Thought You Should Know

Introduction

Sometimes, you fall in love with a boy only once or twice in your life. If it's the third time it's not love, was what momma always told me. She always said that because we lived in a small town. I remember when I grew up in a small town outside of Knoxville called Sneedville. The acres of land, people not bothering you no matter what you are or what color you are. The hills were just green and rolling. No matter where you stayed you were a couple miles away from some people. My momma and daddy were born and raised here and decided to stay in this good ol' southern, redneck-ish town. Nothing wrong with that by all means. A few black people here and there including me. I have two older brothers who are twins, Jaylen and Jayden. My momma died when I was eight, is that an age where a woman becomes the woman? I know it's a dumb, rhetorical question. My daddy remarried again when I was thirteen to a woman named Grace. A coincidence because my mommas middle name was Grace. I loved Grace like she was my own momma since she acted like one and could never have kids of her own.
"You think he's cute huh?" My friend Lacy says in class the next day.
It was really chilly today and I decided to put on a light jacket. The class room didn't help much because the class had a busted window which was covered poorly with cardboard and the AC on blast. I was practically shaking in my boots that I bought from Payless when daddy took me to the mall a couple weeks ago. All these girls were in booty cut shorts and the boys wore sleeveless shirts. I guess me and Lacy were the smart ones because we decided we were going to be cold today. I was trying to work on my work since the substitute just gave up on us and let the class go rampage.
"Who?" I said without taking my eyes off my work.
"Just look," she whispered.
I rolled my eyes and she pointed her finger at a boy with a mullet, who wore a hoodie and was surrounded by other boys including my twin brothers, Jaylen and Jayden.
"Yuck," I said rolling my eyes and continued my work. "Nobody likes him."
"Cmon he's cute," Lacy says nudging me. "Morgan's cute you know it."
Who was Morgan you asked? Morgan was this junior that girls in my school went completely crazy over. If he looked their way they'd flip out or cream their own pants. A lot of girls say I'm lucky because Jaylen and Jayden were friends of Morgan's and he'd come over my house nearly everyday to practice baseball. It was annoying like really annoying.
"Come with me to say hey to him," Lacy whispered.
"To Morgan or your boyfriend?" I asked.
Lacy hit me playfully in the shoulders and I laughed.
"Morgan duh who the hell else?" She says.
I put up my work that I was done with and got up to go say hey to Morgan with Lacy.
"Hi Morgan," Lacy was blushing like crazy.
Morgan looked up and gave Lacy a sweet smile.
"Hey," he says as he stopped talking to the group of guys.
"So uh...you excited for baseball season?" Lacy asked him.
"Of course, you excited for softball?" He's asked her.
"Sure is, I'm ready to put my new bat to use," Lacy says.
"How about you Knee?" He asked me.
Morgan was trying to be funny. See whenever I was a kid, I slid to hard trying to get a base and tore open my knee so badly I swore I saw a bone. Of course, Morgan was there to see it and called me Knee ever since.
"Don't call me that," I said gritting my teeth.
"Cmon Nia," Jaylen laughed at me. "Morgan's just kidding around."
"Whatever," I said rolling my eyes. "And yes Morgan I'm ready for softball this year."
"Great," Morgan says. "Just don't tear open your knee."
"Morgan fuck you," Lacy says and rolls her eyes.
I gave him the middle finger and walked away angrily and I could hear the group of boys laughing at us. I couldn't believe I was just humiliated  in front of Morgan and my own brothers not defending me right there.

"Jaylen go pack up the truck," my dad says. "We're hittin' today."
"Throw a hard pitch at him," I whispered to dad.
He looked at me and shook his head and laughed a little.
"Now why on Earth would I go on and do that?" He asked me and patted me on his head.
"She's mad because we embarrassed her in front of her little crush," Jayden teased me.
"Crush?" My dad asked me.
"No it's not Morgan he's ugly as hell," I scoffed and folded my arms.
"Hey that's enough now," Dad says in a serious tone. "Morgan's not ugly. And that's not a nice way to call someone that."
Jaylen and Jayden were just laughing at me.
"You know what? Since you boys like to laugh at her, why don't you run the whole field fourteen times when we get there."
"Dad-"
"Nope, since you like to laugh, laugh them laps," he said.
My brothers walked away groaning and Jaylen secretly stuck up his middle finger at me.
"Thank you daddy," I said and he gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"Anything for my sweet daughter," He says and hops in the truck and leaves.

"Nia will you set out an extra plate for Morgan?" Grace asked me. "He's coming over."
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a plate from the cabinet and set it on the dining table.
"Why can't Morgan eat at his own house?" I mumbled under my breath.
"You know his momma...passed and it's just him and his daddy so you know his daddy don't cook," Grace says.
"Whatever," I scoffed. "He's a grown man."
Grace put a hand on my back and sighed.
"Honey, just...be nice to him. You never know what Morgan's going through. For now, we're his family," she says. "Just be nice ok?"