her. The more she rinsed, the more her hair came out, causing Ashley to collapse in a crying heap on the floor.

  Ms. Rhodes, our gym teacher, came to see what all the commotion was about. When she
walked in she began screaming, asking us what happened and wrapping a towel around Ashley’s head and body, calling the principal on her walkie-talkie for help. We were instructed to get dressed and immediately report to second period class. I kept my mouth shut, although I wanted to jump for joy at my silent victory. One down, many more to go, I thought.

  Before the school day was over we received letters to take home to our parents explaining what had happened to Ashley, and to inform them that we would be taking gym last period because they were banning shower use at the school. I practically skipped out the school and all the way up the strip to get some more outfits and accessories for school.

  When I walked into the house, Uncle Darryl wasn’t home yet, giving me time to stash my newest purchases in the closet and put the new lock on my door. When I walked into the room, I was shocked to discover that Uncle Darryl had purchased me a new and bigger bed to sleep in. The comforter and sheets on the bed matched the curtains.

  My little black-and-white television was replaced with a nineteen-inch color television with a remote. When I opened my closet a few of my old clothes were thrown out and my new clothes were hanging in their place, and my new shoes were lined up on the top of the closet. When I reached in the back my jar was still there, but when I counted my stash I had seven hundred dollars in it and I had taken three hundred out just the day before.

  When I sat down on my bed I was surprised to find the knife still there. Under the other pillow was a note from someone named Stephanie telling me to find another hiding place for my jar, and to keep the knife in my room just in case. My uncle told her what I did to him and she helped him redecorate my room as a means of apology. I felt tears well up in my eyes at the gesture, and I did what she said.

  Looking around my room, I noticed tons of new things, like the vanity that sat by my closet full of perfumes and feminine products, and an electric crimping iron accompanied by my new flat iron. I even had new clothes baskets, one for coloreds and one for whites. For the first time in my life I felt like a teenager should.

  I raced downstairs and began to cook dinner so I could be done in time to watch a little television before I went to bed. I placed the bottle of Nair on my vanity and tossed the note from school in the trash. When I heard my uncle come in, I noticed he was with the lady from the other night. After fixing their plates, she winked at me before I went to clean the kitchen, letting me know she had my back. On my way upstairs my uncle stopped me before I reached the steps.

  “Baby girl, I hope you liked your—”

  “Darryl, leave the girl alone. She’s cool. Right, Monica?”

  “Uhhh . . . right. Thanks,” I replied, shocked that she knew my name. She winked at me again before I went upstairs, and for the first night in a long time I felt at peace, even though I was almost certain it would be short lived.

  That night I lay in my bed thinking of how I could get Kevin back. My plan was almost perfect. It would take me the rest of the week, but he had it coming. When I finally went to sleep I had a dream that I was in the shower at school, only my head was attached to Ashley’s body. I was leaned up against the stall wall as she knelt down under the shower with her face between my legs. She was orally pleasing me beyond my wildest dreams, but as the water ran over her head, her hair was sliding off. I wanted to stop her, but she had my clit in her mouth and her fingers in my pussy, causing me to explode in one orgasm after another. I didn’t know what the dream meant, but I smiled despite the situation.

  On Friday I was ready to set my plan with Kevin into action. After this he would surely think twice before violating another woman again. I left a note for him to meet me at the same spot behind the bleachers on Sunday evening. I had to play my part, so I wore one of the new miniskirts I’d purchased, and a fitted shirt that showed my belly button. I made sure my hair was freshly flat ironed, and my lips were shining.

  I was a little nervous about him not being there, but smiled instantly when I saw his car parked on the side of the gate by the field. I kept my bag close to me because I needed the contents if this plan was going to work. His face held a bright smile as I walked closer to him.

  “Follow me. I got something to show you.” I didn’t bother to wait for him. I started walking toward the school as he scrambled to catch up with me.

  On Sunday afternoons the side door was always open because they had adult GED training for a couple of hours. I led him into the building quietly and upstairs to our homeroom class. Giving him full view of my bare bottom with my ass perched on the teacher’s desk, I could see his arousal from the chair he sat in. Walking seductively toward him, I straddled his lap and gyrated my hips on his stiffness, the warmth from my opening heating his length.

  I kissed his lips, slipping the two GHB pills I paid a smoker to get from the drug house around the corner from my house from under my tongue and into his mouth. He swallowed them without a second thought. Continuing to move my hips, I eased his manhood out of his pants, rubbing it against my clit, but not allowing him to penetrate me.

  Pretty soon the effects of the pills caused his eyelids to get heavy and his body to slump in the chair. Once he was completely out I went to work, stripping him naked and chaining his hands and feet to the teacher’s chair. Class would start at 7:15 A.M., just in time for the pill to stop working and Prince Charming to wake up. I nailed the wooden legs of the chair to the old hardwood floor so it wouldn’t topple over. Once Kevin’s limp body was secure in the seat, I took a permanent black magic marker and wrote, “I AM A RAPIST” in big, bold letters all over his body, starting at his forehead and working my way down until his entire body was covered. I then Krazy-glued the outline of his feet to the floor. Once outside, I drove his car to the middle of the football field and spray painted the word RAPIST all over the inside and outside of his car, and left it running.

  When I got to class in the morning a huge crowd was standing outside the door as the school principal, the school nurse, and the security guard worked to get Kevin unstuck and unlocked. They kept asking him who did this to him, but he kept his mouth shut as we made eye contact from my position in the hallway.

  This fiasco made the local papers that evening with photos of his car and of him being led out of the school in a bathrobe on the first page. One more student out of school for the week. I was almost satisfied, but I had one more to go.

  Carlos

  Family Ties: Present Day

  Ihad it all figured out by the time Thursday rolled around. I would spend the weekend with Yoyo and force her to tell me everything I needed to know about Monica. Besides, Yoyo was the type who would sell out God himself if Satan offered her enough dope to snort. She didn’t give a damn about her family, and she made it known. She once told me that the only thing family was good for was giving her money and getting her out of jams.

  So, late Friday afternoon, after I made sure my right hand man knew how to get at me if need be, I was off the scene and smiling up in Yolanda’s face. She opened the door, and to my surprise, she was fully dressed. When I stepped into her place, she gave me a hug, then went back to watching television without saying a word.

  Not knowing what to think, I hung my coat up in the closet and took a seat next to her on her sofa. My instincts told me to just get my shit and bounce, but I needed some info from her. We sat in silence for about ten minutes before I spoke.

  “Yolanda, are you . . .”

  “Hush nigga, damn. I’m trying to figure out the puzzle,” she replied, sounding irritated and never taking her attention away from the screen. I wanted to jump in her ass for screaming at me, but I had to be nice to her if I wanted her to tell me what I needed to know.

  When the show was over, she finally gave me her attention. I didn’t know if she was getting high before I got there, but I was not in the mood for her bullshit. Yoyo could be a bitch sometimes, and I was hoping that day wasn’t one of those days.

  “So wassup, Carlos? What brings you to my neck of the woods?” she a
sked as if she didn’t just snap on me a moment ago. I was close to smacking her ass up, but I wasn’t in the mood for fighting with her.

  “Damn, ma, can I miss you? It’s been a while since I’ve been through this way. How you been?”

  “I’m good. You know how I do.”

  She stood up to stretch, my eyes catching every curve. Her ass bounced in her jeans as she pranced around the living room. She could have easily been an Apple Bottoms model. Yoyo was a damn dime from head to toe. She had the same smooth chocolate skin like her sister, but she had a little more thickness to her which filled out her jeans perfectly. Just the thought of her ass bouncing on my dick had me ready to bend her over the back of the couch, but I held it down. We’d get to that later.

  “How’s ya family?”

  “My family?” she turned around stunned, like I had just asked her to kill for me.

  I knew asking her that would stop her dead in her tracks. Everyone knew she didn’t get down with her peoples like that. It was almost a sin to even bring it up in a conversation, but I knew she at least kept in touch with Monica. She was in and out of the pen too much not to have a source of help.

  “Yes, your family. You know . . . your brother, Brian, and your sister, Monica. When was the last time you talked to her, by the way?” I was hoping it was recently.

  “You know Brian don’t fuck with us. And Monica be on some ol’ other shit. I only call that bitch when I need to get out of a jam. Why, you tryna fuck her too?”

  “Did I say all that?”

  “You didn’t have to. Now that your boy is out of the picture you can slide on in. She likes ‘get money’ niggas like you.”

  “Oh, so you brushin’ me off? Ya family can get at me like that? I thought me and you were tight?” I asked, feigning like I was hurt. Yolanda obviously knew something I didn’t, but I knew she would never just come out and say it.