Vanilla Baby

Ch. 2

Chanel POV:

I looked over at the old small church. I didn't bother walking into it because I didn't want to talk to the people in it. Some were nice and some were your typical old mean lady's. Since I didn't go in I have nothing to do for an hour. I purposely made her late to bible study so I wouldn't have to sit in the car for a long time. I don't see why they changed it and put bible study on Saturdays anyway.

After thirty minutes of thinking about what I could do today besides sleep, I finally remembered someone I really liked was supposed to be singing at a bar tonight. I'm sure Miguel will let me in again even though I'm too young. He only lets me in on Mondays. Wait Monday.... today is Saturday. How could I forget I'm sitting at a church. There is no way he will let me in. The only time he lets me in is when my mom and I get into a bad fight. He would always say no when I try to get in on Friday evenings. He started begging me to stop because he could lose his job. After that, I stopped trying.

So now I only go on Mondays. He doesn't like me coming at night because some of the guys look at me funny. He even got me, two bodyguards. Rick who was a biker and bald. He was a pretty big guy. He let me sit on his bike once and Andrew. He was younger maybe in his late twenties. He started coming to the bar when his wife divorced him. He owned a small law firm in the city a couple of blocks away. He wasn't the toughest guy in the bar but he was nice. One thing I learned from them both was that alcohol makes you tell a lot of secrets.

Once Rick and his friends robbed a bank and got twenty years. Now he says he changed and don't hang out with them anymore. If Miguel trusts them then I do too. Miguel said he told Andrew about me and he said he will stay sober and help out but he drinks sometimes even though he has to work most mornings. He calls me a taxi if he drinks too much, if not he takes me home.

Sitting in the car was making me sleepy and to make things more complicated I now had to pee. I decided to go to the bathroom knowing that church was ending any minute. Some people were laying out food for some reason. I would get some but it would be rude since I didn't even try to listen to the sermon. I took out my earphones knowing they would say something if I kept them in. I was relieved that no one was in either of the two stalls. As I buttoned up my pants someone started knocking on the door.

"Someone is in both."

Both? I guess someone slipped in quietly to the stall next to me without me realizing. I hear a familiar voice just outside the door. If I wasn't texting in the bathroom I could have slipped in and out without too many people noticing. I stepped out of the stall. They must have left to sit in the waiting room. As I was washing my hands I saw an older lady open the door and wiggle on the restrooms stall door handle. She must have thought no one was in there. Another lady stepped outside of the right stall and was headed towards me. Ms. Spinely held the door open and let an elderly lady ahead of her.

"I'll use the other stall."

"Are you sure?" the elderly lady said.

"Yes, when I have to go I go."

The elderly lady laughed at her commit and I smiled. A lady that I don't know the name of and the pastor which I also don't know was blocking my way. I was left standing there until he realized I was trying to get by. I could have said excuse me but I couldn't gather enough courage to. Do I even need any courage to do so? I walked past them both and looked around to find my mom. I didn't see her anywhere. I just saw eyes judging me. They always did. I didn't dress too bad today. I wore a pink cropped shirt with high waisted light blue jeans that were distressed at the knees and white air forces. Nothing that someone would wear in a church but also nothing that shows I'm in a gang or a slut. They always made me feel unworthy.

Since I couldn't find my mom I walked to the car. She was waiting for me. I was surprised she didn't get any food. Since we didn't get food I took us to get KFC. They didn't have our usual order so we compromised and got something else. Finally, we were at home. I went straight to my room because I was annoyed. My mother made a comment that hurt my feelings earlier that day. My brother was annoying me the entire time we were in the car as well. I suggested we watch a movie. I didn't sit through it because it was starting to get boring and I wanted to call someone. I went to my room and called my best friend.

After the call ended I started listening to music then I suddenly wanted to read for some reason. I picked up one of my sister's books and plopped down on my bed. I hid some so she wouldn't take them with her when she moved out. I opened the book and started reading.

My eyes were getting really tired so I stopped at chapter eleven. I threw the book on my sister's bed and rubbed my eyes. I checked the time on my phone. It was only four. If I go to the bar now I wouldn't want to wait for him. He starts singing at nine so I will leave around seven. Usually, Andrew would pick me up but I know he wouldn't since its a Saturday night. I couldn't find anything else to do so I decided to nap.

My alarm woke me up on time but I laid in bed longer then I said I was going to. I would have freshened up but I was too lazy so I just sprayed water on my hair to refresh my curls. I looked in the mirror. I need a little bit of makeup for my dark under eyes and mascara because why not. After I was done applying the makeup I went back to my room to slip back on the shoes I wore earlier.

"Where are you going?"

"Out," I said before closing the door.

I made sure I had a key to the apartment or else she would have locked the door and never opened it. I knew that because it happened before...... more than once. I start walking to the bar which was gonna take some time. The cool air was nice since earlier that day was hot. Hopefully, he will let me in this time.