Me and Sierra started hanging out at school almost all the time. I really liked her, I liked her a lot. Zach and Juvaun teased me about it, but I didn’t care ‘cause Sierra was hot. I didn’t even think about Rihanna as much ‘cause Sierra was my Rihanna.
“Nyl, me and some friends are going to the movie Friday night. I want you to meet me there,” she told me when we were talking in the hallway after lunch.
“Uh, I don’t know about that. I’ll see. I got some stuff I have to do this weekend.”
“Come on, Nyl, why can’t you come? All you ever think about is playing ball.”
“That’s cause I’m trying to make something happen with basketball, Sierra. Plus, just like you love doing that cheerleading stuff, well, I love playing B-ball, I said and twirled the basketball I was carrying in the air on one finger.
“But I want you to come,” she told me. “I want to see you someplace other than school sometimes.”
I thought about it. She was right. Why did I have to be stuck with Nyla and Pops all the time? I needed to be with my friends sometimes. “K, I’ll be there.”
Sierra started smiling, and I smiled back. I would figure out how I was going to get to the movie plus get the money to get in the movie later; but for now, all I could think about was being with Sierra this weekend.
“Hey,” I said, “Come on, I got to get to my next period.” I leaned in and kissed her on the lips and then we walked toward our next class.
“Wait, Nyl.”
“Whuzzup?” I stopped, turning toward her.
“Am I your girlfriend?”
I looked at her like she was on drugs or something. Of course, she was my girlfriend. “What are you talkin’ about, Sierra?”
“’Cause, if I am, you never asked me. So tell me, wassup?”
Sierra was right; I hadn’t asked her if she would be my girlfriend but I thought that since we were hanging out at school and after the games, that she would know that she was my girl. But to satisfy her I answered, “Okay, then. Sierra, will you be my girlfriend?”
Sierra laughed. Yea. I’ll be your girlfriend.” She took hold of my hand and then she kissed me again before we took off to our next class.
I felt good. Sierra was my girlfriend and I couldn’t be happier. Finally, something was going right in my life.
∞
Friday came and man was I glad we didn’t have a game, but Pops didn’t know that, so after he came and picked up Nyla, he left me at the school. I had a pair of jeans and a polo shirt that I had in my locker that I changed into after basketball practice. I had talked to Zach the other day and asked him if he was going to the movies and he said he was. We were supposed to go to the one called the Paradiso which was in East Memphis.
He told me I could go home with him and that his brother would take us. I told him that my Pops thought I was having a game and Zach thought it was cool how I had devised a plan to get out and do something I wanted to do for a change.
I had everything planned to the tee. When Pops went to sleep, I went in the glove compartment and got a twenty-dollar bill from the black plastic pouch hidden underneath piles of papers, where Pops kept his money. It was never more than fifty dollars in the glove compartment, at least that’s the most I saw he ever had. He said he kept that money for gas to get back and forth to work, or for times when we were down to our very very last dime and he would use it to get us something to eat. Well, tonight, like it or not, I was going to use some of it to have some fun. Plus, what’s twenty dollars anyway? He probably spent that much for the liquor he bought. I wasn’t going to worry about it; and if he missed it, then I would have to come up with something to tell him. For now, all I wanted to do was be a normal teenager and have fun.
While Pops and Nyla were off doing whatever, I was going to be at the Paradiso with my friends, but especially with Sierra.
We got to the movie and almost right away, I saw Sierra. She looked so dang fine. She had on some skinny jeans that looked like they had been painted on her. I walked over to where she was and kissed her on her lips, then I put my hand around her waist. We went inside the movie and for the first time in a very long time, I felt like a normal person. No problems, no thinking about being homeless, just chilling with my girl. I had the best time I’d had all year. Me, Sierra, Zach and his girl, all cuddled up in the movie. I got a chance to chill with Sierra and of course we made out. We sat at the very back so no one could see that we were more interested in each other than the movie.
After the movie ended, I asked Zach’s brother to take me back to Fairley ‘cause that’s where my Pops was going to pick me up.
“Hey, bruh, you sure your Pops is coming to pick you up? I can take you home you know,” Zach’s brother offered after we got to the empty school parking lot.
“Yeah, it’s deserted up here,” Zach added. “What time is he supposed to come anyway?”
“He’ll be here in a minute. I already texted him and told him I was on my way back up here.” That wasn’t exactly true of course. But hey, it is what it is.
“You think your Pops really believes you had a game tonight?” Zach asked.
“Yea, I told you he thinks we had an AWAY game. He’ll be here.”
“Okay, but I’ll wait a few minutes. I don’t wanna leave you out here by yourself,” Zach’s brother said.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Cool,” I said. The three of us sat in the car, and me and Zach talked about the good time we had tonight.
I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket, but I didn’t answer it. It was probably Sierra. She said she was going to text me when she got home. I wasn’t about to pull out my phone for Zach or his brother to see.
I would just text her back after Pops came and picked me up. Everything had worked out just as I planned, and I was glad I had the chance to have some straight up fun for a change.
After sitting on the parking lot for about thirty minutes, Zach said, “There he is.”
I looked around and saw headlights. “Later,” I said to Zach and his brother and hopped out of the car. I stood there as they pulled off and Pops drove up beside me.
“Get yo %#@! in this truck,” Pops hollered as soon as the window came down.
Man, was I glad Zach and his brother had left. I definitely didn’t want them to see this part of my Pops. Had he missed the twenty dollars already?
I opened the door and got inside. Pops smacked me upside my head so hard I thought I saw stars. I wanted to hit him back but I knew better.
“You wanna lie? Huh?”
I ducked just as his hand flew up to swat me again. He missed.
“Where the hell have you been?” he asked. “You didn’t have a game. I ran into your coach at Wal-Mart.
“I…I was with my friends,” I said but refused to look at him. I didn’t want him to hit me again, so I stayed as close to the door as possible.
“Well, you should have stayed with your friends then ‘cause the last thing I’m going to have around me is a liar.”
He must not have missed the twenty dollars yet. Boy, was I glad about that.
Nyla was in the back seat crying. She always got upset when Pops got upset.
“I’m tired of living in this Yukon! I’m tired of never being able to go with my friends! I’m tired of not having a place to live!” I screamed at Pops. I was sick of Pops. I was sick of my situation and I was sick and tired of being treated like a little kid.
Pops wasn’t having it though. He opened his door, jumped out the driver’s seat, ran around to the passenger’s door, and yanked it open. He snatched me out of the Yukon, and slammed me on the hood.
“Then you stole from me too? You gone bite the hand that feeds your azz!” Pops yelled.
I held back my tears, and as bad as it hurt, I was glad that I had a chance to get away and do something that I wanted to do for a change. I guess it was just part of the consequences I had to face to have fun on my own, so I still didn’t regret doing what I did. Maybe I should've asked Pops if I could hang out awhile with my friends, but I didn’t wanna take the chance of him telling me, ‘no, or worse, ‘take your sister.’
Pops drove to a Holiday Inn this time and we parked.
“I don’t care what you have to do, but you betta get my money back, and you betta not ever lie to me again or I’ll break yo back,” he continued yelling while we were on the hotel parking lot. “You think you grown, then you can get out and take care of yourself. Come to think of it, since you want to go around stealing and lying, maybe you don’t need to be on the team. I don’t think your coach would take lightly to hearing he has a thief on the team.”
I couldn’t believe he was threatening to make me stop playing ball, and he was going to tell Coach too? If he did make me quit, then it was over. I was definitely going to leave. I don’t care if I had to be a runaway. Hopefully, he didn’t mean what he said about taking me off the team.
“Pops, please. I promise it won’t happen again. I just wanted to be with my friends. I know what I did was wrong; but I’ll earn the money back. But, please don’t make me get off the team and please don’t tell Coach.”
“Look, I’m really upset, and I’m disappointed in you. You should have come to me if you wanted something. What you did is serious, son. You don’t steal from me and you don’t lie to me.”
Pops went on and on until finally I just tuned him out and started thinking about Sierra. I thought about how good Sierra’s body felt when I touched her and how sweet her lips tasted; it had all been worth it. It took a minute, but Pops finally stopped going off. After him and Nyla fell asleep, I texted Sierra.
“I had a good time 2nite”
“Me 2.”
“u felt good”
She texted back, ‘lol’
WYD?
Nuthin,” she texted. “WYD?”
“nuthin, bout 2 watch tv,” I lied.
k. Im @ Shana’s house,” she texted.
Shana was one of her friends and she was on the cheerleading team with Sierra.
k ttyl,” I texted.
k ttyl,” she answered back.