by Silhouettes
Ms. Macklin took my hand and held it with hers. Just the tiny touch of her hand calmed me. “I don’t know what it is that you’re going through, but I’m here to help you. I’m not sure how I’m going to handle this, but whatever I decide to do, just know that it will be in your best interest. I know you’re a good guy, Jamal, but sometimes good people make bad decisions. You’re seventeen, almost eighteen years old, and you’re just a junior in high school. You still have one more year to go, but the reckless path you’re on may prohibit you from graduating. Don’t do this to yourself, okay?”
I was choked up inside, but would never let anyone see me cry. The truth of the matter was that I had cried, many times, because of the messed-up situation I was in. I felt sad about it, but didn’t know how to find a way out. It was so damn easy for people on the outside to judge me, but nobody knew how hard it was for me to change course. Either way, I told Ms. Macklin that I would do better, and I guessed that doing better was worth a try.
My thoughts were short-lived, because as soon as I got home I found Raylo sitting his gangsta ass in the recliner, watching TV. He was chomping down on the chips, cookies, and soda I had gotten the other day from the grocery store, and to me that was a bold move. He rarely brought food into the house, and just because he bought me clothes from time to time that gave him no right to eat my food.
“Nigga, what you doin’?” I asked, snatching my bag of chips from his hand.
He jumped up from the chair, shoving me backward. His face scrunched up, and he spoke like gunpowder was trapped in his throat. “Boy, are you outta yo’ rabbit-ass mind? Don’t you ever take shit from me, especially after how much I contribute to this shack-ass crib.”
Mama rushed into the room, closing her silky flowered nightgown to cover her naked body.
“What’s goin’ on in here?” she asked.
“That punk-ass son of yours snatched those chips out of my hand. You’d better get that nigga before I kill him.”
Mama had the audacity to look at me and demand that I give Raylo my chips back. My face crumbled and steam was shooting from my ears. “Are you out of your goddamn mind? I ain’t givin’ him shit! What in the fuck has he ever givin’ me, huh? Tell me that.”
Mama placed her hand on my heaving chest, and Raylo stood with a smirk on his face. “Just give him the chips, Prince. I don’t want any trouble, and I will go to the store right now to buy you some more.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. You ain’t never gotta do nothin’ for me.” To prevent her from catching a beat down tonight, I threw the bag of chips at Raylo. They flew out in his face, and many of them fell to the floor. He bent down and picked up one chip. He then put it in his mouth and smacked.
“Damn, these muthafuckas good. Being on the floor makes them taste even better. Now, I’ve played around with yo’ ass long enough. Get the fuck out of my face befo’ I crack it.”
I swore I wanted to kill this dude, but I knew it would mean trouble for my mama. She pleaded for me to go to my room, but before I did, I turned to Raylo. “Don’t touch nothin’ else in this house that belongs to me. And if you touch my mother again, I swear to God, man, it’s gon’ be you and me.”
Raylo sarcastically shook his whole body and chuckled. “I’m tremblin’ all over, young blood. Scared as shit about what you gon’ do to me. In my day, I could snap my finger and niggas like you would disappear. You’d better be thankful that I got loves for your mama, and I ain’t tryin’ to brang no hurt to her. You lucky, bro. All I can say is your black, stankin’ ass is l-u-c-k-y.”
I went to my room, slamming the door behind me. Again I wanted to cry, but instead I screamed. I picked up my football and threw it into the wall. It put a slight hole in it, then bounced back and broke my lamp. The light went out, and I sat on my bed in the darkness. Beads of sweat dripped from my forehead, and to cool myself down, I got up to turn on my fan. I sat up on the bed, and minutes later a light knock was at my door. Mama opened it, then closed the door behind her.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Fine,” I snapped, then fell back on the bed.
“I’m sorry about what happened, and when I go out tonight I’ll bring back your chips. Raylo don’t mean no harm, Prince, and the two of you need to learn how to get along. He gon’ be here for a while, you know what I’m sayin’? I need him to help me, and I ain’t never had a man who helped me like he does. I’ma talk to him too, but in the meantime, chill out and let your mama handle this.”
“You always do, Mama. No doubt, you always do.”
Homecoming was just around the corner, and I hadn’t decided yet who I would take, if anyone. Romeo and Sabrina had broken up, and not because he had hit it and moved on. He realized that she wasn’t upping nothing, and it wasn’t long after that he started singing bye-bye. Many of the girls at our school pretty much knew how it went down. There wasn’t no need to be playing that “I’m saving myself” bullshit, especially when 80 to 90 percent of the students were already having sex. It was easy to get, and for those who weren’t upping it, there were far more who would. I took those kinds of things into consideration as I tried to make a decision about who to take to homecoming. Then, it hit me: I hadn’t spoken to Monesha since our encounter in Romeo’s car, but all I had to do was make a few phone calls to reach her. She would be perfect. I knew the girls from our school wouldn’t like it, but I needed some action as well as some fun. I made some calls that night, hooked up some shit on Facebook, and minutes later I was talking on the phone to the girl of my choice.
“Why you ain’t been tryin’ to get at me, ma?” I asked while sitting on the floor next to my bed.
“I have been. I told my friend, Chloe, who goes to your school, to give you my number. She said she did, but since you hadn’t called, I figured you were reluctant to hook up again.”
“Nah, she ain’t give me nothin’. You should have known better than to do somethin’ like that, especially if she got friends at my school.”
“Yeah, she does. Friends who”—Monesha cleared her throat—“I heard you know very well.”
I knew exactly who Monesha was talking about, but I changed the subject. “So, uh, when I’m gon’ get a chance to see yo’ fine self again? Girl, you got me over here thinkin’ about what happened between us that night, and I’m ready for some more.”
“Me too, but I thought you had made up with that girl you had a fight with that night. Chloe told me her name was Nadine and said that she was pregnant by you.”
“If she pregnant, it ain’t by me. Them bitch . . . girls at my school play too much. They be all up in my business, that’s why I don’t want to take any of them to our homecoming dance. You wanna go with me?”
Monesha didn’t hesitate. “Hell yeah. I’ll go, but I wish you would have told me sooner. Now, I gotta rush out to the mall to find something to wear. What colors do you want to go with?”
“Blue and black. Those are my favorite colors. I’ll pick you up next weekend, and if you get a chance, why don’t you come to the game?”
“Y’all gon’ win this time, right?” She laughed.
“Let’s just say that if we don’t win, you don’t have to give me none of that sweet snatch.”
She laughed. “Oh, I’m gon’ give you some of that. Win or lose.”
I touched myself, feeling horny as ever. I couldn’t wait for next weekend to come, and had already started to count down the days.
The game was a complete shutout, thirty-two to zero, and I was proud as ever. Coach Johnson was riding my nuts, and so was everyone else on the team. This time, I’d made three touchdowns, and had rushed for over one hundred yards. The scouts had already been checking me out, and Coach Johnson told me that things were starting to fall in place. I was starting to get hyped about football; after all, I had no idea where it would take me. With that being said, I hurried home to change clothes, but couldn’t get dressed fast enough because the phone kept ringing.
“Wha
t is it?” I said, yelling at Romeo.
“What kind of car are you drivin’?”
“I was gon’ drive my mama’s Cavalier, but I’m feelin’ fly tonight. Kinda thinkin’ about jackin’ somebody for a Chrysler 300 or somethin’.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’m gon’ cruise in the Impala, and called to see if you wanted me to pick you up, but if you gon’ do it like that, go ahead and do you.”
“I’m runnin’ a li’l late, so I’ll see you at the school.”
Romeo called me a lucky dog for bringing Monesha to the dance, but his date wasn’t bad either. She was a black basketball player from another school and had a pretty decent reputation. How Romeo pulled that off, I wasn’t sure.
Dressed to impress in my black pants and blue silk shirt, I left the house in Mama’s Cavalier. I drove around for a while, scoping cars to see who would become my next victim. This shit wasn’t personal, I just needed a fucking car. I couldn’t go pick up a fine-ass bitch like Monesha, who lived in the suburbs, in no jacked-up Cavalier with dents in it. As planned, I spotted a white woman parked at a stoplight, gazing into her rearview mirror. She was sliding on some lipstick, while teasing her hair at the same time. She drove a pearly white Chrysler 300 with a cream leather interior. That sucker was bad, and I had to have it. The Cavalier was already parked at McDonald’s on Natural Bridge, so I rushed up to the woman’s car and stuck my Glock into the lowered window.
“Get yo’ ass out of the car! Now, bitch, and hurry up!”
The woman hands trembled, and she had already started busting out with tears. “Please don’t hurt me,” she cried.
I quickly shoved her away from the door, and got into her car. I sped off, swerving in and out of traffic until I felt the coast was clear. Getting comfortable, I kept my gloves on and adjusted the rearview mirror. I switched the radio station and cranked up some noise by T-Pain. In peace, I drove to Monesha’s house to pick her up.
Monesha’s house was made like a castle. From the outside, I couldn’t even tell how many stories it was, but the whole damn neighborhood displayed lifestyles of the rich and/or famous. Now, more than ever, I was glad that I’d switched cars. I rang the doorbell, and Monesha’s mother opened the door. She looked me over, and I could tell she wasn’t happy about my neatly parted braids. Her eyes stayed glued to them, and she called for Monesha’s father to come downstairs to meet me. I stood in the foyer, holding a white carnation corsage in my hand.
“Hello, young man,” her father said, shaking my hand. “Why don’t you come into the great room and have a seat. Monesha will be down in a minute.”
I looked at my watch. “Nah, I’m good, sir. We already runnin’ a li’l late, and time doesn’t seem to be on our side.”
Her uppity parents looked at each other, and her dad cleared his throat. “So, uh, what do you all have planned for after the dance? Monesha’s curfew is one o’clock, and I expect her to be back here by then.”
Just then, Monesha appeared at the top of the stairs. By the look of her, I surely wanted to tell her father about our plans. But, implying that I was going to fuck his daughter well, and she was going to suck my dick, that wasn’t something I was willing to say. They had no idea how raunchy we were about to get, and Monesha’s innocent smile had warmed their hearts over. We all watched as she came down the steps in an aqua-blue satin strapless dress. It fit her tiny waistline to a tee and showed off the curves in her hips and backside. Her long hair was parted down the middle, and lay against the sides of her face. She looked like a model in tall heels, and her dark skin was shiny, flawless, and smooth as ever. I rubbed the minimal hair on my mustache and straightened my tie. I felt as if I looked good, but there was no doubt that Monesha looked better.
“You look amazing,” her mother said. She kissed Monesha on the cheek, and so did her dad. Her parents’ politeness to each other and the family respect messed me up. I hadn’t ever witnessed anything like it.
“Honey, I can’t stress enough how beautiful you look. You and your mother did a spectacular job finding that dress.”
Monesha smiled and awaited a compliment from me. I followed suit, telling her how magnificent she looked, and attached the carnation to her dress. Her parents took plenty of pictures, and, before we left, they rushed outside to take more pictures of us by the car. If only they knew, I thought, smiling my ass off with every single flash, while posing in front of the Chrysler. Monesha’s dad reminded her about her curfew, and we got on our way to the dance.
No sooner had we gotten a mile away than Monesha cranked up the music and lifted her arms in the air.
“We’re going to have ourselves some fun tonight,” she said, snapping her fingers.
“I agree. I appreciate you comin’ to my game today, ma, but I’m sorry that I didn’t have much time to talk to you.”
“That’s okay. I let you handle your business, and you damn sure did that. I was like, ‘That’s my man right there.’ Some of those chicks from your school started trippin’, and when I turned to confront them, this teacher got all snippy with me. At first, I didn’t know who she was, ’cause she looked pretty young to me. Then Chloe told me she was a teacher. She gon’ tell me to sit down and be quiet so she could watch the game. I rolled my eyes at her, but she laughed it off. Then some other girls . . .”
Monesha kept on yakking, and for a minute there I tuned her out. I knew the teacher she was talking about was Ms. Macklin. And the only reason she’d said anything to Monesha was because Ms. Macklin liked me. I could feel it. Deep in my heart, I knew she did. Nah, she wouldn’t admit it, but sooner or later, time would tell. Monesha kept going on and on, and, boy, was she driving me crazy. I couldn’t believe I’d hooked up with such a chatterbox; for me, silence was golden. I couldn’t wait to stick something in her mouth to shut her up.
What fools her parents had been. It was a pleasure to see how much love they had for their daughter, but she was putting on a big-ass front. After all, when I’d left the house, Mama had sat on the couch and ain’t say shit to me. She didn’t tell me how great I looked, nor did she encourage me to have a good time. A curfew definitely wasn’t set. I had never, ever had one. I guessed that Mama felt that letting me use her car was enough, but that’s where she was sadly mistaken. It wasn’t enough, and that was why her car would be parked at the McDonald’s parking lot until later.
If you asked me, homecoming was pretty boring. It was in our high school’s gymnasium, which was crappy as hell. Burgundy and gold streamers drooped all over, and many helium balloons were tied on strings. Posters that some of the students had made were on the walls, and confetti was all over the floors. The hip-hop music was live, though, so I guess I couldn’t complain.
Most of the night, I hung with Romeo and some of the other players on our football team. The girls, though, seemed to be having a good time. It was a competition thing for them, and, to me, the winner of the night was Ms. Macklin. She looked dynamite. Her hair was pinned up, and the black bell-sleeved dress she wore guaranteed her a spot on the cover of Glamour magazine. All the fellas were checking her out, and Monesha had the nerve to get mad at me when she caught me looking Ms. Macklin over. That was why I started hanging with Romeo. This time around, I wasn’t up for a bunch of arguing at no party. Besides, Nadine was there with her friends, so I kept my distance.
Drake’s new hit was sounding off through the speakers in the gym, and many of the students started to dance. I looked for Monesha so we could. For a while I didn’t see her, but I saw Coach Johnson and Ms. Macklin standing outside the double doors, looking to be in a heated conversation. She looked upset about something, and when he put his arms around her, I took a few steps back. If that weren’t enough, he pecked her forehead and continued to look into her eyes as he spoke. As I continued to see what was up, I felt someone tap my shoulder.
“Are we going to dance, or are you going to keep chasing after her?” Monesha said.
I took Monesha’s hand and we walked aw
ay from the door. We started to dance, but I couldn’t help but think about what I’d just seen. Were Coach Johnson and Ms. Macklin fuckin’? It looked like it to me, and that explained why she was always at each and every game. Damn, I thought. Coach Johnson had my woman and there wasn’t shit I could do about it.
My whole night was ruined, but I did my best to make the best of it. Monesha was doing her best to make me laugh, and when we sat down on the bleachers, she questioned me.
“Are you okay tonight? I mean, I thought you’d be happy that I was here with you, but you don’t seem to be having a good time. Is there anything I can do to help lift your spirits?”
What the hell? I thought. At least I had something to look forward to for the night. I took Monesha’s hand, and we snuck off to a nearby weight room. I checked to see if the door was open, but it was locked. I checked the doors to the small gym room and auditorium; those were locked as well. All I wanted was a quick blowjob, and when Monesha checked the janitor’s closet, the door came open. We rushed inside, closing the door behind us. Monesha quickly unbuckled my pants, and they fell to my ankles. She stooped down low, easing some of the aching pain from my heart by giving pleasure to my manhood. My legs trembled from her touch. Since I didn’t have any money for a motel, for now the damp-smelling closet had to do. I lifted Monesha’s dress on the sides, exposing her mouthwatering pussy. She turned around, displaying the plumpness of her ass that I’d dreamed about for several nights. I moved her panties to the side, and started hitting it from behind. But just as I was getting my rhythm, somebody opened the door. My body froze, and my dick got limp. I pulled out of Monesha, wet dick and all. Monesha quickly stood up straight and we both stared eye to eye with Ms. Macklin.
“Both of you,” she said, “get your clothes together, and meet me by the front doors.” Avoiding my partially naked body, she turned her head. “Please pass me that mop so I can give it to Coach Johnson. He has a mess to clean up in the gym and I have a mess I need to clear up out here.”