New Girl

Chapter 9

Of course my mom would be in my business and ask me who Isaiah is. She's always been like that making sure that the boys I'm around aren't crazy.

Its not that I like him or anything but she's definitely gonna assume and make it weird and then she'll say something cringey and wiggle her eyebrows and next thing I know I'm smiling and boom I have a crush.

"He's just a friend Ma," I say making sure to emphasize the just. "I met him in detention today. He's friends with the group of boys I told you about, the ones that I met this week." I still can't believe it's only been a week and they're caring about me and checking my location like I've known them for months.

"Hmmm okay" is all she says followed by "now let's eat cause I've been waiting for the food. It took you longer than I expected how far was the place?" I tell her not that far and begin to eat hoping that she won't push the matter any further because I don't want to break down in front of her and cry.

I've been hit on before when we used to live in Chicago but I've never gotten a gun pulled on me for denying a man. She nods her head but I know that she'll bring it up later. One thing about my mom she has a sort of super power, its like she can tell when somethings wrong with me or just in general. A "sixth sense" is what she calls it, she says she feels the juju in the air and when things aren't right she can tell. I don't understand what she means but I feel the same way sometimes.

We continue to eat in silence when my phone begins to ring. Incoming Facetime call from Everything Deadass grlt bow 🫡. I go to decline when my mother tells me to answer it.

"Hello, my mother can hear you guys and I swear to God if you cuss I will literally hang up this phone and we will never speak again understand." I gasp for air realizing that whole sentence was one long word. Right now in the call it's Zae, Manny, Sam and Jay.

I've never been so anxious and pressed for my mom to like any of my friends but these guys are different. They care about me and it's platonic. They're not trying to get in my pants or talk to one of my friends. They seem really genuine and it's important that my mom likes them. Manny starts laughing.

"Dam- dang shawty slow down and breathe we were just checking to make sure you actually got into your house and Zae won't lying and kidnap you." Jay and Sam nod their heads in agreement and Zae shoots them the middle finger. He text the group chat

Zae: Suck my whole dick bitch you lucky I can't curse cause I respect moms.

"Hey mom how you doing?" Zae asks trying to fill in the silence on the phone like he didn't just send the text

"Hey Ma." Manny adds

"Heyyyy Ms. Greene." Jay is the last to say hi but he's still trying not to laugh from earlier.

"Hey boys, don't listen to my daughter y'all don't need to be robots around me I want to see why she talks about you all so much be normal." She laughs and steps into the camera to wave to them. I propped my phone up on the Snapple bottle I got with the food.

"YOOOOO THATS YOUR MOM!!!" they all say simultaneously it was kinda scary usually they talk over each other. I nod rolling my eyes " 'MARI STOP THE CAP' 'THATS YOUR WHOLE SISTER' 'WHERES MA DUKES AT' "

Now they're talking over each other and I can't help but laugh. I can see her in the camera taking the compliment acting like a Miss America who just won her pageant, the waving, the wiping of the fake tears, the over dramatic facial expressions.

I always get that when I introduce people to my mom. She had me at 19 and she really raised me like her best friend. I tell my mom everything. When people see her they always say that she looks like my sister and that there's no way that she could be my mom at such a young age. I always wonder if my mom had to deal with this with my grandma. I'm happy my grandma wasn't here too because knowing them they would ask if my granddaddy was still in the picture.

" This is my mom y'all!" I continue to laugh because their faces are hilarious. They continue to complement her and I realize that Matt isn't here. He's the main one who needed to hear my message. Then he enters the facetime call.

"SURPRISE SHAWTAYYY WHATS THE GODDAMN DEAL NIGGAS DID YOU MISS ME WHAT I MISS?" Matt's voice rings out but his face isn't in the camera "Are we bout to get on the game also Mari almost dying cause some pussy pulled a gun is wi- oh shit Mari I didn't know you had a sister. She's fine too is she single?"

I slap my hands over my head and groan as my mom's face changes to her concerned face. "Amari Isis Greene what did that boy just say?"

This is the second time in one day that my mom has said my whole government. I hung up the phone without even saying goodbye, somehow I know that the rest of them are getting on his ass for me so I just turn my phone off. I close my eyes and take a breath because I was trying to avoid telling my mom what happened for the most obvious reasons. Now I can't do that so I'm trying to remember how to speak.

"Please answer me Icee what happened? A man tried to pull a gun on you?" I can hear her trying to stay calm and not get frantic. She sits next to me and puts her hand on my lap.

I recount the 25 minutes I was gone and when I finish I can see my mom staring at me. Trying not to cry in front of my mother is probably the hardest thing to accomplish and I am failing terribly. The tears are sitting in my eyes and they won't drop.

"I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry or think that we were unsafe. We just got here and I didn't want you to think we had to move back or that I was making it up. I really like it here mommy I just started making friends-" she cuts me off

"Baby I would never ever think you were lying if you told me that somebody was trying to hurt you or if you told me that somebody did hurt you." I start to cry and she just comforts me. " Call those boys back I want to speak to them." I nod and go back into the group Facetime.

"Ms. Greene," They all day at one time " We apologize for our bozo of a friend. He didn't know who you were and his mouth got the better of him. He meant no disrespect and we got on him for that." Jay says and Matt peaks his head in his little square "Mama Greene I am so sorry!" he says

"Thank you boys that was very mature of you." She chuckles "I wanted to thank you myself for caring about my daughter even though you just met her. Isaiah, thank you for saving my daughters life." She hands the phone back to me and begins to clean up the kitchen. I can see her wiping tears from her face and I go upstairs.