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YENDI
Iwas dragging this morning. This week couldn’t be over fast enough, and it was only Tuesday. Sleep had been evading me, and I knew it had everything to do with Jakari Bolton. When I called him Saturday evening, he didn’t answer, and he never called back. I sent him a text on Sunday to let him know that I’d called and left a message and was also asking if he was okay. Still nothing. My mind was filled with possibilities of what could have happened. Surely, he wouldn’t ghost me after what we shared.
I let my feelings get involved, but it was like I didn’t have a choice. While he said he just wanted to fuck, his actions were showing something totally different. After only one sex session, I was sprung. That shit had me angry with myself and fucking depressed. I wasn’t even mad at him. He didn’t owe me a thing, not even an explanation. However, I needed him to know that I was here for him… whenever he needed me. I didn’t regret anything.I’m fucking pathetic.
I wouldn’t bother him to death, but I would visit the diner for just a glimpse. I needed to see him at least. It felt like something was off with him. It was almost like I could feel him. Maybe it was just that I wanted to make an excuse to justify why I hadn’t heard from him. He was responding to my text messages Saturday, so something had to have happened to make him not answer my call.
As I sat at my desk looking over Maui and Ashanni’s proposal about a game we could play to get kids involved, I lifted my eyebrows. These girls were promising a brand new iPhone to the winner of a ‘bomb’ book report. I didn’t know who they took me for, but there was no way I was giving away a twelve-hundred-dollar iPhone. I would have to burst their bubble after school today.
The stipulations and requirements were great though. The book had to at least be a ninth-grade level chapter book, it had to be a book checked out of our library that they’ve never read before, and the report had to be detailed and at least two pages long. The most creative and accurate report would win.
I went on to look at another contest. It promised a pizza party for the top readers before the Christmas break. I could possibly fund that since I still had some of my dad’s insurance money. It was like he knew my mama would act a fool. He had separate policies. She was the beneficiary of one of them and my siblings and I were the recipients of the other. She got a five-hundred-thousand-dollar policy, and we split two hundred thousand. That gave each of us fifty grand.
That was much more than what I expected, because I wasn’t expecting a dime. We weren’t the ones depending on his income to live. So rightfully, it should have gone to his spouse. The money I received helped me though. Like Jakari had pointed out, HJISD didn’t pay shit. After paying my bills from my salary, I didn’t have a dime left. I was using the money from my dad to buy groceries and anything else I may have needed.
I knew that money wouldn’t last forever, but it would hold me over until I got a better paying job. I had only had to use five hundred dollars so far. This job definitely taught me to be frugal. I never had to pinch pennies with my last job. I made more than twice what I was making now. I’d saved some money as well, but I had put most of it in a traditional IRA account to supplement my retirement later. My dad had told me that retirement money wouldn’t be enough for me to live comfortably with the direction the country was headed. So I took his advice and started investing money.
I began thinking of things I could possibly do to supplement my income. I didn’t really have a talent that could make me extra money. Any part-time job I could obtain in the area, without a specific expertise, were businesses owned by members of Jakari’s family or fast-food places. I refused to work fast food. I would be eating the entire time I was there, especially at Sonic. Sour Lake only had Sonic, Dairy Queen, Subway, and a pizza place called Goodfella’s Pizzeria.
They also had a grocery store, but I didn’t get good vibes in there the last time I went. They were expensive as hell, and they stared at me like I didn’t belong there. I simply stared right back like I had a whole army behind me. I never let people intimidate me. They put their pants on the same way I did.
As I surfed Amazon on my computer, a class of students came in. I smiled politely and nodded at them as they spoke. Most of the kids here were friendly, and they learned my name quickly. By my second day, a lot of them were calling me by name, speaking to me like I’d been here for years. Maui Henderson was one of them. Ashanni was somewhat quiet at first, but she always smiled.
When Maui walked in, she smiled and came straight to my desk. “Hey, Ms. Odom!”
“Hey, boo. How are you?”
“I’m good. Umm… For my birthday, I asked my daddy if we could have a cookout at the family barndominium, and he said yes. So, I was wondering if you would come.”
I briefly thought about Jakari, knowing that I would probably see him. “Yeah, of course. When is it?”
“It’s a month away, but I wanted to tell you about it early in case you had something else to do.”
She was so sweet and obviously, one of my favorite students. I smiled at her as she handed me an invite. I glanced at it to see it had a country theme: hay bales, cowboy boots, and wagon wheels all over it. I looked back up at her. “I’ll be there. Sounds like it will be a good time. What do you like to do besides read?”
“I’m into rodeoing and anything to do with horses. I like music too.”
“Okay. I’ll have to think of something. I have time.”
She smiled and clapped in excitement as I chuckled. I was happy that she took a liking to me, but I knew this had to do with Jakari. They were playing matchmaker. I didn’t mind it since it was subtle. Their family was chill and seemed fun to be around, especially the mayor and the brother that introduced themselves to me at the diner.
When Maui walked away to go look for a book, I turned my attention to my phone to see I had a message on Facebook. I frowned slightly because I rarely got those. When I opened it, I saw it was one of my mama’s old friends, asking me to call her and listed her number. I rolled my eyes, not because of the message but because I knew my mom was probably ignoring her calls.
She only wanted to talk to people who would believe her lies or that she could manipulate. If something she said was questioned or if someone called her out on her bullshit, she was done with them. She knew Ms. May would question things. I hadn’t talked to Ms. May verbally in years, but she always engaged whenever I made a post on Facebook. I put my phone down, making a mental note to call her later, then stood to begin helping students check out the books they’d chosen.
* * *
“Hey, baby. How are you doing?”
“Hi, Ms. May. I’m doing okay. How are you?”
“I’m good. I’m retired now, so I’m doing my best to enjoy life.”
“That’s great.”
“Listen, I was calling to check on your mom. I’ve tried calling, and I went by there and left a note for her in the mailbox. How is she?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her since my dad’s funeral.”
