Keep It Movin' (22 page)

Read Keep It Movin' Online

Authors: L. Divine

BOOK: Keep It Movin'
3.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Stay tuned for the next book in
the DRAMA HIGH series,
HOLIDAZE
Until then, satisfy your DRAMA HIGH craving
with the following excerpt from the next
exciting installment.
 
ENJOY!
Prologue
“J
ayd, can you hear me?” Mama says.
But I can't see where her voice is coming from. I know I'm dreaming but it feels too real to be a dream.
“Jayd, snap out of it before you get hurt!”
Why is she tripping? All I'm doing is walking around the living room and I could walk around this entire house with my eyes closed and not trip over a thing. But wait, this isn't our living room. It looks like it but I can tell from the furniture I'm back in Maman's time, and this is her house.
“Jon Paul, no! Give her back to me!” Maman screams at her husband, who's holding their daughter tight. The baby screams loudly as Maman's cries get even more powerful. She begins to shriek like an opera singer and my great-grandfather can't take anymore. He slaps Maman hard with the back of his hand and she falls to the floor, hitting the Christmas tree on the way down.
“Lynn Mae,” Maman cries, holding her bloody face with one hand and reaching her free hand up toward her daughter, who is still in her father's arms.
“Jayd, wake up, now!”
Mama shouts but this time she's not in my dream with me. Where is her voice coming from?
“What is she doing here?” Jon Paul asks my great-grandmother, looking dead at me. Oh hell, no. I don't want to be in this dream. Maybe I should wake up, but I can't. I have no control over when I wake up from, or fall into, my dreams.
“Yes, you do, Jayd, and now is the time to exercise that power. Wake your ass up!”
Just then, Jon Paul charges at me with his daughter in tow like he's going to slap me too. What the hell?
“Jon Paul, Sarah has nothing to do with this. Leave her alone,” Maman says, now on her feet, her green eyes glowing like I've never seen before. Unlike in my last dream with Maman, this time her eyes look like emerald fireballs. He's in for it now. And who the hell is Sarah?
“She's always here. You know all about her whoreish ways, don't you, young lady?” I back away from my great-grandfather, frightened of his temper. As I stumble over a chair, I land in it and catch my reflection in a clean pot on the kitchen stove. The face staring back at me belongs to a girl about my age, but it ain't me. Ah hell, no. This is too much for me to handle.
“Jon Paul, haven't you heard of picking on someone your own size?” Maman's voice begins to get higher in pitch and her eyes are even brighter as she focuses all of her attention on him. His head begins to pulsate just like it did in the vision that Mama and I shared on Christmas Eve, and he can't take it anymore. He begins to charge toward the kitchen door, but Maman's not letting him go anywhere with her daughter.
“Aren't you forgetting something?” Maman says, putting her arms out for her daughter, whose eyes are also glowing. “Sarah, come here. And bring Lynn Mae with you. He can't hurt you now.” I don't move because I don't realize she's talking to me. But when she focuses her glowing gaze in my direction I jump up from the chair, walk toward the mentally paralyzed man and take my grandmother out of his hands. When I reach my great-grandmother, she pushes us behind her and focuses all of her energy on crippling her husband. Maman's powers are completely off the chain. And I thought Mama was gangster with her shit.
“Jayd, drink this,”
Mama says, still outside of my dream. I look down at the baby in my arms and she smiles back at me, making me think of what Rahima must be doing now. But this is Mama, not Rahima, and I'm about to freak out completely if I don't wake up soon.
“Why is Jayd standing in the middle of the living room floor so late?”
I can hear Bryan but I can't see him either. What's really going on?
“She's sleepwalking. Help me keep her safe but don't touch her,” Mama says.
Sleepwalking? Damn it. I haven't done this in years and it's never good when I do.
“Jayd, focus on my voice, not on whatever's going on in your dream and snap out of it, please!”
The urgency in Mama's voice scares me but I still can't find my way out.
“Okay girls, it's time to make our move,” Maman says, not letting go of her visual hold on Jon Paul for a second. “He kicked in the front door, as you can see, so we're going to have to make our way out the back. Stay behind me. And Sarah, whatever you do, don't let go of Lynn Mae.” We follow my great-grandmother back into the kitchen and walk around her husband, who is now crippled on the floor and holding his head, which looks like it's going to burst. “Walk right by him. Don't look at him. Just keep moving and everything will be okay.”
“Jayd, stop walking,”
Mama says, but I can't. I have to follow Maman and get baby Mama out of harm's way.
“Jayd, it's not real. Stop walking, now! Bryan, follow us.”
I follow Maman out of the back door, hand her baby to her and she looks at me, releasing me from my dream state.
 
Upon waking, I fall back into Bryan's arms, completely lifeless.
“Here, Jayd. Swallow this,” Mama says, forcing some thick concoction down my throat. I resist at first because the smell is putrid. Whatever's in this cup reminds me of when Mama used to make me drink orange juice mixed with castor oil when I would get constipated as a child. I still don't drink orange juice to this day because of that experience.
“Y'all are too much for a nigga sometimes, you know that?” Bryan says, holding on to me tightly as Mama continues force-feeding me. I hate it when this happens.
“Watch your mouth,” Mama says to Bryan. I look up at the both of them and realize we are standing on the back porch. It's cold outside and dark. Mama's dog looks at us from her post on the bottom step and seemingly shakes her head at the sight. All Lexi does is sleep and scratch herself, so I'm really not worried about disturbing her. “Jayd, are you okay, baby?” I hear Mama but I'm feeling Bryan right now. Sometimes it's too much for me, too. If I could just leave my powers at the curb right now I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm sick of this shit.
“I'm fine,” I say, coughing up some of the thickness she's made me swallow. I'm shivering in my nightgown and sweats and my feet are bare, causing the cold to run straight through my body. “Can I go back to bed now?” If Bryan's just getting in from his radio show, it must be close to two in the morning and it's a school day for me no matter what kind of dream I just had.
“Not until you tell me what that was all about, Jayd. Whenever you sleepwalk it's serious, girl, and you know it.”
“Mama, I start a new semester tomorrow and I have to drive my mom's stick shift all the way to Redondo Beach for the first time. I need sleep. Please, can we talk tomorrow?” Mama looks into my eyes and feels my pain.
“Fine, but don't forget any of it. I need details.” I'm sure she's already got the summary in her mind. And I wish I could forget, but this dream was too freaky. I've never dreamt of being someone else before. I hope that was the last time it happens. I have enough to deal with as it is. I just want to get through this day with as little trouble as possible. With new classes, Mickey and Nellie tripping, and Nigel still out because of his wounded arm, there's going to be enough drama to deal with as it is.
1
Walk On By
“
That's all that I have left, so let me hide/
The pain and the hurt that you gave me when you said goodbye.
”
—DIONNE WARWICK
 
 
 
A
fter this morning's sleepwalking episode, I could barely get myself out of the bed, let alone dressed and ready to go. Luckily I don't have to get up as early as I did before my mom let me take her car, but six is still early in my book. Speaking of books, I forgot my backpack, rushing out the door this morning, so my day's not going to be easy, especially since we receive our new books for the semester and take them home to cover.
I'm not excited about my new class schedule because not much has really changed. That's one of the major problems with being on the Advanced Placement track: the monotony is grueling and there's always the added curse of having to deal with Mrs. Bennett. With any luck, I won't run into her or Misty today. That would make everything better.
“Damn it,” I say aloud while attempting to shift the car into first gear on the steep hill near campus. There aren't many hills between Compton and Inglewood, so I never got to practice balancing the clutch in various situations. Where's Rah when I need him? He hasn't talked to me since Sandy took off in his grandfather's car with Rahima. I know he's pissed but it really wasn't my fault. How was I supposed to know she would make a copy of his keys and jack Rah the first chance she got?
“Because the bitch is crazy,”
my mom says, feeling my frustration.
“Mom, you can't call her a bitch. She's young enough to be your daughter,”
I think back, while still trying to work my way up the hill without rolling back too far. The cars behind me are honking at my slow progression but I don't care. I'd rather them be mad at me than hit anyone. All I need is to have an accident. My mom would never let me live that down.
“You worry too much, Jayd. And no, Sandy isn't old enough to be a child of mine. That girl's eighteen and a mother, therefore she's fair game and a bitch is a bitch, as I'm sure you know.”
My mom's got a point there. If there's an official club, Sandy's got to be the president.
“Can you help me drive this thing or what?” I say aloud. If the traffic weren't so slow trying to get into the parking lot I wouldn't have this problem. I've experienced more stop-and-go in the ten minutes I've been waiting in line here than my mother does on the 405 freeway during rush hour.
“You have to learn how to drive in all situations, Jayd. Besides, it's good for you to know how to drive a stick. It's an irreplaceable skill to have. Now, the first thing you need to do is calm down, little one, and put the car in neutral.”
I follow my mom's instructions and the car starts to slide backwards.
“Put your foot on the brake, Jayd! Damn, girl, you have to use your common sense always.”
“Mom, I had a very rough night. Please cut me some slack,” I say, near tears. I notice the new girl, Shawn, walking past me and looking at me like I'm crazy. I guess she heard that about me and probably thinks I'm talking to myself. I don't care what she thinks of me. As long as she keeps walking, it's all good.
“Okay, I'm sorry. Now, ease off of the brake and apply an equal amount of pressure on the clutch before shifting into first gear. Then, press slightly on the gas. If you do it right, the car should go smoothly up the hill.”
At first, the car lurches forward, but then I ease up on the clutch and press the gas simultaneously. It works smoothly, just like my mother said it would.
“Thank you, Mom,”
I think back.
“That's what I'm here for. Now, what about this rough night?”
I pull up in line and feel like an old pro at driving a stick the way I'm handling the hill. I'm almost in a good mood for the first time in days and don't want to mess it up thinking about my dream.
“Mom, I really don't want to go into that right now.”
I'm next in line to get through the gate and really want to get on with my day. It's bad enough Rah still hasn't returned any of my calls or text messages since he picked up his Acura from my mother's house yesterday. I want to know if he's heard from Rahima. I know he feels like he's the only one missing his daughter, but I miss her too, and I need to know if he's heard from Rahima's crazy-ass mama.
“Okay, fine. But I will remind you this weekend when I see you. Have a good day, baby, and let me know how your day went later on.”
“Alright, Mom. You too,”
I think back. I have to watch it talking aloud to her when I'm in public. I already have a reputation as a voodoo girl. The last thing I need is the school thinking I'm a schizoid, too.
“Hey, Jayd, new wheels again?” Jeremy says from his car to mine, catching me off guard. Somehow he's pulled way up beside me, putting his car in the perfect position to ease his way behind mine and to be next in line to get through the gate. I guess being the most popular guy on campus has its advantages even before the school day begins.
“Yeah, my mom had sympathy for me and let me roll her car until I get wheels of my own.” I haven't heard from my daddy since I left my dilapidated vehicle he bought me for Christmas in his driveway Saturday night, and don't expect to hear from him anytime soon. I know he's pissed and his ego's shattered. It'll take awhile for him to come around and call me this time.
“Sweet. So when are you taking me out for a change?” I'm still irritated with Jeremy for the way he didn't react when I told him about Nigel and Tre getting shot last week, but what can I expect? His reality is surfing all day and living the life of luxury while mine is making potions with my grandmother and dodging the occasional bullet.
“One day,” I say as I pull into the lot to find a spot. Jeremy's right behind me, ready to get on with this school day as well. I don't know how I'm going to stay focused, but as Mama says, the day will pass whether I participate in it or not. So we'll just have to wait and see how it goes because right now, I feel like time is passing me right on by and that's not good.

Other books

The Sugar Mountain Snow Ball by Elizabeth Atkinson
Tattooed Moon by Tiana Laveen
Polly's War by Freda Lightfoot
Endangered Hearts by Jolie Cain