Faces of the Game (14 page)

Girl Talk

              “Details, I want full details personality, outfit, conversation, all of that.”  Ash said into the phone waking Chelle up for class.  “Girl it’s 7:30 am, what is your malfunction?”  Chelle said joking.  “Whatever, you have class at 9:30 wake up and start talking.”  Chelle laughed and got up to make sure Chip wasn’t in the living room.  She went into the bathroom and peeped out of the window to make sure his rental wasn’t outside.  “Okay girl, he was fresh as usual Navy New York fitted, White polo with the blue emblem, dark jeans and white and navy Air Max.”  Chelle said as she took her morning tinkle.  “Wow, right up your alley” Ash said probing her to continue.  “He was laid back, reserved, observative, but really nice.  He didn’t have an infamous persona but his style surely does, he didn’t say much at all.”  Chelle said as she smiled and laid her t-shirt with a pair of jogging pants to match across her bed.  “Yeah, he is definitely bench warmer material!”  Chelle added as her friend joined her in a burst of laughter.  “Definitely” Ash added. 

              Chelle took a quick shower and headed out for her summer school class. 
Roc is cool, but I don’t know why he didn’t say much but I sort of dig that, I am the same way. 
Chelle thought to herself while getting dressed.  Chelle turned her twelve page paper in and left class early, she didn’t really feel like staying in class.  “Hey girl, what’s going on?”  Chelle said into the receiver as her cousin Neese answered the phone.  “Nothing girl, what’s good?”  “Me and Roc went out to eat yesterday.”  Chelle said with a slight smile on her face.  “Oh lord, who the one Nene used to talk to?”  Neese asked in a blasé tone.  “Umm, hmm girl but it is what it is they don’t talk anymore.”  Chelle said as she continued to tell Neese about Roc.  “He sounds cool, but don’t take him half serious.”  Neese laughed.  “Duh, but he’s definitely status quo.”  “That’s what’s up, you better hope Chip doesn’t find out they probably run with the same crew you know Winston ain’t but so big.”  Neese said as if to warn Chelle.  “I know right, I don’t want to think about it besides it’s not that serious but if you hear anything about him make a mental note.”  Chelle reminded Neese.  “Of course girl, always; so what are you doing today because I think I am coming over your house for a little while.”  “That’s cool, I just turned in my paper so I am good to go, let’s do Spa day.”  “Sounds like a plan to me!”  Neese said energized. 

              After the spa, Neese and Chelle decided to go to the salon to get fresh blow outs, hit a couple of stores to pick up lounge wear and they went to Quiznos to pick up a couple of fresh ceasar salads and water.  They had a great time together talking, laughing and joking like they usually do.  They ignored all phone calls on their cell phones because their talks were juicy, fun and full of action.  Conversations never went dull when the two of them got together; they shared a bond that no one could ever come in between.  They often referred to themselves as twin cousins, they were two of a kind, they loved it and those who didn’t understand hated it.

Like you’ll never see me again…

              It had been three days since Chelle had answered the phone for Chip, he had called her over and over but he got no answer.  Chelle got a thrill out of it, but she didn’t know that she wouldn’t talk to him if she didn’t answer in enough time. 

              Chelle continued to play the phone game for the next week and a half until she realized that he didn’t keep calling.  Chelle called his phone, but no answer as a matter of fact the phone had been disconnected.  She tried to convince herself that he would call her and give her the new number.  To keep her mind off of him, Chelle decided to spend a little more time with Roc, but she was unable to enjoy herself because she was so worried about Chip.  The weeks crept up on Chelle, the seasons changed and the leaves fell off of the trees; still no calls no info what so ever.  Chelle began to grow sick, so she decided to occupy herself with school work, constant phone conversations with her cousins, her friends and her sister.  They kept her occupied but her mind couldn’t stay focused on anything it seemed like.  One day she broke down and cried for hours uncontrollably, that’s when she decided to go to the doctor and explore her options on how to deal with her depression. 

              “Look, I have been extremely depressed lately I am concerned about my parents relationship, they act like they hate each other, my boyfriend has been missing for quite a while now, my sister just had an abortion, I am doing horrible in school….”  Chelle held her head in her hands and bursted out into tears.  She looked up at the doctor and continued, “I feel like I am at my weakest point in my life, there are so many things that have gone sour” she sniffled and blew her nose after the doctor handed her a tissue.  “I am sorry doc, you know this isn’t me I am just a wreck now life is getting the best of me for some reason.”  Chelle said as she shook her head and gritted her teeth.  She didn’t realize how much built up anger she had until she closed the door behind herself and sat to talk to her doctor in confidence.  Chelle knew that she had to do something quick, she heard that anti-depressants numbed all of the emotional pain that you feel so she decided to try to get a prescription for it.  A few moments later Doctor Higgs re-entered the room and handed Chelle a small brown paper bag  “Here, I have something I want you to try for the first week you take three a day, next week two a day and the third week one a day; come back in three weeks and see if they have helped you.  Chelle looked into the brown paper bag of samples and thought, hmmm I have never heard of this before I guess I should look these up.  “Thanks”, Chelle replied as she rolled the top of the bag down neatly and placed it in her Bebe bag.  “Chelle, your parents are going through a point in their lives where they may not be seeing eye-to-eye just know it’s not your fault you have nothing to do with their problems and don’t ever make yourself feel like you do”. 
Please that was just something to say, they act like this all the time, I really don’t care anymore.
  Chelle thought as she wiped another tear from her cheek.  “As for your boyfriend, maybe he wanted to break up with you and didn’t know how to so he decided to stop all communication period.” 
Oh please bitch, he is head over hills in love with me there is something definitely going on and it isn’t pretty.  If he was dead I assume I would know by now, if he’s locked up he would have called or wrote me by now I guess.  My baby, where is my baby? 
Chelle thought as wet tears slid down her steaming red hot face to cool it off just a bit.  She just shook her head and pressed her lips together to keep herself from screaming aloud, she felt lost without him but she decided that she would have to learn to live without him.  “Why does it hurt you so much that your sister had an abortion?”  The doctor asked as if to say are you really the “sister” that you are talking about.  “Because I don’t agree with abortions, my niece or nephew was supposed to be here for a reason.  I didn’t go against her decision because she wasn’t financially stable enough for another child and I understand, things like that just make me sad a little.”  Chelle wasn’t upset with her sister, she was just hurt because she loves children.  “I understand but you have to respect her decision.”  The doctor responded.  “So, what’s going on in school, why are your grades poor this semester, you usually seem to do pretty well in school.”  Doctor Higgs continued.  “I guess my mind continuously wonders from problem to problem, between working and worrying I don’t really find time to do any school work.  “Well you have to do your work that is the most important thing in your life right now.”  “Yes, I know I will get myself together; I had two D’s two C’s and an F for my mid-term grades.”  Tears poured down Chelle’s face once again, she felt awful and she was not a quitter she always made sure she went above and beyond to complete each assignment in school.  She couldn’t believe herself she had to do some serious soul searching…

                                                                           ***

             
Studies show that teenagers under the age of nineteen who were taking this medication and stopped using it were more likely to attempt suicide, if you are nursing or pregnant please do not use this medication it could cause serious birth defects, this medicine is used to reverse mental depression and anxiety, please do not use if your conditions are mild…
  Chelle was reading information about the medicine that she had received from her doctor. 
Oh hell no, I cannot take this medicine I might mess around and cause a chemical imbalance in my brain, this sounds dangerous.  Whatever, I am throwing this mess away and praying to God he’s a natural healer.
  Chelle took the bag of meds tossed it into the trash and got on her knees to pray.  She vented to God and told him that she was going to put all of her trust in him, she would leave all of her worries behind once she got off of her knees; and that’s exactly what she did. 

             
Amen… Ring, ring, ring. 
Once Chelle realized her house phone was ringing she decided to wipe the tears away and answer.  “Hey girl, what’s going on?”  Chelle answered, seeing that it was Ash.  “Nothing, have you heard from Chip yet?”  “Nah, I wish but you know what I am going to try this out of sight out of mind thing girl.”  Chelle responded.  “I know that’s right, just wait be patient you know he will call you when he can.”  Ash reassured.  “Girl, how about I went to the doctor today because I was trying to get some crazy people medicine…”  Chelle laughed at herself for being so weak.  “Oh lord!”  Ash said as she joined Chelle in laughter.  “The doctor tried to give me some psycho type medicine I never heard of, I ain’t with it girl I threw that mess away, people have tried to commit suicide and everything once they got off the medicine they need to take that mess off the market!”  Chelle said with emphasis. “Heck yeah, what are they trying to do kill my best friend?”  Ash said jokingly.  The girls talked and laughed for thirty minutes or so before ending the conversation and continuing with their daily tasks.  Chelle decided to clean up and rearrange her apartment, she felt it was time for a change, plus she would keep herself occupied.  She grabbed her CD case that was sitting on her floor beside the fireplace and she popped Beyoncé’s newest CD.  As she was vacuuming the floor and jamming her phone rang, but since the number was private she decided that she wouldn’t answer.  Chelle made up her mind a while ago that she wouldn’t answer any more private calls, they were useless and if it were someone of importance they would leave a message.  She threw her phone back onto the couch and continued to clean up as she added humor to her cleaning session by mocking some of the dance moves in the videos. 

             
Whew
, that was a lot of cleaning she thought to herself after three hours of continuous cleaning and rearranging.  Chelle decided to relax, run herself a hot bath and pour herself a glass of pink champagne….  Before she knew it she was waking up in a cold bath tub with a bottle of champagne sitting next to the garden style bath tub along with an empty glass. 
Oh my goodness I must have been tired
, Chelle thought to herself as she slowly climbed out of the tub and slipped into her bath robe.  After slipping into her comfortable pajamas, Chelle decided to finally do her homework, she turned her phone off, turned her laptop on, cracked her book and began studying.  Chelle loved her PR Case Studies class, all she did was write case studies on professional athletes and keep up with current cases in the media; her teacher was a former PR Pro for the Lakers, Chelle admired this lady like no other.  After writing a case briefing on a Michael Vick case, Chelle decided to surf the net to see if there were any more current law suits in the entertainment world that she could bring up in class the following day.  Since she didn’t find any, she decided to cook herself jerk beef tips and rice. 

              “Girl, how about I heard that Chip is going down when they find him.”  Chanda, Chelle’s older sister said into the receiver as soon as Chelle answered.  “Going down?”  Chelle said, playing dumb.  “Girl, I heard that he was in trouble when the last time you talked to him?”  Chanda asked Chelle.  “It’s been a few days, why?”  Chelle responded in a dry tone with tears in her eyes.  “Cause’ girl he probably locked up.”  Chanda said assuming the worst.  Chelle fell on the couch tears streamed down her face and she remained completely silent.  “Hello?”  Her sister said into the receiver.  “Yeah, I’m here” Chelle managed to say without sounding like she was crying.  “Why you so quiet?”  Chanda asked.  “If he was locked up, don’t you think he would have at least called me or something?”  Chelle asked, sounding as if she had the Nile River running from her eyes and sniffling in between each syllable.  “Maybe he hasn’t been processed yet or he can’t call you right now, he might not know your number by heart.”  Chanda insisted.  Chelle just shook her head in disbelief as her cry turned into a silent sigh.  At this point all Chelle could do is cry, she didn’t want to talk to anyone until she spoke with him.  “Chelle… Chelle… hello, I know you still on the phone, it hasn’t hung up yet.”  Chanda said as she started to become slightly worried about her little sister.  “Yeah” Chelle said as she dried her tears and stared at the wall with a blank expression.  She reminded herself that crying was a weak emotion and she needed to be strong for whatever the cause.  “Well I was just calling to tell you that’s what I had heard, you don’t sound like you want to talk right now, call me tomorrow.”  Chanda said as she proceeded to hang up.  “Wait, Chanda can you tell Kerri to call MJ and see if Chip is alright or to see where he is?”  Chelle was anxious to make inquiries and figure out what in the hell was going on while she waited on his phone call.  “I didn’t even think about that, let me call her and call you right back.”  Chelle felt like she could breathe, she knew that her sister would come through for her and she needed her sister to help her because she was closer to Chip’s age.  Chelle could have paced the floor, or continued to cry her eyeballs out but instead she called her older home girls starting with Val, Val always knew what was going on, Chelle kept her ear to the streets through her closest friends and family.  “Hey girl, what’s going on?”  Chelle said as Val answered.  “Nothing, what’s up with you?”  Val replied.  “Nothing, what’s going on in Winston?”  Chelle asked hoping Val would break the ice.  “Nothing other than B’s whole crew is getting knocked left and right, Chip straight?”  Val asked.  “Girl…”  Chelle paused and took a deep breath as a tear fell.  “What’s wrong Chelle?”  Val asked, in a sincere tone.  “I don’t know what’s going on, I haven’t heard from him in days I am so scared Val.”  “Aww, it will be okay girl he will call I haven’t heard anything about him now my babe did tell me that Chip needs to lay low.”  “Yeah, my sister told me things were getting hot around here.”  Chelle dropped her head, looked down at her feet and wondered what to do next.  “Keep your head up girl, it will be alright you will hear from him you don’t know what’s going on so don’t worry about it; focus on school and try to do things to keep you busy until you hear from him.” Val gave Chelle the best advice she knew how to give, although she had to get her son bathed and ready for school the next morning she wanted to make sure Chelle was going to be alright.  “Chelle, you going to’ be alright?”  She asked in concern.  “Yeah, I’ll be okay.”  Chelle replied not wanting to prolong the conversation.  “Okay girl, call me if you need to talk and call me tomorrow anyway.”  Val said before hanging up.  The girls said their goodbyes and ended the call.  Chelle looked at the clock in the bottom right corner of her computer and realized that it was 10:45 pm, she wondered if it was too late to call Roz she figured since she had to get both of her sons bathed and in the bed Roz was either sleep or getting ready for bed.  She decided to call her the following day. 
Vae! Vae will know something maybe, she is cool with Cee’s baby mama’s home girls Cee and Chip are mad cool.  Let me call her and see if she got the scoop or if she has heard more than I have heard. 
“What up bitch!”  Vae said into the receiver, happy to hear from her cousin.  “Hey girl, what’s up?”  Chelle replied in a dry voice.  “What’s wrong, you don’t sound like yourself?”  Vae said.  “Nothing really, I just haven’t heard from Chip and I know something janky is going on.”  Chelle said.  “Oh lord, you know I don’t fuck with him but let me call somebody and see if they have heard anything.  I would call Nay Nay but you know I don’t talk to that bitch anymore.  That is Cee’s baby mama though’.  Fuck it I’m not calling her, let me call Jae and see if she has heard anything, I’m not going to bring it up, she talks too much sometimes, so give me about fifteen minutes and I will call you back.”  Vae was dependable; if Chelle ever needed the scoop and she couldn’t get it Vae would make it her business to help Chelle as much as she could. The girls hung up and Chelle waited patiently on her cousin to call her back.  She figured if anyone else in her circle had heard anything, they would have called her and told her.  Then it clicked in her head, she hadn’t talked to Tia in three days, but she would definitely know the scoop. 
Ring, Ring, Ring… you have reached 336…
Chelle hung up the phone, she hated leaving messages so she figured Tia would call her back.