Eventually, they made most of their money hustling on the basketball court. They were all good athletes, and each of them made it onto the Booker T High School basketball team.
Zakia was a cheerleader and didn’t have a lot of time to spend with Raquie as she grew older. Boys took up a lot of her time, but Raquie didn’t mind. She adored her sister and was very proud of her. She told everybody who would listen, “My sister is a cheerleader and gets straight As.”
Zakia was an excellent student because Alexis demanded good grades from both her children. She was proud when Zakia graduated from high school and earned a full scholarship to Manna State University. She also insisted that Zachary study so that he, too, could get into college. He tried, but his entrepreneurial spirit and short attention span interfered with his studying. Frustrated, Alexis began focusing less on Zachary and more on Zakia. She was determined that her daughter would never have to depend on a man to take care of her. She would be able to get whatever she wanted for herself. College was not optional for Zakia.
Being a brainiac rubbed off on Raquie, and she, too, excelled under her sister’s influence.
Chapter Two
In high school, Zakia had been focused, to say the least. She had felt her mother’s wrath when she brought home a B in conduct despite the fact that she had earned As in everything else.
“If you can get As in your studies, surely you can behave yourself, and you will,” Alexis had said. “No phone for a week, and you can’t go out with those boys this weekend either.”
The phone was the worst thing Alexis could have taken from Zakia. She was on it with one boy or another every night. Zachary didn’t like talking on the phone, and Alexis was glued to the TV in the evenings, so Zakia owned the phone. Her mother sure knew how to hit her where it hurt. Zakia also loved hanging out with the Execs. She was an honorary member, since it was a boys’ club and girls were for getting with, not doing business with. But they treated her just like one of the boys, not taking it easy on her, ever.
When they snuck into a football game by jumping a barbed-wire fence behind the stadium brush, Zakia was the only one who landed on her feet without a scratch. Micah ripped his pants, while Eli sprained his ankle and walked with a limp for a week. Zachary’s leg was bleeding from a gash he obtained by not completely clearing the barbed wire when he jumped. The Execs carried him into the men’s room to doctor his wound. Zakia rolled on the ground laughing hysterically once she was sure he was all right. Some girls from school walked up on Zakia, who was still laughing to herself. Nikki Harris, Sheba Spencer, Eboni Black, and Pam Pierce were cheerleaders with Zakia.
“What’s so funny, girl?” asked Pam, who was in love with Micah.
“Girl, those scrubs said I had to jump the fence if I wanted to hang with them tonight, and I said, ‘Bring it on.’ They all got hurt and I didn’t. Now they’re in the bathroom fixing Zach up because he hurt his leg, but he’ll be all right.”
“Oh my! Are you sure he’s okay?” a concerned Sheba asked.
Zakia nodded, still laughing.
“You be hanging with those brothers,” Sheba said in amazement.
Sheba had a serious crush on Zachary, who messed around with her, but never officially.
“He’s suffered worse and survived. And they be trying to hang with me, ha ha!” Zakia said, still tickled.
“I know that’s right, girl,” Nikki said to her fellow cheerleading captain. Nikki and Zakia had led the cheering squad together for three years and had seen their friendship grow.
“Did Micah get hurt?” Pam asked.
“Naw, he just ripped his pants,” Zakia said.
“Whew, I didn’t want to have to go up in the men’s bathroom to take care of my man,” Pam responded. “Who else is in there?”
“All of the Execs,” Zakia said.
“With their fine selves,” said Eboni, who dreamed about having three babies with Eli, all of whose names would begin with the letter E.
“Zakia, when are you going to ask your twin about making us official, girl? He knows he’s my man, he needs to just go on and admit it to the world,” Sheba said.
“Never, girl. I stay out of the Execs’ business, and they stay out of mine. You need to handle that.”
“Fine. Consider it handled,” Sheba said.
When the guys came out of the bathroom, the girls ran over to them oohing and aahing, asking if they were all right and if they could make them feel better. Zakia thought it was hilarious—pitiful but hilarious—and she fell back into another fit of laughter.
Zakia was part tomboy, part princess. She had a beautiful, delicate exterior and a tough-as-nails interior. She could make you feel like you could fly and then thoroughly beat you down every which way if you crossed her.
When Zakia was in princess mode, she hung with her fellow cheerleaders, who were the Execs’ girlfriends. When she was in tomboy mode, she liked hanging with the Execs. And hang she could. She often worked out with them. She had a die-hard competitive spirit with which women just couldn’t compete. She had to win, and when she lost, she just got more competitive. Even in the dating game, she had the advantage because she was privy to the Execs’ conversations about their flock of female admirers. They knew she could keep her mouth shut—after all, she was almost one of them—so they didn’t monitor their words and said exactly how they felt about girls, what they did to girls, and what girls did to and for them. If she asked, they would explain things to her that she didn’t understand. They schooled her to be able to handle herself when she went off to college. She listened and learned.
A lot of the guys at Booker T High School wanted to be Zakia’s boyfriend but were concerned about the Execs. She knew everybody but wasn’t interested in dating anyone at Booker T, until a new tall, dark, and handsome star basketball player transferred in from Dunbar High School. Xavier Slade was admired by more than half of the females at Booker T. It was love at first sight for Zakia. After a game where Booker T had just embarrassed the competition, she waited patiently for Xavier to receive all of his congratulations for scoring thirty points before she walked up to him. She looked him deep in the eyes, then whispered in his ear, “Great game, Mr. Slade,” as she ever so softly and sweetly kissed him on his cheek. She turned and walked off, then glanced back at him, knowing he was watching her walk away in her short little cheerleader uniform. She smiled, winked at him, turned, and subtly swung her hips as she walked out the gym door. He was putty in her hands from that point on. It was only a matter of time before he was her official boyfriend.
Xavier was the point guard and the star of the basketball team, so it was written in the stars that he and Zakia would be the most popular couple in high school; however, they were popular as individuals first. Zakia’s other suitors didn’t stop calling her just because she had an official boyfriend, and she didn’t stop talking to them, although everybody knew Xavier was her man.
The Execs had taught her well. She just had to manage her social schedule. When she spent time with other guys, she made sure it was a group setting—at a party, burger joint, or game—with plenty of her girlfriends around to cover for her in case Xavier’s spies were on the lookout. The only private time she spent with anybody besides Xavier before they broke up was on the phone. She thought she was well prepared for whatever college had in store.
Ruby Glass was Zakia’s college roommate. She was from a wealthy Long Island, New York, family. Her father was an attorney, and her mother was a social worker. Ruby fascinated Zakia with her footloose and fancy-free attitude. Ruby wasn’t concerned about making good grades and, unlike Zakia, was even less concerned about what her parents thought. Ruby didn’t have to worry about maintaining her grades to keep a scholarship. She didn’t have one. Her parents paid her tuition. Her main reason for coming to college was to meet men and party for as long as it lasted. She was Daddy’s little girl. He would take care of her.
Ruby had come to the right place. She was always trying t
o get Zakia to loosen up and take a hit of marijuana or a drink of beer. She thought her roommate was too uptight and wanted to help Zakia alleviate her stress about books and men.
Although it was more difficult to maintain an A average in college, Zakia was more concerned about the bold forwardness of the men, particularly a star basketball player named Malik Jackson. He openly had a girlfriend, yet he begged Zakia to be his girlfriend and promised to dump his sorority sweetheart the minute she said yes. Even though she was attracted to Malik, Zakia wanted no part of him, knowing that he would dump her just as quick for the next cute, young coed that came along.
“Why doesn’t Malik just back off, Ruby?” she asked her roommate one day after taking the long way back to their dorm room in order to avoid Malik.
“Because they always want what they can’t have,” Ruby answered. “Now, I wouldn’t mind going over to the town house and getting with that fine roommate of his, Melvin, but he won’t give me the time of day. He must be gay, ignoring all of this,” she said, pushing up her breasts and admiring her profile in the mirror.
Zakia laughed at her roommate, thinking surely Ruby was going to flunk out of college if she didn’t get her priorities in order. Zakia always encouraged her roommate to study, but Ruby shrugged her off, instead encouraging Zakia to party. Neither one of them succeeded in swaying the other. They were the odd couple and got along well together, respected, cared for, and trusted each other, and had each other’s back.
“I’m going home this weekend,” Zakia told Ruby. “I can’t wait. I need—you hear me, need—some home cooking, girl. I miss my boys too. I can’t wait to see them. I hope Micah and Eli have time to hang with me because I need some schooling. I’d better call them and make sure they don’t have any plans. Mom said all my brother does is work.”
Zakia went down the hall to the pay phone and called Eli collect, and he excitedly accepted the charges.
“What’s up, baby!” she screamed.
“Hey, baby girl! How they treatin’ you up at MSU?” Eli asked.
“We gotta talk. What’s up this weekend? I’m coming home.”
“Cool, baby. Can’t wait to see you. Oh, I took Eboni to this all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant down at the beach, and all we talked about was how you would love it, being the die-hard seafood lover you are. When are you getting in?”
“Friday night. Catching a ride with this junior after her last class around three o’clock.”
“Okay, we can ride down to the beach Saturday, and you can eat till your heart’s content, cool?”
“Man, that sounds wonderful, because this food is whack. I want Ma to have some serious grub ready when I get there too. Is Eboni going with us?”
“Naw. She works on Saturdays. Micah is probably free, though. I’ll check with him.”
“Oh, that would be so great, throwin’ down with my boys. What about my brother?”
“Never know with that workaholic,” Eli said.
“Right, right. Ma said he’s going to be a millionaire or bust.”
“It’s all her fault that brother works like that, but Mamalexis is my girl and she knows it too. Beat my butt so bad one day when we were kids, I started to pack my things and move in with y’all because I thought she must be my mother. That’s when I stopped calling her Miss Alexis and started calling her Mamalexis. My own mother never beat me that bad. My mama had the nerve to tell your mother to feel free to do it again if I needed it. You know I never needed it again, right?”
“You don’t even have to tell me about no Alexis whipping. Lawd, change the subject.”
“Okay. Let me tell you how to work the buffet. Get up Saturday morning and eat a big stack of pancakes,” Eli explained.
“That’s dumb if the restaurant is all-you-can-eat. Don’t I want to be hungry when I go?”
“Let me finish. You’re going to eat the pancakes early, and that’s going to stretch your stomach. Then you’re going to chill for a minute. Then you’re going to go in the bathroom for about an hour. Dump it all out, then you have a big fat empty stomach. Now you have room to sample most of the food. It’s so much you can’t get to it all.”
“Wow, your logic just amazes me,” Zakia said.
“Just do it. It works. Have I ever steered you wrong before?”
“Never, brah.”
“All right, then. Call me when you get home Friday. I’ll let you know about Micah.”
“Okay, later.”
It was Zakia’s first time home from college. Everybody came to Alexis’s Friday night to see her. Raquie was like her sister’s second skin. They were so glad to see each other. Raquie was up under her the whole night, just enjoying being around her again. Zakia loved it.
The delicious meal Alexis had prepared for Zakia and all her friends who came to see her on her first weekend home from college was gone Saturday morning. There wasn’t a trace of it in the refrigerator or Zakia’s stomach. Per Eli’s instructions, when she got up, she fixed herself a big, hearty stack of pancakes and ate every bite. She was stuffed, then she talked on the phone until sleep started coming down on her.
“I got to go, girl. Need to take a nap.”
“Okay, but call me before you leave, and finish telling me about all the gorgeous Manna men,” Eboni said from her desk at work.
“I will.”
“And don’t hurt nothing. Pace yourself, because as much as you like seafood, you could do some damage.”
“Is it that good? I can’t even think about it right now from all those pancakes your man told me to eat,” Zakia said.
“It’s that good, girl, so be careful down there. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
After her nap, Zakia got up and gathered her textbook, notebook, and a novel in case she got bored doing homework. She also took the cordless phone, some magazines, and a can of Lysol. She headed to the bathroom because she planned to be there for a while, just as Eli had instructed. She was looking forward to the seafood.
“Raise the window to let in some fresh air, and light a scented candle while you’re at it,” Alexis yelled through the bathroom door.
“Ha ha, funny, Ma,” Zakia said, laughing at her mother, who could never resist messing with her every time she packed up and moved into the bathroom.
An hour passed before she came out. She felt great. She called Eli.
“What time are you coming?”
“In about an hour. I have to pick Micah up from the garage. He’s dropping his ride off to have it serviced,” Eli said.
“Okay. I’ll be ready. This food better be all that too.”
“Trust me, baby. You’re gonna love it.”
Eli and Micah came in to get Zakia because Alexis didn’t allow men to honk the horn for her daughter.
“Hello, Mamalexis,” Eli greeted.
“Hi, Mamalexis,” Micah said.
“Hi, boys.”
“Where’s Zach?” Micah inquired.
“At work. That boy is going to be a millionaire by the time he’s twenty-five years old,” Alexis said proudly, shaking her head.
Zakia came into the kitchen where they all were.
“Hey, y’all, I’m ready. Ma, have you ever heard of this place they’re taking me to? What’s it called, Eli?”
“The Sea Wharf, down by the beach,” Eli said.
“Oh yeah, I heard it was pretty good.”
“I hope so. See you later,” Zakia said as she kissed her mother on the cheek.
“Want us to bring you something back, Mamalexis?” Micah asked.
“No thank you, baby. Just feed this bottomless pit of mine. She acts like there’s no food at that college.”
“That mess they serve us to eat should be used as bait,” Zakia said.
“It can’t be that bad,” Alexis said.
“For real, Ma. I want a doctor’s excuse that says I can’t eat the food they serve, and maybe they will keep the room and give me the board money so I can buy my own food. It’s that bad. Me
and the girls I eat with mix it all together, close our eyes, hold our noses, put the food in our mouths, and just swallow. We don’t allow our taste buds to even know what just passed through. It’s ridiculous. Come on, y’all, I’m getting sick just thinking about it,” Zakia said, walking out the door with Eli and Micah behind her.
“Have fun,” Alexis said.
“See ya later,” they all said.
During the hour-long ride to the Sea Wharf, they talked about MSU.
“You’re gonna still bust them As, right?” Eli asked.
“That or Mamalexis gonna bust her butt,” Micah said.
“MSU is not Booker T by a long shot, and Ma is just going to have to understand. If I don’t get all As, which I already know I’m not, you guys are going to have to help me make her understand. She didn’t go to college, so she doesn’t know what I’m going through,” Zakia said.
“No, she went to night school, worked, and raised twins, plus us most of the time, so you better not tell her nothing about what she doesn’t understand,” Micah warned.
“That’s right. Don’t get crazy, baby. I believe she’ll still jack you up. I can still feel her wrath from back in the day,” Eli said.
“Dag, you’re right. How the heck did she do all that?” Zakia wondered.
“Mamalexis is bad, so you have to be too. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” Eli said. “So has anybody been sniffing up on you?”
“Man, the men ain’t no joke. I can’t tell who’s serious or not. This basketball player named Malik stays up in my face. My roommate says it’s just because I’m a challenge. Like he can get anybody he wants, but because I could care less about him, he’s trying to act like he wants me.”
“Don’t get played again. Xavier messed around and got Dana pregnant, but I can’t blame the brother. That chick threw it on him. He couldn’t help it,” Micah reminded her.
Saved Folk in the House Page 2