MAKEOUTHILL

3%

September, 2008

I'm nervous as I walk into Jahseh's house for the first time.

We've been friends for a while. Getting closer with each other the past month.

He claims his mother wants to meet me.

"Don't be scary, Charisma. My mom is cool. She only gets mean me if I do something bad. Like fighting or cursing." He walks in front of me.

The first thing I see is his mom in the kitchen standing over a pot of— something, whatever it is, it smells amazing.

A huge grin grows on her face. "Hi, Charisma! Jah tells me so much about you! My name is Cleopatra, but you can call me Cleo!"

I put on my pretty smile, the one that daddy says is his favorite, "Hi, Cleo. It's nice to meet you, too!"

Momma told me to be careful around Cleo because she had Jah at seventeen. But Daddy told me that Momma can be a little judgemental (which means mean at first sight,) when it comes to new people.

Cleo seems nice though.

"The food will be ready in a few minutes, if you like, you two can head up to Jah's room and play a few games on one of those game devices he has."

She leans over and whispers something into his ear, I could've sworn I heard her say something along the lines of "good luck."

He leads me around the corner to his room. There's an incomplete lego set lying on the floor. Along with some of his clothes and toys thrown around.

I'm starting to realize, he's a spoiled kid, anything he wants, he gets. Whether that's his mom throwing expensive gifts and clothes in his face, or he steals whatever he wants.

"Wanna play a game?" Jahseh starts.

"Uh," I'm hesitant before answering. The type of games Jahseh enjoys are the kind that would have any normal ten-year-old question their mother.

His favorite is "bloody knuckles." A game where two people forcefully fist bump their fists together. You lose if your knuckles bleed first.

"I mean, like, truth or dare, maybe?"

"Oh, sure."

He pats an open space beside him on his bed. "Okay, so truth or dare."

"Uh, truth."

"Is it true your mom thinks I'm a bad kid?" He says sadly. "Be honest, please."

I frown. I don't want to hurt his feelings because I want him to like me as much as I like him, but I don't want to lie to him.  

"To be honest," I start. "My momma thinks everyone's a bad kid, even me. She doesn't like me hanging out with you though. Especially since she found out what you did to that girl. She thinks boys should never hit girls."

Jahseh shifts uncomfortably, ashamed of his actions. "I had a good reason..." I hear him say under his breath.

"What was it?"

"She was talking about you, Charisma." He meets my eyes. Before looking down, "It doesn't matter what she said."

He pauses, "My momma told me to always give a girl three warnings before hitting her, if she keeps going, then I have permission to hit her."

I don't know what to say.

He fought to defend my name? Does that mean he likes me? Like he wants to be my boyfriend likes me?

"Do you like me, Charisma?"

I snap out of thought. Of course, I like him, I always have. "It's my turn to ask you truth or dare, Jah."

"Oh," he shifts again. "Go ahead."

"Truth or dare."

"Da—"

"Is it true you wanted me to say yes?" I rush out.

Slowly, he nods his head. I smile and look towards the floor.

Jahseh runs to the other side of the room, pulls out a plastic ring, and brings it to me. It's pink, my favorite color. "Will you be my girlfriend, Charisma?" He slides it on my right ring finger.

"Kids, lunch is ready!" Cleo calls out.

I get up to climb out of his bed, he pulls my arm. He looks at me with eyes that await an answer.

"We're ten years old Jah, ask me again when we're sixteen, okay?" I give him a sad smile, but he understands.

I don't know why I decided to choose the age sixteen, but I feel like it's right.

We go back to the kitchen and Cleo hands us our bowls. "It's Spicy Jambalaya Soup," she hands us spoons, "Jah's favorite."

I thank her, but there isn't a word from Jahseh. He isn't even making eye contact with anyone.

𓆩♡𓆪

For the rest of the night, Jahseh hasn't been himself. As of right now, he's in his room because he's tired.

Cleo and I have been sitting in the living room, watching a movie together in silence. She presses pause.

It takes me a while to realize she's staring at me, "yes?" I say trying to sound as polite as possible.

"You know Jah talks about you a lot." She smiles. "He tells me you're the most beautiful little girl ever."

I sit up straight.

"Tonight, he told me he was going to ask you to be his girlfriend, and I wasn't against it. But thank you for rejecting him."

"What?"

"It's quite clear you did, if you hadn't he would've 'Mom, my girlfriend this' and 'Mom, my girlfriend that.'" She laughs. "Thank you for showing him that not everything he wants in life is easy."

I force the finger that's nervously twirling one of my curls out of my hair.

"You're a great kid, and I can't wait to see the two of you grow up together. It was nice meeting you today."

Not knowing what else to say, I thank her. She calls Jahseh into the room to walk me the few steps across the street to my home.

After he closes the door behind us, we walk in silence. "Yes," I say.

"What?"

"Yes," I force the words out, "I do like you. And I'd love to be with you, to keep the ring, to be your girlfriend."

I slowly slide the ring off my right finger. "But we're kids," I put the ring in his palm. "We don't know what real love is yet. Daddy told me that real love is arguments all the time; being able to discuss our issues and stresses, and being comfortable with each other."

He gives me the ring back. Puts it back on my finger. "Keep it," he says. "One day, when we're sixteen, I'll get you a real ring. One that I know you'll love and never want to take off. I'll wait forever if you want me to."

He lifts the hand with the ring on it and kisses it.

I smile.