Dear Michael

Chapter 3

It's been three weeks since I've last gotten a letter from Shayla. I wonder if she's alright. Meanwhile, Quincy and I have been talking about a new album. I have high hopes for it.

When Mother came to pick me up, she gave me an envelope. It's from Shayla! I'm so excited. It's too dark out, so I really can't wait until I get home to read this letter.

When we got home, I helped Mother out and hurried to open the door then ran up to my room.

"Michael, do you want any dinner?" She called up to me.

"Yes, ma'am! I'll be down soon!" I called back and shut the door. It's been three long weeks and I'm so excited to read this response from Shayla.

Dear Michael,                                                                                                  July 5, 1979

I'm so very sorry I haven't been able to respond to you in a while. The house has been mighty hectic nowadays. Robert came back to tell my dad that he's marrying his childhood sweetheart. My dad always thought she was trouble. So, the house has been filled with arguments. I'm happy for Robert and Mary. There's absolutely no problem with her. It's just the lifestyle her parents chose to live that the whole neighborhood knew about. I guess my dad thought she would live the same way. But she doesn't want to live that way. She looks down on her parents' actions. When she and Robert were younger, they would always have sleepovers in his clubhouse (that was for boys only) because she never wanted to be around her parents at night... I feel bad for Mary. Not only because of how her parents live but also because my dad dislikes her so much. He doesn't really dislike anyone. It's all so weird over here.

You really like writing to me? You don't know how happy that makes me. Usually, when I write someone or even talk to someone they don't want to write back or I get ignored. I'm glad you're different from everyone else. It makes me happy that someone wants to know my opinion on things.

Michael, you have beautiful handwriting. Why don't you like it? Well, I guess I could understand why you don't like it. Everyone has something about themselves that they don't specifically like. For me, it's my nails. I tend to bite them a lot when I'm nervous. I want beautiful nails like my mother. Every time we go to the nail salon and get our nails done, I'm ashamed because I've bitten them so badly. I try to stop, but I can't. I've been doing it since I was a child. My dad used to do it a lot and that's who I picked it up from. He's stopped the nasty habit, but I can't seem to stop. I'm sure I'll stop at some point.

I had the nerve to ask my parents what they were thinking after they had me. You wanna know what they said? They said they wanted another baby since I grew up too fast. My thoughts were, "why didn't you guys just have another baby two years after me like you did the boys?" I should have said that, but I didn't. I probably would have gotten a serious lecture. I'm pretty sure Mariah will grow up too fast for them too and they'll end up having another baby. My parents are quite hilarious and mysterious people.

Thank you for answering my questions on your brother. I won't say anything else about that topic, because you did say that it is a sensitive topic for you. I won't say I understand, because I don't know what it's like to lose a sibling, but I do respect your sensitivity towards it.

I am leaving soon. Right after graduation, I'm going to Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina where my dad went. It was between that and Yale. I decided to follow my father's footsteps and go where he went. He says it's a great school anyway. Are you going to college or have you already tried it out? If so, what is it like? I would really like to know before I go. What have you got in mind for where you want to live? If you still don't know, I understand.