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“I could sleep for a week straight,” Malajia complained as she shoved one of her suitcases aside. “I don’t even have the energy to unpack.” She shifted a pile of shirts, and sank down on the bed.
“I don’t even know why you brought all that crap home,” Geri sneered. “Your winter break is only four weeks.” She then began to rifle through one of Malajia’s bags.
Malajia yawned and then sat up abruptly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she barked. “Get your big man hands out of my bags.”
“Shut up. I’m looking for your white blouse. I need to borrow it.”
“No,” Malajia whined, stomping her foot on the floor. “You got plenty of shirts of your own.”
Geri pulled the shirt from the bag. “Malajia, I don’t give a damn what you say. I’m borrowing it. You’re always borrowing my jewelry,” Geri charged, pointing at her. Malajia went to open her mouth when Geri interrupted her. “Oh what? You gonna deny it now?”
“Just hurry the hell up and take it,” Malajia relented, waving her hand at her grinning sister. “But you better not spill anything on it.”
“Calm down. I take better care of your stuff than you do,” Geri laughed, skipping out the door
“Shut up,” Malajia retorted. A little nap, she thought, just a little one and then I’ll finish unpacking. Malajia curled up on her bed and closed her eyes. Her brief moment of quiet was interrupted by the sound of her mother’s voice carrying from the other room.
“Malajia! Come watch your sisters while I run to the store.”
Sucking her teeth, Malajia darted out of bed. “I hate this house,” she huffed, scurrying out of the room.
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“Hold on, Alex,” Emily whispered and padded across the room to shut the door. “Okay, all clear.”
“Girl, I’m so glad to be off that campus,” Alex confided, hanging a sweater in her closet.
“Not me. I actually miss school,” Emily said wistfully as she played with the hair on her doll’s head.
“Already? Are you crazy?” Alex chortled.
“No,” Emily laughed, “it’s just that now that I’m home, my mom won’t leave me alone. She keeps...Well, you know how she is.”
“Yeah, I know. Hang in there, girl. Pretty soon she’s bound to realize you’re not a child anymore. I mean you are going to be eighteen in a few months.”
“I hope so,” Emily said with a sigh.
“You’ll be okay. Winter break is only a few weeks.”
Emily paused, hearing footsteps outside her door. “I gotta go. My mom’s coming.”
“All right, girl.”
“Bye,” Emily whispered and hung up the phone just as her mother came into the room without knocking.
“Hey sweetheart,” she said. “I made lunch, would you like some?”
“Um, sure.”
“Baby girl, I’m so glad to have you back home,” she said, throwing her arms around her daughter. Emily gave a faint smile, and hugged her back.
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Sidra scrutinized the items on her dresser, her eyes narrowing. Someone had been going through her things. She knew exactly how she’d left everything in her room. She liked everything arranged just so. Even her forty-two-inch flat-screen television had been moved. She swiveled and flung open the bedroom door.
“Marcus!” she shouted.
“What?” he yelled from downstairs.
“Have you been in my room?”
“No,” he shot back.
“Yes, you were,” she screamed. “You’re the only one who comes in here to watch my TV, because yours is broken.”
“So!” he hollered.
“Hey, you two, stop shouting in the house,” Mr. Howard hollered from the den.
“Sorry, Dad,” Sidra and Marcus simultaneously shouted back. Shaking her head, she grabbed her cell phone off of her nightstand; she sat down on the bed and punched a number on speed-dial.
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Chasity tossed aside the magazine she was reading and answered the phone.
“What’s up, Sidra,” she said. Chasity figured it was only a matter of time before her roommate called.
“Hey roomie,” Sidra replied.
“How’s it going?”
“Good, getting used to being back home for more than two days,” Sidra replied with a laugh.
“Well, what are you gonna do for four weeks?” Chasity asked, picking her magazine back up.
“Girl, I don’t know. Relax and spend some time de-boying my room. It reeks of my brothers in here,” Sidra replied, straightening a picture frame on her nightstand.
Chasity shook her head and was about to respond to Sidra, when she heard her aunt call her. “Damn it,” she groaned.
“What’s the matter?” Sidra asked.
“My aunt’s calling me. She keeps bugging me to go to the mall with her.”
“Christmas shopping?”
“Yeah, I hate shopping around Christmas,” Chasity complained. “The mall is always crowded, and you know how much I hate people.”
Sidra giggled. “Sweetie, she’s trying to make things right with you. Just go,” she advised. Chasity had broken down before finals, and told Sidra the whole sorry story of her Thanksgiving.
“Not trying to hear it, Sidra.”
Trisha barged in Chasity’s room. “Did you hear me calling you?”
Chasity let out a loud sigh. “No,” she lied.
Shaking her head, Trisha walked over, and took the phone from Chasity. “Hello?”
“Hi Ms. Trisha,” Sidra laughed. “It’s Sidra.”
“Hi sweetie. Sorry, but I’m cutting you off,” Trisha said with a laugh. “We have some shopping to do.”
“Good, I’m glad that you’re making her go,” Sidra remarked, well aware of Trisha’s nonstop efforts to regain Chasity’s trust. They seemed to be working, Sidra thought. “Make her smile too. Lord knows that she never does that.”
“Smile Chaz,” Trisha ordered, turning to her niece.
“No,” Chasity sneered, frowning.
“She’s mad,” Trisha said with a laugh.
“She always is. Talk to you later.”
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“Mark, where are the lights?” Mrs. Johnson asked.
“In that box over there,” he replied and pointed to the box on the floor next to the basement door. She walked over and lifted the top.
“Boy, these lights are still tangled,” she observed.
“I know that, Mom,” he responded, not hiding his exasperation. It was his turn to put up the Christmas decorations outside, and time was running out. As usual, he’d waited to the last minute.
“Mark, you had better get it together,” Mrs. Johnson advised.
“Don’t worry Mom,” he reassured her. “I have everything under control. David, Josh and Sidra are coming over to help.”
“Just get it done,” Mrs. Johnson ordered, walking into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, sending Mark darting to the door. “It’s about time,” he hissed.
“Oh, hush your face, and let us in,” Sidra scolded, stamping her feet on the welcome mat. “My feet are frozen. Do you know how cold it is out here?”
“It’s icy out too,” Josh said as he stepped into the hall. “Okay, so where’re the lights?”
“In that box,” Mark ground out, pointing again.
Removing his coat, David headed for the box and inspected the contents. “They’re still tangled,” David said with a frown.
“I know that,” Mark snapped. “Why are you telling me obvious shit?”
“Man, this is a damn mess. It’s going to take forever to get them untangled,” Sidra complained.
“Why do you think I called y’all?” he retorted. “You can’t expect me to do this all by myself.”
“Mark, this should’ve been done weeks ago,” Josh scolded.
“If you remember, dumbass,” Mark shot back, “weeks ago we were getting ready for finals.”
“Some of us were getting ready,” David corrected, bending down and picking up the box.
“I heard that, nerd,” Mark scoffed.
“Mark, you were home for Thanksgiving. Why didn’t you do this then?” Josh barked, tossing his knit hat on the couch. “I hate coming over here during the holidays, because you always got us doing extra shit.”
Mark frowned at him for several seconds. “Yo, why you gettin’ an attitude?” he mocked. Josh gritted his teeth. He hated when Mark turned his frustration around to make it seem like he was the one being unreasonable. “You mad as shit over Christmas lights dawg.”
David stifled a laugh as he noticed the seething look on Josh’s face. “Okay guys, chill out,” he put in. “Let’s just get started.”
“You owe me some cookies or something,” Sidra bargained and shot Mark an arch look.
“All right, all right,” he shouted.
“You keep that up, and you’ll be doing this alone,” she warned, pointing a finger at him.
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“How can you drag me to this store and then not let me buy anything?” Chasity complained. She despised holiday shopping at the mall, and this was their second trip in two days.
“Girl, we didn’t come here for you. I have your presents already,” Trisha retorted, running her fingers down the front of a trendy top.
“I didn’t ask you to buy anything for me,” Chasity mumbled, folding her arms.
“Hey, chill with the attitude, smart ass,” Trisha reprimanded, removing the shirt from the shelf.
Chasity rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Can I please go?” she whined.
“No,” Trisha replied calmly, then held the shirt out for Chasity to see. “Do you like this? Would it look good on Melina?”
“Nothing looks good on that bitch,” Chasity snapped.
Trisha stared at her angrily. “I’m two seconds from shaking you.”
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“Jason, I’m hungry, can I go buy something to eat?”
Jason eyed his little brother. The kid was always hungry. “Sure man, go ahead,” he said with a quick smile, and then frowned as Kyle held out his hand. “What?” he asked.
“Money.”
“Kyle, you have money.”
“I’m saving that for my new game,” Kyle wheedled, smiling.
“Fine, here,” he said with a laugh, slapping a ten on Kyle’s outstretched palm.
“Cool,” he said happily and ran off.
About to walk into the jewelry store, Jason caught sight of a familiar coat on a familiar frame standing by the fountain.
“Chasity?” he called out, excited to see her. He hadn’t spoken to her since school let out, and he’d missed her.
She looked around to see who had called her name. Seeing that it was Jason, Chasity walked over. “Hey,” she said, surprised to see him.
“How are you?” he asked, giving her a hug.
“Tired, pissed, and cold.”
“Forced to go shopping, huh?”
“Yes, I hate it. I have never hated shopping so much. My aunt keeps picking shit up and showing things to me and asking me my opinion, and then she gets mad if my opinion doesn’t agree with hers,” she responded.
Jason laughed. Chasity had a knack. She could describe any situation to a T.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Did you get dragged out here too?”
“Kind of,” he said. “My little brother and I are looking for a present for my parents.”
“I didn’t know that you had a brother.”
“Yeah, he’s thirteen, his name is Kyle. I thought that I told you that.”
“You probably did and I wasn’t paying attention,” she responded with a shrug.
“Well, at least you’re honest,” he said.
Kyle ran up carrying a jumbo-sized soda. “Hey Jason, I saw this gift that Mom might want,” he declared.
Jason looked at him. “Hey, I thought that you were hungry.”
“I was, but once I got into the food court, I realized I was thirsty too.”
“Where’s my change?” Jason asked.
“What change?” Kyle returned smartly, inciting a frown from Jason.
Chasity watched the easy interchange between the siblings and smiled.
“That’s something that I missed,” Jason said, returning his attention to her.
“What?” she asked with a frown.
“Your smile...as rare as it is.”
“Please,” she protested, rolling her eyes.
“Chasity, this is my brother Kyle. Kyle, this is my friend, Chasity,” Jason introduced.
“So, do you have a boyfriend?” Kyle asked, going straight for the jugular.
“No,” she stammered, stifling a laugh.
“So, what’s up with you and my brother then?” he persisted.
“Kyle,” Jason exclaimed.
“Huh?” Kyle looked up, eyes wide.
“Do you wanna walk home?”
“I was just asking.” Kyle’s interrogation stopped abruptly when an older woman trotted up to Chasity. It was a great disappointment. He didn’t get many opportunities to roast his older brother.
“Chaz,” Trisha asked. “What do you think of this outfit for Melina?”
“I promise I don’t give a damn about what you bought for her,” Chasity spat out.
“You have way too much attitude, child,” Trisha replied and turned to Jason. “Hello again, and who’s this young man?”
“My brother, Kyle.” Jason said.
“Hey sweetie. You’re just as cute as your brother.” Embarrassed, Kyle stared at his sneakers.
Trisha was clearly on a roll. Afraid of what her aunt might say next, Chasity prudently interrupted. “Look, we’ve been here for hours. I’m tired and I’m cold. I want to go home.”
“All right, fine, we’ll go,” Trisha relented. As she adjusted the designer bag on her shoulder she smiled slyly and said, “You know what Chaz? You and Jason would make such a cute couple.”
Embarrassed, Chasity’s eyes widened. “Are you freakin’ kidding me?” she fumed, before storming off.
“Wait, what did I say?” Trisha laughed. With a slight wave to Jason, she hurried after her niece.
“You’re right. She’s pretty,” Kyle said after Chasity and Trisha disappeared into the crowd. “I can’t wait to go to college.”
“Come on, bro, we still have shopping to do,” Jason said as he patted the top of Kyle’s curly head.
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“How the hell did they get like that?” Josh exclaimed, holding up a string of lights. It had taken the four of them almost two hours to separate the knots and tangles.
“It’s my Dad’s fault,” Mark put in, standing with his hands on his hips. “He just throws everything in the box after the holidays are over.”
“I heard that,” Mr. Johnson shouted from the basement.
Mark shook his head and looped the strings around his arm. “All right, let’s go hang these babies.”
“Don’t we get a break?” David chimed in.
“No,” Mark shouted. “Nobody gets a break until it’s done.”
“Not so,” Mrs. Johnson called from the kitchen. A second later, she appeared, carrying a plate of her freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies.
“Ooh homemade cookies,” Sidra exclaimed, clapping her hands. “You’re the best, Mrs. Johnson.”
“I thought that the three of you could use a break.”
“Don’t you mean four?” Mark butted in, scratching his head.
“No son, I mean three. You don’t get anything until those lights are up.” With a huff, she set the plate down on the coffee table.
Josh eyed the cookies on the plate. As much as he wanted to take a break, he’d much rather finish the task first, that way he could relax the rest of the night. “I think we should just finish getting these things up,” he suggested.
“Yeah, come on Sid,” Mark put in, signaling for Sidra to come with them.
Sidra took a cookie and bit into it. “I am not going out there. It’s too cold.”
“Fine, be a girl,” Mark scoffed.
Sidra shot him a confused glance. “Thank you, I sure will,” she slowly put out. She followed the guys to the door and stood with her arms folded as they headed outside.
“Damn, it’s cold out here,” Josh complained.
“That’s already been established,” Mark sneered.
“Be careful, guys. Those steps are slippery.” Sidra’s voice trailed off.
“Shit,” Mark shouted. He’d slipped on the thin sheet of ice coating the front steps and careened into Josh and David. They landed in a tangle of limbs on the brick walkway.
“Thanks for the damn warning, Sidra,” Mark barked, then jerked his arm from under Josh’s leg. “Get off me, Josh!”
“Shut up, I’m trying,” Josh shot back. Sidra was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks.
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“Mommy, Taina keeps putting cookie crumbs in my suitcase,” Dana whined.
“Taina, come here,” Mrs. Simmons barked. “We’re going to be late. You know your grandmother hates for people to be late.” Getting the Simmons’ clan ready for any trip was a major production, and they were due at her parent’s house in New Jersey in two hours.
“It wasn’t me, Mommy,” the six-year-old pouted. “It was Melissa.”
“Taina, stop being stupid. Melissa’s in Mom’s room,” Malajia taunted.
“Geri, get your sisters!” Mrs. Simmons yelled when Taina started crying.
“Mom, I can’t. I’m in the bathroom,” Geri shouted back.
“Malajia, some help here. Stop sitting there with that sour look on your face and get your sisters,” Mrs. Simmons scolded, putting a covered casserole into a canvas carry-all.
“Mom, that’s not fair,” Malajia complained out of habit.
“Now!” Mrs. Simmons screamed, causing Malajia to jump up.
“Wow, I’ve never heard that octave before,” she mused to herself and took the stairs two at a time to corral her younger sisters.
“I hate Taina,” Dana griped as she brushed crumbs out of her suitcase.
“And I hate you,” Malajia retorted. “You’re nothing but a troublemaker.”
“Mommy, Malajia said she hates me,” Dana screamed at the top of her lungs.
Malajia tossed her head back in frustration. “Oh my god, you irk my soul,” she groaned.
Geri walked out of the bathroom and grinned at Malajia. “You used to say the same thing to me.”
Mr. Simmons hurried out of his bedroom, wearing one shoe and carrying the other. “There are too many women in this house. I’ll be waiting in the car.”
“I’ll keep you company,” Maria quickly interjected, happy for an excuse to escape the madhouse.
“Dana, don’t say another word, or I’ll smack you,” Malajia snapped, tossing a purple coat at her little sister. “Put this on.”
By the time everybody piled into the Simmons’ van, Malajia’s sour mood hadn’t changed. Dana was having trouble with her seatbelt, and Malajia gave it a good yank.
“Ow,” Dana howled. “You pinched me.”
“I did not. You’re always lying,” Malajia shot back.
“Dana, shut up. Malajia, stop provoking her, she’s only ten,” Mrs. Simmons scolded.
“Well, if you would control your daughter, then I wouldn’t have to argue with her,” Malajia muttered.
“Malajia Lakeshia, one more word out of you and you’re staying home,” Mrs. Simmons threatened. “Is that what you want?”
“God yes! Can I?” Malajia begged, brightening at the possibility.
“No,” her mother stated flatly.
“Maria, give me back my cell phone, right now,” Geri demanded, reaching for it.
“I’m not done yet,” Maria snapped, moving her head away from Geri’s reach. “You don’t say nothing when you use my phone.”
“Ahhhhhhhh,” Taina shrieked.
“Daddy, Melissa’s car seat is squishing me,” Dana howled.
“You’re all loud in my damn ear,” Malajia shouted and leaned into Geri.
“Why are you on me? Move,” Geri hollered, elbowing Malajia in the ribs.
Mr. Simmons pulled over into the breakdown lane and stopped the car. “That’s it!” he thundered, banging his hands on the steering wheel. “Everybody, shut up. Dana, stop yelling, Taina, stop screaming, Malajia, stop whining, Maria, get off the damn phone, Geri, stop shoving Malajia, and Melissa, stop...” He broke off his diatribe. Melissa was sitting in her car seat playing with her toy keys. “Well, never mind about Melissa. Everyone else, just shut up.”
“Dad, was all that necessary?” Malajia asked after several seconds of silence, causing snickers from the girls to resonate throughout the van.
“What is wrong with you that you can’t push out a boy?” Mr. Simmons asked, glancing at his wife in the passenger seat.
“Don’t blame me,” she returned with a knowing smile. “Don’t y’all control that?” He shook his head as he finally put the van in gear and swung back out onto the highway.
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“Look, just turn ‘em on,” Josh pressed. His patience had run out when the ladder fell for the fourth time, and he was bitterly cold.
“Hold on,” Mark replied, holding up a hand. “Mom, Dad, come on out. I finally got the lights up.” He stammered when he caught Josh and David shooting him ugly looks. “Um, I mean, we finally got the lights up.”
“This is the last time I’m helping your procrastinating ass,” Josh fumed, bundling the coat up to his neck.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson came scurrying out the front door with Sidra following, and all three carefully negotiated the icy steps.
“Light ‘em up, Dad,” Mark called. Mr. Johnson grabbed the large plug and plugged it in to the socket.
“Are you kidding me?” Josh shouted. Only five small lights flickered to life.
Mrs. Johnson gasped, and Mr. Johnson let out a hoot of laughter. “All that work for five little lights!”
Josh jerked around and stared at Mark. “Didn’t you bother to test the lights to see if they were working?!”
“That would be a no, obviously,” David slid in, exasperated. Mark, completely outraged, snatched his knit hat off his head, slammed it on the ground, and started stomping on it while he screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Yeah, that’s going to get the lights to work,” Sidra drawled sarcastically.
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“Victoria,” Alex cried and threw her arms out wide for a hug. She had not seen her friend since before she left for college. “How’s everything, girl?”
“Good, good,” Victoria said, “but I can’t wait to get to college. Stacey and I are counting on getting into Paradise Valley. Then we can all be together again.”
“Well, make sure before you come that you have an understanding with your boyfriend,” Alex put in with a laugh. “You know what I went through with Paul.”
“Don’t even worry about that loser, he wasn’t worth your time,” Victoria commiserated. “But, I got a bone to pick with you. Why haven’t you returned any of my calls the last three weeks? Too busy for your old friends?”
Alex shot Victoria a wary look. She’d learned to censor her conversations. Victoria’s attitude peaked any time Alex mentioned her friends from school. “Finals were brutal,” she temporized.
Mrs. Chisolm came rushing out of the kitchen, flustered. She was having a bunch of people over for dinner, and had run out of cooking oil, among other things. “Hi, Victoria,” she said, “I’m sorry, but I need Alexandra to run to the store for me.”
“Ma, you know that I hate that name,” Alex protested.
“It was your grandmother’s name, learn to love it,” her mother scolded, then handed her a list. “Now this is what I need you to pick up.”
“Come on Vicki, walk me to the store,” Alex said as she grabbed her coat.
