LITMIR.BIZ

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How are you going to live under the same roof with someone who has that much hatred for you?” Keysha asked.

      “I have no idea,” I admitted.

      “You should probably tell your mom about it. Maybe she can help Viviana work through her issues,” Keysha suggested.

      “I care more about a baboon’s smelly behind than I do about Viviana. All she has to do is stay out of my way and leave Misalo alone.” My resentment toward Viviana was absolute.

      “Speaking of feelings, boys and all that stuff, guess who I saw this morning?” Keysha asked.

      “Wesley? Was he standing in the yard below your window reciting poetry?” I asked mockingly.

      “No, silly, although that would be very romantic if he ever found the courage to do it.” Keysha giggled.

      “Oh, God,” I responded as if I were about to puke.

      “Whatever, Maya.” Keysha chuckled. “I saw Carlo this morning.”

      “Carlo?” I spoke louder than I intended to.

      “Yep.”

      “What was he doing?”

      “I saw him walking into the community center. I assume he was heading to the gym. Have you spoken to him since the fight?”

      “No. I haven’t called him and he hasn’t called me. He’s probably ticked off at me for pulling him off Misalo when he was beating him down,” I admitted.

      “So does that mean you guys aren’t an item anymore?” Keysha asked.

      “I guess so. I’m not missing him at all, and he’s certainly not chasing after me, so it is what it is,” I answered as thoughts of Misalo filled my mind.

      “Okay,” Keysha said and then paused.

      “What do you have planned for the day?” I asked.

      “Right now I’m heading over to the library to return some books,” Keysha said.

      “The pool should be about to close for the season, shouldn’t it?” I asked.

      “Yep. I only have to work two more days and that’s it,” Keysha said.

      “Well, at least you’ll have plenty of money to do your back-to-school shopping with,” I said, envious of the fact she had been able to work all summer.

      “No, I have better plans for the money that I’ve been saving,” Keysha said.

      “What?” I asked.

      “A car,” said Keysha.

      “You’re going to spend all your money on a car? I thought you said your dad was going to buy you one?” I asked.

      “That’s what he said, but I don’t want him to buy me some noisy jalopy. I’ve been able to save two thousand dollars. If he matches what I’ve saved, then I could get a decent vehicle for four thousand, don’t you think?”

      “Hell, yeah. You should be able to ride in style for that kind of money,” I chimed.

      “Do you want to head over to the library with me?” Keysha asked.

      “Not right now. I need to stay off my knee for a little while longer. What are you doing later?” I asked, thinking we could do something then.

      “I’ll be at work,” said Keysha.

      “Then I’ll come by the pool and keep you company later this afternoon,” I said.

      “Okay, I’ll see you then,” Keysha said before hanging up the phone.

      * * *

      Later that afternoon I put on my bathing suit, grabbed a pool bag, which I always kept packed and ready, and headed out the door. When I arrived at the swimming pool, Keysha was snapping off on some junior high school boys for playing too roughly. There was a mother with her toddler splashing around at the shallow end of the pool and a few other folks who were wading from one side of the pool to the other. I placed my things on an empty seat next to where Keysha’s belongings were. I got myself situated, put on my dark sunglasses and relaxed. A few minutes later I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

      “What?” I asked, annoyed by the interruption of my quiet time.

      “Misalo just arrived,” Keysha said, taking her seat beside me. I sat upright, and sure enough, Misalo had taken a seat at the other end of the pool.

      “What are you going to do?” Keysha asked.

      “I think I’m going to get in the water,” I said. I rose to my feet and carefully walked to the edge of the pool. My knee was still bothering me a little, but not to the point that I had to hobble. I sat down on my butt, draped my legs over the edge and into the warm water. I splashed some water on my thighs and arms so my skin would adjust more easily to the temperature of the water. I then submerged myself. By the time I came from beneath the water, I noticed that Misalo wasn’t in his seat. I glanced around, wondering where he’d gone. I looked below the surface of the water and saw that he was swimming toward me. I did a few strokes until my back rested against the edge of the pool. When Misalo surfaced, he cleared away the cascading water from around his eyes and approached me.

      “Are you looking for me?” he asked, smiling innocently.

      “I don’t know. Should I be?” I asked, not willing to allow the charm of his smile to soften my disappointment in him, for not talking to me, not believing in me and instead listening to that liar Viviana.

      “Where is your boyfriend?” he asked derisively.

      “Where is your girlfriend?” I fired right back with an equal amount of sarcasm for his former boo thang, Viviana.

      “Maya, I don’t want to fight,” Misalo said earnestly as his tone shifted.

      “Ha! You should have thought about that before you started dating my cousin,” I said.

      “Oh, it’s like that. I thought we could have a real conversation, but I see that I was wrong,” he said and was about to swim away.

      “I’ve been trying to have a real conversation with you for the longest time, but you’ve had your head up your butt.” I didn’t bother filtering my words.

      “Okay, I’ll give you that. I’ll admit that I wasn’t the easiest guy to talk to, but I’m certain you can see why I reacted the way that I did.” Misalo gave me an innocent look.

      “Misalo, you wouldn’t even give me a chance to tell my side of the story,” I said to him.

      “I was angry, Maya,” he admitted. “Sometimes when a person is angry, they can’t see or think straight.”

      “And an angry person can be pretty stupid,” I said, unwilling to soften my words or feelings.

      “Whatever,” Misalo said with lack of concern. It irritated me that he wasn’t more apologetic.

      “So do you want to hear the truth now? Or do you want to keep jumping to conclusions?”

      “I don’t think I jumped to conclusions. I believe the evidence I saw spoke for itself, at least in the beginning. Now I’m not really sure what to think. I’m confused,” he admitted.

      “You should’ve come to me for the truth instead of letting other people tell you their interpretation of what went down,” I said.

      “Okay, Maya. I get it. I should not have been so stubborn. Do you have time to tell me the truth now? What’s really going on with you and Carlo?” he asked as he folded his arms across his chest and waited for me to explain my version of events. I paused momentarily and took notice of his muscles, which were much more defined. I exhaled before I began.

      “Viviana and I snuck out of the house one night,” I said.

      “You snuck

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