Benzie tonight when me and ya momma go out. Oh, and before I forget, you will be going to school come Monday. I’m tired of that damn attendance officer leaving me voicemails. They left one saying a home visit was next if your attendance didn’t improve. And you already know I ain’t having no type of muthafuckas poking around my house.”
I rolled my eyes, sick of school altogether. I couldn’t wait to walk the stage. “Okay, Daddy. I’ll be back by nine and then up bright and early on Monday morning for torture. I’ll even get the homework they gave in school from Imani when I go over there and get it done over the weekend. I’ll play their little game since there’s only a month left.”
“Yeah, make sure that you do, Porsha. And even if the truancy office wasn’t on your head, I never intended for you not to care about your education. Me and ya momma both got high school diplomas, and you’re not about to fuck up the family tradition by not graduating. Getting a GED is a great achievement, and I’m not discrediting that, but do what you have to do to graduate. Are we speaking the same language?”
“Verbatim,” I answered, knowing when I needed to be serious. I wasn’t complying to shut him up. I actually wanted a diploma, even though all the pomp and circumstance that went along with graduation didn’t matter to me at all. I was more concerned with my birthday than prom, a senior trip, or even taking senior pictures. The only reason I’d signed up for the lock-in was so that I could sneak off with Street.
“Have you thought about what you want to do after high school? Or do you think you’re about to live off of me and pimp me for an apartment, car, and paying all your bills every month?” He leaned back in his movie recliner seat.
“I was actually thinking about asking Nikola if her trade school offered cosmetology, or looking into some schools myself. Since I’m good at doing hair, I might open a shop one day.”
“That’s what I’m talking about, baby girl. Do that shit, and I’ll front you the money you need to open it.”
“For real, Daddy?”
“Yeah, most definitely.”
“Yeah, and I’ll pitch in with your father to make sure all you have to focus on is getting you a gang of nappy-headed clients,” Fame chimed in, finally off his phone from arguing with his baby momma. He and Scooter went at it worse than Trinity and Calvin did on their worst day.
“With all this motivation, I’m going to start researching cosmetology schools this weekend.”
“Make sure that you do and you’re not just telling your old man what he wants to hear,” said my dad. “You’re good at the family business, but this ain’t gonna be your retirement plan like it’s been mine. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Okay, we’re done here. Make sure you put my business first before you go over to Imani’s.”
Right when I leaped up from my seat ready to break from the basement, my hopes of leaving sank at the sight of Trinity stumbling in with her glass of liquor. I froze dead in my tracks, thinking she must have had the house bugged with cameras and listening devices to always show up right on time. No one’s timing could be that damn perfect.
“Where do you think you’re about to sneak off to?” she questioned with her hands on her hips.
“Dad said I could go to Imani’s and drop these packages off.” I threw him under the bus, trying to divert her attention from me to him.
She looked at him, then back at me. “Naw, I don’t think so. You can dead that plan. We’re about to go on a mother-daughter date to the mall and out to eat. Then I need you to do my hair so I can be cute for the cabaret me and your dad are going to tonight.”
I tried my best to hide my disdain while being respectful. I didn’t want no part of a mother-daughter date after how she’d slapped me up earlier. “Dang, Ma, can I go over to Imani’s for at least an hour? I’m not just trying to hang with my girl, but find out what I missed in school as well,” I begged and lied all at the same time, pulling at strings. I wanted to see the boy I’d been crushing on hard.
“Get the hell out of here, Porsha. I must look like boo-boo the fool to you,” she responded in reference to me mentioning school. “Please don’t make me think we’re revisiting the same problem I told you not to muthafuckin’ revisit. I’ll be mad as hell if I’ve gotta waste my good liquor by tossing it in ya face.”
Tensing back up, I recognized her stance as the same one in my bedroom and quickly backed down. Seeing Imani or my crush wasn’t worth the beatdown. “No, no, no, no! We’re good. I’ll go get dressed.” I dropped the shenanigans.
“That’ll work. I’ll be ready when you are.”
“I swear I can’t wait until my birthday,” I mumbled with my head down, walking out the door.
“What did you say?” she called out, able to hear a ghost blow through the room.
“Nothing. I was just singing a song.” I played it off, knowing she knew better but was letting me slide. Once I was on the other side of the door, I slammed it.
“Calvin, ya better get ya daughter. The li’l heifer thinks I’m playing.” I heard her jump on my dad’s back about me.
“Chill, Trinity. You be going too hard on that girl, for real.”
TRINITY
“What-the-fuck-ever, Cal. I am not doing anything but making our teenage daughter show me some respect. I know how I was with my mother once I found out she wasn’t gonna put her hands on me for real, and I refuse to go through that same shit with Porsha. You can buddy-buddy with her if you want and get burned.” I justified my behavior because I believed it was a surefire way to outsmart karma.
He threw his hands up and surrendered to me and the argument. “I ain’t even about to go back and forth with you if you’re bringing up your mother, because when you bring up Ma Dukes, I already know you are somewhere else in your head.” Calvin knew all too well about my past and how crazy it made me. “But I will advise you to remember that Porsha is your daughter and cut from a much rougher cloth than you were cut from.”
“Don’t you think I know that, nigga? Don’t tell me how to be a mother.” I poked my finger into his forehead and pushed it back.
Before I knew it, Calvin’s hands were around my throat.
CALVIN
“What the fuck is really wrong with your crazy ass, Trinity?” I applied pressure to my already-tight grip around her neck. “I didn’t want to beef with you. I tried falling back and giving you room to get the hell out of my space, and you’re trying to put some shit together for us to disagree about. All you had to do was take your aggressive ass upstairs. Why do you always got some slick shit to say to me like I won’t split yo’ shit?”
“Bro, come on, man. You know I’m not trying to get in the middle of your personal shit, but I also can’t let you muscle up Trinity in front of me.” Fame put his hand on my shoulder, and I nudged it off of me.
“Then leave. This shit ain’t got nothing to do with you. Period.” I wasn’t letting up on Trinity, because I was tired of her recklessness when it came to me.
