PRETTY BRIGHT (13 page)

“Bee, quit being like that, Nicole is the homegirl. Besides she tutors me in algebra. I'm tryna get a scholarship, so I gotta keep a high grade point average,” Treasure replied.

“Fuck a scholarship when you can have a balling ass nigga worship the ground you walk on and take care of you,” Bright said catching up to Treasure. “I'm just tryna graduate from high school...and that’s just for my Mama,” Bright admitted honestly.

Treasure just shook her head at Bright. It was funny to her how Bright was still the same, and how in many ways she herself had changed. Education had always been important to her, but now she was really interested in going to college, then later to grad school. The idea of messing around with different ballers in hopes of being their main chick was no longer her M.O.; she was feeling the idea of finding and falling in love with a guy that would love her for her. She had even kicked Larry's friend Reggie to the curb for seeing her as nothing more than a booty call. Her priorities were falling in line, and she wanted to be respected for more than her body, big behind and a pretty face; but more so respected for her intelligence and mind.

“What’s up with you and Lil Boo?” Bright asked curiously as they crossed the street.
“We still cool, I just been on some other shit lately,” Treasure said like his name left a bad taste in her mouth. “And plus that nigga been acting funny ever since that night we stayed over his house. Maybe he mad cause he ain't get none, I don't know!” Treasure said, waving the conversation off.
Bright thought,
Yeah that nigga ain't get no ass alright, but he was all up in this, and matter of fact I'ma put that nigga on my list just in case Terrence start tripping!
She laughed. “That’s cause you slippin’ in ya pimping, pimpin’!” Bright yelled, elbowing Treasure. “That nigga ‘pose to be filling them pockets up, why you playin’?” She said seriously.
“I'm cool on all that,” Treasure said nonchalantly. “But what I'm about to do is pimp these fucking books so I can get a damn scholarship, pimpin’!” She shot back. “Besides that my little friend Monster stay paying the lady...and he still ain't hit it.”
“Yeah, you definitely been hanging with Nicole,” Bright said with her lips twisted up. “Cause one thing for sure, and two for certain, a bitch with good looks and a bomb ass body can get and have whatever the fuck she wants from a nigga, so why go to school when you don't have to? That’s for ugly hoe's,” she laughed, hoping to get Treasure back on track. As Bright was preparing to get more information on money-man Monster and ask Treasure when she was going to finally introduce them, Treasure interrupted her thoughts.
“There go Nicole right there, Bee,” she said, waving to her friend. “Her brother gave her the Beamer as a graduation present, wasn't that nice?” Treasure said, happy for Nicole.
“If her brother giving away them kind of presents, I may need to meet him,” Bright laughed.
“He's married,” Treasure said.
Bright laughed, “And what is that supposed to mean to me? Married men money is the best money, cause they'll do anything to keep a bitch mouth shut so they can fuck.”
“You're pregnant, Bee, no more niggas and sponsors for you!” Treasure warned, then grabbed Bright's hand to run across the street.
After having a snack at Burger King, Nicole dropped Bright off at home, then they headed to Treasure's house to study. Once Bright made it inside the house, her mother passed her the phone.
“Right on time, it’s your little friend, Suge,” she said.
Excitedly, Bright grabbed the phone. She hadn't talked to Suge in a while; they had been moving her from house to house, making it hard to keep a number on her. “What’s up, Young? How you been?” Bright smiled.
“Hi, Bright,” Suge laughed, just as excited to speak to her. “You know I miss y'all, but since they been moving me around so much, I haven't been able to call as much as I would like to,” Suge said.
“I understand, Suga mama,” Bright took a seat on the living room couch next to her mom. “So tell me, what’s been up, and how you been doing, girl? And they better be treating you right over there too,” she said seriously.
“At first, I thought it was a bad idea, but it’s better now. I'm gonna be placed with a really nice Muslim family. The lady is real nice and, she seems like she's really interested in me too, so things are looking up,” Suge said.
“A Muslim family?” Bright said as her smile turned into a frown.
Suge laughed. “Yes, a Muslim family, Bright, they seem like wonderful people, and they have a daughter my age too,” she smiled.
“Well, as long as you happy,” Bright said, “I just don't wanna catch you on Long Beach Blvd. selling bean pies,” she teased.
“Yeah right!” Suge said.
After talking for an additional ten minutes, Suge told her that she had to go. Then Bright called Larry to ask him for help with her homework, but he didn't answer.
“That's odd,” Bright said to herself as she dialed his number again. He hardly ever seemed to answer her calls lately.
Is he cheating on me?
She thought. After calling him back to back a few more times with no answer, Bright fumed with anger.

ately, things seemed to have changed between Bright and Larry. They hardly ever had time to spend together; he was either always too busy or

too tired. And for the first time in their relationship, Bright felt neglected. Approaching four and a half weeks since Bright had first slept with Terrence without protection; she dialed him up to follow through with her plan to tell him that she was pregnant. As the phone rang, Bright prepared herself to cry and act afraid; she was even preparing herself to tell him her true age.

“What’s up, beautiful?” Terrence said after turning his beat down.
“I need to speak to you in person, daddy,” Bright cried into the phone.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Terrence quickly asked in concern.
“Just come pick me up from my house, it's important,” Bright cried.
“I'm on my way,” Terrence said, then hung up the phone.
Five minutes later, Terrence was in front of Bright’s building blowing his horn repeatedly. Terrence figured since Bright turned eighteen, there was no reason for him hiding or picking Bright up down the street from her house any longer.
“Who's that?” her mother asked, looking out of the living room window.
“That's, Treasure's cousin, Ma. He's dropping some of her stuff off to me, since she's not home,” Bright said, heading to the door. “I'll be right back, Ma,” she said, then ran down the stairs of her apartment.
The second, Bright climbed inside of Terrence's truck, he immediately asked her what was wrong.
“I'm pregnant, baby,” Bright cried.
“You are?” Terrence said excitedly. “What you crying for then, girl? You don't wanna have my baby or something?” he asked her with a disappointed look on his face.
Bright just continued to cry.
“After everything I've been through lately, a baby would be the perfect thing in my life right now,” he said turning, Bright’s crying face to his. Two of his baby mama's lived out of state, and the other one made it difficult for him to even see his son. With Bright, he knew that things would be different.
Bright looked at him through tear drenched eyes, “I do wanna have yo baby, but-butbut,” she cried, “I haven't been as honest with you as I should have been, Ice,” she said, putting an award winning performance on. “But it was only because I wanted to fucking be with you,” she explained.
“You fucking another nigga, Bright?” he asked, pulling into the gas station parking lot, on Artesia Blvd. and Cherry Ave.
Bright turned and looked at him, “No, baby, I would never cheat on you,” she cried. “Never!”
Growing impatient, Terrence spat, “Well, what is it that you ain't been honest with me about, Bright?” he asked her once he parked next to the pay phones.
Deciding that the timing was right, Bright let it out, “My age, Terrence; I'm not eighteen, baby, I'm only seventeen years old.” she cried. “But I still love you, and wanna be with you, and have your baby though,” she pleaded.
The blow from Bright's revelation was dazing, and all he could do was sit there and stare at her for a few moments. “So you mean to tell me that I was fucking a sixteen year old, and that all this time you've been lying to me?” he said angrily.
“I only lied because I wanted to be with you, Terrence,” she said, looking directly in his eyes. “I love you, baby, and that’s why I'm telling you the truth now,” Bright said, wiping her tears away.
Feeling as if he had been stabbed in the back, Terrence begin to speak in anger. “No, you telling me now because you’re fucking pregnant!” he said, unable to look at her. “I can’t believe this shit,” he said, nodding his head. “I been fucking a little ass girl all this damn time,” he said unbelievingly.
Bright hadn't planned or expected for things to get this
dramatically out of hand. She thought,
Seventeen, eighteen, what's the big difference?
Looking at him like he had lost his mind, Bright said, “So what does a fucking number have to do with what we share in our hearts and how we feel about each other? I'm seventeen, I love you, you love me and now we about to have this baby,” she blurted out with slight attitude. “So what’s up, Ice? You got me or not?” she asked him.
With mixed emotions running through his blood, Terrence was unable to think or respond logically. “I’ma always take care of my kids, that’s not the fucking problem!” he yelled. He took care of all three of his children financially, even if he didn't see them as often as he'd liked. “You got me on fire right now, Bright, and I’ma take you home before I end up doing something crazy to yo ass!” He started his truck up and pulled out of the gas station parking lot.
Bright thought,
This nigga is really tripping.
Getting pissed off that things weren't working out the way she had planned they would, she spat, “Well if that’s how you’re feeling, then you can give me some money for an abortion, and I can be on top of that like tomorrow morning,” she said, hoping to strike a nerve.
Terrence swerved into the next lane, almost causing an
accident. It took everything in him not to slap the fuck out of Bright for her comment. Slamming his fist on the dashboard of his Escalade, he said, “I wish the fuck you would abort my baby, girl!” Bright had him boiling inside. “Matter of fact, let me hurry the fuck up and drop yo ass off right quick, because you really about to make a nigga slap the dog shit out of you,” he said, driving sixty miles per hour down Artesia Blvd. “And trust me, I don't mind slapping the fuck out of a bitch either!”
“Oh, so you wanna slap me now? Okay then.” She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.
Pulling up on her street with brakes that could stop on a dime, he quickly stopped in front of her building, causing his tires to screech. “Get out!” He said, unable to look at her.
“Fuck it!” Bright said, then climbed out of his truck.
The second her feet touched the pavement, Terrence burned rubber off of her street and onto the Blvd. Bright was so furious that she was ready to pick a fight with anybody who looked at her the wrong way. Walking up the stairs of her building, she took deep breaths to contain herself, then she opened her apartment door.
“It sure took you a long time to get back, and where the hell are Treasure's things at?” Her mother asked her once she entered the apartment empty-handed.
“I asked him to take me to the liquor store, and on our way back, Treasure called, so we stopped over there,” Bright said, walking down the hallway to her bedroom.
“Yeah, I bet,” her mother said before Bright closed her bedroom door. She knew there was more to the story, but since she planned on enjoying her day off from work watching football, she lit a cigarette, cracked open a can of beer, and enjoyed the game.

Inside her room, Bright called Treasure to tell her what had just happened. In the middle of their conversation, Larry beeped through on the other line. Practically hanging up on, Treasure, Bright answered his call. “Larry, where have you been and why haven't you been answering my calls?” Bright immediately asked him.

“Babe, calm down with all the questions, I was at practice, then afterwards I rode with my Moms to the valley,” Larry said convincingly. However, the truth was that he was unable to answer his phone when he was on the clock at work, and since he only had another five minutes left on his first break, he had to talk quickly.

“So what that mean? You couldn't answer your phone are something?” Bright stood up and put her hand on her hip. She had already had enough for one day.

“Babe, come on,” Larry whined. “I've been so busy with school and basketball lately that I haven't even had to the time to get much rest,” he complained. “I rode out there with Moms and slept the whole way there and back.” He was hoping that Bright would cut him some slack.

Bright smiled; she could tell that Larry was being sincere.
“Sorry, Daddy Lane, I know you have a full plate, but at least try to answer most of my calls, okay baby?” She said in her baby voice.

Instantly, Larry felt relieved. “Ok, baby, and stop stressing ya’self over small stuff, we want our baby to be as healthy as possible,” he said sincerely with a smile on his face.

“I promise, Daddy Lane,” Bright said then blew him a kiss over the phone. “Now come pick me up! I miss you.” Bright said happily.

“I can’t right now, baby. I have a ton of homework and a lot of studying to do right now,” he stressed.
“You never minded having me over while you did ya homework any other time, Larry.”
“I have a history test coming up, so why not study together?” Bright suggested.
“Babeeeee, I can't...when you’re around me, it's hard for me to focus on my work. And I need to focus right now,” he felt a headache coming on. “I'll call you later okay?” He said, running out of time to talk. He hated hiding his job from her, but he felt he had no other choice.
“Yeah, alright,” Bright said with a puppy-like expression on her face then hung up. It was funny how at first she couldn't keep Larry or Terrence up off of her, but the tables had seemed to turn, and they had no time for her.
Feeling lonely and depressed, Bright took a shower, did a little homework, and then went to sleep for the remainder of the night.