Chapter 6
“Nah B. I’m showin’ you it’s not his kid!”
“Yeah it is! What are you sayin’ right now?”“I’m sayin’ there’s no flippin’ way the child is his! Look at her, she probably slept with 10 other dudes!”Bernice opened his eyes to see 3 of his boys gathered around the hospital TV watching, what looked like, Maury.
“Hey.” Bernice managed to say from his weak voice.
“Ay man, Bernie. You good, man?” His friend said while walking over to him.
“I’m alright, Trey.” He tried to sit up to hide his weakness, and show his strength, but his body wouldn’t let him.
“Take it easy man. It’s only us in here.” Trey tried to get Bernice back into a comfortable position.
Trey was the oldest of the bunch. He wore braids in his hair and was a deep brown complexion. Girls often gave him attention because of his chestnut eyes, but mainly because he knows who everyone wanted to know. He was the regular
Socialite, he threw parties religiously and was well-known.
“So what happened?” Drake asked trying to get right into it. He didn’t like to waste time.
“Uhm… I fell down the stairs at the apartment.”
“Come on, dude! This shit ain’t funny no more.” Drake snapped.
“It was never funny! You all already know it was my dumbass brother and his boys.” Bailey exploded from the front of the room.Bailey was the quiet type; he didn’t say much. He was more of an action guy, he didn’t brag or showoff, he didn’t talk about what he was capable of, he just did what he had to do. Silent but deadly. A pretty boy with a record. That was Bailey.
Trey pulled up a chair beside Bernice’s bed, and sat down.
“Look, Bailey… Dawg, why can’t you call your brother off? Talk to him, man. This shit is getting out of hand.”
“You think I haven’t tried already?” Bailey’s tone was defensive and aggressive. “What? You think I’m sitting here watchin’ all this shit go down? When I know I can do something to stop it? Nah. I’ve tried. My bro’s not hearin’ it. I’ve tried. Over and over again I ---“Just then, the nurse came into the room.“You guys are going to have to keep it down, or I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Fuck.” Bailey walked over to the window and looked outside.
“Is there anything that we can do?” Drake moved towards the television and turned it off.
Bernice ran his hands over his bandaged head, and adjusted his bed so that he could sit up a little more.
“No. No! This is my problem. I’m going to finish it the same way I started it. Alone.”
“Ya but---“
“No. That’s it. Just… let it go.” Bernice put his head back on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling.
There was an awkward silence that filled the room. No one quite knew what to do with themselves.
Bailey’s cell phone rang, braking the silence. He answered it.
“Ya.”“Oh hey babe.”“Nah. I just didn’t check my caller ID.”“Ya, when?”“Alright. I’m leaving just now.”He hung up and put his phone into his back pocket.
“So which ‘babe’ was that?” Bernice said, smiling, still looking up at the ceiling. They all smiled too; that eased the tension.
“Which babe? Nah. It’s not even like that. This girl, she’s the wifey. No more games.” Bailey smiled a proud smile.
“Alright Serani. You sure ‘bout that?” Drake teased.
Bailey moved away from the window and came over to the rest of them.
“Ya, man. It’s only been a few weeks, but… this girl is constantly on my mind. She’s got something on me.”
Trey stood up and stretched his arms out.
“Yeah, she’s got something on you… a WHIP!”
They all laughed, including Bailey, as the nurse came back into the room. She went straight towards Bernice’s bed, and all their eyes followed her sway. She started checking all the wire’s and tubes connected to Bernice’s body.
“Alright boys…” the nurse started.
“Boys? Ain’t no boys in here, Miss.” Trey stood beside her and winked.
The nurse disregarded his failed attempt at flirting, and continued, “I think it’s about time Bernice got some more rest. You can all come back tomorrow around 4p.m.
“Alright Man Dem. Let’s go!” Drake, Bailey and Trey came over to the bed, hailed up their friend and headed out the door. Bailey was the last to leave.
“Yo Bailey!” Bernice yelled to him.
Bailey stuck his head back into the room.
“Thanks, man.” Bernice gave an uncomfortable smile.
“Shut up, man.” Bailey said jokingly. “I’m gunna do my best to fix this.” He pointed towards the nurse, who’s back was turned his way, her round bottom teasing him. He winked at Bernice, smiled, and left the room.
Bernice smiled to himself, put his head back on his pillow and sighed.
“So where did your girlfriend go?” The nurse asked as she looked at his medical chart.
“My girlfriend?”
“Ya. The girl that was here earlier. The one who came in with you. She was here for about and hour or so.”
“The girl who…? The girl!” Bernice saw her beautiful smile in his mind, her radiant brown skin.
“She’s beautiful. You’re a lucky guy Bernice.”
“Yeah. She is beautiful… she’s not… she’s not my girlfriend though.”
“Oh. Sorry about that.” There was a brief pause. The nurse looked over at the corky smile on Bernice’s face.
“Something tells me, a girlfriend is what you’re hoping she’ll be.”
Bernice smiled harder. He turned to look out the window. He couldn’t get her smile out of his mind. The perfect hour glass shape her body created, the way her skin gave off a natural glow.
“So what’s her name?” The nurse interrupted his thoughts.
“Her… her name?... I don’t remember her name.” Bernice rubbed his forehead.
“Alright Bernice. I think it’s time for you to rest now.”
She went over to Bernice’s bed and set it so that he could lie down. She turned off the lights, left the room and closed the door behind her.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Bernice was lying there, motionless. Tynae was in shock, she did not know what to do.
“Oh my God!” Tynae ran over to where Bernice fell. She got down on her knees beside him and put her head down near his face to make sure he was still breathing; he was.
She started to panic, the shock was taking over her.
She quickly came to her senses. She took out her phone and dialed 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
Tynae caught her breath.
“I’m here at Don Mills Park. There… umm… oh God. A man has… fainted? I don’t know what happened he just passed out. He’s bleeding from the back of his head. I… I… I don’t know what to do. Just hurry!”
“Alright Miss,” the woman said from the other end of the line. “try to calm down, we’re sending out an ambulance, it’ll be there shortly.”
Tynae hung up. She looked down at Bernice. A rush of emotion ran through her. She felt sad, hurt, as if she had known him forever.
She took off her cardigan, folded it, and placed it on her lap. She reached down and lifted Bernice’s head slowly and carefully, and placed him on her lap.
Tynae looked at Bernice. He looked peacefully; almost as if he had been waiting for a decent sleep.
His breathing was slow. That worried Tynae.
She scanned his face, looking for a story that came with this beautiful stranger. His lips were so full; the right shade of a deep pink. His jaw was chiseled. His skin was flawless; not a single pore visible, not a blemish, just a small scar on the left side of his nose.
Tynae slowly brought her hands onto his head. He was warm. She gently stroked his hair. She ran her fingers through his soft, short curls. She liked how it felt with him in her arms.
“Mmm…” Bernice was waking up.
Tynae stopped stroking his hair and removed her hand.“Are you alright? Tynae asked softly and worriedly.Bernice looked up at this beautiful black Goddess he was resting on. She seemed to be getting more and more beautiful every time he looked at her.
“Bernice?... Can you hear me?” Tynae asked with more worry in her eyes. He studied her face for a moment. The small beauty mark below her nose, the extra fullness her lip gloss gave her already perfect lips.
“Yeah… my head is killin’ me right now though.” He tried to sit up, but the pain was too much, he fell back down into Tynae’s lap.
“Just relax. Don’t try to move or anything. I called the ambulance, they’re on their way.”
“Thanks.” There was a pause and they just looked at each other. “Do you have any water with you?”
Tynae opened her bag, she saw her iPod. She shook her head and continued looking for her water bottle. She found it, grabbed it.“I hope you don’t mind I already had a little… Bernice?” He had passed out again.
Bernice was lying there, motionless. Tynae was in shock, she did not know what to do.
“Oh my God!” Tynae ran over to where Bernice fell. She got down on her knees beside him and put her head down near his face to make sure he was still breathing; he was.
She started to panic, the shock was taking over her.
She quickly came to her senses. She took out her phone and dialed 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
Tynae caught her breath.
“I’m here at Don Mills Park. There… umm… oh God. A man has… fainted? I don’t know what happened he just passed out. He’s bleeding from the back of his head. I… I… I don’t know what to do. Just hurry!”
“Alright Miss,” the woman said from the other end of the line. “try to calm down, we’re sending out an ambulance, it’ll be there shortly.”
Tynae hung up. She looked down at Bernice. A rush of emotion ran through her. She felt sad, hurt, as if she had known him forever.
She took off her cardigan, folded it, and placed it on her lap. She reached down and lifted Bernice’s head slowly and carefully, and placed him on her lap.
Tynae looked at Bernice. He looked peacefully; almost as if he had been waiting for a decent sleep.
His breathing was slow. That worried Tynae.
She scanned his face, looking for a story that came with this beautiful stranger. His lips were so full; the right shade of a deep pink. His jaw was chiseled. His skin was flawless; not a single pore visible, not a blemish, just a small scar on the left side of his nose.
Tynae slowly brought her hands onto his head. He was warm. She gently stroked his hair. She ran her fingers through his soft, short curls. She liked how it felt with him in her arms.
“Mmm…” Bernice was waking up.
Tynae stopped stroking his hair and removed her hand.“Are you alright? Tynae asked softly and worriedly.Bernice looked up at this beautiful black Goddess he was resting on. She seemed to be getting more and more beautiful every time he looked at her.
“Bernice?... Can you hear me?” Tynae asked with more worry in her eyes. He studied her face for a moment. The small beauty mark below her nose, the extra fullness her lip gloss gave her already perfect lips.
“Yeah… my head is killin’ me right now though.” He tried to sit up, but the pain was too much, he fell back down into Tynae’s lap.
“Just relax. Don’t try to move or anything. I called the ambulance, they’re on their way.”
“Thanks.” There was a pause and they just looked at each other. “Do you have any water with you?”
Tynae opened her bag, she saw her iPod. She shook her head and continued looking for her water bottle. She found it, grabbed it.“I hope you don’t mind I already had a little… Bernice?” He had passed out again.
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
It was a warm but very breezy day in April; warm enough not to wear a jacket but too breezy to let your hair down. Tynae got a phone call at 7a.m. from her best friend from Ajax, Leanna.“Hello?” Tynae answered her phone with sleepiness and confusion in her voice.
“Hm. Do I have a big pot of mix-up for you about Steven!”Tynae slowly got out of bed and went into her washroom, wondering what sweet Steven could have done to deserve this phone call at 7a.m. on a Saturday morning. Tynae put some toothpaste on her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth.
“He effed Stacy!”
“He did what?” Tynae snapped as she spat toothpaste all over her bathroom mirror.
“Yup,” Leanna continued. “I heard it and saw it for myself… well I didn’t watch but, as I was walking home from Terri’s jam, I heard some loud noises coming from around Stacy’s house. You know me, I’m well cotch, so of course I had to take the long way and pass by Stacy’s house, and as I was passing by her bedroom, I just so happened to trip and land right in front of her window, and I saw, none other than Steven bumpin’ and grindin’ all on top of—“
“Okay stop!” Tynae yelled into the phone as she started cleaning her toothpaste off of her mirror. She couldn’t bare the mental image of her long time friend doing… doing something like that. “When did all of this happen?”
“Yesterday. I saw it when I was walking home from Terri’s jam. I thought you said you would try to reach?”
Tynae hated hearing about events happening in Ajax; because it brought back so many memories of when she used to be able to go to all the hot jams.
“I did try, but daddy was busy so he couldn’t drive me.”
“Oh. Well anyways it was live! Terri got a hot DJ from NewEra Soundcrew, and Nicole and Jay disappeared around 11:30, but I followed them to the corner and—““Leanna,” Tynae cut her off. “Can you call me back later, please?”
Tynae wasn’t in the mood to here about all this Ajax news so early in the morning.
“Alright. Deuce!” Leanna was gone.
Tynae turned off the light in the bathroom and went back into her room. She dropped onto her bed, pulled her covers over her body and went back to sleep.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. Tynae lifted her hand and dropped it down hard on the snooze button on her alarm clock. She sat up slowly and was blinded by the sun that was shining through her window.She got up, stretched, then she went to her desk and hit play on her iPod speakers. The Cool Kids came blasting hard into her room. Tynae wasn’t in the mood for Chuck and Mikey’s upbeat sound that morning. She turned the music off.
Tynae went over to her computer, and opened up her Facebook account; 87 inbox messages, 15 notifications, 3 friend request, 8 event invitations, and 10 group invitations. These people are ridiculous, she thought to herself. She decided to check her notifications first; 8 people wrote on her wall.“Tynae! When are you coming back to Ajax?”“Tynae, did you hear about Terri’s jam?”
“Ajax is not the same without you, Tynae!”“Come back home to Ajax, we miss you!”
Ajax. Ajax. Ajax. She closed Facebook.
It was 11a.m. Tynae had work at 12:30. She got dressed; a gray v-neck t-shirt, black cardigan, black washed-out skinny jeans, a brown belt, and a pair of comfy grandpa socks.
Tynae went downstairs, and opened the back door for her overweight dog, Pickles. She went to the kitchen for a quick cup of orange juice to tie her over until she could get some breakfast.
She let Pickles back inside and shook her head as she watched him waddle his way back into the house.
Tynae went back upstairs to get her cell phone, threw her SLR in her purse, grabbed her iPod, threw that in too, and then went back downstairs, picked up her keys, put on her moccasins, and walked out the door.
When she got outside she called her work.
“Hi, Daddy. I’m on my way right now.”“Hurry up Tynae! You were supposed to start 10 minutes ago.”
“Okay, but at least I’m coming right?”
“Just hurry up.”
Tynae’s parents owned a cereal factory, and Tynae worked at the main shipping office at the intersection, Don Mills and York Mills Rd.
Ty got to Leslie Rd. just in time to catch her bus.
When she got to Don Mills and York Mills, she went into the Tim Horton’s across the street from her work and bought a French Vanilla Cappuccino and a chocolate chip muffin, then she went into work.
“Tynae, it’s 2:15! You get off work in 45 minutes. What was the point?” Her father was angry.
“I’m sorry. I woke up late and I had to get—“
“Forget it. You’re late almost everyday. Just… leave. We’ll talk about you keeping your job here when I get home.”
Tynae left without saying anything. She knew there was no point. She got outside and thoughts of Ajax flooded her mind. Everyone was happier in Ajax. She thought about Leanna, Steven, Barry, and all her friends and family she was forced to leave behind.
She crossed the street and headed towards Don Mills Park; this is where Tynae usually went after work to just spend some time alone, think, clear her mind.
Tynae’s phone rang. It was Leanna.
“Hey.”
“Okay so as I was saying earlier… what was I saying?”
“Terri’s jam.
“Right! So… I followed them to Nicole and Jay to the corner of the room and it was really dark, but I pretended to be on my cell phone so that I could use the light…”
Leanna kept talking but Tynae wasn’t really in the mood to hear all the latest drama in Ajax. She missed being there.
Leanna and Tynae grew up together. They lived right beside each other in Ajax but they met a while back when they both lived in Scarborough. Leanna was a great friend. Tynae loved her like a sister, but lately Tynae’s mind state was in other places from Leanna’s. Instead of thinking about partying, and the what the next hottest thing would be, she wondered about what she really wanted from life. It was such a struggle. She didn’t get the point of life. What was it supposed to bring? She thought she was missing something in her life. That was her motivation though; she wanted to find what she was missing.
“Yo Lee, I’m not really in the mood for all that stuff I’m missing out on right now. I’ll call you later, alright?”“You sure? Is everything okay? I knew I heard it in your voice from this morning.”“Yeah. I’m fine. Just re-thinking a lot of things. Tell everyone I said ‘what up’.” Tynae smiled to herself, knowing that everyone would be happy that she hadn’t forgotten about them.
“Alright. You know my number, and you know where I live if anything. Keep your head up. Love you!” She laughed.
“Love you too, Lee, you’re gay!” They both laughed and then hung up.
Tynae sat down on a bench in the park, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Di fresh h’air is good fi di soul, sweetie.” The voice startled her. It came from out of no where, and it was right in her ear.
“Pardon?” She quickly opened her eyes and looked to her left where the voice was. She saw a brown skinned man with a red toque and green slush pants. His legs were extremely long, and the scruff on his face was completely out of control.He just looked ahead and smiled to himself, as if he hadn’t said anything just a minute ago.
“Can I help you?” She was disgusted by the mans composure, and his heavy island accent.
The strange man laughed to himself.“Mi just like ‘dis seat here, you know?” the strange man said.
Tynae got up and walked away. Frustrated with everything.
The park is just not doin’ it today. She thought to herself. She continued on her walk around the park and decided she would go into the city; the atmosphere always took her mind to another place. She reached for her iPod; she really needed a dose of Lupe’s Trials and Tribulations. It wasn’t there. She searched frantically for her iPod. But she couldn’t find it anywhere.
“I guess I can just start counting my losses... What a shitty-ass day.”
She talked quietly to herself. Trying to reassure herself. A group of men walked by and interrupted her thoughts with their degrading compliments and compliments to Tynae. There were five guys; the one in the front was the smallest, but seemed to be the leader of the pack. He had a dangerous scar over his eye. Tynae’s eyes followed the group of men as they walked by. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and almost tripped over a branch and fell flat on her face. She quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen her, it was all clear, no one in sight.
She laughed to herself and began to look up to the sky, wondering if anything could get worse for the day. She heard noises coming from the bushes.
“Squirrels.”
She kept walking but the noises seemed to be getting closer and louder. She stopped walking and the noise also stopped. She turned around and say no one. She took a step towards the bush where she thought she heard the noise coming from, she took a second thought and decided to turn around and continue walking. she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and she walked right into someone and feel flat on her backside.
It was a warm but very breezy day in April; warm enough not to wear a jacket but too breezy to let your hair down. Tynae got a phone call at 7a.m. from her best friend from Ajax, Leanna.“Hello?” Tynae answered her phone with sleepiness and confusion in her voice.
“Hm. Do I have a big pot of mix-up for you about Steven!”Tynae slowly got out of bed and went into her washroom, wondering what sweet Steven could have done to deserve this phone call at 7a.m. on a Saturday morning. Tynae put some toothpaste on her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth.
“He effed Stacy!”
“He did what?” Tynae snapped as she spat toothpaste all over her bathroom mirror.
“Yup,” Leanna continued. “I heard it and saw it for myself… well I didn’t watch but, as I was walking home from Terri’s jam, I heard some loud noises coming from around Stacy’s house. You know me, I’m well cotch, so of course I had to take the long way and pass by Stacy’s house, and as I was passing by her bedroom, I just so happened to trip and land right in front of her window, and I saw, none other than Steven bumpin’ and grindin’ all on top of—“
“Okay stop!” Tynae yelled into the phone as she started cleaning her toothpaste off of her mirror. She couldn’t bare the mental image of her long time friend doing… doing something like that. “When did all of this happen?”
“Yesterday. I saw it when I was walking home from Terri’s jam. I thought you said you would try to reach?”
Tynae hated hearing about events happening in Ajax; because it brought back so many memories of when she used to be able to go to all the hot jams.
“I did try, but daddy was busy so he couldn’t drive me.”
“Oh. Well anyways it was live! Terri got a hot DJ from NewEra Soundcrew, and Nicole and Jay disappeared around 11:30, but I followed them to the corner and—““Leanna,” Tynae cut her off. “Can you call me back later, please?”
Tynae wasn’t in the mood to here about all this Ajax news so early in the morning.
“Alright. Deuce!” Leanna was gone.
Tynae turned off the light in the bathroom and went back into her room. She dropped onto her bed, pulled her covers over her body and went back to sleep.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. Tynae lifted her hand and dropped it down hard on the snooze button on her alarm clock. She sat up slowly and was blinded by the sun that was shining through her window.She got up, stretched, then she went to her desk and hit play on her iPod speakers. The Cool Kids came blasting hard into her room. Tynae wasn’t in the mood for Chuck and Mikey’s upbeat sound that morning. She turned the music off.
Tynae went over to her computer, and opened up her Facebook account; 87 inbox messages, 15 notifications, 3 friend request, 8 event invitations, and 10 group invitations. These people are ridiculous, she thought to herself. She decided to check her notifications first; 8 people wrote on her wall.“Tynae! When are you coming back to Ajax?”“Tynae, did you hear about Terri’s jam?”
“Ajax is not the same without you, Tynae!”“Come back home to Ajax, we miss you!”
Ajax. Ajax. Ajax. She closed Facebook.
It was 11a.m. Tynae had work at 12:30. She got dressed; a gray v-neck t-shirt, black cardigan, black washed-out skinny jeans, a brown belt, and a pair of comfy grandpa socks.
Tynae went downstairs, and opened the back door for her overweight dog, Pickles. She went to the kitchen for a quick cup of orange juice to tie her over until she could get some breakfast.
She let Pickles back inside and shook her head as she watched him waddle his way back into the house.
Tynae went back upstairs to get her cell phone, threw her SLR in her purse, grabbed her iPod, threw that in too, and then went back downstairs, picked up her keys, put on her moccasins, and walked out the door.
When she got outside she called her work.
“Hi, Daddy. I’m on my way right now.”“Hurry up Tynae! You were supposed to start 10 minutes ago.”
“Okay, but at least I’m coming right?”
“Just hurry up.”
Tynae’s parents owned a cereal factory, and Tynae worked at the main shipping office at the intersection, Don Mills and York Mills Rd.
Ty got to Leslie Rd. just in time to catch her bus.
When she got to Don Mills and York Mills, she went into the Tim Horton’s across the street from her work and bought a French Vanilla Cappuccino and a chocolate chip muffin, then she went into work.
“Tynae, it’s 2:15! You get off work in 45 minutes. What was the point?” Her father was angry.
“I’m sorry. I woke up late and I had to get—“
“Forget it. You’re late almost everyday. Just… leave. We’ll talk about you keeping your job here when I get home.”
Tynae left without saying anything. She knew there was no point. She got outside and thoughts of Ajax flooded her mind. Everyone was happier in Ajax. She thought about Leanna, Steven, Barry, and all her friends and family she was forced to leave behind.
She crossed the street and headed towards Don Mills Park; this is where Tynae usually went after work to just spend some time alone, think, clear her mind.
Tynae’s phone rang. It was Leanna.
“Hey.”
“Okay so as I was saying earlier… what was I saying?”
“Terri’s jam.
“Right! So… I followed them to Nicole and Jay to the corner of the room and it was really dark, but I pretended to be on my cell phone so that I could use the light…”
Leanna kept talking but Tynae wasn’t really in the mood to hear all the latest drama in Ajax. She missed being there.
Leanna and Tynae grew up together. They lived right beside each other in Ajax but they met a while back when they both lived in Scarborough. Leanna was a great friend. Tynae loved her like a sister, but lately Tynae’s mind state was in other places from Leanna’s. Instead of thinking about partying, and the what the next hottest thing would be, she wondered about what she really wanted from life. It was such a struggle. She didn’t get the point of life. What was it supposed to bring? She thought she was missing something in her life. That was her motivation though; she wanted to find what she was missing.
“Yo Lee, I’m not really in the mood for all that stuff I’m missing out on right now. I’ll call you later, alright?”“You sure? Is everything okay? I knew I heard it in your voice from this morning.”“Yeah. I’m fine. Just re-thinking a lot of things. Tell everyone I said ‘what up’.” Tynae smiled to herself, knowing that everyone would be happy that she hadn’t forgotten about them.
“Alright. You know my number, and you know where I live if anything. Keep your head up. Love you!” She laughed.
“Love you too, Lee, you’re gay!” They both laughed and then hung up.
Tynae sat down on a bench in the park, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Di fresh h’air is good fi di soul, sweetie.” The voice startled her. It came from out of no where, and it was right in her ear.
“Pardon?” She quickly opened her eyes and looked to her left where the voice was. She saw a brown skinned man with a red toque and green slush pants. His legs were extremely long, and the scruff on his face was completely out of control.He just looked ahead and smiled to himself, as if he hadn’t said anything just a minute ago.
“Can I help you?” She was disgusted by the mans composure, and his heavy island accent.
The strange man laughed to himself.“Mi just like ‘dis seat here, you know?” the strange man said.
Tynae got up and walked away. Frustrated with everything.
The park is just not doin’ it today. She thought to herself. She continued on her walk around the park and decided she would go into the city; the atmosphere always took her mind to another place. She reached for her iPod; she really needed a dose of Lupe’s Trials and Tribulations. It wasn’t there. She searched frantically for her iPod. But she couldn’t find it anywhere.
“I guess I can just start counting my losses... What a shitty-ass day.”
She talked quietly to herself. Trying to reassure herself. A group of men walked by and interrupted her thoughts with their degrading compliments and compliments to Tynae. There were five guys; the one in the front was the smallest, but seemed to be the leader of the pack. He had a dangerous scar over his eye. Tynae’s eyes followed the group of men as they walked by. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and almost tripped over a branch and fell flat on her face. She quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen her, it was all clear, no one in sight.
She laughed to herself and began to look up to the sky, wondering if anything could get worse for the day. She heard noises coming from the bushes.
“Squirrels.”
She kept walking but the noises seemed to be getting closer and louder. She stopped walking and the noise also stopped. She turned around and say no one. She took a step towards the bush where she thought she heard the noise coming from, she took a second thought and decided to turn around and continue walking. she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, and she walked right into someone and feel flat on her backside.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
It was an unusually warm and sunny day in April. Birds were chirping outside, people were walking their dogs; it was the kind of day that just made people feel good. Bernice woke up to the soft kisses of the suns rays on his face at around 12:30pm that morning. He got out of bed, put on his boxers, and went to the kitchen for some sweet O.J. He noticed his roommate, Drake, had already gone out for the day. Bernice walked over to the window and looked outside at the beauty the sunshine created; still, Bernice did not feel good about today; he knew what today was, what he had to do. He downed the rest of his O.J., walked over to the stereo, set the station to 93.5, jacked the volume and then headed into the bathroom.
He went in to the bathroom, turned on the shower, dropped his boxers and stepped into the bathtub. He just stood there for a while; letting the water from the showerhead hit his face and trickle down the rest of his body. He finally put some soap on his cloth and began to clean his body.
Bernice got out of the shower, wiped the condensation off the mirror, looked at the light scruff that had been developing on his face, and decided he just wasn’t in the mood to line it up today. He wrapped his towel around his waist, and went into his room to get dressed. He came back into the bathroom to brush his teeth, he put on his fangs, then he went into the living room to grab his H&M jacket and his skateboard, then he was out the door.
The elevator doors opened, and Bernice stepped out.
“Morning Tom.”
“Oh Hey, Morning Bernie… Hey Bernie those two big guys came ‘round here again last night, ‘round 9pm, I told them you wasn’t here.”
“Thanks man.”
Tom was probably in his late 50’s. Typical superintendant look; gray hair, round stomach, out-dated button-up shirt tucked lazily into a pair of worn-out denim’s, and an accent that no one could quite place. He lived in the first apartment to the left with his wife, Linda. Tom was an all-around nice guy.
“Uh, Bernie, could I step out of line for a second?” Tom asked as Bernice was at the door.
“That depends, Tom.” Bernie was slowly easing the door open.
“What exactly is your relation to those two meat-heads who keep –“
“Not today, Tom. I gotta go.” He was out the door.
Just as Bernice got to the crosswalk, he felt a vibration at his side. His cell phone.
“Shit.” He said under his breath.
He checked the caller ID. It was only a text message.
2:15pm
Don Mills Park
@the spot
DON’T be late.
He closed the text message and checked the time, 1:57pm.
“SHIT!” Bernice started jogging towards Spadina Station.
He got off the train at Don Mills Station and moved past the crowd as fast as he could. He got upstairs just in time to catch the 25 Don Mills bus Southbound. He sat down in an empty seat and pulled out his cell phone, 2:20pm. Bernice began to panic.
“Next stop, Don Mills Park, west side stop.” He pulled the stop request, and got off.
Bernice got to the spot. No one was there.
“Yo Slash!” Nothing. “Damn.” He heard a beep from his cell phone. He took it out. 7 missed calls. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. All from Slash. “Shit man!” He pressed call back. He heard a familiar ringtone behind him. Before he could turn around, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head.
He turned around quickly, stumbling a little from the force of the blow to his head, he began swinging his fists with everything he had, not even knowing who he was swinging at. A hit to the gut and Bernice was down. Someone came and lifted him aggressively, keeping Bernice’s hands tight behind his back.
“I told you not to fuck around with me little Bernie.” A figure came out of the shadows of the trees and emerged through the men surrounding Bernice.
He wore jeans, a black Lacoste hoodie, and a black tuque with his braids freshly done underneath. He had a scar leading from below his eyebrow to the beginning of his cheek.
“Slash.” Bernice whispered under his breath.
“Ha-ha. Look what happens when young brothas like you don’t listen to the wise and experienced.”
Slash laughed to himself knowing that he could do and say whatever he wanted.
“I said I’d get it to you Slash. You know I will. I just need a little extra time.” Bernice said, trying to sound as sincere as possible.
“Let this fool go boys.” The Brass Boys let him go. “I’m watching you Bernice. You’d better know I’m watching you. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to start getting others involved over your stupid mistakes.” He laughed to himself again.
The Brass Boys shoved Bernice into the bushes forcefully, and spat beside where he lay. Bernice didn’t even bother trying to get up, his mind and his body were too exhausted.
Slash and the Brass Boys all walked away laughing. Bernice lifted his head and looked around to see if anyone had seen what had just happened. There was no one in sight. He picked up his fitted, which had fallen off, and brushed off the Cincinnati ‘C’.
“Damn, these guys really got me,” he got up and brushed off his pants, and his Creative Recreation shoes. He lifted his hand, and felt the gash on the back of his head.
“Damn!”
He reached in his pocket for his phone. He needed to make a few phone calls; but he couldn’t feel his phone.
“Shit! Can anything get worse? Where the hell is my phone?”
The bush. He thought to himself. “Friggin bastards.” He crouched down and started feeling through the bushes. It could have bounced out of his pocket and landed further down, so he moved along. He finally found it. He got up, took one step and tripped on a vine. He fell through the bushes and onto the parks path, where he was greeted by a push from behind. He turned around and as he was about to say something, he looked down … and saw her.
It was an unusually warm and sunny day in April. Birds were chirping outside, people were walking their dogs; it was the kind of day that just made people feel good. Bernice woke up to the soft kisses of the suns rays on his face at around 12:30pm that morning. He got out of bed, put on his boxers, and went to the kitchen for some sweet O.J. He noticed his roommate, Drake, had already gone out for the day. Bernice walked over to the window and looked outside at the beauty the sunshine created; still, Bernice did not feel good about today; he knew what today was, what he had to do. He downed the rest of his O.J., walked over to the stereo, set the station to 93.5, jacked the volume and then headed into the bathroom.
He went in to the bathroom, turned on the shower, dropped his boxers and stepped into the bathtub. He just stood there for a while; letting the water from the showerhead hit his face and trickle down the rest of his body. He finally put some soap on his cloth and began to clean his body.
Bernice got out of the shower, wiped the condensation off the mirror, looked at the light scruff that had been developing on his face, and decided he just wasn’t in the mood to line it up today. He wrapped his towel around his waist, and went into his room to get dressed. He came back into the bathroom to brush his teeth, he put on his fangs, then he went into the living room to grab his H&M jacket and his skateboard, then he was out the door.
The elevator doors opened, and Bernice stepped out.
“Morning Tom.”
“Oh Hey, Morning Bernie… Hey Bernie those two big guys came ‘round here again last night, ‘round 9pm, I told them you wasn’t here.”
“Thanks man.”
Tom was probably in his late 50’s. Typical superintendant look; gray hair, round stomach, out-dated button-up shirt tucked lazily into a pair of worn-out denim’s, and an accent that no one could quite place. He lived in the first apartment to the left with his wife, Linda. Tom was an all-around nice guy.
“Uh, Bernie, could I step out of line for a second?” Tom asked as Bernice was at the door.
“That depends, Tom.” Bernie was slowly easing the door open.
“What exactly is your relation to those two meat-heads who keep –“
“Not today, Tom. I gotta go.” He was out the door.
Just as Bernice got to the crosswalk, he felt a vibration at his side. His cell phone.
“Shit.” He said under his breath.
He checked the caller ID. It was only a text message.
2:15pm
Don Mills Park
@the spot
DON’T be late.
He closed the text message and checked the time, 1:57pm.
“SHIT!” Bernice started jogging towards Spadina Station.
He got off the train at Don Mills Station and moved past the crowd as fast as he could. He got upstairs just in time to catch the 25 Don Mills bus Southbound. He sat down in an empty seat and pulled out his cell phone, 2:20pm. Bernice began to panic.
“Next stop, Don Mills Park, west side stop.” He pulled the stop request, and got off.
Bernice got to the spot. No one was there.
“Yo Slash!” Nothing. “Damn.” He heard a beep from his cell phone. He took it out. 7 missed calls. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. All from Slash. “Shit man!” He pressed call back. He heard a familiar ringtone behind him. Before he could turn around, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head.
He turned around quickly, stumbling a little from the force of the blow to his head, he began swinging his fists with everything he had, not even knowing who he was swinging at. A hit to the gut and Bernice was down. Someone came and lifted him aggressively, keeping Bernice’s hands tight behind his back.
“I told you not to fuck around with me little Bernie.” A figure came out of the shadows of the trees and emerged through the men surrounding Bernice.
He wore jeans, a black Lacoste hoodie, and a black tuque with his braids freshly done underneath. He had a scar leading from below his eyebrow to the beginning of his cheek.
“Slash.” Bernice whispered under his breath.
“Ha-ha. Look what happens when young brothas like you don’t listen to the wise and experienced.”
Slash laughed to himself knowing that he could do and say whatever he wanted.
“I said I’d get it to you Slash. You know I will. I just need a little extra time.” Bernice said, trying to sound as sincere as possible.
“Let this fool go boys.” The Brass Boys let him go. “I’m watching you Bernice. You’d better know I’m watching you. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to start getting others involved over your stupid mistakes.” He laughed to himself again.
The Brass Boys shoved Bernice into the bushes forcefully, and spat beside where he lay. Bernice didn’t even bother trying to get up, his mind and his body were too exhausted.
Slash and the Brass Boys all walked away laughing. Bernice lifted his head and looked around to see if anyone had seen what had just happened. There was no one in sight. He picked up his fitted, which had fallen off, and brushed off the Cincinnati ‘C’.
“Damn, these guys really got me,” he got up and brushed off his pants, and his Creative Recreation shoes. He lifted his hand, and felt the gash on the back of his head.
“Damn!”
He reached in his pocket for his phone. He needed to make a few phone calls; but he couldn’t feel his phone.
“Shit! Can anything get worse? Where the hell is my phone?”
The bush. He thought to himself. “Friggin bastards.” He crouched down and started feeling through the bushes. It could have bounced out of his pocket and landed further down, so he moved along. He finally found it. He got up, took one step and tripped on a vine. He fell through the bushes and onto the parks path, where he was greeted by a push from behind. He turned around and as he was about to say something, he looked down … and saw her.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
His eyes sparkled in the dusk’s sunlight, his figure was so divine, his skin was smoothly coated with chocolate and a pinch of brown sugar, his hair perfectly escaping the constraint of his fitted cap. Just the way she liked them. But this one was different, everything about him made Tynae's soul roar. He broke the silence,
“You good?”
He helped her up from the ground, lifted her so effortlessly, she fell into a trance where she was mesmerized by his strength and his captivating smile. She stood, trying to keep her balance. He had her weak in every way possible.
She gathered her composure, hoping that he hadn’t noticed her instability.
“Yeah I’m fine.”
“Don’t worry about nothing”, he said looking around, “Nobody saw.”
His words were like hot tea in an empty stomach, they filled her with such warmth, and his smile, his smile had a sparkle to it as the sun shone right onto his gold fang making it even more enticing. She stared at his lips as he spoke. His lips were the perfect size and shape to satisfy her every need.
“Thanks”, she said shyly, brushing the dirt off her bum, “I guess you mean no one but you, which is just as…”
“Yeah, but I’m no one special.” He said with such modesty as he cut her off.Tyeaze stared at him with such hungry and curious eyes, wanting to know so much more about this incredible stranger. Where did he come from? She thought to herself. There was no one behind me, so where could he have appeared from?
“The bushes.” She said aloud.
“What?”
“The bushes? Was that you in the bushes?”
“Oh … Yeah,” he said timidly, “that was me; I dropped my phone, my Frontkick, so I was just looking for it.”
“Hah, turns out I’m not the only one that has been embarrassed.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t fall flat on my --,” he said, failing to hold in his laughter.
“It’s that funny, huh? Well at least I wasn’t playing peek-a-boo with the squirrels.”
They laughed together and then there was an awkward silence. He could not help noticing every tasteful curve that her body created. Her almond shaped brown eyes that hid behind her glasses, her breasts were perfect handfuls, and Michael Angelo must have sculpted her body because it was flawless. Her skin was cocoa butter soft, her complexion was the sweetest shade of brown, and he was yearning for her lips; he could almost taste them on his.
Her smile, her smile was the most radiant thing he had ever seen. Suddenly he felt lightheaded, and warm, she spoke.
“Anyways, I was on my way into the city, I guess I’ll get back to it.”
“Oh yeah, sorry to keep you. If you live around here, I might see you. I’ve got some business around here, so I’ll be around a lot.”
“Alright, maybe I will.” She wanted so bad to say hopefully, hopefully I will.
They both smiled.
“Alright, see you around then.” He said, turning slowly to walk away.
They exchanged smiles once more and slowly went on their own paths, almost as if hesitating to leave each others sight. Tyeaze turned around and said:
“I don’t think I got your name, stranger.”
“I was about to say the same to you. It’s Bernice, Bernie for short. What’s yours madame?”
“It’s Tynae. And I don’t have one of those for short.”
“What about … Ty? It’s short, sweet, and simple.”
“I like it.” She smiled.
Her smile warmed him again, but this time he was on fire, it was nothing he had ever felt before. He wished Tynae hadn’t been so beautiful and spoke so well, because she had no idea what he was getting her into if anyone had seen them speaking.
Bernice’s vision began to blur, he felt the back of his head. He looked at it. It was soaking. His hand dropped to his side. Tynae saw the blood. He lost balance and fell to the ground.
His eyes sparkled in the dusk’s sunlight, his figure was so divine, his skin was smoothly coated with chocolate and a pinch of brown sugar, his hair perfectly escaping the constraint of his fitted cap. Just the way she liked them. But this one was different, everything about him made Tynae's soul roar. He broke the silence,
“You good?”
He helped her up from the ground, lifted her so effortlessly, she fell into a trance where she was mesmerized by his strength and his captivating smile. She stood, trying to keep her balance. He had her weak in every way possible.
She gathered her composure, hoping that he hadn’t noticed her instability.
“Yeah I’m fine.”
“Don’t worry about nothing”, he said looking around, “Nobody saw.”
His words were like hot tea in an empty stomach, they filled her with such warmth, and his smile, his smile had a sparkle to it as the sun shone right onto his gold fang making it even more enticing. She stared at his lips as he spoke. His lips were the perfect size and shape to satisfy her every need.
“Thanks”, she said shyly, brushing the dirt off her bum, “I guess you mean no one but you, which is just as…”
“Yeah, but I’m no one special.” He said with such modesty as he cut her off.Tyeaze stared at him with such hungry and curious eyes, wanting to know so much more about this incredible stranger. Where did he come from? She thought to herself. There was no one behind me, so where could he have appeared from?
“The bushes.” She said aloud.
“What?”
“The bushes? Was that you in the bushes?”
“Oh … Yeah,” he said timidly, “that was me; I dropped my phone, my Frontkick, so I was just looking for it.”
“Hah, turns out I’m not the only one that has been embarrassed.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t fall flat on my --,” he said, failing to hold in his laughter.
“It’s that funny, huh? Well at least I wasn’t playing peek-a-boo with the squirrels.”
They laughed together and then there was an awkward silence. He could not help noticing every tasteful curve that her body created. Her almond shaped brown eyes that hid behind her glasses, her breasts were perfect handfuls, and Michael Angelo must have sculpted her body because it was flawless. Her skin was cocoa butter soft, her complexion was the sweetest shade of brown, and he was yearning for her lips; he could almost taste them on his.
Her smile, her smile was the most radiant thing he had ever seen. Suddenly he felt lightheaded, and warm, she spoke.
“Anyways, I was on my way into the city, I guess I’ll get back to it.”
“Oh yeah, sorry to keep you. If you live around here, I might see you. I’ve got some business around here, so I’ll be around a lot.”
“Alright, maybe I will.” She wanted so bad to say hopefully, hopefully I will.
They both smiled.
“Alright, see you around then.” He said, turning slowly to walk away.
They exchanged smiles once more and slowly went on their own paths, almost as if hesitating to leave each others sight. Tyeaze turned around and said:
“I don’t think I got your name, stranger.”
“I was about to say the same to you. It’s Bernice, Bernie for short. What’s yours madame?”
“It’s Tynae. And I don’t have one of those for short.”
“What about … Ty? It’s short, sweet, and simple.”
“I like it.” She smiled.
Her smile warmed him again, but this time he was on fire, it was nothing he had ever felt before. He wished Tynae hadn’t been so beautiful and spoke so well, because she had no idea what he was getting her into if anyone had seen them speaking.
Bernice’s vision began to blur, he felt the back of his head. He looked at it. It was soaking. His hand dropped to his side. Tynae saw the blood. He lost balance and fell to the ground.
Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Tynae could not stop thinking about Ajax. It was where she grew up. She had friends and family still living there. Toronto wasn't that bad, but the memories she had in Ajax wouldn't leave her mind. She started wondering what life would be like if she still lived in Ajax; she loved the diversity, and the culture explosion was what excited her the most. One day when she was done work at the Cereal Factory her parents owned, she decided to take a walk to think about whether or not she was truly happy living in Toronto.
It was a truly beautiful day. Warmer then she had expected for a day in early April. She crossed the street at the York Mills, and Don Mills intersection and walked down the hill leading into Don Mills Park. Walking along, she heard a noise coming from the bushes behind her, but she ignored it. She continued her walk, but she heard the noise again, louder, and closer … she stopped. Tynae didn’t know what to do. She took one-step towards the bush, and leaned in a little to try to see what it was. She was about to take another step closer when she thought to herself, I know better then to move towards a strange noise. I’ve watched enough scary movies to know that the idiots who follow the noise die, or get someone else killed.
Tynae turned around and continued walking. Just when she thought the noise had gone away, she heard it again. This time it was much louder, it sounded like it was coming from right behind her … she turned around. Nothing. Tynae got frustrated and turned back around quickly, she bumped into something and fell hard on the ground. She brushed her hands off on her jeans and then she looked up to see what it was she bumped in to … she saw him.
Tynae could not stop thinking about Ajax. It was where she grew up. She had friends and family still living there. Toronto wasn't that bad, but the memories she had in Ajax wouldn't leave her mind. She started wondering what life would be like if she still lived in Ajax; she loved the diversity, and the culture explosion was what excited her the most. One day when she was done work at the Cereal Factory her parents owned, she decided to take a walk to think about whether or not she was truly happy living in Toronto.
It was a truly beautiful day. Warmer then she had expected for a day in early April. She crossed the street at the York Mills, and Don Mills intersection and walked down the hill leading into Don Mills Park. Walking along, she heard a noise coming from the bushes behind her, but she ignored it. She continued her walk, but she heard the noise again, louder, and closer … she stopped. Tynae didn’t know what to do. She took one-step towards the bush, and leaned in a little to try to see what it was. She was about to take another step closer when she thought to herself, I know better then to move towards a strange noise. I’ve watched enough scary movies to know that the idiots who follow the noise die, or get someone else killed.
Tynae turned around and continued walking. Just when she thought the noise had gone away, she heard it again. This time it was much louder, it sounded like it was coming from right behind her … she turned around. Nothing. Tynae got frustrated and turned back around quickly, she bumped into something and fell hard on the ground. She brushed her hands off on her jeans and then she looked up to see what it was she bumped in to … she saw him.
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