I'm Jamaica

Four: Betrayal

"I aced it! I really did. I got an A+. A big fat A plus!" I rejoiced in the living room as soon as I got home. Everyone was happy for me but I was glad I did well. The only thing I wanted now, was to celebrate with my best friend. 
"I knew you could do it!" Deja cheered.
"Well done, sis." Divan said. He smiled.
Mum applauded.
"Why don't we celebrate?" Dad started, "Let's eat out!"
"Woohoo!" We all cheered. For that time I totally forgot about Natalie and Helena.

"She totally betrayed me. It's so hard for me to even believe it was real." I narrated to Deja that evening in her room.
" Are you serious? Wow that's so weird. Natalie is not like that. What happened?" Deja asked. She was listening attentively.
" Nothing important."
"What do you mean by nothing important?" Deja asked.
"We just had a little misunderstanding but she wasn't so upset about that, so it's nothing important. " I said, with my hand in my hair.
"Tell me about the little misunderstanding." She inquired.
"Well, it started at the meatballs table. I was over at the table with Divan's friend, Jackson, and Natalie. Jackson was asking me about my other friends apart from Natalie. He said he had seen me with other girls and a couple of dudes, but he saw me with Natalie most of the time. I said Natalie was my best friend. He asked Natalie if she had any other friends, I interrupted, and said she didn't have any and she couldn't make friends without me. That's all I said and she seem to take it in good stride."
Deja looked me in the eye,"Did you say she couldn't make friends without you?" She asked.
"Yes but it's true and she smiled before leaving for the toilet." I defended.
"You shouldn't have said that. It's rude, it's like saying you are her only friend."
I said, "No it doesn't, I was just being honest."
" She went to the restroom?" She asked.
"Yes?"
"She probably went to recuperate, because what you said may have hurt her. "
I was suddenly realising it. I did hurt her and now she wanted to her show that she could also new friends without me.
Deja watched me understand and was ready for the question I asked next.
" But why Helena?"
"Maybe so she could prove that she could make friends with your biggest enemy. I think it would have hurt more that way, and obviously it does."
"It does. What will I do now?"
"Speak to her. Send her text or something..." Deja sat up on the bed.
"Okay I will." On a lighter note I said, "Right after you tell me about that guy you chatted with almost every minute of dinner." I said with a naughty smirk.
"What guy?" She was obviously playing dumb.
"The one who bears, ' Owner of Deja's heart '." I said dreamily.
"Huh, you mean Richard?" She said automatically.
"Haha!" I said triumphantly. She blushed. "So he is real." I said.
She didn't reply.
"You have a boyfriend!" I sang repeatedly.
"Hush!" She moved over and tried to cover my mouth but I jerked away laughing all the while. It was true! Deja had tons of explanation to do. I winked at her. She stood up and went into the bathroom.
       I saw her phone on the table. I was tempted to pick it but she would get angry. But again, there would be a lot of interesting chats. I stretched over to the table and grabbed it. The phone was sleek and black. I guessed her password and I was in her texting app in seconds. There he was, Richard, on her frequently contacted list. I clicked on his name and scrolled through chats. A lot of school work, a couple of pet names, emojis and jokes but it was obvious Deja was all for him. I heard the water stop running and I dropped her phone back in its place. She opened the bathroom door. I pulled an innocent face and smiled at her.
She looked away and got dressed silently. I watched her like a hawk. She wore her pajamas and sat at her desk. She was acting like nothing transpired earlier.
"Come on, Deja. Tell me all about Richard."
"Uh!" She sighed. She moved to the bed.
"To start with, it's not a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. He's my closest friend's older brother."
"You mean Clarissa?" I asked, refreshing my memory.
"Yes." She said.
"And why in the world are you chatting with your best friend's older brother?" I asked. It wasn't easy to make sense of things.
"We just hooked up. Clarissa was ill a month ago, and he came to my class often to collect my notes for her. Then we got talking. And he was kinda nice."
"Oh!" I said. But I asked, "And you call him Richy?"
"You checked my phone?" She asked, not so upset.
I whispered, pulling on my cute face, "It called me."
"What did I expect leaving my phone with a curious fourteen year old?" She asked herself.
I didn't reply.
"And he calls you Deej?" I further asked.
"Don't you have a friend to talk to?" She said.
I was ready to leave. "I'll be back." I said, crawling to the end of her bed and jumping off.
"Don't be." She joked. Her phone rang. I was out the door already when I heard her say, "Hello Richard, what's up?"  And laugh a second later.
"Richard," I said to myself, "Lucky guy. How did Deja even get a boyfriend? I don't have one. Well I can't, she's older than I am and my parents are always talking about going to school to learn." I sighed. "I always want to listen to them. OK, not always but most times." I entered my room and closed the door.
I sighed. I loved my room. It had mauve coloured paint on two opposite sides and mulberry on the other two walls. There was my sky blue desk, it was really messed up with tons of books I had started writing but TMIS didn't let me know what to use to end them, and the chair my aunty gave me for my thirteenth birthday, with my name engraved on it. My shoe rack, full of high heeled shoes and tons of sneakers. One of the reasons I had high heeled shoes was because my mum thought I didn't walk well sometimes, so she went ahead to get them. But sneakers were my thing. They were comfy, stylish and most times colourful. I loved them. My shoe rack was next to my closet door on my mauve colored wall. Then there was my bed, my favourite thing in the room. I loved sleep, but I often sleep late. My bed, I didn't describe it often so I don't know how to. It was obviously a full size. It was covered with lilac, mauve, heather, lavender and magenta items. My pillows, blankets, the bed spread and others. I loved purple, but if anyone asked my favourite color I always say, "the colors of the rainbow." But I think purple is my jam. I used to love black. But it was not as extreme as my love for purple. My room used to be sky blue but when I fell for purple I made my dad change it. I had a lavender curtain over my bed but there wasn't any window there, only a large portrait of me. And then two bedside stools with my favourite perfumes and cosmetics. I had a couple of vases and photos of me on the wall. And not to forget a mirror, which was smaller than the one in my closet. I had a big shelf full of novels and some of my manuscripts. I was gone again.
     I shook my head and stopped resting on the door, studying my own room. I remembered Natalie. I picked my phone and scrolled around for her number. In a few taps, I was in our chat box. Her name was shining green which meant she was on the app too. I sent her a text which read, "Hey. Can we talk?" She read it ten seconds later. That doesn't mean I was counting.
"Why?" She texted  back.
"You know why. About what happened today."
"I have to go to bed." She texted.
"You normally go to bed by nine thirty, it's eight fifteen now." I looked at the time again to be sure.
"My mum made me. Goodnight." And then she was offline. I should have known texting wouldn't work.
I dropped my phone and slept on the bed. I proceeded to my imagination, thinking about the next day. I thought about Natalie and I patching up and Helena looking hideously angry. I slept off for a few minutes but someone woke me up.
"It's eighty thirty," Dad said at the door post. I sat up and followed him downstairs, still groggy.
        Mom, Deja and Divan were already seated. Dad and I joined them. I sat next to Divan while dad was next to mum. Deja sat by herself. It was time to pray. We prayed everyday at eighty thirty for five years straight. It was annoying at times but you get used to it. Mum led the songs, she had an amazing voice. Dad called her a worship warrior, because he always felt her songs. Mum sang songs for a while and then Dad led the prayer. I was happy when it ended. I waited for mum to turn on the television and dad to say he had work to do. Divan seemed to be going nowhere neither was Deja. I decided to lie on the couch and watch television with them.

    I spotted Natalie and Helena in the hallway. I had seen them before classes had begun but I couldn't walk up to her. So I finally muscled up courage and went to her during lunch. She wasn't at her locker, it was Helena's. I moved over to them and tried to ignore Helena.
"Hi Natalie." I tried a smile but when Natalie's brows went up, I thought that a solemn face would be better.
"Hello." She said.
"Can we talk?" I asked. Praying silently that she would be positive.
"What about?" Helena asked. I looked at her, my eyes piercing hers in anger. I wanted to give her a punch in her nose and break of the straight little thing.
"Okay." Natalie said. Her expressions were so blank that it was hard to know what she was thinking.
"Not here. Let's go to class." Since it was lunch, most people were in the cafeteria. I had to speak to Natalie before I ate. Natalie followed me to class and from the way she ignored Helena's calls after her, she was probably happy.
We were behind the class and I cleared my throat.
"It's all my fault." I had shocked her. It was written all over her face, surprise.
"I offended you and I didn't even know. What I said on Deja's party was wrong. You can make friends without me. It's obvious now. And because you hang out with me all the time doesn't mean, you are miserable without me. So I'm sorry." All I said was from my heart but now I awaited her response. She looked glad but quiet. Her eyes were smiling.
"That means a lot, Jama. I'm happy you know you hurt me and apologized. But I am quite miserable without you just as much as you are without me."
I smiled, I was quite miserable. I had scribbled Natalie on tons of papers this morning and dreamt of her too.
"I was quite miserable." I said. The smile on my lips probably reached my two ears. I opened my arms for a hug and she joined in.
"I love you Nat." I said sincerely.
"I love you too, Jama." And from her voice, she was sincere too.
After breaking our hug, we both spotted Helena, right in front of the class, watching us. I turned back to Natalie and said, not liking the idea of what was coming out of my mouth next, "And if you like Helena so much I could tolerate her for you."
Natalie shook her head, "No need. I was tolerating her all that while. Two days with Helena was hell enough."
I laughed and she joined me.  We walked out of the class like Helena wasn't there. She had obviously gotten the message. She stomped her feet on the floor but Natalie and I got a good laugh out of that.