After Class (Janet and Aaliyah)

Chapter 21

Aaliyah

"Hi, Aaliyah," Chelsea said bashfully. I just looked at her and back at Kadeem over and over again.

"Liyah, I-"

"Look, I just came to get all my stuff out of your house..." I stared past both of them, then pushed them away to go up the stairs. Then something made me stop in my tracks. "Wait," I started. "Chelsea, you told me you moved to Arizona. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Arizona?" Kadeem said. She looked down at her shoes.

"Aaliyah, can we talk about what happened, please?" She pleaded. "I think there was some misunderstanding."

"I think there was some lying. And Kadeem, I just broke up with you yesterday, how you already got somebody else wearing your clothes?"

He cleared his throat. "You been ignoring me for a minute now, Aaliyah. I was lonely--"

I felt like throwing up. I ran up to Kadeem's room and shut the door, falling onto the floor and crying hysterically. But no tears came out. I couldn't believe all of this was happening so fast.

"Aaliyah, it's me," Chelsea's voice sounded through the door.

"Go away," I called back. I knew it wasn't my house, but I needed this moment. I had nowhere else.

She opened the door anyway. "Aaliyah, I'm so sorry." She stood over my body. "I didn't want you to find out like this."

"Why would you lie to me? You promised me we would link up when you got back, you said-"

"I know what I said, I just... I didn't think it would happen."

"You never moved, did you? You were just too pussy to tell me you didn't want me no more? Is that what it is?" I stood up angrily and began pulling all of my things out of the drawer.

"I did move, just out of this neighborhood. I go to Dundee Crown High now. Listen, you and me were so good together, I just didn't know how to tell you that I-"

"You ain't never love me in the first place?"

"Aaliyah, of course I did! You know I did!" She sighed. "It was just too much, you were getting so serious, and I wasn't ready."

I stood up and went to his bathroom to fix myself. She followed me, shutting the door behind us.

"What are you doing?" I spat.

"We need to talk about this."

"You knew we were together, didn't you? You just didn't care?"

"He told me he had a girl, but I didn't know-"

"What the hell is wrong with you? You ain't got no self worth to be somebody's side piece like that?" I gave her a disgusted look.

"I don't know! Ever since you and me, I ain't never been able to find somebody to treat me the way you did, and I guess I just gave up, cause I was lonely." She looked down and I saw a tear fall onto the tile floor.

I shook my head.

"Chelsea, you know you are too fine and too smart to be some chick on the side. Especially for Kadeem, girl, he ain't shit. I'm tryna tell you. Trust me."

"Well since you gone, I guess I ain't the side chick no more, right?"

I paused and twisted my head slowly to glare at her. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I screeched. "Even after I just-"