Hawthorne Heights [Editing]

six [edited]

Khari Vincent Spence

     "Today is a roam-free day. Walk around campus and take pictures of things that make you feel," Mr. Quintero yawned and wiped crust from the crease of his right eye. "Don't come back until your camera's memory is halfway full."

Grabbing my camera and black jacket, I followed the pretty-eyed girl out of the classroom after coming to the realization that everyone else shunned me.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at me. I blinked.

     "Soo." She brushed a few curls behind her ear. "Khari, what brings you to St. Louis? We don't get that much recognition unless it's for annual murder rates."

The faint echoes of lockers slamming shut and her footsteps were the only things heard in the dark hallway. Lights flickered overhead and water dripped from old water fountains on this side of the building. Ammonia covered the walls once again.

Milo attempted to discreetly snap a photo of herself yet forgot that the flash was activated. A light rouge blush-only visible under close inspection-tinted her cheeks.

     "It's not really ya business, not to be rude, but that question was a lil impersonal," I drawled. "Start by asking me my favorite color or something."

She apologized, "I'm just a nosy person. I'd rather ask you straight up than beat around the bush until you tell me. My bad."

One of my pet peeves had to be nosy people, especially knowing how once they got a nibble of information, they'd fish around for more. I didn't really even like this girl to be totally honest. I only apologized yesterday so that her boyfriend wouldn't try to fight me and to clear the imagine that she had of me. Unlike most of my old peers, I hated getting into altercations. Someone always took it too far and I happened to be that someone.

     "Look, you're a pretty girl. You're nice or whatever, but I don't do friends," I admitted.

In other words: you'll find some reason to hate me by the end of the month and I don't have time to emotionally prepare myself for the loss of another friend. In all honesty, I could probably live by myself without having the desire for human interaction. Ever. People were just boring.

Milo laughed, tossing her head back, before sobering up, "Oh, you were serious. Warren's gonna be upset; he thought y'all were friends."

     "Why would your boyfriend think that?"

     "Warren? He's not my boyfriend," Milo shook her head subtly while attempting to restrain her giggles. "He's more like a brother to me."

I blinked at her for a moment before leaving her in the dark hallway and walking home.

☽

     "Hey, Ima be gone tomorrow so when you get the mail then put it on my bed. My disability check should come today which means I can buy some food stamps from your cousin, Tammy," my aunt rambled over the phone.

Mr. Otieno's lavender and nicotine drifted through the vents and so did my aunt's laughter. I figured that the two of them were messing around after he came by several times a day dropping off flowers and incense holders. He thought he was slick with his bald head.

I nodded my throbbing head as if she could see my movements. I suffered from a raging migraine all day ever since I had that talk with Milo. I regretted talking to her that way, but my intentions remained the same--I didn't want a friend. And after peeing her for the past week, I knew that she had her nose wide open for a friendship.

     "Also, I talked to your mom about the whole incident. She doesn't think you should go back home for a few more months. People are still talking about what you did, but your brother, Mekhi, finna be sleepin' on the couch for a while. He got caught up with some boys."

A small smirk grew on my face at the mention of my older brother. I hated everything and everyone back in Atlanta except my two brothers, Mekhi and Jelani. Those two became my anchor to life around the time after Omar's death. They kept me grounded, forcing me to hang out around them, talk to them, and spend more time with them than I did growing up. And after Jelani went off to college, I was left alone with Mekhi.

A year older than me, and a few inches taller than me, Mekhi really took the 'man of the house' role to heart after our Grandfather Kojo died. He picked up odd jobs during high school, bringing in money to help with bills and keep food in the fridge. He made sure I stayed happy, or at least close to it.

Everything seemed fine for a few months, but then the police knocked on our door and took away our mother for two years after she was caught for marriage fraud. They snatched our father out of the house seven years before, and then came back for her. She fessed up to marrying him so that he would gain citizenship, but after they fell out, she went and ran to immigration services to tell them everything. She took away my father, then ended up in jail herself, leaving me in a household coping with the death of my grandfather, best friend, and baby sisters. I was left completely alone on most days with the exception of my grandmother.

Dirty footprints left on the gray-tiled flooring soon became my favorite things to focus on at his funeral service. Everyone eyed me from several feet away across the casket as if I were some sort of animal in captivity. After Omar's uncle heard that shot fire off, he snatched his nephew up and let the police do the same for me.

     "I heard that he's the one who killed him," a girl whispered to her best friends. "Be quiet, he's coming this way!"

My own grandmother refused to look me in the eyes after I was released from the juvenile detention center. She called me the Devil every single time that she saw me and wanted me away from her home.

     "I didn't kill him!" I exclaimed. "I swear that it wasn't me."

Light taps sounded against the thin wall in my bedroom as tears slid down my cheeks. The sound repeated itself but this time it was accompanied by a warm voice.

"Hey, it's Milo. I know you hear me," She huffed. "I know you don't wanna be my friend, but remember that I'm always a wall away if you wanna talk."

☾

<<fireside chat: not to trash the old version of this book or anything...but i'm digging this new one way better. i feel like it's actually full instead of skimpy, ya know? i hope it doesn't feel like an information dump though :/>>