Homecoming Weekend Read Online Free Page B

nostalgic. “I feel like a fool that I have not been back here in four years,” she said, her eyes watering.
    Neither Mary nor Cedric responded. They sang the school song and offered smiles as wide as the building.
    â€œOh, check it out,” Cedric said. “The homecoming drama has already started.”
    â€œHomecoming drama?” Tranise asked.
    â€œHell, yeah, girl,” Mary informed her. “There’s a whole lot of it. What happened, Ced?”
    â€œWell, you remember Teresa and Moe, right? They dated for almost three years,” he said. “Well, if you recall, Moe left her when she told him she was pregnant. They were all lovey-dovey and as soon as she gets pregnant, he bounced on her and his baby.Well, she never saw him again—until about thirty minutes ago in the bookstore.
    â€œI was there buying some stuff. Have you been there yet? It’s awesome . . . Anyway, so he’s looking at T-shirts and she’s looking at women’s T-shirts and they almost literally bumped into each other. I was standing there with my mouth open because I saw both of them come into the store. So, here’s the kicker: She has their daughter with her!!! She looks like she’s six or seven and looks just like Moe. I’m like, ‘Ah, shit.’ So, Moe says something—I couldn’t hear him—and leans in to hug her.
    â€œTeresa leans back, like, ‘Don’t touch me.’ Then she looks at her daughter, who doesn’t know what the hell is going on. Teresa tells the girl to go look at books or something because the little girl walks off. When she gets out of earshot, she turns to Moe and lets him have it. She had her finger in his face for a minute and her neck was rocking. Moe—you know how light-skinned his ass is—turned as red as a stop sign. I was like, ‘Damn.’
    â€œTeresa started crying and then quickly got herself together. She wiped her face. She pointed over toward their kid. I had to hear something, so I acted like I was shopping and I moved closer. I heard her say, ‘I’m ashamed that you are her father.’ And she walked away. Moe put down the T-shirt he was holding and walked toward the door. But before he left, he turned back around to get another look at his daughter. And then he left.”
    â€œOh, hell,” Mary said. “I knew both of them so well. I just knew they were going to get married.”
    â€œMe, too,” Tranise said. “I can’t even believe Moe did her like that. That didn’t seem to be something he would do.”
    â€œI know,” Mary said, “But Ced, we’ve got to go pick up Charlene. We’ll see you later, maybe at the step show.”
    As they walked to the parking lot, Tranise asked the question:
    â€œHave you seen Brandon Barksdale?”
    â€œOh, my God,” Mary said. “All these years later, you’re still hooked on that man?”
    â€œWell, he wasn’t exactly the one that got away,” Tranise said. “But he was the one I wanted to get.”
    They laughed.
    â€œGirl, Brandon looks even better,” she said. “I saw him earlier. He said he was going to lunch at MacArthur Mall downtown. But I must tell you: He’s married.”
    Tranise’s heart sunk. “What?” she said. She heard her clearly but she couldn’t muster another reaction.
    â€œAnd guess who he married?” Mary said.
    â€œOh, goodness. Who?” Tranise said.
    â€œFelicia Waters.”
    â€œStop playing, Mary,” she said. Felicia was Tranise’s archenemy. “Not that bitch.”
    Felicia and Tranise had intense animus. Okay, they hated each other. The animosity stemmed from someone telling Felicia that Tranise was not going to pledge her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, because Tranise did not like Felicia. At the same time, someone else told Tranise that Felicia said Tranise was not AKA material. Tranise pledged