AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don’t know why she felt the need to say that shit out loud or why she felt like she had to look at me when she said it. I knew when a bitch was trying to throw shade, and I wondered if Tacarra had told her friends about me going out to dinner with Jah. I doubt it. Hearing her say that Jah and her sister were having sex really put a dent in my heart, but I tried my best to play it off and act like what she said didn’t bother me, even though it did because Jah was with me Wednesday night. Which left me to believe that maybe after he dropped me off, he went to go be with this Tynesha girl, whom I assume is the same chick from Red Lobster.
“Your sister is so lucky to be fuckin’ Jah. That nigga is so fine, plus I heard that he has a big dick too,” one of the other girls said. Kelsey was her name.
Only reason why I knew that was because Tacarra had pictures of all three of them hanging in her room, with their names underneath. I watched as Tacarra gave Kelsey a high five at the statement that she had just made and I just continued to eat my lunch in silence, since they weren’t paying me any attention anyways. I kind of felt like whenever Tacarra got around these girls, she would sort of become embarrassed by me. I didn’t have the nice jewelry and latest shoes and things like they had, so I felt like that alone made her ashamed of me.
All I wanted was friendship from Tacarra. I wasn’t asking for anything else from her, so I didn’t understand why she was making things so hard. She had yet to tell me that she didn’t want to be friends with me anymore, that’s why I continued to talk with her whenever I saw her. When I finished eating my lunch, I stood up and threw my tray in the garbage can. I don’t know who said something when I got up, but all four of them started laughing at whatever comment had been made. I looked at them laughing and turned and walked out of the cafeteria.
I found a table outside to sit at under the tents and I sat by myself, just taking in my surroundings. Looking around, I noticed the football players sat together, the cheerleaders, and all of the other cliques sat amongst each other and enjoyed their time together and lunch. I was suffering from isolation at home, and sadly, now I was suffering from it at school as well. I sat alone for the remainder of the lunch time. When the bell rang, I got up and went to my fourth period class.
Before I knew it, it was 2:20 and school was out. It was a Friday, and since I didn’t have to go into work tonight, it left me with nothing to do. Most high school seniors looked forward to having something fun planned for the weekend, but sadly, I didn’t have anything on my agenda since I wouldn’t be working tonight. I made my way out of the building and I could see Tacarra and her friends all in the student parking lot, sitting on top of their cars, talking and laughing with each other. I looked at them for a few seconds and then kept it moving.
“Hey, Antonia. Wait up a second,” I heard someone say.
I turned around and it was Lewis from my English class. “What’s up?” I asked him.
“I just wanted to say, excellent speech today. You made me look at the word in a whole different concept. Just as much as you say you love someone, that quick you can end up hating them,” he said and I nodded my head in agreeance.
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” I told him with a smile, and then I walked away.
There was no need in waiting for the bus today, so I just walked on home. I had told my aunt yesterday that I had got into it with another cashier and that they had told me to take the rest of the week off. Surprisingly, she believed me. I couldn’t tell her the real reason because she would probably have made me quit my job because in her words, she didn’t want those white folks all in our business.
I made it home, and when I walked into the apartment, the house was a mess. I shook my head as I watched my aunt lay on the couch knocked out, and I went on back to my room that I shared with my cousins. When I walked in, they were all laid up in one bed together watching TV. I shook my head because all of their hair looked a damn mess. I knew that I really was in no position to judge them, but I at least would brush my hair into a neat ponytail every morning.
“Who wants to get their hair braided first?” I asked them as I set my book bag on my bed.
“Me!” all three of them said in unison.
My two little girl cousins, Ciara and Allison, were twins and they were four years old. Both of them had long, thick hair, and right now, it was standing up on the top of their heads. I went into the bathroom and got some hair grease and a few combs. I started on Ciara’s hair first because she sat down first on the floor. I gave her some pretty braids, going to the side and added some beads to the end of them. When I finished, I did her sister’s the exact same way. Next, I did PJ’s hair, doing four big jumbo braids that went to the middle of his back.
Once everybody’s hair was done, I bathed all three of them and they went back into the room to watch TV, while I stayed in the bathroom to clean up the mess that was made.
I could feel a presence behind me and I knew that it was nobody but my aunt. “I don’t need you to be doing my damn kids hair for me. I’m their mama, that’s my damn job, for me to do!” she said nastily to me.
How the fuck could she say that it was her job when she hadn’t done their hair since they had left to go to Orlando? All three of them went to Orlando with braids and when they came back, their braids were out and she hadn’t touched their hair since. It killed her whenever I would do anything around the house.
“Yes ma’am,” I said and continued to clean up the bathroom.
She walked away from the door and I finished doing what I was doing. When I finished cleaning the bathroom, I turned the light off and went back into the room. My little cousins were in the bed taking a nap, so I got in my bed and watched TV for a while until I dozed off too.
11:51 P.M.
I had just woken up from my nap, which I shouldn’t have done because now I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep tonight. I was starving, so I got out of bed quietly, making sure that I didn’t wake up my little cousins in the process. When I got in the hallway, I could hear voices coming from the living room. I looked over and it was my aunt and her boyfriend, sitting on the couch together watching TV. I watched as he took his attention from her and looked at me with lust in his eyes. He winked at me like he had done the first time and then licked his lips.
I paid his stare no attention as I went into the kitchen and I noticed that there were two boxes of Domino’s pizza on the counter. I smiled because I was starving, but that smile was quickly wiped off my face when I went and opened the boxes and they both were empty. My aunt was watching me, and she burst out laughing from the expression on my face. I looked around in the cabinets and there was literally nothing in there for me to eat.
I walked out of the kitchen and decided that I would try my luck. I knocked on Porsha’s door, and a few seconds later, she came to the door with the phone glued to her ear.
“Bitch, are you lost? Why are you knocking on my damn door?” she nastily asked me. I never knocked on Porsha’s door for anything, but I was desperate, so I had to do what I had to do.
“Hey, do you have like five dollars so I could go to McDonald’s and get me something to eat. It’s no more pizza left,” I told her.
“Bitch, I wouldn’t give your lil ugly ass a dollar if it would have saved your damn life. Get the fuck from in front of my door before I have my mama beat your ass,” she said and then closed the door in my face.
I walked away from the door and went on back to my room. Sadly, this wasn’t the first time that all of the dinner had finished and I had to go without. I looked over at my cousin’s plates that they had left on the dresser and it wasn’t any bread crust or anything for me to eat after them. I closed the door to to the room and got in the bed, lying down on my back. A part of me was kind of mad at myself for sleeping so late because maybe if I had stayed up, I would have been able to at least get one slice of pizza. Then another part of me was mad that I didn’t work today because if I had, I would have at least been able to come home with a doggy basket of some sort that our manager would let us take home every night after we had clocked out.
It had to be at least two in the morning and I still hadn’t fallen asleep. I couldn’t help but notice the shadow of someone’s feet that kept walking past the door. I honestly had no idea who the hell it was, and the shit was beginning to freak me out. They would walk past the door and then they would just stand there. I didn’t know whether my aunt’s boyfriend was there or not, and I was scared.
My biggest fear came true when the bedroom door opened and he walked in, closing the door behind him. He lustfully stared at my young body as I lay there with a racing heart. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what he came in there for, which is why tears immediately began to spill from my eyes.
