Decision Time

by Earl Sewell

  “Wesley,” the principal called. I stopped and turned. “Don’t forget to pick up a hall pass at the front desk.”

  “Okay,” I said, feeling very relieved.

  When the dismissal bell rang, I waited by the gymnasium doors for Lori, who’d sent me a text message earlier telling me that she’d be taking the school bus back home with me. When I saw her coming down the hall, I smiled. She was wearing tight blue jeans, a green top and sexy high-heeled leather boots. It was obvious she was supremely confident and comfortable strutting in them by the seductive manner in which her hips swiveled. As other male students passed her by, they turned around to gaze at her behind. I glanced at her with a mannish smile, glad she was coming to meet up with me. Then in the back of my mind, images formed of us embracing in each others’ arms and kissing. I allowed myself to enjoy all of the intimate possibilities that could happen between us.

  “Hey, handsome,” Lori greeted me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “What’s up?” I said as I led her out the door and toward the school buses.

  “The usual stuff. Fighting with my mom and grandmother. They’re so damn old-fashioned. It’s annoying at times,” Lori complained. “How are things going with you?”

  “Okay, considering.” I sighed.

  “That doesn’t sound too good, Wesley.” Lori heard the uncertainty in my voice.

  “Everything is fine. I just had a little problem, which I’ve taken care of.”

  “Good, because I like a strong man who knows how to take care of business,” Lori answered, flirting with me.

  “Well, I’m the type of guy who likes to use my head to solve problems and not my fists,” I proudly proclaimed as we stepped onto the school bus and took a seat.

  Later that evening, I found myself sitting at the kitchen table working on my math homework. Grandmother Lorraine was at church making food baskets for women in a local homeless shelter. Dad was in his room looking over some documents regarding his long-term disability payments. I was about to work through my last algebraic equation when a phone call from Lori came through. I was going to ignore her, but decided to answer at the last minute.

  “Took you long enough,” Lori whined.

  “I’m busy doing my homework,” I said, feeling as if I really didn’t have to explain anything to her.

  “Well, it’s time for you to take a break and talk to me.” Lori was being bossy.

  “Says who?”

  “Me,” Lori said. “So I was thinking that we should—” At that very moment another call was coming through. I glanced at the caller ID. Keysha’s name lit up the display.

  “Finally,” I uttered.

  “What do you mean, ‘finally’?” Lori was confused by my comment.

  “Lori, I’ve got to go. I’ll holler at you later.” Before she could say anything further, I clicked over to Keysha.

  “Hello,” I answered frantically.

  “Hello, Wesley,” Keysha greeted me.

  “I’ve missed you so much. Do you know that?”

  “Yeah, right. You’re not missing me one bit.”

  “Yes, I am. Believe me, I miss you an awful lot,” I insisted, stating my case.

  “So, do you have something to say to me? You’ve been calling me like a deranged stalker.”

  “That’s because I’m in love with you and my heart was broken when you didn’t return my calls.”

  “Wesley, your heart is nowhere near broken. Last time we were together you seemed to be getting along just fine. And you know what really ticks me off with you, Wesley?”

  “No.”

  “The fact that you gave me the impression that things were so difficult for you there. You had me thinking that every day you were alive was a blessing. How could things be so dangerous? Yet you found time to kick off a new romance. What in the hell is that about?”

  “Keysha, you don’t understand. It’s not—”

  “Wesley!” I heard my father scream out my name. He then came running into the kitchen with a wild and panicked look in his eyes.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, immediately sensing something was way off base. He opened up a nearby closet door and removed one of several baseball bats Grandmother Lorraine kept hidden around the house in case an intruder got in.

  “Call the police!”

  “The police?” I was suddenly confused by his request.

  “Don’t you hear my car alarm going off? How could you have not heard glass shattering?” he barked as he rushed out into the night.

  “Keysha, I’ll call you back!” I hung up on her before she could say another word. I phoned the police and gave them the address. They said a squad car would be there within a few minutes. I then rushed out the door to catch up with my father. Sure enough someone had vandalized his car.

  “Look at this.” Dad was at his wit’s end. Someone had poured yellow and green paint all over his car, then smashed out the passenger’s and driver’s side windows. “Oh, this is the last thing I need right now.”

  “I’m going to go find out who did this,” I said as I started running down the street as best as I could with one arm in a sling.

  “Wesley, get back here!” My father chased me down. Once he caught me, he walked me back toward the house. “You don’t need to go chasing someone like a lunatic. The police will come and we’ll make a report to the insurance company.”

  “Why does everyone in this crazy town hate us? We haven’t done anything to anyone!” I was furious and wanted retribution.

  My father placed his hands on my shoulders and looked directly into my eyes. “Wesley, calm down. It’s just a car and it can be replaced.” My father was surprisingly composed about the situation.

  “It’s not right.” I began pacing.

  “I know it isn’t right, but we’ll get through this. Why don’t you go look in the garage and see if you can find some old rags that we can get some of the paint off with?”

  “What if they come back?” I asked, wanting to protect my father.

  “Don’t worry about that. I’m sure the police will be along any moment now.” As I walked back toward the garage I heard a rapid popping sound off in the distance. It sounded as if someone had lit a string of firecrackers. I entered the garage and flipped the light switch. I looked around and found an aged wooden trunk filled with old clothes. I grabbed a handful and walked back toward the front of the house where my Dad’s car was parked. Just as I returned, a squad car was approaching. Dad walked out into the street to flag down the police. I dropped the clothes on the ground near the car and shook my head with disgust. As two police officers walked over to take a look at my dad’s vandalized car, I received a phone call. I removed my phone and saw that Lori was calling me.

  “Hello,” I answered with an angry tone.

  “Wesley, this is crazy!” Lori was hysterical.

  “Lori, are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not. The police are on the way over here.”

  “The police? What in the hell is going on?”

  “Someone just drove by and opened fire on our house!”

  thirteen

  KEYSHA

  “Maya, you won’t believe what just happened.” I had called her up when Wesley hung up the phone on me.

  “What? I’m all ears.”

  “That fool Wesley hung up the phone on me.” I was totally ticked off.

  “No, he didn’t. Stop lying on him, Keysha.”

  “Girl, I am not lying. I was pouring my soul out to him by letting it be known how crappy I felt after my hospital visit and how I didn’t appreciate his little love affair on the side. Then out of nowhere he cut me off and said, ‘I’ll call you back later.’”

  “I’ll bet that tramp was there with him,” Maya said.

  “I think you’re right. He probably didn’t want her to know that he was on the phone with me,” I concluded.

  “Did you call him back?”

  “Hell, no. Keysha Kendall does not chase down
men. If he wants to be with her stanky ass then so be it. I don’t want to be with a guy who doesn’t want me.”

  “Why do you think he’s suddenly trying to be a player?” Maya asked.

  “She’s probably sexing him to death and now he suddenly can’t think straight. I’m telling you, Maya, when I walked into his hospital room he looked at me as if he was about to have a coronary. I swear his eyes got really big and he looked like he’d just gotten caught watching Internet porn or something.”

  “And he had lipstick all over his face, right?” Maya wanted to be certain.

  “He had lipstick everywhere. Hell, it looked like he’d had a lipstick party in his room.”

  “You know what? That’s just a cut-and-dried case of cheating.”

  “I can’t believe he’s doing this to me! Why is he being such a jerk?” I wanted to cry, but I held on to my tears.

  “Because he thinks he can get away with being a dog!” Maya didn’t hold back her feelings or her opinion.

  “I can’t trust him anymore. I was willing to be his everything, but not anymore.” I started crying. “Damn it.”

  “Don’t cry, Keysha,” Maya said, trying to console me.

  “I can’t help it,” I said as I reached for a tissue. “I thought I was special to him. I felt so connected and so adored when I was with him.”

  “When I see him again I’m going to go off on him,” Maya said.

  “Well, you’ll have to stand in line behind me.”

  “Don’t shed another tear over that bastard, Keysha. You can do so much better than him. You’re pretty, you’re funny and you’re a lot of fun to be around. Things are going to get better soon. Just wait and you’ll see.”

  “Thanks for being so encouraging, Maya. I’m just in a real funky place right now,” I admitted as I smeared away my tears. “I can’t believe I was willing to run away from home just to be with him.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up too much, Keysha. Love will make you do crazy things.”

  “I trusted him, Maya!” I slammed my fist down on my desk. “How could he betray me like this?”

  “Because he’s stupid.”

  “You can say that again,” I agreed with her.

  “So what are you going to do now?” Maya asked.

  “Nothing. I’m not going to call him and I’m certainly not going to take his phone calls for a while. Hopefully he’ll get the hint and stop calling altogether. Anyway, thanks for listening to my drama, Maya. I’m going to go take a shower and then go to bed.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you at school. You know they’ll be posting the audition results in the cafeteria.”

  “Girl, I’m not even thinking about the play right now. They’re probably going to give the part to Priscilla anyway, so I’m not even going to get my hopes up high, especially with the way my luck has been lately,” I said truthfully.

  “I’m telling you that you’re one hundred percent better than that tramp. If they give the part to Priscilla, I’ll have to glue my eyes shut to keep from looking at her because she’s so ugly.” I laughed out loud at Maya’s comment.

  “You don’t even know if you’re in the play yet and you’re already talking about having to work with Priscilla.”

  “Girl, I’ve been in the school play for the past two years. I’m sure I’ll make it again this year,” Maya said confidently.

  “Well, go on with your bad self,” I teased.

  “Just don’t forget to check the results. You never know, you may have made the cut.” Maya was very optimistic.

  “Okay, I’ll check.” I gave in to her confident and positive attitude. I ended my conversation with Maya, turned off my phone and prepared for bed.

  When I awoke the next morning, I turned on my cell phone. Wesley had called me several times and left a number of voice mails. I ignored his phone calls and erased his messages. I truly didn’t want to hear from him anymore. As far as I was concerned he could go to hell and I wouldn’t care. I got out of bed, went into my closet and found the perfect outfit to wear—dark, straight-leg jeans, with a pink cardigan and a matching tank top. I then went into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, washed my face, fussed with my hair and did everything else that I needed to do in order to look as fabulous as possible. I exited the bathroom just as Mike was about to pound on the door and complain about the length of time I was taking.

  “It’s all yours,” I said brightly as I walked past him.

  “What’s gotten into you?” he asked.

  “Nothing, I just feel like being positive today.” I was really trying to boost my spirits as much as possible because I was still heartbroken over Wesley. I put on my clothes and headed down to the kitchen. Jordan was standing at the stove frying up some bacon.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  “Good morning,” I answered back as I opened the refrigerator door and removed a gallon of milk. I then went to the cupboard and pulled down a box of cereal and prepared my breakfast.

  “How are you feeling today?” Jordan asked.

  “I’m cool,” I answered.

  “Just cool? How did the tryouts go?”

  “Fine. I read for the part and I’ll find out if I made the cut today.” I shoveled food into my mouth.

  “What’s the name of the play? Is it a Shakespeare play?” Jordan asked.

  “No. It’s some play called Teenage Love Affair. I read for the part of the leading lady. My friend Maya read for the part of best friend to the leading lady.”

  “Well, let me know if you make it,” Jordan said as he flipped his food over. A short while later, Barbara and Mike came in and ate breakfast. We all took a little time to chat and catch up on each other’s lives. By the time we were finished I didn’t have a moment to spare as I gathered up my belongings and headed to school.

  I went directly to my locker, hung up my coat and grabbed my materials for class. I closed the locker, making sure my combination lock was securely fastened because kids would break in to your locker if you forgot to firmly snap the lock. As I walked to my class in the crowded hallway, I had to avoid a dispute going on between two girls who were on the verge of getting physical. Once I made it past them I had to deal with the open display of affection that was taking place. Everyone was all boo’d up kissing each other as if they’d never see each other again. My emotions got the best of me and I had to take a detour to the bathroom to get myself together. The last thing I wanted to do was walk down the hallway crying over Wesley. I’d much rather continue doing that in the privacy of my bedroom.

  “This is so bogus,” I muttered as I glanced at myself in the mirror. “Come on, Keysha girl. Pull it together,” I told my reflection. Once I’d calmed down I composed myself and continued on to my first period class.

  By lunchtime I was very hungry and rushed to the cafeteria to get in line because if I didn’t, it would take forever to get my food.

  “Keysha.” I heard someone call out my name. I turned and saw Maya rushing toward me.

  “Hey, Maya, where’s the fire?” I asked, then assumed she wanted to cut in front of me. “Do you want to get in line?”

  “You didn’t check, did you?” she asked.

  “Check what? My phone? Did you send me a text or something?”

  “Of course I sent you a text. Why haven’t you checked your phone?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want to see anything from Wesley, including some sorrowful text message from him.”

  “Okay, I’m going to help you get over Wesley one way or another.” Maya smiled at me as if she was holding on to a secret.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You made it, Keysha! You made the cut. You’re in the play!” Maya couldn’t contain her excitement.

  “For real?” I’d totally forgotten about the play. I truly didn’t take it seriously because I doubted I’d make the cut.

  “Yes, I’m for real. Not only did you get in the play, but you got the lead part!” Maya was overjoyed for me. Other s
tudents in line congratulated me, but I was truly speechless.

  “I actually beat Priscilla?” I was still having a difficult time understanding why I was selected over her.

  “I told you, honey. You’ve got talent that you haven’t tapped into yet. Oh, this is so exciting!”

  “So what happens next?”

  “Practice, girlfriend.”

  “When does practice begin?” I asked.

  “Today after school in the auditorium and you’d better have your behind there.”

  At the end of the day I phoned Jordan and Barbara to let them know I’d gotten the lead part in the school play and would be coming home later than my usual time. They were both very excited and congratulated me. I also called Grandmother Katie, but got her voice mail. I left a message with the exciting news and asked her to call me back when she could. As I made my way toward the auditorium, I ran into Priscilla, who gave me an ugly look. I ignored her and kept on walking. She’d just have to get over the fact that I got the lead part and she didn’t. I opened the doors to the theater. The floor was covered with carpet, which had various autumn-colored patterns. The aisle sloped downward to the wooden stage. All of the house lights and stage lights were brightly lit and as I stood there I began to imagine myself standing on stage giving the performance of a lifetime. In my mind I could hear the roar of a cheering audience.

  “Keysha, down here. I saved a seat for you.” Maya waved me over to come join her. I walked to where she was and sat.

  “We’re waiting for a few more people,” Maya informed me.

  “You’ll have to introduce me to everyone because you’re the only person I know.”

  “Don’t worry. By the time practice is in full swing you’ll know everyone, including the set designers and stage staff.”

  “I saw that ignorant slut, Priscilla.”

  “Did she say something to you?” Maya asked.

  “No. She just gave me a mean look.”

  “That’s because her ass is jealous. She’ll get over it. The theater director picked you because you’re more talented.”

  “I’ve never considered myself to be talented in this way,” I admitted.