Neither Out Far Nor In Deep by Leah T. Williams

Author:Leah T. Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Caribbean literature, Young adult, african american, teen male lead, black author, black protagonist, world literature, high school, middle school, engaging, funny, fiction, young adult ficiton, coming of age, St. Kitts, island, quick read
Publisher: Perigon Publishing
Published: 2023-01-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

I’d finally fallen asleep after Gwendolyn basically hung the phone up on me. Not basically. She did what she did. She didn’t even really let me explain. Maybe she didn’t even care about me anymore. Plus, no decent cereal anywhere, no milk in the refrigerator, just Heinekens. Did Grandad even drink water? I tossed and turned all night thinking about how I could get back to Orlando and if I did, where I would stay since it was obvious that Gwendolyn didn’t want anything to do with me anymore. It’s what’s best for me she had said. Yeah, right. How could this be best for me? How would she even know what was best for me? A weird sound broke my not-so-deep sleep, like someone drilling into a piece of wood right next to my head. I hadn’t heard the rooster crow yet, so if I had to bet, it was probably still very early, not even morning yet.

I willed my eyes to open. Grandad was busy at work using an electric screw driver, unscrewing the hinges of the door of the room.

“Grandad, what you doing?” I yelled over the loud noise.

Zzzzzzzzsss.

“Good morning, Grandad!” I yelled, remembering his fuss about a proper greeting. I was gonna have to deal with this mess for the rest of the school year, bout eight more months. It was what was best for me according to Ma. Gwendolyyynnnn! I wanted to scream but couldn’t. I would never dare call Ma anything other than Ma, even if she couldn’t hear me. I felt like somehow, she’d be able to sense my cry, sense it even if I whispered “Gwendolyn.”

“Good mawning, Kadeem,” Grandad said pleasantly.

Zzzzzzzzsss.

“What you doing?” I sat up on the bed cause there was no way I was gonna be able to go back to sleep. I almost wished that school here started earlier like in Orlando. The funny thing is that I used to hate how early school started back home. It was like school started at night. When I left, outside would be pitch dark except for car lights. I used to complain about getting up all the time, but now I wished for it, so I could have some place to be other than here with this craziness.

“Tek-ing dis ting dung!”

“Why you taking down the door?” I asked. “Something’s wrong with it?”

“De door fine.”

“Then why you taking it off?”

The rooster piped his crow right under the window into the room that I was sleeping in. It wasn’t that early after all. Time to get up, to get ready for this school that she, Gwendolyn, left me. After Gwendolyn cut me off, I thought a lot about it last night, what I was gonna do. The plan? To be extra good here. Go to school every day. Do their school work. Get in no trouble. What about that stupid essay I had to write? Grandad could tell her how good I was doing and she was gonna shorten my sentence. Cause that’s what it felt like.

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