Distractions (D. SWING)

18

Desperate For Change

Motionless as I wish that I could actually sleep for more than thirty-minutes at a time, I'm beginning to give up. I fell asleep in the car yesterday and that seems to be all I'm running off right now. The ambiance is off around here. Wind caused crinkles of my old sack of papers on that there desk have been irking my last nerve since I laid down in this bed. Too bad I lack the energy to get up and move them.

Swinging the blanket off if my body, I look down checking for morning wood. All clear. It must be roughly six in the morning. You know this is about the time I walk through the door. Nel already be sleep and I just slide up in the bed to do one of two things; Hit that then KO or simply KO. Shit, niggas can be tired too and when you got the right one underneath you, bustin' any kind of nut leave you feeling like you just did an olympic obstacle training course.

"I didn't know you two still woke up so early," My mama smiles as I find myself making it into the kitchen. "I thought with that rockstar status you'd be waking up at three, four, five in the evening if it was up to you."

My mind's slightly clogged from how fast I got out of the bed. For the first time since I've stepped foot in here, I look around the kitchen. I see my mother, that's already been taken note of. I also see a counter full of grits, pancakes, biscuits, steak, sausages– to keep the list short, we gone group all that underneath a southern breakfast. Then, I see Dalvin sitting at the table. Laughing a little as I sit in a chair close to him, I know without a doubt he don't mean to be down here right now. He probably came for a drink– with his dry throat ass,– was being too loud and once she got here, her mouth started running a mile a minute. It happens almost every time we come down here. I always tell him; I'm not saving yo' ass next time, mothafucka! Learn to be quite, damn! But look at me now... just by sitting down here, I'm saving his ass.

"I just couldn't sleep," I reply wiping any possible existing crystalized debris from the corners of my eyes.

My mother glances over her shoulder before returning her attention back to the stove. "Oh, well, I'm here cooking so you might want to stay up and alert." The smell by itself almost triggers a slight flashback. Life before DeVante was born... see, I was born but I didn't have no name yet. That was until I really sat down and thought, what kind of play is I'm gone get with a name like Donald. I mean, people been calling me Don–y'know like a boss– but they call my father that too. Everybody been calling me D, but D was short for the wrong name, you know what I'm sayin'? All this was going through my head back when I was sneak listening to my Prince records. "Since you two got here, we never had the time to talk one on two. You knowwww, the three of us? Especially you, Don."

"Huh?"

Dalvin begins smirking, he already know where this going. "How's New York?"

I chuckle a little. "Mama, I live in Jersey."

"But you're always in New York aren't you?"

I begin nodding. She right, she right. That was on me, I bugged out for a little second. "Yeah, D's always in New York..." Dalvin repeats earning a straight mug. C'mon Jack, don't start with these childish ass games..... because you know if I wanted to, I could expose little church boy and how he became Casanova. Right after that, I'll leave him for his lecture of how to treat women. That way he got to take it all by his damn self.

"I'd hope so. That is where you put in all of your work, isn't it?"

I look over at Dalvin and we fight off our snickers together. When my mother turns her head again, I drop my face into my arms that rely on the table. Dal flicks my ear when she turns back and my head shoots up. I hum, "Mhmm. A whole lot of work." I catch glimpse of Dal snickering way too hard and pop him with the backside of my hand. He freezes and stares me in the eyes with one of those failed deathly glares of his.