I yawned. I was definitely getting sleepy. I looked at the time, “11:15pm”.

“It’s past your bedtime.” I said to Christy.

Christy didn’t respond, she ignored my comment. “Why don’t you like disclosing information with me Jason?” She asked me.

I remembered my conversation with Darwin earlier, I got football practice tomorrow immediately after school. That might get in the way of me coming over to Christy’s house tomorrow.

“Yo I forgot I got football practice tomorrow after school, I’ma have to come over to your house tomorrow around 5pm after football practice.” I told her.

“Okay, that’s fine. Can we please get back to the topic of discussion please?” She said to me.

I paused for a moment. “I forget.” I simply said to her.

Christy paused for a moment, and then she gave a heavy sigh. “Tomorrow when you come over I hope you’re not gonna be this shy and I hope…” Christy yawned.

“Aww you getting tiwed boo?” I asked her in a little boy voice while puckering my lips.

Christy gave a short laugh and then she smiled. “Answer the question boy, don’t try to change the subject.” She said.

“And plus I don’t have to go to sleep, cause I’m not going to school tomorrow, so I don’t have to wake up early.” She said.

“Are you happy?” I asked her.

“Boy I’m always happy.” She said.

“That’s awesome!” I said to her.

Christy gave a short laugh. “What about you? Are you happy?” She asked me.

I thought for a moment. It’s time for me to start being sweet and gushy with her. It’s now late at night, and females become really prone to their emotions late at night for some reason.

“Yeah I’m happy, I’m happy that you’re happy.” I said to her.

“Your happiness means the most to me.” I added.

There was a long pause on the phone, I was beginning to think that maybe she had hung up the phone.

“awww.” Christy quietly said. Then she became quiet again.

I became quiet with her. My plan was working perfectly. I have to keep being sweet with her and say all the mushy gushy stuff, so I could get to her heart.

“Can I tell you something?” I asked Christy in a low voice over the phone.

“Yeah, tell me.” Christy quickly replied.

I paused for a moment and began thinking. I have to make sure that I say the right thing to her. Because once you say something once, you can’t take it back or change it.

“I like you, and I want…” I said softly.

I paused. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her that. But I already said it, can’t take it back now.

“Yes, what do you want Jason?” Christy asked me in a soft tone of voice.

“I want…” I said. I wanted to keep her in suspense.

I paused for a moment; I started thinking as to what I’m going to say to her.

“I want to be happy… with you.” Softly I said.

I yawned again. “But I’ll tell you more tomorrow when I come over, I’m finna go to sleep.” I said to her.

Christy didn’t say anything. I waited for a moment… “Did you hear me?” I asked her.

Christy paused. “Yeah, I heard you, good night Jason.” She said.

“Can I call you in the morning when I wake up?” I asked her.

There was a slight pause. “Yeah, but why?” She asked me.

“Because you’re going to be the first thing on my mind when I wake up, and I want to call you to make sure that talking to you right now is not a dream.” I said to her.

She didn’t say anything. I could literally hear nothing on the other line, it was as if she has put the phone on mute.

“Hello… Christy… Are you there, hello?” I said to her over the phone.

Then I received a text to my phone. I removed the phone from my ears and opened up the text message. It was from Christy.

The text read: “Call me as soon as you wake up in the morning.”

A wide smile spread across my face. My plan was successful. I knew exactly what had happened. What I told Christy really affected her, it really got to her. So either she was in tears or she was just awestruck and did not know what to say to me, so she put the phone on mute. I smiled harder. Christy was definitely going to be mines.

I replied to the text and said: “Okay, goodnight.”

Then I ended the call and laid my head back on my pillow. Christy was going to be mines! I was feeling very happy. Everything was going just the way as I planned. I looked at the time on my phone, 11:55pm. I knew exactly what I had to do. I reached for my phone and went to my contacts list and scrolled down to Christy’s name and called her.

The phone rang on and on again. It was at the last ring and was almost going to go to voicemail, and then Christy’s soft voice came on. “Hello.” She softly said.

Her voice was very low, it sounded just as if she had just woken up from a deep slumber, even though I knew she hadn’t, because she told me previously that she was not going to go to sleep early because she didn’t have to because she was not going to go to school tomorrow morning and she didn’t have to wake up early.

Quickly I said “Don’t say anything.”

“I know sometimes I don’t be telling you stuff, but… I want you to know. I really like you, and I want you to be mines, and I wanna be able to tell you everything. I don’t wanna hide anything from you.” I said. Then I hung up.

I then got up from my bed and went downstairs. My stomach was killing me, all I could think about was food. I went to the living room and walked to the kitchen. My dad was in the kitchen, he was standing by the stove cooking something.

“Hey wassup oldhead, you just came in?” I said to him as I walked in the kitchen.

He turned around and looked at me. “Jason!” A wide smile spread across his face. Then he reached over and rubbed my head while still smiling. “Yes I just walked in.” My father said in his funny Liberian accent. “You’re not going to school tomorrow?” He asked me.

“Yes, I am, I just came down to eat something, I’m mad hungry, what you got cooking up?” I said to him.

He looked at me and his face lit up. “Grab a seat my boy!” He said, as he walked over to the table and drew a chair out for me to sit down on.

“I am cooking cassava leaf. I am hungry myself.” He said to me.

He walked back to the stove, then he turned it off. We had an electric stove so there was no fire in it. Then I started thinking about earlier today when I was making the sausages for Cecilia and I almost burnt down the entire kitchen, a short smile spread across my face. Then my father reached inside the cabinet and grabbed two bowls and spoons. Then he turned on the water and he rinsed them. My father always did that, idk why though. We didn’t have roaches or rats or anything, so idk why he bothered rinsing the dish before he ate in it.

“Oldhead, why do you be doing that?” I asked him.

He turned his head around to face me. “Doing what?” He asked me?

“Why do you rinse the plates and dishes before you eat, and we don’t have roaches or anything?” I said to my father.

“Force of habit my son, Allah has blessed me to be able to live in this house with no cockroaches, but it was not always so easy for me.” My father said to me.

Next Page