Bad ➰Michael Jackson

Part 15

                                  Part 15

"Girl if you don't go and call that man." Aunt Jasmine abruptly declares and waves a spatula around in her hand, a few pieces of oil flicking off the the black utensil and landing on the floor with a pop. Her hair was out in full capacity in a curly fro and she was wearing a smart looking pantsuit, her curves conforming perfectly to the suede material. Her motherly gaze was now fixed on her and her voice was filled with love.

Shaka pauses from where she was in the middle of bringing an egg filled fork to her mouth and gapes at her, surprise clearly showing in her eyes. In the midst of a mid morning breakfast session, she had told her aunt all about Daryl's absence and was expecting her to be on her side.

"What? Aunty, did you even hear what I told you? He ignored me for two whole weeks! I am not calling him any time soon. As far as I'm concerned, he can talk to his friends." Shaka holds off on putting the fork up to her mouth and sits back in her seat, stubbornly setting her eyes in slits.

Aunt Jasmine turns back to the stove to flip a pancake and then she swoops it out of the pan and onto a plate where several more of the soft goodness was laying. She faces her and brings the plate to the table and Shaka automatically reaches for her one, using her fingers to deftly add it to her own food.

Aunt Jasmine takes the seat from across from her and picks up her knife, cutting her pancake in little perfect squares. "I heard you and I agree that what he did was not right. But Shaka baby, you started going together for how long? A month at the most yes? That's not a long time for you to be worried about what he's doing." She brings her glass of orange juice to her lips and smiles at her.

Shaka frowns and furrows her brows, not seeing any correlation to what she was trying to say. "So what? He can just go round ignoring me? Ma maanta. That's not how I wish to operate." A hint of her accent inevitably slips out.

Aunt Jasmine starts to eat her food, listening with an understanding look on her face. "He's in school right? It's both of your senior year, it's bound to get a bit busy. Trust him and the rest shall follow."

She pouts, now picking at her eggs and huffs. "Habaryartaa, you don't know how it feels to be ignored like that. What if he no likes me anymore? What if he find better?" Her accent was still cleverly hidden but her broken English bespoke of the struggle she was having in keeping calm.

"He won't find better honey, cause there's no one better than you. No one on this earth could overshadow what you bring to the table. He may find another but better? Ease your worries."

Shaka takes in what her Aunt was telling her and silently mulls it over, occasionally sniffling as she tries to reign in her emotions. She feels stupid, crying over this boy. He's probably not giving her a second thought. Probably happily skipping around with his "boy" friends.

"Suppose you're right." She finally says, slowly bringing her dark eyes up to Aunt Jasmine's. She doesn't particularly feel like she was better than anyone however. The thought was nice though.

Aunt Jas raises a slim brow, hands cupping her glass. "Oh?" Her tone was coy and she knows that Aunt Jas wants her to verbally say it.

She sighs, playing with the frays on her worn jeans. "Haa, It was stupid of me to get so upset about him not calling. He probably thinks me a little kid now." She forlornly mutters the last part, embarrassment over her actions flooding her body. She's such a spazz.

Aunt Jasmine shakes her head. "Nonsense. That boy has much more sense then that."

Shaka doesn't say anything else and continues to sit in silence, her hunger momentarily abated. The quietness reminds her that her little cousins were with their father out on an outing and wouldn't be back until later that evening. Baby Erykah was in her crib sleep, or she was when she first came in, so she assumes that Aunt Jasmine wanted her to stay here then go with Uncle Buddy. Uncle Buddy was a factory worker so she doesn't see him much and when she does, it's a rather somber affair with him constantly worrying over the many heads he has to feed. Not that Aunt Jas doesn't help out because she does, but being the man she assumes everything falls on his shoulder. It'd explain why Uncle Buddy looks so stressed when she sees him at least.

"I need to see that pretty smile in your face again. You said that he wrote you a letter?" Aunt Jas interrupts her thoughts and she looks up to see her observing her.

After a moment she nods and licks her lips, her straight hair tickling her neck as her head moves. "Haa, I received it after I stopped taking his rings. He say that he now can accept calls." Apparently, seniors had the privilege to own a landline in their room after the first semester. He said that some people have been on their best behavior since junior year so they don't mess anything up. He included his personal number.

"Well what else did it say? Did he give you a number or anything?" Aunt Jasmine persists.

Shaka nods again, clearing her throat loudly. "Yes. He's also been....apologizing. Throughly." She frowns, a guilty flush going through her. She feels awful. He really does take full blame and responsibility for his actions and while initially she wholeheartedly agreed, her views were slowly changing. She's the worst person ever.

Aunt Jasmine tuts, resuming the eating of her food. "So you know what you need to do now yes?"

She warms, shame twisting her mouth. "Yes."

"Good. Now eat your food, I didn't make it to watch it go to waste."

~

In the privacy of her room, Shaka idles by the phone for a long moment before she picks up the cradle and listens to the dial tone. With shaky fingers, she punches the number that she memorized from the second she laid eyes on the smooth print and brings the phone up to her ear. Her heart was in the her throat the whole time it rings in a continuous loop and she takes a breath to steady herself. And suddenly with a click, someone picks up.

"Hello?"

~

Edited it was not.

Yay for cliffhangers. Every pic you have seen in this story delete it from your memory.