by Janay Harden
I hoped they weren’t right.
“Then why are you majoring in Political Science?”
Now it was Naomi’s turn to shrug. “Parents just don’t understand, right?”
“If that ain’t the truth. Where are you from?”
“New Jersey. Where are you from?”
“Right here in Louisiana. About three hours away in Tunica Rivers, even thought this place seems like an entire world away.”
“Yea, it’s pretty different from Jersey too,” Naomi’s face softened as she looked around and watched the other students.
The presenter was still upfront, teaching us girls how not to get assaulted and handing out condoms to the boys. Naomi and I carried our food to our seats. We found a small corner in the back of the room that wasn’t taken and we spread our food across the table. We each had two plates topped with all kinds of sweets and sandwiches. I looked at Noami and she was already grinning at me and my plate — then her and hers.
I had a forkful of salad ready to devour and my mouth was watering when my cell phone rang.
Crap! I thought I put it on vibrate. A boy at a different table eyed me when my phone rang, interrupting the woman’s shrill voice up front. “I’ll be right back, can you watch my food?” I mouthed to Naomi. She nodded, her mouth full of chicken tenders.
“Hey Dad!” I breathed into the phone rushing into the hallway.
“Indy Lindy!” I heard different voices scream in the background at the same time.
I smiled. Dad, Ms. Arletha, Grandpa Ez, and Sidney were on the phone.
“What are you doing, Indy?” Sidney always wanted to know my whereabouts.
“I’m in orientation. They’re teaching us how not to get assaulted.”
“What now?” Dad blurted. I could hear him frowning through the phone.
“Who assaulted my Indy?” Grandpa Ez’s voice boomed through the phone and I winced as my eardrum buzzed.
“Hush Grandpa Ez, I’m fine!”
“And what’s this Grandpa Ez business girl? Don’t go to that crackerjack school and start acting funny now.”
Grandpa Ez insisted that Sidney and I call him Ez. Now and then, I would slip in a Grandpa on him but he quickly shut it down. “I ain’t no old man girl,” he would shake his head. He was tall, wide, and surly. Ez was muscular and his arms bulged from paddling his canoe up and down Tunica River where we lived. He still walked the woods and tended to the land every day. Ez resembled a retired offensive lineman, and if it wasn’t for his salt and pepper hair and slight belly bulge, he could have passed for one too. All seven feet of Ez looked nothing like a Grandpa, but he was still mine.
I heard some muffled sounds, and Ms. Arletha’s voice came through loud and clear. “Indy you tell them people you are team hashtag Me Too, okay?”
“Me too, what? I want it too,” Sidney whined.
“You stay away from them parties, Indy. Me and ‘Letha been watching SVU, and we know what goes on at the colleges on Thursday nights.”
“Oh, hush boy and leave that girl alone!” Ms. Arletha cut in.
I smiled into the phone while they fussed at each other. This was my family. Hearing voices from the orientation, I whispered, “I gotta go, love you guys” as students began shuffling out of the room.
“We love you Indy! And have a good time in college,” Sidney shouted.
“And you call me if you need me to tinker with The Bus, Indy!” Ez’s voice cracked above the pack.
When I hung up and re-entered the auditorium, Naomi was still waiting. She had taken a napkin and placed it over my food for me and didn’t let the cleaning crew come along and toss it. “Got anywhere to be?” She gave a devilish grin.
My plans comprised running to the store and picking up more stuff for my dorm room, and I wanted to walk around and figure out where my classes were so I wouldn’t get lost when the semester started in a few days. I also wanted to search for a beauty supply store because, well — every Black girl needed to be within a five-mile radius of a beauty supply store — that was law. I also wanted to check out the arts theater and meet my supervisor. But the way Naomi looked at me, I knew whatever she had in mind was more fun.
AbouT the Author
Janay’s passion for words began when she spent hours reading borrowed books from the local library where her love for words were homegrown. She served as the editor of her high school newspaper, and for years tended to her craft until she and it were ready.
Janay attended Rutgers University where she received a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Social Work. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, School Social Worker and Mental Health Therapist. To date, she’s held many titles, but her favorites are mentor, mental health advocate, and melanin story teller.
Janay is a native of Southern, New Jersey where she resides with her husband and daughter. She enjoys reading, spa days, and crab legs. This is her second published novel and her first is titled,“Hey, Brown Girl” available at all major retailers.
If you enjoy young adult stories about melanated characters navigating love, friendships, and family, please consider sticking around for Janay’s collection of words.
Watch her make a SCENE!