Earl Sewell - Way Too Much Drama

“Yes. I want to know if Misalo kicked Carlo’s butt. You were teaching him how to fight, right?” Anna asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Well, did your man win or what?” Anna was eager to hear all the gory details.

“The fight didn’t really last that long. Can we talk about it later? My head really hurts,” I said.

“Would you like some aspirin?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Anna said as she rushed off. I closed my eyes, exhaled and thought about what needed to be done in order to make Misalo care for me again. There was no way I would allow Maya to come between the true feelings that had developed between us.

three

MAYA

I was resting on my stomach when I was awakened by the sound of my cell phone. I wanted to ignore it, but I knew it was Keysha by the sound of the ring tone. Without looking, I reached for the nightstand where my cell phone was situated. Once I had it, I placed it to my ear.

“Hello?” I answered groggily.

“Wake up,” Keysha said in a chipper voice. I closed my eyes tighter.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“It’s time for us to get up and face the day,” Keysha said energetically.

“Seriously?” I asked, annoyed.

“Stop acting like an old lady and wake up.” It was obvious to me at that point that Keysha wanted me to do something with her.

“My knee still hurts. I’m not going to be out of bed anytime soon,” I griped as I moved my injured leg.

“What if I told you that I got up first thing this morning and my dad took me to driving school?”

I perked up. “What?” I readjusted the phone. “Stop playing.”

“I’m not playing,” Keysha answered.

I turned over and looked at my alarm clock positioned on my dresser across the room. It was 12:45 p.m. “Wow! I didn’t realize that I’d slept so late,” I said, stretching out my body.

“You always sleep late when you’re depressed,” Keysha reminded me.

“I’m not depressed,” I disagreed as I glared at the ceiling. I swallowed hard, noticing how dry my mouth was. “Are you really taking private driving lessons now?”

“Yep. I’m learning the rules of the road!” Keysha answered gleefully.

“Why didn’t you tell me today was your first day? See, you’re a crummy BFF. How could you keep something that major from me?” I asked.

“News flash! I was busy helping you deal with Viviana,” Keysha answered sarcastically.

“That whore.” I tossed my feet over the edge of my bed and sat upright.

“Did you get a chance to confront her about what she did?” Keysha asked.

“Oh, yeah. We had a big blowup yesterday after I got back home.”

“And?” I could tell by the tone of Keysha’s voice that she was hanging on my next words.

“She hates me, Keysha, and that’s all there is.”

“Does she hate you because of what went down with her father?” Keysha asked a question she already knew the answer to.

“Yep. She believes I ruined her life when I spoke up, and now all she wants to do is get even with me.”

“Damn! How are you going to live under the same roof with someone who has that much hatred for you?” Keysha asked.

“I have no idea,” I admitted.

“You should probably tell your mom about it. Maybe she can help Viviana work through her issues,” Keysha suggested.

“I care more about a baboon’s smelly behind than I do about Viviana. All she has to do is stay out of my way and leave Misalo alone.” My resentment toward Viviana was absolute.

“Speaking of feelings, boys and all that stuff, guess who I saw this morning?” Keysha asked.

“Wesley? Was he standing in the yard below your window reciting poetry?” I asked mockingly.

“No, silly, although that would be very romantic if he ever found the courage to do it.” Keysha giggled.

“Oh, God,” I responded as if I were about to puke.

“Whatever, Maya.” Keysha chuckled. “I saw Carlo this morning.”

“Carlo?” I spoke louder than I intended to.

“Yep.”

“What was he doing?”

“I saw him walking into the community center. I assume he was heading to the gym. Have you spoken to him since the fight?”

“No. I haven’t called him and he hasn’t called me. He’s probably ticked off at me for pulling him off Misalo when he was beating him down,” I admitted.

“So does that mean you guys aren’t an item anymore?” Keysha asked.

“I guess so. I’m not missing him at all, and he’s certainly not chasing after me, so it is what it is,” I answered as thoughts of Misalo filled my mind.

“Okay,” Keysha said and then paused.

“What do you have planned for the day?” I asked.

“Right now I’m heading over to the library to return some books,” Keysha said.

“The pool should be about to close for the season, shouldn’t it?” I asked.

“Yep. I only have to work two more days and that’s it,” Keysha said.

“Well, at least you’ll have plenty of money to do your back-to-school shopping with,” I said, envious of the fact she had been able to work all summer.

“No, I have better plans for the money that I’ve been saving,” Keysha said.

“What?” I asked.

“A car,” said Keysha.

“You’re going to spend all your money on a car? I thought you said your dad was going to buy you one?” I asked.

“That’s what he said, but I don’t want him to buy me some noisy jalopy. I’ve been able to save two thousand dollars. If he matches what I’ve saved, then I could get a decent vehicle for four thousand, don’t you think?”

“Hell, yeah. You should be able to ride in style for that kind of money,” I chimed.

“Do you want to head over to the library with me?” Keysha asked.

“Not right now. I need to stay off my knee for a little while longer. What are you doing later?” I asked, thinking we could do something then.

“I’ll be at work,” said Keysha.

“Then I’ll come by the pool and keep you company later this afternoon,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Keysha said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

Later that afternoon I put on my bathing suit, grabbed a pool bag, which I always kept packed and ready, and headed out the door. When I arrived at the swimming pool, Keysha was snapping off on some junior high school boys for playing too roughly. There was a mother with her toddler splashing around at the shallow end of the pool and a few other folks who were wading from one side of the pool to the other. I placed my things on an empty seat next to where Keysha’s belongings were. I got myself situated, put on my dark sunglasses and relaxed. A few minutes later I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

“What?” I asked, annoyed by the interruption of my quiet time.

“Misalo just arrived,” Keysha said, taking her seat beside me. I sat upright, and sure enough, Misalo had taken a seat at the other end of the pool.

“What are you going to do?” Keysha asked.

“I think I’m going to get in the water,” I said. I rose to my feet and carefully walked to the edge of the pool. My knee was still bothering me a little, but not to the point that I had to hobble. I sat down on my butt, draped my legs over the edge and into the warm water. I splashed some water on my thighs and arms so my skin would adjust more easily to the temperature of the water. I then submerged myself. By the time I came from beneath the water, I noticed that Misalo wasn’t in his seat. I glanced around, wondering where he’d gone. I looked below the surface of the water and saw that he was swimming toward me. I did a few strokes until my back rested against the edge of the pool. When Misalo surfaced, he cleared away the cascading water from around his eyes and approached me.