Onyx and Starr 2

by Lady Lissa

  “Nervous about what?”

  “Graduating? Walking down that aisle in front of all those people?” she asks.

  “Nah, I mean, we play games in front of a bunch of people. This is just like a game but dressed up. The crowd still gonna cheer. The music still gonna play and everybody gonna be winners when it’s all over,” I say.

  Starr’s phone beeps, signaling she has a text message. She pulls it from her handbag and looks at the screen.

  “UGH!” she says, sticking her tongue out.

  “Wassup?” I ask.

  “It’s a message from Mandy,” she says.

  “I thought I told you to block her number,” I say.

  “I did,” she says.

  “So how she get through then?” I ask.

  “It’s from a different number,” Starr answers.

  “So how you know it’s her?”

  “Because I can see the first part of the text and she’s talking stupid like she was earlier,” she says.

  “Babe, just delete that text and don’t read it. She’s trying to throw a hammer in our shit and I don’t want that fuckin’ up our night at all. Just delete it,” I tell her.

  She opens her phone and just deletes the message like I asked. This is one of the reasons why she is better than Mandy’s ass. Had it been Mandy, she would have been confrontational about the situation. Asking questions like, “Why can’t I respond to that bitch?” or “She wants to send texts to my phone, well let her bring it then”. That’s the type of shit she does. She is a confrontational and argumentative person. How we made it through four years is beyond me.

  “Thanks babe,” I say.

  “For what?” she asks.

  “For deleting that message like I asked you to,” I tell her.

  “It’s nothing babe. Tonight is your night and there is no way that I’m about to make this a bad night for you by bickering through messages with that bitch. It’s all about you tonight,” she says.

  Starr is amazing and that’s why I love her. If anything were to happen to break us up, I don’t know what I would do. She is the only woman for me, I know that now. God made her specifically for me. When I pull into the parking lot, I immediately spot Mandy’s car. I don’t know why she chose to come to the ceremony knowing she’s not able to participate. If it had been me that were banned from tonight’s festivities, I don’t think I would have wanted to be anywhere near this gymnasium.

  I wonder if Starr has seen Mandy’s car. I look over at her and she’s still smiling so she probably hasn’t seen it. I am going to let her know that Mandy is here because I don’t want her to walk in that gymnasium and be surprised when she sees Mandy sitting in the stands.

  “Babe,” I begin.

  “Yea. Let me guess. You’re getting nervous,” she says.

  “Uh, no that’s not what I need to tell you,” I say.

  “What is it then?” Starr asks.

  “Mandy is here,” I tell her.

  I park the car and my dad parks next to me. The two of them exit my dad’s car while I’m still trying to break the Mandy news to Starr.

  “What? How do you know that? Is she the one who texted you?” she looks at me.

  “C’mon babe, how would I know who texted me? I haven’t even checked my phone yet,” I tell her.

  “So how do you know she’s here?”

  “I just saw her car in the parking lot,” I say.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yea. I wish I wasn’t but I am. I wanted you to know before you walk in the gym and see her sitting there. I just didn’t want you to be surprised,” I say.

  My mom bangs on the glass, “Are you two going to come out or not?”

  “Yea, we’re coming mom,” I respond.

  “You good?” I ask Starr.

  “Yea, I’m good. She ain’t nobody and I won’t let her spoil your night with her stupid antics,” she says.

  “Thanks babe. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Starr says as she leans over for a kiss, which I am more than happy to give her.

  The four of us finally make our way to the gym and once we walk in, I am too shocked to see my brother has made it. I spoke to him earlier and he said he couldn’t make it. I guess he just wanted to surprise me. I am so happy that my whole family is here. After the hugs and him introducing us to his girlfriend, Lana, I go to join the rest of the graduating class while my family heads to their seats.

  It is almost that time and I hope that things go off without a hitch.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Mandy

  So of course I’m going to be at the graduation. Just because they banned me from walking, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t sit in the stands and cheer my classmates on. I guess I should be lucky to even get my diploma mailed to me. I’m glad that I’m still going to get my diploma and that I’ll be going to GSU in the fall.

  I’m excited about going to Georgia State University, especially since Onyx will be going there too and that bitch Starr won’t be around. Maybe that will be my chance to get him to take our relationship seriously. I mean, I’m a woman and she’s still a kid.

  When I see Starr walk in the gymnasium with Onyx’s parents, it really pisses me off. Why are they with her? Why do they look like they like her better than they liked me? Are they happier that Onyx is dating her? Man, this day just keeps getting worse by the minute.

  The three of them head to their seats and I want to talk to Onyx’s parents. Even if it’s to just say hello. What’s wrong with saying hello? Once they find their seats, I make my way to where they are. I know you probably think I’m pressing my luck, but that’s the thing about me; I never gave a shit about what anybody thinks of me. I do what I wanna do not what others think I should do. I could care less what everyone else thinks about what I should or shouldn’t do.

  I finally get to where they are and I can see that Starr bitch rolling her eyes. She can roll them if she wants to, but I bet she won’t say shit to me. She better not because I ain’t afraid to turn up in this muthafucka. I have no problem showing out for any of these bitches up in here.

  “Hello Mrs. Renee, Mr. Thomas, how are y’all?” I ask.

  “We’re find Mandy. How are you?” Onyx’s mom asks.

  “I’m okay,” I respond.

  “Really? You don’t look okay. What happened to your face? Were you in a car accident or something?” his mom asks.

  “No, I just got in a fight,” I inform them.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be graduating tonight? Why aren’t you getting ready to walk down the aisle with your classmates?” Mrs. Renee asks.

  Damn! She wants to know my whole life story. She sounds like she needs me to fill out an application or something. What they hell is her problem and why is she so nosey?

  “It’s a long story Mrs. Renee. I just wanted to come by and say hello,” I say.

  “Okay well that’s nice of you.”

  “Thanks,” I say.

  I was wondering if I should tell Onyx’s parents about our child. I know the doctor said that I had a false pregnancy and that my body’s hormones tricked me into believing I was pregnant but I don’t believe that. How can your body make you feel pregnant? That’s just not possible, is it?

  I’ll wait on telling them they are going to be grandparents until after graduation. No sense in telling them now because all that’s gonna do is cause them to worry and probably be mad at Onyx for getting me pregnant.

  “Well, y’all enjoy the ceremony,” I tell them before heading back to my seat. Before I walk off though, I don’t miss throwing that bitch a side eyed glance and the bird. I know it’s probably a childish move, but I don’t give a fuck.

  I take my seat and the ceremony starts five minutes later. When I see my cousin, Lucy, I scream loud for her; along with several members of our family and Gregory. I am happy for her. She worked hard to get to where she is now. I wish that I could have shared in this moment with the rest of my senior class, but my ac
tions prevented me from doing that. My parents didn’t even bother coming to the ceremony because they are still disappointed in me. I hope they can forgive me one day. Maybe they will forgive me once I graduate from college. I will make sure to behave myself so they don’t ban me from attending that graduation celebration.

  When Onyx steps through the double doors and starts walking down the aisle, again I stand up and start screaming for him. The only problem with that is I look over and that bitch Starr is cheering for him with this big ass Kool-aid smile on her face. What kills me is when Onyx smiles and winks at her. It’s like he didn’t even see me and if he did, he certainly didn’t acknowledge me. What the fuck am I; chopped liver?

  Once all the seniors have filed into the gym and everyone has taken their seats, the ceremony begins. The principal stands at the podium and welcomes all parents and family members to watch their loved one receive their diploma and blah, blah, blah. After he finishes his stupid speech, the salutatorian stands at the podium to give her opening speech.

  “Good evening, my name is Melinda Sherman and I want to welcome all of you here tonight to join in this joyous celebration. I'd like to welcome everyone to this solemn and joyous occasion. It has been a long four years, but here we are, ready to graduate. We worked so very hard to get to this point, but we didn't and couldn’t do it by ourselves. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the following people.

  To our teachers, thank you so much for unselfishly sharing you time, talent and knowledge with us. Yes, we know it was your job to do it, but what you did for us went beyond the call of duty. You took the time to explain assignments, sometimes repeatedly because a few of us weren't paying attention. You allowed us to come to your classroom after school for extra help when you could have gone home to spend time with your family. You put in the effort to make lessons more interesting so we wouldn't just tune you guys out. You demanded excellence from us whether or not we wanted to give it. You set the bar high and challenged us to live up to it. You helped mold us into the young men and women you see before you today,” Melinda says and the crowd gives a round of applause for our teachers and mentors.

  “To our parents, thank you so much, so very much for supporting us in more ways than it's possible to count. You dragged us out of bed each morning, made sure we were fed and clothed for school. You herded us out the door to the bus stop or drove us to school yourselves. You helped us with homework, paid our class fees, and listened to our complaints. You came to our plays, attended our sporting events, and chaperoned our dances, even when we begged you not to chaperone. You commiserated over our daily dramas, but you tried to give us enough rope to learn how to work things out for ourselves, even if it meant we hung ourselves sometimes. These are just a few of the thousands of ways you've supported us on our journey. We cannot thank you enough for all the love and support you have given to us over the years that helped us get here. Thank you all so much,” she pauses and again the crowd erupts with applause for all of our parents. I’m sitting here thinking how great Melinda’s speech is but damn, it’s long as hell too. I hope she stops talking before we all fall asleep.

  She starts talking again, “To our coaches and advisors, thank you for making school about more than just classwork. Through sports, we learned how to power on through adversity and give it our best effort, win or lose. We learned the importance of discipline and good sportsmanship. Through other activities like participating in clubs, school plays and service projects, we learned how to work closely with others to achieve a common goal, and we had a lot of fun doing it.

  To our custodial staff and lunchroom attendants, thank you for keeping our school clean and safe. You know better than anyone else what slobs we've been. You actually deserve some kind of medal for all the hard work you had to do to clean up behind us.

  Last but not least, to our principal, assistant principals, guidance counselors and office staff, thank you for keeping things running smoothly so our teachers could concentrate on us. We're better off for it. Thank you for listening and trying to keep us on the right track for graduation. Without your help, some of us might not be graduating today and y’all know who y’all are,” she says as the crowd bursts into laughter.

  “As you can see, behind each graduate there must have been at least a dozen people providing support in at least a dozen ways. The best way we graduates can show our gratitude is to make the most of the opportunities we've been given, and go forward into the world with the intention of making it a better place for the generations that follow behind us. We'll pay that debt of gratitude forward. We just want to say thank you to all of you because we could not have gotten here without y’all. You all have paved a way for us to be better people and to face our adversaries head on. Thank you,” Melinda finally ends her speech and everyone stands and goes wild. I know her parents must be proud of her. You can tell from the speech she just gave that they are. I just hope that Mark’s speech isn’t as long as hers.

  They wanted Onyx to deliver the valedictorian speech, but he declined. He said he had way too much already on his shoulders and didn’t want to be responsible for the biggest speech. He didn’t want to get distracted and not be able to deliver a great speech. I think he would have been better to look at than Mark, but oh well. After Melinda finally takes her seat, they announce the students who have the highest grade point averages. After that, the class song is played and then Mark approaches the podium to give his valedictory speech. I roll my eyes because I just know his speech will be just as long as, if not longer, than Melinda’s.

  “Hello, my name is Mark Adamson and I’m your class valedictorian. When I was first asked to take this job, I almost declined. I mean, what do I know about giving a valedictory speech? I don’t know much, but here goes. Parents, grandparents, and relatives, except for those who for some reason did not give us any graduation money. Loyal friends, except for those to whom we owe money, and finally teachers and administrators who are constantly borrowing money. Please stop.

  Certainly our parents have a lot to be proud of today. Just think parents, in a few months many of us will be going off to college or getting a job, and you'll get what you've been waiting for a long time; to turn that now empty bedroom into a home office or a sewing room.

  And we cannot forget the contribution of our teachers. It's a tough job to take a group of fresh minds and try to show them the life skills that they will need to be successful. Skills every teacher knows, such as how to get to the teachers' lounge and have a cigarette and be back in class in less than five minutes. Or how to get home on time by having one of your kids grade all of your test papers. Or my personal favorite, how to explain to parents that their child is not slow but “creative”, the crowd once again erupts in laughter at Mark’s corny jokes. I thought he was going to be as boring as Melinda, but as it turns out, he’s actually pretty funny. I’m glad because he is definitely keeping me awake.

  “Have four years flown by that fast? Wow, it seems like yesterday that, as freshmen, we were being lovingly shoved into lockers, face first by the seniors. But as time went by, we grew up. We took positions of leadership. As seniors, we would never, ever, ever do something so immature to the freshman. We didn't shove them into lockers. We just filled their lockers with shaving foam and whipped cream instead!” the crowd again erupts in laughter.

  “I'm not saying that we did anything else immature during our four years. I'm certain we were all home on time, and respected all the laws of the city, county and state at all times. And if you believe that, then you also believe that Assistant Principal Morris will be handing out hundred dollar bills in the cafeteria after this is over. But can't we expect that youths are going to be energetic, possibly rambunctious, and even at times a little insane? I think we can. Any group of people that listens to the music we do, or wears the clothes we wear, and doesn't get nabbed by the insane asylum is a special group. And as a group we've been through a lot.

  One of things I most admire is how we came
together as a class. Before arriving here, we came from very different schools. At first we formed predictable groups and cliques. But over time we grew together as we fought opposing schools on the football field, at band competitions and academic debates. Perhaps more than anything else, the lesson we learned is that as separate individuals we are, at most, mildly effective. But together we are able to combine our talents into a powerful arsenal of educational excellence, athletic achievement and community spirit.

  Over the coming years you may forget some science facts or calculus formulae you learned here. What you cannot forget is that when individuals work together, the whole group is raised up and the impossible become the possible. Achievement becomes your destiny starting now. Our success is what we make it and we have already come so far, so there’s nothing we can’t do. After today, the world is our oyster,” Mark concludes and everyone begins cheering and clapping.

  Thank God that’s over with. Now we can begin with the real fun; watching everyone get that little piece of paper that will validate them all the way to college. The class song is played and everyone begins to recite the song. I don’t recite shit because I never did like that darn song. After the class song is over, it is time to present the graduating class of 2015 with their diplomas. When they call Luciana Masterson, our family rises and I’m sure the screams, shouts, cheers and whistles can be heard downtown. We are making some serious noise for my cousin.

  When they call Onyx’s name, again the noise can be heard across town. It seems as if the entire gymnasium is cheering for him and I don’t blame them. Onyx has led the school to two years of championship games and we won both times. That’s why he was given the Most Valuable Player award for two years. Onyx is the real deal and I know that he is going to get recruited by the NBA before he finishes college. When that happens, CHA-CHING!! He will be rolling in dough so much, they will mistake him for the Pillsbury Doughboy. I want my man back and I won’t stop until he’s mine again.

  The ceremony last about fifteen more minutes and then the tossing of the caps is done. Everyone is so happy and I feel myself becoming emotional because I wasn’t allowed to participate in my own graduation. I feel these emotions caught in my throat and I just want to let it out, but I’ll be damned if I shed tears because I didn’t get to graduate.