Poems For Daniel

Eight

It was the middle of the night when I heard something coming from the living room. I grabbed the baseball bat I kept near the bed and slid out of bed. I slowly walked out of my room and toward the living room. I was in a batter's position as if I was about to play baseball... That was until I heard giggling. "Serene, chill out," a male voice whispered. "I love you... I love you so much, Joshua," she whispered, looking as if she truly meant it. His eyes averted from Serene to me before they widened. "I-I know it looks bad--." "Is she drunk?" I asked. "Yeah," he nodded as if he were ashamed. I sighed. "Okay. Try to lay her down or something. Make sure you have a bucket or something nearby. I'll go get her some water," I whispered. The boy, who I assumed to be Serene's boyfriend, nodded and carried Serene into her room while I went into the kitchen. I grabbed a cold water bottle from the fridge. "Safaree? Is that you making all that noise?" I heard my mother's voice. "Uh... Yeah. I just came here for some water," I lied. "Why do you have a bat?" she inquired. "You gotta stay protected this late at night, Momma," I replied. She laughed. "Okay, Safaree." "You didn't happen to see anyone in the hall, did you?" I inquired. "No," my mother suspiciously rose an eyebrow at me. "See. I'm doing a good job of protecting us," I smiled. She smiled and shook her head... "Have you seen Sere--." "Mother, go get your rest. Please. I know how tired you are," I spoke. She sighed. "Alright, Safaree. If you say so... Goodnight," she spoke before leaving the room. Several moments later, Joshua returned from Serene's room. "Is she asleep?" I asked. "Yeah. She threw up and then passed out," he replied. "Well, okay," I nodded. "Nice meeting you," I smiled slightly as we shook hands. "Nice meeting you too, Safaree," he smiled...

Several hours later, after I returned to bed and caught as many Z's as I could, I began getting ready to visit Jeremy at the court. I got dressed in a black, sleeveless shirt that showed a bit of my stomach, baby blue high waisted jeans, a red and black shirt to put over my black one, and white Keds. After pinning my hair up, I grabbed my phone and my car keys. "Bye, Ma," I called, grabbing an apple and heading out the door. I hopped into my car and headed toward the local basketball court. Shirtless, sweating boys wearing Jordans and yelling profanities every now and then. Females sitting on the bleachers, scoping out their next victim to call their "boyfriends" even when they're already in committed relationships. Little boys begging, pleading, and shouting at the older ones to let them play a game with them or to give up one of the goals so they could play... Ah, basketball...

I sat on the bleachers far away from the loud talking girls about my age who were all talking about boys... That was when I spotted Jeremy. I smiled slightly... "Where you at with it? Where you at?" he guarded a guy who had the ball. Not even after two dribbles, the ball was Jeremy's and after little back and forth, Jeremy shot and nearly made it, but it spun around the rim before it fell down. "Jeremy, you fuck-up!" one of the boys cried. "Shut the hell up! I'll get it next time. Don't even trip," Jeremy called. I was intrigued into what was happening in the game until I heard Jeremy's name being brought up by one of the loudmouth, ratchet girls. "Jeremy could get it anytime, anywhere, any place. That girl he trippin' over ain't shit!" she spoke, putting emphasis on certain words. I could feel her gaze on me, and I knew she was referring to me, but I really don't have the time for her foolery. "Light bright ass hoe. I bet she gave it up already. That's why he even gives a damn about her," she mumbled and grumbled. I rolled my eyes, brushing off her comments. "Jeremy can't handle all of this right now. But, as soon as he sees where his future really is, he'll come around... By the end of the year, he'll be sprung on me. Not that lemon cake looking ass hoe," she spoke.

"If you got something to say, I suggest you say it to my damn face!" I turned towards her. "Oh... I know this bitch is not getting buck!" she shouted. "Yeah, girl. She gettin' buck," her friend spoke, obviously just wanting to see us fight. "What do you want to do then?" she got in my face. "Whatever needs to be done," I spoke, unmoved by her attempt to intimidate me. By now, we've caught everyone's attention. "Smart mouth ass bitch," she growled before swinging at me. It was on just by that moment and after I was hit in the face three times and she was whopped about five, we were pulled apart. I looked up to see who was pulling me with such a force, and it was Jeremy. He gripped me by the sleeve of my red and black shirt and led me out of the court and toward my car. He pinned me against the passenger side door. He looked way beyond the point of pissed and angry. Just the look he was giving me scared me straight. "What the fuck did I tell you about fighting?" he barked. I sighed, looking down. "Look, whatever these bitches are saying to you shouldn't matter! These bitches hate you because they wanna be like you! They see a pretty girl like you and do anything to fuck up that face and that personality," he spoke. "I can't sit there and fucking let them talk shit about me," I spoke. "Oh, for real? You sat there and didn't say shit about me talking the smack I was last year," he spoke. "That's because... That's different," I replied softly. "Safaree..." he began taking my hands into his.