Chasing Pavements
Krys723
A/N: THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE REVIEWS AND ENCOURAGING ME TO FINISH THIS STORY! NOW UPDATES MIGHT NOT BE LIKE EVERYDAY, BUT I'LL TRY MY BEST TO UPDATES SOONER RATHER THAN LATER! HAVE FUN READING!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BOONDOCKS-RELATED! ALL BELONGS TO THE AMAZING AARON McGRUDER!
Setting: 1951 Timid Deer Lane, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland
Date: November 19TH, 2010
Time: 06:35 P.M.
Chapter Two
Returning to Woodcrest Part. II
Huey Freeman…
"HUEY!" I looked up from my English homework as Riley burst into my room that he and I once shared. Riley now lived in one of the extra guestrooms after my protests when I was twelve, but he still thinks he can come into my room without knocking. I rubbed my temples with my right hand, thinking about how close I was to finally finishing my report on Fredrick Douglass. I turned around to face Riley, who was the mirror image of me. We both had dark brown hair, even though mines was always in an lion-like Afro and Riley's was always in cornrows; and round, wine-colored eyes. Our skin was the color of light mocha and we were both tall, I was 6'2" and Riley was just hitting 6'0". We were both in high school, though I was a senior and Riley was barely a sophomore. If it wasn't for his love of Art, he would've dropped out of high school last year when he was a freshmen.
"What?" I asked evenly. Everybody knew that nobody disturbed me while I was doing homework, going to college was my ticket was to getting out of this town that was filled with a majority of white people. It got more tolerable as I got older, but I still hated the fact of being stuck in suburbia. We still lived with Granddad, though it wasn't a lie that he had gotten older. Granted, he didn't have any threatening diseases, so that was a good thing.
"Jazmine DuBois came back!" Riley shouted. That name did ring a bell, but it was a very small bell. I remembered an annoying girl who used to hang around me throughout elementary and middle school, but other than that I didn't remember anything about her.
"Who?" I asked.
"Mr. DuBois real daughter! The girl with the puffballs. I saw her getting out of Mr. DuBois's car and she had two suitcases and a duffel bag. She is hot as fuck, I bet she a ho like her Mama," Riley said. "Imma tap that ass!" There were so many things wrong with that sentence, besides grammar.
"Riley! Not every woman is a ho!" I summarized, turning back around towards my essay that I needed finished by Monday for AP 012English.
"What about Cristal? She was A Pimp Named Slickback's hoe," Riley countered. I decided to ignore this and get back to work, but Riley wouldn't leave me be. "Just look out your window nigga, she still might be out there." At this point, I was willing to do anything for Riley to leave me alone. I got up and walked over towards the window, but when I looked out I saw that Mr. DuBois was just closing his bedroom door. This was good news for me, I personally didn't care how this girl looked. I couldn't even remember her.
"You missed out nigga," Riley said from behind me. "Imma go before you decide to kill me." Riley ran out the room before I turned around. Glad for the peace at last, I went back to my computer to finish my report.
—Break—
Setting: 1948 Timid Deer Lane, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland
Time: 06:30 P.M.
Jazmine DuBois…
Dad helped me carry my suitcases inside the house, but I grabbed my duffel bag and purse. I don't know if it was him or not, but I thought I saw Riley Freeman staring at me while I was getting my duffel bag from the backseat. I decided not to let it bother me as I followed Dad into the place that used to belong to Mom, him and I. Another family of three was sitting in the living room, a woman and two five-year-old twins. The woman was beautiful, she was African-American with long, black hair that wasn't puffy like mines, but was in a ponytail and eyes that were actually violet. Her skin was a rich brown and she had a beautiful body. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans with a white shirt and black socks. It looked as though she just came back from playing in the playground, she had specs of dirt on her jeans. Another thing I noticed was her stomach, it looked as though she was at least five months pregnant and showing. That was one thing Dad didn't tell me, not when we were in the car nor on the phone.
The girl, whom I assumed was Abigail (AKA Abby), looked just like her mother. Her hair wasn't as long, but she did share her skin complexion and facial features. She was wearing a dark blue dress and her hairstyle was braids with cute pink and black beads. The boy was Alexander (AKA Alex) and he looked more like Dad. He had Dad's hair and eyes, but like his twin sister, he shared his Mom's facial features. He was an inch taller than his sister and he wore a pair of blue jeans with a dark green shirt. The family was looking at a Disney show on TV.
"Daddy's back!" the little girl said. I remembered the days I called him Daddy, but maturity has set in and only things I can call him was either 'Dad' or 'Father'. The twins went over and hugged him while the woman brushed herself off and walked over towards me. I felt intimidated by her beauty.
"Hello, you must be Jazmine, I'm glad I finally get to meet you. I'm Rachael, your stepmother," she said with a smile. She had pretty, white teeth. I shook hands with her. The girl walked over to me and held out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Abby," she said in a sweet voice. She had her mother's smile…I didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I needed to keep an eye out on this mother-daughter team.
"It's nice to meet you Abby," I said shaking the little girl's hands. I shook Alex's hands and Rachael offered to show me to my bedroom. I simply thought I was going back into my old bedroom, but I was highly mistaken. Rachael and I walked downstairs, towards the basement. Isn't the basement where the laundry would go?
"You see, Jazmine when Tom and I married, we didn't expect to have kids. But then the twins came and when they were three, we decided to let them have their own rooms so they wouldn't fight so Abby now sleeps in your room. And then when I discovered that I was pregnant, we haven't decided what was going to happen after the new baby was born, and then you called your father, so we had to make room for you." I didn't the way she empathize me. "But we managed to turn your room into the basement."
We walked down the basement stairs and Rachael turned on the light. There was the entranceway and three doors. Rachael continued walking and talking. "You see, Tom had contractors come the day after you called and I think they did a pretty good job giving you a bedroom and bathroom." She opened the door in the middle and I saw my future room. It had pale pink walls, with hardwood floors and a queen-sized bed that had pale pink sheets and a white blanket. The desk, dresser drawer, closet, and the bed frame was made from a red oak wood and came from Ikea. There was even a black Acer laptop on top of the desk with a mouse and printer. I actually like it.
"The bathroom includes a shower so you won't have to worry about heading upstairs in the mornings, and when the family have Family Night in the den, you can either stay in your room or join us. The only thing is that the washing machine and dryer might keep you up late at night," Rachael explained.
"Thank you," I said still stunned by the state of the room.
"Oh, Jazmine. Tom would do anything for his first daughter, remember that," Rachael said. She clapped her hands together. "Well, I need to check on the pot roast and potatoes for dinner. It'll be ready soon so listen out." She walked back upstairs and I surveyed my room. There were even pictures from my childhood before my parents got divorced. I couldn't help but notice the one with me and two boys; the Freeman brothers.
Huey was eleven, Riley was nine, and it was my eleventh birthday party. Riley had a water gun in his hand and Huey looked as though he didn't wanna be in the picture at all. Part of me wanted to go over there and say hi, but knowing Huey, he wouldn't even remember me the way Riley did. I started unpacking my items, reminding myself to go clothes shopping soon since I didn't have that much clothes, and I also needed new notebooks, pens, and binders for school because I doubt that Wuncler High School would let me take this new laptop to class.
By the time I finished unpacking, I made a list of items I needed to get from Wuncler Mall tomorrow and Rachael was calling my name for dinner. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a job while at Wuncler Mall tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, a bus will be able to get me there without no fuss.
Setting: 1951 Timid Deer Lane, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland
Date: November 20TH, 2010
Time: 2:14 P.M.
Huey Freeman…
"Huey, hello!" You'd think that after living in the same neighborhood for seven years, people would know when to leave you alone. Well that wasn't the case because Mr. DuBois was the second person to disturb me today, the first one was Riley when he woke me up asking me to take him to the mall. He was already in the passenger seat, waiting for me to get in. I should've ran to the car, but Mr. DuBois was one of the few people I liked—and not because he was black. Today, he was wearing a pair of jeans with a crisp, black dress shirt and sneakers. A girl was walking behind him, it was clearly well-known that she was mad about something.
"Hi, Mr. DuBois," I said leaning against the car door, my eyebrow raised towards the girl. She wore a black pleather jacket over a white long-sleeved shirt and black jeans that had a cool worn look them with black kitten heels. She had long, strawberry-blonde hair that was in a puffed out ponytail and round, emerald green eyes. Her skin was the color of caramel and she had nice figure, not the kind when the girl would have too much breasts and ass, but she did have a reasonable amount of both. "How can I help you?"
"You remember my daughter, Jazmine, right?" As if on cue, Riley got out the passenger side and practically ran over to the girl named Jazmine.
"Jazmine DuBois, its nice to see you again. Damn, you better looking than Mariah Carey," he said. I shook my head, expecting the girl to laugh, but she didn't. She glared down at him, waiting for him to say something else.
"What do you want, Riley?" she asked in an icy tone.
"Damn, bitch. It don't have to be like that," Riley said instantly regretting his words. Jazmine immediately kicked him in the stomach, making him fly back a few inches before turning back around towards her father, wanting him to say anything. Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything and neither could I—only because Riley deserved it. If it was any other time, then I would've hit her regardless of the fact that you're not suppose to hit girls.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. DuBois?" I asked as Riley begun to stand.
"I was wondering if you were on your way—"
"Dad! I told you I could've taken a bus, the mall isn't that far from here," Jazmine spoke up.
"It takes two buses to get from here to Wuncler Mall, on Saturday only the first bus runs, so you would have to walk at least twenty-five miles to get to the mall. Minute wise, you'd be walking for an extra thirty minutes and if you go in those heels—" Jazmine looked down at her feet. "Then you'd have blisters, so Mr. DuBois if your asking me if I can take your daughter to the mall, then I really don't care as long as she pays gas because I'm low and Riley doesn't have a job," I concluded. Jazmine reached into her pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill. I raised an eyebrow at her and she raised hers back.
"Is there a problem with the amount I gave you or do you need more?" she asked in a dark tone. I only placed the bill in my pocket, no more questions were asked. She got in the passenger seat and Riley, not wanting to start another fight, got in the back with no fuss.
"Be careful!" Mr. DuBois called after us with a wave as I drove Dorothy out of the driveway and into the street. I could already tell this was definitely going to be a very long afternoon.
-Break-
On the way, I couldn't help but stare at her. This wasn't the same Jazmine I knew as a kid. She was different. I thought that she would've came back, bragging about how Virginia had changed her and how she begun putting on makeup and doing her hair, not silence. She did have lip gloss on, but it was clear and her hair was in a neat ponytail instead of those two puffballs that could rival my Afro any day. I expected her to laugh when Riley called her "fake-ass Mariah Carey" or even whine, but she kicked him in the stomach and almost caused him to throw up blood. I was expecting colors like pink and her attire would've been loaded with stupid Hello Kitty, not just black and white. She didn't even twirl her fingers in her hair like she used to do, instead the moment she got in the car, she begun taking out a notebook and started writing. She stopped whenever we came to traffic lights that was red so she wouldn't mess up.
Riley was groaning in the backseat, I think I might have to stop by a pharmacy or somewhere and give him some Advil or something.
"Your not Jazmine," I stated. We were halfway there and I could no longer keep my mouth shut.
She looked up and raised her eyebrow, like she was mimicking me. "What the hell are you talking about, Freeman? If my Dad hadn't said my name, then you would've though I was his niece or something. I thought you were smart, yet your acting stupid. Does my attractive make you act this way or is it the way I kicked your brother in the gut? If you expect me to apologize, then I'm not because he deserved it. He called me a bitch," she stated. "Wasn't it you who always told me to woman up? You thought that I would come back being the same little girl who was afraid of the world?"
"I didn't say that," I said as a made a sharp right.
"Yes you did, your first statement to me in the last thirty minutes was, 'your not Jazmine'. Of course I'm Jazmine, Freeman. Do I need to give you my whole background story for you to believe me?" she asked. "Do you expect me to cry on cue? What do I have to do to make you believe that I'm really Jazmine DuBois?"
"Your not the same person you were five years ago, that's all I said!" I snapped.
"Because I've changed in the past five years, Freeman! What makes that so hard for you to believe?!" she shouted. We once again fell into silence as I finally drove into the mall's underground parking lot. It took me five minutes to find a decent space and as soon as I stopped the car, Jazmine got out the car and slammed the door behind her. Damn, she's stubborn!
Setting: Barnes and Noble-Wuncler Mall, Woodcrest; Silver Springs, Maryland
Time: 3:15 P.M.
I found Jazmine in Barnes and Nobel, she was filling out an application at one of the tables and I sat beside her, doing something I have never done a day before in my life. I definitely hoped I wasn't going to throw up after the words left my mouth.
"Sorry." That felt downright awful coming out of my mouth, hopefully I'll never say them again.
"OK, I forgive you for being a momentarily idiot. Now can you please leave, I need to fill this out so I can get an after school job," she said in a cold voice. I wasn't going away that easily.
"Did something happen to you while you were in Virginia?" I asked her. I wasn't being nosy, but something was definitely off with her. She looked at me before signing the bottom of her application. She got up and walked towards the help desk, where she turned the application in with a smile. She then turned back to see me still standing there, waiting for an answer.
"Huey, I know your not nosy, but I'll tell you this. Please don't try to be a mediator, it doesn't suit you," she said. And then, she turned around to leave. I just shook my head as I followed her out of the room.
CHAPTER TWO IS UP SO PLEASE BE NICE! REVIEW IN THE BOX BELOW…I DO NOT OWN THE BOONDOCKS!