August
I pulled into the familiar apartment complex and parked the car. I checked my surroundings to make sure that I wasn't followed by the police. I got out the car and walked up the stairs until I reached the apartment. I knocked on the door quickly and heard the door unlock. Patience opened the door with a bat in her hand and a mean mug. Her face softened when she saw me standin' there.
"Babe, what's going on?" She asked me, steppin' aside so I could come inside.
I sighed as I closed and locked her door. "What I'm about to tell you is some heavy shit aight? I need you to stay calm when I tell you this."
She nods her head as she sits down on the couch. I sit down next to her and look her in her eyes. "Baybeh, Mel and I were doin' a drop right after I got off the phone with you." I started, "and I had a bad feelin' about doin' that drop and I didn't figure out why until Mel handed the products over to the people. We found out that they were undacover cops. Mel shot both of em in the knee when he found out and told me to run so I did." I tell her covering my face. "I didn't want to leave him, but he wanted to keep me out of trouble."
I look up and see Patience staring at me with an unreadable expression. "Say somethin' love."
She sighs. "First off, I want to ask you are you okay?"
I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know how to answer that Pae to be honest. I have no idea what happened to Mel after I ran, but I know that it can't be good."
"You gotta have faith in God that he will be okay babe."
I chuckled to myself because she sounded just like my mama. "You're right baybeh. Will you pray with me?" I asked her.
She nodded her head and grabbed both of my hands, we both bowed our heads. "Lord, I come to you today praying that August's brother, Melvin, is alright. Keep August and Melvin covered help them get close to you in their time of need and let them know that whatever happens, you make no mistakes. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."
"Amen." I open my eyes and stare at Pae. As soon as she finished the prayer, I immediately started to feel a little better. Instead of panickin', I should have been talkin' to God in the first place. "Thank you baybeh."
She looks at me confused, "For what?"
"For actually takin' the time out to pray for me."
Patience smiles at me. "You don't have to thank me for what I'm supposed to do babe. But now that I know you're okay I just have to ask you.... have you lost your everlasting mind August?!" She asked me, gettin' up from the couch and puttin' her hand on her hip.
I'm taken back by her sudden mood change.
"Answer me August! Have you lost your everlasting mind?" She asked me again.
I clear my throat before answering her. "Baybeh, I didn't shoot the police."
"That's not what I asked you, I asked you have you lost your mind which is equivalent to what in the hell were you thinking?" She whisper-yelled.
I sighed as I pulled her into my lap. She flinched a lil bit and then laid her head on my chest. "To be honest, I didn't want to be out there in the first place ma. Mel said it was gonna be good money and he would give me half if I came with him."
"Well do you see what happens when you're doing things you're not supposed to be doing?"
I chuckle because she really does sound like my momma. I'm glad because if she didn't snap on me, then that means that she didn't care about me and that woulda been a whole 'nother issue in its own. "Yes mama Pae." I kiss her on her forehead.
"Good boy," she joked. "Have you told your mom yet?"
I sighed. "Nah, I haven't told her yet."
She sat up. "August, you need to tell her before she finds out from somebody else."
I knew she was right, but how do you tell your own momma that her sons were caught in a set up and her oldest son shot two police officers and was the one with the illegal shit. That would break her heart. "I will when the time is right."
"Well you better find the right time soon because if you don't I'm gonna beat your ass." She raised her fist up at me.
"I gotcha shawty." I chuckled.
Patience
To say that I was shocked and scared was an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I knew what I was getting myself into, but I didn't know that it was going to happen right away. We have only been dating for a day for crying out loud. I do know that I'm not gonna abandon him in his time of need, I'm going to support him.
After he popped up at my apartment, I ended up not finishing my debate that I had due today and ended up comforting Aug until he fell asleep. I would just have to bullshit my way through this assignment.
I sluggishly drug myself and Alaysha into the bathroom so we could get our day started. I made sure that I grabbed my clothes before locking the bathroom door. I took my shower and did my daily hygiene routine. I put on my black ripped jeans, a white tee, a black and red flannel, and white chucks. I put my twists into a bun.
I woke Alaysha up and she started to have a fit. Today is not the day for her to be acting a fool. I took a deep breath to calm down and started to sing Promises
I've been coming home late night
I've been sleeping past day light
I'm waking up you're not by my side
Baby that ain't right
I wanna be there with you
I really do be missing you
Everything I do is for you
And I really do adore you
You're getting so big now
You're making me so proud cause
You are such a star
And you know that you are
So every single little moment
I can't be there to hold your hand
I need for you to know that
I need for you to know that
Anything should happen, anything should happen
Cause anything could, if anything should happen
Know that you'll be alright, know that you'll be alright
She immediately calmed down and gave me a smile. I smiled back at her so she wouldn't start acting up again. I gave her a bath, brushed her teeth, and dressed her in a Minnie Mouse shirt, some ripped jeans, and red chucks. I decided to let her wear her hair in a curly little afro and put wrapped a red bandana around it.
I unlocked the bathroom and walked out to get my backpack ready while Lay went into the living room.
"Auggie!" I hear Alaysha yell, followed by giggles.
I shook my head and continued to gather my things. After I finished getting my things together, I grabbed Alaysha's little backpack and went into the living room. Aug was sitting on the couch and had Alaysha in his lap, she was trying to take his gold chain.
"Nah baybeh girl, you can't have this chain."
"Auggie, chain now!" She held her hand out, demanding that he give her the chain.
I chucked as I shook my head walking into the kitchen to get her some snacks and juice. "Alaysha, stop trying to take his chain from him."
"No!" She folded her arms.
I looked at her like she lost her mind. "Marie, don't play with me little girl." I scolded.
She gave me a mean mug and I returned the stare. I have no idea what is wrong with her this morning, but it's not going to continue to happen.
"Alaysha, stop being mean to ya mama." August chimed in, putting a little base in his voice.
She pouted. "Sorry Auggie."
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to ya mama." August put Alaysha down on the floor and she walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my knees.
"Sorry mama." She pouted, looking up at me.
"It's okay baby girl, don't let it happen again." I picked her up and gave her a kiss on her cheek. She wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder. I looked over at August and mouthed, "Thank you."
He smiled at me. "No problem ma." His phone started to ring and he excused himself to my bedroom.
I put Alaysha down on the couch and walk back into the kitchen and finish getting Lay's bag together. A few minutes later, Aug comes back into the living room with an unreadable expression on his face. "I gotta go baybeh."
"Is everything okay?"
"I don't know yet. As soon as I find out, I'll let you know."
"Okay bye baby."
He kisses my forehead. "Bye ma." He walks out the apartment and closed the door.
I look over at Alaysha. "Come on chocolate drop, let's get you to Uncle Storm and Auntie Krystal's house."
August
I sighed in frustration as I got in the car and took off towards the hospital. I said a silent prayer as I drove down the street, runnin' every red light until I got to my destination. I killed the engine and got out the car. I walked into E.R. and walked up to the receptionist desk. "Excuse me, what room is Melvin LaBranch in?" I asked as nicely as I could.
The ratchet female looked up me with a rude expression on her face. "Hold up." She rolled her neck and her neck, then held her finger up and went back to her conversation she was having.
This bitch must not know who she fuckin' with. I looked around and chuckled, tryin' to keep my composure. I turned around and snatched the phone out of her hand and slammed it on the receiver. "Now you're goin' to listen and listen good, I drove up here to see my brotha and you really testin' my patience, so if I was you, you would tell me what room he's in before I lose my temper and strangle you." I spat.
She stared at me with wide eyes. "Ri-right away sir," she started typin' away on the computer and looked back up at me. "H-he's in room 403."
I gave her a friendly smile. "Thank ya, have a nice day." I walked away, like I just didn't threaten her less than five minutes ago. I get on the elevator and rode up to the fourth floor.
My palms began to sweat as the elevators stopped, I walked off and walked down to 403. I knocked before walkin' in. Mel was sittin' up lookin' at the T.V., he looked as I closed the door. "Wassup lil bro?" He asked me with a smirk on his face.
"Nothin' man, I was worried about you." I responded, as I dapped him up.
"I'm chillin' man, 5-0 shot me in the arm, but I'm good. As soon as I get released, I gotta go jail. They gone place me in a holdin' cell until they figure out what to do with me." He chuckled, tryin' to make light of the situation.
I shake my head. "Damn man, I still gotta figure out how to tell mama."
"She gone beat both our asses." He joked.
"Ya damn right," I chuckled. "Then we gotta tell Travis."
"Nah, mama can handle that. I just gotta figure out how to tell my baybeh girls what's goin' on." He sighed.
I smacked my lips. "You talkin' like you gone be locked up foreva man. Look man, I'm gonna find you the best lawyer outchea' believe that."
"I'm just bein' realistic Yung, you know I'm black and even though I shot black officers, they still might throw the book at me. Then on top of that, it was a set up drug deal so who knows what's goin' to happen."
I nodded my head because I knew he was right. "Well whateva happens, we not goin' down without a fight."
Patience
After I dropped Alaysha off at Storm and Krystal's, I headed to the college. I was going to be running a little late, but it's whatever. The professor probably won't get to me today anyway. I parked my car and killed the engine. I looked at my phone and saw that I had just enough time to get to my class. I grabbed my things, made sure that I locked my car, and took off to towards the building.
I ran into the classroom with a minute to spare and walked up the steps heading to the back. As soon as I sat down, the professor walked in. "Good morning scholars, I hope you all are ready for the topic of discussion today. As you all know, the assignment was to pick a side to the following topic, do you think that they should put Harriet Tubman on the twenty dollar bill or should they leave it how it is? We are going to start this debate off with Patience Moore and Desirae Clark."
Just fucking great. I get up out of my seat and made my way down to the front and Desirae joined me. Out of all people, I had to debate against my dumb ass cousin. She gave me a fake smile and I gave her the same gesture.
"I think they should leave the twenty dollar bill as is." Desirae stated, as she flipped her weave over her shoulder. "It's stupid that they want to change it after all these years? What's wrong with the way it is now? Also if it had to be a black person, why did it have to be Harriet Tubman's ugly ass? Why not MLK?"
I rolled my eyes because this was already starting off stupid. How did I end up being related to somebody so stupid? "Well, I think that it's a great idea that they want to put Harriet Tubman, an African-American woman, on the twenty dollar bill. It's a huge step for our people." I stated, "She delivered us from slavery and helped us be where we are today."
Desirae stared at me for a quick second before speaking again. "Why are our people so quick to bring up slavery? I'm honestly tired of hearing about that every time I'm around our people. It happened over 200 years ago. Get over it!"
I stare at her in disbelief. "How are you going to tell our people to get over slavery and you're black as well?"
"I may be black, but I do know when something has been going on for too long." She retorts, "We sound like a bunch of bitter black people and it makes me feel like a disgrace to see my people harping on an issue that happened over two centuries ago."
I'm trying really hard not to beat the ignorance out of this little hoe. "Really society has you that brainwashed that you can't see that slavery is still happening today as we speak? We may not be in physical chains anymore, but we are definitely in mental chains that society has put us in." I retort, "Your logic is the reason why the white man will continue to have power over us because people like you are so closed minded are not open to learning more your history. If it wasn't for Harriet Tubman's "ugly ass" you would still be a house slave getting r*ped by Massa every night. Yeah Martin Luther King helped in desegregating our people, but he was a preacher that was cheating on his wife. Why would you want a dishonest person on the 20 dollar bill?"
"Why are you lying Patience? MLK would never cheat on Coretta. If that's true, why haven't I read it in any History book? Desirae asked me, raising her voice.
"Because those books do not show everything that happened to our people on purpose. The government does not want our people to be educated on our history and you are falling right into their trap, by believing everything that the government throws out to the media. Have you not realized that they pick and choose what they want the world to know?" I responded.
"That's not true, if white people hate us so much, then why did Abraham Lincoln sign the Emancipation Proclamation to free all slaves then?" She asked me.
"Abraham Lincoln did not sign the Emancipation Proclamation for black peoples' interest at heart. He had slaves too. He even confessed that his motive was to save the Union, and it is not either to save or to destroy slavery." I informed her, "Lincoln and his advisors limited the proclamation's language to slavery in states outside of federal control as of 1862, failing to address the contentious issue of slavery within the nation's Border States. In his attempt to appease all parties, Lincoln left many loopholes open that civil rights advocates would be forced to tackle in the future."
"Where's the proof Patience? I've never read or even heard of what you're talking about right now. It sounds like it's just a bunch of stupid shit that you made up."
I smirked at her. "Look it up on the Internet, the Internet tells you a lot more than what our government and our school books tells us."
"Well how come I've never seen anything about these things that you claim you read on the Internet?" She stared at me waiting on me to give her an answer.
"That's because you aren't looking for it," I retorted. "The information has always been there, but you're so comfortable with believing everything that the white man tells you."
"Whatever Patience, you're just mad because you're not light skinned like I am." She responded, which made me laugh.
"It's really sad that you are this brainwashed by society. It was proved by that one little statement. You're only saying that because you're one shade away from being white your damn self. This proves that light skinned privilege does exist. Why would I be mad that I'm darker than you? My daughter is the same shade as me and she's beautiful. Melanin has nothing to do with beauty." I preached.
"Light skinned privilege doesn't exist."
This bitch is really stupid. "If light skinned privilege doesn't exist then why did Massa have us labeled as house slaves and field slaves? The house slaves were the light skinned black people and the field slaves were the black people my color and darker. Even after our people were freed, the light skinned population excluded themselves from the darker individuals."
"Whatever." Desirae mumbles.
"Nah it ain't no whatever, if you want to talk about a situation, make sure you know your facts." I responded smartly.
"I do know my facts, that's what I learned in school and the school doesn't lie." She retorted.
I roll my eyes before responding to the ignorance that just came out of her mouth. ""Girl the schools stay lying because they're ran by the government."
"The government only has our best interest at heart." She raised her voice again.
I chuckle because I never realized that an individual to be so stupid. "Girl we live in New Orleans. You should know most of all that the government doesn't do anything but sit on their butts, they only help the white folks. They didn't even help with Hurricane Katrina."
"Well they couldn't because there were so many of us."
"Do you know how stupid you sound? Like are you really comprehending the words that are coming of your mouth or are you talking out of your ass?" I asked her.
"Man fuck you, I know what I'm talking about." Desirae raises her voice yet again.
"Nah, obviously you don't because you're talking out your ass yet again. I honestly think you're talking just to hear yourself talk at this point, but I am going to sum this up so it can make sense in your peanut size brain." I tell her, "if Harriet Tubman did not free the slaves, then Martin Luther King couldn't do what he did, then Barack Obama wouldn't have been able to run for president."
I grab my stuff and walk out of class after that statement.
***
Later that night
"Can I get a drink sweetheart?" This older gentleman asked me as he approached bar with a smirk on his face.
"Sure, what would you like?" I give him a fake smile.
He continues to smirk at me as he sits down. "Just a beer for tonight."
I nod my head as I go to get the beer. I return shortly and sit the drink down in front of him. His blue eyes pierce as he eyes me like I'm a piece of meat. "Thank you gorgeous." He sits twenty down as he gets up, "I plan to see you again." And with that, he walks out of the club.
So I'm going to give you guys a background story on how part of this chapter came to be. Last Wednesday my friend @DamnGina and I were discussing Harriet Tubman being on the 20 dollar bill and how it was a good thing that she was being put on it. So this dumb ass decided to hop in and start to talk out of her ass about how she was tired of people talk about slavery and how black people should be get over it, we had to school her about her history and yet, she was still in denial about it. Moral of the story: don't be like the dumb ass, be open to learn about your history. Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow.