Shortie Like Mine by Ni-Ni Simone Page A

every which way but the right way, holding her shoes in her hand.
    She is so stupid.
    â€œGet your things!” my mother said with tears streaming from her eyes, but with a stern voice that dared anybody to try her. Qua just stood there looking at my mother like she was crazy. “You know you ain’t got to leave, right?” he said to Toi as if he were ghettohood defending Boom-Kiki’s honor.
    My sister looked at him filled with amazement. “What?”
    â€œGet your things!” my mother said more as a warning than a statement. “And let’s go, Toi.”
    â€œI said,” Qua stressed, “you ain’t gotta go nowhere.” His looks seemed to shoot straight through my mother. “You cool right where you are.” Then he looked at Toi, “I told you, I love you, girl.”
    â€œMa ...” Toi cocked her neck and spoke as if she were liberated and was now going to flex on my mother, yet I could still hear nervousness in her voice. Now I knew for sure she superseded dumb. “I don’t appreciate how you came up in here and I think you need to just—”
    â€œNeed to just what?” My mother lifted her bat in the air. “Whip yo’ retarded azz? If you think I’m leaving here without you, you even dumber than I thought, ’cause by the time I get finished with you, you’ll be molly-whopped all over this spot. Now try me! You ain’t got to go, ” my mother screamed, mocking them sarcastically. “ And you don’t appreciate . . . What don’t you appreciate, Toi?! Huh? I don’t appreciate having to go through forty-eight hours, thirty-nine minutes, and seventeen seconds of labor with you!
    â€œI don’t appreciate you coloring on my white walls when you were five. I don’t appreciate you peeing in the bed until you were ten and I had to clean your pissy behind. What you don’t appreciate! I don’t appreciate having to spend all my damn money on some lil’ ungrateful child who grew up to be a tramp and now she thinks she can stand up in my face like she’s a woman and tell me where she is and ain’t going ’cause she’s listening to some triflin’ nothin’ of a dope dealer who can’t even hustle his way out a paper bag, let alone off Nye Avenue. No good—dirty dog—I wish you would stand up here and talk to me crazy ’cause I promise you, I will whip, wop, and bop yo’ azz all over this floor!” She mushed Toi in the head. “Now, I said let’s go!”
    I was hoping Toi didn’t flex anymore and really try to stay here with Qua, because from what I could see my mother was prepared to bury both of them at any moment.
    â€œDon’t hurt nobody in that housecoat, big mama, wit’ yo’ sexy self,” some of Qua’s boys said as my mother snatched Toi by her shoulder and practically pushed her out the door.
    From inside, Qua’s boys shouted after my mama: “Look at you, girl, it’s your world, girl ... Yo, son, I wanna see Mama in the daylight.” Another one said, “Mom, Dukes, forget lil’ shortie duwap, why don’t you punish me ...!” and on they went.
    My mother shoved Toi in the backseat of the car, slammed the door, and we took off. “How could you do this to me?” Toi screamed. “How could you?” she screamed again.
    â€œDon’t scream no more.” My mother looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Not up in here. I’m warning you, don’t do it.”
    â€œYOU HAVE RUINED MY LIFE!!!!!”
    I was convinced Toi had lost her mind.
    My mother pulled the car over so fast I just knew I had whiplash. As the tires came to a screeching halt, all I could do was close my eyes and pray my sister survived. My mother threw the car in park, turned around backwards, got on her knees, reached behind the seat, and all I heard was WHAP, BAP, BOOM! Then my mother turned back