Life of April

Battle of the Siblings

"I'm not gone tell y'all asses to get up again! " Shouted Marquez and Omar. They thought they had it under control cuz they have an okay paying Job at a warehouse in Cobb county. They were taking us shoe shopping and to get an outfit through our budget. I was happy. Those dusty ass Jordan's I wore were getting old. I held on to them for four good months. The bills were paid so the rest of the money was free.

"Spend wisely. " Marquez said handing me a small stack of twenty dollar bills. Seventy dollars could buy those Nike air Max I wanted, I thought. Then I'd have thirty dollars left for an outfit at H&M. The groceries were entirely Omar's responsibility.

We went outside and locked the door leaving our mama a sleeping hot mess. The car was a mini van which was good cuz it was a lot of Us. I seen Candice texting on her galaxy s3 so I took out my phone too. Our phones were a bit outdated but Oh Well. I was in the back seat texting my friend Carolyn when a message from Metro said my phone Bill is overdue. That shit cut off on me instantly. I sighed.

"Damn." I muttered. Candace's bill was still active since I've gotten my phone waay earlier than she did. I guess cuz she's the baby of the house or whateva. I looked up from my phone. "Uh y'all? "

"What? " Omar asked.

"Can you pay my phone bill? " I hated asking cuz we didn't have money like that. They should be able to, they always blowing money on brand new shoes and shit, I thought. Everyone sucked their teeth.

"Maaan you gone have to wait." Tyler complained.

"Excuse but I'm not talking to you. So shut the hell up."

"Nigga bye."

"April you gotta wait forreal we poor obviously. And living where we are now ain't gonna help." Omar said.

"Y'all I'm thinking bout movin in with my baby mama." Marquez said at last. We got quiet. I rolled my eyes dramatically.

"Okay nigga, do whatever makes you happy." Shayla retorted. She hated his baby mama Taylor. She was a thick girl with short red hair who came from a middle classed family. She was a janitor or some shit like that. No one knew where she came from honestly. I knew she was from up North because of her thick accent. She was beautiful and part Italian, but she is a user. And for that we hate her.

"Yep. She called me last night saying she felt horrible about what happened, and I wanna be in my daughter's life."

"So basically if she tells you to jump, you'll jump." I said.

"Ian trynna hear all dat. What's done is done face it. I'm just trying to better myself." He said. Yea we rode in an awkward ass silence for a long time. I bought my air max and an outfit.

When I got home, mama was still sleep. Great, I sighed. I hung my clothes and washed my hair. I looked in the mirror when I was done.

"This is not what I wanted in life. Shit. I need to get better."

****

I stared long and hard at the big red words saying FAILED all over it. I sighed as I messily put it back in its envelope. I missed nearly thirty days of school and this shit is hell. Not going relieved some stress.

I went into the kitchen and spotted Shayla raiding the fridge. Hungry ass. She's always been the greedy one. She should know we're going low on food. Not to mention Marquez is leaving all of us. I patted her on the back.

She looked at me and cried.

"I just found out I'm two months pregnant and I've been smoking tons of cocaine." She said sobbing. I was shocked, she was always a good girl. I wouldn't expect this to happen to her.

"We'll get help. I'm quitting school to get a job anyways." I stated. She shook her head. She was my older sister and she was supposed to drag me out of situations like this. Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who is it," snapped Shayla. I guess that was the wrath of her pregnancy.

"Social services, open up." Called the lady in a stern voice. Uh oh. I glanced at the couch mama sleeps on. Full of cigarette holes and stained beer. I quickly tried to clean the house, wiping up debree on counters and Shayla quickly made the beds. I opened the door looking a mess. I plastered a fake smile on my face. She scrunched her nose and walked inside.

"Miss April. That's you right?" She said pointing at me. I nodded. "Good." I gulped, we could possibly be taken away.

"Can we help you ma'am?" Shayla asked.

"Miss April has missed a whole month of school. May I speak to a responsible adult? Oh and congratulations on the baby." The social worker said to Shayla. I seen Candice peeking from the corner and then walked away.

"Uh I was going to drop out of school. The rule is we can drop out at 16 and im 16." I spoke.

"Yes but your files say you have not gotten permission from a parent or local guardian." She argued.

"Well the people watching us is at work at the moment." I said. She nodded.

"Very well then. I'll return tomorrow morning." The lady said excusing herself from the house. I looked out the window watching her drive away.

"Fuck. What are we gonna do?" Shayla asked nervously. I shrugged.

"We gotta clean everything." I responded.