Monday, May 3, 2010

IN MISS CECE'S HOME

 I was doing the dishes at home one evening when James walked into the house. There was a pile of dirty greasy plates in the sink and I had to wash every single one of them before going to bed, they had been there all day and more plates were added in the evening when Janelle entertained her friends.
“Hey you” James said and I turned around to look at him. He smiled at me. Every time he smiles at me, it warms my heart.
‘Hey” I responded.
‘That’s a plate too many for you to wash” he told me looking in the sink.
“Miss Cece won’t like to see all these plates in the sink and I have to do the dishes before going to bed.
“You have been working hard all day at the shop, Janelle could have done the dishes.” he said.
“You know how Janelle is, don’t worry about the dishes, I will wash them.” I responded.
“Janelle” he called out as he walked away from me into the living room. I could sense trouble. Janelle was upstairs talking on the phone to her boyfriend. He went upstairs still calling Janelle. Next thing I heard Janelle’s door open and she came out
“What do you want James and why are you yelling out my name like that?” I heard her ask her brother.
“Why didn’t you do the dishes, you left them for Gina to do.” he told her. I turned off the tap so I could hear what the were saying more clearly, I actually wanted to hear her response to what he had to say.
‘Is that why you were yelling my name like that?” she asked him.
“Janelle, you need to go downstairs and do the dishes, right now at least help.” James told her.
“What’s Gina there for?” she replied.
“She is here to assist mom and live with us not as a domestic maid and your personal one at that and if you have nothing else to say, I would  like to go back to my room to continue my conversation with my friend.” she told him and next thing I heard her scream, I ran out of the kitchen, I saw him wrap his hands around her neck and she looked at him in horror. I ran up the stairs.
‘Please, stop this, don’t fight” I told him as she screamed even louder.
“Let me punch the crap out of her, she is always disrespectful” he replied as he tightened his grip. I couldn’t take it anymore, I pulled him away and his weight made me fall, Janelle quickly scrambled to her feet and he pulled her legs and dragged her on the floor. I stood up, and tried to pull him again, I didn’t want Miss Cece to walk in and meet this scene, it would be horrible and I think I thought too quickly because right then the door opened and Miss Cece walked in.

PAMELA AND DIMABO

“Hey” I said trying to make both of them feel comfortable. They looked tense. They didn’t know I heard their conversation.
“Hey” Pamela replied uncomfortably. “Okay, you need to leave now, I will talk to you later.” she told the young man, Dimabo.
“Oh no, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything” I said. I knew she didn’t want him around when I was there.
“No you didn’t he was just taking his leave when you walked in, isn’t it?” she asked him and Dimabo innocently shook his head.  I looked at both of them and the word foolish was the first thing that came to my mind.

Pamela sat on her bed watching television in her room when I walked in. She looked at me with bloodshot eyes. She had probably been sniffing on her white powder.
"How was your day?" I asked her.
"It was great" she responded and before she could say something else her cell phone began to ring, she looked at the screen on her I phone and answered the call.
"Hello" she began, she stood up and walked away from the room. I tried to strain my ears to listen to the conversation. She seemed clearly upset and I have no idea why. She was beginning to act really strange. Usually she made all her phone calls in my presence. Ever since I caught her with the guy selling the stuff, she started avoiding  me, we didn’t study together as usual and she became a recluse. She walked back into the room and took the remote control on the bed and changed the channel on TV. I decided to break the silence because it was getting too loud.
“What’s going on, you have been acting strange lately?”
I asked her.
She looked at me confused.
“How?” she asked me.
“We don’t even kick it together anymore, we don’t have group study we don’t talk that much, I hope you are okay, have I offended you in any way?” I asked her.
“No you haven’t I have just been busy that’s all.” she responded not looking in my eyes, I knew she was lying and she probably thought that I knew she was lying as well. I took my leave and went to my room.

TALKING ABOUT JASMINE

Sasha and I were having lunch. Sasha and I went to high school together.
“He told me to call him Justin” I told Sasha, I narrated the story to her. Sasha worked a couple of blocks away from me but we still found time almost everyday to go and eat.
“Is he married?” Sasha asked me.
“I don’t know” I responded as I put the lasagna in my mouth.
“What do you mean by you don’t know I don’t want you fooling with no married men, their wives might be poison and I don’t want you getting into any kind of trouble with some other woman, its not worth it my dear.” Sasha said. I like Sasha, she has some real good sense but no man of her own. A drop dead gorgeous beauty, with some serious brains with no man of her own. How does she do it, I just wonder because sometimes if you check deep into her life you will find out some amazing things. Okay my mind is wandering. Sometimes the thought of men should not always dominate one’s mind.
“I know”  I responded not knowing what else to say. I don’t want Sasha to start preaching, she could go overboard sometimes.
“How is Phillip, been spending sometime together?” she asked me.
“Not really these days, Jasmine is around and when she met him she had one of those silly attitudes of hers and I am really not ready to deal with it right now.” I responded, I couldn’t believe Jasmine would behave like that but sometimes she really doesn’t know better than to pull up her funky ghetto ways.
Sasha laughed.  “ Its Jasmine as usual, I didn’t know she was around” Sasha said.
“She has been around for a couple of days now and if she is not careful I will buy her a plane ticket and send her back to Atlanta, I don’t have time for all this nonsense and I need a private life.” I told her. Ever since Jasmine came, Phillip would not come around but that is partly because I asked him not to. I don’t mix relationship with family and another reason is because my mother does not really like men. I won’t be surprised if she called me to tell me that she had found a female lover and they would like to get married. I doubt that.