Country Born, City Raised

Rounding the bend

I turned over to be awakened by the brighness of the Saturday morning sun. Mama was already cooking breakfast, pancakes, of course. I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Dion was already in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and eating toothpaste as usual. I washed his face for him and sent him on his way. I lathered my wrag, and as I washed my face, a calmness came over me. The feeling of actually being in the comfort of home. I brushed my teeth and then went to make up my bed.  I went to the dining room, and my plate was on the table. I tried to sit in the chair so i could see the tv. Bugs Bunny was on, and there's no telling what kind of mess he was gonna get in to; only to get out of it. Plus, wrestling was coming on after this. I shoved my pancakes down my throat and put my plate in the sink. Since Dion couldn't wash dishes, that meant I definitely had to do it. Mama was already in her room drinking coffee and smoking a joint. I turned the radio on and cleaned the entire kitchen, which included wiping sown the stove and refrigerator, as well as sweeping, and moping the floor. By the time I had finished, wrestling was just coming on, and I was stoked. I love to see the announcer get cursed out by the wrestlers because he was a little dude with big opinions. The good guys always won, but sometimes the announcer had to take a royal ass whooping not only from the bad guy,  but sometimes some of the bad guys' friends. It was great entertainment.

After breakfast, I washed the dishes and then Deon and I went outside. Since we were new on the block, we just sat on the porch and chilled. I had my tape player and my big loud headphones. I loved old school music. It definitely was my get away from the evils of the world. Before I got deep into it a car pulled in the driveway. It was Tip. Her friends brother had brought her home. I was so glad she was back. She pulled her bags out and waved goodbye. As she walked on the porch, we hugged. I helped her with her bags and we went in the house. I put her stuff in our room, and we headed right back outside on the porch. While we were laughing and talking about our summers, we noticed two girls across the street starring at us. We looked at each other laughed and shrugged our shoulders. The girls walked by again and the bigger girl rolled her eyes. Now, I really didn't like to fight, but I stayed ready...and so did Tip. I was more cool and calm but Tip was a firecracker. She didnt mind letting loose on anybody. The girls walked by again and Tip motioned for the girls to come here. The bigger girl immediately stopped rolling her eyes and started biting her fingers. Tip motioned again, and the girls came across the street. I asked them did they know us? They said they didn't but couldn't explain why they were rolling their eyes at us. I just hung my head and laughed. Tip made them promise to straighten up, or she was gonna put lumps on both of their foreheads. The girls returned across the street and went right in the house. From that day on, the girls would speak and wave at us all the time. Now....ain't that sweet???

The next few weeks were spent getting ready for school. Tip and I would go to two different high schools. I was ok with that because Tip had a tendency to find a way to get in trouble. Instead of teachers calling Momma, they would tell me. I didn't wanna hear it. Plus, I wouldn't tell Mama, I would let her know to tighten up, or the next time, they were actually gonna call Mama, and we definitely don't want that. Tip already had school clothes. Her friends' grandma had taken them shopping over the summer. Even though we wore the same size, our tastes were definitely different. I had my clothes and shoes I'd bought with my summer job checks. Seeing that this was my junior year, I was trying to upgrade my do called wardrobe.  Tip and I going to different schools would have expanded my wardrobe but I was definitely not wearing her clothes.