Split Ends

by Jacquelin Thomas

  “I know. I’m an awful person.”

  Chandler reaches over and takes my hand in his. “No, you’re not. You’re just in a bad place. But you shouldn’t go around telling people that your mom is dead.”

  “I know all that,” I fire back at him. “Chandler, I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m just stressed out.”

  “What’s going on between you and your mom?”

  I tell him more about what my life has been like.

  “Wow,” he mutters. “I guess my dad working too much is not something I should be complaining about.”

  “It can go from one extreme to the other, I guess.”

  Chandler agrees.

  “My life would be so much better if only my mother would leave me alone,” I tell him. “She has already embarrassed me enough. I’m going to the library tomorrow. I intend to research how to emancipate myself so that I won’t have to deal with her.”

  He is shocked by this idea. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  “I’m basically taking care of myself now,” I say. “Why shouldn’t I do it?”

  “Hey, I’m on your side, Kylie. I just want you to give this some more thought. That’s a big step.”

  No kidding. “I don’t have any other choice, Chandler.”

  The girls go with me to the library two days later, but we are unable to find what I am looking for, so Rhyann suggests that we just search the Internet, which is how we end up at Mimi’s house.

  Chandler is out playing basketball with some friends. I’ll probably be gone before he comes home, which is fine, because I get the feeling that he doesn’t think I’m doing the right thing.

  After a long time of hunting on the ’Net and finding only a bunch of legal stuff we couldn’t understand, I push away from the desk and blurt in frustration, “I think what I really need to do is get a lawyer. That’s the best way for me to find out what my rights are.”

  “Why do you need a lawyer?” Mimi asks. “You don’t live with your mother, and you said that she’s not exactly a nice person. What can she do to you?”

  “That’s just it, Mimi,” I say. “I don’t know what she can do. All I know is that I don’t want to be forced to live with my mom and Clyde. The only way I can avoid that is to be emancipated.”

  “Who’s Clyde?” Alyssa asks.

  “He’s my mama’s boyfriend.”

  Mimi holds up her hand. “Let’s back up. What do you mean, you have to be emancipated? Weren’t we emancipated like a long, long time ago? I thought Lincoln took care of that for us.”

  Rhyann gives Mimi a gentle nudge. “Shut up.”

  “It means that I’d be legally independent of my mama,” I explain. “This way my mama doesn’t have any say in what I do.”

  “Can you do that?” Alyssa asks. “You don’t have to be eighteen?”

  “No,” I respond. “I did some research, and the law says that I have to be at least sixteen years old and meet certain conditions. For example, I would have to be married or in the military or be living apart from my parents and managing my own money. Well, I fit the last one like a mouse to cheese.”

  “Okay, so how do you become emancipated?” Mimi wants to know.

  “I have to file or have a lawyer file a petition for emancipation with the court. I want it done right, so that is why I need to get an attorney. I think that I might be able to have one appointed for free, but I figure if he doesn’t have a dog in this fight, he won’t work too hard. If I pay for one, then he’ll work that much harder for me.”

  I pick up my soda and take a sip. “After I file, there will be a hearing in front of a judge to talk about the emancipation petition. After he hears what we have to say, he rules. If I’m emancipated, I can get my own place to live or stay with Miss Lucy if I want.”

  “I might have to use that idea the next time my mother goes off into serious Mom mode,” Divine says with a chuckle.

  I give Divine a sidelong glance. “Think about it. You won’t be under the control of your parents, but remember that it works both ways. They don’t have to support you financially, give you food, clothing, or a place to live. You’re responsible for everything—just like a grown-up.”

  Mimi frowns. “Are you sure you really want to do this, Kylie?”

  She sounds just like her brother.

  “It’s not like I really have a choice, Mimi,” I say. “I’m already on my own, so I might as well make it legal. I want to stay with Miss Lucy. We need each other. I don’t want my mama ruining that.”

  “I can call Mother. She will get you a list of the top lawyers here in L.A.,” Mimi suggests.

  “Mimi, I can’t afford a top lawyer,” I say with a thread of irritation. “I probably need one who just graduated law school and barely passed the bar on the tenth time. That’s if I’m lucky. The one I get will most likely be slower than molasses trying to run uphill in January.”

  Divine and Rhyann burst into laughter.

  “I’m serious,” I say. “I have enough money for him to tell me everything I need to know in one hour, so he’s gonna need to talk quick.”

  Mimi opens her purse and pulls out a credit card. “We can use this. Let’s call a lawyer and talk to him or her.”

  “I can’t—”

  She stops me. “Kylie, I know that we have some issues where my brother is concerned, but we’ll sort through all that later. Right now we need to figure out something. Whether you believe it or not, you’re my girl, and we have to look out for each other. That’s how it works in the fab five B.F.F. club.”

  “I have some money in my savings,” Divine chimes in. “If you really want to do this, Kylie, then let us help you. You’re one of us, like Mimi said, and we are not about to let you go through this alone.”

  I’m touched, but I don’t want to be dependent on my friends. “I appreciate what y’all trying to do, but I don’t want to owe anybody.”

  “You won’t owe me a thing,” Mimi responds as if she knows what I’m thinking.

  “How will you explain all this to your parents?” I ask. “They will see the credit card bill.”

  “I won’t have to,” she replies. “My parents don’t see the statements—they go straight to our accountant. But I’ll tell Mother about it.” She brightens up, running with the thought. “I’m telling you, she won’t mind. She’d be proud of me for helping out a friend. Now let’s get you that attorney.”

  I shake my head. “I can’t let y’all do this for me. I’m sorry. I’ll figure something out.”

  “Kylie, you need to stop letting your pride get in the way,” Rhyann tells me.

  I let my anger get the best of me. “What? Does it make y’all feel good to help out the poor homeless girl?”

  They stare at me, speechless.

  “You forced your clothes on me, and now you’re forcing money on me. I said I didn’t want your help.”

  “See, that’s the problem,” Divine says with frustration in her voice. “You see yourself as the poor homeless girl. We don’t see you that way, Kylie. We are just trying to be a friend to you. We have tried to understand your situation, even why you lied to us about your mother.”

  She really went there with me.

  “You didn’t have to keep the clothes, and you don’t have to accept our help, but you don’t have to be mean to us for trying to be good friends.”

  My eyes fill with tears. “It makes me feel bad,” I say. “Divine, I’d like to be able to help myself.”

  “One day you will be able to, but don’t you think that God placed you in our lives for a reason?”

  “I’m sorry for sounding so ungrateful,” I say, wiping my eyes with my hands. “This is really stressing me out.” I can feel my chest tightening as I talk. “That’s when I have these attacks.”

  Rhyann begins rubbing my back. “Slow down your breathing, Kylie.”

  Tears run down my cheeks. “I hate going through this drama. All I want is a normal life.”

  Alyssa takes
my hand, and she begins to pray for me. I pray along with her because I really need God to help me through this.

  When she is done, Alyssa says, “The Bible tells us that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed. We all have to agree that Kylie is gonna be healed from these anxiety attacks.”

  “Kylie, we don’t want to make you feel bad, but the truth is that you need some help right now,” Mimi says. “Please let us help you with the attorney. We hate seeing you so upset. I don’t know if you’ve ever had real friends, but having each other’s back is part of the B.F.F. code.”

  I glance over at Rhyann, who agrees. “We want to help you, Kylie, simple as that.”

  I really do need a lawyer, I tell myself. Maybe it won’t hurt to accept help from the girls this one time. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yeah,” they say in unison.

  “Good,” Divine tells me. “Let’s start with my mom’s attorney. She’s really nice.”

  Chapter 15

  My mother is waiting at the bus stop for me when I step off the bus the following week. I met with the attorney, and Divine was right about Diane Jenkins. She was really nice and counseled me on what it truly means to be an emancipated teen. Then she gave me the cost of her services.

  I managed to keep a straight face, thank her, and get out of her office as fast as I could. There was absolutely no way I could afford Diane Jenkins.

  The girls were waiting in the lobby for me.

  “How did it go?” Divine asked.

  “Too expensive,” I replied. “Let’s get out of here before she charges me for standing in the reception area.”

  Now I was face-to-face with the person I wanted to be emancipated from. “Mama, I need to get to work.”

  She is determined to follow me. “I hate to ask, but I really need some money, Kylie. Clyde and I had a fight, and he moved out without paying the bills. My lights about to be cut off and there is no food in the apartment. The lights are in his name ’cause I still owe money. Kylie, you know if they get turned off, I can’t get them back on unless I put them in somebody else’s name.”

  “I don’t have any money,” I respond, “and I can’t get any lights in my name. You already messed me up with that.”

  “I don’t want you to get the lights in your name, Kylie. I just want to get the bill paid. Can’t you get it from that lady you living with or Miss Marilee? I know that they would give you just about anything.”

  I shake my head. “Mama, I can’t do that.”

  She grabs me roughly by the arm. “Why not? If they want you so bad, they can pay me.”

  I snatch my arm away from her. “Mama, I can’t believe that you just said that,” I cry, my heart breaking into pieces. “Now you’re willing to sell me—the daughter that you claim to love so much. I’m not trying to disrespect you, but why don’t you get a job? Then you can pay your own bills.”

  She tosses her long curly weaved hair over her shoulders. “You owe me, Kylie Sanderson.”

  I’m not about to let her guilt me. “I don’t owe you anything. I owe Grandma Ellen, if anybody. She is the one who took care of me,” I state. “When I was with her, I had a home and I never had to worry about food, lights, or a roof over my head. I didn’t have panic attacks until we moved out here.”

  My mother mutters a string of profanities before saying, “I’m so tired of you saying that stuff. Yeah, my mom helped me out from time to time with you, but I did the best that I could, Kylie.”

  “Do you actually believe that living off men is what’s best for me?” I ask. “Mama, look at you. You walk around wearing little skimpy outfits that barely cover your body. Do you really think I like men ogling you all the time—even the boys my age? Nobody needs to see that much of you, and if that is not embarrassing enough, you came out here wanting to dance in music videos. I don’t know any moms who want to do that.”

  “Kylie, what’s wrong with me wanting to be an actress? Why should I have to give up my dream?”

  “Have you even gone on one audition?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest. “Have you taken one acting class?”

  “No, I need some new clothes for that,” my mama responds. Then a sly look comes into her eyes. “See, if you help me out this one time, I can pay you back when I get my first acting job.”

  I switch my backpack from one side to the other and check my watch. “Mama, I need to get to work. I don’t want to be late.”

  She begins to plead her case some more. “Kylie, I really need some help. You don’t want me to be hungry, do you? Can’t I just come to your place and stay for a few days?”

  The realization hits me square in the face. That is what she really wanted. “No, Mama.” I begin walking fast toward the salon.

  Mama follows me, hustling to keep up. “How can you be so cold to me?”

  “I’m not trying to be cold. I’m just trying to get by, Mama.”

  She’s not about to give up, so she throws in, “Kylie, I didn’t want to come to you like this, but I really need your help.”

  That breaks through the barrier I’ve put up. Just as I am about to pull out the ten dollars I have in my pocket, her cell phone rings.

  “Hey, baby,” she murmurs. “I know . . . I’m trying . . . I gotta go.”

  Disgusted, I break into a run.

  I cannot believe I almost fell for her lies. The way she’s acting, I’m beginning to wonder if she is using drugs. I can smell marijuana on her this morning. I’m not about to give her money for weed or drugs.

  I make it to work just minutes before my shift begins.

  Miss Marilee studies my face and says, “You saw your mother?”

  “How did you know?”

  “I saw her when I was driving in this morning. I had hoped she would take off before you arrived, but I guess she didn’t.”

  “She met my bus.”

  Miss Marilee shakes her head sadly.

  Mimi walks through the door, her cell phone glued to her ear. She waves at me. I check her in while she takes a seat.

  A few minutes later, she ends her call and comes up to the reception desk. “I had to talk to my boo. He’s missing me.”

  China comes up front to get Mimi.

  Half an hour later, Chandler surprises me by coming up to the shop.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask. “Your sister is here getting her hair done.”

  “I thought I’d come by and take you to lunch,” he responds with that beautiful smile of his. “As for Mimi, I hope she already ate, because she’s not invited.”

  I grin. “She may be under the dryer by now, but she hasn’t been here that long.”

  “Can you leave now?”

  Lisa walks up to the front and says, “I’ll relieve you, Kylie. My next client won’t be here until two.”

  I thank her and grab my wallet.

  We decide to eat at the sandwich shop across the street. My gaze travels to the trash area where I used to look for cans. I see a woman over there searching for edible scraps and cans.

  “Hold up a minute,” I say to Chandler.

  I walk over and ask, “Would you like a sandwich and something to drink?”

  She eyes me for a moment before nodding.

  “I’ll buy you a sandwich. What would you like?”

  She looks at me like I have lost my last mind, but when I meet her gaze, I say, “My name is Kylie. I used to be homeless.”

  “Ham and cheese,” she tells me. “No onions.”

  I smile. “I’ll be right back, so please don’t leave.”

  “That’s nice of you,” Chandler says.

  We order our food, and I get a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a soda for the homeless lady outside. We pay and leave.

  “Here you are,” I say. “I didn’t know if you wanted white or wheat, so I picked white.”

  “God bless you for your kindness.”

  “Go to the Safe Harbor Mission,” I tell her, noticing her bruises. “They will keep you safe.”

&nbs
p; Chandler hands her a five-dollar bill. “Here’s some money for the bus. If they won’t let you on, find the nearest policeman and ask him to take you to the mission.”

  “You can even call the mission and they’ll send someone to pick you up,” I add. “I had to stay there for a while, and they were real nice. They don’t just give you three hots and a cot, they also give you hope.”

  “Your heart is good and generous,” the woman says with tears in her eyes. “God wants me to impart something into your life. He wants you to be this way with everyone. Look past the outside to the heart deep within, child of God. In order to be forgiven, you have to forgive. May you continue to be blessed beyond measure.”

  I have no idea what she’s talking about, but I smile and nod anyway.

  The woman thanks us again, then makes her way to the bus stop.

  “I hope the bus driver doesn’t treat her bad,” I say. “They don’t always want you on their bus.”

  Chandler eyes me from head to toe, and he likes what he sees. “I still can’t believe you were once homeless.”

  “That’s the thing with people, Chandler. They think they are so removed from it, as if it can’t happen to them. The truth is that not all homeless people are druggies or have mental problems. They are normal people like you and me. They look like us—just in a bad way.”

  He nods in understanding.

  We go back inside the salon.

  Mimi’s expression changes when she sees her brother with me. I ignore her and take Chandler to the break room.

  “Let’s do something this evening,” Chandler suggests while we’re eating our lunch. “We could check out a movie or have dinner somewhere.”

  “I have to check in with Miss Lucy, so can I call you later?” I ask him. “She wasn’t feeling too well this morning.” I bite into my sandwich.

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  “I’m pretty sure it won’t be a problem,” I say. “I just want to make sure she doesn’t need me there with her. If it’s a go, let’s do a movie, because I want to see the new one with Beyoncé.”

  “Okay,” Chandler responds.

  China is almost done with Mimi’s hair when I walk her brother back to the front. “I see your sister is still tripping over us talking.”