Rise of the Phoenix by Kenneth J. Whetstone

Author:Kenneth J. Whetstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-58571-528-2
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2006-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

The Company We Keep

Monday, July 11, 2005 – 3:34 p.m.

Beverly and Melinda were sitting outside on the porch in front of the Smalls’ residence playing chess. Scorching heat and high humidity rose to ninety-six degrees on the second day of the heat wave.

Kimberly walked up with her sterling silver jewelry shining, wearing sandals, short shorts, her new Bulova watch, and her personalized New York Liberty jersey tied up on the side to expose her midriff. Melinda’s chubby-cheeked smile extended from ear to ear at the coincidence that she was wearing her Crystal Robinson Liberty jersey.

“What’s up?” Melinda greeted cheerfully.

“Hey, Kim,” Beverly said. “Hiya doin’?”

“What’s up, fam?” Kimberly responded as she walked up the stairs to the porch and stood directly behind Melinda. “Can I play the winner?”

“Sure, just stand right there so you can take Melinda’s seat in a minute,” Beverly said.

“No, no, no,” Melinda objected. “She’s gonna be taking your seat. I’m gonna win this time.”

“She’s buggin’,” Beverly told Kimberly. “Oh, Kim, you remember my best friend Melinda, right?”

“Yeah,” Kimberly said. “We were kickin’ it the other day.”

“Yeah, me and Kim went to the same elementary school,” Melinda told Beverly.

“Word?” Beverly said. “Small world.”

As Melinda proceeded to make her move, Kimberly interrupted her by loudly clearing her throat. “Oh, excuse me,” she said as Melinda looked back to her for assistance and Beverly gave her the evil eye.

Melinda looked over the board briefly and started to make another move. Kimberly cleared her voice louder this time, sounding like she was coughing up a fur ball. Beverly glared at her and tightened her lips. Melinda moved the chess piece back and once again looked back to Kimberly for help.

“I must have something caught in my throat.” Kimberly rubbed her neck. “I think it’s something I ate last night.”

Melinda smiled widely as she picked up on the hint and moved her knight. “Checkmate!” she squealed.

Beverly threw a piece at Kimberly, and they all burst out laughing.

“You see, Melinda,” Kimberly said, patting her on the back. “Patience and careful decisions win games every time.”

“That’s right,” Melinda said. “And some good coaching is always helpful.”

“Good coaching? Y’all cheated,” Beverly said.

Kimberly and Melinda laughed at Beverly’s pouting. Then, as Kimberly and Beverly traded places, Kimberly noticed the logo on Beverly’s T-shirt.

“Hey, Bev, where’d you get that shirt? Isn’t that from the Tournament of Champions?”

Melinda looked at Beverly with her eyes bulging, knowing that they’d been busted. Beverly saw her reaction, and then looked at Kimberly and knew that she couldn’t lie her way out of this one. Instead, she didn’t respond at all and turned away.

“Wow,” Kimberly said. “There was no doubt in our minds that that’s where Tabitha was, but we never guessed that you would stab us in the back.”

“I wasn’t stabbing anyone in the back,” Beverly muttered. “I just wanted to go away because I never get to go anywhere.”

“Coach Stone doesn’t know yet, does he? He was asking for you and trying to call your father all weekend.”

“He was?” Beverly asked, nervously.

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.