Who We Are.

Memories

After we were far enough away, she stopped and walked in front of me. "Chimamanda! How many times have I told you to stop moving by yourself, eh? Millions, abi?" She whispered-yelled. I just nodded and she sighed then signaled for Miracle to come over. Miracle bounced over with the stuff and we started to go back upstairs. My mom got a text and she handed the phone to me to read it while she was talking to Miracle about how if she ever sees a rat again, to not go to it. I snicker as I read, "We are pleased to inform you that keycard 209 must be returned to the front desk by 12 A.M on March 2nd, 2020. Thank you for choosing Redwood Apartments and More. We are truly sorry to see you go, but we hope to see you around these parts sometime soon. Thank you!" Of course, it was some automated messages but I was still pleased with the win. I tap my mom's shoulder and I show her the screen. Her face lights up in excitement and she runs a hand through her thick hair. Of course, it gets stuck in there but when she gets it out, she is still smiling. I hand my mom her phone and offer her a high five but she just swats my hand away. My mom is the type of African who is not familiar with things like the high five or the fist bump. She starts to change the subject, "Your dad is upstairs helping the movers carry the heavy things, and I can see them carrying our stuff out now." She points to some men coming out of the elevator, holding our fridge sideways. People cleared the path and they passed us. Miracle opened her mouth in awe, like them moving our stuff was the coolest thing in the world, but I wanted to cry. We really are moving - I know my mom doesn't joke around but I was still hoping she would change her mind. I was miserable. Everyone in Dunterham is so spoiled - even the parents! I feel doomed.

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That night, we sign the long contract with the movers and sick and slimey, Carmen - finally I can leave the house. I stood in the middle of the lobby, watching as the crowd slowly disappears and the sky darkers as it gets later in the day. When the sun perched itself over the hotel and it becomes out of view, I sit down in the couch area to wait out the long conversation my dad was having on the phone. Thoughts about my life begin to race through my mind. I have been wanting to go back to the hospital because I feel like the teen's room and the children's room calmed me and took away the pain. I can feel my heart breaking every time I hear my parents fight, I don't think I can take it anymore - I don't have enough strength to heal my body and my heart. I wonder how Miracle handled it, if she is way stronger than me. She is laughing and acting like everything was fine. I rub my head, something my mom does when something was bothering her. My heart  is pounding in my heart and it felt like the walls were coming down. I picked at the fake flowers that we set on the side table next to the glass silver marbles that took up a large portion of th etable. Then, I think back to "the talk" because the marbles remind me about the water that my dad threw across the room. I don't know how or why my brain goes back to that memory but it does. It been a few weeks since we got back from the hospital and that conversation. That morning, my mom finally confronted Carmen and we are finally free. "Tom and Jerry" is playing on the T.V. and I watch as Miracle rewatches this episode for the ten-thousandth time. I sigh, looking around for something funny or interesting to look at and my eyes land on a group of families that are moving in and another that is moving out. Cardboard boxes line the walls of the of the lobby and I realized that we aren't the only ones who are moving away from Redwood. I saw a black family and I said a silent prayer for them. If they don't keep their cool with Carmen, they won't be able to keep up. By the time I opened my eyes, the family was gone and their boxes and suitcases also lined the walls. Boxes started to stack up and I began to count them as more and more people began to flood out. I wanted to tell Oniye and Hope that I was leaving Redwood, butI never had a phone so I never got their numbers. And we were leaving in a few minutes - I could never convince my parents to go and vist them. My mom has never like Hope nad Oniye was someone she was never really fond of. After the "Incident of 2018", my mom and other conservative parents in the area hated their family. The party went long into the night, around 3 A.M. They got drinks and illegal drugs from a store down the street and everyone was so wasted that at one point, they all just sat down and listened to music. I wasn't there - of course. Miracle would burn the apartment down if she was alone and had no one to watch over her. Anyway, when the police arrived, everyone scrammed and three teens fell into the pool. Two survived in the hospital and the last one died. I didn't know Matthew, but I know that Hope was said for the longest time - Matthew was like a brother to her. It's still a sore spot today. I remember how Hope and Oniye were never the best friends that everyone wanted, but making friends was hard and they were the only people whose lives interested me. It was kind of funny how they could talk all day without getting bored of the topic of boys and parties and drugs. Obviously, most of the time it was annoying, especially in class. I guess I have to say, I'm going to miss them. Maybe when I'm older, I come back to visit...