Page 54 of The Prodigy

17

Jakari

“Mama,youputyourfoot in this,” I said, not even trying not to smack. “Can I get some more sweet tea?”

Mama stood from her seat at the table, leaving her own plate to get my drink. She’d made all my favorites; fried whiting, hush puppies, home fries, collards, and cranberry sauce. That last one don’t really fit, but I love it. Just the right amount of sweet.

She set my tea in front of me and got back to her food. We both grubbed so hard we didn’t speak until we were done.

“Where Jaz at?” I asked of my little sister.

Mama shrugged a shoulder. “I’m more worried that Nay and E didn’t show up.”

“They’re handling business.”

Her eyebrow went up. “Is that right?”

“Yep.”

“So you already got them in line. That doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

Here we go with this shit.

I mean, yeah, my brothers fell in line. But that’s just cuz they knew what needed to be done. Keeping shit running was of the utmost importance. With my daddy gone, there were wolves circling. That’s just the nature of the game. So we were all doing our part. That’s all.

“Mama, I know you want this for me, but I don’t. I’m just trying to set up all the pieces before I head back.”

“Why are you fighting your destiny?”

“Destiny?” I laughed at that. “This ain’t theLion King. I’m not the chosen one.”

“Then why did your daddy choose you?”

My eyes narrowed. “You know why.”

“And so do you.” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “You know how to do what needs to be done, and that’s the most valuable trait in the world.”

Before I could respond to that, Malika stormed into the kitchen. She looked pissed off, and the front of her Sliders shirt was soaked. Her hair looked different, too. It was down when she left, but it was pushed back now, and puffy.

“Hey, Malika.”

She stopped walking and glared at me. “Don’t ‘hey Malika’ me.”

“Excuse me?”

Her lips curled into a snarl. “One of your hoes came up to my job and threw a fucking drink in my face!”

“Okay, calm down. What’d she look like?”

“How many rabid hoes do you have out here that you have to figure out which one?”

Mama snickered.

“Nah, it’s just…look, let’s go to the room and talk about—.”

She stomped off without even speaking to my mama. I don’t think she cared, though, given the way she busted out laughing once Malika was out of sight.

“It’s funny?” I said as I stood from the table.

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