Nafessa Williams
I walked towards the assembly holding my phone in my hand and completely lost on why the damn hallways were this quiet. Everyone was silent. Literally. Everyone.
Someone tapped my shoulder and I turned around and came face to face with Gil. I hadn't seen him since the first day of school. "Hey girly." Even he was talking low.
"Hey Gil." I replied smiling.
"You seen Janet nem?"
I thought about how I hadn't seen Janet, Shawn nor Kelly today. Toni didn't come to school today either. Shaking my head, I answered. "No. I don't think they came today. Mind telling me why everyone's moving so slow and so quiet to this assembly?"
Gil frowned. "Oh I forgot you don't know. Today's Kenny's birthday. Janet and Toni's best friend. He would have been 18. The school always has this big assembly for him in the auditorium every year. His parents speak and everything. It's totes sad and somber and gloomy."
My footsteps stopped as people began moving around me. "Gil, I'll catch up with you later okay?"
He seemed confused but nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."
Turning against the current of the crowd, I moved through it and towards the fourth floor. Every classroom was bare because everyone was in the assembly. Even teachers. I opened the door to the restroom and searched every stall. Toni wasn't in there. Damn it.
Deciding against my better lack of judgement, I walked to the first floor and took the route that I was taught to use for skipping. I climbed the gate and headed towards my car.
The first place I drove was Toni's house. I remembered the way from when I had dropped her off and ironically we lived 8 blocks away from each other. Seeing that her mothers car was there, I knew that she wasn't there. She had told me herself that if her mother was home she didn't want to be there all emotional.
This led me to searching at parks and playgrounds. I even went to the mall because I got desperate. Toni wasn't anywhere near any of those places. Giving up, I finally went home. Opening my garage, the only thing that made me notice Toni sitting on my porch was the fact that her backpack was by the garage door.
She looked up at me when I pulled in and I could tell she had been crying. I got out as I went to my front porch. Sitting next to her, we sat in silence before she mumbled. "I went to Janet's house today..."
Looking over at her, I asked. "Really?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "We talked, turns out she doesn't hate me. She just bullies me because she's disappointed and angry. So, yay me. I guess..."
Shaking my head, I stood up and held my hand out for her to follow. She grabbed it and her bag as I walked her into my house after closing the garage. We stood in the kitchen for a moment before I spoke.
"Maybe you should speak up." I muttered softly.
Toni looked up at me. "What?"
"Maybe you should speak Toni. I mean it's never too late to speak, you can still—."
She took a deep breath as she adjusted her backpack in her hands. "I knew I shouldn't have come."
When she headed towards my front door, I stepped in front of her. "Toni, don't leave alright. I'm sorry. I am, it's just— if I knew for sure who killed my father, I would be yelling guilt from the clouds of heaven if I could. I would speak. I would make sure that his name fell from every tongue in Maryland and then from every tongue in the world. I would march this Earth and get his name out and—."
"I'm not you Nafessa!" She snapped suddenly as her voice raised. "I'm not you! I can't yell it from clouds and march around fucking Maryland!" Her voice softened as she teared up. "I'm tiny ole Toni, silent Toni. It's not the same."
My arms wrapped around her frame as I hugged her. She broke down as I replied back. "I'm sorry Toni, I didn't mean to push it. It's okay, you don't have to be me. It's okay." She didn't reply for a long time and finally I broke the sounds of just her sniffles. "Come on, you can pick a movie for us to watch and I can pop us some popcorn. I can get your mind off of this. It was a bad subject to begin with. That's cool?"
She nodded softly as she lifted her head. Toni turned and went and laid on my couch as she grabbed the remote. Going to the kitchen, I pulled out one of the popcorn packages and placed it in the microwave after taking the plastic off. It began popping after a few moments as I got out one of my moms and I popcorn bowls.
Grabbing the popcorn out the microwave, I poured it in the bowl and walked back into the living room. Alice in Wonderland was playing and I mentally cringed. I hated this damn film for some reason. I don't know why, but it just creeped me out on another type of level.
Still, I would stick it out if it meant Toni feeling a little better. She was sprawled out on our couch so I lifted her feet and sat down as I placed them back down on my lap. I handed her the bowl of popcorn and she mumbled a thanks before placing it in the middle of us.
"You're really beautiful." She commented suddenly causing me to look at her. Toni seemed to panic and apologized. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud."
I smiled softly. "No. It's okay. Thank you but you are beautiful as well so now we're even."
She smiled back before going back to focusing on the movie. My long school day got the best of me and I began falling asleep almost immediately. It didn't seem like I had closed my eyes for that long, but I woke up when the front door opened. My eyes immediately met with my mothers who was about to yell my name but stopped herself once she saw me.
She smiled at me and I placed my finger to my lips once I saw that Toni was sleeping. My mother's face furrowed as she looked over the couch and saw Toni as well. Her head tilted in confusion. I hadn't told her that I'd made friends.
Lifting Toni's feet, I slowly got up and placed them back down as I grabbed a blanket from one of our closets and laid across her. Getting the bowl of popcorn, I followed my mom who was in the kitchen. "Hey momma."
My mom chuckled. "Hello daughter. There's a stranger on our couch."
"Stop." I giggled at her. "She's my friend Toni. She had a bad day and I thought—."
"Now you know you don't have to explain anything like that to me Fes. You have a good heart, good grades and a good mindset. I trust your decisions." She replied as she grabbed some grapes from the fridge and began washing them off. "Now tell me about this Toni girl. She's pretty. What grade is she in?"
"12th, like me. She's really quiet and timid but she talks to me a lot. The kids at school treat her kind of bad and I stood up for her."
My mom smiled as she ate her grapes. "That's my girl. Why do they treat her bad?"
I shook my head. "It's a long story mom. A really long story."
When my mom was about to speak she stopped for we both heard footsteps heading our way. Toni peeked her head in the kitchen. "Nafessa—. Oh I'm sorry. Am I interrupting?"
My mother was always a warm soul, even on her bad days. So it didn't surprise me when she smiled again. "Oh no sweetheart. I'm Janila Williams but feel free to call me Momma J and what's your name?"
Toni smiled back. "I'm Toni, it's nice to meet you Momma J."
I tried to steal one of my moms grapes and she popped my hand. "Stop girl, I'm on call. Let me get my nutrients while I can. I've been in back to back surgeries."
"What type of doctor are you?" Toni asked her.
Side eyeing my mom, I took a grape anyways as she answered. "Ortho. Break a bone and I'll gladly fix it."
T's face lit up. "That's so cool."
I looked outside and noticed how dark it was. "Yo T, what time your mom get off? Cause it's pretty late."
She looked out the window and then to the clock. "Oh God! She got off a hour ago! I'm dead meat! It's 11, I slept passed my curfew. Nafessa can you take me home? My moms going to kill me."
"I'll take you." My mom suggested. "I have to head back to the hospital sooner or later so I'm trying to not sleep or else I won't go anywhere tonight. Come on, I'll tell your mom you were with me and Nafessa here."
I nodded in agreement with my mom. "Yeah, let's just do that."
We all piled into my moms car as Toni instructed my mother on how to get to her house. When we pulled up, all of the lights were on in the house. My mom parked and we all got out the car and walked to the door.
My mom knocked a few seconds later a woman answered the door. She looked at Toni and took a breath. "Toni Michelle, I have been calling you all day. Where have you been?"
"I'm sorry ma'am, she's been with my daughter. My names Janila Williams, I'm Nafessa's mom. It seems our children have become good friends. I walked in the house and they were knocked out with papers and posters around them. Whatever project they were doing must have tired them out." My mother added on to the story swiftly.
Yes mom! Come through with the project lie!
"I'm sorry Mrs..." I trailed off as I looked up at the woman.
The lady sent a smile my way. "Evelyn sweetie, but feel free to call me Momma Evelyn. Everyone else does and it's quite alright. I just get so anxious and nerved up when she isn't home and not answering the phone. That's all."
Toni shifted nervously when her mother said that, and it went unnoticed by everyone except me. "Toni, I think you left your folder in the car. Come get it." She nodded as we walked back towards the car. "You're going to be okay, right?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" She questioned in the night as we stood near the car and away from the front door.
"I don't know, you just seem nervous."
Before she could answer, her mother called out for her from the porch.
What happened next, happened quickly, quick enough for me to maybe lie and say it didn't. Toni kissed me as she mumbled. "I'll be fine. Thanks for today by the way. It meant a lot. Night Nafessa."
She walked away quickly with her head down as I stood there in shock. I got in the car as my fingers traced my lips.
What the hell just happened?