Misfortunes of Black Women

Unappreciated

Mistakes are made. Edited version coming soon. Enjoy. 

                     Trial #2

                    Unappreciated

I sat in the front pew of the church as I watched my father preached the word to the congregation. I personally was not a fan of the church. Don't get me wrong, I loved the lord and the blessings he bestowed upon me, but I wasn't a 24/7 church goer like my parents.

They didn't condone the average teenager lifestyle and it made us clash time and time again. I felt stuck with my life and just wanted to rid the stress from them. I couldn't wait until the fall until I was able to move in to my dorm at Spelman College.

They opposed of my choice to go to school so far away and live on campus. They were content the fact that it was an all-girl school, but were dismissed with the fact that I would be on my own and out of their supervision.

I leaned over and whispered in my mom's ear that I was going to the restroom and she simply ignored me and nodded her head. I quietly stood up smoothing down my black long-sleeve dress and walked down the aisle with my head down.

I was glad to have made it out and was now exiting the building as I needed to feel the fresh air.

"What you doing out here?" I heard a deep voice speak as I stood leaning on the brick wall. I looked over and saw Anthony, a boy in my senior class, ask.

I looked towards his hand where a lit cigar was hanging loosely and watched him place it towards his lips and take a drag from it. Anthony was your cliché' bad boy. He had dark smooth skin like the actor Lance Gross, a fade that consisted of twist with the back shaven, and tattoos designing his arms. Don't let his image fool you, he was one of the smartest guys I knew and was currently salutatorian, as I was valedictorian.

"I just needed some fresh air." I told him quickly snapping out of my thoughts and looking away. He was a sight for sore eyes, I had a crush on him but I knew that it would never go further than that. Although he has made his feelings for me noticeable, we could never act on them.

My father didn't approve of him. Anthony had a reputation for 'getting around' and my father was a firm believer that a woman's purity is the closes thing to holiness.

"You look beautiful today Hailey." He said pulling softly on to one of my natural curls. I decided to do a simple and wash and go today to let my curls breath.

I smirked. "You don't look too bad yourself, but you know if my dad saw you out here he would have a fit." I told him.

"Sometimes you gotta follow your heart when it's telling you something." He said kissing my cheek and walking off to the parking lot flicking his cigarette. I watched him blow me a kiss and hop into his car driving off.

Sometimes I think the main reason he even comes to church is to bug me and press my dad's buttons. I smiled and quickly made my way back inside knowing that I've been out here for too long.

***

Sunday dinners were no joke at my house. It was a time where the entire family got together and had to tolerate each other. Amongst me, I had three other siblings. My older brother Jason, who was twenty-four, was serving his country at the moment. He was the star in the family. My parents could never see him doing any bad.

I couldn't say the same about my second older brother Jimmy, or JJ for short. He was a handful when he lived at home. Always sneaking out, bringing girls to his room, he caused my parents a lot of stress during his teen years, but now at the age of twenty-one he was officially getting his act together.