by Earl Sewell
eighteen
VIVIANA
LaShaunda and I walked out of the building after tryouts and got onto one of the afternoon school buses. I followed her all the way to the rear of the bus. We sat in the last row. She was nearest to the window, and I sat directly beside her. LaShaunda invited me back to her place because she wanted to show me photographs of her friends in Milwaukee.
“So what’s up with you?” LaShaunda asked as she eyed me peculiarly.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, feeling a sudden urge to blow my nose. I searched my purse for some tissue.
“Something about you doesn’t fit. You’re a hood chick who is a pickpocket that knows how to fight, yet you’re a closet nerd?” LaShaunda scratched the crown of her head as if she were truly perplexed.
“I’m not a nerd,” I immediately corrected her. I didn’t like the stigma that came with the name.
“Then how did you know the answers to the questions being asked? Only a geek would know stuff like that,” she pointed out.
Getting defensive I said, “I only did it to irritate my cousin. My answers were probably all wrong.”
“I don’t know. To me it sounded as if you knew what you were talking about,” she said, not believing my explanation.
I tossed out a knee-jerk response. “I read stuff on the internet.” I preferred to downplay my intelligence, especially around her.
“I read stuff, too, but it’s not like I remember any of it. I don’t see how you hold information in your head the way you do,” she explained.
“It’s not that hard. You can do it.” I don’t know why, but I changed my tone to an encouraging one.
“I don’t need a bunch of useless and random thoughts floating around in my head. I like to keep my mind clear.” LaShaunda paused. “I’ll bet you are the type of chick that secretly hangs out at a library.”
“My old neighborhood library was in gang territory. If I had crossed the line, I would have been jumped. So, no, I don’t secretly hang out at libraries. The most I did was hang out on the lakefront. I liked walking along the shoreline barefoot.” What I said was only a half truth. When my dad was alive, I could not go to the library because it was in an unsafe area. However, I did like going to the library with my grandmother.
“The hood is like that. In Milwaukee the convenience store where I got food from was in another gang’s territory. Going out for food was never fun,” LaShaunda said.
“Well, that is one thing I am glad we don’t have to deal with in this neighborhood,” I admitted.
“Yeah. That is nice,” LaShaunda agreed.
The school bus dropped us off on Cottage Grove Avenue near Thornridge High School, which was the rival of Thornwood High. We walked another block before reaching the home of her foster parents. It was a redbrick house in the middle of the block. Although it was small, it appeared to be well kept. LaShaunda opened the door and we walked inside. A man was sitting on the sofa. He had a beer bottle wedged between his thighs. He had been watching television on the brown sofa and glanced at us when we entered.
“This is my friend.” LaShaunda pointed at me with her thumb. “We will only be here a minute,” she explained to the man. The scruffy-looking man glared at us lustfully. I immediately felt as if a million spiders were crawling on my skin. I got goose bumps when the creepy image formed in my mind. He was stocky, had brown skin, a receding hairline and evil eyes.
“I don’t mind being in the house with two pretty women,” said the man. He took a long gulp of his beer, but never took his gaze off us.
“Come on,” LaShaunda said. I followed her into the small kitchen. There was a door on the right just past the archway. She opened it, and I saw that it led into the basement.
“Is your room down there?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she answered, hustling down the steep stairs. Her bedroom was situated along a narrow corridor on the opposite side of the laundry room. In her room was an antique bed and dresser. There was a closet that didn’t have a door and a black suitcase along the back wall.
“Have a seat on my bed,” LaShaunda said. The bed sat very high and I had to hop onto it. The bed bounced and squeaked as I positioned myself. She went over to the dresser and removed a few photos that were there. She then came and sat opposite me. “This is T.J., my boo.” She showed me a photo of her with her arm looped around a thin guy. He had on blue jean shorts, an oversize white T-shirt with an image of an Egyptian pyramid and a baseball cap with the bib turned toward the back.
“Where was this taken?” I asked, noticing bottles of alcohol on a table in the background.
“At a party,” she answered.
“How old is T.J.?” I noticed the fullness of his facial hair.
“Nineteen,” she said, setting the photo aside. “This is my girl, Bebe.” She showed me another photo. Bebe was standing with a group of girls who were lined up in a photo.
“That’s her.” LaShaunda pointed her out. Bebe had long stringy blond hair, blue eyes and fat cheeks. She was wearing pink pajama pants with a brown short-sleeve top.
“Who are the other girls?”
“Friends,” LaShaunda said. She showed me one final photo. It was of a brick building.
“This is where my crew is living at now. T.J. sent this to me a few days ago. This is where I am going, and I want you to come. We wouldn’t have to worry about anything. No teachers, no parents and no one telling us what to do.”
“Are you girls all right?” A voice startled me.
“We’re fine!” LaShaunda snapped at her foster dad. He was standing in the archway between the corridor and her bedroom. It was then that I noticed she didn’t have a bedroom door.
“Are you sure? Do you guys want something to drink? A beer maybe?” he asked as I shifted uncomfortably.
“Damn fool. I said we are fine,” LaShaunda spoke more forcefully. I suddenly felt my heart jump in my throat.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” her foster dad asked me.
“Yeah,” I lied.
“Why are you down here?” LaShaunda was now incensed.
“I live here. This is my house. I can go anywhere I want to in it!” he roared back like a lion.
“Come on, Viviana. Let’s go.” LaShaunda put her photos away and moved toward the exit. Her foster dad didn’t budge.
“What’s the password?” he asked, using his body to block her.
“I don’t have time to play games with you, man!” LaShaunda’s expression toughened.
“This isn’t a game. Now what’s the password?” he asked again as he belched. The foul scent of his breath lingered, like smoke after a fireworks show.
“Would you move, please?” LaShaunda asked with an upside-down face.
“See. There you go. That’s all you had to say. Do you want to give me a hug?” He spread his arms so she could step into his embrace, but she didn’t. I gathered from his behavior that he imposed his will on LaShaunda whenever the mood hit him.
“What about you? Can I get a hug from you?” he asked me.
“No,” I said and hastily rushed past him. He reached out to touch my hair, but I ducked away from his hand.
Once outside, LaShaunda began venting her anger.
“I can’t stand that man!” she shouted out.
“Why is he like that?” I asked as we moved farther away from the house.
“He’s crazy. He took all the doors out of my room. I have no privacy. Sometimes at night I catch him standing in my doorway watching me sleep.”
“Eww!” I cringed at the thought.
“That’s why I sleep with a knife. If he touches me, I swear I am going to put him in a hospital.” LaShaunda slit her throat with her index finger, gesturing what she would do if she were ever touched.
&nbs
p; “I don’t blame you. Dude is definitely weird. Have you said anything to your foster mom?” I asked.
“What the hell is she going to do?” LaShaunda exploded with unbridled emotion. “If she had to make a choice between her man and me, who do you think she would pick?”
“My mother picked her boyfriend over me. I know how horrible that feels,” I said as my mind drifted back to the last time I saw my mother. She had come to visit me with her boyfriend, Martin. Well, actually she had come to see my aunt to borrow money. When she didn’t get what she wanted, she left and didn’t take me with her. She said she would send for me once she got settled, but that was a while ago.
“So what’s the deal with all the stuff you lifted? When are we going to turn it in and get the money for that merchandise?” she asked, switching subjects. I snapped out of my daydream.
“We have to go into the city to get rid of it. I know this guy that my father used to work with. He is a shady pawn shop owner. He’s not going to ask us to fill out any forms,” I said.
“How much business did your dad do with this guy? Are you sure he isn’t going to call the cops on us?” LaShaunda asked.
“I’m positive. My dad told me that people would rent electronics from furniture rental places, then bring them to this pawn shop guy for cash.”
“Didn’t the rental people come for their stuff?” LaShaunda asked.
“I’m sure they did, but lots of times people used fake information when they rented. I also heard that since the stuff was insured, the rental company would just put in a claim and get the items replaced.”
“That’s slick,” LaShaunda said.
“I know. I’m going to give the guy a call to let him know when we’ll be coming through. Then we’ll take half of the stuff to him right now,” I said. “We’ll wait a little while before we pawn the rest.”
“Cool.” LaShaunda seemed happy. “How much do you think we’ll get?”
“We should get a least a few hundred for the iPad and cell phones I lifted. I’m not too sure about the jewelry,” I said.
“Whatever we get, it will be more than what we have now,” LaShaunda pointed out.
“True.” We continued walking. “So what do you want to do now?”
“I don’t care, as long as I don’t have to sit in the house with that fool,” LaShaunda said.
nineteen
MAYA
Keysha and I walked into the school and took a seat on one of the concrete benches in the noisy commons area. I had to tie my shoelace before I stumbled and fell on my face. There were other students sitting around chatting and waiting for security to tell them it was time to head to class.
“Hurry up. I want to find out if I made the team.” Keysha sighed impatiently.
“Jeez, is it that serious?” I asked.
“Yes,” Keysha said. Once my shoe was tied, we headed down the corridor in the direction of the auditorium. As we approached, we saw a white sheet of paper taped to the auditorium door.
“It looks as if the team members have been posted,” I said. Keysha and I walked up and looked at the names. Keysha then screamed.
“We made it!” She gave me a giant hug.
“Really? I was picked?” I was completely surprised as I took a closer look. Sure enough, there was my name, third on the list behind Viviana and Keysha.
“How did she make the team?” I pointed to Viviana’s name. “This has to be a mistake. Viviana could not have made the team. She missed an entire year of high school. How is this possible?” I fired off the questions, knowing that Keysha didn’t know the answers.
“I don’t know, but look at this.” Keysha pointed out the last person to make the team.
“Misalo!” I blurted out.
“Yes. The team is Viviana, you, Misalo and me,” Keysha said.
“I have to go and look out of a window. I swear, pigs must be flying or something if Viviana made the team. We’ll never win a single competition with her as a teammate.”
“It might not be so bad,” Keysha suggested.
“Yes, it will. Why does my life suck so much?” I grumbled as I walked away.
* * *
Before long the month of October had arrived. The one thing I loved about October was homecoming. My mom, Anna and I got to spend time shopping for dresses, shoes and other accessories. I loathed the fact that Viviana had to tag along with us because my mother felt obligated to purchase clothing for her, as well. I was actually glad that Anna had come along when we went shopping because she kept Viviana company.
On Saturday I was in my room going through my closet in search of a cute outfit to wear. The homecoming parade was scheduled to take place in an hour. Since the parade marched directly in front of Keysha’s house, we decided to show our school spirit by cheering on our football team, cheerleaders and other clubs associated with the weekend festivities. Later, we planned to attend the football game, which was against our rival school, Thornridge, and finally during the evening we’d attend the homecoming dance.
Once I decided on an outfit, I showered, got dressed and put on a little makeup. I walked into the kitchen and saw my parents sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and chatting.
“I’m heading over to Keysha’s house to watch the homecoming parade,” I said as I moved past them.
“What time will you be back?” asked my father.
“I should only be gone for about an hour,” I said.
“Viviana isn’t going with you?” asked my mother. I wanted to say, “The only place Viviana needs to go is to hell,” but I knew that would not be tolerated.
“No. She has made a friend named LaShaunda. She’ll probably go with her. That is, if she has plans to go. I’m not sure if Viviana likes Thornwood enough to show some school spirit,” I mentioned as I pulled the patio door open.
“I’m sure she likes Thornwood High. She told me that she made the trivia team. I talked your mother into allowing her to try out because I figured it would give her something constructive to do,” said my father. I had forgotten how he and Viviana had bonded because she has a love of history just like he does.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” I said, stepping outside.
“Isn’t she on the team with you?” I heard my father ask. Instead of answering him, I waved goodbye and acted as if I didn’t hear his question.
When I arrived at Keysha’s house, there were several empty chairs already situated on the sidewalk. I walked down her long driveway toward the door.
“I’ll be right down,” I heard Keysha’s voice shout out. I glanced in the direction of her voice and searched for her.
“Up here. I’m in the window,” she said.
“Oh. I see you now.” I waved.
“Just have a seat. I am on my way now.” She pointed toward the chairs on the sidewalk.
I walked back to the seats and sat down. I noticed the street had already been shut down to traffic. A number of Keysha’s neighbors had staked out a viewing spot and were waiting patiently for the parade to begin.
“It was warmer than I thought,” Keysha mentioned breathlessly as she sat beside me. “I had to go back inside and change clothes.”
“I hate October weather. It’s hard to know when it is going to be mild or downright cold,” I complained.
“We don’t have too many more mild days left this year, that’s for sure,” Keysha mentioned as she glanced at her watch. “It’s almost noon. The parade should start at any moment.”
“So what are you wearing to the homecoming dance tonight?” I asked.
“A black strapless dress that Grandmother Katie brought for me. I also have some really cute shoes to go with it. When the parade is over, I want you to come up to my room so you can see it,” Keysha said, peering down the street.
>
“Okay. I have a red dress that I’m wearing,” I mentioned as I tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Has the parade begun yet?” I heard a gruff voice approaching from behind. It was Keysha’s grandmother.
“I think so,” Keysha answered. I rose from my seat and greeted Grandmother Katie with a hug. I inhaled her sweet scent and immediately felt her warm spirit.
“How have you been, honey?” she asked as she planted a kiss on my cheek.
“Good,” I answered. Grandmother Katie sat with us.
“I really enjoy parades. It reminds me of when I was a little girl. I used to sit on my father’s shoulders and wave at everyone.” Grandmother Katie laughed.
The rest of Keysha’s family came out of the house—her father, Jordan, and her mother, Barbara. Before long, the parade slowly crept past us. Mike marched by with the football team and did a goofy dance to get Grandmother Katie’s attention. She laughed at his silliness. Keysha and I saw several people from school that we knew. We couldn’t help but rush over and give them hugs as they continued along the parade route. Once the parade was over, I helped Keysha and her grandmother take the chairs back to the garage and then went up to Keysha’s room to see her dress.
A while later, Keysha and I were at the football game. We watched her brother, Mike, score a touchdown on one play and drop the ball during another. The game was close and was won by the rival school, which was able to score a field goal the last few seconds of the game.
I hated going to homecoming alone, but there was nothing I could do about that. I walked into the school, paid for my ticket and headed toward the sounds of music and shouting. The dance was held in the cafeteria. When I entered, the lights had been dimmed, but I could tell that the student council had festooned the cafeteria with banners and balloons. The theme this year was Tonight’s Dream, Tomorrow’s Memory. There was a makeshift stage set up for the crowning of the homecoming king and queen. The DJ was spinning a popular song and my classmates were gyrating to it with wild abandon. I moved through the crowd toward the concession stand, where I planned to purchase something to drink.