Tyrell by Coe Booth Page B

bring the food to her on the bed. “This shit smell good,” she say, opening the foil container. “Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!”
    I hand her the bag with the Pepsi.
    â€œDamn, you really remembered your mother this time. Can’t nobody tell me I ain’t raised you right.”
    I sit on the other bed waiting for Troy to get out the bathroom. “You was fucked up last night,” I tell my moms.
    â€œNo, I wasn’t. I just had a couple drinks.” She lying and we both know it. She even got a little smile on her face to prove it.
    â€œOkay, but the next time I get high, you can’t say nothin’.”
    â€œBet,” she say between bites of some kinda fried codfish thing.
    While she eating, I tell her ‘bout the snowstorm and that we ain’t gonna be going nowhere tomorrow. She don’t take it too bad, probably ‘cause she eating and happy.
    After a while I get up and go through my garbage bag trying to find my black jeans ‘cause they still clean. Troy run out the bathroom with no shirt on. “Ty, there’s a big giant spider in there. It’s black and red.”
    â€œSo kill it,” I tell him. “You a man or a girl?”
    I can tell he scared, but he need to get over that. He don’t say nothin’. He just grab his sneaker off the floor and go back to the bathroom. A couple seconds later I hear him banging his sneaker ‘round like he trying to kill Godzilla or something. Boy can get the job done when he wanna.
    By the time I get in the bathroom, Troy got the place all wet with towels all over the floor. And when I get in the shower, the hot water ain’t coming out all that hot. Damn. It’s too cold outside to be takin’ a shower like this. I can’t even believe I’m in this place with no money and not even no hot water. There gotta be something else I can do ‘cause this shit ain’t working.
    When I finish getting dressed and come out the bathroom, Troy sitting on my moms bed with her, watching TV and eating them Cheez Doodles I told him he couldn’t have yet. I can’t stand when my moms do that, let him do whatever he wantall the time. Now I’ma hafta be the mean one and make him do work.
    I go over and turn the TV off. “What I say ‘bout watching TV, Troy? And give me them Cheez Doodles. I said you can’t have them ‘til you do your homework.”
    â€œOh, man!” He hand over the bag, like it’s hurting him or something.
    It take me ‘bout a half hour to get Troy to sit down and get serious. That boy love to play. When he finally do calm down, it’s like torture trying to get through all that work. He crying and whining and complaining. Damn.
    I spend a little over an hour with him. We get through all the homework he gotta hand in tomorrow if school gonna be open. He still got a lot of shit to make up, but he can’t sit still too long doing work. And here we ain’t got no kitchen table to sit at, so we gotta work on the bed, which really don’t cut it.
    After I tell Troy he free, I get up and tell my moms I’ma be right back. Then I grab my cell and leave the room real fast. I go out into the hall and call Calvin. Me and him been friends since, like, fourth grade. Both our pops was locked up back then, and both is locked up now.
    â€œYo, Cal.”
    â€œTy?”
    â€œWhat up?”
    â€œChillin’. Where you at?”
    â€œBennett.”
    â€œDamn, man.”
    â€œWord. Where you at?”
    â€œIn fronta my buildin’.”
    â€œI’ma be over there.”
    â€œA’ight.”
    â€œA’ight,” I say, and flip my cell closed. My boy Calvin gonna help me out.
    I go back in the room for my jacket.
    â€œYou going to see Calvin?” my moms ask even though she know where I’m going. Where else I go when I don’t got no other choice?
    Not that Cal ain’t my friend. We