Keysha
fter my initial altercation with Liz I didn't see her for two days. I'd heard through the grapevine that she and several of the kids from her crew were cutting school as an act of defiance against her teachers and the educational system in general. The fact that Liz decided to cut school for a few days irritated me to no end, because regardless of the promises I'd made to my father to stay away from her and avoid another big quarrel, I found myself obsessed with confronting her another time. When I did see her again, it was on Thursday morning just after Mike had left me to head to football practice. I was on my way to the school library to work on an essay I had to write. I spotted Liz in the parking lot gossiping with several girls from her crew. The moment I saw her, I slung my book bag on the pavement and ran toward her. I couldn't help it. Racing toward her, I was like an animal chasing down its prey. I was so focused on Liz that a student who was trying to park her car almost nailed me. The person driving blew her horn at me but I ignored the loud noise.
"Liz!" I yelled out her name as I approached her. "We need to talk." My voice was filled with fury.
"Well, I don't want to speak to you, jailbird," she insulted me, and I felt my blood boiling over.
"Liz, I am not playing with you, girl," I said, clenching my fists repeatedly.
"See, girls, this is what happens to you when you can't handle the drugs you're taking." Liz was filled with attitude and spite, I could hear it in her words and see it in her body language.
"Keysha is the poster child for the word 'stalker.'"
Liz and the girls laughed at me and that really ticked me off.
"What did you just say?" I asked as I clenched my jaw tightly. I was doing everything within my power to keep from committing a homicide in the school parking lot.
"Oh, come on, Keysha. You know you've been stalking me like some lovesick girl who can't get over the fact that her lover has dumped her."
"I am not some lovesick girl and you know it." Liz was really trying my patience. "I'm here to talk about the drugs you planted on me and I want some answers. I also want you to confess that you're the one who set me up!" I was now shouting at her.
"Who are you raising your voice at?" Liz snarled at me.
"You!" I barked back.
"You know what, jailbird, if I were you, I'd leave before something bad happens to you."
I couldn't help it. My rage consumed me and I was ready to pull out her spiked raven-black hair and scratch her face with my fingernails until it became covered with blood.
"Move out of my way." She pushed my shoulder and that did it. I swung at her and connected with a solid slap right on the jaw. Before Liz or any of the other girls could react, I was cocking my arm back for a second shot. I swung and missed, which gave Liz enough time to recover and grab a handful of my hair. She began pulling it hard, causing my neck to jerk. I somehow managed to get a hold of her shirt and began tugging at it until it started to rip. I heard the fabric tear.
"This is a new blouse, you—"
"Why did you do it, Liz?" I interrupted as I continued to rip her blouse away from her body.
"Let me go!" I shouted but Liz continued to violently yank on my hair. Her shirt was almost completely off of her body, so she released me and I let her go, as well.
"Are either one of you two sluts going to help me?" Liz shouted out for help from her girls. I knew that I was about to get a beat-down because I was outnumbered. But I didn't care. Turning my fingers into talons, I lunged for Liz, screaming like a madwoman. I clawed her face several times before her goons could make a move. They tried to grab me but I was swinging my fists like a lunatic. I began fighting them, as well. I took a few hits but I gave out some as well. A crowd of students formed around us and began encouraging us to fight dirty. Someone punched me in the back and then slapped me. I swung back and connected with a slap on the ear. At that very moment I heard Mike's voice.
"Hey, break it up! Stop it!" I could tell that my brother was charging toward me. He'd broken through the crowd and began pushing me away to safety.
"No," I yelled. "I'm going to keep fighting her. She can't ruin my life like this."
"Your life was already screwed up!" Liz howled at me. I spit on her and nailed her right between the eyes. She spit back and hit me on the neck.
"Come on, Keysha, just walk away, let it go." Mike grabbed me and was pushing me farther away from her.
I fought Mike off of me. And rushed at Liz once again. She landed a punch on my lips, but it didn't matter because I'd locked my fingers around her neck and started choking her. Mike once again pulled me off of her.
"Come on! Let's finish this right now, Liz. You think you're bad but you're not." I was fired up. "Come on! I'm waiting."
"Your day is coming Keysha! I swear, you are going to regret this."
"Does it look as if I'm scared of you? Huh?"
"Keysha, shut up!" Mike kept pulling me away.
Since I wanted to get in the last word, I gave Liz the middle finger.
"Same to you, Keysha!" she barked out as she tried to adjust her torn clothing.
"Bring it on, Liz. I'm not afraid of you. You may have those other girls afraid of you but I'm not. Anytime and anywhere." I pointed my index finger at her. "I hate you!"
"The feeling is mutual!" Liz howled out.
"Let me go, Mike. I'm not done with her." I tried to break free of his grip.
"No. That's enough," Mike said. "You're just a little hellcat, aren't you?" he said as he continued to move me farther way.
"Okay, I'm done with it," I said. "Now, let me go." Mike looked into my eyes to see if I was telling the truth.
"It's okay, I'm cool," I said. He let me go.
"What the hell was all of that about, Keysha?" Mike yelled at me.
"How did you get to me so quickly?" I asked.
"I told you. I have friends all over this campus.
Someone called me on my cellular phone just as I was about to change into my gear and told me that you and Liz looked as if you guys were about to throw down. I knew right then I needed to run like the wind to get over here." We reached a bus bench and sat down.
"Keysha, that's the second time I've had to break up a fight between you and that girl."
"It probably will not be the last either," I said to him.
"Keysha, I know you hate the girl but people like her never win. Liz is poison. I probably should have told you that instead of making you feel unwelcome." Mike stroked down my hair.
"Your hair is all jacked up," he said.
"I must look like something out of a horror movie," I said as I tried to pat down my messy hair.
"I've seen worse. You're so lucky that her girls didn't do more damage. You could've really gotten hurt."
"I didn't care, Mike," I said.
"Yeah, but I do," he said.
I paused because I wasn't expecting to hear that from him. I stared at Mike for a moment.
"You really do care, don't you?" I asked.
"Of course I do." Mike took in a deep breath and then slowly let it out.
"Hey, I'm sorry about all of the mean things I said to you. I didn't really mean any of it," I admitted.
"That's good to know. Because I'm not going to keep coming to your rescue if you hate my guts."
"I don't hate you, Mike. I envy you but I don't hate you."
"Look, the bell is going to ring in about fifteen minutes and I need to get all the way back to the other side of campus to get my books and stuff. Are you going to be cool? No more fighting?"
"Yeah, no more fighting. I'm cool now. I've gotten it out of my system. Liz is just a low-down, evil snake in the grass. I need to learn how to pick better friends."
"I told you that Liz was a real nutcase. I think the girl is bipolar or something."
"You could be right," I said. "I'm going to go pick up my book bag. It's in the middle of the parking lot. You head on back to the locker room. I'll catch up with you after school, okay?"
"Cool," Mike said, then stood up and sprinted back toward the other side of campus.
There was an unwritten agreement between Liz and me to avoid each other at all costs. I didn't want to run into her any more than she wanted to run into me. After I realized that I wouldn't be able to get Liz to admit to her wrongdoing, I decided to listen to what my father said and let Asia handle my case. I gave her Liz's name, phone number and address so that she could serve her with a subpoena to appear in court. I spent the next several weeks at the school library focusing on pulling up my grades and proving to Jordan and myself that I was a much better person and student in spite of what my grades and quandary seemed to say.
