I was so pissed off at what happened at the skating party Friday. So pissed that I didn’t even want to go to church today. But its 3rd Sunday and I have to usher so I have to go. I didn’t speak one word to Jayla since Friday. I knew that she knew I was upset and that what she did was wrong. I mean how could she be all over a guy that I made clear was mine? She should have known better.
“Come on Sidney. I don’t want to be late.” My mom shouted up the stairs.
Sometimes I wish my brothers were still here living with us. I wish I wasn’t so much younger than them. Ricky, the youngest and my favorite brother, just left for the military last year. I missed him so much. I know he would give me some good advice about Tyrone. But he is not here. No one is. Just me and my mom. My dad, well he’s here too, but he seems to be working more and more lately.
“Girl, you better get down here now. Its time to go.” Mom shouted again.
“Ok. I’m coming.” I said and ran downstairs. We hopped in the car and went to church.
When we got there I thought to myself, ‘I so do not want to be in church this Sunday’. I didn’t have my plan B fully thought up yet and I certainly didn’t want to see Tyrone until I did. Lucky for me, he was nowhere in sight. But someone was.
“Hey Sidney”, came a voice from beside me.
His breath smacked me in the face before I even got the chance to turn around.
“What’s up Kyle?” I said.
“Nothing. I was thinking. Can I get you number. I wanted to ask you for it at Wow but you were looking all evil. I’m tryna holla.”
Was he serious? Did he seriously think that he had a chance with me? He was cute and all but he definitely had to do something about his stink breath.
“Are you serious Kyle? You really like me like that?” I said trying to act like I was shocked.
“Yeah, I do. And being as though Jayla and Tyrone got they thing going on, I figured you and me might as well hook up too.” He said.
“What thing Jayla and Tyrone got going on?” I replied without sounding angry.
“You know. Your girl aint tell you? They went to the movies and everything yesterday. And they goin laser taggin down Delaware Ave. today. They like a real couple.” Kyle said.
Oh my God. If I wasn’t in the house of the Lord right now I would scream. How could she. That’s why I haven’t heard from her all weekend. She was out parading around town with my man. After all I did for her. I should have never brought her up in here. I am so mad. Just for that, I’m going to give Kyle my number. See how Tyrone likes it when he finds out I go with his best friend too.
“For real? That’s whats up. You know I be busy with dance class on Saturdays so I aint get a chance to talk to Jay. But here go my number. You better call me too.” I said and smiled.
“Yeah, I will hit you up tonight alright.” Kyle said as he leaned in and hugged me.
I didn’t say not one word to my mom the whole way home from church. She kept asking me what was wrong and I kept saying nothing. I wished she would leave me alone. I just couldn’t wait to talk to Jay. I wonder if she would have the balls to tell me herself or if I would have to let her know that I knew what was going on. But now, this was my plan B. I’m Kyle’s girl now and my task is to introduce Kyle to Listerine and Tic Tacks. If his breath was bearable, then we could hang.
As soon as I walked through my room door, my phone rang.
“Hello” I said.
“What’s up.” The voice on the other end said.
“Who is this” I said with a hint of attitude.
“What you mean who is this. Stop tryna play me. Its ya boy Kyle.” Kyle responded.
“Oh, well what’s going on?” I said like I didn’t just see him 5 minutes ago at church.
“Nothin. Chillin. So is you tryna be my girl or what. You always playin games.” Kyle said.
“I am your girl. You know that.” I said.
“Well then me and my girl is going up to Cheltenham after school on Friday.” He said.
“Ok.” I liked how aggressive he was. Maybe I could look past his breath. He was kind of cute. Plus Jay and Tyrone was doing their thing so why shouldn’t I.
We talked on the phone for the next 2 hours. Kyle was kind of funny. I was starting to really like him. He was a grade higher than I was but so were Jay and Tyrone. Almost everyone I hung with was on their way to high school. Kyle was telling me about how he was going to Martin Luther King high school next year and is going to play basketball for them. That made me like him even more. This was turning into a good thing…
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Wow
The church van pulled up at Wow at like 7:20 PM. I was so frustrated because I did not see Tyrone or any of the other boys he hangs with on the van. It was just all of the girls and the nobodies. Jay was a little upset too because we both were excited to spend our Friday night with Tyrone and them.
“Sid, you think Tyrone and the other boys are already here?” Jay said.
“I don’t know, but I hope so.” I said hoping that Jay was more concentrated on Tyrone’s friends and not him. But that’s ok I thought because I knew what my plan was.
As we walked into the skating rink, I looked around to see if I saw any trace of Tyrone. I didn’t so Jay and I just walked across the bridge to the skate rental section.
“I am so mad that we got all dressed for nothing. There are no cute boys in here at all. I was hoping that the boys from your church would be here.” Jay said.
“I know. Me too girl.” I replied.
Just as we were about to hit the rink floor and do a couple laps, Tyrone with his fine self walked in the door. He was the cutest boy I ever laid eyes on. I didn’t even pay attention to his friends he was with. Tyrone was always dressed so nice. He had on a red Polo shirt, salt and pepper Guess jeans, and the latest black and red Jordans. He also had on a red Polo base ball cap and a black leather jacket. He was just on another level than any other boy his age. He seemed so old. So mature. He even had a pager. He was flyy and so was I, so I had to have him.
“Sid, there goes Tyrone and the boys.” Jay said.
“I know, I see them.” I said as if not to care that he showed up.
Jay and I skated out into the gaming area so we can be noticed. If there is anything I learned from Saved by the Bell, its that its better for the boy to approach you than to approach him. Just as we got over to the Street Fighter game, Tyrone’s friend Kyle spotted us.
“Yo. There go Sidney and that girl Jayla that she brought to church last Sunday. They is looking right.” Kyle said to Tyrone and the rest of the group.
“Yeah. They both are bangin but I’m feeling Jayla. She is looking good in them pink Icebergs.” Tyrone said.
As the group which consisted of four boys, Tyrone, Kyle, Mike, and Steve, walked over to us, I tried to act like I wasn’t too pressed.
“Hi ladies.” Kyle said. He was always the hype one.
“Hey.” Jay and I replied in unison.
“So Jayla, I like that gear your rockin. Them pink Icebergs just came out like last week. I like a girl who is on top of her fashion game.” Tyrone said.
“Thanks, you don’t look too bad yourself. I see you got them new Jordan’s on. They are hot right now.” Jay said blushing.
“Well you know I gotta stay ahead of the game. Can’t let these broke dudes out shine me.” Tyrone said while pointing at his crew.
This whole small talk conversation was about to make me throw up. I couldn’t stand the fact that he liked her so much. I mean what did she have that I didn’t. He did not compliment my outfit not once and hardly even noticed me. The only one who did was Kyle with his stink breath self. I was just wishing he would take his arm from around me like I was his girl or something. He was definitely not the one I wanted.
“So yall trying to get some pizza and soda or what?” Steve said. “I’m hungrier than a hostage.”
“Yeah. Me too. I got you though Jayla. Whatever you want to eat I will pay for.” Said Tyrone as he reached and put his arm around her.
I couldn’t be more livid. I mean how could he? He knew how much I liked him. He wasn’t just going to parade around Wow with my friend. Something had to give. I was getting more and more worked up every time I looked at them giggling and looking at each other. I felt like I had just been slapped in the face.
We all sat down at a booth and enjoyed the pizza and soda. Tyrone kept his promise to Jay and got her some cheese bread sticks and he got mozzarella sticks. I just sat in awe. I wished I was her so bad. Not really her, but I wish Tyrone liked me as much as he did her. She didn’t even like him as much as I did. I just couldn’t believe that all of this was happening right in front of my face. And it was like Jay didn’t even care. I’m sure she could tell how into him I was.
My plan was to give myself to Tyrone. I thought if I just did that then maybe he wouldn’t care so much about any other girl but me. But how could I give myself to him when he was so into Jay. He hardly said two words to me the whole time that we were there because he was all about her. I had to find a way to get his attention. That’s it. Plan B is in effect.
“Sid, you think Tyrone and the other boys are already here?” Jay said.
“I don’t know, but I hope so.” I said hoping that Jay was more concentrated on Tyrone’s friends and not him. But that’s ok I thought because I knew what my plan was.
As we walked into the skating rink, I looked around to see if I saw any trace of Tyrone. I didn’t so Jay and I just walked across the bridge to the skate rental section.
“I am so mad that we got all dressed for nothing. There are no cute boys in here at all. I was hoping that the boys from your church would be here.” Jay said.
“I know. Me too girl.” I replied.
Just as we were about to hit the rink floor and do a couple laps, Tyrone with his fine self walked in the door. He was the cutest boy I ever laid eyes on. I didn’t even pay attention to his friends he was with. Tyrone was always dressed so nice. He had on a red Polo shirt, salt and pepper Guess jeans, and the latest black and red Jordans. He also had on a red Polo base ball cap and a black leather jacket. He was just on another level than any other boy his age. He seemed so old. So mature. He even had a pager. He was flyy and so was I, so I had to have him.
“Sid, there goes Tyrone and the boys.” Jay said.
“I know, I see them.” I said as if not to care that he showed up.
Jay and I skated out into the gaming area so we can be noticed. If there is anything I learned from Saved by the Bell, its that its better for the boy to approach you than to approach him. Just as we got over to the Street Fighter game, Tyrone’s friend Kyle spotted us.
“Yo. There go Sidney and that girl Jayla that she brought to church last Sunday. They is looking right.” Kyle said to Tyrone and the rest of the group.
“Yeah. They both are bangin but I’m feeling Jayla. She is looking good in them pink Icebergs.” Tyrone said.
As the group which consisted of four boys, Tyrone, Kyle, Mike, and Steve, walked over to us, I tried to act like I wasn’t too pressed.
“Hi ladies.” Kyle said. He was always the hype one.
“Hey.” Jay and I replied in unison.
“So Jayla, I like that gear your rockin. Them pink Icebergs just came out like last week. I like a girl who is on top of her fashion game.” Tyrone said.
“Thanks, you don’t look too bad yourself. I see you got them new Jordan’s on. They are hot right now.” Jay said blushing.
“Well you know I gotta stay ahead of the game. Can’t let these broke dudes out shine me.” Tyrone said while pointing at his crew.
This whole small talk conversation was about to make me throw up. I couldn’t stand the fact that he liked her so much. I mean what did she have that I didn’t. He did not compliment my outfit not once and hardly even noticed me. The only one who did was Kyle with his stink breath self. I was just wishing he would take his arm from around me like I was his girl or something. He was definitely not the one I wanted.
“So yall trying to get some pizza and soda or what?” Steve said. “I’m hungrier than a hostage.”
“Yeah. Me too. I got you though Jayla. Whatever you want to eat I will pay for.” Said Tyrone as he reached and put his arm around her.
I couldn’t be more livid. I mean how could he? He knew how much I liked him. He wasn’t just going to parade around Wow with my friend. Something had to give. I was getting more and more worked up every time I looked at them giggling and looking at each other. I felt like I had just been slapped in the face.
We all sat down at a booth and enjoyed the pizza and soda. Tyrone kept his promise to Jay and got her some cheese bread sticks and he got mozzarella sticks. I just sat in awe. I wished I was her so bad. Not really her, but I wish Tyrone liked me as much as he did her. She didn’t even like him as much as I did. I just couldn’t believe that all of this was happening right in front of my face. And it was like Jay didn’t even care. I’m sure she could tell how into him I was.
My plan was to give myself to Tyrone. I thought if I just did that then maybe he wouldn’t care so much about any other girl but me. But how could I give myself to him when he was so into Jay. He hardly said two words to me the whole time that we were there because he was all about her. I had to find a way to get his attention. That’s it. Plan B is in effect.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Envy
It was mid April 1999 and about 70 degrees that day. I couldn’t get home fast enough to get ready for the skating party. Jay and I went up to the Gallery the day before to get our outfits. I got this cute black shiny Guess jean outfit with a fitted black shirt. And I also got these black Kenneth Cole shoes with the drawstring. They were so hot. Jay got a jean outfit too but hers was Sergio Valente and was blue jean with pink stitching. It was cute but mine was cuter. I wasn’t going to let her steal my shine.
I got home at about 3:45 PM and jumped in the shower. I had to be fresh for my boo Tyrone. I got out, put on my cucumber melon lotion, and jumped in my new outfit. I popped Harlem World in my radio to get in the party mood. I was just having a good time in my room getting ready because I knew that night was my night.
“Bad, bad, bad, bad boy. You make me feel so good…” I sang at the top of my lungs.
Just then the phone rang.
“Thanks for calling house of beauty, this is cutie.” I said
“Hahaha, girl you crazy. How you wearing your hair tonight?” Jayla replied.
“I don’t know. I was thinking about putting it in a sock bun.” I lied.
“Oh, ok. Well I don’t know what I am going to do with this mess but I will be over in like an hour.” She said
“Alright but make sure you over here by 6:00 cuz you know the church van is leaving at 6:45 and I aint trying to miss it.” I said before I hung up.
“This my song. Tell me what you want from me, take a look at what you see. Let me know if this right here, something you can have for years…” I sang as I turned up the music and continued to get ready. I just knew I was the stuff. I didn’t tell Jay but I stopped at the hair store the other day after school and got me some 12 inch yaki perm strait number four hair. I slapped some Pro Style gel in my hair and pinned that pony tail in so fast. And I was cute. I mean I was that girl. I looked in the mirror for about ten minutes after that checking myself out. I had to make sure I kept my lips extra glossy so that I could have all eyes on me when I walked through the door. Just as I was starting to get the full of myself, my door bell rang.
I thought I died when I opened that door and saw Jayla. She did not have on the outfit that we bought together. This girl had on these tight candy pink colored Iceberg jeans, a white button up blouse that was tied at the bottom, and these fresh white air forces. Her hair was pressed and nicely curled and her eye brows were even arched. She was so beautiful. It made my blood boil but I didn’t show it.
“Girl you look cute. I love them pink pants.” I said without sounding too jealous.
“Thanks. My dad got them for me. They were on my bed when I got home and I just had to wear them tonight. But your outfit is tight and your hair is flyy. I love the pony tail.” Said Jay.
“Thanks girl. Well you ready?” I said before I showed a spark of envy.
“Yeah girl. Lets go. I can’t wait to see the boys.” Jay said and high fived me.
She didn’t know it, but I had something for her tonight. If she wants to go toe to toe with me she got the right one. That night would be my night. The night Sidney Reese would go from being a girl to a woman. I knew Jayla’s name wouldn’t even cross Tyrone’s mind after I acted on my plan….
I got home at about 3:45 PM and jumped in the shower. I had to be fresh for my boo Tyrone. I got out, put on my cucumber melon lotion, and jumped in my new outfit. I popped Harlem World in my radio to get in the party mood. I was just having a good time in my room getting ready because I knew that night was my night.
“Bad, bad, bad, bad boy. You make me feel so good…” I sang at the top of my lungs.
Just then the phone rang.
“Thanks for calling house of beauty, this is cutie.” I said
“Hahaha, girl you crazy. How you wearing your hair tonight?” Jayla replied.
“I don’t know. I was thinking about putting it in a sock bun.” I lied.
“Oh, ok. Well I don’t know what I am going to do with this mess but I will be over in like an hour.” She said
“Alright but make sure you over here by 6:00 cuz you know the church van is leaving at 6:45 and I aint trying to miss it.” I said before I hung up.
“This my song. Tell me what you want from me, take a look at what you see. Let me know if this right here, something you can have for years…” I sang as I turned up the music and continued to get ready. I just knew I was the stuff. I didn’t tell Jay but I stopped at the hair store the other day after school and got me some 12 inch yaki perm strait number four hair. I slapped some Pro Style gel in my hair and pinned that pony tail in so fast. And I was cute. I mean I was that girl. I looked in the mirror for about ten minutes after that checking myself out. I had to make sure I kept my lips extra glossy so that I could have all eyes on me when I walked through the door. Just as I was starting to get the full of myself, my door bell rang.
I thought I died when I opened that door and saw Jayla. She did not have on the outfit that we bought together. This girl had on these tight candy pink colored Iceberg jeans, a white button up blouse that was tied at the bottom, and these fresh white air forces. Her hair was pressed and nicely curled and her eye brows were even arched. She was so beautiful. It made my blood boil but I didn’t show it.
“Girl you look cute. I love them pink pants.” I said without sounding too jealous.
“Thanks. My dad got them for me. They were on my bed when I got home and I just had to wear them tonight. But your outfit is tight and your hair is flyy. I love the pony tail.” Said Jay.
“Thanks girl. Well you ready?” I said before I showed a spark of envy.
“Yeah girl. Lets go. I can’t wait to see the boys.” Jay said and high fived me.
She didn’t know it, but I had something for her tonight. If she wants to go toe to toe with me she got the right one. That night would be my night. The night Sidney Reese would go from being a girl to a woman. I knew Jayla’s name wouldn’t even cross Tyrone’s mind after I acted on my plan….
Thursday, March 5, 2009
My Tyrone
I was so happy that Jay and her mom, Ms. Reese, decided to visit our church today. I was excited to introduce Jay to my church friends and I was also glad that our mothers got along so well.
“Do we have any visitors with us this morning?” Mrs. Thomas asked the congregation. “If so would you please stand.”
When Jay and Ms. Reese stood up, I smiled from ear to ear. But I also noticed the smiles on all of the men and boys faces. I must admit, Jay and her mother were very attractive, but I was used to being the center of attention at my church.
“We welcome you to
“I know right.” I said hoping she didn’t hear the hate in my voice.
I just needed to make it clear to her that this is my church and she can have any boy there except for Tyrone Dupree. He was the only one who I had eyes for and I didn’t quite like how his eyes were looking at Jay.
“There will be a youth skating party this Friday at Wow Skating Rink. Tickets are…” Mrs. Thomas went on with the announcements.
All I heard was youth and skating and I just had to be there. Jay felt the same way so we automatically knew what we were doing Friday. The choir sang a hymn and then Pastor Love preached.
“What am I going to wear on Friday?” I thought.
Jay and I went over to where Tyrone and the other church boys were.
“Hi Tyrone.”, I said in my cute voice. “This is my friend Jayla, but you can call her Jay”.
“Sup?” said Tyrone.
He was so good looking. He always had on the flyyest clothes and his swagger was ridiculous. He was chocolate brown and had a nice build. He was always into football and bragged about how he would be playing for Roman Catholic in high school next year.
“So Jay is it? What school you at?” He said.
“Well I go to
“Oh is that right. Well you know I’m going to be playing football for Roman next year and Hallahan is like right next door so I guess we will be seeing a lot of one another soon huh.” He said.
I could clearly see that he was attracted to Jay and that made me angry. I mean real angry. I don’t know if Jay felt the heat coming off of me or what but she quickly changed the subject to the skating party.
“So will you all be joining
“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”, all the boys echoed.
“Well we will see you then. Come on Sid, our mothers are waiting”.
Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Hi. My name is Sidney Reese. I am the youngest and only girl out of 6 children. I have 5 older brothers. Here is my story.
It all started back in the summer of 1998. My family had just moved to a house in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. We were an adverage middle class family. Mom owned her own day care center and dad worked for Septa driving the 23 bus. I absolutely loved our new house. It was so much nicer than the one we used to live in in Nice Town. Mom and dad were so happy to be able to move us off of 19th and Wingohocking to such a more peaceful neighborhood. And I could not wait to start the 7th grade in the fall at Houston. Life couldn't be better.
It was a very humid Saturday morning. Mom and I were unpacking our belongings and dad was out back smoking his pipe in our new backyard. I ran outside to get something out of the car for mom when I saw a little girl about my age next door sitting on the porch talking on her cordless phone. I was shocked to see another black person on this block. She was so pretty. She actually looked like she could be related to me. She had sholder length natural red hair, light brown eyes, and caramel colored skin. I thought to myself, "I hope she lives here". I contiplated whether I should speak or not and decided it wouldn't hurt, so I approched her.
"Hi", I said. "My name is Sidney, whats yours?"
She looked up at me and told the person on the other end of the phone that she would call them back.
"Hey, my name is Jayla. But you can just call me Jay. I saw you moving in last night. Where did you used to live?"
I was so glad that she was pleasant so I began to tell her about the old neighborhood in Nice Town and about my life and everything. She told me that she lived on this block her whole life and that she goes to catholic school. We just went back and forth discussing stories until the street lights came on. Im surprised my mother didn't come looking for me. But she knew I was safe. It didn't seem like too much crime went on in this neghborhood.
From that day on, Jay and I were the best of friends. When school started, we would wait outside for the other to get home. She was a year ahead of me so she spoke to me as if she was so experienced. I loved being around her. She was always so well put together and acted as if she didn't have a care in the world. Her parents were recently divorced, but that didn't stop her. She was my friend. My best friend. And I knew I could count on her for anything...
It all started back in the summer of 1998. My family had just moved to a house in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. We were an adverage middle class family. Mom owned her own day care center and dad worked for Septa driving the 23 bus. I absolutely loved our new house. It was so much nicer than the one we used to live in in Nice Town. Mom and dad were so happy to be able to move us off of 19th and Wingohocking to such a more peaceful neighborhood. And I could not wait to start the 7th grade in the fall at Houston. Life couldn't be better.
It was a very humid Saturday morning. Mom and I were unpacking our belongings and dad was out back smoking his pipe in our new backyard. I ran outside to get something out of the car for mom when I saw a little girl about my age next door sitting on the porch talking on her cordless phone. I was shocked to see another black person on this block. She was so pretty. She actually looked like she could be related to me. She had sholder length natural red hair, light brown eyes, and caramel colored skin. I thought to myself, "I hope she lives here". I contiplated whether I should speak or not and decided it wouldn't hurt, so I approched her.
"Hi", I said. "My name is Sidney, whats yours?"
She looked up at me and told the person on the other end of the phone that she would call them back.
"Hey, my name is Jayla. But you can just call me Jay. I saw you moving in last night. Where did you used to live?"
I was so glad that she was pleasant so I began to tell her about the old neighborhood in Nice Town and about my life and everything. She told me that she lived on this block her whole life and that she goes to catholic school. We just went back and forth discussing stories until the street lights came on. Im surprised my mother didn't come looking for me. But she knew I was safe. It didn't seem like too much crime went on in this neghborhood.
From that day on, Jay and I were the best of friends. When school started, we would wait outside for the other to get home. She was a year ahead of me so she spoke to me as if she was so experienced. I loved being around her. She was always so well put together and acted as if she didn't have a care in the world. Her parents were recently divorced, but that didn't stop her. She was my friend. My best friend. And I knew I could count on her for anything...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
