Maya's Choice

by Earl Sewell

  “Oh, crap!” I said, grabbing my duffel bag. I was hoping the bus driver would pull off, but he didn’t. Instead he opened the doors and the girls rushed toward me. I tried to beat them to the rear door so that I could dash off but it was too late and they were on me. Fists seemed to be coming at me from all directions. I dropped my duffel and defended myself as best I could. One girl pulled my hair while the other one took turns hitting me with hammer fists. I swung back but my punches were ineffective. I thought for a moment that some other passenger or at least the bus driver would come to my aid, but no one did. I fell to the floor.

  “You’re lucky I got my wallet back!” Liz Lloyd barked before she and her friend nailed me with a barrage of kicks that landed in my gut and on my back. I noticed my stun gun had fallen out of my bag and was on the floor underneath a seat in front of me. I reached for it and turned it on. As best as I could, I held on to a leg of one of the girls and zapped her. She screamed as her body shook violently. It didn’t take much for her to fall. Liz kicked me once more before checking on her friend. I was exhausted and could barely stand up. Liz and her friend tried to get off the bus but the driver had locked all the doors and called the police. Liz pulled the emergency handle on the window and crawled out. As she wormed her way out the window, I zapped her hands with the stun gun. She screamed as she tumbled to the ground. Her friend begged the bus driver to open the door and let her off, which he did.

  “I’ve called the police. Are you okay?” the bus driver asked.

  I didn’t answer him. I grabbed my bag and headed for the rear door. I tried to push it open but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Let me off!” I yelled up front toward the driver. He released the door lock and I walked off. I was starting to wonder if I had what it took to make it as a pickpocket.

  six

  MAYA

  It was early afternoon and I was sitting at the edge of the swimming pool with my legs submerged in water up to my knees. My ankle was near one of the water vents and the pulsation of the water jetting out of the spout felt really good against my leg. I’d decided to come and hang out with Keysha, who was busy vacuuming the bottom of the swimming pool and fussing about all the things the lifeguard on duty the night before hadn’t done. I was only partially listening to her because my mind, of course, was on my beloved Misalo. I wanted to rake my fingers through his hair, kiss him on the lips and hold him close. At times I just felt as if my world was completely empty without him. Misalo in many ways defined who I was.

  “Maya.” Keysha called my name and snapped me out of my daydream. I looked in her direction and she pointed to the vacuum hose, which had gotten tangled up around a lawn chair.

  “Oh, I’ll get it,” I said as I lifted myself onto my feet.

  “What were you just thinking about?” Keysha asked as I fixed the issue with the hose.

  “Misalo.” I sighed depressingly.

  “Do you really miss him that much?” she asked as I walked toward her.

  “Yes. We’re soul mates. He’s so understanding and considerate and…”

  “Okay. I understand.” Keysha cut me off and I didn’t know how to take her rudeness.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I was all posed to become really upset with her. I mean, I sat around and listened to her and all of the chaos she went through with three different guys and never once complained.

  “Nothing,” Keysha quickly answered, but I could tell that she wasn’t being totally truthful with me.

  “No. You wanted to say something. I could tell. Say what’s on your mind. I need to hear it.” I pressed the issue.

  “Maya, don’t you feel like you’re a little obsessed with Misalo? You talk about him endlessly.” I couldn’t believe Keysha had just said that to me, especially after how I’d been by her side.

  “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

  “No. Don’t be silly. I’m not jealous. Why would I be?”

  “Because you don’t have a boyfriend and none of your relationships have ever worked out since I’ve known you.”

  “That was a low blow, Maya.” Keysha had a very sad look in her eyes.

  “Well, what you said to me just now was a low blow.”

  Keysha sighed, then stopped and looked me directly in the eyes. “Okay, perhaps I’m just a little envious, but it’s not like I’m trying to break you guys up or anything. I just want to talk about other things and do more girl stuff,” Keysha explained.

  “Heck, I wanted to do the same things when I met you and all you did was talk about your relationships, but I didn’t say anything because I knew it would hurt your feelings,” I explained.

  “Did I really have a one-track mind?” Keysha asked.

  “Does Lil Wayne have tattoos?” I said as I rolled my neck. Keysha chuckled.

  “Okay, I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Keysha put the vacuum pole down and gave me a hug.

  I was reluctant about returning the gesture but it didn’t take me long to let go of my attitude.

  “Hey, we’ve got company.” Keysha stepped away from me and nodded in the direction of the doorway. I turned to see who was there and, to my dismay, Lori, the neighborhood gossip girl, had just walked in with some guy I’d never seen before.

  “Whose life is she about to ruin now?” I asked.

  “I don’t know the guy’s name. I’ve only seen him here once before. He didn’t swim much the last time he came in.”

  “Who was he here with the last time you saw him?” I asked, noticing how tall and muscular he was. He was a Mexican guy who looked to be around the same age as Keysha and I. He had short black hair, a pencil-thin mustache and walked with a very pronounced and cocky swagger.

  “No one—he just showed up and sat down. He put his iPod earphones in, placed his sunglasses over his eyes and just chilled out,” Keysha explained.

  “He’s kind of cute,” I said.

  “I thought you were madly in love already.” I could tell by the tone of Keysha’s voice she was surprised that I was checking the guy out.

  “There is nothing wrong with looking.” I laughed quietly. “But I feel sorry for him if he’s hanging around Lori,” I added.

  “I don’t think he’s with Lori. They just may have walked in at the same time. Look, they’re not even sitting with each other,” Keysha pointed out.

  “Well, it probably won’t be long before she takes her skinny behind and starts parading it around in front of his face,” I said, as if I’d already seen Lori doing it.

  “Lori just makes me sick!” Keysha said as she continued to do her job.

  “You should go talk to the guy and act like you’re really interested in him, just to tick her off,” I suggested, feeling a little catty.

  “That would be funny, wouldn’t it?” Keysha asked.

  “Yes. Go on and ask him his name before that slut does,” I said, encouraging her. Keysha made her way around to the other side of the pool where the guy was. I walked back to my lawn chair where my beach towel, cell phone and purse were. Just as I was about to place my legs back in the water and watch Keysha irritate the hell out of Lori, I heard my cell phone ringing. I quickly moved to answer it.

  “Hey, baby,” I answered, once I realized it was Misalo.

  “What’s going on?” Misalo asked.

  “Nothing, just hanging out with my girl, Keysha. What are you up to?” I asked playfully as I smiled from ear to ear.

  “Wondering where you are because I want to come see you,” he said.

  “You can’t come see me. You’re in California and you’re not coming home for another two days.”

  “Actually, we came home early. My father and grandfather got into an argument. It’s a long story but I just wanted to let you know that I’m home now.”

  “OMG! This is so perfect,” I said, feeling tingly all over.

  “Do you want me to come to the swimming pool?” he asked.

  “No. Meet me at my house in ten minut
es,” I said cheerfully.

  “I thought your dad hated me and didn’t want me around you.” Misalo jogged my memory.

  “Both he and my mom are at work. They won’t be home for hours. It’s perfectly fine. Just meet me there. We have a lot of unfinished business to catch up on,” I said as I began gathering my belongings.

  “Okay. I’ll see you in a few minutes,” Misalo said just before I hung up the phone. I glanced back at Keysha, who was smiling while talking to the new guy.

  “Keysha!” I yelled. She turned to look at me.

  “Misalo is back. I’m going to go see him,” I said.

  “Don’t go and get yourself knocked up!” Lori yelled out before Keysha could say goodbye. I gave Lori the most evil glare that I could before flipping her my middle finger. Lori waved me off.

  “Call me later,” I heard Keysha say as I headed toward the exit.

  By the time I arrived back at home, Misalo was sitting in the driveway on his bicycle waiting for me. I felt as if my legs couldn’t get him to me fast enough and before I knew it I rushed toward him. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him, almost toppling him over.

  “Hey, you.” I pulled back and looked into his eyes.

  “It’s good to see you, too,” he said as he dismounted his bike.

  “Come on, I’ll open up the garage. You can leave your bike in there,” I said. Once his bike was put away, we entered the house holding hands. As I led him through the kitchen I ran into Anna and my little brother, Paul, who were in the kitchen making a mess, trying to cook themselves something to eat.

  “Ooo, I’m telling,” Anna blurted.

  “You’re going to tell what?” I asked in a threatening tone of voice.

  “You know we’re not supposed to have people in the house when Mom and Dad are not here.” Anna forced me to recall our parents silly little rule.

  “Rules were made to be broken, Anna.” I continued to pull Misalo along behind me.

  “I’m going to call Dad right now,” Anna said, forcing me to deal with her.

  I stopped, looked at Misalo and said, “You remember where my room is, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” he answered with a huge smile.

  “Go wait for me there,” I said as I smacked his butt.

  Misalo glanced at Anna and said, “Don’t be such a brat, okay?”

  Once Misalo was gone, I turned to Anna and lowered my eyelids to slits. I knuckled up my fist and held it close to Anna’s chin.

  “If you even think about calling Dad, I will beat you while you’re sleeping,” I threatened.

  “Tell her you’re not afraid of her, Anna,” said Paul, my eleven-year-old brother, who only encouraged Anna because he wanted to see us fight.

  “I’m not afraid of you, Maya,” Anna said defiantly.

  “Even if you did call Dad, he wouldn’t believe you. I’d just tell him you’re lying and that you have no proof.”

  “Paul will say it’s true.” Anna looked in the direction of our brother.

  “Paul,” I growled his name. “You’re not going to say a word, are you?” I gave him my most evil glare, something that I’d been doing ever since he was little. It was my special way of manipulating him.

  “No,” he immediately answered.

  “See, Anna, you have nothing on me,” I said confidently as I stepped away.

  “You make me sick, Maya,” she snarled.

  “The feeling is mutual,” I said, laughing as I ran up the stairs to spend time with my honey. When I walked into my room, Misalo was standing near a window.

  “Are you looking for someone?” I asked, trying to sound seductive. Misalo tried to laugh suavely as he moved toward me. We met in the center of the room and I forced him down on my bed.

  “I’m not playing games,” I said as I straddled his legs, resting my behind on his thighs and pushing his shoulders downward toward my mattress. Misalo now lay flat on his back.

  “You really have missed me.” He had a huge grin on his face.

  “I’m about to show you just how much I’ve missed you.” I ran my fingers through his hair. Misalo lifted himself up and rested on his elbows. I leaned in to kiss him. Our lips met, and our tongues danced in circles. I was so hopelessly lost in the moment that I didn’t hear Anna creep into my room.

  “I’ve got you now!” Anna shouted. I leaped off Misalo so quickly I nearly got whiplash.

  “I took a picture of you trying to suck his face off,” Anna said, laughing like a wicked witch.

  “Anna, you totally need to grow the hell up. Get out of my room!” I screamed.

  “No! Unless I get paid, I’m telling Mom and Dad, and delivering them proof that you had Misalo in your room.” Anna closed her flip phone, folded her arms across her bosom, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

  “I don’t believe you took a picture,” I snarled.

  “Check your email. I just sent it to you so you’ll know that I’m for real,” Anna said smugly. I grabbed my cell phone, which was connected to my email account. Sure enough, I had a message from Anna.

  “Why are you so mean to your sister?” Misalo asked Anna.

  “Because she’s wrong and she knows it,” Anna answered him.

  “Don’t you have a secret boyfriend of some kind?” Misalo asked, clearly just as annoyed with Anna as I was.

  “I’m only fourteen. I can’t date boys yet.” Anna’s voice was filled with contempt.

  After looking at the photo, which I knew would cause my father to go into a rage if he saw it, I turned to Anna and said, “What do you want?”

  “Money,” she answered.

  “How much money?” I asked. Anna paused for a moment, then laughed.

  “Four hundred dollars,” she blurted.

  “Anna, I don’t have that kind of money,” I said through gritted teeth. I wanted to lunge at her, wrestle her cell phone away and then smash it.

  “I figured you wouldn’t have it. That’s why I copied Mom and Dad on the email anyway.”

  “No you didn’t,” I said, thinking that there was no way Anna could be that spiteful.

  “Check for yourself. Once Daddy sees you all over Misalo, he’ll realize that you’re not the perfect princess that he thinks you are. I’d certainly hate to be in your shoes right now.” Anna laughed, then offered up a sinister smile. I once again checked my phone and looked at who she’d copied and, sure enough, Anna had copied our parents.

  “You little witch!” I tossed my cell phone on the bed and lunged toward Anna. I was about to issue her a major beat down. Anna decided to be brave and stand her ground. She waited for me to get close to her before she began churning her arms like a windmill. She was hoping that I’d walk into one of her punches. I easily got around her defense and pulled at her hair.

  “Why, you little freaking annoying and pesky girl!” I slung her thin body from right to left.

  “Let me go!” she shouted, but I didn’t. I was way too angry with her. I began pounding her body with hammer fists. Anna pulled herself away from me and threw a kick that nailed me on the thigh. She then swung wildly and landed another shot on my cheek.

  “I hate you!” she howled as she continued to swing and miss. Misalo made a move to stop us but I waved him off. I grabbed Anna’s hair and yanked really hard, causing her head and neck to twist into an awkward position.

  “Maya!” Misalo yelled my name, which forced both Anna and I to stop. Misalo approached me, holding up my buzzing cell phone.

  “Who is it?” I asked, utterly aggravated.

  “It says Dad on the caller ID screen.” Misalo glanced at me nervously.

  Frustrated, I growled as I took the phone from Misalo and attempted to calm my nerves.

  “Hey, Daddy.” I tried to sound happy, as if nothing was going on. I thought I’d at least get a chance to explain the photo or stall him long enough to come up with a good lie. Rather than hear my side of the story, my father exploded with unbridled anger.

  �
�What the hell is going on with you, Maya? Why do you have that boy in the house when you know your mother and I have forbid it!”

  “Dad, I have a life, too! And Anna—” My dad cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

  “I’ll deal with Anna later. I’m not happy that you’ve disrespected my home and allowed that boy to disrespect it, as well!” I’d never heard my father sound this angry before.

  “What about the trust that Anna has broken with me? I do have a right to privacy, don’t I?”

  “Are you doing drugs? Because you sound like you’ve lost your damn mind! You’re only sixteen—your privacy is my business!” I could tell by the way he kept raising his voice that I was digging my own grave.

  “Daddy, I’m in love. Why can’t you see that?” I held back the tears swirling around in my heart like a cyclone.

  “Maya, you’re not in love. Judging by this photo, you’re deeply in lust and you can easily slip up and become a teen mother. Now, my job as your father is to prevent you from making that mistake. I hope he was worth the ass-whooping you’ve got coming for pulling this stunt.”

  “Why can’t you understand my feelings for Misalo?”

  “Maya, you don’t know jack squat about love. That’s the problem with your generation. You think you know every damn thing but can’t tell the difference between sunrise and sunset!” my father fired back.

  “How can you say that? How can you say that my feelings aren’t real?” His comment hurt me in a way that I hadn’t anticipated.

  “Is that boy still there?” My dad avoided answering my question by asking one of his own.

  “No, Misalo is gone now,” I lied.

  “No, he’s not. You never could lie to me, Maya.” He paused for a moment. “I’m going to call Anna now, and if she tells me that guy is still there, you’re going to have hell to pay when I get there.”

  “Why do you believe everything she says?” I uncharacteristically challenged his authority and his apparent preference of Anna over me.