Chasing Romeo

by A. J. Byrd

  He doesn’t.

  “Is there something you want to talk about?” he asks. “Something bothering you?”

  Since when do we talk? “No,” I lie.

  He draws several deep breaths, while staying on the edge of my bed. “Dad, I just don’t feel like going to school. Missing one day isn’t a big deal.”

  The room is silent for a moment and then he says, “All right. I guess I better get going. I have to work today whether I feel like it or not.”

  I roll my eyes at his attempt to make me feel guilty. The bed rises when he stands up, and I listen as he walks back over to the door. But then he stops. I almost moan out loud.

  “Baby girl, you’d come to me if you really had a problem, wouldn’t you?” he asks.

  I don’t say anything. My only other option is to lie.

  “All right then, baby. I hope you feel better.” At last he turns and walks out of my room.

  I pull the covers from my head and then cry quietly into my pillow.

  chapter 31

  Anjenai—The End of the Road

  “Anje, you haven’t touched your breakfast.”

  I blink and then glance up at Granny. “What?”

  “Your breakfast,” she says. “You haven’t touched it.”

  “Oh.” I stab my fork back into my scrambled eggs and take a bite to appease her.

  She just frowns at me. “Baby, is something wrong?”

  “Hmm? Uh, no, ma’am.”

  “She lying,” Hosea and Edafe chime in, panting.

  “She was crying all night,” Edafe tattles. “I heard her.”

  “Shut up,” I hiss at him and resist the temptation to make my point by kicking him in the shins.

  Granny pulls up a chair and takes a seat. “Anje, why were you crying last night?”

  “No reason,” I lie. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “It must be a big deal if you’re willing to lie about it,” she says, taking a seat at the table.

  Great. Everyone is calling me a liar now.

  Granny’s large brown eyes land on me like she’s reading me like a book. “Come on, baby. Tell me what’s wrong. Is someone giving you trouble at school?”

  At this point I wish it was that simple. Granny waits patiently even though I don’t want to burden her with my troubles. She has enough on her plate. She’s run out of her diabetic medicine and doesn’t know how she’s going to get the money to get her refills.

  “C’mon, baby. We’re family. We’re supposed to be here for one another.”

  “It’s about the BFFs,” I confess.

  “What? Kierra and Tyler?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I say dejectedly, staring down at my plate. My vision blurs through my tears. “See. We all like the same boy at school,” I begin.

  “Oooh, Anjenai has a boyfriend,” the twins chant.

  “Shut up,” I snap, again resisting kicking both of them.

  “Now, you boys stop teasing your sister and finish your breakfast,” Granny reprimands with a face that says she means business. The boys quiet down, but their wide grins mean their teasing will continue at another time.

  Granny returns her attention to me. “Now, go on, baby. Finish your story.”

  “Well, like I said, we all like the same boy, so we decided to make a pact that in this situation we should all back off. You follow me?”

  “Umm. Hmm,” she says, patiently waiting but eyebrows furrowing close together. “Now is this the same boy that was helping you learn basketball this week?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “The one that you’re outside kissing way past your curfew the past few nights?”

  I gasp. “You saw that?”

  “Honey, everybody saw,” Granny says with a soft laugh. “I’m proud that there was only kissing going on.” She eyes me. “It’s just been kissing, right?”

  “Right,” I say, dropping my head in embarrassment.

  My brothers snicker and start making kissing noises.

  “Boys!” Granny warns.

  They fall silent again.

  I stare at my scrambled eggs. “Tyler also saw us out there. She waited to see whether I was going to tell her and Kierra about me and Romeo. When I didn’t, she blew up and then tried to steal him from me by kissing him in front of the whole school.”

  Granny drew back. “Humph. Sure does sound like a whole lot of kissing going on.”

  I lift my head. “She knew about us, and she purposely set out to take him from me. What kind of friend does that?” When Granny doesn’t answer, I shrug. “So anyway. We got into a big fight, and now we’re not friends anymore.”

  “Oh, baby.” Granny reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “Well, I’m not gonna lie and say that this isn’t a sticky situation,” she says. “But both of you were wrong. But you girls have been through so much over the years, I don’t believe for a minute that you girls can just up and stop caring for one another over something this silly. You’re just hurt right now.”

  Tears slide down my face. “I’m not sorry that I like him, Granny. I wasn’t trying to be malicious. I just didn’t know how to tell them. But I would never do what Tyler did to me. Never.”

  “I know, baby. But this is all a part of growing up. You still love Tyler or you wouldn’t have been crying all night, and if you girls still love each other then this can be fixed. Trust me on this, baby. Just talk to her.”

  “Tyler doesn’t know how to talk. She just knows how to punch.”

  “You and Kierra know why better than anyone,” Granny reminds me. “She doesn’t fight because she thinks she’s tough. It’s because she hurt.”

  “I know.” But I continue to shake my head. “I can’t see us getting past this any time soon. But we’ll see,” I say, wiping my face. “I better get going or I’m going to miss the bus.”

  “All right, baby.” She leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “Try to cheer up.”

  “Thanks, Granny.”

  I grab my jacket and backpack and race out the door. While I’m standing at the bus stop, my stomach is tangled into knots waiting for Tyler to show up. Do I try to talk to her, or do I just ignore her?

  How is Kierra going to treat me?

  No sooner does her name cross my mind, when I see Kierra heading toward me. I’m so nervous about what is about to go down that I’m literally shaking like a leaf, but I stand and wait and pray for the best.

  chapter 32

  Kierra—Long Road to Hoe

  I’ve been thinking about this moment all night, wondering what the heck I’m going to say when I see Anjenai again. To be honest, I’m not tripping over the fact that she’s been seeing Romeo behind our backs. I’m more stunned about what went down between her and Tyler than anything.

  I want to get Tyler’s side of the story, but she’s made it clear that she’s not talking to either one of us—even though I didn’t do anything. Typical Tyler. She’ll have to blow off a little steam first, but then she’ll calm down. At least I hope. It’s sad that the very thing that we were trying to prevent happened anyway. Somehow we have to come back together and bridge our differences. I just hope that it’s sooner and not later.

  “Whatsup?” I ask Anje when I finally arrive at the bus stop. Maybe we should just fake it.

  She shrugs. “Nothing much. You?”

  I shake my head and sigh. “Tyler’s not coming to school today. Her dad says she’s sick.”

  Anje rolls her eyes and turns her head.

  “Hey, look. Give her some time.”

  “I’m not sure I want to give her time. I’m not sure that I want to fix this,” Anje explodes. It’s shocking since she’s supposed to be the calm one.

  “C’mon, Anje. You both were wrong.”

  “It’s the intent. I didn’t set out to get Romeo. He was just helping me to prepare for basketball tryouts…and one thing led to another. And when it happened I didn’t know what to do or how to tell you guys after that stupid pact.”

>   “Not saying anything is like lying. You lied. That’s probably what set her off,” I tell her. “We both know Tyler has trouble expressing herself.”

  “Now that’s my fault, too? Tyler needs a shrink. You know it, and I know it. If I’d told her what had happened, she still would have blown up. Not telling her doesn’t change anything. We’ll still have to go through her I’m not talking to you routine.”

  “True.” I’m starting to feel like there’s no right answer to this situation. We drop the subject when the school bus rolls into view. After we’re seated, Anje finally speaks again.

  “Do you hate me?”

  I turn toward her and tell her the truth. “I can never hate you, Anjenai. You’re my best friend. And knowing Tyler like I do, she doesn’t hate you either. She’s just mad. She’s mad at the whole world. All the time. Something tells me if it wasn’t this it was going to be something else.”

  “I said some hateful things to her,” she says. “I wish I could take it back.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll get through this. Tyler will calm down. You’ll see.” We’re quiet again for a moment, and then I have to ask the one thing on my mind. “So are things real serious between you and Romeo? I mean, are you like boyfriend and girlfriend now?”

  She tries to suppress a smile, but can’t. “I like him,” she admits, her eyes dancing a bit. “He even asked me to go to tonight’s football game.”

  I light up at this. “Are you also going to Shadiq’s after party?”

  “Are you going, too?”

  “Yeah, Chris invited me. Can you believe it? He was hitting on me all through your tryouts yesterday.”

  Anje’s jaw drops open. “You and Chris Hunter? You guys are always practically at each other’s throats.”

  “What can I say? Love is strange.”

  “Love?”

  I shrug. “Well, at least something similar.”

  “It’s going to be our first high school party,” Anje says, smiling.

  We look at one another and then erupt into giggles.

  Anje and I bounce in our seats, but then just as quickly we calm down. One person is missing in our small celebration, and it feels strange. “Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I’ll get Tyler to come, even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming.”

  Anje shakes her head. “If she knows I’m going to be there, then you’ll probably have to do just that.”

  chapter 33

  Tyler—Traveling Down the Wrong Road

  I’m high as a kite and happy that I decided to stay home from school. My two new girlfriends Michelle and Trisha were more than happy to skip with me and hang out at my apartment.

  “What time does your dad come home?” Michelle asks.

  “Whenever the hell he feels like it,” I tell them. “There’s no set time.”

  “Well, damn,” Trisha pipes up. “We need to hang out at your crib more often.”

  Michelle laughs and bobs her head. “Most definitely.”

  A couple of hours later, I use the money left in the kitchen to order us a pizza and hot wings. When my little dime bag is gone, Trisha pulls out her cell phone and calls Kerosene and a few more friends. Now it’s a full-fledged party.

  I have to admit these girls are pretty cool to hang out with. All they do is chill, get high and talk shit about everyone at school. Hell, I’m down with that. Before everybody goes, I know I’m really going to have to spray this place down with Febreeze before my dad comes home.

  “So what’s this I hear about you kissing that punk Romeo?” Michelle asks. “You feeling him or what?”

  I laugh. With this buzz, that whole thing seems like it was so long ago. “That was nothing,” I tell them.

  “That ain’t what I heard,” some chick I don’t even know says. “I heard he had his tongue all down your throat. Probably trying to make his bourgie-ass girlfriend mad by messing with an Oak Hill girl. You know she’ll pop her lid. We ain’t good enough for them.”

  Most of the group bobs their heads. Apparently none of us like the rezoning of our districts.

  I, of course, don’t tell them that it was me who was kissing Romeo and not the other way around. But that’s none of their business.

  “Now Phoenix is the one that really need to get her ass whooped,” Michelle says. “She’s always prancing around that school like the sun rises and sets on her ass, but I hear her father works with like the mob or something.”

  “The mob?” I say. “What mob is there in Atlanta?”

  She shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m just repeating what I heard.”

  “Right.” I roll my eyes. “No more weed for you. This shit got you tripping.”

  “You girls ain’t nothing but a bunch of haters,” Kerosene says. “Phoenix is fine as hell.” A wide grin spreads across his face. “I know I’d do her ass any day of the week.”

  Kerosene’s girlfriend, Adele, leans over and pops him on the back of the head. “Your ass ain’t funny,” she snaps.

  “Whatever.” He laughs. “I’m just being real. Phoenix is fine.”

  “In that case then,” she retaliates, “I wouldn’t mind doing Romeo or Shadiq.”

  “Sheeeit.” Kerosene takes a deep drag off the joint. “Those motherfuckers ain’t shit.” He looks up at Adele. “And I better not catch your ass hanging around them.”

  “Whatever,” she says, mimicking him. “I’m just being real.”

  Clearly Kerosene doesn’t care for it, and he takes the bait. “All right. Don’t play me like that. We ain’t always going to be in front of your friends.”

  I just laugh at their silly asses.

  “Yo, Tyler. Where’s your bathroom at?”

  I look at this girl. Stella, I think her name is. “Straight down the hall,” I tell her.

  “Don’t drop nothing that don’t flush,” Kerosene shouts.

  “Eww.” We all make faces, and Adele pops him on the head again.

  “Hey. Stop the violence.”

  “You ain’t funny, Kerosene,” Stella shouts as she makes her way down the hall.

  He just laughs.

  The group returns to laughing and talking about nothing. I start attacking the pizza like I haven’t eaten in a week. The great thing about this day is that I haven’t been thinking about the BFFs that much. And now that I am, the whole thing does seem sort of silly. Big deal, Anje is dating the most popular boy in school. I should have just been happy for her.

  The image of our big fight starts to play slowly in my mind. Still, that bit about people leaving me stings, but didn’t I deserve it?

  “Oh, God. I gotta pee,” I say suddenly.

  The girls sitting next to me laugh.

  “Shut up,” I tell them and force myself to stand. The room spins and wobbles around a bit.

  “Damn, girl. Are you all right?”

  I wave them off and try to step over their feet. “Y’all don’t break nothing while I’m gone,” I warn. “I don’t want to have to kick somebody’s ass.”

  They all laugh, but I mean it.

  As I approach the bathroom something nudges me at the back of my mind. Did somebody say that they had to go to the bathroom? Then why was it empty? I move away from the bathroom and move farther down the hall. When I reach my father’s room, I see Stella.

  “What are you doing in here?” I snap.

  Stella jumps. In her hands I see my mom’s old jewelry box.

  “What are you doing with that?” I challenge, stepping into my father’s room. My buzz is gone, and my anger is roaring back to the surface.

  Stella puts the box down. “Nothing. I was just looking around.”

  “Looking around? Bitch, this ain’t your house!”

  “What the hell is going on back there?” Kerosene shouts.

  I hear people rushing from the living room.

  “I’m going to ask you again,” I threaten Stella. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

  “N-nothing.”

  “Nothing my
ass! You in here stealing from me?”

  “N-no.”

  “Whatcha got in your pockets?” Before she has a chance to answer, I jam my hand into her front jean pocket and pull out a locket. My mother’s locket.

  “Now wait—”

  That’s all she gets out before I land a punch across that weak-ass jaw of hers. Before I know it, I’m straight wailing on her ass, popping her in the mouth, eye and every damn where else I can get at.

  “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

  Trisha pulls out her camera phone and starts recording.

  “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

  Damn right it’s a fight. It feels damn good to be landing these punches, and it takes a long time beating her ass. I don’t give a damn about her screaming and hollering. How is she going to come up in my crib and disrespect me like this? Is she crazy?

  And not nan-one of her friends jump in to try and help her ass either.

  “Get her off. Get her off,” Stella screams.

  “Aw, shit. Aw, shit.” Kerosene laughs. “Tyler going old school on her ass. You getting this shit, Trisha?”

  “Hell, yeah. I’m post this shit on YouTube.”

  “You fuckin’ bitch, get the hell up out here!” I scream.

  Stella tries to get away, but I’m not making it easy. In the end she ends up crawling out my dad’s room. Even then I’m kicking her. “All of you get the hell out!”

  “Why the hell we got to go?” Michelle complains.

  “Get out!”

  “Aw, shit. This is foul,” Kerosene says.

  “GET OUT!”

  I herd all their asses toward the front door. “That’s right, get your shit and get out.”

  Everybody moans and groans, but they know I ain’t playing. When the last person walks out, I slam the door behind them. Frustrated, I slump down against it and close my eyes. Within seconds, the tears come.

  I miss my real friends.

  chapter 34

  Romeo—Mr. Touchdown

  I’m riding high during the first varsity football game of the new season. Sure, a part of it is because our team is up 21-7 and in the fourth quarter, but a lot of it has to do with Anjenai sitting up in the stands cheering me on. In all honesty, I didn’t know what would happen after the whole Tyler kissing incident. I didn’t want to rat her girl out, but with Raven and Bianca catching us, I had to come clean.