When Thanksgiving break ends Corey realizes that now that soccer season is over and his friends have started basketball, he's going to be really bored after school. Other than working he doesn't have much to do. He refuses to go home and put up with his dads drunk nonsense so instead he heads to the library to get some homework done.
He grabs one of the comfortable chairs towards the back and plops down on it feeling motivated to get his math homework done first. After about fifteen minutes of concentrating Corey gets bored of working out polynomials and loses focus, his eyes wander to the bookshelves and he glances over the titles.
A college textbook catches his eye and he gets up to grab it. Abandoning his homework Corey leans against the bookshelf and flips through the textbook. He skims through pages of colleges, majors, minors and more. His head whirls as he reads through it. It feels like just yesterday he started freshmen year at Marian Parker feeling like the coolest 13 year old in the world with his fresh Jordan's and blue sidekick cellphone.
Now he's in the process of filling out college applications, getting ready to walk across that stage at the end of the school year in his blue cap and gown. His teenage years have flown past him and he's been too busy trying to dig hisself out of a rut to notice. With the stress of his alcoholic dad and estranged mom, Corey feels like going to college is his only chance of finally being free.
Corey turns around to go sit down in the soft chair again and ends up coming face to face with Aubrey. He jumps, almost dropping the book in his hand. "Whoa, do you have silent footsteps or something?" He asks.
Aubrey giggles, "Sorry, I was just looking for a book." She says glancing at the bookshelf. She scans the books before looking at the one in Corey's hands. "Oh, it's in your hand actually."
"My bad," Corey says closing the book and holding it out towards her.
"No if you want it keep it." She says pushing it back to him.
Corey shakes his head, "Nah, you can take it. I was just flipping through pages." He tells her. Aubrey stares at him doubtfully for a moment before finally taking the book from him and cradling it in her arms.
"Thanks," she says and Corey simply nods. A silence falls over them and Aubrey shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "So what's your plans for college?"
Corey looks at her without saying anything for a moment. After hearing her put Carson in her place he has a different opinion of Aubrey. He doesn't like her though, that could never happen again. But it won't hurt to be nice to her. "Honestly, I don't know yet. My number one college is Morris Brown down there in Atlanta but I haven't even applied yet."
"Why not?" Aubrey tilts her head to the side puzzled.
Corey shrugs, "I don't feel like I'll get in. I've applied to other schools but if I apply to Morris Brown and they reject me...Im gonna feel some type."
"At least you have the option to go to college. I have a baby on the way, the best I can do is online classes or community college. And there's nothing wrong with community college, I mean the pricing is more affordable, but I want to experience college life at a university. I wanna live in a dorm, go the common area, join clubs, meet new people, go to parties." Aubrey's eyes light up as she talks but quickly dims. "But I can't with a baby at home."
"You're a junior, you have a year to figure out your game plan. Yeah you won't live in a dorm but you can party anytime, education is way more important than your social college life." Corey points out.
Aubrey smiles a little, "I know, but I want to be able to tell me baby stories that start with "when I was in college...". But I don't have to because she'll be born by then and experiencing it with me." She says shrugging. "I'm not saying my baby is ruining my plan, I would never think that way. Everything happens for a reason, God blessed me with a baby as a wake up call to get my life together and it worked."
"That's a good way to think about it." Corey tells her.
Aubrey flashes a smile and shifts the book in her arms. "Can we sit down? My feet are killing me."
Corey nods and motions for her to sit down in the chair beside his. Aubrey walks over and sits in the chair before taking off her boots and folding her legs Indian style. "Don't mind me, when you're pregnant you'll do anything to get comfortable."
"I wouldn't know," Corey jokes and she gives him a look before laughing. Another silence falls over them but not as awkward as the last. As Aubrey flips through the college textbook, Corey takes the time to look at her. Her hair is loose and flowing over her shoulders and she looks comfortable wearing a hoodie, yoga pants and boots. Her belly sits in her lap like it has its own personal spot.
Aubrey looks up at him and quickly averts his gaze. She looks him over before speaking. "How come you don't think you'll get into Brown?"
Corey licks his lips and looks at the ground. "I don't know. I'm smart but my grades don't show it. I'm not failing or nothing but I feel like they wanna see more than B's and C's. I mean that's nothing compared to a kid who gets A's and B's." He shrugs his shoulders like its nothing but Aubrey can tell its bothering him. She wishes she could help him but he's a senior and she's a junior, they aren't studying the same thing.
"Maybe you're letting outside forces distract you from focusing on school. The way I see it you're just cruising by, but to get into Brown you've got to strive and stand out." Aubrey informs him honestly. "Like you do on the soccer field."
Corey's eyes snap to hers, "You've seen me play?"
"Carson dragged me to a few games so she could drool over the players. You're really good Corey." Aubrey smiles at him and for a split second Corey forgets that she's pregnant with his ex-best friends baby and thinks about what a genuinely nice person she is.
"You've really changed Aubrey." Corey tells her.
She smiles again, something she's been doing alot lately. "I'm growing up, I kinda have to for my baby."
Corey nods his head in understanding, "I like the new Aubrey."
Aubrey blushes a little and stares into his eyes, "Me too."
When Corey walks into the house that night, he's met by the strong smell of smoke and liquor. His father doesn't smoke which could only mean one things. His friends from work are here. Glancing at the calendar confirms his suspicions. The first of every other month is when his fathers friends come over just for a little get together which means smoking their lungs dry and getting drunk.
Closing the door softly, Corey tries to walk swiftly towards his room without being noticed but his father whips his head around from his place on the couch. "Don't be respectful Corey, you see we have guest." He says. "Come say hello."
Corey curses in his mind but does as he's told. He walks over and stands beside the table to face his dads four friends. "Hi everyone," he says dryly.
"I swear every time we come here he's looking more and more grown." Raymond says puffing on a cigarette.
"For real, how old you is boy?" Vincent asks, taking a sip of his whiskey.
"Seventeen," Corey answers with a dry tone yet again.
On the tv a boxing match is on and Leroy jumps to his feet. "Aww did you see that punch!?" He exclaims, "That was crazy!"
Corey rolls his eyes and makes a move to leave but Leroy grabs his arms. "Where you goin boy? Come box with me, your daddy got you all soft and shit now."
"I got home work." Corey says.
"Screw homework, don't be a sissy." Leroy says.
Corey shakes his head, "I got alot to do and I'm tired."
"Tired? Derrick you got you'd boy acting like a punk." Vincent laughs and Derrick glares at Corey, shaking his head like he's disappointed.
"Rough him up a bit." Derrick says.
Leroy smirks and throws a punch towards Corey's face. Corey grabs his fist before it can hit him and pushes Leroy backwards a little. Leroy grins, "Oh, someone moves fast." He says. "Ima show you how grown folks get down." He goes to throw another punch but Corey ducks out the way and Leroy stumbles from his drunken state.
"You missed dog," Raymond laughs and Leroy glares at him.
"Shut up, Thomas get over here and help me." Leroy says. Thomas gets up and grabs for Corey's arm but he pushes him away.
"No, get off me." He says backing up.
"Don't be disrespecting grown men boy." Thomas says, grabbing him by his shirt and yanking him forwards. Corey elbows him hard, trying to free his self. Vincent gets up and grabs his arms, locking them behind his back. Corey yanks and pulls, trying to free his self. He maybe strong but trying to fight off three muscular construction workers is hard with his lanky self.
A fist flies out of no where and strikes him across the face. His head whips to the side and he can taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. Another blow to the other side of his face strikes a throbbing pain in his head and he grunts.
"I told you last time not to try and get big with grown folks." Leroy says to him as he hits him again.
Corey struggles against Vincent and Thomas who's holding him tightly. "Fight back punk, I dare you." Leroy says with a laugh. Corey closes his eyes. He's used to the pulsing pain, he's just thankful it's not Thomas hitting him this time. Thomas is bigger than everyone here and packs more punch. His hits feel like bowling balls to the face each time and even though they stopped phasing Corey a long time ago, it still hurts like a bitch in the morning.
After a few more minutes of blows, Corey's body becomes numb to the pain. He doesn't feel the harsh impact of bone against bone anymore. He's gotten so used to it that he just stands there limply, letting Leroy and occasionally the others beat on him. His father continues to sit there watching tv like nothing's happening.
This started happening two years ago. The first time Corey tried to fight back it resulted in his own father beating him until he blacked out and woke up on the floor the next morning. He never figured out why they do this to him and after a while he stopped caring about the reason, he just couldn't wait for it to be over. Corey never told his friends about this because he knew what they would say. They would tell him to call the police, get away from his dad, fight back. But if he did, he would lose the only parent he really has left. His dad was the one who watched him grow up. Even though he was left to practically raise his self, at least his father was still there. And whenever his friends did notice, he would say he fell, or got into a fight, or he simply didnt know how it happened. He's been lying about it so long it comes almost naturally now.
Leroy looks Corey up and down. "Had enough yet?"
Corey stares him in the eye and smirks, "Nope."
Leroy's eyes darken and he clenches his fist before drawing it back and slamming it into Corey's stomach. The wind is knocked out of him and his legs buckle, Vincent and Thomas let him collapse onto the floor. He lays there, wheezing on the floor and coughing up blood. The men laugh. His father says nothing.
After a few last kicks to the side, the men finally go back to the couch and sit down to finish watching tv. Corey struggles to catch his breath before he slowly gets up from the floor, his arms shake a little and he has a headache. He uses all his strength to keep his self from limping as he goes to his room. He flicks on the light and walks slowly into his room, wiping his bloody mouth on the sleeve of his shirt. He steps out of his shoes and takes off his shirt and pants to throw on a tee and some sweatpants.
Corey walks out his room and heads to the bathroom. He refuses to look in the mirror and instead uses a cold cloth to wash his face. He spits excess blood into the sink before splashing water on his face to ease the pain. After drying his face he heads to the kitchen calmly to fix his self something to eat.
**
I randomly teared up a little writing this...Comment and Vote!