#it's the first time you really see Sydney behave like a gentleman

[scarlettwriter91]

Truth and Dare and Texas Tornados

August 2003

I stared hard at my reflection in the mirror of our small bathroom and sighed. My blonde hair was getting pretty long and I knew that my dad would have something to say about it soon. ’Course, when didn’t he have something to say about me? Seems like we couldn’t have a conversation lately without him bringing up something I could be doing better or working harder on. 

Okay, maybe that was a little unfair. Dad wasn’t totally unreasonable, he let me get away with a ton actually. He just had pretty high standards when it came to how any of us boys were supposed to act and behave, which is why he would kill me if he found out I was going out with Sydney Donaldson tonight. 

Sydney and dad, they just didn’t gel. Know what I mean?

My mama would say that Sydney was as wild as a Texas Tornado. She smoked, she drank, and I was pretty sure she was even into drugs, though that was really just hear-say. She was too flirty with the boys and wore too much make-up, but not enough clothes. 

But, hey, I certainly wasn’t gonna complain about that! Sydney’s legs were long and tan and they looked spectacular in those cut-off jeans she liked wearing so much. 

And to top it all off, Sydney liked me. Now, I don’t know if she like liked me, but she definitely liked kissing me behind the bleachers when we went to Beau’s baseball game last week. And at the game before that, too. 

And that is precisely why dad wasn’t in the Sydney Donaldson Fanclub.

But what was I supposed to do when Sydney hopped her ridiculously good-looking body up on top of my desk before history class and smiled down at me like I’d just won the lottery? 

“Hey, Tommy,” she said, turning so that she could rest her foot on my chair next to my leg. Effectively placing those legs of hers right in my line of sight. 

“Hey, Syd,” I grinned back up at her. “What’s up?” 

“Me and a few friends are getting together tonight. You should come hang out with us.” 

“Should I?” I asked smoothly as I sat up straighter in my chair so that I could rest my elbow on her knee and stare up into those chocolate-brown eyes. 

She tossed her caramel-colored hair over her shoulder and bit her lip as she looked back down at me and nodded. “You definitely should.”  

Aw, man, this girl was trouble, but I didn’t care one bit. She liked me and I liked her too, and James Anderson would just have to get over it. 

After I finished getting ready, I grabbed my car keys from where they hung on the hook by the door and was almost free when my mom called out to me.

“And just where are you going? It’s already nearly eight o’clock.” 

I reached my hand up and scratched the back of my neck, “I, um, I was just gonna go hang out with the guys for a while. That okay?” 

She considered me for a moment, as if knowing I wasn’t being entirely forthcoming about my plans, but eventually she nodded. “Alright, it’s Friday, so I guess it’s okay. But next time ask in advance, son. Don’t just try to sneak around. It makes you look guilty.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I answered, feeling my face heat up as I turned back towards the screen door.

“And be back by curfew.” 

“I will,” I promised, though I wasn’t sure if it would be a promise I could actually keep. Hanging out with Sydney tended to make a boy do some pretty stupid things. 

Like lying to his mom about where he was going ’cause he knew unauthorized parties weren’t strictly allowed. 

I pulled my car up outside Crissy Jones’s house, which is where Sydney had said they would be, and immediately wondered how I was even gonna find her in this crowd. This was definitely not a few friends. Not that I had expected an intimate social gathering in the first place. 

I weaved in and out of the sea of kids looking for Sydney. Eventually, I made my way into the living room where I found her sitting with a group of her friends. She smiled when she saw me and stood up. I watched as she walked over to me and took my hand in her much smaller one. “I was afraid you weren’t gonna make it,” she said as she reached up and kissed me square on the mouth. She tasted like cherry chapstick and whiskey. I licked my lips when we broke away before following her into the kitchen where she poured a drink into a red cup and handed it to me. 

When I didn’t immediately take a drink, she smirked up at me. “You look nervous, Tommy.” 

“You’ve met my dad,” I said, “and I’ve met yours. I’d kinda appreciate it if neither of them found out I was drinking while out with you.” 

“Why, Tommy Anderson, what a gentleman you are!” Sydney reached up and put her arms around my neck, pulling herself close to me before kissing me again, soft and slow. This time her tongue darted out and I immediately opened my mouth to grant her access, and if that wasn’t just the hottest thing, I don’t know what is. She pulled away but my free hand stayed around her waist, keeping her close. “I don’t think one little drink’s gonna hurt ya. Besides, you’ll need it.”

“And why’s that?” I ask, even as I was already taking a drink. 

Sydney grinned before once again taking my hand and pulling me back towards the living room. “We’re playing Spin the Bottle: Truth or Dare.” 

I groaned but didn’t protest as she sat down on the floor, pulling me down behind her so that she could sit between my legs.  

We watched and drank for a while as someone would spin the bottle that was in the middle of the group, then whoever it landed on had to answer truth or dare. Most said “truth,” though Charlie Jenkins went for “dare,” but it was nothing outrageous or anything. 

Which is probably why when that stupid bottle finally landed on me, I said “dare” without a second thought. 

“Alright, Tommy,” Matt, one of my best friends, said with a grin. “I dare you to…” He looked around the room as he tried to think of something to dare me to do. 

“Awe, c’mon, Matty,” I said, playfully shoving him on the shoulder, “surely you can think of somethin’.” 

Matt rolled his eyes as he shoved me back but then, seeing something behind me, he grinned. “Hey, Crissy,” he said. “What’re those spray paint cans for?” 

We all looked over to where Matt was pointing four cans of spray paint that were sitting on a table. Crissy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Some projects my dad has going out in the garage. Why?” 

“Think he’d mind if we borrowed them?” 

And that, my friends, is how I ended up standing at the top of the Decatur water tower, an hour after curfew, with cans of paint in my hands. 

I looked over the edge of the railing to see Sydney, Matt, Crissy, and a couple of other kids cheering me on from down below. 

I turned to face the tower and took in my canvas. It was so much bigger now that I was up here and actually about to start. I shook the can of red spray paint and set to work. I painted the words in really big, blocky letters that would be really hard to miss by anyone driving down Green Pond Road.

But “Rawlings is an as-” was all that I had done when I heard the sirens.  

Crap!

I turned around to look back over the railing. From my vantage point, I could already see the police cruiser coming down the road. I looked to the others and saw that they were climbing into Matt’s truck, yelling for me to hurry up. 

I started climbing back down the ladder as quickly as I could but it was no use. The cruiser came into view and my friends took off. But worse than that was the fact that I recognized this particular car. 

Wesley. Now, what the heck is he doing here?! 

I started climbing back up the ladder. No way was I planning on being down there when he got out of that car. 

“Tommy!” Wesley called as he shined the flashlight up at me. It wasn’t even as if he didn’t know it was me; he’d parked the cruiser next to my car. There weren’t many ’67 Javelins in Decatur. “Get down here!”

“No!” I called back once I was back at the top. “What are you even doing here?! You’re supposed to be off tonight!” 

“How do you know?” he called back.

“‘Cause I pay Josh every week to find out your schedule! Duh!”

“Tommy, I’m not about to keep yelling at you! Now, get your scrawny butt down here now before I call dad!”

How stupid did he think I was? Dad was gonna kill me no matter what. The longer I could hold that off, the better. 

“Come and get me, Wes!” 

Okay, even I could admit that that was kinda childish. I sounded like Beau when he stole something from one of us and was determined to keep it. 

“Tommy Anderson!” I looked over the railing to see the lights on in the house across the street. Old Mrs. Baker’s house. She was standing out on her front porch in her bathrobe and slippers. “You get down here this instant, young man!” Then I watched as she turned to the left towards where Wesley was standing and called out to him, “Sorry, Wesley! I wouldn’t’a even called ya if I’d’a known it was Tommy. I’d’a just called yer daddy in the first place!”

“Thank you, Mrs. Baker,” Wes said in his stupidly perfect choir boy voice. 

Mrs. Baker went back in her house, apparently satisfied that Wesley was gonna take care of his errant kid brother. Busybody.  

Wesley crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at me, Even from this distance, I could tell he was getting more and more pissed off. I groaned and forgetting that the paint was still wet, I leaned back against the tower. Effectively smearing red and white paint all over my black t-shirt. 

Oh, come on! I glanced back down and watched as Wesley pulled out his cell phone.

“Okay, okay!” I yelled down. “I’m comin’!” 

“Now, Tom!” 

“Chill out, Wesley! God!” 

I climbed down the ladder and the second my feet hit the ground, Wesley had his hand wrapped around my arm in a ridiculously strong grip. I tried to pull away but it was no use. He half-lead, half-dragged me over towards his car and pushed me up against the trunk. I crossed my arms and glared down at the ground.

“Keys,” Wesley said as he held his hand out. 

I dug down into my pocket and pulled them out before holding them out with my other hand and dropping them so that he would have to catch them.  

Of course he did with no problem. 

“You need to drop the attitude, Tommy,” Wes growled.

I glared up at him. “I don’t reckon you’ve turned in to dad yet, Wes, so stop actin’ like him.” 

Wesley grinned before he dropped the base in his voice in a perfect imitation of dad and said, “No, but if you think for one second that I won’t slap some cuffs on you and take you to the station instead of home, you’re sorely mistaken, little brother.”

I dropped my eyes down to the ground. Okay, so maybe I definitely didn’t want that. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to be arrested, it was just the fact that I’d already sorta been arrested once this year. My dad had made that an experience that I wasn’t too keen on repeating anytime soon. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Wes said, taking hold of my arm again and leading me around the car before opening the back door. He pushed my head down so that I wouldn’t hit it as I got into the backseat. 

“Wait!” I said, “You’re just taking me home, right? So why do I have to sit back here?”

Wesley grinned, “Because you’re a criminal, Tommy, and criminals sit in the back seat.” 

“Well we can’t all be a saint, Wes.” 

Wesley shut the door and I dropped my head back against the headrest.

Great. Seriously, how do I end up in these messes?

I thought back to that morning in Mr. Rawling’s history class. Oh, yeah.

Sydney Donaldson. 

[calvarineharrod]

#30DayWritingChallenge

I recently did the 30 day writing challenge. It made me think, ponder and dig deep into the different facets of my emotional and spiritual self. Sometimes you don’t really know yourself until you answer these questions. This my quest for soul search and I finally answered the questions that I was life-long scared to address.

Writing challenge:

Day 1: Things that make me happy: Braai Beautiful shoes Coke Zero My niece laughing Steers burger and chips Garden salad Deep conversations Troy, my dog Makeup trials The beach Drakensburg Mountains meditation Elevation church Podcasts Beautifully scented rooms

Day 2: Something that someone told me which I’ll never forget: I’m cheeky I have a beautiful soul. I have a big f*****g mouth and think I know too much.

Day 3: Pet peeves: Dirty feet Piled dishes in the sink Arrogant people Impatient drivers

Day 4: People who inspire me: Oprah - live your truth, be present in the moment, strive for excellence. Steven furtick: God can’t bless who you pretend to be. Be yourself. Lisa Bevere - God has uniquely made you and that is your greatest strength. Joyce Meyer - obedience is key to worshiping God. Forgive quickly.

Day 5: Places I want to visit: Cape Town Thailand Sydney India Zanzibar Bali

Day 6: Ways to win my heart: Kind-hearted Loves God Funny Courteous Ambitious

Day 7: Songs I love at the moment: Mercy shawn Mendes 24k Magic Kiss it better Rihanna Bad things camilla cabello Usher Crash Justin Bieber - cold water Ed sheeran - shape of you Closer - chain smokers This girl - Kungs vs cooking on three burners John legend - love me now

Day 8: Something I struggle with: Self-confidence, being single and procrastination.

Day 9: Words of wisdom that speak to me: Be the best version of yourself. Stay true to you and trust your instinct. You are uniquely loved and nothing can replace you. Don’t consume yourself with what others like or think. Don’t set deadlines for yourself. Be spontaneous. Your goals must be uniquely designed for you. What people think of you is none of your business. Be rational in stressful situations. Live life to the fullest and don’t wait for tomorrow to do something. Don’t attend every argument you’re invited to. Dornt allow every voice to have access to you. You are not a garbage truck. Don’t allow people to throw their toxic habits and gossip onto you. Be stingy with your time. Don’t procrastinate . Stay calm.

Day 10: What do I feel strongly about:

Women abuse - a man who has been put on a pedestal and not educated on how to treat a woman will spend his entire life mistreating one. Also when women don’t know their worth, men use reverse psychology to make women believe that no one will love them. So these girls stay in abusive relationships.

Modesty: boyfriends must not be given husband benefits. He must earn it. Likewise, girls clothe yourselves with dignity and respect. Don’t show off everything to gain attention. Be mindful of your behaviour. Don’t compromise and give men the bait to mistreat you. Give them something to respect. Being vulgar is not classy at all.

Christianity - I am entitled to my views about my relationship with God. I will not force it on anyone or dethrone it. I will defend it and not tolerate someone slandering the God that I worship.

Abortion - I believe in life after death and life before birth. Women behave loosely and then can’t deal with the consequences of being pregnant. Wait to get married before you want to have kids. Don’t go on a killing spree and abort your kids. Give them a chance at life.

Racism - how to test yourself to see if you’re racist? Ask yourself, will I accept my child marrying a person of another race. Will I feel comfortable with it. Will I be completely happy if my child had to marry a black, brown or even white person.

Day 11: Something your always think “what if” about: What if I don’t get married and never experience that feeling of loving someone and being loved.

Day 12: Blessings in my life: Family to love Job to work Church to freely worship. Shelter, Food, water and electricity Healthy body and mind

Day 13: What am I excited about? Honestly, nothing. I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do through me. I know that he has great plans and nothing is impossible with God

Day 14: Favourite movies I’ll never get tired of watching: Blue streak White chicks The Notebook War Room The Breakup The devil wears Prada Dreamgirls Rush Hour Slum dog millionaire Why did I get married Mean girls Pitch perfect Notting Hill Love actually

Day 15: Bullet point your entire day: Woke up Brushed and bathed Attended work Came home Watched tv Ate Watched YouTube videos Read a few bible verses Went to bed

Day 17: Post your zodiac sign and whether it suits you. Pisces Don’t believe in it, don’t read it, don’t care.

Day 18: Discuss 30 facts about yourself: GO! Born in Chatsworth Youngest Granddaughter on both sides Received English award twice Love Indian food Jumped off Moses mabhida stadium Never travelled overseas Watched RHCP live Doesn’t eat mussels, crab or fish. Born again Christian Loves home decor and interior design Hates cats. Loves peaches and litchis Secretly fancy guys with nose rings. Want a tattoo but too scared to get one Have 6 piercings (for now) Hates clutch control. Doesn’t read fiction books at all. Got saved at 15. Baptised at 18 Loves any clothing in black Hates liquorice Doesn’t like bacon. Thinks Mohawks and Man-buns are stupid I’m Indian yet have never worn a sari. Had chronic acne and have to take meds for it. I have a strong instinct and good at figuring people out. All time Fave perfume is juicy couture All time Fave tv show is friends All time Fave singer is Mariah Carey. All time Fave hobby is reading Favourite season is Autumn Naturally I have very curly/frizzy hair. Day 19: Discuss your first love. I’ve never had one. Crushes, yes. Both never loved anyone to the point that it consumed my thoughts.

Day 20: Celebrity crushes: Hugh Jackman Ryan Gosling Morris Chestnut Dwayne Johnson David Beckham J. Cole Chris Hemsworth

Day 21: Lessons you want your children to learn from you: Love God Have compassion and unconditional love for yourself and people Be true to yourself and trust your gut feeling Be strong in who you are and defend yourself. Be loyal. Do things that your want to do, don’t compromise . Have good taste in music Be calm, meditate, don’t be stressed and overwhelmed. Know when to walk away. Don’t let people’s opinions define you. Make yourself happy, don’t live to make others happy.

Day 22: Put your music on shuffle and post 10 songs: Hillsong - From the inside out Emeli Sande - Clown Jagged Edge - I Gotta Be Israel Houghton & New Breed - More and More Kool & The Gang - Get down on it Kanye West - Father Stretch my hands (part 1) Hillsong - Heartbeats Ed Sheeran - Afire Love Anomaly - Lecrae Bruno Mars - When I was your man

Day 23: Write a letter to someone: A letter to my future husband:

I always wondered what you’d be like, your face, your eyes, your personality. To be totally honest, Over time, my type of the ideal guy has changed and I know for sure that the man I wanted at 15 is totally different from the man I want now, at 25. People ask me all the time, when am I gonna get married or find someone special? My response is always delayed and very nonchalant: I don’t know. Just so you know, I’m a wifey kinda girl. I love easily and love hard. I know that you are somewhere and I totally believe in Gods timing. By the way, I pray to God for you, about you and hope He leads you to me. I don’t know when, how and where, but I’m blindly writing this letter with the intention of finding you someday, my love. I’m loyal, trustworthy and find it irresistible when a guy is a gentleman. Just so you know, Chivalry is better than having a 6pack and your love for Jesus must be greater than your love for me.

In ending, I pray that our paths cross and that our love will be eternal. Sincerely, you no.1 lady.

Day 24: Write about a lesson you learnt the hard way: I appreciate peace especially since We grew up in an abusive household, not having much and rented out a little house., my dad has a drinking problem and parents used to fight, it was a tumultuous time. We had nothing worth much so I now know value things that I never had. I know what it’s like to work hard and own my stuff so I don’t depend on a guy or people to provide for me and hear hurtful words. I know not to have expectations in people because they will always disappoint, I’ve learnt that people will speak so fast behind your back and pretend to be loyal, I’ve learnt that work some colleagues will remain as that, work colleagues. You cannot try to change some one who doesn’t see a problem with their actions. I’ve learnt that it’s okay to outgrow friendships and relationships. I’ve learnt that it’s okay to walk away from conversations that make you feel awkward, pushes you to mean and degraded . To keep quiet and not retaliate towards every argument. Clowns will be clowns. I’ve learnt that girls are treated so much more differently than boys so we have to be fierce in our approach and not settle for being trophies, I’ve learnt to have compassion and tip extra. I’ve learnt that people treat you different and disrespect you when you are single. I’ve learnt that people are going through a lot and that’s usually the reason for their bad attitude and response towards life . I’ve learnt that God can only work with the amount of space your give him. I’ve learnt the meaning of surrender. I’ve learnt that God does speak, we just need to listen. I’ve learnt that you don’t have to please everyone and that’s ok. I’ve learnt that you must value and appreciate the people who love you for you.

Day 25: Think of a random word, search it on google and write something inspired by the 11th image: Repertoire. A quintet of musicians are playing brass instruments. I am a huge fan of jazz music so this random word perfectly describes the genre of music. This word also reminds me of Kendrick Lamar’s verse of No more parties in LA.

Day 26: An area in your life that you’d like to improve: Discipline. I wish That I could be more harder on myself to achieve more. I tend to be complacent because I’m very committed to my job, I have lots of responsibilities at home and can’t afford to live out certain dreams of what I want to do. I wish I didn’t procrastinate so much. I wish that I can be more disciplined in studying and not waiting for pressure to force me to learn. I wish that I was more disciplined with my eating habits. I wish I had more courage to enjoy life and take risks instead of caring what people think.

Day 27: Conversely, write about something that you’re doing well at: I think my mindset of thinking positively is great. I love the fact that I remain calm is very stressful situations. I tend not to get I overwhelmed and think rationally. I’m very hopeful and depend on miracles.

Day 28: Things that make you laugh: Memes posted by 9gag and Daquan. Kevin hart, Wanda Sykes Blame it on Kway DC young fly Alan Carr Angela and Marcus from “why did I get married” Charlemagne tha God Michael Blackson

Day 29: Goals for the next 30 days: Eat better Pray more often Get over my sympathy parties Read my bible more Relax a little Work harder and meet deadlines Drink more green tea Laugh more Treat myself better Stop trying to make others feel better at the expense of my sanity. Stop trying to not offend people and stifle my feelings. Realise my value Stop lowering my standards of doing things Watch less tv Write more Drive more Live in the moment, appreciate every moment Stay true to myself and be comfortable in my own skin Don’t feel uncomfortable to say no. Stand firm and defend myself. Be honest when asked my opinion. Less social media Mind my own business and help when asked Don’t meddle. Block negativity Don’t gossip about anyone Be cleaner and tidier Be more assertive in my approach Get disciplined enough to study Be consistent in writing a blog

Day 30: Highs and lows for the month: Highs- my birthday, opportunity to be more creative at work. Living a less stressed life. Being firm and happily single. Lows: stress at work, occasional low moments, which I am working on. Sudden bouts of sadness, fighting and arguing at home amongst family members. Loneliness is dangerous and make you do stupid, irresponsible things.