Myself and I (9 page)

“Well, according to my mom, the community pool is very short-staffed and in desperate need of lifeguards, so I think it will be a breeze for us to get the job.”

“I sure hope so,” I said as I inserted the last morsel of food into my mouth.

Maya and I went our separate ways after finishing our food.

“I'll call you if Misalo gets the car,” Maya said as she walked away from me.

“Okay,” I said.

As I walked home I noticed that the large moving truck I'd seen earlier was parked in the driveway of a house not too far from where I lived. The residence was situated on a corner and had a driveway that arched around like a half moon. It was the biggest house in the community and was similar in design and style to the one I'd seen time and again on reruns of a television show called
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
. In my opinion, whoever moved into that house had money, and lots of it. Needless to say, I was as curious as a cat to catch a glimpse of who was about to move in.

I slowed my pace as I moved past so I could peek inside, since the front door was wide open. I saw the movers walking down a ramp at the back of the truck carrying in a large sofa. I was concentrating so hard on trying to see who was moving in that I hadn't noticed the two guys pulling into the driveway in a gold-and-black customized Toyota Scion. The guy on the passenger side exited with two large pizza boxes. He glanced in my direction and raised his chin up at me in a quick, jerky motion—his way of saying
hello
or
what's up.
He was an okay-looking guy. He appeared to be around my age and was tall and very lean. He had curly black hair that was full on the top but tapered closer to his scalp on the sides. His ears sort of stuck out from his head, but not so much that he looked odd. His complexion matched my own. It was caramel brown but could easily
turn into a shade of rich golden brown when exposed to the summer sun. I waved back to him. I briefly noticed the other guy, who appeared to be his older brother. They looked exactly the same except the older brother was taller. I was positive that once the girls in the neighborhood discovered they lived in a minimansion, they'd become instantly popular and the girls would be fighting to win their affection. I couldn't have cared less about how fine they looked. A handsome face, cute smile and nice body usually led to a bunch of drama, and that was the last thing I wanted.

The
following afternoon Maya and I caught the bus over to the headquarters office of the park district and filled out the job application. Once we were finished, we decided to walk over to a nearby fast-food restaurant for lunch. I ordered the Italian beef sandwich combo loaded with sweet and hot peppers. It also came with large fries and a soda. Maya decided on a grilled chicken sandwich with cheese combo. We paid for our food and waited for it at the end of the counter.

“How long do you think it will take them to give us a call-back for an interview?” I asked Maya, who was still glancing up at the menu.

“Dang it, I should have gotten the double char dog with cheese fries,” Maya said.

“If you're going to change your order, you'd better say something now,” I said.

“I think I will.” Maya got the attention of the cashier and quickly made a change. Once she'd paid the difference she
walked back to the end of the counter where I was still waiting.

“So, what were you saying?” Maya asked, now that her attention was fully focused on me.

“Oh, I was asking you how long do you think it'll take for someone to call and schedule an interview?”

“Hopefully, not long at all,” Maya answered, pulling a few napkins from a dispenser on the countertop.

I leaned against the counter. “I can't wait to start working and making my own money. I have so many things that I want to do,” I said.

“You and me both,” Maya chimed.

We sat down and began eating our food. My sandwich was greasy and messy but tasted delicious.

“We're both going to be fat if we keep eating like this,” Maya joked. Although with all the swimming we'd been doing, neither one of us had very much body fat.

“I doubt it,” I said, as an image of my mother popped into my head. I couldn't imagine myself ever looking like her. She has a belly that drools over her belts and stretch marks everywhere. “I'm never going to let myself get big and sloppy,” I said with conviction.

“Come on. We'd better go stand at the bus stop before we miss the next one. I think with the money I make I'll try to set some of it aside to buy a car. Taking the bus is such a drag,” Maya griped.

“That's a good idea. I never thought about using the money to purchase a car.”

“I'm not talking anything too fancy, just something to get around town in. Oh, and it has to have an awesome sound system and air-conditioning,” Maya said. We tossed our trash in the garbage and walked across the parking lot toward the bus stop. Thankfully, we both lived within three miles of the pool, so the bus ride wasn't very long at all. Just as we'd made it to the corner bus canopy where the Pace bus would pick us up, Maya's phone rang.

“Hey, boo,” I heard Maya say. I immediately knew she was talking to Misalo.

“Hi, Misalo,” I leaned over and spoke into Maya's cell phone.

Maya smiled brightly and said, “He says hello back.” She then placed her left index fingernail between her teeth.

“Are you kidding me? Of course Keysha and I would love to hang out this afternoon.” Maya glanced over at me. “You're free, right?” she asked me.

“Yeah, I'm not doing much this afternoon,” I answered.

“Well, we're not at home right now. We're at the bus stop in front of the community swimming pool,” Maya informed him.

“What's going on?” I asked, rudely interrupting her. Maya held up her hand for me to stop talking.

“Well, we can wait for you right here at the bus stop. How long will you be?” She paused and listened to him. “Ten minutes? Cool, we'll see you then,” Maya said as she hung up the phone.

“What's the plan for this afternoon?” I asked.

“He has the car and he's going to come by and scoop
us. We're going to catch an afternoon movie,” Maya informed me.

“Ooh, now that's what I'm talking about. What movie do you want to go see?” I asked.

“I don't know. There's a lot of good movies out right now. We can go for scary, comedy or action,” Maya said.

“Well, my vote is for comedy,” I said.

“I think that's what Misalo would want to see as well. I'm cool either way.” She dug inside her purse. “I hope I have enough money.”

“If not, I have enough for both of us,” I said.

A short while later, Misalo pulled up in his father's blue Ford Taurus. Maya and I got in, and off to the movie theater we went. We arrived fifteen minutes early, which left time for Misalo to get popcorn and a drink. Maya and I stood near a few video-game machines while Misalo ordered his snacks.

“OMG! Turn around quickly.” Maya didn't even give me a chance to ask why or what for. She placed her hands on my shoulders and spun me around so that I was now facing the direction of the restrooms. “What's going on?” I asked, completely clueless as to why she was acting so strangely.

“Hang on. Let me verify something,” she said as she quickly turned and looked toward the entrance.

“What a sleazebag,” Maya said.

“Who?” I asked impatiently.

“You'll never believe who just walked in together,” Maya said.

“Who? Wesley and Lori?” I asked, figuring that it could only be them.

“No. Lori and Antonio,” Maya whispered.

“Stop lying!” I said, and spun myself back around to see it with my own two eyes. Sure enough, Antonio and Lori were standing in line waiting to buy tickets.

“What a slut!” I said aloud. “Look at them. They're trying to act as if they're not together. I wonder where Wesley is.”

“I don't know, but he's certainly not with her,” Maya said.

“I'm going to say hello,” I said and began to step away.

“Keysha, just let it go.” Maya tried to stop me.

“I'm just saying hello. I'm not going to do anything. I just want her to know that I see them. That's all.”

“But why?” Maya asked.

“Because. I just want to see their reaction,” I said, and walked off. I heard Maya huff as she trailed behind me. I walked over to Antonio and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and sort of flinched when he saw me.

“Hello, Antonio,” I greeted him with a nice smile but a nasty undertone.

“Oh. Hey,” he answered drily.

“What are you doing here?” Lori asked with a feisty fire in her voice.

“Just saying hello to my ex-boyfriend. You seem to have a thing for my leftovers.” Lori looked at Antonio, then shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she folded her arms.

“Don't even go there. It's not like that,” Lori quickly said.

“Yeah, right. So, Antonio, how is your baby mama doing? Have you checked on her at all since we last spoke? I mean, she was very sick.”

“Keysha, why did you even come over here? Did you just want to start some drama?” Antonio asked.

“It's just a simple question. No need to get your briefs in a knot,” I said, cutting my eyes over to Lori.

“And where is Wesley, Lori? I thought you two were totally inseparable,” I asked, waiting to hear the lame lie she was about to tell.

She didn't answer me immediately. “Wesley is out with his father.”

“Oh, does he know you're here with Antonio?” I asked, playing gossip girl.

“I told you, don't even go there. It's not like that.” Lori cut her eyes at me.

“No need to get all sensitive. I never said it was like anything.” I smirked at her.

“Hey, guys,” Misalo came up behind us. “What's going on, Antonio? How are you doing, Lori?”

“What's up, man?” Antonio did a quick fist bump with Misalo's free hand.

“So, what movie are you guys coming to see?” asked Maya, who had decided to get to the heart of the matter.

“We're not coming to see a movie,” Lori quickly said. “I'm here applying for a job. I just happened to run into Antonio as he was walking in.”

“And why are you here, Antonio?” I asked.

Antonio frowned at me. “I don't owe you an explanation. I'm minding my own business and you need to get some of your own instead of trailing up behind me. I don't want you. You need to get over me and move on with your life,” Antonio said.

“Whoa, okay guys, we'll see you later,” Misalo said, wanting to avoid any type of conflict. “Come on, Keysha, let's go.”

I pointed my finger. “For your information, I'm not chasing after you. I just came over to say hello!” I snapped.

“Whatever, chickenhead. Get lost!” Antonio said as he glared up at the marquee displaying the show times.

“Oh, you calling me a chickenhead and you're standing here with the video vixen of Thornwood High?” I got loud and ignorant, which I really didn't want to do, but he was making me go there.

“Keysha, let's go,” Maya said, pulling me away. Lori flipped up her middle finger and then shifted her weight from one foot to other. I wanted to twist her damn finger off!

“Why are you allowing them to get under your skin like that, Keysha?” Maya asked, turning me around so I'd stop looking at them. “What's the big deal, anyway?”

I took a few seconds to calm down. “I don't know, girl. I guess I'm still sort of pissed off about prom and how Lori stole Wesley from me.” Maya glanced at me and raised her eyebrows.

“Don't say it. Because I already know that what I just did was lame.”

“You need to just chill out, girl,” Misalo said. “It's not that serious. It's not like he was your husband or something.”

“You're right. He's just a boy with a big ego and she's just an accident looking for someplace to happen,” I said. The three of us walked down the corridor toward theater ten, where our movie was being shown. As soon as I sat down in my seat I thought about Wesley and whether or not he knew where Lori was. A part of me wanted to call him to gossip about it, but another part of urged me to not go there.

Two
days after Maya and I submitted our job applications, we received phone calls requesting interviews. I let Barbara and Jordan know about it, and they were both very happy and supportive of me. Since I'd never been on an interview in my life, I had no idea what to expect. I was thankful Barbara took some time out to do a little one-on-one interview coaching with me. She gave me some practical tips like: Don't walk into my interview chewing gum, and wear a business suit.

“Why do I need to wear a business suit?” I asked. “I'm going for a job as a lifeguard.”

“Honey, even if you're applying for a job as a garbage-man you want to be viewed as professional. I cannot tell you how many people I've refused to hire because they came without a résumé, dressed inappropriately and had no idea how to sell their skills to an employer.”

“A résumé? I've never even had a job before,” I said nervously.

“Don't worry. I'm going to show you how to hook one up based on the skills you have. We'll also do a little role-playing so that you'll have an idea how to answer some commonly asked questions.”

“Dang! Maya said we were going to be handed this job. I didn't think I needed to prepare for it as if I were cramming for an exam,” I griped.

“Honey, nothing in the world is going to be handed to you for free. Trust me, I'm pretty sure that even Maya's mom is working with her to make sure she represents herself well.”

“Ugh!” I grumbled. The process didn't sound like it was going to be a cakewalk.

On the day of my interview I felt every nerve in my body buzzing. I hadn't gotten much sleep and my stomach was feeling sour. Barbara let me use one of her business suits that was too small for her but looked pretty decent on me. She made sure my braided hair looked flawless and did one last run-through of how I should conduct myself. Before I left the house I glanced at myself in the mirror and had to admit that I looked much older wearing the all-black skirt suit with a crisp white blouse and low-heeled black shoes. I took a few deep breaths and then walked out to the car, where Jordan was waiting. He wanted to drive me to the interview as well as give me even more encouragement.

“I'm so proud of you, Keysha for taking such a giant step. I know you'll do well,” he said as he smiled at me. For some inexplicable reason I got emotional and gave
him a giant hug. I held on to him for a long time with my face buried in his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind, because he held on to me, too.

“Come on. You don't want to be late for your first job interview. Remember, first impressions go a very long way,” he said as he fired up the car and drove off.

 

All the coaching Barbara and Jordan had given me paid off big-time. The woman who interviewed me said that out of all of the candidates she'd interviewed she was most impressed with me. She told me I'd be hearing from her in a few days. I left the interview feeling incredibly relieved.

Two days later I received a phone call from the park district offering me a part-time position. I gladly accepted the offer and the salary.

Maya and I began on the same day. We arrived at the pool first thing on Monday morning and went through orientation. We walked around the facility and learned where all the equipment was located and how to maintain the swimming pool. We learned the rules of the pool, what was expected of us as lifeguards and what a typical day at the swimming pool was like.

On Saturday morning I woke up early, freshened up, put on my one-piece bathing suit, khaki shorts and a Tyler Perry T-shirt with a photograph of Madea on the front and a caption that read: I'll Go To Church When They Get A Smoking Section. I went downstairs to get something to eat and ran into Mike, who'd just placed two waffles in the toaster.

“Hey,” I said as I opened the refrigerator and removed the gallon jug of orange juice.

“Dang, girl, you need to stay the hell out of the sun. You're getting darker than my hair,” Mike said sarcastically.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” I fired back, trying to ignore his insult.

“I'm serious, you've turned like three shades darker,” he said as he rested against the countertop.

“Well, you know what they say—the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice.” I smirked at him.

“Ewie, too much information,” he complained as his waffles popped up. I removed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with ice.

“All jokes aside, Sabrina and I are coming to the pool today along with some other friends. You're not going to kick us out if we start getting a little rowdy, are you?” Mike asked.

“Why don't you and your friends just swim here? Why do you have to come to the pool and start acting ignorant?” I asked.

“Because that's what we do.” Mike wasn't taking me seriously.

“Well, I'm telling you now. If you and your friends start acting crazy, I'm kicking you out,” I warned.

“Come on, Keysha, would you really kick your own brother out of the pool?” Mike thought I was playing around.

“As my girl Madea would say—” I pointed to my T-shirt “—put the shut, to the up. Okay? Shut to the up. All you
need to do when you come to the pool is shut up and swim. If you think I'm playing with you, try me.” I smirked at him as I gulped my orange juice.

“Some sister you are.” Mike took his food and began walking back to the family room.

“What's going on with you and Sabrina, anyway?” I asked just to be nosy.

Mike shoveled food into his mouth and chewed it up quickly. “Nothing, same old stuff, just a new day,” Mike said.

“Oh, did you know we have some new neighbors that moved into the house down the street?” I asked.

“Yeah, I saw that,” Mike said with a mouthful of food. “Have you met them?”

“Sort of. I said hello to one of them when they first moved in.”

“I haven't heard much about them, but I'm sure they'll be around this summer,” Mike said.

“Have you seen the car they're driving?”

“Yeah, the Scion? That's a cold ride they're pushing. Speaking of rides, Dad is finally getting his Trans Am back.”

“Really, are the police done with it now?” I asked.

“Yeah, thank goodness. I'll never do something as stupid as take his car without permission again. It's probably going to cost a small fortune to get it restored back to mint condition.”

“You know, I was considering saving up money for my own car. I'll be taking driver's education next year and it would be so cool to have my own set of wheels.”

“What kind of car are you thinking about getting?” he asked.

“I don't know. Something cute.”

“Please don't tell me you're still set on a Volkswagon Beetle.” Mike frowned at the idea.

“Why do you care? It'll be
my car
that
I paid for
with my own money.”

“Keysha, that's just not a cool car. You need an Eclipse or a Mustang,” Mike suggested.

“Well, if you can find one of those cars that's reasonably priced, let me know and I'll take a look at it,” I said.

“Okay, cool, because you know as your little brother it would be cool if you'd let me borrow your car from time to time.” Mike came over and draped his arm around me. I looked at his hand resting on my shoulder and flicked it off.

“Are you kidding me? I've seen the way you drive. You have a lead foot and would probably kill yourself and anyone close to you,” I said.

“I don't have a lead foot,” Mike disputed.

“Ah, yes you do,” I said, standing my ground.

“Come on, Keysha, don't be like that. You'll let me borrow your car sometimes, won't you?” Mike began to whine.

“Boy, I haven't even gotten a car yet. I just said I
might
save up enough money to get one.”

“How about this—if I find a car that you like I'll go in half on it with you,” Mike said, trying to strike up a deal.

“Let me think about that,” I said as I walked into the bathroom. I opened the medicine cabinet and searched for
some of Barbara's scented lotion, because I was fresh out. I made a mental note to replace hers once I received my first paycheck.

“Is Mom or Dad driving you to work this morning?” Mike asked.

“I don't think so. I've been catching the bus to work all week,” I said, exiting the bathroom. “What time will you be at the pool today?”

“I don't know, probably around one,” Mike answered as he ate the last morsel of food on his plate.

“Okay, I'll see you then,” I said and walked toward the front door. I knocked on Jordan and Barbara's bedroom door and waited for permission to enter.

“Hey, guys,” I said as I entered the room. Jordan was in his walk-in closet looking for a necktie. Barbara was lounging around on the bed watching HGTV. “I'm about to head out to work.”

“I have to go into the office today. I could drop you off if you'd like,” he said as he exited the closet.

“No, I'm good. I sort of like taking the bus to work. It gives me a little time to clear my head. Thanks anyway,” I said.

“Are you sure? I don't know many people who'd turn down a ride in a car for a bumpy bus ride,” Jordan said.

“Are you sure I won't be taking you out of your way?” I asked.

“Of course not,” he said as he located the necktie he'd been searching for.

 

Thirty minutes later I was at the swimming pool checking the chlorine balance. After I checked that, I grabbed the long net and skimmed a few leaves off the surface of the water. Then I hosed down the deck and lawn chairs and made sure there wasn't any broken glass on the pool deck. Since it was early in the morning I was the only person there, but I knew it wouldn't be this peaceful for long.

I was scheduled to work from ten to four, and Maya was scheduled to work from one to seven, when the pool closed. We knew we'd just end up hanging out at the pool with each other once our shifts ended, so it was no big deal.

I sat in one of the lawn chairs and pulled out a book that I'd removed from the bookshelf at home. It was a Kimani Tru book called
16 Isn't Always Sweet
by Cassandra Carter. Just as I was starting to really get into the book, a woman with several small children exited the clubhouse and came onto the pool deck.

“Good morning,” she said as she herded her little munchkins along. They were so cute. She had two little girls who looked to be ages five and seven and a little boy who was about three. They all had on orange water wings and were super-excited about getting into the water. Their mother took them over to the small kiddie pool and got in with them. I watched as they splashed around in the water giggling and laughing. It was such a pleasure to see children with skin as brown as my own enjoying the water. Experiencing the fun of water sports had been unimaginable to me
when I lived with my mother, Justine. Living with her was like being in a living, breathing nightmare. I haven't seen or heard from her since she'd robbed a currency exchange a while back. Her partner in crime, named Simon, was caught, but my mom had somehow managed to get away with my baby brother, who is still an infant. At that moment, I wanted him to be with me. I wanted to teach him how to swim and watch him enjoy the pool just like the other children. I didn't want him to experience the hell my mother was going to put him through. I suddenly felt a pain in my heart, a painful sadness that hadn't surfaced in a long time. It was the emotional bruises and deep sorrow from the life I had lived with my fugitive mother and my grandmother Rubylee, who was still in jail. Even though I'd lived a hellish life with them, there was still a place in my heart that longed to see them. If I ever got the chance to see them again, I think I would hug them and tell them I'm okay and I'm going to make it.

By the noon hour, it was a scorching ninety degrees outside and the pool was jam-packed with people. I had to blow my whistle several times to stop a few rowdy junior high school students from trying to drown each other, as well as put up with overzealous seventh grade boys who were trying to win me over with loser compliments. Then, shockingly, one boy who was about thirteen years old took it upon himself to make sure I knew him personally.

“So, you're the new lifeguard?” He sat down on an empty lawn chair next to me.

“Yes,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the patrons in the pool.

“What's your name?” he asked.

“Keysha,” I replied.

“I'm Alex. You got a boyfriend?” he boldly asked. I turned to meet his gaze for a moment because I couldn't believe he'd asked such a personal question. Alex had light brown skin, bad acne and a high-pitched voiced that teetered on the verge of being extremely annoying.

“Don't you think that question is a little inappropriate?” I asked, wanting him to seriously think about his inquiry into my personal life.

“I'm just trying to find out who my competition is,” he bravely admitted, gazing at me with innocent eyes.

“Alex, I'm way too old for you, so don't even waste your time trying. Besides, you just met me like ten seconds ago,” I said, giving him rock-solid advice.

“Haven't you heard of love at first sight?” he asked, and I had to laugh.

“Love stinks, kid. Trust me on that one,” I said.

“Well, I'm going to sit right here next to you so you can get to know me. I'm sure that once you do, you'll really like me.” Alex smiled at me, flashing a mouth filled with wire braces. Oh Lord, I thought.

 

Maya arrived at work right on time. She came in, got settled and provided me with a much-needed break.

“Go get yourself something to eat,” she said.

“I'm just going to chill out in the clubhouse for a moment. Mike and Sabrina are on their way, and he picked me up a sandwich from Subway.”