by Lady Lissa
“I’m going to drop this because I know darn well, I ain’t delusional. We gon’ just let this ride for now and talk about it later.”
“No mom, we won’t talk about it later because there’s nothing to talk about,” I say.
“Okay, are you ready to eat? The food is almost ready,” she says.
“Yea, I’m starved.”
“Then go upstairs, wash up and get your siblings. By the time y’all get down here, the food will be ready,” she says.
“Okay,” I head upstairs to do what she asked.
Five minutes later, my siblings and I are hustling ourselves downstairs to join our parents in the dining room. I know this sounds cliché but I love having Sunday dinners with my family. We all sit at the table, say grace before eating, and my mom cooks a huge meal; usually five or more courses. That’s the one thing we can always count on, Sunday dinners at my parent’s house. No matter where we are or what we’re doing, we always meet up for Sunday dinner at home. We also sit and discuss what’s been going on with us during the week, with our personal lives, with school, everything. Sometimes Onyx would join us or I’d go over to his house. Sometimes our parents would get together and just have a big backyard barbecue with people from our family and theirs. I really love those times because there’s always music playing and everybody just having a good time.
Once dinner time is over, I head upstairs. Normally after dinner, I would throw on some shorts and a crop top and head outside to shoot hoops with Onyx, but since he sent me home, I don’t think he wants to play. I decide to log on Facebook and see what’s happening with my friends. The first thing I see when I log on is that Onyx changed his relationship status. Not only that, he posted some status that said he’s ready to see what life has to offer. I’m also wondering what life has to offer us.
I decide to post my own status: Can best friends remain friends if they have sex?
I send him a text the way I always do on Sunday afternoons.
Me: Hey u wanna shoot hoops?
Onyx: Nah…I’m good
Me: Come on…we always shoot hoops
Onyx: I said I’m good
Me: R u mad @ me?
Onyx: Nah, just don’t feel like shooting hoops right now
Me: OK but u don’t have to lie…if ur mad, just say u r so we can fix it…u n I always shoot after Sunday dinner, every Sunday
Onyx: I’ll ttyl
I didn’t bother to respond. I mean, what the hell was I gonna say? Okay? I just left it alone. I’m sure tomorrow would be a better day and once he had a chance to think about what I said, he would see that I’m right.
The next day, I wake up early so I can cross over to his house to get a ride with him. He usually takes his dad’s car to school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays because on those days, his dad drives his Range Rover to work. I make it to his garage just as he’s coming through the door. He looks up and smiles at me. I smile back, glad that he isn’t holding a grudge.
“What you doing here?” he asks as my smile quickly fades.
“Uh, I came so we can ride to school together,” I say.
“I thought you was gon’ catch the bus?”
“Why you thought that? We always ride together on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.”
He pops the locks and I slide in next to him in the passenger’s seat of his dad’s Chrysler 300. He turns the key in the ignition and backs out of the garage. Once we’re on the road, I think I need to say something to him about his attitude.
“Hey Onyx, are you gonna just keep treating me like some extra because of what happened yesterday?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says turning up the radio a little.
I turn it down a bit and ask, “Why won’t you talk to me? I know that you want to take our friendship to another level, but are you going to stay mad at me because I’m scared to lose what we have?”
“Nah, you good. I ain’t trying to take this “friendship” anywhere but where it is. If we were meant to be more than that, there wouldn’t be this much arguing for us to get there. We’re friends and I get it. You don’t want to complicate things by going further than friends,” he says. The sarcastic way he says it though makes me think he doesn’t get it even though he says he does.
“Okay, well if I’m good and you’re good and we,” I point from him to me, “are good, then can you stop treating me this way?”
“How am I treating you?”
“Like we aren’t good? This is the first time we have ever encountered this issue, so for me, I’m totally stunned by your attitude. I mean, you’re not even willing to talk about it or try to understand my point of view. I care about you so much and I value our friendship like none I’ve ever had. I don’t want to lose you or the closeness that we’ve had over the years,” I say.
We pull up to the stop light and he looks over at me.
“I’m sorry,” he finally says.
“Sorry for what exactly?” I ask him.
“I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time. I do understand what you’re saying and I value our friendship too. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I care less about our friendship than you do. We good and this time I mean it,” he says with a smile.
“Whew!” I say breathing a sigh of relief. The last thing I want is to lose Onyx and what we have. He’s my best friend and I can talk to him about anything. “Thank God we got this settled. I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you.”
“You won’t ever lose me. I’m always going to be here for you,” he said.
“And I’ll always be here for you,” I say as we pull into the parking lot. I can’t wait to get out of this car so I can give him a hug. Once he shuts down the engine, I open the door and hurry to his side of the car. As he steps out, I wrap my arms around his waist and he holds me close.
“Hey, you do know people watching us and they already think something is going on between us,” he says.
“So. I don’t care who is watching. Everybody in this damn school should already know what time it is with us so let them watch,” I say.
“Alright baby girl, now get off me so we can go to class.”
“The bell didn’t even ring yet,” I say.
“Yea but there’s something I need to do first,” he says.
“Like what?”
“Like something Miss Nosey,” he says with a smile as we walk towards the school’s courtyard. Being the nosey person that I am, of course I’m following him. When I see Miles standing there talking to his friends and Onyx making a beeline for him, I jump in front of him.
“Where are you going?”
“I just wanna ask that nigga something,” he says.
“Onyx that’s not a good idea. Let’s just go to class,” I say.
“I’ll go to class after I ask that nigga something,” he says.
We finally make it to where Miles is and all eyes turn to us.
“What can I do for y’all? Y’all here to tell us that y’all a couple now or something?” Miles asks.
“Nah, nigga. I’m here to find out why you left Starr at the movies the other night?” Onyx asks.
“What?”
“You heard what the fuck I said. Why the fuck you make Starr get out yo damn car and leave her there?”
Onyx is really upset and I can tell because his temples are throbbing. I would try to pull him back from this confrontation with Miles, but I learned a long time ago not to get into any of his battles or disputes. Last time I did that, I accidentally got popped which left me with a black eye that lasted a week.
“Well, she was telling me what good friends y’all are and shit, so I figured if I would let her ass out you would come get her. And ssshhhiiidddd, from what I’m understanding right here, I was right and you did come to get her. I mean, what the fuck she need me for when she got you?”
“So, without making sure she was safe, you just made her get out of your car and drove off. Is that what the fu
ck you saying yo?”
“Yep, that pretty much sums it up.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” Onyx says after tossing his backpack to the ground and swinging on Miles. Miles falls to the ground as soon as the punch connects with his face. What the hell is Onyx thinking? He can get kicked off the basketball team for fighting, especially if he gets suspended.
“Onyx, stop! It’s not worth it!” I yell as I try to grab his shirt and pull him off Miles.
He is pretty pissed because he continues to pummel Miles as if he doesn’t hear me. The crowd is screaming as they have all surrounded us. I look over at Onyx’s teammates and holler, “Stop the fight! Why are y’all just standing there? He’ll get suspended and kicked off the team!”
I guess I finally said something to them that made a difference because Paul and Ramsey suddenly jump in to break up the fight. Onyx jerks his body trying to get out of their grasp when Coach Brown comes running.
“What the hell is going on out here? Onyx what the hell!”
Onyx doesn’t answer, just grabs his backpack and heads inside the main hall of the school. I run after him because I need to know what the hell he is thinking. Before the hall door slams, I can hear coach screaming Onyx’s name, “ONYX! ONYX GET BACK HERE!”
Onyx doesn’t stop walking. He just continues down the hallway in a huff. I finally catch up to him and ask, “What was that about?”
“Weren’t you there Starr? Then you know what it was about. I don’t play that disrespectful shit and that nigga tried to play you. I guess he didn’t expect me to bust his ass,” he says.
“But you can get kicked off the team or suspended.”
“They not fixing to do either one of those things. I’m still one of the best players they have on that fuckin’ team. Without me, they won’t make it to the championship games. Look Starr, I respect that we’re friends, but I won’t let no nigga disrespect you. Ever. Let me go get cleaned up and I’ll catch up with you later,” he says as he stands by the boy’s restroom door.
“But your hand is bleeding. You should get it checked out by the nurse,” I say.
He opens and closes his hand four or five times and smiles, “See, its fine. Now go to class and I’ll catch up to you for lunch.”
“Okay,” I say.
Before he can close the door to the boy’s room, I grab his wrist. He stops and looks at me. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek, “Thanks Onyx.”
“No problem baby girl,” he says with a smile as he closes the door.
I smile as I head to class thinking about how special he just made me feel. He defended me without thinking twice about himself or what this would mean to his position on the team. He just jumped in and played hero, the way he always has when boys would pick on me. I head to my first period class only to run into Mandy’s bitch ass again. Damn, doesn’t this bitch get enough? You would think that when she would see me, she would head in a different direction. But she doesn’t. She keeps walking straight towards me until she’s right in my face yet again.
CHAPTER NINE
Mandy
I knew when Onyx was making his way to where Miles was standing that there was fixing to be some trouble, especially when I saw that lil bitch Starr, trailing behind him. When he walked up to Miles and asked did he leave that bitch stranded at the movies, I wanted to die laughing. So after we fought, Miles ditched her ass. That is too damn funny.
I guess Miles figured the same thing I did; that she and Onyx were messing around with each other. I mean, I’m all for everybody being happy. If they wanted to be together, they should have just said that instead of leading Miles and I on. Onyx made me believe that they were just friends and that he and I would always be together. He lied and what’s worse, he did it with a straight face. Looking back on it, maybe he told me what he thought I needed to hear so he could get some pussy. I know Starr’s lil frigid ass ain’t putting out.
When I see her coming down the hall, of course I make it my business to walk her way. We fought two days straight, so she’s probably feeling herself and thinking she got the best of me. Bitch please. She didn’t get the best of me because I’m still here and I’m definitely fixing to talk some shit.
I walk right up in her face, anxious to see what she’s going to do.
She tries to move around me, but I step to the side blocking her way.
“I see you haven’t learned your lesson over the weekend,” she says.
“I know that you are the reason Onyx broke up with me. I know you are fuckin’ him,” I say.
“Get the hell out of my face. You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about,” she says.
This bitch, standing here looking all innocent and shit, is not fooling me. I know that she is responsible for my misery. I’ll be damned if I just step aside and make it easy for her to get my man.
“I know exactly what I’m talking about and if you think I’m going to make this easy for you, you had better think again. I will be in your face every fucking chance I get. You will not have my man!”
“You are such an insecure bitch! Now get the hell out of my face before you get more of what I gave you last night,” she says.
“I don’t know what you mean but I would sure like to see you try it BITCH!” I step closer to her, so close when I said the word bitch, I saw my spit fly in her face.
“I mean, if you don’t get the fuck out of my face, I am going to wipe the floor with your ass, again. Please don’t try me. I promise you won’t like how I serve it to you this time,” she says.
All I can hear are a bunch of oohs and aahs coming from people who have no reason to be so damn nosey. But as always, when people think there is going to be a fight, they always gravitate towards that area. But it’s cool, because I can promise that this bitch will get hers today. I am not about to lose another fight to her in front of all my classmates. She thinks she had the upper hand the last two times, and she probably did. But I will redeem myself today.
“Oh, well those times we fought and you feel you beat me, you obviously were feeling yourself. I kicked your ass and I will be more than happy to do it again!” I say pushing her shoulder with my fingertip.
She drops her backpack and I drop mine, ready for whatever is fixing to happen next. But nothing happens, because Onyx comes and scoops her up by her waist, heading in another direction. Damn him. What the fuck does he see in her? Why didn’t he save me? Why doesn’t he care about me the way he cares about her? But it’s okay though, because he can’t save her all the time. She and I will meet again. I decide to send this bitch a text, just to let her know that I am not going away.
Me: I will kick your ass again…don’t think b/c he saved u that time, that we r done
Starr: Bring it bitch! Ain’t nobody scared of u
Me: O I plan to bring it to u bitch
Starr: Good…I’ll look forward to it
Me and my girls continue walking to class. The more I think about Starr and Onyx, the more my blood begins to boil. I don’t know when I started to dislike her so much. I guess it was when I saw that Onyx’s feelings for her had started to change. He wasn’t that way before. Before he had all eyes on me, but once we got to high school and her shape started to change, his looks towards her started to change also. It’s almost like he had glossy eyes just for her. She is his one weakness I can never understand.
I knew from that point on I would have problems with her. I don’t know what it’s going to take to get him away from her clutches, but sooner or later, I’m going to figure it out. I’ll break them up if it’s the last thing I do.
CHAPTER TEN
Onyx
I had it on my mind since the night I picked Starr up from the movies. I knew when I got to school today that I was going to go after Miles bitch ass. He should have known that I was going to come for him too. As close as Starr and I are, how could he think I would just let him disrespect her that way? That nigga must have had me fucked up.
I ap
proached his ass, already knowing what he had done the night they went to the movies. When I walked up to his ass, I actually thought that nigga would apologize to Starr. I mean, that would have been the better move for him to make. Instead, he wanted to mouth off and shit. Come on dude. We been going to the same schools since I moved here and this would not have been my first fight. I know for a fact that he’s seen how I get down when I fight with a nigga.
I don’t play games and I don’t back down to anyone. I thought he would have gotten a lick or two on me, but he didn’t get shit. Like, once I got him down on the ground, I just loomed on top of him and punched his fuckin’ face; over and over again. All he had to do was apologize and this would have gone a totally different direction. He chose not to say sorry so he got what he deserved.
After I cleaned my hands up in the restroom, I come out and I’m walking down the hall to see another crowd surrounding some chicks who look like they bout to throw down. As I get closer to the scene, I notice that it’s Starr and Mandy. I’ll be damned if I let Starr get in trouble at school for beating this damn girl again. When she drops her bag, I know that it’s only a matter of time before the two of them lay hands on each other. I react quickly, grabbing her bag off the floor and lifting her ass up to take her to her class.
“What are you doing Onyx? Dang,” she says as I put her down on the floor.
“I’m stopping you from getting suspended behind some bullshit. I mean, you beat the damn girl twice last weekend already. What you gotta keep fighting her for?” I ask. Before she can answer me, her phone beeps signaling a text message just came through. She pulls her phone from her back pocket and checks it. The way she’s looking at the screen makes me think it’s from a number she may not recognize.
“Who is it?” I ask. She turns the screen towards me so that I can see it. I recognize the number as Mandy’s. Why the hell is she texting Starr? How did she even get Starr’s number?
Mandy: I will kick your ass again…don’t think b/c he saved u that time, that we r done
