by Earl Sewell
“Jerry, you’re such an ass. I don’t know what I ever saw in you,” Keysha said as she walked back past Jerry. I followed her out onto the sidewalk.
“Keysha, slow down,” I said.
“Ooh! I’m so ticked off with him! Maya, I told you that I didn’t want to come to this stupid party,” Keysha griped as she marched down the street.
“I know and I’m sorry. I had no idea Jerry would react like that,” I apologized.
“I’m not going back in there,” she said.
“You don’t have to. I’ll go and find Misalo myself.”
“Fine,” Keysha said. She gave me a brief hug and then continued on. I turned around and headed back, determined to find Misalo.
six
VIVIANA
I really enjoyed ticking Maya off on Facebook. She had no idea that I had agreed to prove to Misalo that I was indeed the girl for him. When I arrived at the party, Misalo was sitting with some of his soccer friends. I walked over to where he was and sweetly asked one of his friends to move out of the seat next to him. Misalo looked surprised to see me. I leaned over, in front of all his friends, and purposely spoke in his ear.
“I know that you’re not going to make me beg you,” I whispered. Misalo looked at me as if he didn’t trust me.
“Damn, I wish my girl would greet me like that!” I heard one of his guy friends say.
“You’re not serious,” Misalo said as he looked into my eyes.
“Yes, I am,” I whispered in his ear again and nibbled on his earlobe.
“Maybe you guys need to get a hotel room,” said another one of his friends jokingly.
“Don’t want to wait any longer,” I continued to speak in his ear. Then I reached over and kissed him. Just a quick one at first, then our lips met again for a longer kiss. I squeezed his thigh and rubbed his chest.
Pulling away I said, “I’m ready and I’m yours, Misalo, if you want me.”
“Misalo, dude, if you don’t take care of her needs, I will!” said yet another one of his friends.
I pressed my forehead against his, but Misalo didn’t say anything.
“Please say something. I’m spilling my heart out to you,” I pleaded.
“So if I said let’s go do it right now, you’d go all the way?” asked Misalo.
“Yes. I’m serious about how much I love you,” I said humbly. After that statement, he was all mine. We got up and walked out.
I got into his car, which was parked around the corner from Jerry’s house. After a few moments, Misalo looked at me and said, “I know a place that we can go.”
“Okay,” I answered as he pulled off. We had to drive back past Jerry’s house in order to get there. As he sped down the street, I noticed Maya and Keysha standing around. Keysha appeared to be very upset about something, but I didn’t care. Misalo had not noticed them, and I certainly wasn’t about to tell him that Maya was nearby. I didn’t say a word. I snuggled up to his right arm and held on to it as he continued on.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Misalo parked his car in front of a construction site where new homes were being built.
He popped the trunk and said, “Come on.”
I got out of the car and waited as he grabbed a blanket from the trunk.
“Where are we going?” I finally spoke.
“Over there in one of the houses that they haven’t put doors on yet. No will see us,” he assured me.
“It’s surrounded by a wooden fence that is too tall to climb over,” I pointed out.
“Someone kicked out a few of the plywood planks toward the other end of the fence. The hole is covered by bushes, and I know that the construction workers haven’t fixed it yet,” Misalo said as he grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I suddenly got nervous and wanted him to be gentle and take his time with me.
“Will this be special?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Misalo glanced back at me.
“Will you like me again once I do this?” I asked.
“Sure,” Misalo said. We reached the opening in the fence and wiggled our way through it. We walked around the construction site, which was eerily silent. There were lots of concrete foundations that lacked framing and others that had the framework, but had not been enclosed with plywood and siding. At the rear of the construction site there was a home that was nearly complete. The doors were on it, but no locks had been installed.
“Are you sure we’ll be safe in here?” I nervously asked.
“Yes,” he said as I followed him inside. No drywall had been installed yet, but the rooms had been framed out with wood.
“We can do it right here.” Misalo spread the blanket out over the floor, which was covered with sawdust.
“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” I mumbled as I hugged myself and rubbed my arms.
“It will be fine,” Misalo whispered as he patted a spot for me to sit down on. I sat on the floor, which was hard and uncomfortable. He sat next to me.
“Do you have protection?” I asked, hoping that he was prepared.
“Yeah, I have something,” he said as he proudly removed a condom. I swallowed hard and my lips quivered because I had no clue as to what to do next.
“So have you done it before?” I asked, not sure if it was the appropriate time to ask such a question.
“Have you?” he countered with a question of his own, which didn’t make me feel comfortable. In my mind I always imagined that my first time would be with a more experienced guy.
“No,” I whispered, hoping that my inexperience wouldn’t ruin the moment.
“Neither have I, so we’re both about to lose our virginity together.” Misalo said it as if being a virgin was like being diseased. I was all for proving my love, but I needed to know that his love for me was just as strong.
“So what’s next?” I asked, too afraid to ask the love question out of fear I’d be rejected.
“We do it,” he said as he began to unlatch his belt buckle.
“Wait.” I stopped him. “Kiss me first, please,” I begged.
“Okay,” Misalo answered as he mounted himself on top of me.
I thought kissing would turn me on and get me in a better mood and even perhaps make me forget about how uncomfortable the floor felt. Misalo kissed me clumsily as if he couldn’t have cared less about kissing me the right way. He paused for a moment and glanced down at me. I saw a strange expression on his face, but I wasn’t sure what the look meant. He kissed me roughly again.
“Softer,” I whispered instructions. “Kiss me softer.” He began placing softer kisses on my neck and thrust his hips into me. My hands trembled as I locked my arms around his back and held him close.
“Do you love me?” I spoke purposefully in his ear.
“Yes, Maya, I do,” he answered. His breath on my skin suddenly felt like a hot blowtorch.
“What!” I shoved him off me so quickly he probably thought I saw someone spying on us.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, confused.
“You called me Maya!” I said, feeling like smoke from a candle that had just been snuffed out.
“I did?” He paused and replayed in his mind what he’d said. “It was a mistake. Relax.” He tried to make me feel as if I were overreacting.
“How could you think about her at a time like this?” I immediately stood up. I felt unimportant, as if the feelings I had were not mutual.
“It was a slip of the tongue. I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said defensively. “Come on, don’t ruin the moment.”
“Me, ruin the moment? Huh! You’ve done that on your own. I can’t believe you!” I said as I began walking away.
“Where are you going?” he asked, suddenly realizing just how serious saying t
he wrong name was.
“You totally killed the mood I was in. You’ve messed up everything, Misalo. I’m nothing like Maya. You, of all people, should know that,” I said, feeling blinding rage growing inside me. I needed to get away and calm down because, at that moment, I could have easily taken the claw end of a hammer and struck him with it.
Once I got outside the construction area, I began running. I wanted to escape from everything—Misalo, my family and, if I could, my life. Once I was a good distance away, I sat down on a bus stop bench and sobbed. Misalo truly did care about Maya more than me. The fact that I was about to endear myself to him meant nothing. As I sat on the bench, I realized that I was an emotional train wreck. My emotions functioned like a roller coaster ride—when my feelings took a nosedive, my stomach always ended up in my throat. The only constant feeling in my life was my hatred for Maya.
“Viviana.” Misalo found me. I looked over my shoulder and glanced at him briefly as he walked toward me. I smeared away my tears and pushed my emotions deep down inside.
“What?” I snarled at him, like a wounded animal giving a final warning before attacking.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”
I glanced at him. He looked pathetic, like some chubby nerd attempting to ask a cheerleader to the school dance.
“Take me home,” I said abruptly. He’d ticked me off to the point that the very sight of him was upsetting.
seven
MAYA
“You will not believe what Misalo has done,” I complained to Keysha as we entered the beauty salon. We had both made appointments. Keysha was getting her hair braided again, and I was getting a manicure and pedicure. We sat in the waiting area because the salon was packed and filled with the sounds of multiple conversations taking place all at once. I recognized a few girls from school and waved to them. I assumed they were there for the same reasons Keysha and I were. School. Classes would be starting soon, and any girl who had any kind of sense knew that she had better come to school on the first day looking like a magazine cover model.
“Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to Misalo,” Keysha admitted as she searched the table in front of us for a magazine.
“He slept with Viviana.” I leaned toward Keysha and whispered so no one else could hear what I had to say. The words left a bitter taste on my tongue.
“What!” Keysha blurted out as if some teacher had just handed her a test paper with a fat red F on it. Several people looked in our direction to see what the commotion was about. Some of them had a look in their eyes that suggested they were anticipating a cat fight between me and Keysha. Keysha realized that she had spoken louder than she intended so she leaned in closer and whispered.
“They went all the way?” she asked for clarification.
“Yes,” I answered with certainty.
“How do you know?” Keysha glanced at me suspiciously, wondering how I would find out such a thing.
“Viviana admitted it,” I answered with a disgusted sigh.
“Maya, you and I both know you can’t believe a thing Viviana says. She’s a liar,” Keysha reminded me.
“I know, but for some reason I believe she told the truth. When she came in the house yesterday, she had this strange look on her face. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but decided not to. I was too busy trying to figure out why Misalo wasn’t at the big party. I had searched all over Jerry’s house looking for Misalo, but did not find him. And his so-called friends were of no help. They claimed they had not seen him, but I knew they were lying. Anyway, the last thing I wanted her to think was that I cared. Then Viviana went downstairs to talk to Anna. I don’t know why, but something made me walk halfway down the steps and stand out of their eyesight to eavesdrop on their conversation. I clearly heard Viviana say that she and Misalo decided to go all the way.”
“Wow,” Keysha said as she came to realize how serious I was.
“What did you do then?” she asked.
“Nothing. I walked back up the stairs, disgusted and ticked off with Misalo and Viviana.”
“So what does that mean? Are you finally done with him?” Keysha asked.
“That’s like me asking you if you’re finally done with Wesley,” I said condescendingly.
Keysha raised her eyebrow at me.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I have no idea what my next move will be.”
“Perhaps it’s time to let it go,” Keysha suggested.
“That’s not the advice I want to hear,” I unashamedly admitted.
“You can’t make Misalo want you, Maya. If he is not making an effort to patch things up, then there is really nothing more you can do,” Keysha said.
“Yeah. I know,” I said, feeling rather depressed about it. Never in a million years would I have ever thought that Misalo would give himself so freely to another girl. What’s even more insulting and disrespectful is that he had sex with my cousin. Although I was very disappointed with Misalo, I still cared about him. I couldn’t turn my feelings for him off like a light switch on a wall.
* * *
I’d just taken a seat at the pedicure station which was situated near the front window. I briefly glanced at the black letters which spelled out the name of the salon. Just as I’d submerged my feet into a footbath filled with warm water, someone knocked hard on the glass. I turned in the direction of the sound and saw Carlo waving at me.
“Oh, great,” I mumbled. “He’s the last person I want to see.” I smiled at him out of politeness and hoped he would move on. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that lucky.
Carlo opened the door to the salon and a bell chimed.
“What’s up, girl?” He smiled at me. He had on a blue-and-white-striped polo shirt, blue jeans and a pair of black Air Force 1 gym shoes. He also had sunglasses resting on top of his head.
“Same old stuff,” I answered as I looked down at my feet and wiggled my toes. I had not seen Carlo since he had the fight with Misalo.
“Where have you been?” Carlo asked.
“Around.” I gave him a vague answer.
“Around where?” Carlo wanted me to share more than I was willing to offer.
“Why do you even care?” I said with an irritated tone that I had hoped would force him to turn around and leave. As far as I was concerned, I never wanted to see him again. It was over between us, and I didn’t want to go our separate ways on friendly terms.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know why I care about you, especially since you have a nasty attitude.”
“You helped to create my attitude toward you.” I hoped my words felt like a red-hot knife piercing his skin.
“You know, Maya, you’re a real...”
“Hey, don’t you dare say what I think you’re about to say,” said Kim, the shop owner, who was nearby.
“You’re a real pain, Maya,” Carlo said.
I ignored him. I couldn’t believe he had come into the salon just to insult me.
“I’m so glad it’s over between us, Carlo,” I said, waving for him to go away and bother someone else.
“One of these days, Maya, someone is going to put your prissy attitude in check. I tried to be a good guy for you. A guy who didn’t play games, a guy who tried to be real with you. Instead, you put me down for some jerk who cheated on you. You talk about how you’re glad it’s over. Hell, I’m the one who is glad it’s over.” Carlo gave me a nasty look before turning to walk out.
eight
VIVIANA
I had told Anna all about how Misalo ruined everything by calling out Maya’s name. Misalo had humiliated and hurt me in a way that I never thought possible. There had been days when I really felt bad, but that incident with him took the cake. Anna listened and was sympathetic, but beyond that there was nothing tha
t could be done. It was over between Misalo and me, and that hurt me more than I ever thought it would. I truly liked him. I appreciated his honesty. Even though I had twisted the truth to get his attention, it was, in my opinion, well worth the lies I’d told. He gave me the type of attention I longed for, but now that was gone and the hole in my heart was as big as a crater on the surface of the moon.
The following morning I saw Maya in the upstairs hallway. She was heading downstairs, and I was on my way to the bathroom.
“Slut!” Maya said as she walked past me.
“What did you just say to me?” I asked.
“Our truce is over. I don’t like you. I don’t want you in my house, and I’m going to make sure that I do everything that I can to get you kicked out.” Maya’s eyes were ablaze with an evilness that I’d never seen before. I didn’t feel like getting into a battle of words with her so I just flipped up my middle finger and continued on.
When I came downstairs, I ran into my aunt Raven, who was carrying a basket of laundry.
“Come with me, Viviana,” she said.
“Why? What’s up?” I asked, wondering if I’d done something wrong.
“I want to talk to you,” said Aunt Raven. I exhaled and followed her to her bedroom where she began folding her laundry.
“I’ve contacted your school and had your records transferred over to Thornwood,” she began.
“Okay,” I said, dreading the fact that I’d have to repeat my junior year of high school.
“You’re going to have to be tested. Your entire junior year is filled with incomplete grades.”
“I told you why,” I said defensively.
“I know your mom kept moving you around,” Aunt Raven said.
“I hate tests. Why can’t they just let me come in as a senior?” I grumbled at the idea of having to deal with some stupid multiple-choice exam where I had to use a No. 2 black pencil to fill in a circle.
“Honey, schools use standardized tests to determine if you have a learning disability or some other handicap,” Aunt Raven said as she moved to a nearby closet and removed several hangers.