Girls From da Hood 9

by Amaleka McCall

  After Joyce released us, Karl and I got into the limousine to be en route to the Virginia Beach Pavilion where the ring dance was being held. It had an early nineties theme for the event.

  Once arriving, I realized Julie and Becca were already there with their dates. We went to the bathroom to talk privately. They both had plans to have alone time with their boyfriends. My heart began pounding, hoping I wouldn’t be faced with that same option. I wasn’t ready for Karl to touch me and especially not kiss me. My thoughts were on sex, but it wasn’t with him.

  “Can I have this dance?” Karl asked after I came out of the bathroom.

  “Yes, you may,” I said, taking his hand. The DJ began playing “Forever My Lady” by Jodeci. My mind instantly flashed back to my days in the projects. My mom would play that song all the time.

  “So after we leave here, what’s next?” he whispered in my ear as we danced.

  “Home for me,” I quickly responded.

  “Well, I thought maybe we could get a little bit closer,” he said while touching my butt.

  I quickly grabbed his balls and pulled them tightly toward me. “Are we close enough now?” I asked while gritting my teeth.

  Karl was having trouble talking so I finally let go.

  “My apologies, Angela. I was way out of line,” he admitted.

  “Your apology is accepted,” I said. The song “Electric Slide” came on. Karl regained his composure. I flashed him a smile and we started doing the infamous Electric Slide dance.

  Later on that night, Karl dropped me off. A special someone by the name of Jeff picked me up. It was perfect timing. I was waiting in the bushes for only ten minutes. Jeff was attending William & Mary. I met him at a bookstore. It was his sophomore year majoring in architecture. Jeff offered to take me to my ring dance but I didn’t want Joyce asking me a lot of questions. Jeff was Greek, packed with muscles, with wavy, curly hair and a smile that could make a girl feel so special. Me, on the other hand, I looked at Jeff as a sexual toy. I did dirty nasty things with him. That part of my life had to be separate. Jeff had a juicy, long dick. When his tongue caressed my clit, he made sure to grab my hips when he knew I was about to pop in his mouth. His strokes were deep and hard. Jeff could always take the sexual frustration edge off. That night, we did it at his parents’ house at least three times. They were out of town for the weekend. He made sure to have me back at a respectable time. I hoped Joyce didn’t suspect a thing.

  Chapter 6

  The Big Day

  “I now call Angela Farmer,” the principal announced. The crowd went wild.

  Throughout my high school years, I had countless friends. Ms. Miller, my social worker, Ms. Frazell, my lawyer, and the honorable judge from my case all made an appearance at my high school graduation.

  “Thank you,” I said while shaking most of the school officials’ hands. The principal gave me a firm grip. He knew my history and always told me I would be

  successful. I was determined to beat the odds and not let the past eat away my soul.

  After graduation, George and Joyce gave me a surprise graduation party and paid for a seven-day cruise to the western Caribbean. Julie and Becca were invited to come along. Becca’s mom and grandmother would be going with us as well.

  Each morning, we arrived to a new place as the sun welcomed me after I stepped out on the balcony. The only thing I bought for myself was a ring in Belize that resembled a coral reef. It intrigued me. Each day, I sent postcards to George and Fera to show where we were.

  With Joyce close by, I kept my sexual behavior under wraps. For the majority of the trip, I didn’t give a guy the time to even talk to me. I just didn’t want to. At times, I don’t want to be touched. On the last night of the trip, I couldn’t sleep because I had a nightmare about my mother locking me in the closet. I needed to get some air and kept reminding myself it was only a dream. I was so grateful for what I had and was excited about starting school. In my heart, I wanted to stay on the correct path and not let my demons overcome me.

  “Anyone sitting here?” a voice asked standing next to me. I was by the pool. On the other side some people around my age were laughing and taking pictures.

  “No,” I said.

  “May I?” he asked.

  “Sure.” I nodded my head.

  “Hi, my name is Gil,” he said, extending his hand. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and the clean-cut type.

  I liked the clean-cut type.

  “Angela,” I replied, shaking his hand.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “So what brings you out here so late?” I asked.

  “It’s the last night on the ship. I wanted to see the stars one last time. I’ve never been out of the country so this was an experience for me. I came with some buddies of mine.”

  “I came with my family. I’m hungry. Do you want to grab a slice of pizza?” I asked. The pizza stand was open twenty-four hours a day.

  “Okay,” he agreed. As we were walking together, his phone continued to buzz.

  After three slices of pizza and more conversation with me just listening about his life story, I got a funny feeling in my stomach. Something wasn’t right. I quickly ended our short-lived pizza date and returned to my room.

  It took me a few minutes but I remembered his face when we all boarded the ship and at three of the resort areas we were docked at. Maybe, I couldn’t prove it, but this man had been watching me or someone within my group. The next day, my guard was up. I didn’t see him anymore. All of us arrived safely at home. Fera jumped into my arms.

  Chapter 7

  Going Back

  When we arrived back from our cruise, my mind was on one thing and one thing only—the sweet taste of revenge. Becca’s mother was a registered nurse and owned a home health business. While we were on our cruise, I heard her mother and grandmother talking about picking up a new case for a woman named Yvonne Cumberland who had a son named Harvey Cumberland. Becca’s mother wrote down the information on a piece of paper, but I took it and placed it in my pocket while no one was looking. I couldn’t resist. I had to strike on this lovely opportunity that had literally fallen right into my hands.

  The next night I was headed out to execute my plan.

  “Where are you headed to?” George asked with his nighttime beer in his hand.

  “I’m going to catch a late movie with Becca,” I lied.

  “Have fun. I’m going to be in the bed and catch the Jay Leno show. The comedian Jamie Foxx is going to be on tonight. The man is hilarious,” George said as I slid right past him and headed to the garage. He didn’t even look up as he spoke. I jumped into the car feeling a little guilty for lying to George about where I was truly going, but it was a necessary evil.

  Years had passed but I still remembered the neighborhood where I lived with my mother. After all these years had passed, the sign DIGGS PARK in bold red letters was still bent over to the side, still covered in rust. Even the smells were the same. Wow, the guy Mommy used to buy her drugs from is still working the block. I thought he would have invested in a reasonable retirement plan by now, I thought as I passed the familiar face. All grown up, no one even recognized me. I got out of the car and headed toward an apartment building with medical scrubs on.

  I knocked on the door.

  “Well, hello there. I sure appreciate you coming to take care of my mother,” the man said after opening the door.

  “You’re welcome, Mr. Cumberland,” I responded with a smile.

  “I just need to get some rest and check on my dog,” he explained while heading toward the living room. It looked as if he was going to put his shoes back on.

  “I’m going to check on Mrs. Cumberland,” I said while putting on latex gloves.

  Within minutes, I approached Mr. Cumberland from behind and quickly pulled his head back. I pulled out my knife and cut his forehead right above his eyes. Blood was pouring down his face.

  “I just want to get a little closer. Rememb
er you said that to me while raping me when I was a little girl, Harvey Cumberland?” I whispered in his ear.

  I never forgot the names of those men. The police couldn’t provide the justice that I was so desperately seeking. So I took the law into my own hands. That always worked better for me anyway.

  “Now, wait a minute, stop. That was a long time ago. I had a bit too much to drink and I was high on a combination of drugs. The night got carried away.” He paused and grabbed his eye. “I can’t see,” he whimpered.

  “That’s what I wanted for you to do, just stop. Now look who’s whining.”

  “Listen, I’m sorry for what happened to you, Angela,” he pleaded.

  “If you were that sorry, Harv, then you would have turned yourself in to the police along with the others. I hope you said good night to your mother,” I replied before finishing the job.

  I got out my large blow torch from my bag and lit up his whole body. He was dead with his skin as crisp as a kettle-cooked chip.

  “One down, two to go,” I said as I packed up my items and walked out the front door.

  There would have been three more individuals but something happened. Unfortunately, my mother’s boyfriend who raped me repeatedly after school died in a motor vehicle accident. It was in the newspaper. After reading the article, I felt cheated. I craved to hear his screams of agony and whimpering before he took his last breath of life.

  Chapter 8

  A New Beginning

  “Hello, people. My name is Professor Surry. This is biology 101. Please pull out your schedules and make sure you’re in the correct classroom at the correct time and with the correct professor.” He paused a moment and looked at us over the rim of his glasses “Either we are all in the right place at the right time and with the right professor, or no one has the balls to actually get up,” Professor Surry continued.

  “You will learn a lot in my class, and if time permits we’ll spend a few days in the cadaver lab to give you all an opportunity to earn some extra credit. My rules are simple. Show up to class and do the homework. We’re all adults here, so I’m not holding anyone’s hand. With that said, if you already have your book, please turn to page sixty-seven. If you don’t have your textbook, I advise you to get one or share with the person next to you. This is the first year that the biology textbook will be launched online. If that works better for you so be it. Any questions?” he asked, then gave that same creepy look over the top of his glasses again.

  I looked around the room. Not a single hand was up.

  “Now, let’s begin,” he announced.

  This class seemed to drag on forever. I began to look out the window and my mind wandered as the professor spoke in a monotone voice. I began to wonder if I would graduate college, let alone with a biology degree. I didn’t want to disappoint George and Joyce. I knew she would be so proud to see me graduate college. I would never forget the look on her face when I received my high school diploma. If it weren’t for them, who knew where I would be? Joyce always insisted I had my personal angel looking down on me.

  Even life was now better than I’d ever imagined. I often could still hear my mother’s words echoing in my mind: This is the life God gave you so you may as well get used to it! One of the many things she would mention to me was that I would be destined to stay locked up in that small, cramped apartment in the projects and eating three-day-old Hamburger Helper. At the time that was really the best meal I could get. As I began to think about my past a sudden rush of anxiety came over me. My heart began to race and my hands were shaking. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. As a reaction I stood up. When I stood up, I knocked my books off my desk. Papers scattered everywhere. I was so embarrassed.

  “On that note, class dismissed,” I heard Professor Surry say as I hurried to pick up my books and papers.

  I fell to the ground on my knees and quickly shuffled the papers together. I noticed a pair of brown leather loafers in front of me.

  “Here you go.”

  I looked up to see Professor Surry standing before me with my books in his hands. “Thank you.” I stood up and grabbed the books from his hands. Then, I quickly looked away.

  “Are you all right? You look a little pale,” he mentioned.

  “Yes,” I said, still refusing to look him in the eyes.

  “I call it the freshman jitters. Relax, it’s your first day.” He smiled then walked away.

  Now, I just needed to hear Joyce’s voice telling me everything was going to be all right. Her voice represented the good in my life. My mother’s lies represented the evil. It was a constant battle going on in my mind of which side I would choose.

  After classes, I rushed home. Fera met me at the door as soon as I walked in. Joyce and George were both gone, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before they came home. I went to my room, tossed my book on the floor, and grabbed my laptop.

  Fera insisted to be on my lap while I was online. She was patiently waiting for me to rub on her belly. Next, the whines came, but I continued to ignore her. She was the most spoiled dog that I knew. Joyce and I took the award for making her that way.

  I heard someone knocking at the door.

  “Come in,” I said before turning around to see who it was.

  “Hey, honey, what are you doing?” Joyce asked.

  “I’m just e-mailing Julie and Becca, telling them all about my first day at Old Dominion.”

  “All right. Dinner will be ready in an hour,” she said.

  “What are we having?” I inquired.

  “Fried chicken. I want to try out the new skillet I bought exclusively from the celebrity chef Paula Deen’s cookware line,” Joyce said, proud of her new cookware.

  “I can’t wait to taste it with a few dabs of Louisiana Hot Sauce.” I laughed.

  That was one perk about being at home. Before entering college, Joyce and George suggested that I live on campus, but I wasn’t ready to leave home yet. After all, who would cook me dinner? And there was no way I could leave my Fera behind. I gave her a big hug and sat her down on the floor.

  After turning back around to face my laptop, I finished e-mailing my two best friends. Becca was attending Hampton University and Julie was accepted to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

  I jumped in the shower to get freshened up for dinner. Joyce didn’t allow dirty hands at her table. As I bathed, I looked at the many marks all over my thighs. A certain feeling of shame came over me as I ran the washcloth over my legs. Thank goodness, the marks were hidden to Joyce’s eyes. She would first lay hands on me and pray to God to get the demon out of me; then she would make me continue my therapy sessions.

  I hurried and rinsed the soap from my body and got out of the shower. After drying off, I grabbed my Victoria’s Secret Amber Romance body spray. It only had a few drops left. I sprayed those few squirts on my neck, arms, and legs. Then, I threw the bottle away. Normally, Joyce would have a new spray, body wash, and lotion set waiting for me but money had been tight lately.

  Since Joyce and George were recently retired and forced to live on a fixed income, I knew extra money wouldn’t be handed out to me. Besides, whatever Pell school grants didn’t cover for tuition, George and Joyce were paying out of pocket. I felt bad when the total of my schoolbooks came to a whopping $600. So there was no way I was going to ask for something like Victoria’s Secret fragrances.

  As I got dressed in my Victoria’s Secret pajamas, I realized just how privileged I was. It was time for me to get at least a part-time job and help out a little bit. Earlier in the day, a classmate of mine, Heather, told me about a place called Pearl. It was an upscale spa not far from Shore Drive in Virginia Beach. She’d recently been hired there and figured that would be a perfect spot for me. I had no other choice but to take her up on the offer.

  Chapter 9

  Interview

  “Thank you for calling Pearl; would you be so kind and hold please?” I could hear the receptionist say as I walking up to the cou
nter.

  “Yes, how may I help you?” she asked me after I approached the front desk. Calm and serene music was playing in the background. A scent of cotton freshness filled the air. I could have closed my eyes and taken a nap in this place. I felt so at peace there.

  “Hi, I’m here to see Antonia. I have an interview at three o’clock,” I stated.

  “Your name is Angela, yes?”

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  “I’m so glad you could make it. I’m Antonia. Please have a seat in the waiting room and I will be with you shortly.” She pointed to a room beside the receptionist desk.

  I walked into the waiting room and was met by a sixty-inch flat-screen television. It was turned to the CNN news channel. A small concession table sat in the corner. Espresso, tea, Italian sodas, juice, and water were offered. Also, there were shortbread cookies, crackers, cheese, and grapes perfectly arranged on the table.

  “Would you care for a glass of champagne?” a tall, slender woman with a dark tan asked me.

  “No, thank you,” I said, then noticed Antonia walking up.

  “Ahh, Angela, I apologize for the wait. Please, let’s go into my office,” she said while shaking my hand.

  I immediately picked up on the Coco Chanel perfume she had on. Joyce wore the same perfume. She reserved it for those special nights she and George went out dancing. She said the perfume made her feel sexy.

  “Have a seat,” Antonia said.

  “Thank you.” I nodded, sitting down in the elegant chair before me. Her office depicted the Renaissance age of Italy with her wall full of paintings. The chairs were made like masterpieces. They were accented floral upholstered armchairs in dark oak.

  “Heather told me you were beautiful. A picture of you wouldn’t do you justice. Now, let’s get down to business. I need a girl in the afternoon to answer phones and schedule appointments. I pay three dollars above minimum wage. Is this something you can agree with?” She got straight to the point.