"Sweet potatoes, broccoli, Jiffy mix, barbecue sauce ..." Mom (Mrs. Williams) was naming things that we had so she could make sure we had everything. "Marshmallows! Coke, can you go grab a couple bags?" She asks and I gasp. "Did you just call me Coke?" "Shit! Sorry. I meant Cole." She responds and I laugh before walking off with Tray. We get in the candy aisle when Tray says, "Yo, look at that thicken right there." I look down the aisle and see the girl he's talking about. She was super thick! I couldn't really see her face. Her snapback was covering it from the nose down and her bang was hiding the rest. "Bet you can't get her number." Tray says. "I can't? Ok!" I reply and fix my jacket before getting my 'cuffing' walk together. I ease up behind her. I just stood there. Not talking, just admiring. She reaches out to grab something off one of the shelves and that's when I slide my arms around her waist. "Fancy seeing you here, sweet thing." I say as I rest my chin on her head. "Yea, it is. Guess real recognizes real, boo thang." She replies and then turns around in my arms. She looks up at me over her glasses before closing her eyes and puckering those plump lips that are irresistible to me. I chuckle and then lean down to capture her mouth with mine. "You sly motherfuckers, you!" Tray yells and she and I laugh. Oh! I forgot to mention that the little thicken in my arms is Kyrie. "Sorry, Bubba." Kyrie says as he walks over to us. "It's cool. I ain't gone lie, when Cole was walking over to you, I thought he was really finna cheat." Tray says and we laugh. "Nah. I love this chick too much. Anyway, I'll see you back at the house. Your mom is probably ready to shoot me." I say and kiss Kyrie's cheek before grabbing a bag of marshmallows and running off with Tray. "Did you have to make them?" Mom asks when we come walking up. "Our bad." Tray says and we head to the checkout line. "Anna Mae!" I hear and Mrs. Williams sighs. "Tray, go get your punk ass uncle." She says and I laugh. "Sometimes I want to be Helen Keller. Niggah, I don't see and/or hear you." She says and I Bol. "You're so wrong for that." I say. "How? Cole, you've been practically living with us for 5 months. You see the shit we go through." She says and I think for a minute before saying, "I take that back." And she laughs. "I know yo black ass heard me calling you." Mr. Williams says as he walks over with Tray. "That's why I sent your nephew. Fuck?" Mrs. Williams replies and me and Tray watch them argue. Now I see what Kevin Hart meant when he said that couples who have been together for a minute are funny as hell. The things that Mr. and Mrs. Williams argue about is so simple but the shit they say is hilarious. After 10 minutes of mom and dad arguing, we finally are able to leave. I grab some bags and start to walk out but then I see my cutie. "Text me sometime, ma." I say and kiss the side of Kyrie's mouth. She smiles and looks the other. "Cole! Niggah is you serious?" Tray says and me and my girlfriend laugh. "Let us do us." I say and walk over to the rest of the family.
*4 hours later*
It was around 4:30 and we were all hanging around the house. "Koley!" I hear and I walk into the living room while Kyrie comes out the back. "Y'all know how we were gonna exclude Santos from our group song?" Raven asks and we laugh. See, we didn't know if Chresanto had voice or not and every time someone asked him to sing, he'd deny. Not even Tray knows if my dawg got voice. "Yea." Me and Kyrie respond. "He wants to be in the song and he said he'd sing for us." Raven continues. "Ok. Let's hear it." I say and sit down. "Can someone start with me?" Santos asks and we all look at Trayvon expectantly. "I'm not the one to ask. I have stage fright." He says and then everyone looks at Novia. "Why am I designated to everything?" She asks but gets up, nonetheless. She takes Santos' hands in hers and says, "The lyrics are in African. But what it translates to is 'We are marching in the light of God'. So I'm gonna sing the first line in African and then we're going straight to English. Make sense?" He nods and then she starts to sing. "Siyahamba khukenyi kwenkhos." "We are marching in the light of God. We are marching in the light of God." Santos has vocals! "Follow the crescendo." Kyrie says and his voice gets low then louder when he starts on the next line. After a few minutes, he stops and we all clap. "You did great!" Tray says and hugs him. "Thanks." Santos replies but you could tell that he was still nervous. "So I take it that we're doing 'Siyahamba'." Zeny says and we nod. "Where's your poetry notebook?" I whisper in Kyrie's ear. "In my room under my mattress." She responds and walk upstairs. I take out the book and flip to the last page.
The sun rises on the East
While setting on the West
To meet in between is a quest
Cause that's for the best
Nah, nah, nah. That's stupid. Where am I even going with this?
When real eyes
Realize
Real lies
Everyone dies inside
This is bullshit! Tighten up, Jackson! *deep breath and release*
Life is not promised today
That's why it's imperative to live our way
Not falling in with society
But defining diversity
Life is not promised tomorrow
Let's not dwell in sorrow
For we are together
And that's all that matters
Life is not promised next week
Time is running out as we speak
Marking our expiration
But not marking our separation
Life is not promised next month
Sorry to be so blunt
But it needs to be said
So you're not shocked instead
Life is not promised next year
We all know that it can disappear
Leaving us with our imagination
No memories, scars or temptations
Life is not promised today
So let's live our way
Blocking society
And becoming diversity
I closed the notebook just as Stallion walked into the room. I just realized that I haven't called her that in a good minute. Eh, whatever. "What you doing?" She asks as slides onto the desk. "Nothing much. Reading your poems." Wasn't a complete lie. "Favorite one?" She asks and flips through the pages of the notebook. "Chocolate and A Sun Rise's Rise." "I haven't even written A Sun Rise's Rise." "I know but it sounds like it's gonna be amazing." I respond and go lay on the bed. "Because you said that, you can't read it until our one year anniversary." She says. "For real, ma?" "Yes." She replies and then starts rolling before walking out the room. She's a big ass jerk. I swear!
