something else.
“I feel so much better now,” I say, balling up all the clothes and putting them in the hamper.
“Why didn’t you want to talk to Renée? She wanted to explain to you what happened.”
I shrug. “It don’t matter.” I try, but I can’t keep my voice from cracking a little bit. “It’s just a school play.”
I walk past her, outta the bathroom and into my room, and she follows behind me.
“She said there was a lot of traffic,” Nana says. “You know how those highways get, especially on a Sunday when everyone’s coming home from their weekend trips.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I know.”
I search through my drawer for some pajamas to put on.
“How was the last show?” she asks, still staring at me funny. “Anything happen?”
She’s not asking about the show. We both know that.
“No, nothing unusual. We got a standing ovation.”
“What took you so long to get home?”
“The bus,” I say. She’s still giving me that look, like she’s trying to read me. “Um, can I get dressed for bed now? And I have a lot of homework I didn’t do all weekend.”
She stands there for a few seconds and I have to look away, it’s so uncomfortable. Finally, she says, “Okay. But make sure you come get some dinner.”
“I’m not hungry. Um, I got a slice at the pizza shop near the bus stop. I’m full.”
More staring. Then, “Well, okay. Get your homework done. Renée’s going to be home tonight. I hope she don’t get in too late, because she needs to get herself a full night’s sleep.” She’s talking to herself again. “That girl’s in the real world now,not college. She’s a working woman. And when you’re working, you can’t function on no sleep. You know what I mean?”
“Yes, Nana,” I say.
“Well, okay, then,” she says and walks outta the room real slow. I close the door behind her, not really sure how I got outta that. I mean, if Nana suspects something about what I did, at least she’s keeping it to herself. For now. And that’s a good thing.
SEVENTEEN
I thought I would hear music when I woke up the next morning. And singing. But instead there’s nothing. Only the pounding in my own head.
I have the worst headache I ever had. I mean, I could feel the pain in and outta my sleep. It’s the kinda pain that you can feel behind your eyes where your whole skull feels like it’s gonna break apart or something. I can hardly even pick my head up from the pillow.
So I lay there, trying to relax so the pain will go away, but I can’t stop my brain from thinking and thinking about everything. I’m thinking about Renée and how she didn’t bother coming to the showcase last night, even when she knew how important it was to me. And, of course, I’m thinking about Nashawn, too. About what almost happened between me and him.
And what did happen.
It’s too much, what’s going on in my head. But if I lay here all day, I’m only gonna drive myself even more crazy, that’s forsure. And I have to do something to get rid of this headache. So I get up and go out to the kitchen, where Nana is sitting having breakfast. The green tea is back.
I sit down at the table and rub my forehead, feeling kinda dizzy.
“You okay?” Nana asks me.
“Headache,” I say. “It’s bad.”
She gets up from her chair. “Let me get you something for that.”
She leaves the kitchen, and I sit there hoping she don’t take too long because I don’t know how long I can take this hammering that’s going on behind my eyes. She comes back fast with a packet of Goody’s Headache Powder. She’s kinda oldfashioned when it comes to medicine, and even though I hate the way the powders taste, they do work faster than regular aspirin. I pour the powder on my tongue, and Nana hands me a glass of water from the tap to wash it down with. “Let me make you some tea,” she says. “It’ll help.”
I sit still, waiting for the powder to work, trying not to think too much. But I have to ask,
“I feel so much better now,” I say, balling up all the clothes and putting them in the hamper.
“Why didn’t you want to talk to Renée? She wanted to explain to you what happened.”
I shrug. “It don’t matter.” I try, but I can’t keep my voice from cracking a little bit. “It’s just a school play.”
I walk past her, outta the bathroom and into my room, and she follows behind me.
“She said there was a lot of traffic,” Nana says. “You know how those highways get, especially on a Sunday when everyone’s coming home from their weekend trips.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I know.”
I search through my drawer for some pajamas to put on.
“How was the last show?” she asks, still staring at me funny. “Anything happen?”
She’s not asking about the show. We both know that.
“No, nothing unusual. We got a standing ovation.”
“What took you so long to get home?”
“The bus,” I say. She’s still giving me that look, like she’s trying to read me. “Um, can I get dressed for bed now? And I have a lot of homework I didn’t do all weekend.”
She stands there for a few seconds and I have to look away, it’s so uncomfortable. Finally, she says, “Okay. But make sure you come get some dinner.”
“I’m not hungry. Um, I got a slice at the pizza shop near the bus stop. I’m full.”
More staring. Then, “Well, okay. Get your homework done. Renée’s going to be home tonight. I hope she don’t get in too late, because she needs to get herself a full night’s sleep.” She’s talking to herself again. “That girl’s in the real world now,not college. She’s a working woman. And when you’re working, you can’t function on no sleep. You know what I mean?”
“Yes, Nana,” I say.
“Well, okay, then,” she says and walks outta the room real slow. I close the door behind her, not really sure how I got outta that. I mean, if Nana suspects something about what I did, at least she’s keeping it to herself. For now. And that’s a good thing.
SEVENTEEN
I thought I would hear music when I woke up the next morning. And singing. But instead there’s nothing. Only the pounding in my own head.
I have the worst headache I ever had. I mean, I could feel the pain in and outta my sleep. It’s the kinda pain that you can feel behind your eyes where your whole skull feels like it’s gonna break apart or something. I can hardly even pick my head up from the pillow.
So I lay there, trying to relax so the pain will go away, but I can’t stop my brain from thinking and thinking about everything. I’m thinking about Renée and how she didn’t bother coming to the showcase last night, even when she knew how important it was to me. And, of course, I’m thinking about Nashawn, too. About what almost happened between me and him.
And what did happen.
It’s too much, what’s going on in my head. But if I lay here all day, I’m only gonna drive myself even more crazy, that’s forsure. And I have to do something to get rid of this headache. So I get up and go out to the kitchen, where Nana is sitting having breakfast. The green tea is back.
I sit down at the table and rub my forehead, feeling kinda dizzy.
“You okay?” Nana asks me.
“Headache,” I say. “It’s bad.”
She gets up from her chair. “Let me get you something for that.”
She leaves the kitchen, and I sit there hoping she don’t take too long because I don’t know how long I can take this hammering that’s going on behind my eyes. She comes back fast with a packet of Goody’s Headache Powder. She’s kinda oldfashioned when it comes to medicine, and even though I hate the way the powders taste, they do work faster than regular aspirin. I pour the powder on my tongue, and Nana hands me a glass of water from the tap to wash it down with. “Let me make you some tea,” she says. “It’ll help.”
I sit still, waiting for the powder to work, trying not to think too much. But I have to ask,
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