She Said, She Said

by Celeste Norfleet

  “Cool, so then what am I supposed to do?”

  “You’re coming to Georgia with me.”

  “What? But what about my internship? It starts—” she paused, remembering the phone message “—in two weeks. I already paid for it out of my money.”

  “We’ll reimburse you,” Malcolm said.

  “But no, it’s like an internship and it’ll look good on my college applications.”

  “You’ll have to pass for the time being,” Laura said.

  Tamika’s jaw dropped. She was stunned. Obviously there was some mistake. “Pass? What do you mean pass? As in not going at all?”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, but there’s really no other way.”

  “Wait, I’ve been looking forward to going to this camp internship for months. How can you just say, sorry, you can’t go?”

  “I’m not saying that,” Laura said. “If we get back in time, then fine, but I’m not making any promises.”

  “So that means I’m not going, right?”

  “That’s not what I said, Tamika. You’re hearing what you want to hear.”

  “You said that it’ll take a month to do the house. My internship starts in two weeks. I may be only sixteen but I can do the math.”

  “We’ll be back in time to go to Martha’s Vineyard,” Malcolm said eagerly, trying to appease the conversation. “And it really shouldn’t take too long to get everything in order down in Georgia. I’m sure you’ll be back in time for your camp,” he added easily without glancing at his wife.

  “It’s not just a camp, Dad, it’s an internship. It’s preparation for college.”

  “Okay, fine. After that you’ll be back home and have the rest of the summer.”

  Laura looked at him. As usual, he just didn’t get it.

  Chapter 3

  Tamika

  “What do you mean you’re not going tonight? You have to go. Duh, your boyfriend, or rather ex-boyfriend, whichever, is throwing the party of the year. The last thing you want to do is not show up. It’ll look like you’re brokenhearted or devastated or something.”

  “I don’t care. Believe me, I’m seriously not in the mood to be partying right now. Just go ahead without me.”

  “Uh-oh. What happened now?”

  “Oh, nothing much, just my whole friggin’ summer is trashed and all it took was a few little words from my mom.”

  “What few little words?” Lisa asked.

  “First of all, she took a phone message while we were at the mall this afternoon that my internship messed up and instead of starting in two days I start in two weeks. Then she didn’t get the job she wanted and my dad has this stupid business trip. So, bottom line is that my photo camp internship, going to the beach, hanging out with you before you leave and everything else is trashed. I swear she loves doing this to me.”

  “Wait, what are you talking about? What exactly happened?” Lisa asked.

  “Remember I told you that my mom was going to Georgia for a month?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Well, guess who’s going with her now?”

  “You, for real?”

  “Yeah, me, for real.”

  “I thought you were gonna kick it with your dad while your mom was away. Wait, did they separate again?”

  “Nah, they didn’t separate again—at least not that they’re saying. But he’s got to go to Tokyo for a month, maybe more. That means everybody’s out of the house and they don’t trust me to be here alone for a month. I’m sixteen years old. I swear they act like I’m still a kid.” Lisa giggled. “It’s not funny, Lisa.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just that last summer when you had the house to yourself for the week you almost got them tossed in jail for abandonment and reckless child endangerment.”

  “It’s not the same thing. I’m older and I know better. There’s no way I’d agree to let Justin throw another party like that at my house again. I can’t believe I let myself get talked into it before. He couldn’t do it at his regular place so I agreed. I’m still hearing about it.”

  “But you didn’t even invite them last time either. They just came and you know what happened after that.”

  “Whatever, but that’s not the point. The point is I wouldn’t do anything like that again and they should trust me not to.”

  “So, because of all that you’re not going tonight?”

  “I’m not in a partying mood.”

  “So that’s when you need to be out with your girls.”

  “I don’t know,” Tamika said, beginning to reconsider her decision.

  “Besides, Justin is promoting this. You know you have to be there. This is a big deal and if you’re not there you know one of those stupid skanks will be pushing up on him. The man will be seriously cash-heavy and you know that’s all it takes.”

  Tamika considered a moment. She knew that Lisa was right. Whenever she turned her back there were always some skanks trying to turn Justin’s head, and just in case they hadn’t actually broken up…

  She relented. “A’ight, fine.”

  Six hours later the party was popping and thankfully Lisa was right—hanging out with her friends was exactly what she needed to clear her mind. If this was the last time she was going to be around for a while, then she was going to kick it for real.

  And she did. She danced and laughed and joked around all night. By the time they were ready to bounce, her ears were ringing from the loud music, her feet were hurting from dancing so much in heels and she was just plain exhausted. The party was seriously crackin’. The DJ was tight and mostly all her friends from school had shown up. Halfway through everybody started talking about Justin’s next party.

  “I heard your boy is talking about promoting another party next month,” Lisa said as they stood to the side of the dance floor still enjoying the music.

  “Yeah, I heard,” Tamika said.

  “You know y’all will be back together by then.”

  “I seriously doubt it.” Tamika shrugged, then glanced across the room, seeing Justin dancing with both Drea and Lexea. She shook her head at his pitiful attempt at getting attention.

  “I guess you see your girls bumping up all on your boy over there,” Lisa said, leaning in for her ears only.

  “Yeah, I see ’em. They are so stupid with all that dumb stuff, and for real, do they ever do anything one at a time? They’re, like, inseparable, joined at the single brain cell.”

  Lisa laughed. “Girl, if you still want him you’d better lock him up again or take him with you. I have a feelin’ it’s gonna be a long few months.”

  “I’m not even stressing about all that. He wanted space, he got it. I’m done.”

  “Uh-huh, and I know why.” She glanced across the room. “Sean Edwards.”

  Tamika followed her line of vision. “Sean?”

  “Don’t be acting like you don’t know. Yeah, Sean. I saw the two of you all over in the corner talkin’ a few minutes ago, faces all close together and all.”

  “It’s loud in here,” she shouted to emphasize her point, “and we couldn’t hear each other talk so I had to get close just to hear what he was saying.”

  “Oh, please, y’all ain’t fooling nobody with that sly innocent stuff y’all pullin’ over there.”

  “We was just talkin’, that’s all.”

  “Uh-huh, right, just talkin’.”

  “He was telling me about what he was gonna do this summer.”

  “Uh-huh, right, talking,” Lisa said again.

  “Would you stop saying it like that? It wasn’t even anything like that. We was just talkin’, that’s it.”

  “Well, you better make sure that Justin knows that, ’cause he was for real checkin’ y’all out just talkin’ over there,” Lisa said.

  Tamika smiled. It was obvious that that’s exactly what she wanted.

  “Wait, don’t tell me that you were trying to use Sean to get back at Justin.”

  “You saw him with Drea and Lexea.”r />
  “You can’t be using Sean. He’s a nice guy and he likes you.”

  “He doesn’t even know me.”

  “You wrong, Tamika,” Lisa said. “That ain’t right.”

  But by that time Tamika had glanced over to where Justin was. He was still dancing but instead of paying attention to what Drea and Lexea were doing grinding all up into him front and back, he was looking at her, smiling.

  “Y’all just playing that game and using Sean to get back at each other. That’s so childish. Sean is really nice.”

  “Why don’t you go out with him?”

  “Hello, I’m leaving in a month and a half. Besides, he likes you, not me.”

  “And you know all this how?”

  “Let’s just say we talk and he’s nothing like Justin.”

  “Justin. Oh, please,” Tamika said, sucking her teeth and half chuckling. “I’m seriously not dealing with his drama or with any of this other crap. He’s the one who acted like he wanted to do his thing, so fine, let him have it. He’s the only one who started steppin’ out. I’m just following by example.”

  “But, girl, you know how he is, self-centered and selfish. You say all the time how tired you are of him and you go right back with him.”

  “Yeah, and that’s just it. I’m not doing it anymore. And as for Sean, we was just talking. I can’t help it Justin thinks it was something more.”

  “So, what was y’all two talking about, you and Sean?”

  “Georgia.”

  “Who’s Georgia? Oh, you mean the big girl who was in our lit class two years ago? Didn’t she move to Dallas or someplace like that?”

  “No, Georgia, like in the state of Georgia.”

  “She moved to Georgia?”

  “No, crazy, we was talkin’ about Georgia.”

  “Oh, Georgia,” Lisa said, laughing. Then she crinkled her nose questioningly. “Georgia, so what about it?”

  “His family is from Georgia and not too far from Fraser. He actually knew where it was and everything. He said that he goes down to visit his grandparents every summer and that he was probably gonna visit them again this year.”

  “Cool, maybe when he’s down there and you’re down there y’all can hook up or something.”

  Tamika glanced over to where she and Sean had been talking. He was still standing there, but now he was talking with a few of his friends. He didn’t look her way and she was glad about that. He was cool and all, but since they didn’t travel in the same circle of friends they didn’t really hang out with each other, so she really didn’t know him. They’d had a few classes together in ninth grade and she definitely knew who he was, but they just never really talked much until tonight.

  “You know what? It’s starting to slow down up in here. You ready to go?” Lisa asked, taking one final glance around the crowded room. The DJ was still spinning, but it was late and it was obvious that the place was starting to thin out. It was the perfect time to leave.

  “Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  They started to walk through the crowd toward the exit door. Just as she and Lisa got near she felt someone grab her hand. She turned, expecting to see Justin. It wasn’t. Sean was standing there smiling at her. “Hey, shorty,” he said. “You leaving now and not even gonna say goodbye?”

  Tamika smiled and nodded. “Yeah, we gotta go.”

  Sean glanced at Lisa and nodded. She returned the gesture, then casually looked away. “So I guess I’ll check you out in Fraser, right?” Sean said.

  Tamika smiled wider. “Yeah, okay, I’ll see you in Fraser.”

  “I’m not joking. For real, I’ll be down.”

  “A’ight, I believe you,” she said skeptically. “See you later.”

  He let go of her hand and just stood there as she and Lisa continued to the exit.

  “Girl, I don’t care what you said about just talking. Whatever Fraser is must be tight, ’cause that guy is pressed about you.”

  “He was just talking. There’s no way I’m really gonna see him down there. Besides, hopefully I’m only supposed to be there for a little while. If I’m lucky I’ll be back in two weeks.”

  “I hope so. It’s gonna be a long-ass summer with you gone.”

  “For real,” Tamika said.

  Lisa smiled. Their friendship was special. They’d come a long way since grade school. Archenemies at first, they instantly hated each other and then all of a sudden they were best friends. Neither one of them remembered just when or how everything changed but they were glad it did.

  Tamika sighed heavily. “I still can’t believe it, just like that,” she said as she and Lisa stepped outside. “Can you believe it? Dad gets to go to Tokyo for a month, maybe two, and I have to go with my mother to clean out a house in Fraser, Georgia.”

  “Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Lisa said as they walked the short distance to the parking lot next door to the club.

  Tamika looked at her best friend. Her response was implied and understood. “But it’s not just that. Did I tell you that we’ll be driving down? Can you believe it? We’re not even flying. I looked it up. It’s over a thousand miles. That means twenty hours in a car with my mother and nonstop nagging.” She started laughing. Lisa joined in while shaking her head, commiserating with her friend. They got to the car, got in and waited as usual.

  It never failed, there was always somebody who had to park all crazy and block at least six other cars. Tamika and Lisa talked generally about the party, then about the last day of school and the summer. By the time they could finally drive off they were laughing their heads off about Justin, Drea and Lexea.

  At the first traffic light Lisa stopped and turned to Tamika. “So, wait, hold up. How big is it?” Lisa asked.

  “How big is what?”

  “The house you gotta clean out,” Lisa said, glancing over quickly at Tamika’s confused expression.

  “Oh, um, I don’t know. I have no idea. The last time I was there I was, like, nine years old. I don’t even remember the place.”

  “So all you have to do is clean it out, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, whose house is it anyway?”

  “I think it was originally the house my great-grandmother grew up in, like, a hundred years ago. Then my grandmother lived there with my granddad’s sister after he died. Then when my grandmother died a few years ago my great-aunt lived there, but now she’s moving out to live in one of those senior citizen apartments near her daughter. Now my mom wants to sell it herself, so we have to go down there and clean it out. It’s nothing but a bunch of old junk there anyway, but my mom still wants to check it out.”

  “Old junk? Girl, you seen those antiques shows on PBS. Y’all probably have a book sitting up in there that’s worth half a million dollars or something or a chair that Prince Somebody sat on and got crowned.”

  “What? Yeah, right, uh-huh. Girl, you crazy,” Tamika said, not taking Lisa seriously.

  “No, really. Seriously, you need to really check it out when you get there. You don’t know what you’ll find up in there. That stuff happens all the time. You remember that guy who found a copy of the Magna Carta or the Declaration of Independence behind this old picture he bought at a flea market? He got like a billion dollars or something. See, it could happen.”

  “That’s just an urban legend.”

  “Nuh-uh, for real it happened.”

  “Well, not to me. That stuff’s probably just a bunch of old junk that nobody wants,” she said.

  “Still you should check it out. So, what are you gonna have, a huge yard sale or something?”

  “I don’t know, that’s my mom’s job. She doesn’t really need me there. She just doesn’t want me here alone.”

  They drove in silence for a few blocks.

  “I just can’t believe this,” Tamika repeated. “She said that I wasn’t mature enough to stay home alone.”

  “She actually said that?”

  “Not actually, but it was the
same thing. I don’t get it. She wants me to act mature but she won’t give me the opportunity to show it. Ever since she got laid off she’s been impossible. I can’t wait to get out of there.”

  “You can always write your college application essay about this trip.”

  “Yeah, I can just see myself doing that. How I spent my summer vacation trying not to strangle my mother, by Tamika Fraser.”

  They laughed as Lisa pulled up in front of Tamika’s house. “A’ight, I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said, then got out and went into the house. The kitchen light was on, so of course she headed upstairs to her bedroom. She’d missed curfew by half an hour.

  “Tamika, is that you?” her mother asked.

  “Uh-huh, I’m home. Sorry I’m late. We got blocked in.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “No, I’m just gonna go to bed.”

  “Come here for a minute. I want to talk to you.”

  Tamika groaned inwardly, knowing that’s what her mother wanted all along. She went into the kitchen and saw her mother sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of water in front of her. “How was your evening? Did you have a good time?”

  “It was okay,” she said, looking away disinterestedly.

  Her mom nodded. “Tamika, is it too much to ask for a little consideration?”

  “I’m not doing anything,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “And I said I was sorry about being late but it took forever to find the person that parked wrong and was blocking everybody in. We all had to sit there and wait for him to move his stupid car.”

  “Okay, fine. How about a little conversation?”

  “Okay.”

  “Why don’t you have a seat,” Laura said.

  Tamika sat down at the center island counter.

  “Look, sweetie, I know this whole thing is disappointing for you. Believe it or not I’m disappointed too. But sometimes we don’t have a choice. We need to do things that we’d rather not. Circumstances give us no alternative.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “We’ll drive down, clean the house out, put it on the market and then come right back home. Hopefully your dad will be back by then so we’ll go right to the beach, okay?”