Hood Life and Love: It Is What It Is (Sample)

chapter 6 (E and P)

The days seemed to pass slowly after he left. I didn't know what to do with myself. I was baking for god's sake. Mama and Charlie were worried, so was Ciara. I would do nothing stupid. I just felt like I had lost my best friend. Call me overdramatic, but I was in real life pain over this boy. I mean, everything seemed perfect, and then just like that, it was snatched away from me. Summer was ending, and Mama was talking about moving. If we moved, I may never see him again. I couldn't believe his mom had forbidden him from seeing me. Mama says if it's meant to be, he'll come back, but I'm not so sure. His mom was pissed, and I had yet to hear from him. Maybe it wasn't meant to be.

*****

Three weeks later,

The operation gets over. Christian was underway and working just fine. The summer was almost over, so I and the girls were spending more time shopping at the malls and hanging out as much as we could before the school year started. I still missed him every day, but I felt like it was time to move forward. I couldn't continue to hold on to a dream that may never come to fruition. However, the unofficial breakup was killing me.

What better way to get un-depressed than going to the mall, right? So, we did. We spent hours there. I didn't buy much, just mostly walked around. My friends were wild and goofy. They had no chill, but they kept me laughing. It was fun, but I felt like I was wearing a mask, like they couldn't really see me. Every tall, light-skinned boy looked like him. From the corner of my eye I saw him a millions times, only to realize it was not Christian.

I had just gotten home, and my mama was in the kitchen cooking while I went straight to my room to put up my new clothes, smiling as I stood in front of my mirror and held up the different outfits I had just bought when the phone rang. Immediately, my heart skipped a beat, and I held my breath, waiting for some sign that once again never came. Quickly, I shook it off and continued putting away my clothes.

Then in walked my mother cordless phone to her ear. She was smiling, or really it was more of a smirk and nodding her head. She said nothing, just a bunch of "um hums" and "Hums". Since she had come into my room, I figured it had to have something to do with me, so I patiently waited for her to get on with it. A part of me, a part I didn't want to acknowledge, prayed for some news from Christian, even if it was just to say he was okay. I needed so type of closure.

Mama sat on my bed and continued her conversation. I listened intensely. "Well, I can understand how you feel," she said, "and mother to mother, I will let you know if I see him."

"Um-hum mm," she said after a brief pause. "Okay, and you too."

She finally hung up and lifted an eyebrow at me, still smirking. "Guess who that was?"

I hunched my shoulders. I seriously did not know. I was guessing not the call I was waiting for, since she hadn't handed me the phone.

"That was Christian's mom." She said after a moment.

My heart dropped as I hoped he was okay. Operation get-over Christian is currently on standby. "Is he okay?" I asked.

"He snapped on her ass. She tried to put him on punishment. Said he couldn't leave the house, unplugged all the phones, and wouldn't let him even go to the store. So, when she was gone, he found the phone and tried to call you, but she caught him, and he snapped. She said he went completely off on her, broke her fish tank, and left the house. She does not know where he's at and she wants me to call her if he comes by." Mom said.

My chest was tight, and it took me a couple of minutes to realize I was holding my breath. I let it out in a whoosh and looked at my mom. "Are you going to call her if he comes by? Do you think he'll come here?"