Lessons Learned

by Earl Sewell

  “Okay that’s enough!” I heard Barbara interrupt them. “Justine, you’ve just about worn out your welcome here. I’m trying to be optimistic here but my patience is very thin right now.”

  “I’m not leaving until we talk about replacing the welfare check that I was getting when Keysha lived with me. I know that somebody in here has to be getting some type of government check for her, and I want my cut!” Justine came right out and said exactly what she’d come there for.

  “You have go to be kidding me,” I heard Jordan say. I could hear the disbelief in his voice. “I don’t believe you traveled all the way out here because you feel that someone is taking your government check.” Jordan started laughing at my mother again.

  “You mean to tell me that there isn’t any type of check coming into this house for Keysha at all?” Justine asked once more just to be clear.

  “What part of no don’t you understand, the N or the O?” Jordan asked mockingly.

  “Then somebody needs to be getting something for her. I could work the system and make it beneficial for all of us. I’ll even share my government Link Card with you so that you can get a portion of your groceries for free. All you have to do is let me get visitation rights and I’ll take care of the rest.” Justine thought that she’d just offered Jordan and Barbara a perfect proposal that they’d jump at.

  “No. I’m not going to give you visitation rights!” Jordan snapped out on my mother.

  “Well then I’m going to work with my social worker and take you to court. You can’t keep me from seeing my daughter!” I heard Justine scream. At that moment I decided that I’d heard enough of their madness and entered the family room. Upon my entrance, everyone stopped their bickering and focused their attention on me.

  A look of horror washed over Justine’s face before she screamed, “What have you done to my baby? Why is she looking like that? I’m going to bring up abuse charges on you!”

  Immediately I became self-conscious about my appearance and a feeling of nausea clouded my stomach. I whirled around to run back upstairs, but my head suddenly felt very light and the room began to spin around. I had to lean against the wall in order to keep myself from collapsing to the floor.

  six

  MIKE

  Sunday, November 4th

  I was happy that I was the only one in the house. Jordan had once again kicked out cousin Simon and Justine. Once Keysha pulled her now-infamous fainting act, my mom and dad decided that they couldn’t wait another day before taking Keysha to see a doctor. So once she was revived, they took her to the emergency room to get checked out. Being alone in the house was so cool because I didn’t have to put up with everybody dealing with Keysha’s drama. I swear, before she came, life was truly good. I tried being understanding of her tragic life but enough is enough.

  I decided to go to the workout room and pump some iron as well as blow off some steam. When I got to the weight room above the garage, I turned on the radio and got pumped when the new hit song by Nelly began blaring through the speakers. I bounced my head to the rhythm of the music and lip-synched along with the words. I then moved over to a small wooden cabinet positioned just below the giant mural of Muhammad Ali and picked up my workout log. I’d planned to do a routine designed to build muscle mass. Once I looked at the log, I picked up a forty-five-pound dumbbell and began doing arm curls to make my biceps grow bigger. An hour later, I’d just about finished going through a mass and muscle-building routine targeting my chest, biceps and triceps when my cell phone rang.

  “Yo, this is Mike. Spit it out,” I greeted the caller.

  “Mike. It’s Marlon.”

  “What’s up, man?” I asked surprised that he’d given me a call.

  “What are doing tonight?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I’m just chilling.”

  “Do you think you can get out for a little quick party with the football team?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I can get out. Where’s the party at?” I asked.

  “We’re headed over to the Tricked Out Night Club,” Marlon said. “We have a lot of people coming. It’s going to be all that. Girls will be coming in by the carloads. People have been on the phone telling everybody to come hang out,” Marlon boasted.

  “Now that’s the type of party I need to be at,” I said.

  “I thought so. I know that you’re still a freshy—”

  “Hey. I’m about to be a sophomore,” I cut him off. I wasn’t about to start taking crap off of Marlon, especially after getting my photo in the newspaper.

  “Whatever, man,” Marlon explained. “I know that you can’t drive yet.”

  “I know how to drive,” I said not wanting him to think that I was some baby.

  “Will you calm down? Dang. I’m trying to tell you that I’m rolling in my father’s Navigator SUV. I can come scoop you up in about thirty minutes. Will you be ready?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll be ready,” I said with a large smile on my face.

  “Cool. I’ll see you in a little while,” Marlon said before ending the phone call. I raced through my last set of reps and then rushed back inside to get dressed. I briefly thought about calling my parents to let them know that I’d be hanging out with some friends but knew that they were too busy worrying about Keysha and her issues. Besides, I didn’t think they’d have a problem with me hanging out with the guys to celebrate our victory.

  Just like he’d promised. Marlon pulled up in my driveway a short while later in a black Lincoln Navigator vehicle. There were three other girls in the car with him. I opened one of the rear doors, got myself situated in the center seat then introduced myself to everyone.

  “I’m Francis,” said the girl on my right side.

  “I’m Ann,” said the girl on my left side.

  “And I’m Leena, Marlon’s girlfriend,” said the one sitting up front next to Marlon.

  “Nice to meet you guys,” I said. Each one of the girls was a ten in my book and I would have walked proudly around the school if I had the pleasure of calling any one of them my girl. I’d seen them around campus before but never had a reason to speak to them. I learned that they were all upperclassmen. Ann was a senior and Francis was a junior and neither one of them showed any interest in dating someone as young as me. I placed my arms around the shoulders of both girls in an effort to appear as if they both belonged to me.

  “Boy, if you don’t get your arm from around my shoulder, I will snap it off like a twig,” Ann threatened me. I laughed a little as I pretended that the bitterness of her words didn’t sting. “Are you old enough to drive yet?” asked Ann.

  “No. But I’ll be getting my permit next semester,” I said proudly as I removed my arm from around her shoulder. I allowed my eyes a glance downward toward my lap because I wanted to get a better look at the short skirt Ann was wearing. She must have sensed my eyes dancing all over her because she crossed her legs indicating that her goodies were on lockdown.

  “Oh, no, I need a man with a car,” said Francis. She and the other girls laughed. “But you are cute. If you were a few years older, I’d give you a little play but I’m about to graduate in the spring and head off to college. You’d be perfect for my little sister when she’s old enough to date. She’s in eighth grade now.”

  “Oh, I’m so not interested in some immature eighth-grade girl,” I quickly said, insulted.

  “Well, she’s going to blossom eventually,” said Francis. “I’ll bet that by the time you’re a senior and she’s a junior you’ll feel differently.”

  “I need a woman now. I don’t want to wait another two years before I see some action,” I said aloud. I didn’t intend for everyone to hear was I what thinking. My response just flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to catch it.

  “Take it easy, Mike. It’s not that serious, man. Francis was just trying to help you out,” said Marlon as he glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

  “I’m cool, man. I’m just trying to figure out women and
what it takes to get a girl interested in a guy like me,” I said, wanting to give the impression that my ego hadn’t been bruised.

  “They’ll be plenty of girls out tonight. I’m sure you’ll hook up with someone. Especially if you hang with me. I’ll show you the ropes,” Marlon boasted.

  “Marlon, you’re not that much older than me. What makes you such an expert on women at the age of seventeen?” I asked. The girls in the car giggled at my question.

  “Boy, I don’t believe you just asked me that question.” Marlon glared at me through the rearview mirror.

  “Well for starters,” said Leena—who had a smile that would make any guy open up his wallet and give her whatever she asked for. Marlon most certainly had great taste in women. “A young player needs to get a car and some money. You can’t expect a girl to take you seriously if you’re rolling over to her house on a dirt bike.”

  “But my sister is dating a guy who doesn’t drive,” I said as I thought about Wesley and Keysha’s relationship.

  “Is dude old enough to drive?” Marlon asked.

  “Yeah, he’s a junior,” I answered.

  “Well then, your sister is a good one because I can’t deal with a guy who doesn’t have a set of wheels. I just refuse to be taken on a date via the bus,” said Leena.

  “I know that’s right!” Francis said and twisted her lips in a pout.

  “You have to be a well-groomed guy,” said Marlon as he made a right turn onto 147th Street. “You can’t have dirt under your fingernails, a pile of earwax in your ears or musty smells choking the air from your feet or armpits.”

  “Oh, God, yes, Marlon. Please school a young brother. There is nothing worse than meeting a cute guy who has body funk!” Ann shouted.

  “I don’t smell,” I said taking offense to being accused of having bad body odor.

  “Stop being so sensitive, we’re not talking about you personally. We’re just talking in general,” said Marlon his eyes on the road. “Listen and learn.”

  “Okay. I’m all ears,” I said.

  “A girl likes to know that you’re into her,” Marlon continued. “She likes to know that you’re thinking about her.”

  “And listen to her and the things that she’s going through. And don’t try to be her hero all the time. Sometimes a girl just wants you to listen,” said Ann.

  “This sounds like a lot of work,” I said jokingly.

  “It is, because girls are complicated. You have to remember that what one girl likes, another one will not,” said Leena, who gently stroked the back of Marlon’s head. “And be loyal to her. Don’t go around trying to hump every girl who has two legs, a hole and a heartbeat.” I laughed at Leena’s last comment.

  We pulled into the parking lot of the Tricked Out Night Club for Teens. We all piled out of the SUV, then walked over and stood in a long line of patrons waiting to get in. Once inside we made our way down a corridor toward the seating area. As I walked along with my new friends, I snapped my fingers to the beat of T-Pain. The club was packed. There were people on the dance floor, others riding the mechanical bull and still others just hanging around the perimeter of the club talking. I heard a chorus of voices call out Marlon’s name. When I looked in the direction of the voices I saw a bunch of guys from the team holding down some seats for us. I was happy to be among my teammates who all greeted me with an equal amount of excitement. The DJ even interrupted the music and acknowledged the Thornwood High School’s State Champion Football Team was in the house.

  “What’s up, boy?” asked Romeo, our punt returner who’d gotten injured at the state championship game.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought you’d still be in the hospital.”

  “They just wrapped up my wrist, gave me some pain pills and told me to come back in a few weeks.”

  “Cool. I’m glad that you’re okay,” I said, genuinely happy that his injury wasn’t too serious.

  “I’m good,” he said. “I heard about that touchdown you ran. I heard that you were running like you stole something,” Romeo laughed.

  “I was just showing people what I could do.”

  “Well, don’t get too comfortable in that position because I’ll be back on the job next year,” Romeo warned lightly.

  “Did you guys hear about the pep assembly the school is having in our honor?” asked Marlon.

  “No,” I heard Romeo say.

  “They want everyone to wear their football jerseys to school. So when you get home tonight, make sure you wash it if you haven’t already,” Marlon said as his girlfriend came up and looped her arm around him. She pulled him away to a small sofa near a darker section of the nightclub. She sat on his lap and then began kissing him all over. I searched around for Ann and Francis but they’d hooked up with some other dudes and were out on the dance floor.

  At that moment two girls who I’d never seen before walked by me and looked me up and down. I knew they were feeling my style. I had on Sean John Poplin Plaid Long Sleeve Shirt with a fresh white T-shirt beneath it. I was also wearing John Decon blue jeans along with a brand new pair of Nike Air Jordans. I smiled at them and they giggled.

  “So, what’s up?” I spoke to them but they didn’t stop to talk.

  “This sucks,” I said to myself because I didn’t want to sit around talking sports with my teammates at that moment. I wanted to be hugged up with a fine honey in a dark corner of the room like Marlon. Since that wasn’t about to happen at that particular moment, I turned my attention back to my teammates. We shared a bunch of laughs and talked about girls we’d like to get with and ones that we wouldn’t be caught dead with. We continued to talk about which girls were putting out and which ones were just big teases.

  Just as the conversation was getting good, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, I saw Sabrina standing with one of her girlfriends. Sabrina looked hot from her hair all the way down to the short miniskirt she had on which showcased her long mahogany legs. I looked her up and down twice just to make sure she was the same Sabrina I’d known for years. Even though I had just seen her in church, it was hard to believe her transformation.

  “Hey, you,” she said with a huge smile on her face.

  “Sabrina? Wow!” I said admiring her shape and sexiness.

  “What. Is something wrong?” she asked self-consciously.

  “No,” I quickly answered. “Everything is fine. What’s up?” I asked trying to play off just how much I was feeling the new her.

  “This is my friend, Katina.” She introduced her friend who was okay-looking but nothing to really get worked up over. Katina smiled at me and said hello.

  “Will you dance with me and Katina?” Sabrina asked.

  “Both of y’all?” I pointed to them. “At the same time?” I asked for clarification.

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah,” I said trying not to sound too eager or look too goofy.

  “Come on then,” said Sabrina.

  “Yo, guys. I’m going to go dance with these two ladies here.” I knew that I’d look like a straight up player walking away with two girls and that was perfectly fine with me. The guys stopped talking and stared at me, trying to figure out how I’d suddenly hooked up with two nice-looking girls. I placed a slick smile on my face as I backed away toward the dance floor. Once Sabrina and Katina found a spot on the dance floor I stood between both of them. I faced Sabrina and began swaying my hips to the groove of the music. She mirrored my lustful movements. I’d spent many hours in my room behind a closed door practicing for just such an occasion. As Sabrina followed my lead, I felt remarkably special and unique. I felt as if I had a certain kind of charm and charisma that women just couldn’t resist. Sabrina flashed her amazing smile at me often, which was a clear indication that she was interested in more than just a dance. Wow! This is my lucky night! I thought to myself as Sabrina turned her back to me and began working her hips.

  “Whew!” I uttered as I watched her movements. “There is
enough of me for everyone to enjoy,” I said as I turned to face Katina. She had her eyes closed and was dancing. She appeared to be in her own world so I decided to bring her back to Planet Mike so she could focus on me. I reached out and placed my hands on her hips and attempted to pull her close to me. Katina opened her eyes, smirked at me, then grabbed both of my wrists and removed my hands from her hips. She smiled, shook her head disapprovingly and then made a gesture for me to turn around with her index finger.

  “Oh, it’s like that, huh?” I said a little irritated because I felt as if she was being a tease.

  “Yes. It’s like that. Focus on Sabrina. Not me.” What a raw deal, I thought to myself as I turned back around. Sabrina still had her back to me so I reached out and placed my hands on her hips. Sabrina welcomed my touch and even took a step backward moving closer to me. Just as I was about to press my body into hers, the song ended and they both stopped dancing.

  “I’m going to sit down now,” said Katina.

  “Okay. I’ll catch up with you in a minute,” Sabrina answered.

  “Take your time. See you later, Mike,” Katina said over her shoulder as she exited the dance floor. The next song that came on was a slow jam.

  “Do you want to dance to this song?” I asked.

  “That’s why I pulled you away from your friends, isn’t it?” Sabrina said sarcastically.

  I pulled her close to me and we began to sway to music. “So why did you want to dance with me?” I asked.

  “Because I wanted to. Is there a crime against that?” Sabrina asked.

  “No. There isn’t. I just didn’t know that you were feeling me like that,” I said.

  “Well, now you do,” Sabrina said as she toyed with my ear. For a brief moment I had to remember if I’d cleaned them out. I certainly didn’t want her to end up with a clump of earwax under her fingernail. Then I remembered that I did go digging in my ears with a Q-tip before coming out, so I was good.