Fast Life

by Cassandra Carter

  “As I’m sure both of you know, we don’t tolerate foolish quarrels here at Prince Paul Academy. Especially when they escalate to a physical confrontation. So, ladies, what prompted this confrontation in the first place?”

  “I’m not sayin’ nothing. Just know that she was askin’ for it, and as you can see, I gave it to her ass. Ever since I got here, she’s been givin’ me looks, sayin’ unnecessary shit, and then today she had the balls to put her fuckin’ hands on me. It was curtains from there.” Kyra’s explanation was given with folded arms, and adrenaline prevented her from cleaning up her speech.

  “But she pushed me on the ground first!” Veronica cried out.

  “It doesn’t give you the right to hit her, and now that I have you here, it is my responsibility to inform you that there have been many complaints made stating that you are being disrespectful to your peers.”

  “They’re lying!” she squealed.

  “Regardless, the situation that occurred today was completely out of hand on both accounts. You are both suspended for three days and are ordered to leave the school premises immediately. Your parents will be notified as soon as possible.”

  “Suspended? Do you know who my father is?”

  “I am quite aware of who your father is, Ms. Pierce, but that’s not going to get you out of trouble like it has so many times with your brother and the police.”

  “But she hit me first! It was pure reaction, Mr. McKnight!” she continued to whine while Kyra sat silently, still fuming but accepting her punishment. She almost cracked a smile when Veronica started to cry. Any sign of her suffering was a welcome sight.

  “That’s enough, Ms. Pierce! Now you are both dismissed!”

  “Are you okay?” Justin rushed to Kyra from his seat on a bench in the hallway. He had been waiting for her while she was in the principal’s office. He was at her side in seconds, examining her cut lip, his hand on her cheek.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothin’.” She waved her hand and moved her face away.

  “Kyra! Come here!” her mother said, her voice sounding shrill. Kyra sat up in bed and took off her headphones in anticipation of the lecture she was about to endure.

  “Why did your principal just call and tell me that you are suspended for the next three days? For fighting, no less?”

  “Because I did and I am?”

  “Who the hell were you fighting and why?”

  “Nobody, just this girl Veronica. She’s been disrespectin’ me ever since I got here, and I never did nothin’, but she went and put her hands on me today, so it was over.”

  “Did you win?”

  “Yeah, I won. Does it look like I lost?” She held her hands out to the side.

  “Okay, so now that that’s established, was it worth it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your ass is grounded for a week, so was your fighting her worth it?”

  “Yeah, actually, it was.” Her answer was smug.

  “Don’t sit over there all smug on me, girl. You were doing so well since you got here. You were bringing home good grades, you have good friends, you kept out of trouble, and now this. Shit, for this I should beat your ass. That’s what you need.”

  “Well what can I say? I’m not perfect.”

  “I know that, Kyra. I never said you were.”

  “So then we can save the lectures. What’s my punishment?”

  “No phone, no TV and you can’t leave the house for exactly seven days, one week. And don’t tell me what we can do. I run this household girl, something you seem to have forgotten,” her mother scolded as she pointed her finger in Kyra’s face.

  “Yeah…a’ight.” She moved her head to the side.

  “Now go on and get back to whatever you were doing.”

  Justin was at his desk doing his homework. The events of the day were replaying in his mind like a movie. After the fight, Kyra made an instant transformation. She wouldn’t even let him touch her. It was like one minute she was all right and the next she had changed.

  He was hard at work on his final math problem when a knock on his door disrupted his whole thought process.

  “Come in.” He kept his eyes on the paper as Harriet entered.

  “Mr. Hartwell, your parents have sent me here to summon you. Apparently they have a few words for you,” Harriet announced while adjusting her apron.

  “Do you know what this is concerning?” Justin’s eyebrows arched in wonder.

  “They didn’t tell me. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right. I’ll be down in five minutes.”

  “I was told to make it known that your father has requested your presence immediately. You have five minutes.”

  “Justin, have a seat,” his father’s voice boomed from where he stood in front of the their marble fireplace in the dome-ceilinged den. He was silent until his son did as he was told. “Did you know someone fought with Veronica today? She went home with bruises and such. Her father called me and told me that she is suspended for three days.”

  “So what does that have to do with me?”

  “Well, you are dating the other girl, aren’t you?”

  “She’s a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. What is this all about?” Justin asked again. He could sense the tension in the room.

  “Son, your father and I have decided that you shouldn’t see the girl who fought Veronica.” his mother chimed in. Her tone was soft as she sipped her tea. “It is bad for the image of the family. We literally cannot afford to mess things up. Besides, what ever happened to you and Veronica dating? Last I knew, she was your girlfriend, wasn’t she?”

  “Mother, we broke up a long time ago.”

  “If you dirty the name of this family I will make sure you never inherit a penny of the business! It will all go to your brother! I will not have this family be disgraced like the Pierces!

  Do you hear me? We all know what Richard has done to their name!” his father threatened.

  “Dad, don’t you think you’re taking this too far?” Quentin interjected.

  “Quentin Lamar, shut up. You speak when you are spoken to,” their father ordered firmly, silencing his oldest son.

  “Son, don’t be stubborn about this. Your father and I only have the best intentions,” his mother assured.

  “That’s bullshit!” Justin protested.

  His parents were taken aback by his tone and use of foul language. Quentin simply sank down in his chair. Things were heading downhill, and fast.

  “How dare you curse at me? I am your father! And don’t you forget it! You are not a man and you still live under this roof—my roof. Therefore, you will respect me and my wishes!”

  “What about me and my wishes? You two have never even met Kyra! Plus Veronica started the fight anyway!” Justin argued.

  “Quentin, is this true?” their mother asked.

  “Yes, as far as I know.”

  “I don’t care about any of it! It doesn’t matter! Just do as I say and leave the foreign girl be! Whether you resume dating Veronica or not is up to you, but I am serious about the American girl. You are dismissed.” His father concluded their heated dialogue with a wave of his hand.

  Justin stormed out of the room, and his older brother was on his heels until they reached the privacy of Justin’s bedroom.

  After Kyra’s three-day “vacation,” she returned to school to finish the remaining two weeks before summer. She spoke to Angel, but she didn’t pay Justin or his boys any mind, and

  Justin left her alone. They were growing apart, and while he had a powerful urge to tell her the reason behind his silent treatment, he knew he couldn’t. If he did, he would surely reveal his secret, his lie. Thus, they both remained silent and exchanged glances here and there. As much as Kyra tried to push him away, something drew her, and the longing remained in their eyes.

  It was Saturday and it was the first day of Kyra’s summer vacation. She lay asleep in her room even after the clock passed noon. She woke t
o a tickling sensation on her cheek. She fidgeted for a moment and grew frustrated. She brushed her cheek, but the feeling continued to hassle her. Her eyes popped open, and she couldn’t believe what she saw.

  “Tasha!”

  “Hey, girl!”

  “I thought you weren’t comin’!” Kyra shrieked in surprise as she hugged her friend to her.

  “Girl, now, you know my ass was coming to see you! How could I resist coming to the Bahamas? Your house is off the chain, girl!”

  “Oh my God. You had me all messed up when you told me you weren’t comin’! Oh my God…” She put her hands over her mouth to hide her wide smile.

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “And it worked!”

  “Okay, and just to let you know, I’m staying for about a week and half and while I’m here we’re gonna have fun! I wanna see some clubs, meet some niggas, go shopping and hit the beach….” Natasha listed her planned activities as she counted on her fingers.

  “Well, damn, didn’t you just come down with plans for the both of us?”

  “Hell yeah! You know how I do! You haven’t been gone from Chi-town that long!”

  “Dang, man, I can’t believe you’re here! This is crazy!”

  “Ain’t it, though? So how have things been lately? Fill me in,” Natasha demanded, flopping on the bed.

  “I don’t even know. I mean, you know my dad’s anniversary of when he died passed. That had me messed up for a while.”

  “Yeah, but it always does. Not that that’s not understandable. It would mess up anybody’s head who saw what we saw, especially you.” Natasha remembered the events that happened that tragic day.

  “And of course you know how stuff went with Kai. I called him and broke it off. Then he turned off my phone. I can’t believe him. I mean, he even tried to deny the shit with Cedes and sweet-talk me like wasn’t no shit goin’ down.” Kyra shook her head, making sure to leave out the full reason for the call.

  “Yeah, he’s definitely the definition of trifling. I swear, you look it up in the dictionary, his picture would be right there.”

  “Then I was just suspended earlier this month for fightin’ this bitch named Veronica. I can’t stand her or her crew.”

  “Aww, you got haters? ’Cause if they try to boss up while I’m here, it’ll definitely be on and poppin’!” She gave her best friend dap.

  “Don’t start no shit, won’t be no shit!” The girls laughed in unison.

  “Girl, yes, all ’cause of Justin.”

  “I heard you mention his name before. You had the li’l crush on him, but you were tryin’ to front because you were with Makai. You two together yet?” she half asked and half joked.

  “No, no. I am feelin’ him, though, but we haven’t talked in a few weeks. We haven’t ever since the fight, and we were close before that. I just never told him how I felt, you know? After that we would see each other in class and stuff, but we don’t talk. It’s all my fault, though. I was actin’ real stank. Yesterday we did talk, even though all we said was ‘Hope you have a good summer.’ So I would say that’s…not good, but it’s not exactly bad.”

  “Naw girl, that’s pretty bad.”

  “I mean, we haven’t talked in so long that I don’t even think I know what to say to him!”

  “Dang! I can tell you like him just by the way you talk about him. You get this look.”

  “What look?” Kyra asked defensively.

  “Man, your ‘I’m in love’ look. Shit is too obvious.”

  “Whateva!”

  “I saw it with Makai, so I know what I’m talking about.”

  “Yeah…yeah…”

  There was an awkward moment of silence after Kyra’s trailing off, and then the phone rang. It was Angel.

  “Hey!” Kyra answered the phone cheerfully.

  “Hey, Kyra. Wow, you sound pretty happy today,” Angel said. She was somewhat surprised at the change in her friend’s disposition.

  “Yeah, my friend from Chicago came down and surprised me!”

  “Oh, that’s great! Matter of fact, that’s perfect, because I was calling you because everybody’s going to meet up at Mama’s. You should bring her along so she can meet everyone.”

  “Okay, yeah, we’ll be there. What time?”

  “Probably like two or two-thirty.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “And hey!”

  “What?”

  “Justin’s been asking about you.”

  “Fa real?”

  “Yup. But got to go. See you when you get there. Bye.” Her smile could be heard through the phone.

  “Bye.” Kyra hung up and faintly smiled.

  “Who was that?”

  “That was Angel. She’s one of my friends. She invited us out to eat. I told her we would go. That way you can meet Justin and them, too.”

  “Oh, a’ight. Where should I put my stuff? You guys got a guest room or something up in here?”

  “Naw. Just set them over by those chairs, and we can share my bed. As you can see, it’s big enough for the both of us.”

  “You ain’t neva lie. You just moved and started big ballin’.”

  “So I see you girls are having fun already,” said Geneva Jones, who appeared in the doorway, smiling at the giggling girls.

  “Yeah,” Natasha answered.

  “Mom, you knew about this?” Kyra suspected that her mother had been a part of the scheme. She could tell by the look on her face.

  “Well…” Kyra’s mother made her smile wider, revealing that she had indeed played a role.

  “Aww, I see how you guys do me! Y’all are just keepin’ secrets!” Kyra said, laughing some more.

  “So, Tasha, are you settled? Need anything?” Mrs. Jones asked her guest in a welcoming tone.

  “No. I’m fine, Geneva.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll leave you two alone, then. Nice having you down, Tasha,” she finished as she began to turn away from the room.

  “Well, girl, what are you waiting for? You need to get your ass up and get dressed because, uh…all of that…ain’t gonna work,” Natasha said, jokingly referring to Kyra’s tangled mane of hair.

  Kyra dressed herself in a matter of minutes, while Natasha opted to freshen up. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the café. Kyra’s long legs were shown off by her denim shorts, and she immediately caught Justin’s attention. Michael had his gaze fixed on Natasha, who was in a strapless red and orange sundress that she felt embodied a tropical style.

  “Hey, everybody! This is my friend Natasha from Chicago,” Kyra said, happily introducing her to the group. “And Natasha, this is Quentin, Angel, Justin and Michael,” she said, making sure to point out each person.

  “Damn, he’s fine as hell!” Natasha whispered to her friend through clenched teeth.

  “I told you he looked good,” Kyra whispered back through a smile.

  “Not him, girl! His friend…but yeah, he’s cute.” She had her eyes fixed directly on Michael.

  “He is scandalous!”

  “He don’t look it to me.”

  “Don’t fuck with him, Tash,” Kyra warned.

  “Why don’t you two stop gossiping and sit down,” Justin said, calling the two out on their activities.

  “For real, girl, come have a seat.” Michael patted an open spot in the booth for Natasha. She quickly accepted his offer.

  “Hey, stranger,” Kyra said as she took a seat right next to Justin.

  “Whaddup?” Justin answered, sipping his lemonade.

  “So you’re from Chicago, huh?” Michael asked as he moved a little closer to Natasha.

  “Born and raised, baby,” she bragged.

  “How long are you staying down here?” Angel asked.

  “About a week and a half.”

  “You got a man?” Michael asked in a sly tone. He was warming up his game.

  “Nope.”

  “Uh-uh, Mike. Leave her alone. You aren’t about to play my sista like that,
” Kyra cut in as she caught Natasha eating up every word out of his mouth.

  “Why you always hatin,’ Kyra?”

  She sucked her teeth at him in response.

  “Well, before y’all got here we were talking about hitting up Kingston for a few days. What do you guys think?” Quentin announced.

  “Uh-oh!” Natasha was quick to voice her approval of the idea. Everyone chuckled a little at her eagerness.

  “Yeah, Kyra, you guys should come. We’re gonna get some hotel rooms, hit the beach, go clubbin’, you know, all that good shit,” Justin said with a lick of his lips. His stare was intense and the table grew quiet. The thick cloud of pressure was broken only when the waitress requested orders.

  “May I have your orders, please?” the waitress asked, starting with Quentin. It didn’t take Kyra long to realize that she was the very same waitress Michael had picked up the last time they had come to grab a bite to eat, but she didn’t offer a warning of any sort. This is gonna be good, she thought.

  As the waitress went around the table getting everyone’s orders, she stopped at Michael, rolled her eyes and skipped him to move on to Natasha. After she jotted down the selected entrées in between glares at him, she started for the kitchen.

  “Umm, excuse me. You forgot my order,” Michael called out with his arm in the air, waving it from side to side for attention.

  “Oh no. I didn’t forget anything, but you, see, you forgot to call me. Thought I wasn’t just some hit it and quit it like all these other girls, huh? Whatever happened to that? And I see you up in here with another one already. We don’t serve kibbles and bits here for dogs like you, so go fetch ya own food. And girl, if I were you I’d run for the hills. The dick ain’t even that good anyways!” Wendy snapped, only for Michael and the rest of his company to hear. She single-handedly managed to cripple a man’s ego without breaking her code of professionalism in the workplace.

  “Oh, damn….” Quentin was fighting the impulse to laugh at the waitress’s comment.

  “Hmm, looks like someone’s caught up in his own game.” Kyra’s sarcastic remark came as Natasha scooted a few inches away from him.

  “Shut the hell up,” Michael shot back. “Damn.”