Back to Me

by Earl Sewell

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Maya warned me.

  “Why are you up here bothering me?” I threaded my eyebrows together. “Don’t you have better things to do than spy on me?”

  “Someone has to keep an eye on you,” Maya said with attitude.

  “Whatever, trick!” I said, turning my focus back to my reflection in the mirror.

  “You’d better watch who you’re calling a trick, slut,” Maya answered back, wanting to have a battle of wits with me.

  I turned, faced her and pointed my finger at her. “Word on the street is that you’ve taken top slut honors for the year with those photos you took,” I said, wanting to make sure my words bit her. The expression that formed on Maya’s face was priceless. “Yeah, I saw them, too.” I mimicked the way she’d posed in one of her photos, and then laughed. I could see tears forming in her eyes.

  “I came up here to tell you that dinner is ready,” she informed me before rushing away.

  “Whatever,” I muttered as I headed to the bathroom to wash my hands for dinner.

  * * *

  I called Misalo as soon as I got up the next morning, but he didn’t answer his phone. I called him again an hour later and once again got no answer. I called him a third and fourth time, and still my calls went unanswered. At that point, I sent him a text message and asked him why he was ignoring me. It took fifteen minutes for him to respond with a text message.

  Misalo: Huh?

  Viviana: Y r u not answering my calls?

  Misalo: R u trying to stalk me now?

  Viviana: Do u think I am?

  Misalo: A little.

  Viviana: Fine. I will never call again.

  Misalo: No need 2 get mad.

  Viviana: I don’t like to be blown off.

  Misalo: Who said I was blowing u off?

  Viviana: Feels like u r.

  Misalo: I’ve been with my dad all morning and still with him. We r driving.

  Viviana: O. Sorry.

  Misalo: U just assume things.

  Viviana: I know. My bad.

  Misalo: So u were thinking about me?

  Viviana: Duh, of course I was.

  Misalo: What were u thinking?

  Viviana: Do u really want to know?

  Misalo: Yes.

  Viviana: I’m hot and need u to cool me off.

  Misalo: O snap. LOL.

  Viviana: What does that mean?

  Misalo: Means that I want more details.

  Viviana: Do I have to spell it out 4 u?

  Misalo: Yup.

  Viviana: When is ur birthday?

  Misalo: It has already passed. It was June 3.

  Viviana: Well. Mine is coming up and I want birthday sex.

  Misalo: 4 real?

  Viviana: U got a problem with that?

  Misalo: No. When and where?

  Viviana: LOL. Now u want to see me real bad don’t u?

  Misalo: Yes.

  Viviana: How bad?

  Misalo: Real bad. So when do u wanna hook up?

  Viviana: Did u ever have sex with Maya?

  Misalo: Y u asking that?

  Viviana: Because I want to know.

  Misalo: We’ve done some things.

  Viviana: That wasn’t a real answer.

  Misalo: Yes it was.

  Viviana: Did u go all the way with her?

  Misalo: Does it matter?

  Viviana: R u still a virgin?

  Misalo: R u?

  Viviana: What do u think?

  Misalo: I think ur just teasing me.

  Viviana: So now u think I’m just being a tease?

  Misalo: Yes.

  Viviana: Well I guess I’ll just have to prove u wrong.

  Misalo: Please do. U know how much I like a girl who can prove herself. R u that girl?

  Viviana: I am trying to be.

  Misalo: Good. U think u can get free tonight?

  Viviana: Y? U trying to make me prove it tonight?

  Misalo: Thought u would like to go roller-skating but if u want me to cool u off then I’m game.

  Viviana: I would love to go roller-skating.

  Misalo: What about hooking up for other stuff?

  Viviana: I’ll plan it and let u know. What time u wanna pick me up?

  Misalo: U know I can’t come to the house right?

  Viviana: Oh yeah. I forgot. U can pick me up at the corner.

  Misalo: Cool. I’ll see u around 6:00.

  Viviana: Okay. I plan on looking extra sexy 4 u.

  Misalo: I would like that.

  Viviana: TTYL.

  Once I was done making plans with Misalo, an awesome idea came to mind. I thought I would be able to prove my loyalty to him even more if I started buying him clothes. That way, whenever he wore an item, he’d think about me all day. He’d be wearing fashions by Viviana. The silly thought caused me to laugh aloud, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I quickly checked the clock to see if I had enough time to rush to the mall and find him something. I had just enough time to rush out, buy something and get back before 6:00 p.m. Without giving the idea any more thought, I got myself together, took Barbara Kendall’s credit card and headed out the door.

  When I arrived at the mall, I went into Sears and located a nice blue-and-white-striped polo shirt for Misalo. I went to the counter, crossed my fingers and prayed the credit card would go through.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Kendall, but this card has been declined,” said the male sales rep. “Do you have another form of payment?”

  In order to avoid total embarrassment, I paid with the remainder of the fifty bucks Uncle Herman had given to me the day before.

  * * *

  Like clockwork, Misalo was at the corner to pick me up at exactly the time he said he would. I got in the car, got situated and removed the purchase from the bag.

  “Look at what I brought you today, boo,” I said, holding up the polo shirt.

  Misalo glanced over at it and smiled. “That’s nice. Thank you. You didn’t have to get me anything,” he said as he flicked the turn signal before making a right turn.

  “Consider it a belated birthday gift. I’m so glad you like it,” I said as I stuffed it back inside the bag. I knew he’d try it on for me later.

  We arrived at the Lynwood roller-staking rink about ten minutes later. When we went inside, loud music was playing and there were plenty of people there having fun. Misalo and I walked over to the shoe counter, where he paid for our roller skates. We found a place to sit and change our shoes.

  “So, when are you going to find more time to show me how to throw those combination punches?” Misalo asked.

  “Whenever you want me to, baby,” I said, willing to do whatever he commanded me to.

  “How about tomorrow? We could meet at my friend Matt’s house. He has a punching bag set up in his basement.”

  “Okay. What time do you want me to be there?” I asked.

  “Well, his parents leave for work around eight in the morning, so to be on the safe side, let’s say at nine-thirty. I’ll give you a call and tell you where he lives.”

  “Is it really far?” I asked.

  “No. You can walk to his house from where you live, or I could come pick you up,” Misalo assured me.

  “Whatever. We’ll work it out,” I said as I slipped my foot into a roller skate. Once I had both feet in, I carefully stood up but immediately lost my balance and fell back down onto the seat. “Oh, this is not going to be as easy as I thought,” I said as I attempted to stand once again.

  “When was the last time you went roller-skating?” Misalo asked.

  “Honestly?” I asked, looking at him.


  “Yes,” he said as he tied up the laces on his roller skates and then stood up.

  “When I was a little girl, I had pink roller skates that I used to roll down the sidewalk on near my grandmother’s house.”

  “Oh, so it has been a very long time.” Misalo chuckled.

  “I’m just a little rusty, that’s all. I promise not to embarrass you,” I said, rising to my feet once again.

  “Come on.” Misalo reached for my hand and guided me toward the rink. I wobbled a lot as we moved closer to an area where we could join in on the fun.

  “You go ahead,” I insisted, fearing that I’d only make us both look like fools if I fell flat on my behind.

  “Come on. I’ll make sure you don’t fall,” Misalo said, trying to make me feel comfortable.

  “No, seriously. You go on. When I’m ready, I’ll come on out there.” I tried to wave him on, but he wouldn’t go.

  “Tell you what. Why don’t we go over there to the small practice rink? There are hardly any people over there. You could roll around until you get the swing of it.” Misalo pointed to the rink he was suggesting we head to.

  “Okay. That sounds like a good plan,” I said as I clumsily wheeled myself in the direction of the smaller rink.

  Misalo was very patient with me, even though I fell on my behind so many times I lost count. He never once complained, and I adored him for it.

  Sixteen

  MAYA

  I was sitting in my room, at my computer, surfing the internet for articles that even remotely talked about the drama I was going through. I had visited several sites that had blog posts about relationship dilemmas, such as what to do if your boyfriend was cheating on you or how to help him with personal grooming. I was hopelessly searching when I stumbled across an article that asked the question, “Is it bad to flirt with other guys if you have a boyfriend?” I read the answer, which said it was okay as long as no lines were crossed. The article went on to say that it was natural for a girl to want the attention of other guys. I thought about that statement for a moment. I wondered if I was subconsciously seeking out the attention of other guys out of some hidden insecurity. Maybe when I met Carlo, I sort of just wanted to see if I could get his attention. The more questions I asked myself, the more confused I became. I was about to continue surfing when I received a notification of an incoming video call on my computer. I read the notification and saw that it was Keysha, finally getting back to me. I clicked the button to accept the call and waited for her image to appear.

  “Well, it’s about time you got back to me,” I said, noticing Keysha adjusting her webcam.

  “I’m sorry. It has been sort of crazy around here,” Keysha said, focusing her attention on me. “What are you wearing?” she asked.

  “A T-shirt and sweatpants. Why? Do I look bad or something?” I asked, tugging at my pink T-shirt.

  “No, you look fine. I was just being nosy,” Keysha said as she leaned back in her seat. She had a funny look on her face. Judging by her look, I knew something was off.

  “Keysha, are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m also trying to listen to Barbara yell at my brother, Mike. She’s been in a really crabby mood ever since her credit card was stolen,” Keysha said.

  “Her credit card was stolen?” I wasn’t sure if I’d heard her right.

  “Yeah, and the person who stole it went on a one-thousand-dollar shopping spree,” Keysha said, then enlightened me on the seriousness of the situation.

  “Really. Does your stepmom know what they bought?” I asked, wanting to get more details from her.

  “The credit card company told her the stores where the card had been used. Whoever stole it shopped at stores Barbara doesn’t go to, like Wet Seal. Barbara has her suspicions that some teenager took her credit card,” Keysha said as she rested her elbows on the desktop and threaded her fingers together before resting her chin on top of her knuckles.

  “I could see that happening,” I said, thinking about the amount of traffic that was at River Oaks Center at any given time.

  “Barbara canceled the credit card and even called the credit bureaus and told them what happened. She’s afraid that whoever did this may try to steal her identity.” Keysha rubbed the tip of her nose before she sneezed.

  “Bless you,” I said.

  “Thanks.”

  “Why would someone want to steal her identity?” I asked.

  “To buy stuff they couldn’t otherwise afford. My grandmother Rubylee is like that. I’m not sure if I ever told you, but when I first moved in with my dad, I wrote her a letter to see how she was doing. When she wrote me back, she asked me to snoop around the house and send her all of his personal information, like bank records.”

  “Dang! Your grandmother Rubylee is rough,” I said and then paused. “Speaking of snooping around, do you know that I caught Viviana snooping around in my parents’ bedroom?”

  “Really? Why would she be in there?” Keysha asked.

  “She claimed that she thought Anna was in there, but I knew she was lying. She’s so sneaky,” I said.

  “About your cousin, there is something I need to tell you, but I’m not sure if I should.” Keysha rubbed the tip of her nose again and sneezed twice.

  “Jeez. Do you have allergies or something?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I do. Sometimes I sneeze, like, five or six times in a row,” she explained as she reached for a tissue. “Hang on a second,” she said, moving out of camera range. I listened to her as she blew her nose.

  When she reappeared, I asked, “So, what is it that you’re afraid to tell me?”

  “No, you should go first. I know that you wanted to talk to me about Carlo,” Keysha said.

  I sighed before I began explaining my dilemma. “Carlo plans on beating up Misalo.”

  “What? Are you serious?” Keysha adjusted her webcam.

  “Carlo said that he couldn’t let Misalo disrespect him and get away with it. He’s also ticked off at Misalo because he caused him to lose his job when they got into a fight at the mall. Plus, he wants to teach him a lesson for forwarding the private photos.”

  “Wow.” Keysha leaned back in her seat and bit down on the tip of her index finger.

  “What should I do? I tried to get Carlo to just forget about it, but he will not. I don’t want to see Misalo hurt,” I explained.

  “Well, you may change your mind after I tell you this,” Keysha said.

  “It can’t be any worse than what I’m already going through,” I assured her.

  “Do you know where Viviana was yesterday?” Keysha asked. I could tell she was stalling.

  “I don’t keep up with her. She could drop off the face of this earth, for all I care,” I said unapologetically.

  “When I tell you this, promise you will not get mad at me, okay?” Keysha waited for me to give my word.

  “Okay, I promise not to get angry. Now, just tell me what your big secret is.” I exhaled, then waited for Keysha to spill the beans.

  “Last night Mike and Sabrina went out roller-skating. They saw Misalo and Viviana together.”

  “What!” I shouted. “What were they doing?”

  “According to Mike, they were all booed up,” Keysha explained.

  “Booed up how?” I asked, wanting to hear every detail. I had had my suspicions about Viviana going for Misalo, but I never thought she’d stoop low enough to date my ex-boyfriend.

  Keysha hesitated one last time before saying, “He saw them making out.”

  “What a sleazy, low-down, backstabbing slut!” I blurted out with utter disgust.

  “Viviana is truly a piece of work,” Keysha said, agreeing with my opinion of my cousin.

  “I feel like a fool,” I admitted.

 
“Why? None of this is your fault,” Keysha reminded me.

  “I feel like a fool because I tried to talk Carlo out of beating Misalo up,” I said.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but if Misalo did to me what he did to you, I’d pay someone to kick his butt. Has he come clean as to why he sent the photos to everyone?”

  I felt my emotions stirring deep inside me. I tried to control them and force myself not to cry. My bottom lip quivered and my voice trembled when I said, “No. He acts as if he has no clue as to what I’m talking about. He was more interested in proving that I was sneaking around with Carlo.”

  “Don’t cry, Maya,” Keysha said, truly concerned about my feelings.

  “I can’t help it. I’m so heartbroken. Hang on. I’ll be right back,” I said, stepping away from my webcam. I walked down the hallway to the bathroom, where I dried my tears and blew my nose. When I returned, Keysha was waiting patiently for me.

  “Do you want me to come over?” Keysha asked.

  “No, you don’t have to. I’m hurt and I’m mad,” I said, biting my bottom lip.

  “So, what are you going to do?” Keysha asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think there is anything I can do,” I said.

  “Once people learn of the fight between Misalo and Carlo, I have a feeling that a ton of people are going to show up to see how it all goes down,” Keysha said.

  “Carlo hasn’t said anything else to me about it. Maybe he has given it some thought and will not go through with it,” I said.

  “Do you honestly believe that?” Keysha asked.

  “No.”

  “Are you going to go and watch what happens?” Keysha asked.

  “I don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

  “Well, if I hear anything else, I’ll let you know,” Keysha said.

  “Thanks. You’re such a good BFF,” I said.

  “The best in the world,” Keysha answered back.

  “Maya!”

  I heard my mother call my name from the bottom of the staircase. “Yeah?” I answered.

  “I made lunch. Come on down and eat with everyone,” my mom said.

  “Okay. I’ll be there in a minute,” I yelled and then focused my attention back on Keysha.