Chapter Nineteen
Nolan had been using the community phone at the group home to stay in touch with Fiona. Since he’d left from the West Side, he’d been speaking to her on and off. She was far from his type of female, but he initially was using her to keep tabs on the three boys’ he’d attacked with the bat. He’d heard that woman who had been banging his father was pressing charges against him for the assault on her son. That was until Fiona showed she was loyal to Nolan and had his back. She stepped up and let it be known to the investigating detectives that Nolan White had been jumped on first by all three of the guys, including the woman’s ringleader son. She made it known he was only defending himself. Fiona made no mention that Nolan had been out of harm’s way and returned with the bat seeking justice. Purposely, she omitted those facts. In the long run, the mother looking for justice felt it was best just to leave the entire matter alone before her son faced assault charges as well.
Nolan knew that part of his life was over. It was nothing but a bad memory of a summer gone wrong. He’d never go in that neighborhood again. That was, unless he was strapped and ready to take a human life. But Fiona, she was still all right with him for doing what she had done. She stood up and held him, despite being shunned by all of her friends. No matter how pesky she was, he knew she fucked with him the long way.
Over eleven guys living in the North East Side group home shared one phone line. There was always a long list, and that list was always full. Finally, it was Nolan’s turn to use the phone. His first call was to Fiona. He’d gotten several messages from the office that she’d left, claiming she was his sister. She expressed she had some urgent family business to tell him. Nolan knew it was a lie just to get him to call her back. It wasn’t that he was avoiding her. He just had to figure out how he was going to get up on some more cash. And sitting up on the phone kicking it with some random female wasn’t going to help the cause. He’d make this call a quick one seeing as he was on a time limit.
“Yeah, Fiona, what up, doe, girl? What it do?” He addressed her as if she were one of the fellas, nothing more, nothing less. And to him, she was just that, no matter how hard she tried to be his girl.
“Dang, boy, where you been hiding at? I been calling and calling.”
“Yeah, I know, I heard. But I been around here and there.”
“Oh, for real?” Fiona replied with a bit of sass in her tone.
“Yeah, but so what’s the big emergency with the family, since you said I was your brother and all that?” He cut it short. With Kapri on his mind, Nolan had no time for small talk with a girl he wasn’t trying to get the pussy from.
Fiona giggled. “I know, right. Shiiid, I had to say something. The people who be answering the phone where you at be rude as fuck. So you know—”
“Look, Fiona, what’s the deal? What’s good?”
“Dang, Nolan, I mean, since you left from off East Kirby, you been MIA. What’s going on with that group home? You tight over there or what? I started to catch a ride over that way, but I couldn’t get in touch with you.”
“You already know them ho-ass police took a nigga’s cell phone too, so contact with anybody been limited. But, yeah, I’m good, just trying to put a few things together and whatnot. My homeboy in here, Trey, got some business on the floor outta town, so we working on that.” Nolan looked up at the wall clock. The thirty-minute time he was allotted was ticking. He had to end this conversation quickly if he wanted to call Kapri as promised. He wanted to keep his word because that girl and her smart-assed mouth had been on his mind all day.
“Trey? I know a guy on the East Side named Trey. He like double dark and got dreads. He always stays strapped and got a missing front tooth.” Fiona always wanted to put on like she knew everything and everybody, when, in fact, the only thing she knew on Nolan’s side of town was raggedy-ass Eastland Mall.
“Naw, this ain’t that guy. This dude lighter than me. They call him Bone Capone out in the streets. But anyhow, I’ll get back. I gotta go handle some shit.” Not giving Fiona a chance to respond, Nolan abruptly hung up the phone. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out the paper Kapri had written her info on. After dialing six numbers, on the seventh, he nervously took a deep breath. After a few rings, she finally answered.
“Hello, Kapri?”
“Speaking. Who is this, please?” She was using her “white voice,” acting as if she didn’t know it was Nolan, when, in fact, she’d been sitting on the edge of her bed waiting for his call.
Never at a loss for words, Nolan found himself tongue-tied. Even though Kapri had a smart mouth like one of the many hoodrats he’d kicked it with, it wasn’t hard to tell she was much different. He knew whatever he was used to, this wasn’t that. “Hey, girl, this is Nolan. Remember me, the one with the Air Nots?” He clowned his own self in an attempt to break the ice.
Awkwardly, Kapri laughed, a little embarrassed at what she’d said earlier. Despite being called out of her name, talking down on someone for being less fortunate was out of character. Once again, she humbled herself and apologized. “Look, my bad. But moving away from that, what took you so long to call? You just got finished eating dinner this late?”
“Umm, naw, but—”
“But what? It’s not I’m thirsty or nothing like that. But if you say you gonna do something, then keep your word or keep it moving,” Kapri advised, laying down the law as if they’d known each other for years, not a few hours.
“Whoa, hold up,” Nolan tried to interject but was shut down.
“Naw, see, I was waiting this time, but if it happens again, I won’t.”
Nolan wasn’t used to being told what to do. After leaving the West Side underneath his father’s rules, he became his own man. Even Tall Rob knew not to push him too far. But here, this female was barking at him like she was running shit. Strangely, he wasn’t the least bit offended. Nolan found that shit sexy as hell and knew this girl was the one for him. Unlike Fiona, Kapri wasn’t trying to impress him. It seemed more like she had deeper plans for him… plans that only two people with a mental connection could share. Amused, he assured her that in the next few days, he would have a new cell phone, and they could kick it whenever. For the next twenty-five minutes, Kapri and Nolan chopped it up about their childhoods and how different they were.
“So, yeah, Nolan, my mother ain’t so bad. Matter of fact, she holds me down when shit gets real. And where she works at, whenever I need to multitask on some school project, I can go with her and get on the computers and print stuff out. I mean, we have the internet at home, but at her job, the network is way faster. Plus, I used their free postage to mail out all of my college applications.”
“Damn, girl, do you ever come up for air?” he playfully teased.
“Yeah, crazy. But you asked about me and my life and told me to make it quick, so, yeah, that’s what a sista trying to do.”
Fascinated with Kapri and her spunk, he conceded. “Okay, you right, my bad. Go ahead.”
“Okay, so, damn, where was I?” She never missed a beat taking off right where she’d left off. “Oh yeah, and my father, he locked up. He killed somebody and been in prison since I was little.”
“Damn, straight up?” Nolan was intrigued that as perfect as Kapri’s life appeared, it was flawed just like his. Well, maybe not as bad, but there still were apparently a few hiccups.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him in years. My mother don’t play that ‘stand by your man’ bullshit. And I can only visit my grandmother on his side every once in a while, on special occasions.”
“Special occasions?”
“Yeah, special occasions. See, my granny a witch, and so am I.” Kapri loved making that last statement to others for effect. That was her wow factor of any conversation. And, of course, Nolan’s reaction was like anyone else’s.
“What the fuck?” Nolan blurted out loud, causing the guys watching television in the dayroom to look in his direction. “You a what? Did your ass say you a damn witch? What the fuck is you talking about?”
“Yeah, my people from New Orleans. They into spells, chicken claws, voodoo, and shit. I’m an only child by my daddy, and I got the gift too.”
“You bullshitting, right?” He hoped she was, but even though they’d just met, he knew she wasn’t.
“Naw, Nolan, I’ma show you one day when we have more time. But forget about me right now. It’s your turn to tell me all your business.”
Nolan was dumbfounded. Since he’d first been kicking it with females at the age of ten, he’d never ever had one tell him no shit like Kapri just had. And even though they’d just met, he believed she meant every word she was saying. So, either she was, indeed, an ordained witch with some dirty down South powers, or it could be that she was just bat-shit crazy like his mother was. But however it went, Nolan decided that Kapri James was some kind of special, and he was feeling her vibe.
“Well, my story ain’t as good as yours. I mean, you already saw my file at school. I have twin brothers by my mother and ain’t no telling what my old dude got going on with his ho ass. My mother ain’t shit. My father ain’t shit. And right about now, I ain’t got shit.”
“Damn,” was all Kapri could say.
“Naw, brown eyes, it’s all good. Give a guy a few weeks. I’m about to come up and get back on my feet,” Nolan proudly announced, hoping that Kapri would recognize his potential and stick it out.
“Nolan, listen to me and hear me good. It doesn’t matter where you at now. It matters where you going later. Stay focused. Life gonna get better. Something good is going to happen to you, and it’s right around the corner. All you gotta do is keep moving and keep looking for it. Trust me, Nolan, it’s there. Besides, my witch senses telling me that,” she joked, hoping that at least he’d smile . . . which, by the tone in his voice, she knew he had.
Nolan felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. He needed to hear that motivational outlook on what could be if he just persevered. Disclosing everything about himself, he then told his new confidante about his homegirl from the West Side, Fiona, and what she’d done to help him out with the detectives. Although amused, he wasn’t expecting Kapri’s raw response.
“Boy, bye. I already don’t like your ‘homegirl’ or her name. She seems low-key shady. She just trying to be your girl. I might have to put a spell on that bitch one day.” Once again, they both laughed, but Kapri was serious. Nolan was the first guy she really was feeling. She was prepared to plot, scheme, and do whatever it took not to hear Fiona’s name again. Nolan didn’t know it at the time, but Kapri was on several medications for not only anger issues but also obsessive behavior disorders.
When his time on the community phone was up, Nolan informed Kapri just to hold tight, and they would speak come Monday. “All right, then, we gonna kick it again on Monday.”
“So, what your ass doing all weekend you can’t talk? I mean, like that’s twenty hours times two. Do the math,” she firmly asked, knowing she needed to take her meds.
“Look, girl, slow your roll. Just know soon we gonna be able to kick it whenever. I already told you I’m about to come up again. And when I do, a nigga ain’t never gonna fall anymore.”
“All right, then. Okay, Nolan, do you. I’m done with all the questions. And I’ll just see you Monday at school,” she affirmed, easing up on her attitude.
“Girl, what you mean? Fuck a school. I got other business on the floor way more important than no school and classroom. I gottas come up and quick, real, real quick.”
Kapri knew Nolan was one of those bad boys her mother had warned her about, but it didn’t matter. She liked his confidence and was sprung by his swag. But even with her nose wide open, she still spoke her mind. “Okay, big boss baller. I feel you. But beyond that point, why in the hell you have me filling out all those papers earlier if you knew good and damn well you were not going to attend class?”
Nolan laughed before explaining that sometimes in life, a man gotta play “they” game until he could play his own. And the moves he was about to make would put him in position to finally be the master of his own destiny and a real boss baller, for sure. Lustfully, Nolan ended the conversation telling “brown eyes” to stay sweet and to look for his call Monday, or no later than Tuesday evening.