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Stop Hatin’

The bell rang, sending Mrs. Tucker’s ninth grade class scrambling towards the exit as she reminded them of the test at the end of the week. Stuffing her books in an already full locker, Delila Hodges turned, rushing out of the school building. She had promised to meet Martine Badgett and Raquel Riley at the corner of 13th and Dodge Street, to walk home together like they had done every day for the past three years. This Tuesday afternoon would be no different. Aimlessly, walking through Malcolm X Park, they chatted about school and the latest buzz about classmates. While Martine focused on shoe imprints that were set in cement from when the Park was first laid out, Delila and Raquel played around with one another, giggling like the school girls that they were. Martine looked around at the other kids walking through the park. Malcolm X Park had only been there five years, but it had quickly become one of the busiest parks in town.

Dead center in the middle of the park was a large oversized thermometer, hanging over a big red and white welcome sign. The thermometer read 80°, but it felt a lot warmer. Wiping at her brow, Delila squinted as she looked up towards the sun. It was out as usual doing its thing, warming up the day like a clean blanket, fresh out of the dryer. The park was swarming with joggers and their pets, mostly dogs. Several women sat on the bench near the slides and swings, chatting and keeping their eyes on the children. Except for a few incidents where a child was almost snatched, the park had been pretty safe. On days like this, everyone took advantage of the weather. Nebraska is notorious for flipping the switch, going from a forecast of warm and balmy to cold and frigid in a matter of minutes. It never ceased to amaze Delila how fast things could change.

Looking over at her two best friends, Delila thought about their lives, and how over the past three years they had formed an intricate relationship. Between the three of them, there had been much struggle and testing. They were not the most popular girls in their class, but that was okay because they knew together, they could conqueror anything.

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Delila Hodges, the shortest of the three, is a pretty red bone 5’ 3” girl, with long straight hair, and a know-it-all attitude, just like her mother. Known by her friends and school mates for her neat and clean appearance, she has the perfect shape, 32 – 24 – 36. The only thing that makes Delila feel good is when she looks good. Unlike the other girls her age, she is not concerned with top designer clothes or the latest fashion labels. She can always be seen rubbing her lips together with the Beach Bronze Mary Kay lip gloss her mother bought her.

Raquel Riley, an outgoing young lady about 5’ 8”, weighs 130 pounds, and looks like she could be America’s Next Top Model. Her spiked hair is a honey caramel brown with a golden streak down the middle. Raquel is the sharpest of the three, always looking like she stepped out of a fashion magazine. Most of her classmates think she comes from money. If they only knew that her dad keeps her in the latest designer gear he buys from “Big Blue”, his long time friend. Big Blue makes a living traveling to New York to purchase the latest and greatest fashions which he sells to family and friends. Designer clothes have been a part of Raquel’s life for as long as she can remember, so anything without a name or logo is unacceptable to her.

Today, Raquel is wearing one of her many pairs of black Dereon Jeans, clear and silver heels, a black and white Dereon shirt to match, along with her matching Dereon purse, Dereon earrings and Dereon necklace. Raquel has a heart as big as Texas. Most people would not know it though, because she seems so self-consumed. However, her girls knew. Delila and Martine knew of the many times when Raquel had gone out of her way, to help someone else. Strangers always saw her as loud and obnoxious, because she was constantly running her mouth about nothing, and with nothing to back it up.

If Raquel is outgoing, then Martine Badgett is the total opposite. Martine is a pretty, dark chocolate girl with big hips, big lips, and a big chest. Martine’s hair is cut in a nice mid-length bob, short in the back with bangs in the front. Of the three best friends, she is the quietest; more of a follower, but by far the most intelligent. Martine loves hanging out with Raquel and Delila. They always make her feel good about herself and she feels like she fits in. There are times when her self-confidence is very low. Sometimes this causes her to agree with anything they say, even when she knows it is not right, just to spare their feelings.

Raquel blows a bubble and then pops her Wrigley’s Extra Sweet Watermelon bubble gum. She strikes a pose as if she is waiting on the photographer to take her picture. With one hand on her hip and the other one holding her purse, at the bend of her arm, she looks around as if she’s looking for someone. Delila bumps Martine with her elbow and they both crack up laughing, which does not intimidate Raquel in the least. Slipping a pink makeup bag from her purse, Raquel pulls out a mirror, touches up her hair, checks out her lip gloss, and with a quick glance around the park, stuffs the makeup bag back into her purse.

As the three of them walk along, with Raquel trailing a few feet behind, a red Mercedes with dark tinted windows slows down beside her. The driver rolls his window down halfway and suddenly the girls hear a loud whistle. Delila looks back at the car and then at Raquel who shrugs her shoulders. The man behind the steering wheel looks to be about twenty-five years old or so. Just as Raquel shifted her weight, the car sped off, burning rubber. Raquel hurries up to where the other two girls are standing.

Delila looks at Raquel who is grinning very big.

“Who was that?” Delila asks.

Raquel shrugs her shoulders again and says, “I don’t know, but did you guys see how he was looking at me? He is so so so fine! I want him in the worst way.”

“He does look good, Raquel,” Martine said. “I mean real good. I would definitely talk to him. When you say you want him in the worst way, what exactly does that mean?”

“Yes, what exactly does I want him in the worst way mean,” asked Delila.

“I mean he makes me feel so good inside,” said Raquel. “I have never felt this way about these boys out here. It is so hard to explain. I just cannot believe that older guy is interested in me. When he looked in my eyes, I felt something.”

“What makes you think he’s interested in you just because he slowed down and whistled, and how much older is he?” said Delila. “He looks too old for you, and besides, you act like you know him or something. He makes you feel good inside? What is that about?”

“He just does,” Raquel said and walked on ahead.

Delila and Martine did not know that their best friend Raquel had met Diante Woodard a couple months ago. It happened just around the time they had one of their falling outs with Raquel, and they had not really talked to her in about two and a half months. When they made up, she never told them she had met someone. However, they put two and two together, and they knew why she was always busy when they tried to call her. Delila was always the suspicious one. Raquel knew if she did not tell her what was really going on, she would figure it out, so she decided to tell them who the mysterious guy was in the red Mercedes.

Turning away from her two friends, Raquel looked off in the direction the Mercedes had sped.

Delila’s brain was spinning. She was anxious to hear what Raquel was about to say, but before she let her speak she started going off. “Spit it out,” she exclaimed shaking her finger at Raquel. “Who is he? You know him!”

“His name is Diante Woodard,” said Raquel.

“Diante Woodard. Where have I heard that name before?” Delila asked, looking from Raquel to Martine.

Diante Woodard is the distinguished gentleman of the neighborhood. He is tall, dark, bald, handsome, and sexy. He is always dressed in designer clothing such as Sean Jean, Coogi, Roca Wear, and Phat Farm. Occasionally you will see him dressed down in Timberland boots or Michael Jordan tennis shoes. Raquel thought about the times she got close enough to him to smell his cologne. He always wore Isimiaki or Dolce and Gabbana. Most people in the neighborhood knew what Diante did for a living. He drove the tightest 2009 Mercedes Benz CLS550, which had two televisions, a top of the line navigation system, and some of the tightest rims you ever saw.

Delila has a look of disbelief on her face as she says, “When did you meet this Diante character? Where did you meet him? Tell us everything.”

“See I was walking home from school one day and…,” said Raquel as she was quickly cut off by Martine.

“We always walk home together don’t we?” said Martine, while looking from Delila to Raquel.

“Not when we had the fallout,” Delila responded.

“Anyways,” said Raquel, “He was driving on the side of me and was like, hey sweetie what is your name? At first, I was looking around. I couldn’t believe he was talking to me. I was like thinking to myself, is this money maker hollering at me? He was. I mean that big body Benz was too clean and shined up, kind of nice. He threw me a couple of lines that kept me grinning real hard and asked me for my phone number and of course I gave it to him. We talked for about an hour and then he dropped me off at home.”

“You got in the car with him!” Martine shrieked.

Raquel shrugged her shoulders, “He didn’t hurt me.”

“He could have,” both girls said in unison.

“Well, like I said he didn’t hurt me,” Raquel said. “You know my dad is not there too much during the day, so he came to see me a couple times. He even calls me. Can you believe that?”

“You should be careful Raquel.” Martine had a serious look on her face.

Raquel rolled her eyes as Delila grabbed her arm pulling her around to face her.

“Well,” Delila said, “Let’s get to his age. This man is driving way too lovely and shining all too bright. Does he know how old you are?”

“I want you to hook me up with his friend,” said Martine. “Ching, ching!!! All I see is dollar signs and I definitely need some money! You know what I’m saying?”

Martine never thought before she spoke, she just said whatever came to her mind. She comes from a family that has good money. She loves money and is determined to get it by any means necessary.

“Well, I’m sure I can hook you up Martine, but I told him I am seventeen and in the twelfth grade Delila, since you must know,” Raquel said, as she pointed her finger and rolled her neck.

With a disgusted look on her face Delila rolls her eyes and smacks her lips. She could not believe this guy fell for that. Her real concern was that he knew Raquel was lying and really didn’t care. That would make him a pedophile. He was probably looking at her body and not paying attention to her conversation. Sometimes, Raquel acted so childish, thought Delila. “He believed that?” Delila asked shaking her head in disbelief.

Raquel stopped in her tracks, “Look at me Delila. I don’t look like your average ninth grader. Stop hatin’!”

“And how old is he Raquel?” Delila asked, ignoring her remarks.

They could see the hesitation as Raquel responded, “He’s twenty-two years old.”

Delila was the sensible one of the bunch, always rationalizing things. Martine could see the wheels spinning in Delila’s head, as she stared at Raquel.

“So you’ve known this twenty-two year old man for two months, been talking and everything, we see him and his boy, and he doesn’t even so much as acknowledge you,” Delila exclaimed, with her hands waving in the air.

Even though the words did not come out of her mouth, Delila had a, you are stupid, look on her face. All she could think of was how foolish and naïve Raquel could be sometimes. Raquel pulled these kinds of stunts frequently. All a man needed was some bling, and Diante’s big body Benz was more than enough. Delila had tried talking her out of situations like this before and was unsuccessful. She would often wonder how such a pretty girl as Raquel, with so much potential, could always fall for anything any man said or did.

Raquel was starting to get irritated with her girlfriend. Looking Delila in the eyes, with her head working from side to side, she responded with a slightly raised voice, “He knows I didn’t want you guys to know about him. At first I was kind of scared, but now I feel I know him well and we three have got our friendship back on track, so I wanted you guys to know. What do you think Martine?”

Martine, who hated to hurt anybody’s feelings, and especially her best friend’s shrugged her shoulders, and threw up her hands. She did not see anything wrong with Raquel talking to Diante. To her it was a meal ticket. However, she did not want to hear Delila’s mouth.

Without waiting for a response, and known for saying whatever comes up, Delila looked Raquel dead in the eyes and said, “I think you’re crazy. So, is he in college? Does he work? Where does he live?” She stood there just like she was Raquel’s mother with her finger pointing in her face, talking with much attitude, and looking very irritated. She had a way of talking down to Martine and Raquel. Delila did not know what the word discretion meant. She didn’t care about hurting anyone’s feelings, and she never gave thought to how it would feel if she were in their shoes. The reason Delila acted like this was mostly because she was more the good girl type.

You could tell Raquel’s feelings were hurt as she said, “Delila, he graduated four years ago and went to a two year college for pharmacology. He works in a new pharmacy, like out by the rich people.” Raquel hated talking to Delila. This was the reason she had not talked to them in almost three months. Delila was judgmental, and Martine went along with whatever she said, whether it was right or wrong. Raquel did not understand what the big deal was. Diante was a great catch, so why weren’t they happy for her. Raquel fought back the tears. She wanted them to let it go, but not Delila. Sometimes, she was like a bulldog with a bone.

“Are you kidding me, Raquel? Come on now!!! Graduated, college, pharmacology? Dope, crack, cocaine, hello Raquel,” Delila said with a relentless tone.

Annoyed, Raquel stopped walking and faced her friends, “What are you getting at Delila?”

“Girl, he’s twenty-two! Pharmacology? Come on now. My brother thinks he’s a pharmacologist too.” Delila looked at Raquel as if she was an idiot, which only irritated Raquel more.

Raquel smiled as she thought of a good comeback. She put Delila on blast by telling her, “Your brother is seventeen and he’s broke. Is he even still in school?”

Delila was not used to Raquel responding in this way so she was totally offended. “He is still in school, on the honor roll, and this is his year to graduate. Don’t knock my brother. My Mama tries real hard, although we may fall short since there are seven of us, but my brother tries to help out by getting his little hustle on sometimes. Now Mama doesn’t like that, nor does she accept it, but we pray about it. The Lord answers prayers. As a matter of fact, I have to go. This conversation is way beneath me. From now on we will pray for you too. Good-bye!” Angrily, Delila turned and stormed off.

Happy to see her leave, Raquel gave a sigh of relief to express her happiness that Delila finally took her perfect self on somewhere. She never really understood the whole God and prayer stuff because she was not brought up learning about God. It was like a foreign language to her. She didn’t understand why people were always talking about God and being blessed.

Turning to Martine, who stared after Delila, and fighting back tears, Raquel said, “That girl makes me so sick. Always talking about what God will do and what He has done. God don’t live in the projects and He don’t answer no prayers.”

Martine understood where Delila was coming from a little, but she could not figure out why she always had to come so hard. Throwing her arms around Raquel, Martine gave her a hug and said, “Come on now! God has answered plenty of prayers for my family and me. And we still pray. Girl if you only knew.”

Raquel was confused because she, as well as everyone else, knew that Martine had the perfect family. They lived in the rich part of the hood. She lived in a two parent home with her mother and father and they both had great jobs. They lived in what all the neighborhood kids call a mansion, with a two car garage, a dog, and a white picket fence. What more could you ask for? They really had it going on.

On the other hand, Martine looked at Raquel who lived in the projects with her Dad. Although she looked just like this man, they often questioned if he was really her Dad. Delila and Martine thought he treated Raquel more like a wife than a daughter. Raquel told Martine once that her father would wake her up in the middle of the night after he returned from wherever he had been, and he would feel on and fondle her.

“If God answers prayers then he brought me Diante to take my mind off life’s problems, to save me from my dad, and to make me happy, and that is that,” Raquel told Martine.

“Girl, is yo daddy still trippin?”

Raquel shook her head and answered, “Yeah.”

“I am shocked. I mean I can’t believe he does that to you, his own daughter,” said Martine.

“He won’t stop until I get out of that house. Diante could be my ticket out of there Martine. What if he is?”

Martine got quiet for a minute and Raquel could tell something was on her mind. “What’s wrong?” Raquel asked.

Tears filled Martine’s eyes as she said, “It happened to me too?”

“What happened to you?” Raquel asked.

“You can’t tell a soul?” said Martine.

“Tell what?” Raquel shrieked, looking around. There were still kids in the park hangin’ out. Martine pulled Raquel by the arm towards the gazebo, pushing her down on the seat.

“You swear you won’t tell a soul Raquel?” asked Martine.

“Ok, I swear,” said Raquel, “But tell a soul about what Martine?”

“I know I never got this deep before, but you are my girl Raquel, and I really need an outlet, right now.”

“What happened Martine?” Raquel asked, grabbing her friend’s hand.

More tears streamed down Martine’s face.

“You know my mom was real bad on drugs, right?”

Raquel shook her head, “Yeah, but I thought she went to that rehabilitation center?”

“She did,” Martine exclaimed, “But she went and started hanging back with old family and friends. Some of those friends just got out of rehab, some jail, and some never quit doing the things they did in the first place. Mom be trippin’ girl. One night, I was laying in bed sleep and she came into my room and started fondling me.”

Raquel’s eyes grew big.

“What?” she yelled.

“Girl, it hurts my feelings so bad,” said Martine. “I mean does that mean my mom is a dyke? If I get this treatment does that mean she’s out there bad like that? What about dad? I don’t even think he knows. He’s always working and you know he travels. I want to tell him so bad, but I don’t want to be the one to break up our family. You know we’ve always been tight and Marshon would hate me for that. I’m thinking about just getting a gun and shooting myself. Then no one would ever know.”

“I want to get a gun and kill my dad,” said Raquel. “I started to tell Diante what is going on because I know I can get a gun from him. He stays packing. But I love my dad so much. It’s been at least two months since he has done that now, only because he has this new woman friend and he’s always at her house. She’s different than the others, though. As a matter of fact she may really care for him. I think it has something to do with the church thing she’s doing. She goes all the time and he has been following up behind her running to church too. I guess that’s a good thing, but it’s always good until the relationship is over and then there I am again, playing wife. None of this ever would have happened if my mother would not have passed away. She knew I needed her. I just don’t understand life girl.”

“Wow Raquel! I sure am sorry about how you feel.”

“And I am sorry for what is going on in your life too,” said Raquel with tears streaming down her face.

“Maybe we need to take Delila’s advice and pray Raquel,” said Martine. “What do you think? I mean look at us. We went from laughing to playing to talking about our negative situations to crying all in a matter of minutes. What’s really going on?”

“I don’t know, but I just want to be loved,” Raquel said.

Neither of them saw Delila walk up. “You just want to be loved? Well, I love you,” said Delila as she walked back up to her friends. “I felt bad about what happened. I am sorry I was not so friendly earlier. You know how I am sometimes. Please forgive me Raquel. I thought you guys might be gone, but I was hoping you weren’t. What is going on? What did I miss? Why are you guys crying? You’re going to make me cry,” she said, throwing her arms around them both. Raquel looked at Martine, slightly shaking her head because she was still upset about how Delila was acting earlier. Martine gave her a nod with a little smile, to let her know it was ok to give Delila another chance.

“Delila can you just pray for us and with us? You are good at praying and I believe God hears you,” Martine said, grabbing Delila and Raquel’s hands. “We can talk about it later, but we need for God to do something quick, fast, and in a hurry.”

“Well praise be to God,” said Delila. “You know I will pray. That is one thing my mother has instilled in all of her children and that is how to pray. Here we go! Father we bless Your name. We lift You up, because You said that if You be lifted up You would draw all men unto You. You are our Father. You are our Bright and Morning Star. You are the Way the Truth and the Life. You are King of Kings and You are our Good Shepherd. We thank You, God, for shining down and seeing about us right now. Touch our minds, God, and give us wisdom and knowledge. Encourage us! Strengthen us! The joy of the Lord is our strength. Show Yourself strong in us! Lead us and guide us! We thank You for power. We thank You for authority. We thank You for an encouraging spirit that would move in us and change us and make our way prosperous. Thank You for who You are and for Your many blessings in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Raquel and Martine were feeling that prayer way deep down inside. They were both in praise and worship mode and did not even know it. Delila began to hug them and tell them that everything was going to be alright. They hugged her back thanking her for being there and apologizing for what happened earlier. She let them know it was all good and that this would be the beginning of a new relationship for them as friends and with God their Father.

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