Flyy Girl (9 page)

“Well, if you'd listen—”

“No, mom, I'm tired of listening to you. I don't know why you married him anyway!”

Mercedes stomped upstairs to her room. Beth followed after her.

Raheema listened in from her door.

“I don't know who you think you're talking to, girl. That's your father,” Beth said.

Mercedes faced her mother and yelled, “Look, mom, could you leave me alone, please?”

“Stop being hard-headed, girl.”

“Ain't nobody being hard-headed. Just leave me the hell alone!” Mercedes shouted.

Raheema stood at her door, watching from the hallway.

Beth reached out to smack Mercedes, but she was too slow. Mercedes grabbed her hand.

“Okay, mom, you tough now after
he
beat you up all these years,
right?”
she said harshly. Mercedes looked her mother straight in the eyes.

Beth left the room in shock. Raheema pledged right then and there that she would never be as devious as her older sister. Mercedes was no longer afraid of Keith, and she showed outright disrespect toward her mother. She might have even hit her mother back if Beth had succeeded in slapping her. It was more than Raheema could take. Mercedes' actions scared her more than her father's did.

Raheema began to think that her sister was possessed. Mercedes had transformed into a cursing, sneaky monster who seemed to fear nothing. She no longer did her homework like she used to, and she began to receive bad grades on her report card. She would leave for the movies on Saturday mornings and not come home until late at night. She even refused to go out with the rest of the family on occasion. And Keith never forced her to go.

Mercedes was getting away with everything. She could openly argue with her father and not be hit or punished for it. Mercedes began to say what she wanted to his face. And she had been sneaking around with boys for two years.

Raheema quietly went to her sister's room and observed her while she listened to her earphones, blocking everyone out.

Raheema walked over and tapped Mercedes on the shoulder.

“What do you want, girl?” Mercedes asked her, snappishly.

“I'm scared for you, Mercedes.”

“Girl, get out of my damn room. You stupid, and he gon' ruin your life, too.”

“Yeah, but I won't turn out like you, 'cause I hate you!”

“So what, Ra-Ra? I always hated you, so get out!”

Raheema left Mercedes' room in tears. She loved her sister, but she feared what she had become. Mercedes cared less about the family. She cared only about herself. She was no longer the quiet sister Raheema used to know, so she decided to stay away from her.

•    •    •

Aaron repeatedly dodged Tracy's attempts to get his attention at school. Tracy brought him candy from home, and Aaron refused to take it. She offered him some of her lunch, and Aaron took it and walked away. She even spread rumors around the school that he liked her. Aaron simply ignored it, while still playing football.

One time at recess, Tracy took Aaron's ball after convincing Tommy to give it to her. When Aaron said that she could have it and that he didn't care, she turned to walk away, only to have him swoop by and snatch it back from her. Tracy even tried to take his jacket, embarrassingly taking the wrong one.

Finally Tracy asked Aaron to go with her. He walked right by her, putting his hands over his ears, telling her “no.” Tracy hung around the lunch table where he sat to eat. Aaron didn't seem to notice. But she knew that he knew. All the girls commended Tracy for trying so hard, but they would never adopt her methods. Tracy was obsessed with the boy.

She began to let older sixth-graders walk her home to make Aaron jealous, but he would only laugh and call her “stupid.” The older boys respected him for keeping her hooked, but Aaron didn't care. The sixth-graders began advising him to talk to her. Aaron acted as though he didn't have any ears. And finally Tracy was willing to kiss him. Patti kissed her father when she wanted him to stay. So why couldn't Tracy kiss Aaron?

Tracy walked into school with a plan to kiss Aaron on the lips. She only needed him to listen to her to pull it off. She didn't really think it would work, but it was worth a try.

“Ay Aaron, that girl, Tracy, likes you, man. Why you be ignoring her?” a sixth-grader said before walking into school.

“Why don't you go with her?” Aaron retorted.

“I tried to. But she don't like me. She likes you, man.”

Aaron frowned at him. “What she like me for?”

“I'on know, man. Some girls never make no sense.”

“I know, so why should I talk to her?” Aaron asked as they entered the building.

“ 'Cause she's pretty, man.”

“So what? I got a sister that's pretty, too.”

“What that got to do with anything?”

“So I'm not interested,” Aaron answered. “My sister makes me sick, like all girls.”

“Well, Tracy ain't your sister, man.”

“So, she a girl, and she acts like my sister.”

The sixth-grader grimaced his long, brown face. “Man, stop acting stupid and just talk to her.”

Aaron sighed, finally giving in to suggestion. “Yeah, aw'ight, man. I'll talk to her. But I still don't like her.”

Aaron walked into his advisory class and immediately noticed Tracy staring at him. She was out to wear him down.

Tracy called him over to her as soon as they got a break from class. She didn't think he would come to her, but she called him anyway.

“Yeah, yeah, what do you want?” he asked her nonchalantly.

Tracy looked up the hallway, watching her girlfriends watching her. “I got something for you,” she whispered. Everyone liked surprises, Tracy had figured, just like her and her mother. Her father was full of surprises. Maybe Aaron would like a surprise, too.

“What?”

“I'll tell you at recess. Okay?”

“Yeah, aw'ight,” Aaron told her. He didn't think much of it.

Tracy went out and watched him playing football at recess as usual. She waited patiently for him to notice her without bothering him. Aaron looked over at her after scoring a touchdown and remembered that she had something for him. He told his team to hold the ball for a minute.

“Well, what do you have for me?” he asked her.

Tracy told him, “You have to go inside with me to get it.”

Aaron started to walk away. “Oh well, never mind then.”

Tracy snapped, “Okay, forget you if you don't want it.”

“What, girl? What do you want?” Aaron shouted, walking back.

Tracy said, “Come on,” as she grabbed his hand.

“Where y'all goin'? Tommy shouted at them.

Aaron followed Tracy into the building, feeling silly. His friends decided to play on without him. Luckily for Tracy, Tommy didn't follow them to mess things up.

Her girlfriends watched them excitedly as they entered the building. But Tracy hadn't told any of them what she was doing.

Aaron asked, “Now what do you want, girl?” as soon as they stepped inside of the building. They stood inside the stairway.

“This,” Tracy said, kissing Aaron on the lips.

Aaron looked into her slanted hazel eyes with his big browns, and was shocked. Tracy thought he'd get mad, so she backed away from him, staring curiously.

Aaron said, smiling, “Kiss me again.”

Tracy smiled, filled with sneaky energy. “Okay.”

Aaron closed his eyes and puckered his lips, kissing Tracy again.

Despite their begging, Tracy didn't tell any of her friends. She just smiled and said nothing. She found more excitement in not telling them. It was her little secret. Tracy felt on top of the world.

She got Aaron to walk her home, and even Tommy saw them. Tracy felt good about that.
I told him Aaron would walk me home,
she thought to herself.
Now, boy!

She kissed Aaron again in front of her door, and went inside the house. She jumped and danced around the living room, pleased with her accomplishment. Tracy had been as cunning as her mother had said she had been when she was younger. Tracy felt proud and smarter than boys. Aaron wasn't such a hot shot after all. All she had to do was get his attention.

DING DONG!

“I got it, mom,” Tracy called, running to the door.

“Hey, girl,” her father said, picking her up for a hug and a kiss. He liked the idea of ringing the doorbell instead of using his key. It was an announcement that he was home, and he knew that it would please his daughter to be surprised.

“Mom, daddy's here!” Tracy screamed excitedly.

Dave followed his daughter to the kitchen, while Patti worked on dinner. She wasn't all that happy to see him, though. Patti wanted to press the issue about him moving back in. He had stalled long enough. And they were having another child soon.

Dave said, “Come here, woman,” and opened his arms wide.

Patti approached him reluctantly, thinking about arguing her point. Yet arguing with him would only give her selfish husband another excuse to keep his getaway apartment.

Dave ducked under her arms to feel her stomach.

“Oh, so you came over to check up on your future son, hunh?” she asked as he rubbed her rounded belly.

“That's right. I came to see if you're eating right and taking care of my boy.”

“Well, you would know if you stayed for a while,” Patti hinted.

Dave ignored it. He figured he was spending a lot of time with her as it was. He still had to work five days a week.
You see that?
he thought to himself.
I can't satisfy her. As soon as I move back in, she's
gon' want me to do something else.

“Yeah, dad, and he gon' look just like you,” Tracy commented about the baby.

“Nope, he gon' look like your mother,” Dave refuted, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“Why? Ain't he gon' be a boy?” Tracy asked him.

“Yeah, but mommy does more, so he's gonna look more like her.”

Tracy didn't understand his logic, so she changed the subject. “Daddy, why do boys hate girls?”

“Boys don't hate girls, they just don't like hangin' around them too long,” Dave told her. As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted saying it.

Patti gave him an evil eye from the stove and remained silent.
He's
gonna say some more shit like that and I'm gonna kick his ass right
out of this house. I don't give a damn if he is paying the bills,
she told herself.

“Well, why do you have to give boys stuff for them to like you?” Tracy asked her father.

Dave eyed her sternly. “Give them what?”

“Candy and stuff,” Tracy answered. She surely wasn't going to tell her father about a kiss.

“Oh, well, that's because some boys are greedy.”

Every comment Dave said added fuel to Patti's fire.

“Tell me about it,” she mumbled. “They just expect to get everything that
they
want.”

“Well, some
women
can be greedy, too,” Dave responded. “And a lot of times they don't know what the hell they want until it's gone.”

Patti dropped what she was doing. “Don't try that shit with me, Dave. You know damn well I didn't want you to leave.”

Dave stood up and began heading for the front door. “I guess this is that pregnancy thing.”

“No, it's
not a pregnancy
thing. It's a
common sense
thing, Dave,” Patti snapped, following her husband into the living room. Tracy could hear her mother's voice cracking as she spoke.

“Don't leave, dad,” Tracy pleaded to her father.

Dave exhaled and took a seat on the couch. He then opened his arms wide so Tracy could climb onto his lap.

Patti decided to calm herself. Even though she was angry at him, she still wanted Dave to stay for dinner. She headed back to the kitchen without another word.

Dave stayed and ate dinner with them and decided to spend the night.

Tracy felt like she owned the place on her next school day. The school had her name on it, and she had
personally
hired all of the teachers
and
the principal. She had gone after the most desirable boy in the fifth grade and “got him.”

Tracy's friends followed her around still, begging for her to tell them
something. Aaron ate lunch with Tracy at her table and even stopped playing football when she called him. Everyone knew that Tracy had won him over after that. But no one knew how, unless Aaron had told them. Tracy didn't want people to think that she was nasty, so she decided to keep the kiss to herself. And she definitely wasn't kissing Aaron again. He just didn't know it yet. Tracy had decided that kisses were too much.
I don't want to get pregnant,
she thought to herself.

Aaron approached her after school, wearing a tight, dirty baseball cap. His wild hair fluffed outside of the edges. And his clothes were ragged from playing football. Even his jacket was ripped.

Tracy wore a pink jogging suit, white running shoes and a colorful coat. She felt embarrassed by Aaron's appearance. She didn't feel like having him walk her home, looking so “bummy.” She also noticed a rip on the side of his pants.
Yuck.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” he asked her.

“I don't care,” she said. Tracy didn't have the courage to treat Aaron like she did Tommy. But she wished that she did.

“Okay then,” Aaron told her.

Tracy hoped that they could start some kind of an argument so she could get rid of him. Arguments always seemed to get rid of someone. But it was no use. Aaron was becoming a Tommy, and Tracy no longer wanted him around.

Before dumping him, Tracy got Aaron to teach her to play catch, and Tommy was angry. She then got Aaron to tell her girlfriends that he always liked her, and Tommy was furious. Aaron and Tommy had patched their friendship up the last time she came between them, but it was different once Aaron admitted to liking her. Tommy felt betrayed.