by L. Divine
“But Misty doesn’t know any better, and neither does her mom,” I say, walking out of the bedroom and into the bathroom to turn off the bath water and empty the vial into it. It instantaneously fills the small room with its powerful aroma. “What’s in this stuff?” I say, bringing the vial back to Mama, who’s almost asleep.
“Good stuff. Now go soak and leave me alone, chile. I’m tired.” I grab my shower cap from the dresser, ready for a relaxing bath. I know when Misty comes back to her true senses all hell is going to break loose. “And Jayd, it’s admirable that you want to save the world. Actually, it’s in your blood,” she says, her emerald eyes quickly fading, but not before she gives me her final words of wisdom for the evening. “You can’t save anyone but yourself, Jayd. Remember that and you’ll avoid a lot of pain.”
As I walk into the bathroom, I can’t help but think about Misty and how KJ treated her today. I know Mama’s usually right, but this time I think she may be a little wrong. I helped Jeremy without him knowing, and that worked out in his favor, even though we broke up. But still, the cupcakes got him out of going to jail. Misty and Rah both need some supernatural help to get out of their situations and I’m going to find a way to help them before the night is over. I guess I won’t be turning in early after all.
After my bath, I creep into Mama’s room to get the spirit book from behind the shrine. When she fed the Orishas and ancestors yesterday, she brought it into the house to look something up and forgot to put it back in the spirit room. Luckily Mama sleeps hard and I won’t disturb her with my studies.
“Hey girl,” I say to a snoozing Lexi as I step over her to enter the backhouse. I love being in here at night. It’s so quiet and peaceful. I wish Mama would let me sleep out here, but that’ll never happen. We still live in the hood and no matter how much spiritual protection we have around us, common sense should always prevail. It’s already nine o’clock and I want to get to bed a little early. I spent all evening out here last night and a girl needs her beauty sleep.
I turn to Maman’s section and look through her potions for getting rid of ill luck. I need something that’ll work for both of them tomorrow. I wish I had time to personalize each item I make. But, like Mama does with her clients, sometimes general is the best way to go.
“Unwebbed. I wonder what this is about,” I say, as Lexi settles into her position outside the screen door and makes herself comfortable. She knows better than anyone that once I set my mind to it, something’s going to get made in this room.
“It says that Maman made this gris-gris when her clients got into situations that turned out the opposite of their expectations. It also says that the tiny satchel has to be placed outside the backdoor of the person’s home.” Damn, that means I’m going to have to go back over to Misty’s house to make sure this gris-gris takes effect. And I guess I’ll have to wait until this weekend to deliver Rah’s. Maman also gives specific instructions not to allow anyone to see where the bag is concealed. How am I going to get this bag hidden in Misty’s yard without anyone noticing I’m there?
“Basil, honey, black peppercorns, three pennies and candy for the crossroads. I wonder what that’s for?” I read further down, taking note of the remainder of the ingredients on the list, as well as the chant that I need to say when I find a place to put the charms. It’s to Legba, the same Orisha Mama fed to get rid of Esmeralda. I must be onto something here. All I need is to find some fabric and string to tie up the ingredients in and to copy the chant down.
“This has got to work,” I say, collecting the glass jars full of herbs and other ingredients and placing them on the wooden work table. I’ll drop Misty’s gris-gris off first thing in the morning. I’ll leave ten minutes early to make sure I can get in and out without being noticed. Knowing Misty, she’ll be running late. Hopefully I can get this done before she leaves. It says here that it’s important for the client to walk by the gris-gris before they start their day, to ensure their luck is planted firmly in their steps. I hope for Misty’s sake it starts working tomorrow. KJ’s got her on tilt and I can’t stand watching him humiliate her any longer. Besides, she can be my guinea pig before I try this out on Rah. If it reverses Misty’s luck, even though she doesn’t deserve it, then I know it will help Rah get away from Trish for good.
Rather than reset my regular alarm clock, I set my cell phone to wake me up early for this morning’s adventure. I had to bury the bag in the yard overnight before planting it in Misty’s yard, per Maman’s final instructions. I can’t wait to see if this charm bag will work. I hope nobody sees me, especially not Misty. If she found out that I was trying to help her like this, I’d never hear the end of it at school and around the neighborhood. And Mama would be completely pissed off.
“Jayd, why are you up so early?” Mama says groggily, not moving anything but her lips. I hate lying to Mama, but I can’t tell her about this, not yet.
“I have some studying to do and I wanted to make sure I got in and out of the bathroom without any interference.” Satisfied with my answer for now, she dozes back off to sleep. She must be really tired to let me get away from her inquisition that easy.
I get up and stumble in the dark as I feel my way around the foot of the bed. I retrieve my clothes for the day, which are hanging on the back of the door, and my toiletries inside my backpack, making for a quick exit to start my busy day. Too bad it has to start out by trying to help Misty. But here goes nothing.
I can’t help but feel paranoid as I turn down Misty’s block. The last time I was on Kemp, Felicia and her fellow hoodrats tried to jump me. It’s barely six in the morning and not a soul is out this early around here. People are probably still in bed dreaming—good dreams, I hope. I, on the other hand, am speed walking down the dimly lit street, praying no loose dogs chase me or—even worse—blow my cover. I’m wearing my black Nike sweat suit with my hood pulled over my hair. I put my backpack under my jacket, just in case someone tries to identify me. The gris-gris is in my pocket and I’m ready to plant it and get on with the rest of my day.
When I reach Misty’s yard, I look behind me to make sure the coast is clear and proceed to tiptoe toward the back. I see an empty planter behind the kitchen door. That’ll be the perfect place to leave the small bag.
“Damn it,” I whisper as a fat gray cat crosses my path, resting on the back porch. “I didn’t know Misty had a cat,” I say to myself as I walk up to the planter and lift it up, making sure the ground is dry—another prerequisite for planting the charm. Before I can leave it here, I have to say the chant one time and then walk backwards until I reach the curb, to make sure the bad luck doesn’t follow me when I leave the house. As I reach in my other pocket for the index card with the words on it, I feel like someone’s watching me.
“Legba, please don’t confuse me. Let someone else be confused.” Now that it’s done, I can get out of here. This house has always given me the creeps. The slumbering cat, unaffected by my ritual, hasn’t moved a muscle. But when it sees me walking backwards, it perks its head up and looks at me as if to ask, “What the hell are you doing?” Even the cat thinks I’m strange. I pull my cell phone out and check the time. I hope this works, for Misty’s sake and for mine. South Bay High has enough drama without having to deal with KJ pimping Misty’s ass on a daily basis. There’s enough to deal with without having to be a part of What’s Love Got To Do With It? the reality show.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Chance says, ignoring my warnings, as usual, and hugging me as we continue to walk to class. The first bell rang a few minutes ago and I’m still hyped from this morning’s good deed. My girls must be running late and I can’t wait for them.
“What’s up with you,” I say, pulling away from him slightly. I’m getting a different vibe from him and it’s making me uncomfortable. “When are you going to get it through that thick skull of yours that you can’t flirt with me like you used to do before you started dating Nellie?” I say, pushing him in the shoulder. “You’re
spoken for now, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah. But I can still give my homegirl a friendly hug, can’t I?” Chance puts his right arm around my shoulders, pulling me in close.
“Stop it, Chance,” I say, trying to squirm my way out of his arms, but he’s got me on lock. “I don’t want to smell like you.” Even if he does smell good, I prefer my Egyptian Musk oil to his Polo cologne any day.
“Okay, I get the hint. So, how do you like the rehearsals so far?” he says as I step into my Spanish class. I’m disappointed to see Mr. Donald’s here today. I wonder when Mr. Adewale will start on a permanent basis. As many sick days as our regular teacher takes, I’m sure he’ll be back soon.
“It’s okay. I wish we didn’t have to share our class with ASB. It’s already cramped enough in there as it is.” I notice Mickey, Nigel, and Nellie rushing across campus to their class. They don’t even notice Chance and me talking, they’re in such a hurry.
“There’s the bell, girl,” Chance says, giving me a final hug good-bye. “I’ve got to go.” All of the students on the late boat with my friend are rushing to get to class before the bell stops ringing. The only thing I’m concerned with today is whether or not Misty acts any different. After she drank Mama’s lemonade yesterday she looked much better, but not back to the Misty we know and hate. Who knows what happened to her after she went over to Esmeralda’s house yesterday? I never saw her mom come for her and she wasn’t on the bus this morning.
Before I can turn around to go to my seat, in the distance I notice Misty following KJ. I guess she’s back to rolling with him after all. Maybe that’s a good sign that the gris-gris is working. I’ll have to wait until lunch to see for myself. If she’s still walking around like a zombie, I know it hasn’t taken yet. I’m not too sure how quickly her luck will turn around. But knowing Maman’s work, it won’t take long.
Because I missed the majority of the school day yesterday, I had some catching up to do in government and math. Jeremy missed me yesterday, but tried to play it off like he was about to give away my seat, which was really cute. I’m glad we’re able to maintain a civil friendship amid the hurt of our breakup. I wonder if he’s dating someone new already.
“Hey, Jayd. What happened to you yesterday?” Mickey says, walking up to our usual bench with her lunch tray packed. “You disappeared after you went to bat for Misty. I thought KJ kidnapped you or something.”
“Are you going to eat all of that by yourself?” Nigel asks, walking up with Chance and Jeremy in tow. What’s Jeremy doing here at lunch? Usually he’s off-campus and I know he and Nigel aren’t that cool.
“What I eat is none of your business. I told you not to come near me unless you had a new BlackBerry with you,” Mickey says, biting into her cheeseburger before stuffing her face with fries. She has a large Coke and chocolate ice cream to wash it all down with. I know my girl can eat, but this is an unusually large lunch, even for Mickey. “And what are you doing here anyway?” Mickey says, looking straight at Jeremy. I’d like to know myself.
“Me and Chance have some business to take care of. Care to join us?” Jeremy says, looking at me as I peel the banana that I brought from home. I also packed a pear and some crackers, along with my bottled water. I’m trying to save all of my cash, especially since I didn’t work too many hours this weekend and that means no more buying lunch until I’m sure about my income flow. Unfortunately, my hours are still cut until further notice, really messing up my timeline for buying my car.
“I’m cool. Shouldn’t you be in the drama room? I thought today’s lunch rehearsal was a fitting for the dudes’ costumes,” I say, biting into my fruit, envious of Mickey’s meal. “And, where’s Nellie?”
“Nellie’s running late. She had to retake an English quiz from yesterday. Nellie needs to get on her schoolwork in a real way,” Chance says, looking across the quad toward South Central where KJ, his boys, and the rest of South Central are hanging out. Misty seems a little better, but she still looks like a zombie to me. “What did you ever see in him?” Chance says. Jeremy’s eyes follow mine and then he looks dead at me, making the heat in my body rise to my cheeks.
“I don’t know,” I say, taken aback by my still apparent feelings for Jeremy, who hasn’t taken his eyes off me yet. He looks extra yummy today, in his khaki shorts and blue Polo shirt that sets off his eyes. He decided to let his bushy curls run wild today, instead of trapping them all up in a hat. I bet if I hugged Jeremy his smell would rub off on me. But unlike with Chance, I don’t think I’d mind.
“Same thing we always see in these fools; nothing,” Mickey says to Nigel as Jeremy and I break our connection and rejoin the conversation. Nigel looks like he wants to slap Mickey in the face. Lucky for us all he doesn’t believe in hitting women.
“Jayd, will you check your girl, please,” Nigel says, looking for some love. But I’m with her on this one.
“I can’t say she’s entirely wrong. We do see what we want to see when it comes to our men,” I say, telling the truth. Jeremy looks slightly disappointed in my response, but still amused. “And usually, the trick’s on us. We end up getting hurt and cleaning up the aftermath while the dudes are free to explore new terrain.”
“Not always,” Jeremy says, walking over to sit next to me on the bench. My heart’s fluttering fast, like the first time we talked at Matt’s house. Why can’t relationships stay that blissful indefinitely? “Sometimes it’s the girl who tricks the guy and rebounds into someone else’s arms, even if she knows that she’s not over the first dude.” Mickey, Nigel, and Chance are all speechless, noticing the vibe has shifted. Nigel looks at me, completely annoyed, as Nellie walks up, again shifting my world off its axis. And this time I’m thankful for the intrusion.
“Hey, did I miss anything?” Nellie says, taking Chance’s Snapple from his hand and taking a swig.
“I’ve got work to catch up on. I’ll check y’all later,” I say, hugging Nellie before taking off down the hill. Jeremy rises from his seat next to me, ready to walk me down.
“Where are you rushing off to? I just got here,” she says, looking as confused as I suddenly feel.
“I need to catch up on yesterday’s work,” I say. I never told anyone that I took Misty back to my house. And, knowing her, she didn’t either. I hope it stays our little secret.
“Want an escort?” Jeremy says, causing Nigel to glare at me even harder. The last thing I need is more bull from Jeremy. I admit, we never said we weren’t attracted to each other. And, yes, I’m still feeling him. But I have no respect for the way he lives his life and I can’t stand his family values. There’s no hope for us as far as I’m concerned, even if I am still rocking my Lucky bag and the gold “J” bracelet he gave me. What can I say; Jeremy has good taste. He has to in order to buy his way out of all the bullshit he can put a girl through.
“No, I think I’ll walk alone for now.” And until I can sort out my feelings, I think it should stay that way. However, that doesn’t change my plans for helping Rah. It’s bigger than us being able to get back together. Having Trish completely out of the picture is a must no matter what happens to us. And from the looks of Misty’s smiling face, I’m the girl for the job, no matter how I get it done.
13
What the Hell?
“She’s hot, she’s danger/ Everybody knows her name yeah.”
—T.O.K./PITBULL
After yesterday’s emergency rescue with Misty, Mama and Netta have been talking about nothing else ever since. I’m scared to tell them about the gris-gris I made for Misty and the one I’m planning on making for Rah. But Mama was grateful I made the eye patch to help her sleep and I didn’t ask her permission for that. Maybe she won’t be too upset that I tried to help Misty without her knowing about it. After all, it’s the thought that counts, right?
“Jayd, hand me that towel, please,” Netta says, ringing the water out of Mama’s hair. “I think it’s honorable that you want to help that girl out, especially after all th
e shit she’s put you through in the name of friendship,” Netta says, squeezing Mama’s head tightly. “Besides, Jayd, your Mama has been guilty of helping folks who didn’t ask for it back in her day too.”
“Yes, and we both know how those situations turned out, don’t we, Netta,” Mama says as Netta sits her straight up in her chair at the washbasin to finish towel-drying her hair. Next comes Netta’s leave-in conditioner that Mama helped her create. If they would get a patent for their hair products we’d all be millionaires. But for some reason, they refuse to sell the recipes. “Don’t encourage the girl, Netta. And watch your heavy hands on my head,” she says as Netta continues to squeeze her head, pulling her eyes tightly.
“Oh hush up, Lynn Mae,” Netta says, smearing Mama’s jet-black hair with the tropical-scented cream. I think they put a mixture of mango, pineapple and avocado in this one. The natural ingredients are what make it smell so good. The aroma’s also making me hungry since I barely had a chance to eat today. It was my first rehearsal playing opposite Reid, and it took a lot out of me, making me lose my appetite in the process. Reid is very convincing in his role as the twisted king: a part he was born to play.
“Hush up nothing, Netta. If Jayd can avoid the madness that comes with trying to help ungrateful people, then why shouldn’t she?” I know Mama’s trying to protect me, but I’ve got this one under control. She doesn’t know about my mystic cupcakes that helped Jeremy out of his possible incarceration, and that worked out fine. She just needs more faith in my abilities and I’m going to prove to her that I’m ready to take the next step in my legacy.