“Sam. Come sit over here,” she beckoned.
I hesitated briefly and then complied. Cautiously, I took a seat and then looked around the table. No one was really saying anything now that I was present. Someone cleared their throat, breaking through the uncomfortable silence.
“You don’t have to sit over there alone. We don’t hate you,” Kyla explained, acting as spokesperson for the entire table. “We were just torn because Antonio’s our friend too and he was really hurt about….the situation.”
Her expression was much softer than it was the other day in Math when she tried to go off on me. “I understand that, but I hope you all understand that it wasn’t my intention to hurt him. Things just kind of happened and he got caught in the middle,” I explained.
“What happened on Tuesday?” She asked. “There’ve been a lot of rumors flying around, but I don’t know what to believe.”
“Well, Antonio got upset when…..” I decided to be vague in my response. “Things just got out of hand.”
There was a long pause and then Ashley chimed in. “So, are you and this Chinese kid together or something?” Her condescending tone reminded me why I didn’t like her.
It didn’t feel right to lie, but I wasn’t sure that they were ready to hear the truth yet. At the same time, I also didn’t want to be deceitful, especially since they were being open and accepted me into their circle today. “Yeah, we are now.”
“Hmmm….I just don’t get it. What’s wrong with Antonio? You too good for black guys now? You know that boy doesn’t really have feelings for you, right? He’ll lose interest before the month is out,” Ashley scoffed.
I tried to suppress my rising anger. “Well, that’s your opinion. And next time I want it, I’ll ask you for it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go back to my seat.”
“Fine. Nobody wanted you over here but Leslie anyway,” Ashley mumbled under her breath. I tried to control my temper. I couldn’t afford to get in any more trouble at home than I was already in, so I refrained from throwing my drink in her face like I wanted to, and got up from my chair, rolling my eyes at her as I walked away. I couldn’t sit there and listen to her stupidity any longer. I walked away and nearly threw my tray onto my table. It would be a cold day in Hell before I’d try that again.
*****
When I got home, I found myself still angry about my conversation with Ashley. Everything she said replayed over and over in my head no matter how hard I tried to stop it. The cold feeling I got when I sat at their table still lingered with me despite the fact that hours had passed since the incident. All of them seemed to hate that AJ and I were now together. It wasn’t fair that I’d hurt Antonio, but was it justice that I be outcast because of one decision I’d made?
I was just finishing up my homework when I heard my mom calling me down to eat. Dinner was pretty much the same as yesterday. Daddy and I sat in silence. I cleared my spot and retreated back to my room as quickly as I could. This had to end soon. I didn’t like that he was trying to force me to end things with AJ, but I didn’t like the tension between us either. If he wasn’t going to be the one to give in, I guess I had to be. I walked down the stairs slowly and found my parents in the living room together. Mom was sitting on the couch watching television and my father sat in his chair reading the paper.
“Daddy, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked nervously.
He muted the TV and looked in my direction, but didn’t speak. “I need to say something.” This was my chance to be mature and prove to him that I was becoming a young adult. “You’re concerned about me; I appreciate that, but cutting AJ off isn’t an option.” I paused to catch my breath. “So, I was thinking. Would it make you feel better if I invited him over here so you can meet him?”