Category Archives: drama

Beatriz Bentley: The Green-Eyed Scientist

Posted in Creative writing, drama, education, Love, short stories, Writer, Writing by

Crush Radio Tyler seemed to occupy my mind these days. I tried hard not to think about him but I did. I forced myself not to; engulfing myself in my work but my efforts to avoid him were futile.

Apparently I couldn’t completely avoid him in gym class. Our insufferable stickler for rules, gym teacher, Mr. O’Connor, paired me with him during a badminton game. He made us shake hands before the game. Tyler strutted towards me in his cut-out muscle navy muscle sleeve shirt, grey sweatpants, and DC white and black sneakers. He smelled of tobacco and was sucking on a cherry lollipop.

“I thought you were smart” I smirked.

“What?” he responded with an attitude.

“Smoking is a killer” I responded, annoyed.

“Do you have anything else to say?” he laughed. He was obviously not interested in small talk. When he extended his hand for me to shake, I slapped it away and returned to my post; positioning myself ready to start the game.

“Fiesty” he yelled at me. I ignored him. Mr. O’Connor was not pleased. He gave me a disapproving look.

“Be nice, Beatriz” Mr. O’Connor said to me. I faked a smile. The game was against two other freshman’s which I didn’t bother to remember their names. It was a ruthless game and I won. Well, Tyler and I won. I was fast and he was strategic. We made a great team.  After it was over, we were both sweating like pigs. Tyler lifted his shirt to wipe away the sweat from his face exposing a masterpiece of hard-rock abs. His white skin glistening even under the gym’s fluorescent lights. I quickly looked away.

I could not let this obnoxious green-eyed intelligent yet very so handsome jerk impair my focus. I knew exactly what I had to do. Suddenly, something unexpected happen. He walked up to me and started talking to me.

“Great game, Beatriz. You’ve got a strong swing” he smiled at me. I just stared and nodded as if I was an emotionless robot. He was trying to get to know me but I was frozen and scared of this new development in our relationship. I could only manage to give him a thumbs up.

“You know I have done all that science thing, I’m looking for new challenging ventures.” He continued. I just nodded again and looked away.

“Please excuse me but I have to go” I said, half screaming at him as I ran to the girl’s locker room. I lay against the lockers trying to calm my ever so rapidly beating heart beat.

Could it be that he likes me? So many thoughts ran through my mind but I quickly dismissed them. We could never be friends. He was a senior, a popular senior at that. He could never be friends with the likes of me.

“Do you have anything else to say?” repeats in my mind over and over again. I have so many things to say, I hear myself whisper.

The Green-Eyed Scientist with the hard-rock abs was put in the back of my mind as I went on to my other classes and pretended like nothing ever happened.

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Breaking Point

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We thought she coincidently came into our lives; wishfully hoping for someone to save us from our tragedies. The latter was a huge misinterpretation on our parts for she slithered into our worlds like a snake. When she was done with us she left us completely bewildered and damaged. Never thought I would fraternize with a she-demon, but I have come to realize that life is full of unexpected surprises. It was like we were under some enchantment but I knew better. Never been the one to believe in fairy tales and wasn’t going to start now. Nevertheless, I admit I was submissive to her charm yet still remained skeptical about her.

It was on one September morning that she walked into the offices of Wildon Barks Accounting. I was at the front desk when I noticed through my periphery someone coming towards me with wild curly brown hair. I turned to see and there she was walking towards me with wild curly brown hair with front honey blond highlights. Her skin was of a olive texture and she had an ample sized body. She was wearing a black v-neck top with a straight leg denim.

“Hi, I’m Ericka” she smiled at me. She has a nice smile, I thought. I was stunned by her beauty and envied her for it. I guess that is why I never kept much girl friends around because they were all prettier than me and I don’t like sharing the spotlight.

“I’m Jordan” I smiled back at her. She went on to tell me that she was a new hire and was excited about the opportunity to meet new people. Over the next few months we grew “close”, I used that word lightly. I mean she was nice and all but something in my gut told me she wasn’t right. She never got mad when Becky insulted her; Becky was one of the supervisors on the third floor. Becky was a red head she-devil that would run you over if you didn’t please her every whim. A real character, that Becky. I figured her out the first time I met her. She might be nice to you but that’s all a ruse to extract your secrets and use them against you. She’s a conniving blood sucker and she still hasn’t figured me out. Here and there I spread some insignificant details about my life to keep her at bay but I’m a master at living a perfect lie. I digress.

Ericka never got mad at anything; she was always so calm and happy. How can a person be so happy and stress-free? I wondered many nights in my bed. My problem is that I like to think too much and know too much. Apparently, the solution was to psycho analyze her. I began to study her behavior and habits. You might think I’m just paranoid but I was paranoid for a reason. She was just too good to be true and that is a very dangerous sign. During our time together, I didn’t feel any emotional connection until she opened up to me about an affair she had with three of our co-workers. One of them was Roberto, which Jenny had a crush on. Jenny and Ericka knew each other before she started working there. Ericka knew Jenny liked Roberto but she still went after him. She told me she didn’t do anything but I didn’t believe her. I couldn’t believe it. It was like an episode from a very dramatic scene in Gossip Girl. I wasn’t really shocked by what she did because I knew she wasn’t a “good girl” for lack of a better and nicer term. Foolishly, for some reason I opened up about my traumatic past in high school and that’s when all went to hell. I told her not to tell anyone but she did.

Everyone at work got word of my past by later that evening. They indirectly made comments to me about certain isolated incidents which I disregarded as just coincidences. Truthfully, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence but couldn’t muster up the strength to confront her. I’m not one to express what I feel because I compartmentalize. I keep everything in but that just seeps out into psychotic temper tantrums when I get completely fed up with everything. Summer came along and things really got heated. She started sleeping with Markus, our Assistant Manager. Perhaps it was even before then but I still figured something was going on between them. I suppose she thought I liked him because she would insinuate to the latter and tried to evoke a reaction from me. She would flirt with him and bring him up during conversations, sometimes indirectly. She thought she was clever but that was her mistake; she underestimated me.

Essentially, her perspective of me was that I was poor sad Jordan who couldn’t get a date and had no close friends. I agreed to her consensus that I was an emotional wreck ravaged by years of rejection and pain. Needless to say my emotions stayed out of the matter because I was her temporary pet. Yes, she stroked my ego and filled my head with beautiful nothings but the fantasy never really engulfed me. My skepticism kept reality vivid. I decided to confront her one day while exploring the city. I told her about everything that I knew and what she really was.

“So, you think you know me” she laughed. “What you think you’re so perfect?!” she screamed. It was the first time she ever let her true feelings show and it was an epic sight. I took off her mask. She went on to belittle me and point out all my indiscretions. I let her scream and yell at me. Suddenly, she did something I did not expect. She started to cry and then punched me in the face. We got into a brawl only to be separated by street cops.

In my moment of anger, I printed out the texts she sent me of her affair and sent them to our boss. I told everyone about her affairs. I didn’t want to hurt Jenny, but she had to know that the person she thought was her friend was not a friend at all. Roberto, Clive, and Maurice humiliated her at work for her deceit. They pronounced her as the office whore. Markus broke off the agreement he had with her because she wasn’t worth him losing his job. He advised her that if she tried anything he would destroy her. The damage was already done, she had left him in more distress than he started with; broke and still living with the folks.

Jenny slapped Ericka when we went to work the next day. Our boss, called Ericka into his office later that afternoon, and fired her. I thought that was the last of her but I was wrong. I was home alone one night watching TV when the door bell rang. It had been three months since I got rid of Ericka. I went downstairs to open the door and came to face with the mouth of a Glock-47.

“Everyone has their breaking point” (shots fired).

Chapter 5: The Perfect Happy Family

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Chapter  5.

“Lisa” I heard a distant low voice say. I felt so groggy and my head was pounding. As I opened my eyes, everything seemed so blurry at first and for a moment I wasn’t sure where I was. Then I remembered everything that occurred before I passed out.

“Are you ok?” someone asked as I turned to the direction of the voice. Standing next to my hospital bed was a young nurse with a real bad blonde hair dye. I mean if you’re going to go blonde, get it done right! She was alright looking though but those nurse clothes did her body no justice. I could barely make out her name as I struggled to read her name tag. After my eyes adjusted to the poor dim lights, I was finally able to read her name. Her name tag read, Jasmine Connor.

“I feel like I have a hangover,” I murmured.

“You took a nasty fall,” Jasmine said.

“No, really, you think?!” I retorted.

“Do you want to see your brother? Your mother is still in intensive care.” Jasmine smiled.

“I can’t handle people right now. I need to rest,” I muttered.

“Ok, is there anything you need?” Jasmine asked.

“No, thank you. You may go.” I replied. She smiled at me and I watched her leave my room. Essentially, all I wanted to do was lose myself in oblivion. If only I could slip away but my dreams are prone to project black and white images of the disaster that is my life. No amount of money can fix the troubles of a dysfunctional family; it is like living in a strange world. Longing to catch some sleep but with no avail because father abruptly burst into the room.

“Oh honey!”

“How’s my princess?” Father uttered.

“A bloody mess” I smiled.

“Are you ok? How’s your mother?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m fine but mother is still in intensive care,” I replied.

“What happened?” Father inquired.

“She passed out due to excessive exercising with an empty stomach,” I quickly replied. It wasn’t the whole truth but I couldn’t actually tell him everything. It wasn’t my place to say. Mother would have to tell him but it was highly doubtful that she would. She would get an abortion behind his back rather than own up to her indiscretions. Mother was never one to take responsibility for her actions; she always took the easy way out.

“So how is the food here? You want me to bring you something?” Father suddenly asked interrupting my thoughts.

“I haven’t eaten anything, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Don’t really feel like eating anything, though,” I replied.

“Ok, princess,” Father smiled. He stayed a few hours with me then went to check on mom. James came in to check on me and told me mother was awake now. Dr. Daniels gave me a quick check-up around 7:30 then said it was ok for me to go home, if I wished to go. There was no way I was going home until I found out who was the father of the baby my mother was carrying. I slipped into her room and saw father sitting besides her holding her hand. They were looking into each other’s eyes so lovingly. What great actors are my parents? I thought to myself. I made up some wild request for California rolls from Yung Shi Delicacy, which is the most luxurious sushi restaurant in Malibu. There is a two year waiting list to even get a table there but father is friends with the owner so he gets access anytime. Of course, father would jump and go just to please his princess.  After he left, I gave mother a stern look.

“It’s not Quinn’s,” mother said in a low voice.

“Whose is it, then,” I demanded.

“Mark Beyer’s” mother answered.

“What?!” someone screamed and we both turned to see James by the door. Oh, no, I thought. Mom, how could you?

“You slept with my boyfriend!” James stormed in yelling at mom.

“Your boyfriend?!” mother screamed. I saw the color drain from James face as he realized what he had just done. There was no coming back from this; what was done was done.

“I hate you!” James cried out as he turned and ran crying out the door, while I sank to my knees as I saw my perfect life crumble.

The Perfect Happy Family: Chapter 3

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PHF: Chapter 3

I came around a while later to James splashing my face with water from a spritz bottle. My eyes were blurry and I felt like I had a really bad hangover. “Why does my head hurt so much?” I asked wearily. Somehow I had blocked all sounds because James had been screaming at me the whole time.

“Are you okay?!” James yelled at me.

“Whoa! Not so loud, dude” I responded feverishly.

“I slapped your face a couple of times but you wouldn’t wake up. I was about to call mom and dad….” James’ voiced trailed off.  So that’s why my head hurt so much, I thought to myself. Why hadn’t I woken up? A slap to the face would surely wake me up but James said he hit me a couple of times.

“So, I didn’t move or anything when you hit me?” I asked James

“No, it was weird. You lay there like a dead body.” He responded with a concern look on his face.

“Well I’m not dead, see!” I joked even though I was actually perplexed by what had happened.

“Did you eat?” James asked.

“Uh, yeah” I lied.

“So what were we talking about before I fainted?” I asked.

“I told you I was planning to marry Mark” James said with a smile on his face.

“You can’t marry him. You can’t.” I hissed.

“I thought you’d be happy for me! I guess I was wrong.” James murmured.

“You really think this is a good plan? You know what they’ll do to you at school?” I screamed. Suddenly, my bedroom door drew open and mother rushed in with a scowl.

“Shut up and go to bed!” she shushed at us. She then turned and walked back to her bedroom. We waited until we heard her close her door. James got up and headed towards the door also. I grabbed his arm.

“You can’t tell anybody about this. We’ll be ruined. You’ll be ruined.” I whispered in a harsh tone.  He just looked at me then shook away from my grip. I watched him as he walked to his bedroom to the other side of the house. No one could ever know that my brother is a gay, I thought. We would be the laugh of the town if anyone ever found out. Oh, the tragedy.  So there and then I made it my mission to be my family’s keeper. My mother is an adultery, my father is a cross dresser, and my brother is a gay. It was all too much for one day and I threw myself on my bed without changing into my pajamas. I hold my family’s secrets like the government keeps theirs. It was two in the morning by the time I feel asleep but I didn’t sleep for long. I had to wake up early for school three hours later. It was a typical Monroe morning. Father was already at the clinic, mother was exercising downstairs in our top of the art gym, and Clarisse had already made breakfast for me and James.

“James is not going to school today” Clarisse said as I walked into the kitchen.

‘What’d you mean?” I responded. “He was fine last night.”

“Well he told me he won’t be going to school today” Clarisse retorted in an annoyed tone. I retracted back up our marble steps as fast as I could to James’ room. I didn’t even knock-I just burst in.

“Yeah, see you later” I caught him saying to his phone before he hung up.

“Knock much?!” he yelled at me.

“No, you know me. Miss no manners” I mocked. “Why aren’t you going to school?”

“I’m sick.” He said with a facetious cough.

“Loser” I said as I walked out of his bedroom and made my way back to the kitchen. When I got back to the kitchen Clarisse was jumping up and down with giddiness.

“I got good gossip!” she yelled.

“What?” I ran to her with intrigue.

“Miss Sahib found panties not hers under her bed. She’s angry with Mr. Quinn!” Clarisse gushed. My heart stopped. Those were mother’s panties.

“So, is she kicking him out?” I asked Clarisse.

“I heard she wants to know the woman’s name so she could kill her” Clarisse exclaimed. Clarisse was all about the drama and neighborhood gossip. She never revealed her sources; she was smart like that. A few seconds later the door bell rang. I went to get the door but stopped in my tracks in horror when I saw that it was Sane Sahib. Did she know? It would be an insult to injury in Sahib’s case because she was one of mother’s closest friends. I regained my posture and attained all the courage I could muster as I opened the door.

“Hi” I said with a shaky voice. Sane just looked at me through her dark brown eyes. She was crying. Her usually flawless golden brown hair lay messy around her shoulders. She was a complete mess in her ripped blue jeans and stained white t-shirt.

“Is your mother home?” she sobbed.

“Uh….” I murmured but was interrupted by mother.

“Hey, oh honey, come in” mother gestured at Sane to come in. “What’s wrong?”

“Quinn cheated on me and won’t tell me with whom!” Sane screamed.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that” mother said to Sane while comforting her. I looked at mother in disgust.

“Don’t you need to be off to school?” mother asked me.

“Yes, of course!” I replied and ran to get my book bag. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. My mother was sleeping with her friend’s husband and didn’t show any remorse. How could she be so vile? I wondered.  As I walked out my house I saw Mr. Quinn heading towards me.

“You have some nerve” I hissed at him.

“Me. What about your mother?” he asked seeming appalled. “What about your father?”

“What you mean my father?” I asked.

“I know your father’s secret” Quinn smirked at me. “Your father is a cross-dresser” he laughed.

“You wouldn’t dare” I threatened.

“Or would I? Don’t test me child.” He retorted. I then knew I had to get rid of him.

“What do you want?” I asked

“Let’s just say you keep your secret and I’ll keep mine” he responded. There was no way I was going to trust him with such a huge secret. I had to get rid of him one way or another; even if it meant taking drastic measures. He had to disappear. He had to die because no one is suppose to know but me. No one can ever find out the truth about my family.

Secrets

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Secrets

        This is the story of three high school students that keep terrible secrets. First is a junior named Malcolm, a loner and foster child that is a serial killer in the making.  Second is a sophomore named Stacy, which is envious of her mother so she starts having an affair with her mother’s husband.  Third, is a senior named Patrick who hates his father and plans to kill him to take over the family business so that he could inherit 100 billion dollars and marry his father’s girlfriend.

            Malcolm: I can’t fathom the purpose for my being. I stray away from people because I’m scared they will not accept me for who I am. I’m not quick to give up my life story. My words are mostly insincere. I won’t let anybody get close to me because I’m bound to disappoint them. I’m tired of being this way. I have no friends. The truth is eating me up inside but I would never give it up. I make up clever stories for the bruises on my body because no one needs to know that I cut and beat myself up when I feel insecure. I got no reason, no shame, no family I can blame for my sorrow.  I think I’m a borderline psycho path. I kill neighborhood pets on my free time and I like it. I’ve been doing it since I was nine and haven’t been caught yet. I’m 16 now.  At night I dream of my death. I’m guessing lethal injection because one day I will evolve from killing animals to humans. This time I’m writing everything down; I’m giving all my secrets away. The headline reads: Malcolm, the Serial Killer.

            Stacy: My mother has had many husbands. She goes through them like water. After she’s taken all their money she moves on to another one. She chases a dream for her two daughters to live the enchanted life.  Mother always got what she wanted. Everyone praises her for her beauty. I hate her. She cheated on my father and left him with nothing. She moved us away from him and won’t allow him to see us. She’s had 8 husbands and so many boyfriends that I’ve lost count. We, meaning my sister, Ashley and I get ridiculed at school because everyone knows our mother is a gold digging whore. When I turned 15 she introduced us to her new boyfriend, Matthew. She had been only dating him for three months and he was already moving in with us. He was 25 years old while mother was celebrating her 40th birthday. I was fed up with her. I started sleeping with Matt a couple of months after he moved in. I wanted to hurt my mother and teach her a lesson. She needs to feel pain like no other.

Patrick: Father thinks he can do whatever he wants. I’m about to prove him wrong. He thinks he can have a 21 year old girlfriend just because he’s a corporate tycoon. He left mother when I was 12 years old. He didn’t give her a dime. She killed herself that night he told her he was leaving her for a 21 year old. At first, he didn’t want to take care of me; he wanted to ship me off to Russia to live with his mother. His mother made him take responsibility for his actions so he got stuck with me. I started sleeping with his 21 year old girlfriend, Nostalgia, when I was 15. He didn’t treat her well. He cheated on her with strippers and other loose women he encountered on his “business trips.” He would also beat her when he got drunk or when she disagreed with him. The economy downturn hit him hard since he’s an investment banker/broker. He owns his own investment firm and other reality establishments. Everyone at school thinks I’m this happy rich kid but I’m about to give all my secrets away. I plan to kill my father so that I can inherit the family business, a 100 billion dollar inheritance, and marry Nostalgia. The blueprint has already been made; it’s fool proof.

Dear Jamie

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Dear Jamie

Chapter: 1

 

I try to think of something to contest. My passion for her was rather unexplainable. She came out of nowhere into my life but due to circumstances I had to leave her. It hurt me more than anybody could ever know; the pain was great. Our story; our love will forever be sacred in this vintage journal I took from my little sister, Emma. A string of words I conveyed to express the things I think and project the right effect. These memoirs are what keeps me from forgetting her; Oh my Jamie.

I was a young lad of 17 in 1939 when I had met Jamie. Father was a marine so we moved a lot. We had moved six times by the time I was nine years old. Finally, we settled in a small town in Maryland named Hancock.  It resides in Washington County with a population of less than 2,000. It is also located on the western part of Maryland and only 2 miles wide. At first, I hated it because there was nothing much to do there, but when I met Jamie everything changed.

“Why of all places do we have to end up here?” I asked impatiently to my father.

“You know the answer to your own question, Richard” my father replied.

“There’s nothing here!” I yelled as I stormed up to my room from the kitchen.

“Oh, dear” I heard my mother call out.

“Turn on the radio!” I heard Emma scream. My mother obliged to her request; then we heard it- Nazi Germany had just invaded Poland.

“Germany invades Poland!” said the announcer through the scratchy sounding radio we had propped up on the tile kitchen table. I ran back downstairs to see if it was really true what I had just heard.

“Is it true?” I asked to no one in particular.

“Oh my god” my mother gasped as she put her right hand to her mouth.

“You’d think they come here?” Emma asked.

“If they do try-they’d be sorry” my father responded with a cool look in his eyes. Then the kitchen back door opened and a woman about my mother’s age burst in followed by a younger girl about my age.

“Did you hear, Martha?!” the older woman asked my mother.

“Yes, I did, Bonnie. Its unbelievable.” my mother responded.

“Father is in shock. We have family there.” said the younger girl. I had no clue who these women were. I suppose because I was always locked in my room since we moved here, oblivious to my mother’s rapid friendships with just about everybody that lived in this ghastly town. Nevertheless, I was hypnotized by the younger girl’s beauty. She had dark brown hair than ran to her shoulders and the most beautiful green eyes. Well, they were actually green and grey. She had this silky caramel skin and a smile that could light this whole town. I’ve never been one to fall in love but I was falling for this girl even though I didn’t even know her. I mean she was just so gorgeous.

“Hi, I don’t think we’ve met. You must be Richard. I’m Jamie,” the beautiful girl smiled at me.

“Uh, yeah. I’m….I’m….Richard,” I stuttered. God do I have to be such a dork, I thought. However, to my surprise she smiled at me again.

“Nice to meet you, Richard” she said. “So I’ve heard you’re enlisting in the army”

“Who said that? My mother, of course.” I said exasperated.

“She doesn’t want you to get hurt, that’s all” Jamie said.

“It’s my life. I do what I want.” I told her.

“Ok, Mr. Macho man.” Jamie joked. I tried not to smile. Our parents were now sitting in the living room drinking tea and eating corn bread while intently listening to the radio.

“Hey, do you want to head out to the porch? It’s such a nice day, today.” I asked Jamie.

“Sure,” she responded with a grin.

“You do smile a lot. People might think you’re simple.” I teased.

“I’m happy and there’s nothing wrong with being happy, right?” she said with a smirk.

“No there’s not,” I told her as I opened the door leading to the front porch. We each took a rocking chair to sit in and talked for a while. She said she wanted to be a lawyer someday, travel the world, and have a lot of kids.

“How many you want?” I asked

“Oh, maybe 4. Three boys and one girl,” she said while she looked at her watch.

“Shoot! Its 5:30 and I was supposed to be at the Constance residence twenty minutes ago to babysit their kids!” she yelled. “I have to go” and then she ran down the porch steps. As she ran she yelled out, “Bye, Richie!” I watched as her silhouette disappeared around the corner and did I mention she had an amazing body.

The Origami Cupcake

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The Origami Cupcake: Chapter 1


Mother never stayed for long. She always came dressed in her exuberant outfits and never matching high heeled shoes. “Flats are for ordinary women. I’m not an everyday woman,” she would say. Father let her do whatever she wanted. He never said no to her because he was afraid she would leave if he ever did.  He bent to her every whim and once drove from our home in South Jersey to Brooklyn to get her a cheesecake. She only ate Junior’s cheesecake and nothing else. You see mother grew up on the upper east-side of Manhattan. She is the daughter of a very successful and rich broker. You’d think she’d marry to a rich man but to her parents’ and her surprise she married my dad, Henry.  Henry was a server at this Italian restaurant called Vinnies when mother met him. He didn’t have a rich family like she did and had to work two jobs to pay for college.

They met one day in September of 1965. Mother had decided that she would go out to eat with her friends to eat after her last class. Her parents were very over-protective of her. They didn’t want her roaming around the city without a body guard with her. She hated being followed by a steroid using huge dude that scared her more than the strangers her parents were afraid of.

“Sasha, let’s go to Vinnies,” her friend Carmen suggested.

“We can’t go to Brooklyn, dweeb, my mother will freak!” my mother scolded.

“Oh c’mon, Sasha; It’ll be fun,” her other friend, Julia, begged.

“We always have fun at Vinnies. All those cute guys in Brooklyn; you know you want to go,” Carmen teased.

“Ok, ok. I give in,” my mother raised her hands in defeat. They took mother’s limo to Brooklyn. Indeed, she had a fabulous life. She didn’t know that this trip to Brooklyn would change her life forever. When they finally arrived at Vinnies; mother was having second thoughts about breaking her mother’s rules.

“Relax, S” Carmen told my mother.  Vinnies wasn’t an extravagant restaurant. It was pretty low-key but with an old touch feel. Inside it looked like one of those old diners with the tile floors and walls. It was pretty authentic and the cool spot for college kids. Everybody knew about Vinnies.

“Hi, may I take your order?” Henry asked my mother and her friends.  When he saw her he was so hypnotized by her beauty that his hands started to shake. Mother and her friends just stared at him. He was handsome. He had dark brown hair and blue green grey eyes.

“I love your eyes!” Julia gushed at Henry.

“Yes, they are lovely” Sasha told Henry. They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled.

“So, are you just going to stare at me all day or take my order?” Sasha asked Henry with a smirk on her face.

“Can I do both?” Henry responded.  Sasha blushed.  Julia and Carmen ordered chicken salads.

“I’m not a salad type of girl. The only salad you’ll see me eat is on my hamburger” Sasha said to Henry.  “You’re my type of girl, then” he responded. They both blushed this time. It was 12 pm by the time they left Vinnies.  Henry asked Sasha out sometime that evening but she declined.

“Why did you reject him? He was so cute.” Julia asked Sasha.

“What would my parents think?! They would never approve.” Sasha responded. She really did like Henry, but she knew her parents will never let her go out with him. She could picture it now what they would say.

“Absolutely not, you will not go out with that boy!” her father would yell.

“Honey, he’s just not good enough for you.” Her mother would tell her.  They controlled everything in her life, such as, what she ate, who she made friends with, what she wore. She thought that going away to college would lessen their grip but it just got tighter. They had people spy on her.  It was driving her crazy. Once they put a tracking device on her car and she had found it. To teach them a lesson she put it on this hooker’s car. Her mother went crazy when she thought her daughter was in Harlem.  As my mother remembered this she smiled. It was the most fun she’d had in weeks. She didn’t regret coming to Brooklyn and eating at Vinnies. She loved being with her two best friends and meeting her future husband, Henry.

“He was cute…..” mother said to no one in particular. Julia and Carmen looked at each other and smiled. They had never seen their friend Sasha so happy. She smiled all the way back to their dorms at NYU.

Chapter 2: The Perfect Happy Family

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I just ran and ran as tears ran down my face.  The cold wind was like having somebody smack my face repeatedly. I couldn’t believe James was a gay. I mean I have nothing against homosexuals. I was mainly angry at him for not telling me this little secret of his. We told each other everything, like how he hated playing football. He only joined the team because that’s the only way he could get father’s attention. I was furious with mother. She was cheating on dad again and now with Mr. Quinn. If the neighbors ever got a whiff of my brother’s and mother’s secret it would be the end of us. What a tragedy?  When I got home, Clarisse, our nanny, was waiting for me in the living room. She was so angry that I had left without telling her where I was going.

“Where you’ve been?!” Clarisse screamed at me.

“Out for a run…I needed some air,” I said.

“I was so scared. You should have told me you were going out.” Clarisse responded

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I ran up the stairs to my bedroom. I was having a panic attack. My life would be over if the word got out that my brother was a gay and my mother was a home-wrecker. Our family would be shamed and we would lose our place and status. I couldn’t let that happen. I just couldn’t. I had to keep us safe; I had to keep my family’s secrets safe. No one could ever know. Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from outside my window. I went to see what all the ruckus was about. As I peered out my window I saw a tall muscular figure trying to get into the basement. I poked my head out to see better and I saw that it was a woman. Well, it looked like a woman. She had long reddish brown hair and was wearing a red sequin dress and black stiletto heels. She had some huge feet, I thought. Then, I put my hand over my mouth in shock when I saw her face. It was not a she but a he; and that he was my father! He climbed into the left backside window that leads into the basement. I don’t think he saw me, though.  I backed into my room again and threw myself on my queen sized bed.

“Oh my God!” I screamed.  My father is a drag queen! This day couldn’t get any weirder. I bet those were my mother’s shoes. Those must have been her new Manolo Blahniks. He was eying them when she brought them from the store last week. I thought it was weird but didn’t really pay any mind to it. We all have big feet. My mother and father have the same shoe size 12. I couldn’t believe what I had seen tonight. I felt like I was in a twilight zone episode or in a circus.

“Please let this be all a bad dream,” I said to no one in particular.

“Hey, honey,” I heard someone say and I turned to see my father standing by the door with a big smile on his face. He still had some red lipstick on his lips which he failed to completely wipe off. I wondered as I looked at him; how could a guy like him be a drag queen? He drives motorcycles for God’s sake! I still couldn’t believe I just saw my father dressed like a girl.

“Hi, dad,” I smiled.

“What have you been up to dear?” he said.

“Nothing much; just went out for a run.” I responded.

“Good girl,” he smiled.  “Well, I’m beat sweetie. Rough night at the clinic, you know. I’m off to bed. Have a good night, honey.”

“Night, dad,” I said. I heard him walk to his room and close the door. A few minutes’ later mom and James came home. Mom went straight to bed and yelled goodnight to James and I. James came into my room while I was eating my pain by way of a bowl of cookie dough vanilla ice cream drowned in whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

“What’s up?” James asked me. I didn’t even look at him. I just kept stuffing my face with ice cream.

“Hey Lisa, What’s going on?” he questioned.

“I saw you. I saw you with that man.” I responded in a harsh whisper. His eyes shot wide like he had just seen a ghost. Abruptly, he drew closer to me and lowered his face close to mine.

“You can’t tell anybody,” he whispered. He was so scared. I felt so bad for him because if kids at school found out he was a gay his life would be over. They will beat him up or worse.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked James.

“I was going to tell you but I needed to be sure….” His voice wandered off.  He then told me how he had been dating the man I saw him with for five years now and that he thought he was the one.

“Five years, James, Five?!” I screamed. “Where did you meet this guy?” I asked. James went on to tell me that they met at this gay club downtown when he was 14 years old.

“His name is Mark,” James said to me. “I love him, Lisa. Dad can never know about this. He will freak especially when he finds out that I’m dating his protégé.”

“Mark!” I screamed. “You’re dating Mark Beyer?!” Mark Beyer was our father’s main man at the clinic. Mark was father’s assistant. There would be blood if dad found at Mark was sticking it to his son. James and I didn’t speak for a while. We just sat there on my bed. Then out of nowhere James grabbed my arm and said, “We’re getting married, Lisa.”  I fainted.