Back to Me

by Earl Sewell

  “I know that I’m starting to sound like a skipping CD, but—”

  I interrupted her. “No, Keysha, he still hasn’t come clean about the pictures, but the jerk is officially dating Viviana, like you said.”

  “That sucks!” Keysha turned and faced me. “I figured that something was going on, but I didn’t think Viviana would actually go behind your back like that,” Keysha said.

  “Well, she did, and there isn’t much I can do about it. As far as I’m concerned, Viviana is a total sleaze.”

  “What about Carlo? Have you been able to talk him out of fighting?” Keysha asked.

  “No. He has his mind focused on beating up Misalo.”

  “I heard they’ve actually set a date, time and place,” Keysha said as she sat back down.

  “Are you serious? Carlo didn’t mention that to me,” I said.

  “Does Geico sell insurance?” Keysha asked sarcastically. “I’m surprised he didn’t say anything to you.”

  “I have to do something,” I said aloud.

  “Like what?” Keysha asked.

  “Stop them from doing this,” I answered, raising my voice. “Misalo doesn’t know how to fight, and Carlo does. He’s going to hurt Misalo.”

  “So, you’re going to try to talk Carlo out of it again?” Keysha asked.

  “Yes,” I said, feeling a migraine headache developing.

  “What are you going to tell Carlo?” Keysha asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll think of something.”

  * * *

  Later that day, after Keysha was summoned home by her dad, I called Carlo to try to talk some sense into him, but I couldn’t get through. I sent him a text message and asked that he call me, because it was important that I speak with him. After I sent the text message, I found myself in the family room, watching an episode of Lincoln Heights. Viviana came into the room through the garage entrance. She glanced at me, but we didn’t say a word to each other. A few minutes later, she came back through the family room and was about to head out the door again.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, breaking the silence between us.

  “Someplace that you can’t,” Viviana mocked.

  “It’s almost dinnertime, and you know how my mother likes for everyone to be home so we can sit together and eat,” I reminded her.

  “I won’t be gone that long.” Viviana turned to walk out but then stopped. She turned back around and said, “If you must know, I’m going to see Misalo.”

  I glanced at her. I felt the animosity I had for her heating up.

  “He’s such a great kisser,” Viviana added, continuing to taunt me. “That’s why I have to teach him how to fight. I wouldn’t want him to get those sweet lips of his split open.”

  My stomach turned at the thought of Misalo kissing her. “What do you mean, teach him how to fight?” I asked.

  “Just what I said. I’ve been teaching him how to throw punches and combinations. Just like my father taught me. Don’t you remember how well I kicked your butt?”

  “Go to hell, Viviana!”

  “You first, trick!” she roared before turning her back on me and continuing on.

  * * *

  When Carlo finally got back to me, there was still enough time for me to sneak out of the house and meet with him face-to-face. I told him to meet me at the park, which was only a block away from my house. I arrived there first and sat on the park bench and listened to music I’d downloaded on my iPod. After a few songs played, I looked at my watch to check the time.

  “Dang it, Carlo,” I said aloud. “My parents will be home in thirty minutes.” I phoned Carlo again to find out where he was. I didn’t get an answer. I waited for another fifteen minutes and then decided that I’d better get back home before I got busted for sneaking out of the house while being grounded.

  As I walked down the sidewalk toward my house, Carlo came creeping along the street in his car. He blew his horn, rolled down the passenger window and said, “I wasn’t that late, was I?”

  Frustrated, I stopped, turned toward Carlo, who was leaning over while looking at me, and said, “I don’t have time for games, Carlo. I told you that I needed to see you right away and that it was very important.”

  “I got here as fast as I could, Maya. What more do you want?” he asked.

  “You could’ve called and told me where you were and how long you’d be. Why didn’t you answer my call fifteen minutes ago?” I asked.

  “It’s against the law to be on the phone while driving.” He smiled at me. I knew he was attempting to win me over. “Come on. Get in so we can talk about your issue.” He waved for me to join him. I huffed as I opened the passenger door and sat beside him.

  “I don’t have very much time, Carlo. I told you that I was grounded, and now I have less than ten minutes to get back to the house.”

  “Well, then, you’d better speak fast. What’s up?” he asked. There was no easy way to ask him not to fight Misalo, so I didn’t waste any of my precious time beating around the bush.

  “I don’t want you to fight Misalo,” I said.

  Laughing, Carlo said, “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Really? You’re not going to fight him?” I asked, holding my breath and awaiting confirmation.

  “Oh, no. We’re going to fight. We’re going to throw down tomorrow,” he said proudly.

  “What’s the big deal? Why can’t both of you just let this male ego thing go?” I wanted realistic answers, but I didn’t know if Carlo was capable of providing them.

  “Look, Misalo is a cocky jackass who needs to be put in his place. He needs to be taught a lesson about sticking his nose in my business,” Carlo replied, raising his voice at me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that his resolve to hurt Misalo was unwavering.

  “Please,” I begged him.

  “Don’t you realize that I’m also doing this for you, Maya? Have you forgotten that?” Carlo asked.

  “Yes, and I appreciate that, but I don’t want to see you get hurt,” I said.

  “Please. I can beat Misalo down with one arm tied behind my back. This isn’t going to be a long fight,” he said confidently. “Trust me. By the time I’m done with him, he not only is going to apologize to me, but I’m going to make him say he’s sorry to you, as well.”

  Finally, giving in to the fact that I wasn’t going to change his mind, I asked, “Where are you guys supposed to be fighting?”

  “Veterans Park. Tomorrow at noon. There are going to be a lot of people there. Everyone knows about this fight. I can’t wait to publicly humiliate Misalo.” Carlo smacked the closed fist of his right hand into the palm of his left.

  “Oh, damn! I’ve got to go!” I said, urgently opening the car door.

  “Do you want me to give you a ride back home? You’ll get there a lot quicker,” Carlo offered.

  “No. They might see me in your car, and then I’d never hear the end of it,” I said. I cut through the park and started running toward my house.

  Nineteen

  VIVIANA

  “Are you ready, baby?” I asked Misalo. I was at his house, helping him make final preparations for his big fight with Carlo. Misalo was standing in front of his bathroom mirror, shadowboxing.

  “Jab, jab, hook, uppercut,” he said aloud as he practiced maneuvering.

  “You’ve gotten better.” I was impressed with his hand speed.

  “Yeah. I’m ready to take this fool down,” Misalo said, firing off a series of quick punches.

  “Save some for the fight, baby,” I said as I approached him from behind and gently placed my hands on his shoulders. I massaged the back of his neck, which he rotated counterclockwise. “Remember, don’t let him get you on the ground. The boxing skills I showed y
ou won’t be of much help if you’re on your back,” I reminded him as he put on a black tank top.

  “He’s not going to take me down. I’ll introduce his face to my knee if he tries to go for my legs.” Misalo was talking tough. I could see the contempt he had for Carlo in his eyes. “Let’s do this,” he said, looking at himself one more time before walking out.

  I followed behind him and said, “I’ve got your back, baby.”

  “I know you do, Viviana.” Misalo paused and briefly kissed me. When our lips met, I swear time felt as if it stopped. His lips were so soft and, as far as I was concerned, tasted delicious.

  “Do you think Carlo will show up?” I asked once I snapped out of my brief moment of bliss. I picked up the first-aid kit I had decided to purchase just as a precaution. If Misalo got hurt, I wanted to make sure that I’d be able to handle patching him up, just like my mother had patched up my father.

  “That punk had better show up. If not, I’m going to go hunt him down,” Misalo said as he and I walked out his front door.

  When we arrived at Veterans Park, a crowd of people was waiting on Misalo to arrive. I didn’t know how so many people had found out about the brawl They were anxiously waiting for the mayhem to begin.

  “I was beginning to think he was a coward,” I heard someone say as Misalo and I walked toward an open area of the park where there was plenty of space to fight.

  “He’s not afraid,” I snapped at the person who had the audacity to think otherwise.

  “I hope this will be a good fight,” I heard someone else say.

  “What are they fighting about?” asked someone else in the crowd.

  Misalo and I finally stopped walking when we saw Carlo. He was standing with his shirt off, flexing his muscles. A few other guys were standing beside Carlo. Since they looked alike, I assumed they were either his brothers or cousins. Carlo was clearly more muscular than Misalo, not that Misalo looked wimpy. Carlo just had a body that appeared to be chiseled out of stone. He had strong shoulders, a mighty chest and a well-defined six-pack. The black tank top Misalo was wearing made his biceps look strong, but I feared that if he took a solid hit from Carlo, the fight would be over and Misalo and his pride would be wounded for a long time.

  I had thought for sure that Maya would be standing next to Carlo, but she wasn’t. I searched around the crowd and spotted her standing next to Keysha. I thought that it was odd for her not to stand by Carlo’s side, since he was clearly her new man. Maya caught my gaze, and we looked at each other for a long moment. I could see fear and uncertainty in her eyes. I knew that this was something she had hoped would never happen, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. The fight was going to go down. I decided to remove my cell phone and take a few snapshots of her to use against her. Her girlfriend Keysha noticed me taking photos. She was glaring at me, as if I were a difficult mathematical problem she was trying to figure out how to solve.

  “Where are your friends?” I whispered to Misalo after I put my camera away. I feared that if he started winning, Carlo’s sidekicks would get involved in the brawl, which would mean that I’d have to help out, and I did not want to fight a guy.

  “I don’t know. The guys from the soccer team are supposed to be here,” Misalo whispered as he looked around for his boys. He spotted them making their way through the crowd. “Here they come,” he said, nodding his head in the direction from which they were approaching.

  I gave a sigh of relief. Four of Misalo’s soccer friends showed up to support him. If things got out of hand, at least the odds were now even.

  Misalo took off his tank top and flung it to the ground, signaling he was ready to throw down.

  “Are you ready to get beat down, boy?” Carlo roared as he stepped closer to Misalo with his hands balled up, eager to do bodily damage.

  “You’re the one who is about to get his butt kicked!” Misalo barked back.

  “Come on. Let’s do this!” Carlo shouted as he closed the gap between himself and Misalo.

  I tried to get Misalo’s attention to remind him to protect himself and not to get caught up in the moment by throwing wild punches.

  “You’re going to learn not to get in my business, punk!” Carlo said aggressively, making gestures with his hands and arms.

  “And I’m going to teach you a lesson about messing around with another guy’s girl!” Misalo fearlessly growled back.

  “You shouldn’t have sent those private photos of Maya to all the contacts in your cell phone. That was bogus, man. Maya dropped your punk ass because she wanted to get with a real man who respected her and wouldn’t disrespect her!”

  “I never sent the photos out of my phone. What the hell are you talking about?” Misalo momentarily looked perplexed.

  “What? Now you’re going to say something lame, like you lost your phone?” Carlo continued to antagonize Misalo.

  By the bewildered look in Misalo’s eyes, I could tell that he wasn’t concentrating on winning the fight.

  “Misalo, if you never sent the photos, then who did?” I heard Maya ask.

  “Who cares, baby! Can I get a picture of you with all your clothes off?” some dude behind me yelled out. I turned and looked at him. He was a tall, skinny kid with brown freckles and a bad haircut. He was showing some friends of his the photos in his phone. “Do you want to see that Maya chick in her underwear, too?” He flipped his phone around so that I could see Maya’s photos that had been forwarded to him.

  I could’ve cared less. At that moment, I heard the crowd explode with a loud roar. I turned back around and saw that the fight had begun.

  “Get him, Carlo!” I heard someone shout out as Carlo inched closer to Misalo, who was looking for the perfect opportunity to throw a punch.

  “Move!” said a girl who was standing near me. She had her cell phone in her hand and was recording the action. I took a quick glance around and noticed that practically everyone who had a cell phone was recording the fight.

  The moment Carlo got close enough, Misalo swung at him but missed.

  “If you’re going to throw a punch, you’d better learn how to connect!” Carlo taunted Misalo.

  “Come on, Misalo!” I called, cheering him on as the mob grew impatient. Carlo once again moved in closer. Misalo allowed him to get too close, and Carlo unleashed several quick blows to Misalo’s ribs. Misalo was able to push him off. Carlo charged back in and Misalo caught him with a solid shot on the jaw.

  “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” the flash mob of teens screamed, as if they were watching their favorite performer at a concert.

  Carlo absorbed the strike. Misalo swung several more times but missed.

  “Take your time, Misalo!” I shouted.

  “You are truly a punk. You have to have your girl yell out instructions to you,” Carlo said, moving in once again.

  Maya finally said something. “Both of you, just stop!”

  Her request fell on deaf ears. Carlo charged in once again. Misalo tried to hit him but missed. Carlo swept Misalo’s legs out from under him and got him on his back.

  “Get up!” I shouted as the crowd circled around the two of them so they could watch Carlo pound his fists into Misalo’s skull. It didn’t take long for Carlo to let his fists fly. Misalo was taking a beating, and the crowd loved it.

  “Carlo, that’s enough!” Maya rushed in and jumped on Carlo’s back, pulling him off of Misalo. The crowd jeered Maya for breaking up the action. Maya released Carlo and tumbled out of the way. Misalo quickly got to his feet and rushed toward Carlo. Misalo now had Carlo in the same position and returned the favor with a series of hammer fists.

  “Kick his ass, baby!” I yelled, cheering Misalo on.

  That’s when the fight got dirty. One of Carlo’s cousins joined in and kicked Misalo off of Carlo. Misalo tumbled over. The odds weren’t
even. There were four guys beating up on Misalo. I immediately jumped into the action and kicked one of the guys off. Misalo’s friends then joined in. Everything suddenly turned chaotic. There was screaming and shouting. The mob seemed to have taken on a life of its own. It was like a living, breathing mass of violence.

  It didn’t take long for the fight to turn into an all-out brawl. People who had just been watching were all of a sudden caught up in the madness and punching. Some girl decided to hit me for no reason. I defended myself and hit her with a four-punch combination that knocked her flat on her ass. The next thing I knew, her girlfriends appeared out of nowhere to help her beat me down. Before they could make a move, I nailed two of them, one with a roundhouse punch and the other one with an uppercut punch. The crowd had gone haywire. People were screaming and shouting.

  The swarm of people moved like a cyclone toward a nearby creek. I followed it because I needed to find Misalo. I needed to know if he was okay. Several people fell into the creek, Maya included. She looked as if she’d fallen pretty hard, but I didn’t care about her. I heard the wail of police sirens. As the authorities drew near, the mob scattered and ran in multiple directions. I saw Misalo limping away briskly with the help of Maya’s friend Keysha. I chased after them for what seemed like forever. They finally stopped in front of a church that was down the street from the park. They sat down on the lawn. By the time I caught up to them, Keysha was having a very serious conversation with Misalo.

  “I want a straight answer from you, Misalo,” Keysha said, not caring about the fact that Misalo was clearly injured. His nose was bloody, his bottom lip was bleeding, there was a cut in his eyebrow and his ankle was swelling up.

  “A straight answer about what?” Misalo winced as he tried to rotate his left foot in a clockwise motion. “I think I twisted my ankle.”

  “Let me look at it,” I said, squatting down. It was then that I realized that during the commotion, I’d lost the first-aid kit.

  “Why did you forward all the photos that Maya took for you? Those pictures were like a special gift from her to you. Why did you play her like that?” I didn’t like the fact that Keysha was questioning Misalo.