What's Wrong With A Little Color?

Chapter 1: Moving Away From It All

Arlisha's POV

"Dang Lisha, she really making y'all move?" My friend Tamie asked me.

"If I'm lying I'm dying and I'm still here right?" I said shaking my head.

"That's messed up. I wish my momma would move me after all these years." Tamika, Tamie's twin said sucking on her ring pop. I laughed at her blue lips.

"No, what's messed up is those lips of yours. Looking like you been smoking for years!" Dina said laughing. I laughed too.

"Girl I was just thinking that in my head." I said.

"Yeah I bet you was. Y'all real foul." Tamika said putting her ring pop in the wrapper and going into the bathroom. Next thing I know she yelling, "What happened to y'all water. That's why y'all moving, can't afford to pay the water bills?!" Mika said coming out the bathroom laughing.

I made a screw face at her and rolled my eyes. "No while you talking, my momma cut it off cause we move tomorrow. Why pay a bill when we ain't living here? Duh, why you tryna crack jokes." I said shifting on my pallet.

My mom had already had all our stuff moved to our new place. Including my bed, and all my other room furniture, so I was stuck sleeping on a pallet laid down on the floor.

Tamika rolled her eyes and forcefully wiped her mouth with paper towels. "Dang, y'all moving tomorrow?! That's too quick, I swear!" Dina yelled. I nodded at her.

I don't know why my mom was doing this to me. I mean I know why she was doing all this, to get away from daddy, but why she just couldn't change the locks, or move somewhere at least a little closer. No, she wanna move all the way across town like that's something.

"I know girl, I know. I hate the fact that I'm gone be starting high school all by my little self." I said pouting like a five year old. Then we all burst out laughing. "Girl you worse than Mika. If yo lips gone be poked out like that, minus well wear some chap stick or something. Yo lips over there looking like a snow storm then passed by." Tamie laughed.

I couldn't help but laugh with her on that one. Tamie was funny, but crazy. "Hahaha you’re so funny." I said sarcastically. "I know, that's why you over there laughing, cause I'm just that funny."

These girls were to on sitting in my bedroom on the floor. When the laughter died down then tension of anger, sadness, and other emotions came back. I looked at them all individually, starting with Tamie, then Tamika, then Dina. I could feel tears stinging my eyes. "I'm really gonna miss y'all." I said looking down in my lap.

"Aww, we gone miss you too Arlisha!" Tamie said and they all embraced me in a hug. "And little Shana where she at?" She asked referring to my 3 year old sister Lishana. "My mom supposed to be coming in wither in any minute." I told them. "Man I'm gone miss her crazy self. She get it from you." Tamika said laughing.

"It ain't gone be the same without yo ghetto self in this neighborhood." Dina said making me smile. "Shoot, I don't even know what my neighborhood gone be like. You know it’s like all white kids and stuff? I don't know why my momma think we belong up there with them prissy kids." I said leaning on the wall.

"Because ain't nobody got no right telling us where we do and don’t belong. And because I'm the momma, not you and not those 'prissy kids' over there." Said my moms from the door. I almost snapped my neck looking at her standing there. She nearly killed me from fright.

"Oh momma, when you get out of work?" I asked tryna change the subject so that I wouldn't get embarrassed today.

"Half an hour ago, I was stuck in traffic." She explained. I nodded.