II.Qveen of the $treets

Chapter TWENTY FIVE - High On Hope

Chapter TWENTY FIVE

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Aliyah

3 months later

"Mommy, I don't want to go to school today." Amani whined in my ear as I tried my best to get her up  and out of the bed. She was sleeping peacefully before I had to disturb her for school. It was 7 and she was due to be at her head start program by 8:15. I had an hour to get her dressed, because I had already gotten dressed first before waking her. I was clad in a simple pair of light colored jeans, a peach shirt, brown leather jacket with brown boots. Today was an off day, so I was free all day.

"Baby, you have too." I said and she sat up in the bed and looked at me with a mean expression on her little face. She was not a morning baby, it took everything to get this girl out of bed, even bribing her. That's why this had been Andre's job. I wasn't wrapped around her finger like he was, so whatever she wanted he got it for her, just to get up for school. That was the main difference between him & I.

"If I get up, can you make me oatmeal and apples?" she bargained as she crossed her arms over her chest firmly. I chuckled lightly and decided it was the least I could do. I had planned to stop by McDonald's on the way to the center, but I guess we'd have time for me to make her some oatmeal while we were here. She loved apples, so I gave them too her as much as she wanted.

"Deal, now come on Amani. You have to bathe and put on your clothes first." I said as I picked her up from the bed and placed her on feet on the floor. She ran off quickly to go and brush her teeth, while I made up her pink and teal polka dotted covers. I placed everything how it was supposed to be before going into her bathroom to see what she was doing. There, she stood on her princess stool and brushed her teeth.

I ran her a little bath water and once she was done, she stripped out of all her clothes and got into the tub. She liked to be independent, so I allowed her to wash her own body, before going back and redoing it all over again. That took a good 15 minutes and I pulled her out of the tub and dried her off. It's February, so I had picked her out something warm and cute for today.

After I had dried her off, I lotioned her body up with Johnson Johnson baby lotion, before putting on her clothes. I'd picked her out some denim tights with a purple floral shirt that came a bit above her knees, with brown moccasin boots. Andre would have had a fit about the tights if he had saw her in this outfit. He hated it when we wore tights, but hey. I pushed the thought away and I went on to leave her hair down and puffy in it's own nature. I sprayed her perfume on, got her jacket and book bag and we headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Come on," I exclaimed and picked her up, placing her onto the bar stool at the island counter. I grabbed a pack of oatmeal from the cabinet and poured it into a bowl before adding water to the mixture. I placed it in the microwave while I packed her snacks in her princess lunch box that she loved so much. I always sent her a lunch from home, just in case they had something she doesn't eat, because she's very picky when it comes to food.

"Peanut butter and jelly, or turkey and cheese?" I asked her as I held the both of them up. She looked up at the sky and rubbed her chin like she was thinking hard about the two choices. I smiled slightly and waited on her to choose what she wanted. Amani was always dramatic. I don't know where she got that trait from.

"I want PB&J mommy. Oh and apples too pwease. " she said and clapped her hands together in excitement. Amani loved herself some green apple slices. They were healthy, so I didn't complain about giving them to her. I kept my refrigerator filled with many packs of apple slices just for her. That's what kept her sane most of the time I guess. I wasn't complaining though.