The Diary of Aaliyah Anderson Page 5

  Miss Simmons began to give me a lot of praise. “She’s one of this school’s best and brightest students. It’s gonna be sad to see her leave next year, just like it was with Damon.”

  I appreciated what she said but, on the real, I wished she would shut up! I love Miss Simmons, but it seemed like she was making things worse for me. I just got written up! One of this school’s best and brightest students got banned from a class for asking for another pencil! How does that look?

  As Miss Simmons walked away, Miss Carter asked, “So what brings you down here, Aaliyah?”

  I just gave her the write up, still speechless. As she read, she motioned for me to follow her from the holding area to her office. Boy, that definitely made my heart jump! My emotions were bouncing around like crazy. I was happy I was meeting one of my favorite singers, amazed because I was meeting one of my favorite singers, paranoid because I don’t know what to expect, and scared because I’ve never really been in a situation like this before.

  Jakiyah would probably be rolling if she knew how I was feeling in this particular situation. ‘Kiyah feels I need to be more “devilish”, whatever she means by that. She already calls me Willowsfield’s “angel”. I don’t know if she means that as a compliment or an insult!

  Miss Carter’s office was nice! It was real big and all fixed up with decorations and pictures. All over the wall, I saw her many awards, plaques, and trophies. She definitely had a lot of Grammys, BET, Centric Soul Train, and NAACP Image awards. She had a huge flat screen TV that was directly opposite of her desk, hanging on the wall. Next to the flat screen on the right were pictures of her and other celebrities. Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Kelly Rowland, Drake, Kevin Hart, almost any celebrity I could name was hanging up there. She even had a picture with Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston! Miss Carter definitely knew people in the industry.

  One thing that really caught my eye, though, was her huge picture of her and Dr. Spencer at her college graduation with the words, “You inspired me to be the best I can be, now I promise to give other kids the same message. Love you, R.I.P.” across the bottom in pink writing. I had to hold back tears! That picture is so beautiful! Dr. Spencer really did have a huge effect on her life. God rest her soul.

  Miss Carter sat down at her super comfortable-looking leather rolling chair and logged in to her Dell computer. She then clicked around for a second then started reading off my school history file.

  “Aaliyah Anderson, zero office referrals, zero tardies, zero absent days, no behavior problems, exceptional grades. Go ahead, girl! You got it going on!”

  I smiled, flattered that she had said that to me.

  “Looking at you, I can tell you’re a good girl. You’re beautiful on the inside and out. Even though you haven’t said anything since we’ve walked through the door of this office, I know this. The main question is, why are you here? You have a perfect school record. Looking at your grades, it seems like you’re a hard worker. Why is it that it’s written on this referral that you were disrupting the class and refusing to do your work? I didn’t expect for any child of Natasha Anderson to walk through this door with a referral like that, especially with the file you have. What’s going on?”

  Obviously she didn’t hear about Jeff and Elijah!

  I shrugged and finally said, “Ask Mrs. Conner. She’s the one that banned me from her class for asking for a pencil.”

  Miss Carter’s eyes lit up. “So Mrs. Conner is the teacher that wrote this referral?”

  I nodded. Miss Carter shook her head. “I guess all I’ve heard about Mrs. Conner is actually true. This woman really banned you from her room just for asking for a pencil?”

  “Yes, ma’am. She snapped on me for no reason. She even said that I’m ‘not gonna be anything in this world’. I got back with her, so she banned me from her room.”

  Miss Carter took all of what I told her in and said, “What? She said that to you in front of the whole class? That’s just plain out crazy! Aaliyah, I’m gonna investigate this whole situation further, and after school is over we are gonna go down to Mrs. Conner’s room and get this straightened out. As for now, until we meet with her, this write up is nullified. When the next bell rings, you can continue with your normal schedule. Just remember to come back down here when the day is over.”

  I nodded, now having a whole lot of confidence. The write up was voided and Miss Carter was on my side. What could go wrong?

  ♠♠♠♠

  Miss Carter vs. Mrs. Connor

  After the last bell rang, I got my things and quickly went back up to Miss Carter’s office. From there, we walked down to Mrs. Conner’s room on the 8-1 hall. I definitely had a good feeling about this since a few of the kids, including Allison, went to Miss Carter and told her what really happened. I’m glad at least a few people spoke up for me because Mrs. Conner really was tripping!

  When we walked into Mrs. Conner’s room, she was sitting at her desk talking to Mrs. Jenkins, my science teacher. She’s about as old and mean as Mrs. Conner. I swear, 8-1 is like the old folks’ home. Three of my four teachers are over sixty and have horrible, stuck-up attitudes. My literature teacher, Miss Jones, is only about twenty-five and is way better that Mrs. Conner and the rest of the senior citizens that teach in this cluster. She actually makes her class fun instead of giving us non-stop work that nobody, even the teacher, can understand.

  Anyways, they kept talking like we didn’t even walk in. How rude!

  “Excuse me, Mrs. Jenkins, I need to talk with Mrs. Conner privately, please,” Miss Carter said in a calm, non-rude, professional tone.

  Instead of moving quickly, Mrs. Jenkins took her time leaving the room and even had the nerve to mean mug Miss Carter as she walked out the door. I don’t care how old you are, that’s just disrespectful! Miss Carter just shrugged it off like she didn’t see it though. I swear, she has more self-control than I do! Actually, my quick attitude and lack of self-control is the reason why we were even in her room. Man, these negative thoughts don’t play!

  Mrs. Conner started clicking at her computer, still acting as if we were invisible - well, at least until she saw me!

  Mrs. Conner immediately hopped out of her seat and shouted, “What is your disrespectful tail doing back in my classroom? I already told you that your little grown behind isn’t allowed anywhere in my presence!”

  Boy, I seriously had to hold back from saying something to her!

  Miss Carter was still trying to keep things on a professional level. “Mrs. Conner, I need you to calm down.”

  “Calm down? I sent a referral to the office stating that I didn’t want this little girl anywhere near my classroom and I don’t care who you think you are, but we abide by my rules down here in my classroom.”

  After Mrs. Conner said those stupid words, Miss Carter snapped. It was well-deserved too!

  “Excuse me? Who I think I am? I think I’m the principal of this school you’re standing in. I’m not one of your students and you’re not gonna talk to me any kind of way! I don’t know who you think you are. Now, you better change that li’l attitude, because honey, I’m not the one. Believe that! You understand me?”

  Mrs. Conner mumbled, “Yeah.”

  Honestly, I had to hold back a smile. Somebody finally put this woman in her place! She couldn’t even say anything! She’ll think twice before trying Miss Carter on some b.s. again, for real!

  Miss Carter then brought it back to business, still having a little aggression in her voice. “Now, I want the complete truth on what happened earlier in the day between you and Miss Aaliyah right here. Why would an honor roll student with no past of any behavior trouble all of a sudden want to act unruly in your class? From what was entered in the grade book earlier this week, she had the highest grade in this cluster on her History pre-test with a ninety-two. Something isn’t adding up, Mrs. Conner.”

  I sighed after she said that, relieved and surprised I had passed that extremely hard pre-test!

  After
Mrs. Conner got told about herself by Miss Carter, she immediately took the victim’s role. She said I’ve been a disturbance in her class since day one, I always have an attitude, and she even had the nerve to say that I overreacted over the pencil situation. I didn’t overreact! She was flexing on me hard!

  It was obvious that Miss Carter wasn’t hearing it though as she sarcastically said, “Really? That’s all that happened with the exact exchange that you wrote her up for? She ‘overreacted’? Explain to me why a select few of your students, who will remain nameless, had a different story to tell. These nameless students say that you provoked Aaliyah by insulting her intelligence and that you overreacted. By the way, those students that came to tell me about you really are ‘stupid’ and a ‘disgrace to their families’, aren’t they?”

  Mrs. Conner was backed into a major corner. Miss Carter was hitting her with facts, showing that she was definitely on my side. And boy, Mrs. Conner hated that too! As she stammered, stuttered, and struggled to create another lie, I couldn’t help but smile. She loves making people look stupid. It was about time karma hit her back hard! I got written up for asking for a pencil. That’s the truth!

  Miss Carter cut her off in mid-sentence. “I’ve heard enough! Your write up of Aaliyah has officially been voided. I would lift the ban too, since I’m really the one that runs things down here, but let’s keep it going. I don’t want you mistreating Aaliyah in any way. I will send someone to get the assignments for her until we can work something out with this ‘class problem’. Until then, Aaliyah will not report to you for homeroom or 3rd period. That’s all, Mrs. Conner, you have a great day.”

  As she walked me back to her office, I was still in awe over what happened. All I could say was, “Thank you for sticking up for me like you did. That really meant a lot to me.”

  She smiled and said, “Don’t mention it. You know something, Aaliyah, you really remind me of how I was back in high school. You’re smart, beautiful, ambitious, and most definitely won’t take disrespect from anybody. I swear, you really can go somewhere with your life. Don’t let anyone like Mrs. Conner tell you different.”

  I smiled and took in her words.

  “I would put you into another homeroom and history class, but all of them are past full. That’s a major problem. But here’s what I’m going to do: I want you to come to the office every day during homeroom and 3rd period. You’re gonna be my official student secretary.”

  “What’s a student secretary?” I asked.

  “Pretty much, you help me stay organized and do whatever task I need you to do around the school. With your work ethic and your fantastic grades, I’m sure you can do the job. So, are you up to it?”

  I nodded again. She smiled and said, “Great! You can start tomorrow. I’m telling you, Aaliyah, I see something special inside of you.”

  ♠♠♠♠

  Willowsfield’s Angel

  After I got home, I called ‘Kiyah to check up on her. She’d been really quiet after all her trash talking on Facebook. I wanted to make sure she was still alive!

  “Aaliyah! What’s up, girl” she shouted into the phone when she picked up. I swear, she is such a character!

  “What’s up, ‘Kiyah? Is everything alright with you? I haven’t heard from you since Tuesday afternoon before the fight.”

  “Everything’s Gucci. I got a few more days at the crib until I come back to Clarkson. It’s straight though, I’m just chillin’ for now.”

  “What do you mean by ‘for now’?” I asked, puzzled. I hoped ‘Kiyah wasn’t planning to do something stupid.

  Turns out, she was!

  “You already know them jump-offs gotta give me that round two! What they did on Tuesday was lame and scary! I got my squad up, so we gon’ show them what that eastside life like!”

  I rolled my eyes. ‘Kiyah is always talking hard. Why can’t she just chill for a change?

  “Are you coming to the scrimmage in about an hour? The Howard-Jones freshman are gonna play the seniors down at the HJ practice field,” I asked her as it popped in my mind.

  “Oh yeah, I’ma go, now that you mention it! You already know I gotta see your sexy brother put in that work!”

  I laughed. I swear, this girl is a fool!

  “Aye though, I heard some stuff about you! What’s going on with Willowsfield’s angel?”

  I smiled as I plopped down on my bed. “What are you talking about?”

  I heard her smack her lips. “Don’t start flexing now! Word on the block is that you got wrote up by Mrs. Conner for no reason at all. I heard you got back with her too. I was like, ‘That’s my homegirl ‘Liyah! I guess I finally rubbed off on her!’”

  I started laughing again. ‘Kiyah always knows too much for her own good.

  “See, that’s why you quiet! You know it’s true. I bet you got about three days in ISS.”

  “Naw, girl, I got everything straightened out. Mrs. Conner was tripping because I asked Allison for a pencil. I talked to Miss Carter and she was on my side. She voided my write up and put Mrs. Conner in her place. Everything’s cool now.”

  ‘Kiyah was laughing hard, just like I expected!

  “What’s so funny?” I asked with a smile on my face. I knew exactly what she was laughing about.

  “Nothin’, girl, I was just imagining you in that office. You were probably scared out your mind.”

  “Naw, girl, I wasn’t scared. Everything was cool!” I lied to her. She wasn’t hearing it though as she kept laughing at me.

  “’Liyah, I know you! You were in that office acting like you were about to get locked up! That’s why Miss Carter got rid of that write up. She felt sorry for you! You were probably sitting in there lookin’ like a sick puppy!”

  That got me to start laughing in spite of myself. I’m not even gonna lie, ‘Kiyah was right. I was scared. It was my first time in a situation like that.

  “Whatever, ‘Kiyah. All I know is that Miss Carter is really cool for sticking up for me like she did.”

  She calmed down her laughter. “Let me get off you, girl. How about homegirl Jenny Watson is pregnant?”

  I was shocked. “Are you serious?”

  “Man, I put that on everything I love! Guess who the baby daddy is!”

  “Does she even know?”

  ‘Kiyah started laughing at what I said. “Girl, you are a trip! Her baby daddy is that ugly boy that was in our P.E. class last year named Isaiah. Dude looks like a character off of Paranormal Activity. I swear that baby’s gonna look just like his daddy!”

  I shook my head as I laughed. This girl is crazy!

  “Then she messin’ around with Jamal Wallace to get some of that drug money he’s holdin’. This man actually bought her an apartment on the north side because Jenny’s mom pretty much disowned her after she found out about all the dirt she’d been doing. You already know she’s real religious and everything. Then, on top of that, she’s messin’ around with one of Jamal’s homeboys on the side. When I heard that, I just shook my head. These boys really need to tighten up!”

  Jamal Wallace is Tyrone’s older brother and a semi-famous Bernard Street drug dealer. He’s not Scarface or anything like that, but he’s the most on point weed man in Willowsfield when it comes to selling his product. He’s a senior at Howard Jones and seems really smart. You have to be to get the money he’s getting from the drug game and not get caught by the police. He’s creative and crafty. Jenny’s making him look real dumb, though.

  Guys get stupid when it comes to sex. What would make him wanna buy Jennifer Watson an apartment, especially on the north side? Is he that whipped? Tyrone is gonna wind up in debt before he even graduates high school. That’s not cute or romantic! You see what I’m talking about with these Bernard Street guys? They act stupid with their money. What is he thinking about?

  “She’s real dirty for the li’l game she’s running on Jamal, but who could blame her? He’s playing himself out like a trick,” I said, shaking my head. Are guy
s that desperate for sex?

  “Exactly! I swear I hate tricks. These guys do the absolute most just to get the goodies from a female! He probably think he doing something real gangsta’ too. The whole eastside done ran up in her! He gon’ wind up catching something smashing that jump-off! I’ve heard some things about that situation too.”

  Hearing ‘Kiyah say that got me to thinking, how does she know about all this? This nosy girl is like a walking WorldStarHipHop! She knows about all the dirt going on everywhere.

  I even asked her that. “Girl, how do you know all this?”

  “The hood talks, ‘Liyah. When people put their business out in the streets, that’s what happens.”

  ♠♠♠♠

  Back To Reality

  The whole entire news about Jenny having a baby and how she’s using Jamal got me to thinking, and when I start thinking, I start drawing. Art is like the only other thing besides tennis that makes me feel different from everybody else. I believe that I really have some talent, if I can pat myself on the back. The inspirations for my drawings come straight from my heart. At times, I don’t even have to look down while I’m doing it! I just catch a feeling, close my eyes, and then let an idea explode on the paper.

  Immediately after I hung up with ‘Kiyah, I grabbed my sketch pad from the dresser, opened it up to a random page, closed my eyes, and started drawing. I just had that feeling in my heart. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I had drawn a picture of Miss Carter as a medieval warrior fighting off a dragon who favored Mrs. Conner. I don’t even know why I drew the picture like that, it just happened. I was in my zone!

  When I’m in my artistic zone, I can’t hear or see anything except what I’m trying to put on the paper. It’s like I go in a trance! D says the same thing happens to him when he writes his stories. When he catches a good idea, D blacks out and doesn’t see anything but the scene he’s trying to write. After that, I took a nap – a well-deserved nap too, seeing how this week went.

  I went to sleep until about 6:20. Allison woke me up by shaking me from side to side.