Teenage Fever

Learn Something New

Derek gets a bonfire going. Sasha and the girls arrive later that evening. I hug and kiss my nieces. Derek and D catch up some more while I go to see mom in the kitchen. The sky was getting darker and the bonfire was looking good.

"Hey, mom."
"Don't 'hey' me. We got talking to do."
I quickly roll my eyes.
"You know I'm still upset with you, right?"
"Mom, please—"
"Don't talk over me, Les."
I keep my mouth shut. She looks at me with heated eyes while she has pots of food finishing up around her on the stove.
"Now, like I said, I'm still upset. There's nothing I can do to change your mind I know but I'm hoping this was the right thing, Les and I hope you're happy."
"I'm very happy, mom."
She looks back at me then studies me hard which kind of makes me uncomfortable.
"You are," she says as if the thought surprises her. "Sit down, Les."
I go to sit down at the kitchen table curious to know why she looked at me like that. She sits across from me, reaching for my hands. After a few seconds she smiles at me.
"There's someone else isn't there?"
My heart starts racing.
"Uh, yeah."
"How long, Les?"
I shrugged.
"Couple of weeks."
She shakes her head.
"I'm seeing something different in you, Les, I can feel that you're happier now and I can tell that you're in love. There's something... lighter... about you."
I thought about Tahj. As much as I like him I still think we're a little ways away from being in love with each other.
"I don't mom, I'm not really in love with this person, it's still new," I shrug off.
My mom's eyebrows scrunch together.
"Leslie, I get the impression that we're not talking about the same person."
My hands start to pull away as I can feel my eyebrows start to scrunch up as well.
"Is this prayer?" A voice interrupts.

I turn around and immediately I can feel the flutters again in my chest. It's D standing there starring at us with an expectant smile on his face.

"This is prayer before the food, right? The food ready?" He cheeses.
Mom chuckles and starts to stand up.
"Yes, baby, let me turn everything off."
D winks at me before turning to the stove.
I could barely even move or speak.

All I could eat at the moment was a fish fry sandwich in front of the fire. I was hoping for a better appetite in the morning so I can eat everything else mom made.

We all sat around the fire eating. As good as the fish was tasting my kind wasn't fully concentrating on it. What my mom had told me earlier was still freaking me out. She was eating and laughing at something Derek and Sasha were talking about. Dad was listening and chilling with his beer. D sat next to me with a fish sandwich in his hand and two others on his plate. I realized that he didn't have to try when it came to making me laugh.

"Thanks again, Les," he whispers to me while the sound of the fire crackled in the background.
"For what?" I look at him.
One side of his face was in the dark shadows while the other was lit up from the fire.
"Inviting me."
I nod.
"Of course, it's nothing."

I continue to look at him in the eye since he's doing the same. I remember the compliment he gave me about my eyes and now here he sat just staring into my eyes. I didn't look away. I don't know how long we sat like that but I started to pick up on the silence. I finally look away and at Derek first.

"Everything okay?" He asks.
"Y-yeah," I mutter.

Dad and mom were studying us as well. Dad eventually seemed to shrug it off and reach for another beer whereas mom was giving me that intense look again.

"Okay, cause I thought that was the let's-get-ready-to-bounce look," Derek said and everyone laughs, even I chuckle.
"Nah, I got some more days of eating to do," D said.

My room looked just as how I left it.
"Damn, this isn't a 10 year old's room anymore," D said from the door, gazing around.
"Yeah, that was a long time ago."
He walked in and looked around.
"Ya mom said you can show me the guest bedroom."
"Nigga, how many times have you been here?"
"I only remember your room, the living room, kitchen and backyard," he laughed.
"It's right next door, on your right."
"That's all you had to say."
I smile and follow him out and into the guest room.
"I'm about to pass out, not gonna lie."
He drops his bags and hops onto the bed. A long sigh escapes his mouth.
"Sweet dreams," I tell him.
"Les," he calls before I head out the door. His eyes were closed. "I know you want to be with Tahj," he says above a whisper.
"D," I stop him from saying anything else. "You don't have to say anything. Tahj and I talked earlier and a lot was cleared up. We had some uncertainties between each other but things do seem to have been worked out."
D peeks over at me.
"As long as he treats you good, I'm not trying to go through that whole Jackie thing again."
I snort.
"Same," I say before I walk out but I slow down and stop in the middle of the hallway. I can't deny that I felt off and bad.

It felt pretty good waking up in my old bed on a sunny Saturday morning. My door busted in and someone came flying in and onto my bed.
"Let's watch Saturday cartoons!" D yelled in my face.
I laughed.
"Get off me!"
He stood up and started sniffing the air.
"Is that your momma?"
I took a whiff.
"Most likely."
He rolled his eyes and pretended to drool.
"It's been so long since I had home cooked food that wasn't cooked by me."
"How long you been living on your own?"
"Since I was 18. I used to eat out a lot but I wasn't making a lot at the time so I had to learn how to cook."
"Why did you leave at 18?"
He rocked back and forth on his heels while staring at the wall. He did this for almost a full minute. During that time I changed positions on the bed.
"My parents separated a couple years after we got to Section 1."
I turned to face him. He stood at the end of the bed while I sat on the side of it.
"My dad left and my mom got herself a boyfriend. I didn't care for him too tough. I couldn't wait to leave. As soon as I turned 18 I was out. Did everything I could to get some money. I even sold drugs for a little bit—"
"Hold up, run that back, Turbo. What?"
He was trying hard not to smile.
"You sold drugs?"
"From the time I was 16 up until about 20. That's kind of why I live where I'm at. Those guys that sometimes be outside the building—"
"The ones that were shooting up the place the other day?"
"Well, I don't know who for sure those people were but the ones I'm talking about who also used to hang right there I used to sell drugs with them and then one of them helped me out to get my place in that building."
I was stunned.
"Wh-why didn't you tell me this? I'm not mad or anything it's just weird that I didn't know this about you."
He shrugged.
"Honestly, never was a right time, but right now you're asking the right questions so now I'm telling you. It slipped my mind."
"Okay, what else don't I know? Tell me everything."
I even pat the bed for him to cop a squat. But instead he squints his eyes and shakes his head. But then his eyes fly open.
"I was shot once."
I throw my arms into the air.
"Nigga!"
He laughs.
"Really?"

He nods. He moves closer to me so that he's standing right in front of me. He lifts his shirt and though he goes to point at the scar I couldn't help but to stare at his abs instead. And it was early morning so I tried to adjust myself in these gray sweat shorts. I snap out of it and look at the old wound on his left side.

"Only once," he was saying. "It hurt like a bitch but it wasn't anything serious, it didn't hit anything serious."
I reach up and touch it. Touched him.
"How old were you?"
"Seventeen."
I look back up into his face, I was pretty much speechless.
"I was walking home from school when a stray bullet hit me. I bled for a minute on the sidewalk, stumbled to get home, passed out when I did, then I woke up in the hospital."
His story made me sad.
"I'm sorry that happened to you."
"It's okay, Les, I'm good, I'm here."
He then moves his hand on top of mine that was still on his scar. I gently grabbed his hand, held it in mine and squeezed it.