Relapse
"So, tell me more about this Dubois girl."
"What?"
"You heard me. C'mon, it's not like it would kill you to let me know."
Huey and Buckner were on their way to get brunch before finishing the last item on the itinerary for Huey's campaign. His final stop in Woodcrest was his old high school, where he was scheduled to give the students an inspirational speech before finishing up his tour in his campaign.
"Why does it matter to you?"
"Well Huey, it matters to me because you were talking about her back in the hotel like she was some kind of long lost lover or something."
Buckner immediately saw the flicker in Huey's eyes as he stared at his shoes. For a few seconds, there was a heavy silence that fell upon them, despite the low rumble of the limo along the pavement. It was a subtle expression, yet it was enough evidence for Buckner to realize that Jazmine had a profound influence on Huey's troubled life. Despite Buckner's shenanigans, he was strangely a perceptive person. It was as if Buckner had the keen sense to observe people's body language and immediately formulate an accurate conclusion.
"Jazmine…" Huey started, but stopped in midsentence when he saw Buckner's eyes bearing down on him. Buckner made a circular hand gesture as if to provoke Huey to continue. "Jazmine was my first girlfriend."
Huey exhaled, as if the weight of the world was immediately taken off his shoulders. Buckner, who was still not appeased by this short explanation, continued to try to draw more information from Huey. He continued his interrogation, as if nothing could be more intriguing than Huey's love life, or lack thereof.
"And…" Buckner said, apparently becoming impatient at Huey's suspenseful pause.
"That's it. She was my girlfriend. That's all there is to it. What else do you want from me?" Huey shot back, his response cold and sharp at the beleaguering mayor.
"Well, judging by your body language, Huey, this Dubois woman was obviously more than 'just a girlfriend.'"
Huey sighed and pinched his bridge of his nose while shutting his eyes and shaking his head. Buckner looked on with curiosity, trying to get Huey to unlock his heavily guarded vault of memories. He continued to instigate Huey, but it was equivalent to drawing water from a boulder in a desert.
"Look Buckner, I already told you that she was my first girlfriend. Is that not enough information for you? What do you want me to say?"
"Huey, I want you to tell me more about Jazmine. Obviously telling me that she was your girlfriend isn't enough for me to understand why this girl had a profound effect on your life. I also want to know why you don't have a significant other up until now. Huey, you're thirty-nine years old! You should have been married a decade ago! Obviously something happened between you two that compelled you to never love again."
Huey whipped his head towards Buckner, his eyes wide with a dumbfounded expression. He was shocked that Buckner could easily come to a conclusion that was so…accurate. It was like Buckner knew Huey for most of his life despite just meeting him a few weeks ago. Surprisingly enough, Huey was a hard person to read for most people. Many therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists could not even hope to make an accurate analysis within their natural born lives by being able to analyze Huey's unreadable body expressions, yet Buckner immediately figured him out in less than a minute.
Huey shrugged back at Buckner, "You know why I don't have a significant other? Because I have been an occupied person for the vast majority of my life. I cannot let another person get in my life and interrupt me from contributing to society. You happy now?" Huey shot a bone-chilling glare at Buckner.
"Bull. Shit." Buckner retorted, which made Huey's eyebrows shoot all the way into his hairline. "Huey, what do you take me as? A clown?" When Huey opened his mouth to reply in the affirmative, Buckner held his right hand up, signaling Huey to shut it. "Evidently, this Jazmine Dubois girl made you eventually realize that you completed her and she completed you. She was the perfect woman for you. And," Huey made an insignificantly imperceptible cringe, which Buckner caught nonetheless, "Obviously you two separated, considering she's now in California and you're still here. I think that's why you have never devoted yourself to another woman."
Huey shook his head in utter disbelief. Buckner only returned a smirk at Huey, and tapped his pointer finger on his temple.
"You can't hide anything from Buckner. Remember that."
Huey sighed in exasperation. Busted. Buckner nodded his head as he saw Huey silently admit his defeat. Of course, Buckner was impeccable in his assumptions. His accuracy was stunning despite how his antics could easily make anyone mistakenly assume his idiocy.
"Fine. You've caught me. Big whoop. Now can we get food?" Huey opened the door of his limo when they parked in front of an elegant restaurant and was about to step out until Buckner grabbed the collar of Huey's suit and pulled Huey back into the limo with brute strength. Huey slammed back into his seat as Buckner shoved him into it. He received an arctic evil eye from Huey in response.
"Get back here. You need to tell me about Jazmine."
Huey stared at Buckner with an expression that was indecipherable to even Buckner himself. Finally, Huey softened his gaze at Buckner and told him about his first and only girlfriend.
March 25, 2006
It was a rather sedentary start to a mid-Spring Saturday morning in March. A sixteen-year-old Jazmine Dubois peacefully slumbered away in her bed, lying on her side as the first colors of dawn painted the dark early daybreak sky. In what could be construed as a definite anomaly, Jazmine's strawberry-blonde hair was not in its usual afro state – it elegantly cascaded onto the bed, strangely straighter than usual. As the first parcel of golden sun broke through the horizon at around six thirty in the morning, Jazmine's father, Tom, raced up the stairs and bombarded into her room, infringing upon the serenity that harbored the sedentary peace required to maintain the slumberous state Jazmine was in.
"Jazmine! Honey, wake up, you're going to be late for your SAT exam!"
Tom walked over to the foot of Jazmine's bed, raising hell in order to wake up his daughter. As he boisterously tried to use his meek voice to stimulate Jazmine, he proceeded to grab her right leg when all else failed and tickled Jazmine's right foot, which succeeded in activating the somnolent adolescent.
"Daddy?" Jazmine softly spoke, her breathtaking amber eyes slowly emerging from under her soft eyelids as she stared perplexed at her father. She was actually surprised to receive a wake-up call in possibly the first time in several years by at least one of her parents. As she witnessed Tom babble about being the father of the first Dubois to get accepted to Johns Hopkins University, Jazmine retroceded back into an unconscious, listless state. Tom had not realized this and by the time he finished his exceedingly long oration about the "rise of the Dubois," Jazmine was already wandering deeper into her dreams.
"Jazmine? JAZMINE!" Tom shouted, taken aback by his daughter's disregard for his speech.
"I'm up, Daddy. Calm your horses."
Jazmine slowly sat up as Tom walked out of her room, his mission fulfilled. After a few seconds of wearily staring out of the window, Jazmine rubbed her eyes as she struggled to fight the urge to flop back onto her bed and snooze away. Yet before she could make a decision, Tom returned to her room with a full serving of breakfast in his hands. Two slices of bacon, sunny-side up eggs, and pancakes and syrup was on the tray as Tom gracefully placed it onto his daughter's bed.
"Now, I've made you breakfast so you have the energy to think your way through the SAT. Make me proud, honey!"
"I will, daddy."
"Oh, and I'll be waiting for you downstairs. Since you don't have a car, I decided to take the liberty and drive you to your testing location myself. Now I want you to prepare quickly because I have another business trip in Philadelphia today. I'll give you thirty minutes to prepare, okay sweetie?"
Jazmine observed Tom as she chewed on a mouthful of pancakes. She swallowed before replying "Okay."
"Oh, and Jazmine?" Tom once again addressed his daughter, facing her as he was about to walk through the doorway.
"Yes?" Jazmine looked up from her tray, her bright amber eyes once again meeting with her father's.
"I think your friend Huey has a gift for you. But you're not going to receive it until after your test, okay?"
"Okay." Jazmine said, and with that her father finally disappeared into the hallway, bestowing a tranquil atmosphere that previously took residence only moments before she woke up. Jazmine looked through the window as a few chromatic butterflies fluttered past her grandiose window. The daybreak sun illuminated the Freeman residence across the street, and Jazmine contemplated what exactly Huey could be giving her at this random moment. Whatever it was, Huey chose an peculiar time to bestow upon her a gift.
It was definitely an anomalous morning: Jazmine's hair actually remained straight the whole night through, Huey was being a philanthropist (which he rarely, if ever, reprised in that role), and her father was actually home cooking breakfast for her and offering her a ride. It's been several weeks since she has actually seen her father in person, and Jazmine was still shaken by her mother's infidelity. Jazmine could not even withstand the emotional calamity that was associated with Sarah's heinous crimes, so she decided to keep it a secret from Tom, considering it had the potential to open a consequential rift in the Dubois household. Little did she know that it had existed for several years…
Finally, after an expedited dress-up process, Jazmine was ready to leave for her college entrance exam. The minute she walked out the front door and towards the car containing her father, her abnormally straight hair immediately exploded into her typical Afro. As she struggled to put her stupendously sized Afro into a ponytail, she cursed up a storm about the humidity. And within minutes, the afro-donning Jazmine Dubois was well on her way to make SAT history.
"In the integer 3,589 the digits are all different and increase from left to right. how many integers between 4000 and 5000 have digits that are all different and that increase from left to right?"
"What the fuck?"
Jazmine, despite being a prodigal scholar, was confounded on an archetypical SAT problem. Besides, how the hell is anyone going to figure out how many numbers have different digits that increase from left to right between four thousand and five thousand? Luckily, Jazmine finished every other problem in that section, yet she was close to being compelled to pull her hair out as a result of her frustration to this problem. She looked at the clock…she had five more minutes before the proctor would call time, so she needed to find a solution, and fast.
"And…time! Pencils down…I SAID PENCILS DOWN!" The proctor, a burly man with balding hair covered by a toupee castigated the students trying to fill in last-second answers into their booklets.
"Damn kids…always trying to disregard rules and directions." He muttered under his breath. Finally, after talking to nobody in particular except himself, he finally notified the students of their fifteen-minute break.
"You have a fifteen minute break. You may use the bathrooms, get some sun, and eat some snacks. Just…don't…bother me."
The proctor didn't even bother to read the script pertaining to the fifteen minutes allotted for the break. He had a blatant mistrust for children, often looked down on them condescendingly, and was just downright ill mannered whenever he had to handle them. In other words, he was the quintessential school district employee in a high school who ironically took on a job that guaranteed him to interact with the very same demographic he despised. Why people take on jobs they hate remained a mystery for Jazmine Dubois.
As Jazmine sat in the courtyard of the school by herself, the wind breezed through her hair, and her amber eyes stared up at two doves flying freely into the wind. As she relished the warming rays of the sun beating down on her, she closed her eyes and relaxed while clearing her mind. The SAT testing room was kept at an abnormally cold temperature…it had to be fifty degrees in there. Jazmine was shivering the whole time throughout the first eight sessions, so luckily there were two sessions left and she would be home free.
"Jazmine!"
She opened her eyes and turned her head in the direction of the voice calling her.
"Huey?"
Jazmine was surprised to see none other than Huey Freeman standing in front of her. Apparently by coincidence, Huey and Jazmine chose the same date and the same testing center to take the SAT.
"How do you think you did on your test?" Jazmine asked.
"Fine, I guess. But then again, this test is culturally biased. Evidence shows that the SAT makes questions that heavily favor wealthy Caucasians. That's a fact."
"Huey, you're the only person I know that could see social injustice in just about anything."
"But it's true! Have you ever heard of the oarsman-regatta analogy question? Look it up! The SAT tried to pull a fast one on Black people by asking that bullshit question years ago."
Jazmine giggled, admitting that Huey's paranoia towards just about anything was facetious to say the least. Huey whipped his head towards the giggling Jazmine. He shot her a cold stare, yet he saw Jazmine's eyes were closed and her Afro in a ponytail was shaking up and down as she continued to laugh. Jazmine had to admit, Huey's perspective on anything was droll.
"Sure. Keep laughing Jazmine. I'm sure you won't be laughing when your mulatto self gets a poor score on this test."
Jazmine ceased her laughing long enough to torpedo Huey with a serious question.
"Okay, Huey. Since you think the SAT deliberately asks questions that Black people don't know, then were there any questions that you couldn't understand?"
"Well, actually no. Not really. But –"
"Exactly! Huey, you need to stop being so paranoid sometimes." Jazmine cut in before Huey could give himself an explanation for his exceptions.
"But," Huey said once again, "There was this one question about the digits between four thousand and five thousand or something like that. How the hell do you find out something like that anyway? And what do you mean I'm being paranoid? You should stop being so naïve!"
"You didn't get that either? I just listed out all the numbers that fit into their description. Too bad I didn't finish…" Jazmine paused, pondering on Huey's latter part of his sentence, "And what do you mean by me being naïve?" Jazmine stuck her tongue out at Huey. Huey anticipated this and placed a little dirt on her tongue.
"EWWW!" Jazmine coughed, emanating noises as if she was choking on a little parcel of dirt in her mouth.
"Calm down, Jazmine. Statistically speaking, nobody has ever died by ingesting some dirt."
"Statistically speaking, Freeman, people have gotten sick by ingesting some dirt."
"Anyway," Huey continued, rolling his eyes in exasperation at Jazmine, "are there any other questions that you couldn't solve?"
"Well…" Jazmine stared at her feet, deep in contemplation, "Actually no. Every other question was easy for me." Jazmine enunciated with confidence.
"Ahem." The burly proctor stood behind the two African Americans, who both stared up at him at the same time. "If you two are discussing specific answers to specific questions on the test, I might invalidate your scores. Continue, and you will wish you never met each other. Because I can prevent you from taking a college entrance exam in this entire county."
Huey rolled his eyes at the proctor. He couldn't stand school district employees who acted as if they had a profound effect on their future. In fact, Huey couldn't even bear to be with any people who believed they had "supreme authority" over them.
"You didn't read the script saying that we can't discuss the test during our breaks. All you stated was specifically where the bathrooms are, where the courtyard is, and where we can get snacks. Last time I checked, you didn't say anything about discussing the test. Maybe next time your lazy ass should read the damn script." Huey torpedoed the proctor with his sharp and cunning words. The proctor stared at Huey with wide eyes, and Jazmine took in a deep breath as she apprehensively knew the proctor was going to lash out at Huey and invalidate both their test scores. She made a small whimper as she realized the prospect of returning home a failure.
"Huey, stop." Jazmine whispered into Huey's ear. Huey maintained his bone-chilling stare at the proctor, whom returned the stare with equivalent vigor.
"Okay smartass. I'll let you both off on a warning since I didn't correctly read the script. But the next time I see you discussing answers with each other or other students, I will invalidate your test scores. Take my word for it because I never break my promises."
Huey shook his head disapprovingly at the proctor as he walked back into the testing room, which was the cafeteria of the school. As the proctor opened the door, a blast of arctic air rushed through the entrance and hit Huey and Jazmine with full force.
"Brr…" Jazmine shivered, easily affected by the cold wind rushing through the door to the cafeteria. She neglected to bring a jacket to keep her warm as she decided to wear a tank top and skinny jeans. Not the best protection or anticipation for the worst possible testing conditions, but at least she was almost finished with the college entrance exam. "Why do they keep that room so cold? People could catch influenza in there!"
Huey shrugged in return and stared into Jazmine's green eyes. They glinted in the sunlight as their eyes locked.
"So…what exactly are you giving me after this test is over?" Jazmine asked, referring to Huey's philanthropy and his bestowment. Huey had to ponder on what she was talking about for a few seconds. His sharp memory uncovered what she was referring to and he replied.
"It's a secret." Huey said nonchalantly, and shrugged his shoulders again. Then Huey stood up and walked over to the cafeteria entrance as their fifteen-minute break had expired. Jazmine sighed, shaking her head as she couldn't help but smile at Huey. She got up and followed Huey back into the cafeteria.
"Riley! RILEY! Help me, my poor old Black ass is dying over here!" Granddad shouted as he discharged his phlegm-filled coughs. Finally, Riley appeared with a scowl on his face. "Gimmie the 'tussin, boy. C'mon, you want your old granddaddy to die?"
"Sometimes, I wish." Riley muttered darkly under his breath.
"What did you say, boy? You want an ass whuppin?"
"Granddad, yo fat ass couldn't even whup nobody's ass no mo." Riley interjected.
"Mah ass ain't fat. Look at dat," Granddad mooned Riley and shook his gluteus maximus as if to advertise his sex appeal…luckily he was still wearing his pants, "my ass is sexy!"
Riley burst out laughing, as he crumpled to the floor under the weight of what he perceived was his Granddad's comical joke.
"Granddad, you so fat, you look like a humpback whale!"
"Boy, Imma hump your back with my belt if you don't shut the fuck up!"
"Pause."
"Pause? PAUSE? Riley, what do you think we live in, a TiVo box?"
"Naw Granddad, when you say something gay you gotta say no homo."
"I didn't say nothing gay! I just said imma hump yo back with my belt!"
"PAUSE, GRANDDAD! You gotta say no homo! How do I know you not a homo if you don't say no homo?"
"I don't wanna say no homo! Imma homo yo ass if you don't stop saying pause!"
"…Pause."
"Boy, git over here!" Granddad whipped his belt in time to bludgeon Riley with his belt. Riley cackled as he sped out of sight and out of reach of the slowing Granddad and his deteriorating health.
"Boy! You didn't even give me the 'tussin! You betta git back here!"
"Get it yourself, Granddad!" Riley cackled from the safety of the second floor landing.
Riley noticed Granddad's car pulling up into the driveway from his view on the second floor. Through the window, he saw Huey in the driver's seat and Jazmine in the passenger's seat. Apparently, Huey offered her a ride back since her father had already vanished from Woodcrest for his business trip to Philadelphia. Immediately, Riley became enraged when the realization dawned on him that Granddad gave Huey his car Dorothy, while Huey still hadn't bestowed upon him his old car.
"Aye, Granddad! When am I gettin' a car?"
"What the hell you runnin yo mouth off about a car fo'?"
"Mane, you gave Huey yo car! Why ain't he given me his old one?"
"The hell if I know. I ain't the one you should be talkin' to!"
"Oh, you gon' get it now, Huey." Riley muttered under his breath.
Huey cut the engine off and removed the keys from his ignition as Jazmine emerged from the car. Riley saw Huey gesture to Jazmine, possibly inviting her inside his house, as she was about to make her way across the street. Riley ran down the stairs in anticipation of Huey's arrival through the front door and strategically positioned himself close to the door.
"OW! What the hell!"
As soon as Huey walked through the door with Jazmine in tow, he endured a forceful punch in the face from Riley. Jazmine emanated a soft squeal as Riley surprised her with his blunt reflexes.
"Riley!" Huey shouted savagely, "what the hell was that for!"
"Mayne, why the hell haven't you given me yo' car yet! You already got Granddad's car!"
"I already told you, I'm giving it to somebody else!"
"WHAT! You ain't helpin' a nigga out! That's what brothas are fo'!"
"Sorry, but I think my car would be better utilized by the person I'm giving it to rather than you would."
"Who da hell you think is gon' make betta use of it?
"I'm giving it to Jazmine, okay?"
"You's a punk ass nigga, you know?"
"Oh, Huey! Thankyouthankyou!"
"Jus' rubbin' errything in niggas faces, huh Jazmine?" Riley asked with animosity tarnished in his voice. He made no effort to hide the sinister stare he shot with vengeance at Jazmine. Jazmine stuck her tongue out in return.
"Leave her alone. She's done nothing to you." Huey stepped in front of Jazmine, blocking Riley's harsh stares from her.
"You niggas gon' be sorry someday." Riley darkly muttered under his breath.
Huey led Jazmine through the house and into the garage, where he hit a button that opened the garage door, letting the sunlight gleam into the garage. Huey's old car was parked in the middle, which was a 1996 Saturn SC. A few years ago when he was a sophomore, Huey had an internship at a radio station, which Hiro Otomo helped him land the job. Hiro was already working as a DJ during the weekday afternoons after school, which he admitted was a peculiar job for an adolescent…to say the least. Huey, who was desperate in search of a job in order to maintain a little money for leisure spending, literally found a treasure trove when Hiro helped Huey get the job and it was enough to buy himself a car in perfect condition that was within his budget. As a result, Huey has driven the aforementioned car for the past two years with minor to no troubles.
"Get in," Huey beckoned to Jazmine, gesturing her to get into the driver's seat. Huey threw his car keys at Jazmine, she made a feeble attempt to catch the keys, which subsequently resulted in the keys falling flat onto the ground. Huey closed his eyes and shook his head disapprovingly, which Jazmine mocked him by inconspicuously.
As Jazmine climbed into the car, the first thing she noticed was the lever that was to the right of the driver's seat. What was peculiar about this specific lever was that it didn't have the typical PRNDL on it, depicting the gears for Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low gear. Instead, it was a stick shift, which had numbers from one through five with a single letter "R" which represented the reverse gear.
Huey got into the passenger's seat of his old car and stared at Jazmine, who in turn was staring incredulously at the strange lever of the manual transmission car.
"Uh…Huey? I don't know how to drive stick…" Jazmine spoke with no confidence in her voice.
Huey snorted in retort, "Of course you don't. That's why I'm teaching you right now."
"Of all the cars you could have bought two years ago, you just had to pick a stick shift." Jazmine complained.
"Hey, do you want a car or not? Considering your parents will never get you one, I suggest you start learning." Huey shot back, which Jazmine hastily nodded in agreement.
"Besides, did you know that manual transmission cars save more gasoline than automatics? And plus, once you learn how to drive a stick, you can control the car in ways an automatic will never be able to." Huey tried to give Jazmine consolation by listing off the benefits of driving manual transmission cars.
Jazmine stared down at the pedals, which had three instead of the usual two which were found in automatic transmission cars. She looked up at Huey with a questioning look. Before she could even fire off her question, Huey anticipated it and immediately gave her the answer without giving her a chance to ask the question.
"The pedal on the far left is your clutch. You're going to need that when you shift gears. The one in the middle is your break, which you use to stop, obviously. And the one on your right is the gas pedal. You need to learn how to press down on it precisely when you want to move forward, backward, or shift gears."
Jazmine nodded, yet still had the same dumbfounded, perplex look etched onto her face. She was definitely trying to take it all in, Huey observed, yet the sweat rolled down her forehead as she tried to comprehend all the new controls that a stick shift car had compared to an automatic.
"Okay, the first thing we're going to do is start the engine." Huey commanded. Jazmine hastily placed the key into the engine and tried to fire up the engine, which Huey immediately objected. The car did not start.
"Jazmine, the first thing you should always do is apply pressure to the clutch before firing up the ignition."
"Which one is the 'clutch' again?"
"It's the pedal on your left." Huey replied, "You have to bring the clutch all the way to the floor if you want to start the engine."
Jazmine did exactly that and turned the key in the ignition. Immediately, the car sprang to life and Jazmine let out a burst of excitement as if she had just accomplished a huge life achievement.
"Now, don't get too excited. You still have a lot of learning to do." Huey brought Jazmine's head down from the clouds and crashed her spirits back down to earth. "Now, keep your foot on the clutch. Whatever you do, do not let go of it. Now put the shift lever in Reverse – I said reverse Jazmine! Not first gear!" Huey exclaimed as Jazmine placed the lever into the wrong gate.
"Hold on! Huey, I'm still learning!" Jazmine said with a noticeable tinge of nervousness filtering through her voice. After a few seconds of fiddling with the lever, she finally found the correct gate and placed it in Reverse.
"Satisfactory," Huey replied sarcastically, "I'm just glad this car hasn't blown up yet."
In response, Jazmine stuck her tongue out at Huey. Huey ignored her and continued with the lesson.
"Now, are you ready for this?" Huey asked, which Jazmine nervously nodded her head in response, "Now what you're going to do is let go of the clutch –"
Immediately, Jazmine ceased her attention and abruptly let go of the clutch without listening to the rest of Huey's commands, which made the car shake violently as the engine struggled. After a split second, the engine died off. Huey face palmed himself and shot Jazmine a death glare. Jazmine returned Huey's stare with a meek, nervous smile and shrugged in return.
"Jazmine…I want you to listen to my entire instructions before you. Do. Anything." Huey said with a cold tinge emanating through his voice. Jazmine nodded silently.
"Put the lever back in neutral and start the car again." Huey commanded.
Jazmine fiddled with the shift lever for a nerve-wracking twenty seconds. Finally, she placed the lever back in neutral and tried to start the car while forgetting the one fundamental rule of starting manual cars. For some peculiar reason, she couldn't coax the car's ignition.
"Uhm…I think you're out of –"
"It's definitely not the gasoline, Jazmine." Huey said softly, yet with a hint of vex in his voice.
Jazmine twisted the key's ignition again and finally gave up outright.
"Jazmine, you forgot to depress the clutch again." Huey simply retorted in Jazmine's exasperated defeat.
"Oh!" Jazmine replied with a bright, cheery voice. Huey rolled his eyes in response.
Finally, Jazmine fired up the engine, and was back to the same situation."
"Now, let go of the clutch slowly while applying some gas."
Jazmine did exactly what Huey told, and the car magically inched backward and out of the garage. Jazmine saw as she reaped the fruits of her labor and squealed as she made progress through Huey's lesson.
"Back out onto the street." Huey commanded. He was impressed with Jazmine's progress as she turned the wheel and elegantly pulled out onto the street. Jazmine let go of the gas pedal, depressed the clutch and hit the breaks. Huey was definitely impressed as she quickly learned to stop the car on her own.
"Wow. You actually know how to stop the car?" Huey asked. Jazmine mockingly stared at Huey, who shrugged in reply.
"Okay." Huey inhaled with a deep breath, then subsequently exhaled slowly as if he apprehensively anticipated the worst of what's to come. "Now put it in first gear, and slowly let go of the clutch while applying some gas."
As Jazmine did what she was told, the car started to move forward. Five miles per hour…ten miles per hour. She smiled as Huey nodded approvingly at her.
"Now, you're going to need to shift into second gear. Depress the clutch again, move the lever into the second gear, then let go of the clutch and apply some gas."
Jazmine smoothly transitioned into the second gear. She let out a soft squeal of excitement, "I'm doing it! I'm driving your car, Huey!" And with that, she abruptly let go of the wheel and threw her arms around Huey in a tight embrace. Immediately, Jazmine hit the breaks without depressing the clutch again, which made the car violently convulse into a screeching stop, and the engine died once again.
Huey and Jazmine stared at each other for a few seemingly tense moments. Jazmine anticipated Huey to lash out at her, yet unexpectedly, Huey's lips curled upwards into a smile, and he snorted and subsequently burst out laughing as Jazmine stared at him incredulously. Then, Jazmine joined Huey in their laughing session.
Finally, after Jazmine and Huey settled down, Jazmine started the car…this time without Huey's help. She drove the car, shifting to second gear with ease, then to third gear…and then fourth gear. Before either Jazmine or Huey realized it, she was cruising down the residential roads at forty miles per hour, much to the surprise to Huey, who thought utter chaos would ensue the day Jazmine learned to drive his car.
"You're doing impressive, Jazmine!" Huey exclaimed. "Do you want to try to drive all the way to the park?"
Jazmine stared at Huey with a noticeable smile on her face. "Of course!"
Thirty minutes of navigating through congested roads, Jazmine had only stalled the car two times in the middle of the road, but she quickly recovered both times and were well on their way to the park. Huey was blatantly impressed by Jazmine's progress. He never expected Jazmine to master the learning curve of manual transmission driving. Finally, Jazmine found a parking spot and they walked towards the park to find a spot under the shade. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon at the park, where the breeze nonchalantly ruffled through their hair. A few neighborhood children were playing Tee-Ball in the park next to a glistening, sparkling lake.
"You know, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me today, Huey." Jazmine said as they both made their way to a large tree overlooking the blue lake. The lake reflected the perfect blue sky above it, which was made even more bedazzling as the sun gleamed through a few clouds.
"Don't mention it." Huey simply replied. They finally reached the tree and sat down under it. Huey gave Jazmine a sub they bought from a sandwich shop downtown and he took a wolfing bite out of it.
"No really, I mean it. I mean, I don't think my parents would ever give me a car at this rate." Jazmine took the sub Huey handed to her and she stared at her shoes. Huey stared at Jazmine, and noticed a faint essence of downtrodden spirits within her.
"Well, that's why I gave you the car. I realize you never got a car when I always see you walking to school everyday. That's why I always let you carpool nowadays."
"Huey, my parents are never home these days. They're always doing things out of state." Jazmine made no effort to hide the melancholy creeping into her tone. Huey was shocked to see Jazmine of all people get downtrodden all of a sudden. He immediately had to step in and ask why such a person with invincible spirits could become so melancholy within a split second.
"I'm sorry Jazmine. But there's probably a logical reason why. Maybe their jobs were relocated out of state or something."
"Huey, they're lawyers. Unless they're taking up a landmark case, lawyers don't travel out of state to take up cases."
"I don't know, Jazmine. But there's always a logical –"
Immediately, Jazmine interjected through Huey's statement.
"Oh yeah, Huey. Then there's a logical reason why my mom is sleeping with the Senator from New York." She said with a hint of anger reverberating through her tone of voice. Jazmine hadn't realized her vision was blurred. Her amber eyes were swimming in tears, which began to cascade down her cheeks.
Huey's jaw went ajar. He couldn't imagine what his ears were hearing.
"How do you know if your mom is –" But once again, his question was interrupted by Jazmine.
"Because! Huey, I saw her kissing him months ago!" Jazmine made no attempt to stem the tears flooding her face at this point. "Huey, my mom is cheating! I don't know what to do anymore! Sometimes I think she's neglecting our family…she's neglecting me as a daughter."
"Jazmine…" Huey spoke softly. Immediately, Jazmine threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.
"I don't know what to do, Huey. I just don't. I give up. I've been witnessing my mom with him for the past six months." Jazmine openly wept into Huey's shoulder. Huey patted Jazmine in the back in an attempt to console her. "That's why it means a lot to me when you gave me your old car. I know my parents don't give a rat's ass about me anymore."
"No, Jazmine. That's not the case. Tom and Sarah love you."
"Then why don't they show it! They're always leaving me alone in the house!"
Huey kept his mouth shut. Jazmine made a strong point in her argument. Huey held Jazmine out at arms length and stared directly into her sparkling amber pupils as the sun's rays gleamed onto her tear-filled eyes.
"Trust me Jazmine. They care about you. I care about you."
"Thank you, Huey." Jazmine barely kept her voice above a whisper.
"Huey?" Jazmine asked, sniffling between words.
"Hm?" Huey's auburn pupils locked onto Jazmine's tear-obscured amber ones.
"Promise me you'll never leave me."
This sounded strangely familiar to Huey. Immediately, he recalled the day where he was openly weeping about his parent's fate in the bleachers the day Riley was threatened by a rival gang member. He remembered asking Jazmine to never leave him, to which Jazmine agreed. He remembered it as clear as the day, and emotions coursed through his body when he received the assuaging consolation of Jazmine's promise.
"Jazmine, I will never leave you. I promise."
"Pinky promise?" Jazmine held out her pinky as if it were required to never break promises once they swore upon their smallest digit on their hands.
"Pinky promise," Huey wrapped his pinky around Jazmine's, thus cementing Huey and Jazmine's promises.
Jazmine and Huey stared into each other's eyes intently. After a few peaceful moments, Jazmine slowly brought her head towards Huey's. Before Huey could realize what was going on, Jazmine slowly closed her eyes and their lips met. Huey closed his eyes, wrapping hands around Jazmine's neck and brought her closer to him as they shared their first passionate kiss. Jazmine could feel what seemed like liquid fire coursing through her veins as Huey ran his hands down to Jazmine's curving waist. Finally, after what seemed like the remaining duration of eternal time, Huey and Jazmine slowly pulled away. Jazmine let her head rest on Huey's chest as she felt the strong thudding of Huey's heart.
For what seemed like an eternity, Jazmine felt a strange yet relaxing feeling as she and Huey embraced each other under the tree. They watched as swans waded across the lake. A few remote-controlled boats raced across the lake, controlled by two children on the banks of the waters. Jazmine placed her head softly on Huey's broad shoulders. For once, she did not worry for a moment in her life. She felt as long as she was with Huey, nothing in this world would tear their strong bond apart. Her spirits were reinvigorated. As long as Huey was there for her, her problems were nonexistent.
"I want to thank you, Huey. For everything. I had a great time with you." Jazmine said as she pulled up into her driveway.
"Don't worry about it." Huey said. He saw the sun set in the west as nightfall was upon them. Huey opened the door to his old car and emerged from it. Jazmine did the same and both she and Huey met as Huey was about to walk towards his house across the street.
"It means a lot to me. It really does."
Huey placed his hands around Jazmine's hips and held her at arms' length. He stared into her eyes. Her eyes noticeably gleamed with gratification as she looked into Huey's dark auburn eyes. Huey walked Jazmine over to her front door and they shared the last remaining moments with each other, drinking each other's image.
"So does this mean –?" Jazmine began to ask, but Huey immediately answered her question with a kiss. Jazmine began to stand on her tiptoes to push herself into Huey's kiss.
"Yes, it does." Huey simply answered after their kiss. Jazmine's cheeks slightly colored at Huey's response. She opened the door that led to the entrance to her house as Huey slowly walked down the steps and back to his house across the street. Jazmine softly shut the door behind her, leaning against the frame as she slowly slid down onto the floor. She softly brought her hand to her cheek as she was smitten by Huey's show of emotions.
Huey made his way across the street and up the steps leading to his front door to his house. Huey turned the lock and entered through the door, immediately sensing something gone awry. The lights in the kitchen were still on, yet Granddad was nowhere to be found. As Huey made his way into the kitchen, he saw a pot overboiling on the stove, its contents spilling onto the hot plate underneath. Huey rushed into the kitchen and turned the stove off.
"Odd. Why would Granddad leave his cooking unattended?" Huey thought to himself. He snapped around as he heard the front door open and slam shut seconds later as he heard somebody ambling into the house. Huey rushed over to the hallway and saw Riley standing in front of him. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Aye. Whats da matta wit'chu? You looks like you just seens a ghost." Riley said.
"I can't find Granddad. You know where he is?" Huey's sense of apprehension returning to his nerves.
"Like hell I do. Why?"
"He left all the lights on inside the house and he left the stove running. That's not like him at all." Huey said.
"Psh. His ass got Parkinson's. That's all derr is to it."
"No Riley. Granddad has always preached about leaving things on in the house. He would never disregard his own rules."
"Damn! You talkin' to me like I know shit!" Riley shot back.
"Whatever." Huey retorted.
Immediately, Huey set out to find Granddad. He was nowhere to be found, and the more Huey spent time trying to find Granddad, the more his nerves were invaded with apprehensiveness.
"Granddad?" Huey asked throughout the house. Each time he said Granddad's name, his inquisition would be met with a silent response. Huey began to get desperate as Riley followed close behind him. Riley could tell his brother was growing worried as Huey hastily ran upstairs.
"Granddad! Where are you!" Huey shouted into the hallway.
"Damn nigga, what you worryin' fo? Maybe he went out on a date!"
"Right Riley. Ignore the fact that he would leave the lights and stove on in the house while also leaving his car in my ownership. Yeah, he's definitely on a date." Huey shot back with a sarcastic retort.
After a few minutes of hasty searching, Huey approached a figure sprawled on the floor of the master's bedroom. He narrowed his eyes as he rushed over to it in time to see –
"Granddad! Wake up!" Huey shouted as he shook Granddad violently.
"What da hell is wrong wit dat old nigga?" Riley shouted, fear rising in his inflection.
"Riley, go call 911! NOW!" Huey shouted as Riley was frozen on the spot.
"Granddad!" Huey remembered Granddad's bone chilling words on that dreary November morning, the morning when Huey was struck with the news of his grandfather's terminal illness.
"Huey, these old bones don't work the way they used to."
"Granddad, what's going on?"
"Huey, I got checked out for cancer a week ago. The results came back and my doctors told me I had mesothelioma for the past three years. The cancer had metastasized from my lung into every tissue in my body."
Huey hadn't noticed it, but his vision of his Granddad lying on the bedroom floor gradually blurred away under the veil of tears forming in his eyes. Riley was still rooted on the spot, frozen in fear of the prospect of his one and only caretaker being dead. Huey's tears cascaded down his cheek as he shook his Granddad in a vain attempt to wake him.
"Huey, I'm going to die next year."
Huey sniffled and he brought his sleeve to his eyes as he tried to wipe the tears from his face.
"No. Granddad, no." Huey softly spoke.
Immediately, his Granddad's eyes opened up and locked gazes with the shellshocked Huey.
"Boy, what you cryin' fo? You lookin' like you came from a funeral!" Granddad exclaimed as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Huey straightened up, giving one last sniffle before contorting his facial expression into a harsh scowl.
Granddad emanated another phlegm-filled cough as he struggled to get up. Huey held out a hand to help his grandfather up, but Granddad instead got up by himself, refusing to take his grandson's hand.
"Granddad, why were you passed out on the floor?" Huey asked. Riley was still rooted to the spot with his eyes bulging out of their sockets.
"What, you granddaddy can't rest on for a second? Damn chilluns."
"You were resting," Huey asked with a misbelieving tone.
"Yes, I was." Granddad confirmed with a sharp tone.
"And you left the stove and lights on downstairs in the kitchen," Huey asked, once again his tone not believing a word coming out of his Granddad's mouth.
"What! You boys left the lights on in this house! How many times do I gotta tell you! Damn grandkids. Always trying to jack up my utility bills. Can't wait for them to get out my house!" Granddad muttered under his breath. He walked out of the room and down the stairs toward the kitchen, effectively ending any conversation about the strange incident. Huey scowled as his Granddad's figure walked out of the room.
"What the hell could be wrong with him?" Huey asked at Riley. Though he may have already formulated an answer to his own question.
"Dat damn nigga jus' stupid. Getting all old an' shit. Damn, hope I never reach dat age. Hope I die young." Riley cackled.
Huey cringed at Riley's statement.
"You don't know anything." Huey softly retorted at Riley. "You don't know a thing."
Riley stared menacingly towards Huey as he walked out of the room and down the stairs.
"And you don't know anything either. Jus' cause you all smart an' shit don't mean you know more 'bout dis world than I do. Punk ass nigga." Riley snorted as Huey slowly walked down the stairs, his eyes hidden behind the veil of the shadow cast on his face. Huey hung his head, staring at the ground as he realized the prospect of the dangers of losing both Riley and Granddad soon.
Uh oh...looks like we have a little bit of foreshadowing. Hope you guys enjoyed yet another Huey/Jazmine chapter. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. If anybody had to learn stick shift with an impatient instructor like Huey was, then you know how I feel. Yes, Huey and Jazmine are finally in a relationship...but I'm only going to say that it won't end in a...happy way. I should probably shut my mouth before I give myself away.
I would like to thank KODfreak, MissG2020, and DaveTheWordsmith for your reviews!
Disclaimer: I don't own The Boondocks. Aaron McGruder, The Universal Press Syndicate and Sony Pictures Television owns the comic strip and the television show.