Cold As Ice (19 page)

“No, I haven't, but I wish you would,” Daddy says, hushing the attentive spectators. Mama looks around at his flock and then stares at him hard. He returns the action for as long as he can take it, eventually surrendering to Mama's view.

“Speaking of food, Lynn Mae, why don't we go on and get to the restaurant? You know it's going to be a long line if we wait any longer,” Netta says, directing Mama away from the crowd. My mom's too busy texting whom I assume is Karl to care about the conversation going on between her parents. She's always been immune to their shit. I wish I could be so lucky.

“Mom, are you ready?” I ask, forcing her to focus on the moment in front of her. Ever since she got that ring on her finger, she's turned into a schoolgirl all over again. If this is how getting married makes a sistah act, I'm cool for the time being.

Before I can lead the way out, Misty catches my eye, and I feel a chill come over me like the last time she infected me. I suddenly feel light-headed. Why do I keep forgetting to wear my jade? Mama looks at Misty and breaks her hold on me with one glance. Thank God for Mama. What would I do without her always having my back?

“I knew it was a bad idea for you to be here,” Mama says, catching me before I fall to the ground. Netta helps Mama keep me on my feet, steadily moving toward the front door. What the hell was that?

“My baby,” my mom says, stroking my cheek.

“It was too soon after her cold for her to go out,” Mama says, feeling my head with her hand, which feels like fire next to my skin. “Let's get her to Dr. Whitmore right now.”

“No. I just need to eat,” I say, barely able to stand up on my own. I've got to slap those contacts out of Misty's eyes once and for all. I can't take any more psychic hits like this one.

“Are you sure?” my mom asks, looking at me for some clue as to what's wrong with me. Her eyes look worried and filled with guilt. I hug her to communicate that this isn't her fault, and she hugs me back, much to Mama's disliking.

“She's probably been eating nothing but shit over at your place,” Mama says, breaking our embrace and walking me out the door and down the front steps of the church. I doubt we'll be coming back here anytime soon. “We're going home to eat,” she says, making the final decision.

“Sounds good to me,” Netta says, helping my mom and grandmother walk me to the parking lot. The church ladies are really talking now, and I say let them. My only wish is that the Williams women stay tight like glue no matter what our haters do or say to try to bring us down. We're stronger than they'll ever know, and we will be here long after their lies are forgotten.

L
exi greets Mama as she leads the way through the back gate, heading straight for the spirit room. I haven't been back here since I left, and my mom hasn't been in Compton since Christmas. It's ironic that she's returning on Easter. Mama's trying to fake the funk, but I know she's happy to have her girls home so she can make everything better. For Mama, that's all she needs to prove that she's right—about everything, all the time.

“I'll close the gate,” Netta says, pushing the wooden doors shut as we walk past the garage and into the attached backhouse. When Mama unlocks the door it's quite evident that she and Netta have been busy in preparation for the bembé tonight. I'm supposed to join them, and I always look forward to the party signifying the end of an initiation, but I don't feel like going anywhere but straight to bed.

“Here, baby. Lie down on the mat,” Mama says, rolling out the bamboo for me to rest. “Did you finish the round of tea I told you to make?”

“Yes, I did, and I followed your directions to the letter,” I say, making myself comfortable on the floor. I grab one of the folded quilts in the corner next to my head and drape it across my body. It's a warm day outside, but it's cold in here to me. My mom sits down at the table as Netta and Mama buzz around her head like worker bees.

“Well, then, we'll have to see what else is going on then.” That means Mama's going to give me a reading. So much for resting.

“I'll start cooking,” Netta says, washing her hands in the sink. My mom's in a deep text conversation, probably making plans for this evening with her boo. I wish I was doing the same thing, but tonight was supposed to be about me helping Mama, giving Jeremy a night out without me. Because there's no school this week, we're spending every day studying and every night chilling, so the fact that he's hanging with his friends tonight is a good thing. He'd better act right and not hang out with any lonely girls, especially not Candace. I know she likes my man, but I'll have to deal with that later. Setting Misty straight is my top priority this afternoon.

“Lynn Marie, get your ass up and help Netta,” Mama says, sitting down on the mat next to me. She opens the ancestor shrine in the opposite corner of the blankets and says a prayer. My mom and Netta stop what they're doing in respect for the chant. Mama takes a glass of water from the altar and her divination tray, pouring a libation to start the reading.

“You stay right there, baby,” Mama says, placing her left hand on my head and mixing the sixteen cowries with her right. Finished with her Yoruba praises to the various orisha and our ancestors, Mama throws the shells with both hands, upset by the odu that falls on the woven tray.

“What is it, Mama?” I ask, scared of the alarmed look in her eyes. I've never seen a reading where all the cowries are facedown. That can't be a good sign.

“This letter is too hot to read,” Mama says, scraping the odu off the mat with one swipe. After gathering the cowries, she dumps them in the glass of water, rising from the mat and covering the cup with her hand. Mama opens the screen door and tosses the water out through her fingers with the shells still inside the glass.

“What's really going on, Jayd?” Netta asks from her stance at the stove. She's found all the ingredients needed to make a slamming brunch, and my mom even looks excited to eat.

“It's too much to say.” And that's all I'm willing to tell them. I'm positive that me holding on to my mom's sight is a good thing, as long as I can remember to wear my jade bracelets for protection against my enemies.

“Well, it's definitely a hot time in your life right now, and you need to cool off completely before you can make any real progress.” I know Mama knows more than that, but she's not worried with sharing the details right now. I can tell by her concerned look that she just wants to rectify the situation at hand as quickly as possible, and so do I. “My little fire child,” Mama says, replacing the cowries on the shrine.

“Have you been wearing your bracelets?” Netta asks.

“No,” I say, ashamed of my forgetfulness. I'm too young to lose my memory. I think my mind has become cluttered with all the AP information and is keeping me off my spiritual guard.

Exactly
, my mom thinks to me.
Don't be embarrassed, Jayd. We all forget things sometimes.

“Well, you need to be. That's why we gave them to you,” Mama says, checking her inventory. She's probably going to make me some more tea. Yuck. I've had enough of that bitter shit to last me a lifetime.

“Especially with the friends you've got running around,” Netta says, busy giving my mother work to do. “I heard about Mickey finally confessing that that little baby girl in her stomach is Tre's.” I look at Netta across the room, ever amazed at her ability to get information. Tre's sister Brandy comes into the shop whenever she has some money. I guess she found an extra twenty dollars this week and got some things off her chest while in Netta's chair.

“You can't keep bailing your friends out, Jayd,” Mama says, taking several branches of dried herbs off the shrine and placing them on the kitchen table.

“But what am I supposed to do? Let them fall apart?” I whine, cuddling up in the warm blanket. The food smells good, but it may have to wait until after I've had a good nap.

“The only thing you can do is work on your influence with each of them. That's it,” Netta says, mixing the pancake batter while the turkey bacon sizzles in the other cast-iron skillet. I can't wait to get into our brunch. My mom's cutting fresh strawberries in the sink while Mama sets the table. The spirit room may be small, but it's the perfect holy place for us.

“But I could manipulate Misty's mind through my dreams when she and her evil godmother Esmeralda tried to take over my vision. Why not theirs?”

“Because that little heffa tried to steal your powers, but Nigel and Mickey are different. This is not your battle, Jayd.” Mama's right. The best thing I can do is work on perfecting when I can jump into someone's thoughts and how to get out of them.

“Well, what if it is?” I ask, yawning. “Last time Misty went after me, she hurt my friends in the process. This time it looks like she's doing the same thing.”

“The best way to get back at Misty is to be strong and healthy. Don't you see, Jayd? The only way Misty has been able to get to you is when you're not feeling well. She has to use your own powers against you in order to take you down because she's not strong enough to do it herself, and neither is Esmeralda.” Mama places the last plate on the table and waits for Netta to finish cooking.

“Yeah, but Jayd wasn't asleep when this happened and her powers lie in her dreams,” my mom says, playing detective. I feel her presence in my mind, but as long as I don't think the truth, she can't hear it.

“What you need to do is move your ass back home, but I'm not going to say it again,” Mama says, taking a piece of bacon off the plate where Netta has placed it to cool. “But until then you need to rest. And stop eating all that junk at your mama's house, which means you need to provide her with groceries so she doesn't have to spend her hard-earned money buying the cheapest food she can find.” My mom sucks her teeth at Mama, but I think she's feeling her. I'm just glad they're talking again.

“Okay, Mama. I'm going to listen to you and take it easy for the next couple days,” I say. Mama brings me a small plate of food, forcing me to eat a little before I nod off. It's so good, but will taste even better when I can really enjoy it.

“No, young lady. You're taking weeks off,” Mama says, patting my hand. “This isn't a simple cold you can bounce back from, as we have seen from today's episode in church. You need time to fortify yourself, and that will take a while.” I knew Mama had something else up her sleeve for me. “These herbs have to be taken in several rounds of doses, and once you finish, your blood will be so strong and your head so cool, nothing will be able to rattle you, not even Misty.” That's news to my ears. If it'll make me invincible, I'll try it out. Besides, I can use the mandatory quiet time to completely focus on my studies—friends and their bull not allowed.

 

It was nice taking a couple weeks off from the drama to focus on myself. Spring break was real chill, with Jeremy keeping me company. Because we were out of school, our study group met every day, all day, leaving our evenings free, and Jeremy and I took full advantage of the off time. We went to the movies, walked along the beach, and ate out every night. It was perfect. I needed to relax in order to be ready for our exams, and I think we are both in a good place to do our best. In order to stay chill once the break was over, I stayed clear of my crew. It's been two weeks since I've talked to Nellie or Mickey outside of class, and I must say, I don't miss them as much as I thought I would. Maybe it's because whenever I've seen them lately, it's been all about them and I'm tired of going along with that conversation. It's time to focus on me, and that starts by passing all my AP exams.

My first test was on Monday. Luckily, it was in economics, and I'm pretty confident I passed that exam and the Spanish one on Wednesday. Today is English. I can't wait to show Mrs. Bennett up. As much as I've been studying, I think I'll get at least a four, if not a five. Passing will be good enough for me at this point, and as the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold, and I can't wait to hand it out.

Upon walking into Mrs. Bennett's classroom, I notice Misty standing at the teacher's table sharpening pencils. There's been a student helper in all the exams, usually an office aid like Misty. She looks up from her busy work and smiles at me, pointing to an empty desk in the full room. I wave to Jeremy, who is seated on the other side of the room with most of our crew, including Candace. I can't afford to let anything rattle me this morning, hating hos included.

I take my seat as Mrs. Bennett walks in, closing the door behind her. The force from the door causes the fluorescent light above my desk to flicker like it's about to go out. This can't be a good sign, but I'm staying cool, no matter what happens. I raise my hand to get Mrs. Bennett's attention. She looks annoyed at my very presence, which is no surprise.

“Mrs. Bennett, the light above my head is going out,” I say, noticing that my light is the only one having this problem.

“You have all the light you need to see, Jayd,” she says, smiling as if this were her master plan all along. Misty passes out the pencils and test booklets, smiling at the teacher's response. Mrs. Bennett is right. If I can write down a story in the spirit book in complete darkness in my dream, I can take this test with the flash of light above my head. I know I can pass this thing, and doing so will be the sweetest revenge on both Mrs. Bennett and Misty.

At the end of the grueling three-hour exam, it's finally time to turn in the papers. Once my booklet is closed, I reach my hands high above my head and stretch the tension away. I feel really good about this one. Unlike the first practice test I took several weeks ago, I knew almost every question, including the essays. All that studying paid off, and so did Mama's rest regimen. Jeremy looks confident as usual as he turns in his exam and walks out the door. I get up from my desk and follow the rest of the students to the teacher's desk and then off campus for the weekend. I can't wait to celebrate with my man and our newfound AP crew, but first a little payback is due.

“I know I passed,” I say to Mrs. Bennett as I turn in my exam. She looks up at me, her cold blue eyes as fierce as they can get without the gift of sight present in my lineage. Misty tries to look at me with her fake aqua eyes, but neither one of them can shake me today.

“We'll just see about that, Miss Jackson.” She takes the exam booklet and sets it with the rest of the pile. I silently chant the oriki Netta gave me for my birthday to make sure my exam gets to where it's supposed to go without any interference. As I toss my backpack over my left shoulder, my jade bracelets move down my arm and fall to my wrist, catching Mrs. Bennett's eye. She looks at the five bangles as if she just saw a ghost.

“Everything okay?” I ask her, but for the first time ever, the broad is speechless. Good. Me reclaiming my power is indeed the sweetest revenge ever. Exacting complete vengeance on my big-booty nemesis will have to wait until another time. Misty, unfortunately, will never go away. I'll always have to be one step ahead of her to fortify myself against her ill will.

“So how did my girl do?” Jeremy asks, taking my backpack from me and carrying it alongside his.

“I think I did very well. And you?” We walk hand in hand toward the parking lot to our separate cars.

“It's all good,” Jeremy says, letting go of my hand and putting his arm around my shoulders. “Now I'm going to surf to celebrate.”

“Surf?” I ask. I know he's a beach boy, but that's no way to blow off steam after the heavy load we've been carrying. To each his own, I guess. “But, baby, I thought we might do something fun together.”

“Why don't you come to the beach with me and hang out? Or, better yet, you can get in the water with me.”

“And mess up my do? No, thank you,” I say, touching my smooth ponytail. We get to my ride first, parting ways for now, but I'm sure I'll see him later.

“Okay, Jayd. Then I guess this is good-bye for now,” Jeremy says, kissing me before I unlock the doors. “I'll call you tonight when I'm on my way.” He walks toward his Mustang parked several spaces down from mine.

“Oh, you just know you're coming over tonight, huh?” We've been practically inseparable since my birthday, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

“Yes, I do. Where else would I be?” Where else, indeed. But now I have nothing to do tonight. Too bad my friends are all in pissy moods. I guess I'll have to settle for a nice, long bath and movies tonight. Before I pull off, Rah calls. We never did talk about what Mickey blurted out at the shower, and I've just been letting him cool off. He must be ready to talk.