Myself and I by Earl Sewell

Author:Earl Sewell [Sewell, Earl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, People & Places, United States, African American, General
ISBN: 9781426865671
Google: WwvINfvZ7SQC
Amazon: 0373831765
Publisher: Kimani Press
Published: 2010-09-01T11:00:20+00:00

Thirty minutes later I was at the swimming pool checking the chlorine balance. After I checked that, I grabbed the long net and skimmed a few leaves off the surface of the water. Then I hosed down the deck and lawn chairs and made sure there wasn’t any broken glass on the pool deck. Since it was early in the morning I was the only person there, but I knew it wouldn’t be this peaceful for long.

I was scheduled to work from ten to four, and Maya was scheduled to work from one to seven, when the pool closed. We knew we’d just end up hanging out at the pool with each other once our shifts ended, so it was no big deal.

I sat in one of the lawn chairs and pulled out a book that I’d removed from the bookshelf at home. It was a Kimani Tru book called 16 Isn’t Always Sweet by Cassandra Carter. Just as I was starting to really get into the book, a woman with several small children exited the clubhouse and came onto the pool deck.

“Good morning,” she said as she herded her little munchkins along. They were so cute. She had two little girls who looked to be ages five and seven and a little boy who was about three. They all had on orange water wings and were super-excited about getting into the water. Their mother took them over to the small kiddie pool and got in with them. I watched as they splashed around in the water giggling and laughing. It was such a pleasure to see children with skin as brown as my own enjoying the water. Experiencing the fun of water sports had been unimaginable to me when I lived with my mother, Justine. Living with her was like being in a living, breathing nightmare. I haven’t seen or heard from her since she’d robbed a currency exchange a while back. Her partner in crime, named Simon, was caught, but my mom had somehow managed to get away with my baby brother, who is still an infant. At that moment, I wanted him to be with me. I wanted to teach him how to swim and watch him enjoy the pool just like the other children. I didn’t want him to experience the hell my mother was going to put him through. I suddenly felt a pain in my heart, a painful sadness that hadn’t surfaced in a long time. It was the emotional bruises and deep sorrow from the life I had lived with my fugitive mother and my grandmother Rubylee, who was still in jail. Even though I’d lived a hellish life with them, there was still a place in my heart that longed to see them. If I ever got the chance to see them again, I think I would hug them and tell them I’m okay and I’m going to make it.

By the noon hour, it was a scorching ninety degrees outside and the pool was jam-packed with people.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.