by Earl Sewell
“What good is that going to do, Anna? I don’t even know who the girls are or what they looked like,” I explained.
“Well, what if they jump you again? They could kill you, Viviana.” I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was nervous and anxious.
“I doubt it. Beating me up wasn’t as easy as they thought. I can handle myself,” I said confidently. Anna hesitated for a moment. I could tell that she was trying to convince herself to not call her mother.
“The next time something like this happens, don’t waste your time calling Maya. Call me. I’m not much of a fighter, but if the situation called for it, I’m pretty sure I can hold my own and help you out.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. How does my forehead look?” I asked.
“The swelling is going down,” Anna said after taking another peek at my lump.
“I need a hot bath,” I said as I rose out of my chair.
“Would you like for me to make you a tamale? You might feel better,” said Anna.
“No. I’m not hungry right now. I’m going to take a bath, wash my hair and just chill out for a while,” I said.
“Are you sure? My tamales are world famous,” Anna said.
“Positive,” I answered as I gingerly walked toward the staircase.
After taking a bath and washing the scent of sweat and grass out of my hair, I placed Neosporin on my skin scrapes and cuts and continued to place ice on my forehead. The knot had gone down considerably. I walked into the family room because I wanted to watch television. When I entered the room, Maya was already snuggled up on the sofa watching a romantic music video. She cut her eyes at me and then exhaled disgustedly.
“Do you have a problem?” I snapped, unmoved by her foul attitude about me.
“Yes, I have a big damn problem with you.” Maya clicked off the television and folded her arms across her bosom.
“And I’ve got an even bigger problem with you. But that’s not news to anyone,” I said with just as much revulsion.
“Huh? I haven’t done anything to you!” Maya growled at me. “But you! You’re a tacky slut!”
“And you’re a stuck-up, spoiled, delusional whore who doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut!” I barked back at her.
Maya rose to her feet and pointed an accusatory finger at me. “You purposely ruined my relationship with Misalo and I know it! I’ll never forgive you for that.”
“Ha! Your relationship wasn’t all that damn strong. Misalo told me all about you and how you never truly appreciated him. He couldn’t stand you and was going to break up with you anyway. I just took his blinders off so he could see how much of a sneaky tramp you are.”
Maya opened her mouth so wide an airplane could have flown into it. “You’re totally crazy. You actually believe all the crap that you tell yourself. You’re mental.”
“If telling the truth makes me mental, then so be it,” I hissed at her. I felt my hatred for her swelling like a rising tide.
“You wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and punched you on the nose. But that’s okay. I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of ruining my life. I’m going to get Misalo back now that the truth has come out. I suggest that you stay away from him, unless you want something bad to happen to you!” Maya threatened me.
“Is that why you sent that pack of girls to beat me up? Huh? Come on, Maya, don’t deny it,” I said, forcing her to own up to what she had done.
“I didn’t have a thing to do with that. Perhaps the girls just didn’t like you. You have built up a reputation of being a backstabber,” Maya said maliciously.
“And you have a reputation of being a snitch!” I reminded her of her soiled reputation with me.
“A snitch! Is that what this is all about? You still haven’t gotten over that mess with your father?” Maya asked.
“You ruined my life, Maya, and I’ll never forgive you for that. Had you kept your mouth shut, my father would be alive today, and I wouldn’t have to live under the same roof with you! I hate the fact that you’re alive, and I wish God would do the world a big-ass favor and strike you down!” Maya and I were now having a full-blown and very loud argument.
“Your father murdered someone!” Maya hollered at me.
“Were you there? Did you see him do it?” I pointed at her.
“No,” Maya answered.
“Then how can you be 100 percent sure that he did it?” I cornered her with my question.
“I overheard him say what he’d done. You know that.” Maya defended her justification for snitching on my father.
“You don’t know what you heard, Maya. You’ve always had an overactive imagination and can’t tell reality from fantasy. My father was the best man in the world. My life was perfect when he was alive. And you, with your lying-ass mouth, put an innocent man behind bars where he was killed. I hope you rot in hell, Maya.”
“And I hope you burn in hell with your homicidal father!” Maya hobbled closer to me.
“You want a piece of me?” I asked as I balled up my fists and prepared to kick her butt.
“All you need to do is stay away from Misalo.” Maya issued yet another warning as she limped toward the stairs.
“Why are you guys so loud? I can hear you all the way upstairs,” said Anna, who had come to see what all the shouting was about.
“Viviana needs mental help,” Maya hissed as she hopped up the steps.
“Wow! She’s really pissed off,” Anna said as she joined me in the family room.
“And I couldn’t care less,” I said as I settled into my seat. My head had begun to throb.
“I have a question I need to ask you.” Anna pulled out her cell phone. “I just got a text about a fight between Carlo and Misalo. Did you see it? Do you know who won?”
“Does it really matter, Anna?” I answered, irritated.
“Yes. I want to know if Misalo kicked Carlo’s butt. You were teaching him how to fight, right?” Anna asked.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Well, did your man win or what?” Anna was eager to hear all the gory details.
“The fight didn’t really last that long. Can we talk about it later? My head really hurts,” I said.
“Would you like some aspirin?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Anna said as she rushed off. I closed my eyes, exhaled and thought about what needed to be done in order to make Misalo care for me again. There was no way I would allow Maya to come between the true feelings that had developed between us.
three
MAYA
I was resting on my stomach when I was awakened by the sound of my cell phone. I wanted to ignore it, but I knew it was Keysha by the sound of the ring tone. Without looking, I reached for the nightstand where my cell phone was situated. Once I had it, I placed it to my ear.
“Hello?” I answered groggily.
“Wake up,” Keysha said in a chipper voice. I closed my eyes tighter.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“It’s time for us to get up and face the day,” Keysha said energetically.
“Seriously?” I asked, annoyed.
“Stop acting like an old lady and wake up.” It was obvious to me at that point that Keysha wanted me to do something with her.
“My knee still hurts. I’m not going to be out of bed anytime soon,” I griped as I moved my injured leg.
“What if I told you that I got up first thing this morning and my dad took me to driving school?”
I perked up. “What?” I readjusted the phone. “Stop playing.”
“I’m not playing,” Keysha answered.
I turned over and looked at my alarm clock positioned on my dresser across the room. It wa
s 12:45 p.m. “Wow! I didn’t realize that I’d slept so late,” I said, stretching out my body.
“You always sleep late when you’re depressed,” Keysha reminded me.
“I’m not depressed,” I disagreed as I glared at the ceiling. I swallowed hard, noticing how dry my mouth was. “Are you really taking private driving lessons now?”
“Yep. I’m learning the rules of the road!” Keysha answered gleefully.
“Why didn’t you tell me today was your first day? See, you’re a crummy BFF. How could you keep something that major from me?” I asked.
“News flash! I was busy helping you deal with Viviana,” Keysha answered sarcastically.
“That whore.” I tossed my feet over the edge of my bed and sat upright.
“Did you get a chance to confront her about what she did?” Keysha asked.
“Oh, yeah. We had a big blowup yesterday after I got back home.”
“And?” I could tell by the tone of Keysha’s voice that she was hanging on my next words.
“She hates me, Keysha, and that’s all there is.”
“Does she hate you because of what went down with her father?” Keysha asked a question she already knew the answer to.
“Yep. She believes I ruined her life when I spoke up, and now all she wants to do is get even with me.”
“Damn! How are you going to live under the same roof with someone who has that much hatred for you?” Keysha asked.
“I have no idea,” I admitted.
“You should probably tell your mom about it. Maybe she can help Viviana work through her issues,” Keysha suggested.
“I care more about a baboon’s smelly behind than I do about Viviana. All she has to do is stay out of my way and leave Misalo alone.” My resentment toward Viviana was absolute.
“Speaking of feelings, boys and all that stuff, guess who I saw this morning?” Keysha asked.
“Wesley? Was he standing in the yard below your window reciting poetry?” I asked mockingly.
“No, silly, although that would be very romantic if he ever found the courage to do it.” Keysha giggled.
“Oh, God,” I responded as if I were about to puke.
“Whatever, Maya.” Keysha chuckled. “I saw Carlo this morning.”
“Carlo?” I spoke louder than I intended to.
“Yep.”
“What was he doing?”
“I saw him walking into the community center. I assume he was heading to the gym. Have you spoken to him since the fight?”
“No. I haven’t called him and he hasn’t called me. He’s probably ticked off at me for pulling him off Misalo when he was beating him down,” I admitted.
“So does that mean you guys aren’t an item anymore?” Keysha asked.
“I guess so. I’m not missing him at all, and he’s certainly not chasing after me, so it is what it is,” I answered as thoughts of Misalo filled my mind.
“Okay,” Keysha said and then paused.
“What do you have planned for the day?” I asked.
“Right now I’m heading over to the library to return some books,” Keysha said.
“The pool should be about to close for the season, shouldn’t it?” I asked.
“Yep. I only have to work two more days and that’s it,” Keysha said.
“Well, at least you’ll have plenty of money to do your back-to-school shopping with,” I said, envious of the fact she had been able to work all summer.
“No, I have better plans for the money that I’ve been saving,” Keysha said.
“What?” I asked.
“A car,” said Keysha.
“You’re going to spend all your money on a car? I thought you said your dad was going to buy you one?” I asked.
“That’s what he said, but I don’t want him to buy me some noisy jalopy. I’ve been able to save two thousand dollars. If he matches what I’ve saved, then I could get a decent vehicle for four thousand, don’t you think?”
“Hell, yeah. You should be able to ride in style for that kind of money,” I chimed.
“Do you want to head over to the library with me?” Keysha asked.
“Not right now. I need to stay off my knee for a little while longer. What are you doing later?” I asked, thinking we could do something then.
“I’ll be at work,” said Keysha.
“Then I’ll come by the pool and keep you company later this afternoon,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Keysha said before hanging up the phone.
* * *
Later that afternoon I put on my bathing suit, grabbed a pool bag, which I always kept packed and ready, and headed out the door. When I arrived at the swimming pool, Keysha was snapping off on some junior high school boys for playing too roughly. There was a mother with her toddler splashing around at the shallow end of the pool and a few other folks who were wading from one side of the pool to the other. I placed my things on an empty seat next to where Keysha’s belongings were. I got myself situated, put on my dark sunglasses and relaxed. A few minutes later I felt someone shaking my shoulder.
“What?” I asked, annoyed by the interruption of my quiet time.
“Misalo just arrived,” Keysha said, taking her seat beside me. I sat upright, and sure enough, Misalo had taken a seat at the other end of the pool.
“What are you going to do?” Keysha asked.
“I think I’m going to get in the water,” I said. I rose to my feet and carefully walked to the edge of the pool. My knee was still bothering me a little, but not to the point that I had to hobble. I sat down on my butt, draped my legs over the edge and into the warm water. I splashed some water on my thighs and arms so my skin would adjust more easily to the temperature of the water. I then submerged myself. By the time I came from beneath the water, I noticed that Misalo wasn’t in his seat. I glanced around, wondering where he’d gone. I looked below the surface of the water and saw that he was swimming toward me. I did a few strokes until my back rested against the edge of the pool. When Misalo surfaced, he cleared away the cascading water from around his eyes and approached me.
“Are you looking for me?” he asked, smiling innocently.
“I don’t know. Should I be?” I asked, not willing to allow the charm of his smile to soften my disappointment in him, for not talking to me, not believing in me and instead listening to that liar Viviana.
“Where is your boyfriend?” he asked derisively.
“Where is your girlfriend?” I fired right back with an equal amount of sarcasm for his former boo thang, Viviana.
“Maya, I don’t want to fight,” Misalo said earnestly as his tone shifted.
“Ha! You should have thought about that before you started dating my cousin,” I said.
“Oh, it’s like that. I thought we could have a real conversation, but I see that I was wrong,” he said and was about to swim away.
“I’ve been trying to have a real conversation with you for the longest time, but you’ve had your head up your butt.” I didn’t bother filtering my words.
“Okay, I’ll give you that. I’ll admit that I wasn’t the easiest guy to talk to, but I’m certain you can see why I reacted the way that I did.” Misalo gave me an innocent look.
“Misalo, you wouldn’t even give me a chance to tell my side of the story,” I said to him.
“I was angry, Maya,” he admitted. “Sometimes when a person is angry, they can’t see or think straight.”
“And an angry person can be pretty stupid,” I said, unwilling to soften my words or feelings.
“Whatever,” Misalo said with lack of concern. It irritated me that he wasn’t more apologetic.
“So do you want to hear the truth now? Or do you want to keep jumping to conclusions?”
“I don’t think I jumped to conclusions. I believe the evidence I saw spoke for itself, at least in the beginning. Now I’m not really sure what to think. I’m confused,” he admitted.
“You should’ve come to me for the truth instead of letting other people tell you their interpretation of what went down,” I said.
“Okay, Maya. I get it. I should not have been so stubborn. Do you have time to tell me the truth now? What’s really going on with you and Carlo?” he asked as he folded his arms across his chest and waited for me to explain my version of events. I paused momentarily and took notice of his muscles, which were much more defined. I exhaled before I began.
“Viviana and I snuck out of the house one night,” I said.
“You snuck out of the house?” Misalo blurted out the words.
“I know, it’s hard to believe, but, yes, I did. I was trying to prove to Viviana that I wasn’t a Goody Two-shoes. Anyway, she knew about this party that was taking place in the city, so we hopped into my grandmother’s car and went.”
“You don’t have a driver’s license and neither does Viviana.” Misalo immediately began questioning the credibility of my story.
“I know.”
“That doesn’t even sound like something you’d do, Maya. Besides, why would your grandmother give either one of you the keys to her car?” he asked.
“She didn’t,” I said, not wanting to admit that Viviana and I had pretty much taken the car for a joyride.
“You stole your grandmother’s car?” Misalo’s eyes widened as if he’d just been poked.
“Yes and no. Yes we took it, but we didn’t steal it. Viviana said that she’d taken our grandmother’s car lots of times.”
“I don’t believe a thing you’re telling me, but go on,” he insisted.
“It’s the truth, Misalo.”
“Maya, I’ve known you for a long time, and you’ve never done anything remotely close to what you’re describing to me,” he said as he repositioned himself next to me.
“It’s the truth. You can even ask Keysha if you want,” I suggested.
“Like she’d tell me everything. Keysha is your best friend and isn’t going to admit to anything that would make you look bad.”