Page 57 of Not A Homie, Lover Or Friend
I respected Chevy in so many ways. From the shit Sasha told us to his beef he had with Bishop. Chevy was a solid soldier, a king in his own right. We all looked up to him, and somehow, he always managed to speak life into us as if we were his idols. He pulled out his phone, then an envelope. He texted someone, then slid the envelope over to me.
As I opened the envelope, Lakia’s gasp sent my head shooting up. All the guys came into the bar with their jackets on and Streets held up mine. “Zoo ova everything!” he shouted and they all followed.
I looked down at the letter to see that I had been accepted into the academy. “Shit, yeah!” I shouted.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the letter. However, when I heard his voice, I had no choice but to look up. My father stood there, along with a few of my cousins from Samoa that I hadn’t seen in years. They wore no shirts, with Samoan-printed garments wrapped around them. Their warrior faces were on point. I could tell this was a big moment not only for me but for him as well. His eyes filled with tears as he looked at me.
My father stepped forward, and he nodded slowly. He raised his arm, “Samoa!”he shouted.“Sauni e tau le taua! Tau e matua tau! Fai ia mafai! Le Manu!”he added.
I could feel not only his passion and energy but the tears building up in my eyes. The way my father stood firm forced me to do the same. My lips trembled as he continued. The more the passion came out of him, the more I broke.“Samoa!”he shouted again.
Before I knew it, I found myself hopping over the counter and moving closer to him.
“Sau ia!’”I shouted.
They all began to slap at their thighs. That’s when my mother came from the side, slowly walking around them as she joined in shouting the words.“Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva!”
Her love for me and my father showed in her action. Tears began to fall from her as she embraced the moment as well.
I heard Diamond. “The fuck are they saying?”
I ignored him as I chimed in with my family.“Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva!”
To have a bit of family show up for me, honoring me with Siva Tau, made me want to cry like a baby. The sounds of Samoa, the other half of my blood, were speaking strength into me and telling me to fight, to achieve, to bare my soul and heart. All I could do was chant and cry at the same time. “Le Manu Samoa, O a'u o le toa, O'au le Manu, Samoa!”
I didn’t even bother to wait. I walked up to my dad and hugged him tightly. “I am you, Dad. Thanks for showing up.”
“I’m proud of you. I am,” he cried into my shoulder.
I didn’t want to pull away. I couldn’t because it had been so long since I’ve felt this embrace from him. He squeezed me tighter before he pulled back to catch his tears. When he smiled,so did I. His eyes landed on my mother, then back at me. “Me and your mother are back together,” he muttered.
My head shot toward my mother as she came up to me, hugging me. “If you can make it work with someone you’ve known for so little time. I think me and your dad can too.”
Today was one of the best days of my life. I turned to look for Lakia, but spotted Kareem peeking from the back. As everyone was leaving, I stopped Chevy. I knew my loyalty was to Mali, but I needed to put Chevy on game. “Mali, keep an eye on him, Chev. Something isn’t right,” I whispered.
He squinted curiously but nodded. “I’ll see you at the party tonight.” He said before he walked out.
I didn’t know what the fuck that squint ment, but I hope it was him tapping the fuck in to fix whatever was broken in the meantime. I had a special date with Sukalati before the party.
FLEX
“Third position,” I snapped. “Now fourth and fifth, now back to first,” I finished.
As the girls brought their arms back to first position. I cut the music. They all began to pack their things to leave for the day. I grabbed my water and chugged it down. Since Harvey turned me down, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. It’s funny how I started by wanting her man, now I want her. There was a light tap on my shoulder. Alyse stood there. “Are you a stripper for real?” she asked.
I didn’t know whether I should be honest or lie. Her innocent face waited for an answer. “No, I’m not,” I lied.
Relief left her. “That means they’re hating because you're good at what you do. All they do is talk about you. I know you don’t care what they think, but you seem so nice.”
I forced a laugh. “People talk about people all the time. If you let it bother you, then you will be stuck.”
She smiled as she left the room. I decided that I would show my face at Bishop’s party tonight. It was the scariest night of the year and the last thing I wanted was to be alone. Especially while Scooter was around, he had been pretty quiet lately, and that’s what scared me because the money I had promised him, I never gave him.
I swung my bag over my shoulder to leave before it got dark when I was met by someone standing in the doorway. “Porsha Jones,” he gritted. “I thought since that day you would stay away, but it seems like your interest was piqued a little too muhfuckin much for my liking.”
I stepped back and he stepped forward. “I—”
“Have you met a real shoota before? Have you met a nigga whose words are short, but his finger is quick? Oh, wait, you did get a sample of the trigga finger.” Foe laughed.
