by Doris Miller
It is now the weekend. Dana is working at the Community Center. She is working inside one of the offices. She has her hair back in a long thick braid and is dressed in a white turtleneck shirt with rolled up sleeves to her elbows. She is also wearing a pair of light blue jeans and thick black sneakers. She is working on the computers and the copy machines. She is piled with paper work. Two of her sisters, Missy and Linda, one of the triplets, are there inside the office with her, helping her out. They are both dressed in turtlenecks and jeans also. They both sit on each side of Dana. Dana then stands and turns around towards a table. She stands over the table to look at some papers. Missy starts to grab some papers off the desk.
Diane D and Teresa soon enter the office. As they enter the office, they see a frustrated Dana standing and fussing at her sister Missy. They see Missy nervously and obediently responding, laying the papers back down on the table as Linda quietly and nervously looks on. Diane D and Teresa say, "Hello." They then ask, "Do you need any extra help Dana?"
"No, that's okay," Dana calmly tells them. She turns back around and sits back down to work on the computers and the copy machines. Diane D and Teresa sit inside the office with Dana and her sisters for a while to keep them company.
A stranger soon walks into the office. The stranger, a middle aged black male with a medium built smiles and says 'Hello' to everyone. Teresa and Missy smile and say 'hello' back to the gentleman. Dana and her sister Linda do not speak back to the gentleman. The gentleman sees Dana at the machines. He asks her, "Excuse me Miss? Could you make several copies for me please?" He then hands Dana the papers to copy. Dana takes the papers and sits at the machines for a while making the copies. Missy, Linda, Diane D and Teresa are all sitting around Dana, watching her make the copies.
After Dana finishes making the copies, she hands the gentleman back the copies and the originals. The gentleman smiles and thanks her. He then asks, "How much do I owe you?"
"Two fifty," Dana tells him. Her green eyes frown towards the gentleman's pocket as he reaches into it.
The gentleman takes the change out of his pocket and hands Dana 2 dollars and 50 cents. He smiles and says, "Thank you." Dana takes the change. Without saying another word, she turns back around towards the computers and the copy machines, going about her business. The gentleman looks at Dana stunned. Diane D, Teresa and Missy all notice Dana's rudeness. The gentleman then turns around to leave the office. Teresa and Missy sadly stare at the gentleman as he leaves the office. They then look at each other and secretly shrug their shoulders to each other. They then look at Dana. She just continues to work back on the computers and the machines, not giving the gentleman another thought.
After an hour, the gentleman comes across Diane D, Teresa and Michael at a front desk in the lobby. He sees Diane D and Teresa talking with a black woman who is holding her male toddler as the toddler drinks and sucks on his milk bottle. The gentleman starts to talk to Michael.
Dana suddenly walks by several yards away with an older dark-haired Hispanic woman. She rudely calls out across the lobby and shouts, "HEY DIANE!" Diane D and everyone else turn around to look as Dana shouts, "THIS LADY NEEDS YOUR HELP PICKING UP SOME BOXES FROM DOWNSTAIRS!"
"OH YEAH?" Diane D shouts back. Dana firmly looks out at Diane D as Diane D shouts, "I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY BOXES ARE LEFT DOWN THERE! I THINK THERE MIGHT ONLY BE A FEW MORE! HOW MANY DOES SHE NEED?"
"I NEED THREE BOXES, PLEASE," the woman calls out.
"OKAY MISS, I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!”
"OKAY," the woman calls out. The woman then turns to Dana and tells her, "Thank you." Without saying a single word, Dana rudely turns away from the woman. She goes up a staircase, going about her business, not looking back at the woman. The woman looks at Dana stunned. The woman and the gentleman both stare at Dana as Dana goes up the staircase. The gentleman then turns to Diane D, Teresa and Michael and asks, "Excuse me but, can I ask you all a question?"
"A question?” Michael asks. “What is it?"
"That girl that just came over there, and then went up the stairs? The one that you two girls were sitting inside the office with?"
"Who Dana?" Diane D asks. "What about her?"
"Does she ever smile?"
Michael and Teresa start to chuckle as Michael says, “You aren't the first person to ask that question about Dana. A lot of people ask that question about her.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I've seen that girl a couple of different times before. She doesn't seem too friendly."
"She's not. That's just Dana's personality. We don't understand it ourselves why Dana hardly ever smiles and why she seems to be so moody and cranky all the time. Dana is surrounded by lots of love from her family and her friends who all seem to really love and care very much about her. There are a lot of people who don't have that. Sometimes when Dana wakes up in the morning, it looks like she's mad at the whole entire world! We would see her in the morning and take one look at her face, then I would know to keep my mouth shut and just leave her alone. One day a couple of years ago, we were all at some party. We were all deciding on what game to play. Then one guy at the party had jokingly suggested to play a game called, 'Who can make Dana smile?' The guy had jokingly suggested that whoever can make Dana smile will win a free trip. Dana frowned at the fellow, and then she just turned around and walked away without saying a single word. Everyone at the party was stunned. It was obvious that Dana didn't find the joke funny. The guy that made the joke felt so bad about it, that he went to look for Dana to apologize to her."
"The guy told Dana that he felt real bad about making the joke," Teresa says.
“The only reason why Dana is working here in the first place is because she's on probation."
"Probation?" the gentleman asks.
"Yeah. The courts had ordered Dana to do community services on an assault charge she has against her. She has to do community service on the weekends for three months, that's why she's here. She doesn't want to be here."
Diane D turns to assist the woman that Dana had brought waiting for her and takes her away.
At Dana's grandparents' house, two of the other triplets, Landa and Londa come down the staircase. Their grandmother Gracy looks at them and asks, "Where are you two going?"
"We're going to visit Dana down at the Community Center Grandma," Londa says.
"Oh that's good! Missy and Linda are already over there helping Dana out. I think Diane, Michael and Teresa are there also."
"Well what about Tony?" Landa asks. "He's not there?"
"No not yet. I think he's supposed to stop by there later on."
"Okay Grandma. We're getting ready to head down there now," Londa says as she and Landa head for the front door.
Landa opens the front door as Gracy says, "Okay. I'll see you when you all get back.”
"Okay Grandma," Landa says. "See you later."
"Okay," Gracy says as she watches Landa and Londa leave the house, then head down the street.
Chapter 4
Dana's Mugging