Book 3- 1967 (Michael Jackson)

Chapter 23- I'm Here To Stay

                Chapter 23- I'm Here To Stay

                Date: Sunday, December 31, 1967

                Time: 7:14AM

                KAYLA'S POV

"I'm telling you, you are not staying!"

"Shut your trap! I'm the oldest here, and I can make the decisions! It's not like I'm not gonna be alive for another twenty years!" I heard a small thump. 

I opened my eyes as wide as they could go. Come on, you two, I thought irritably. It's a weekend! Can't I sleep for, I don't know, a couple more hours? That's all I'm asking for! Just a little more shut-eye... 

"Another twenty years, nothing! Another ten years, maybe! You're real lucky to still be alive in my house! The only reason why I haven't evicted you yet is because you're family. That's the only reason." Elijah's breaths become shallow and loud.

I groaned, rolling over in bed. I clutched onto the ends of my pillow and pulled it over my head, hoping that the noise would at least become muffled.

Needless to say, it didn't work in the least. The voices only seemed to get louder and louder, until I realized the two were bickering outside of the bedroom. I moaned, not wanting to get up and out of bed quite yet. I shot an unsure glance over to Charles and asked him, "What do you think about this mess, little man?"

He giggled. "Kaywuh!"

I shook my head, grinning widely. "You know just what to say, huh? Charles is so smart... Are you smart, Charles?"

"Yes!"

I rolled out of bed sluggishly. "Should I deal with those big pansies outdoors?"

"Pain-see," he muttered, staring off into another direction. He grabbed hold of the nearby curtain and started madly chewing on it. I picked him up and placed him away from the curtain and stared at him for a couple seconds. I sighed, knowing just how much I would have loved sleeping in just a few more minutes. But, of course, that was over now. There was no reason to dwell on it.

I ruffled up my hair and wrinkled my nightgown, so that it looked like I was in a restless sleep. Turning around, I rubbed my eyes, so they seemed extra irritated. "Time to get this over with," I told myself.

I busted through the door, leading me into the hallway. There stood Grandma and Elijah, battling it out once again. Grandma had her purse with her, carrying it around like it was her best weapon. Elijah simply had his fists out, prepared to brawl to the end of this 'battle'. 

They both stared at me as I calmly made my way in between their fight. Settling in the middle of their ground, I  relaxed my shoulders and exchanged looks between the both of them. They could obviously tell I was mad, because of my extremely quiet behavior.

"Kayla, I was just going to talk to her for a moment. You're fine, I promise. Just go back to bed, honey, and I'll clean up this mess." Elijah nodded several times, as if his conscience was agreeing with himself.

"Liar!" Grandma screeched. "He was trying to kick me out again! And it's all because I have no job yet! I'm just a poor old lady, Kayla! And I'm kin to you, you gotta add that! You can't say NOTHIN' about that! Just say that it's okay for me to stay for a little while longer. I promise I'll find my way home. I promise. And Kayla, would you ever be-"

I held my hand up, signaling for her to shut up. "Enough," I stated as blankly as I could. I shifted my attention to Elijah, who held a stare with me for a long time.