“Yes! This is Ms. Jameson.” I answered to an elderly woman’s request for
me.
“Hi,
there! This is Mrs. Slade, the assistant
principal at Payne Elementary. We really
dislike bothering our students’ parents, as we know they can be busy at
work. I must inform you, that your son,
Marcus has been disruptive in class. His
teacher had to talk to him on more than one occasion."
I was definitely upset. "Is he with you now, Mrs. Slade?"
"Yes, Marcus is here. Please, hold!"
"Hello!" Marcus sounded like, he was
crying.
"Boy, what is the matter with you?!"
"I don't know, Mom."
"You don't know? Do I need to come up there
and embarrass you in front of your classmates to find out?"
"No." Marcus was sniffling.
"When the teacher tells you to do something
or is talking, you do it and pay attention. Do you understand me?"
"Yes."
"Let this be the last phone call I
get."
"Ms. Jameson, I do have Mr. Simms on the
line, just in case I couldn't reach you."
"Hey, Talora!"
"Hello, Drew!"
"Let me speak to him." Drew said. Then, the line went completely silence.
I'm not sure, what was discussed between Drew
and Marcus. But, I didn't have any more
problems from him, for the rest of the school year. I don't know why he was misbehaving with only
three months left, until the summer, before starting second grade. When it seemed I had one of the vital men in
my life on track, the other would fall off.
It couldn't be blamed all on the new technology.
Black Planet was one of the first social networking
sites ever. Then, came along Myspace,
created by a guy named Tom. A person can
design own profile and make it look like a website. I customized me a page to network, as I was
now merging into modeling. I made Drew
one, which I had access to his account and could check it anytime I want. That's when I found notes by various women,
sent to him and this one in particular:
Candygirl84
Hey,
baby! You stay on my mind, all the
time. I want u every time, I see u. You really don't know what you have done to
me. Are you gonna get rid of that other
broad you're with, Terrain or whatever her name is? I'm trying to wait and I don't know how long
I can. I have needs and must keep my
kitty-cat satisfied. Let me know, if you
got what it takes to cum play with a real lady, Drew. XOXO
That night, I printed the message from my computer;
I tore it into as many big pieces as I could, and stuffed them into my
purse. I got dressed to head to club,
Legend. The VIP section, I already knew
where Drew was, as he kept it reserved.
Soon as I entered, Drew had two heifers laid up on him. One must have known who I was, which she
quickly got off of him, as she saw me. 'Make It Rain' by Terror Squad rapper,
Fat Joe featuring Lil' Wayne, must have been on my mind. That's exactly what I did, throwing the trash
in Drew's face from my pocketbook.
"Who are these bitches, you got, sending
you love letters and shit on Myspace, behind my back?"
Drew took his arm from around the other chick.
"Why you busting in here like this? What the fuck is the matter,
Talo?"
"I'm sick of you lying. I had seen what Candygirl84 wrote you."
"Candygirl84 is me and I advise you to back
off, now." The broad, last to be on Drew, said.
"I advise you to shut the fuck up. You
don't know who you're fucking with." That was my comeback.
Blows between me and her were thrown. Little drink tables toppled over. The sound of broken glass grew louder. There was pulling of hair. I made sure; I had
my pocketbook clutched close to me, just in case it was going to go down. Then, I felt Drew yank me by my waist and
someone else got a hold of Candygirl84.
Everyone was stunned to see me react the way I did. Not,
Dre's Talo? It was definitely a rude
awakening. I done had it up to
here.
"Get your goddamn hands off me!" I
scratched Drew's hands as hard as I could.
He turned me a loose. Afterward,
I stormed out of Legend, with him to follow.
"Have you lost your mind? That shit was uncalled for!" Drew
scolded.
"Don't say nothing, you punk ass liar! I'm tired of you embarrassing me, like
this." Tears started to roll down my face.
"If you would let me just -"
"Give me the extra key to my place. I don't wanna continue to see you."
"All right, since it's like that."
Drew hurried to take it off his keychain and threw it to the ground, hitting my
foot.
"Just like I thought you were gonna
do."
I picked up the key and left Drew where he
stood. He didn't even attempt to come
after me. I was done and hurting so
bad. I felt it coming one day; I'll be fighting
over a man. If these broads really want him, they can have him.
© 2014, Alphonso Taylor. All rights reserved. No republication of this material in any form or medium is permitted without expressed permission of the author.
