Betrayed (4 page)

“Shoot, he looked like he was having an out-of-body experience, the way he kept staring at me.”

“It would be something if you were really sisters,” Erika, the head cheerleader, said.

“I'm not adopted,” Afrika said before Asia had a chance to speak.

“Neither am I,” Asia added, looking at the group that now stared back at her. “It's a coincidence that we sort of have some of the same features. We're not twins, not sisters, and we're not adopted. So cool it.”

Afrika nibbled on her pizza and allowed the others to continue with their conversation. This was the first time that she'd seen Asia become upset over the comparison between the two of them. She knew who she was…she was the daughter of Setrina and Raphael, and that was it.

Lost in her thoughts, Afrika put the pizza down and recalled the text her mother sent her. She pulled out her cell phone and looked at the message again. There was no rhyme or reason to
the message. She shut the phone, picked up her pizza, and began to nibble on it again.

“Earth to Nikki,” Asia said, now standing over her with tray in hand. “Girl, you aren't tripping about all that crazy talk about us being adopted, are you?”

“Hell no,” Afrika said. “I know who I am and who my parents are. After awhile, they'll be saying that the whole cheerleading squad is sisters since we wear the same makeup and the same hairstyle at all our games.”

“You're right. After cheer practice, why don't we go to my house? My brother's birthday is today and I'm going to drop his gift off. My mom will probably have cake and ice cream. I'd go tomorrow, but since we have a football game and the Ques are giving the party of the year, Trevor won't see me tomorrow.”

“I can't believe a week's gone by already since we went to my mom's house. I was supposed to remind you to get the present. Sorry, I forgot.”

“Don't worry about it. My handy-dandy BlackBerry reminded me. So, are you up to going with me?”

“I don't know. I have a lot of homework to do, Asia.”

“Nikki, this is Friday night. You have all day Sunday to do your homework.”

“Well…

“What's there to think about? After practice?”

“Okay,” Afrika relented, her mother's warning sounding an alarm in the pit of her stomach. “Okay.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Do it Eagles. Do it Eagles. Do it Eagles. Eagles Do it. Hey, hey, hey. Heeeeey! Go Eagles!!”

“Good practice,” the cheerleading coach announced. The squad that was fifteen strong kicked their legs and clapped their hands. “You all are dismissed.”

Afrika and Asia picked up their gym bags and headed toward Asia's car. “Nikki, why are you dragging your feet?”

“I'm not sure I'm ready to meet your family.”

“Look, Nikki. We are down to earth. We live life to the fullest and love to have fun.”

“It's awfully late,” Afrika said, offering another excuse.

“You wouldn't be saying that if we were going to one of those frat parties. Look, I'll drive extra slow, if that would make you feel better. I know how you feel about my driving. We have to go to Chapel Hill; so let's go.”

“We're not going to a frat party, Asia. Meeting the parents is a whole different matter, but I'll go.”

“I don't know what the big deal is; I just want to give Trevor his birthday present.”

“Well, let's go.”

Asia maneuvered her baby blue Toyota Camry down Fayetteville Street and onto Interstate 40. Several exits later, Asia took the Chapel Hill off-ramp and headed toward the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Darkness made it hard to totally assess the neighborhood Asia had driven into, but from the little Afrika could see, she could tell that it was upscale with manicured lawns. Asia drove up into a long, circular driveway that ran parallel to the wrap-around porch with Boston ferns still hanging from their baskets, although it was mid-September. Light from the interior lit the house from the inside and motion sensor lights flooded the outside.

“We're here,” Asia announced, jumping out of the car. “Come on, Nikki. Let's go say ‘Happy Birthday' to Trevor.”

Afrika slid out of the car and exhaled. Flashbacks of Asia's father staring at her like she'd been reincarnated and her mother's messages to be careful of getting too close to Asia's family made her feel ill-at-ease. She looked at the large, massive house and sighed.

“Come on, Nikki. What's taking you so long?”

“You forgot Trevor's gift in the back seat. I'll get it for you.”

Afrika grabbed Trevor's gift, closed the car door, and walked to the front of the car where Asia stood. Asia put her arm through Afrika's. “Okay, girl, let's meet the folks.”

For most of Afrika's life, she had lived in one military housing area or another. Although their quarters were befitting the officer that her father was, nothing had prepped her for the gorgeous, upscale dwelling that Asia and her family resided in. And according to Asia, her mother, Dr. Brenda Christianson, was doing quite well for herself and was often asked to provide retrospective insight on some subject related to her profession and some current economic crisis on a local news show.

The house was tri-level with wall-to-wall hardwood flooring covered with expensive Chinese rugs. The rooms were painted in light pastels to give it an airy feeling. The living room opened up to a cathedral ceiling with a balcony that connected some of the second-story rooms to the other. A large, spacious kitchen tiled
in black and white sat in the center of the house and contained modern stainless steel appliances to include a state of the art industrial oven, a huge pantry, and more cabinet space than one could imagine. A long black and white granite counter that could serve as a table ran the length of the kitchen. The dining room mirrored the colors in the kitchen, with a table that sat ten and a china cabinet finished in highly polished black lacquer. A long hallway led from one side of the kitchen to a cabana that contained a large stainless steel grill and miniature fridge, and swank patio furniture in colors of orange and yellow that connected to a hot tub with stairs that dropped down to the swimming pool. On the lower level of the house was a large game room that housed a professional size pool table, jukebox, and popcorn machine that sat right outside of the theater room that housed thirteen velvet high-back seats and a large retractable screen and a projector.

Afrika's lip was still on the ground after her tour. The uneasiness she first felt had long since vanished; she felt right at home. And Trevor was just as crazy as Asia said he was; especially after he recovered from seeing his sister in double. Even the cat, Afrika hated cats, didn't understand what the fuss was all about and retreated to an undisclosed portion of the house.

“Where are Mom and Dad?” Asia asked Trevor. “I'm sure Mom baked a cake for your seventeenth birthday.”

“Asia, please. I'm too old for birthday cake and ice cream. But I'll gladly accept that package over there that looks like my birthday present.” Trevor walked to the table where Afrika had dropped his present and picked it up. He shook it this way and then that. “Sis, I hope this is my favorite pair of sneaks that I've been talking about all summer.”

“You'll have to open it up and find out.”

Trevor tore the paper from the oblong box. “Yeah, Mom and
Dad went to some symposium at Duke that had to do with something Mom was working on.”

“Oh,” Asia said, with disappointment written all over her face.

After a second pause and a quick pull of the lid, a pair of Jordan sneakers fell out of the box. “I love you, Sis!” Trevor hollered, jumping around like he was a Mexican jumping bean. “You sho' hooked a brother up!”

“I aim to please,” Asia said, while Afrika looked on. “Well, Nikki, why don't we watch a movie and then head back to campus?”

“Works for me,” Afrika said.

“Dang, I can't get over how much you two look alike,” Trevor said, his eyes steadily shifting between Asia and Afrika. “You two look more alike than me and Asia.”

“It's not that big of deal, Trevor,” Asia said. “Everybody has a twin somewhere in this world. And, Nikki does look like you.”

“No way,” Trevor said. They laughed.

“Put a movie on, nut head,” Asia said. The girls laughed again. “And turn off the lights.”

Afrika felt even more at-ease. She settled back in the high-back chair and watched
Friday
with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker for the umpteenth time. Asia slapped her leg when the credits rolled onto the screen a couple of hours later.

“Let's go, girl. You can meet my parents another time.”

Before Afrika could respond, the lights flicked on. Almost falling off their seats, three necks twirled around in unison. It was Michael Jackson's
Thriller
movie coming to life.

The fear that had gripped Afrika's body earlier returned. Asia's parents stood in the doorway and gazed at the trio, although their eyes were dedicated to Afrika. After an awkward silence, Asia's mother spoke.

“Happy Birthday, Trevor.” His mother moved forward and kissed him.

“Come on, Mom. I'm too old for that.”

“You'll always be my baby.”

“Yeah, happy birthday, Trevor,” Victor Christianson said.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Brenda Christianson came and stood next to Afrika. “So, you're the new friend that Asia has been going on and on about.”

Offering a warm smile, Afrika shook Brenda's hand. “It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Christianson. I'm Nikki. Asia talks about you both so much,” she said, turning to include Victor.

Brenda Christianson smiled. “Her daddy and I are very proud. Well, other than you wearing your hair in a ponytail and being roughly the same height as Asia, I don't think you would pass for twins like Asia says people are saying. Asia is much lighter than you and she has a birthmark on her tummy. Do you have a birth-mark on your tummy? What do you think, Victor?”

“No, I don't have a birthmark,” Afrika replied in a hurry. She wasn't sure she liked the way Asia's mother was interrogating her like their daughter was better than her. And she certainly didn't like the way they kept staring at her; especially Asia's father, like she was some kind of alien. Afrika thought about the sixth finger they both had in common but kept it to herself.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Nikki,” Brenda said and began to walk out of the room until she heard her husband speak.

“Nikki?” Asia's father inquired.

“Nikki Bailey. Nikki is my nickname, which I prefer to use. My full name is Afrika Nicole Bailey. People used to tease me when I was younger about my first name and by the time I was in the fifth grade, I had everyone calling me Nikki until I went to high school. Then it was Afrika again.”

Brenda and Victor stopped in their tracks. Afrika hadn't noticed their discomfort because Asia started talking.

“Why didn't you tell me Afrika was your first name? It's so like
mine. Another coincidence. I don't believe this. We're both named after continents.”

“You guys are weird,” Trevor said.

“I think it's too cool,” Asia added, grabbing Afrika's arm.

Afrika and Asia headed for the door. “It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Christianson,” Afrika said, shaking their hands.

“It was nice meeting you, too, Nikki…Afrika,” Brenda said, cutting an eye at her husband, who seemed to avoid eye contact. “Ah, Afrika, before you and Asia head off to campus, I'd like to ask you a question.”

Afrika frowned at the tone of Brenda's voice. The longer she stayed in Asia's house, the more uncomfortable she became. She was sure that it was more than her mother's casual warning. She thought it odd that Mr. Christianson acted as if he had met her for the first time. “Yes, Mrs. Christianson?”

“Did your mother ever attend Central? I had a friend once; in fact we were best friends. I haven't seen her in over nineteen years.” Brenda gave Afrika the once over again, and then continued. “Our fathers were both in the Army, and we were stationed in Europe at the same time—Germany, to be exact. Both of our fathers were reassigned to Ft. Bragg, which is where this friend of mine and I ended up. And when it was time to go to college, we went to North Carolina Central University together. But I don't know what happened to her. She vanished from sight at the end of our freshman year, and I never heard from her again. I was crushed for a long while.”

Afrika glanced at Victor, who looked away. Something was not making any sense, but there wasn't any time to address it. “Yes, she did. Her name is Mimi.”

Both Brenda and Victor gasped at the same time.

“You're Mimi's daughter?” Brenda asked. “Where is she? How
can I get in touch with her? I can't believe that her daughter is standing in front of me in my house.”

Asia and Trevor's eyes widened. They couldn't believe their ears.

“People said we were inseparable,” Brenda continued. “We both said that if we had girls, I would name mine Asia and she'd name hers Afrika because we had travelled to so many places with our parents.” Almost as if Brenda was in a trance, she kept going. “I gave her the nickname, Mimi, because she could sing like a bird and would sing up and down the scales like she was giving the performance of her life. Do you remember that, Victor?”

“Yeah, it was a long time ago.”

“Look,” Brenda said, “I'd like to see Mimi; talk to her. I don't believe it, after all of this time.” Brenda paced the room. “Did you say where she was, Afrika?”

“She lives in Durham in a beautiful condo,” Asia offered. “I've met her and she's really nice. Now I understand why she was acting strange when I said my name. She probably thought the same thing you did, Mom, but didn't say anything.”