LIFTED
EPISODE 001: NOTEBOOK NOSTALGIA — 1
WRITTEN BY: K. Reynolds
-------------------------------------------------
Sitting high up on the fire escape outside her window, Christine watched as its light shone down 103rd Street. The days of Manhattanhenge had long passed by, but the view was somewhat similar. As the subtle breeze brushed by and her hair swayed along with the branches of the trees lined on both sides of the street. The sound of rumbling and metal screeching escaped from the subway entrance at the north end. As people left the station, she shifted her eyes to the worn-out notebook with masking tape along the edges in her lap.
It was an old journal she’d found.
She opened it up and began flipping through it, skipping pages of entries she’d written over the years. The pages were almost as brittle as the autumn leaves on the sidewalk. Eventually she landed on a blank page, one of the very few left. Staring at it, she palmed her cheek then smiled.
(Huh, it’s been a while since I wrote in this.)
She slightly twisted her body, reaching through her window to grab one of the pens from the holder on her desk, then began twirling it around her fingers while staring at the page.
(It’s kind of hard to believe that almost a year’s gone by. It almost feels like I’ve drifted into an alternate reality – like I’m living someone else’s life. Yeah, something like that.)
She tapped the pen against the page a few times then began to write.
Before last year, my life was uneventful. Yep, I was the girl who never had any friends. Sure, I wanted friends and I tried to make some, but it never worked out. No one wants to be friends with the tiny girl who always gets bullied, right?
After a while, I gave up and stayed to myself. It was lonely but it was better than failing spectacularly over and over again. I was – well, I still am a bit on the awkward side and by all accounts I’m a huge nerd. So, I practically had ‘target’ branded on my forehead. Not much luck there.
She paused, tapping the pen on her forehead, then continued.
After a certain…incident, my mom enrolled me in a school somewhere in Brooklyn Heights. I was just a wallflower there, so no one bothered me. I was fully prepared to be forever alone and accepted my fate as an unlovable dwarf. And then, well…
+
One year ago, September 2008.
Christine dove onto her new bed and frolicked excitedly. After a few years of living with her grandparents in East New York, she was finally living with her mother in their new home. It was a somewhat spacious condo in the Upper West Side that was located on a street facing west end of Central Park. Celeste, her mother, stood in the doorway with her arms crossed watching her daughter giddily roll around. The joy on her daughter’s face was enough for her to crack a little smile.
“Ah! I can’t believe it. I’m finally in my new room!” Chistine grabbed one of the pillows beside her then gently rubbed it against her face. “Bed so soft, bed so soft…”
“I’m glad you like it. Me and your father busted our asses trying to get everything up here.”
Christine spread her arms then let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve finally been freed from the hellish depths of East New York. No more drunk hobos, no more gun shots, and no more genuinely fearing for my life.”
Celeste pursed her lips then rolled her eyes. “Stop over-exaggerating.”
“I am going to miss Grandpa though.” Christine replied then flipped over onto her side. “He’s going to be all alone in that house now.”
“Speaking of that, call him later.”
“Will do!” Christine threw up her left arm, stretching her fingers. “But maybe after I break in my magnificent new room first.”
“Okay, well, do you then. I’mma hit the kitchen, get everything situated and all that, then start cooking. I gotta work tonight.”
Celeste left her daughter to her vices and walked away. Christine rolled over on her back excitedly quivered while holding her clutched fist to her chest and letting out a quiet scream of joy with her mouth closed.
For the past few years, I’d been living with my grandparents. Mom was always talking about making a better life for us – “us” meaning me, her, and my sadistic demon-spawn older sister. As if being tortured at school and around our way wasn’t enough.
Anyway, it’d been five years since she’d left to make that promise. My sister had moved with my father by then, so it was just me. As a kid, I always wanted to live in Manhattan. So, I was super thrilled about our new place which is literally down the street from Central Park. Like, I can look out of my window and boom! There it is.
It’s a dream come true.
Life in the ghetto paradise that is East New York isn’t exactly glamourous. Still, being whisked away to the greener grass felt just as surreal as holding a philosophical conversation with the building’s resident pouched rat. If that thing was any bigger, then it seriously would’ve had to pay rent.
After having spent nearly a half hour soaking in her new room, Celeste knocked on her door. She opened it just enough to lean halfway through the crack. “I need you to go to the store”
“Huh? The store? But I don’t know where it is.”
“It’s one block away – it’s not far. I’m making us some macaroni, so I need milk.”
Christine’s shoulders dropped in dread. “But…but what if I get lost?”
“If you get lost walking down the block then something is wrong with you.” Celeste teased, laughing, then headed back to the kitchen. “I left the money on the table out here. Keep the rest of it.”
Christine pouted then buried her face into her pillows. “So much for breaking in my new room.”
+
Naseem’s Diner and Deli. Aside from looking more luxurious than the usual, it was a typical corner store with all the hallmarks including a cat stretched out on the shelf filled with bags of chips. There was a small dining area beside the exposed windows but given the chairs were up on the tables and everything was still in pristine condition, it was clear they were hardly ever used. The floors and walls spotless, shelves and freezers neatly packed, and a sweet flowery scent flowed through the air.
The bells on the entrance door jingled as Christine walked inside. She was instantly struck by the stark contrast between what she was used to and what she was seeing in the moment. For once, the stench of cat piss and rank body odor wasn’t assaulting her nostrils. The store’s owner Naseem sat behind the register counter with his eyes glued to the flat screen hooked to the wall. There was a soccer game on. Adjacent to him was Ahmed, the cook who ran the diner side, and who was preoccupied with the chicken gyro he was putting together.
Christine headed to the freezers in the back and grabbed a jug of milk. On her way back to the front of the store, the entrance bells jingled. A boy with a twisty afro walked in. Compared to her tiny 4 ft. 11 frame, he was practically a giant. But more than that, he was dressed so stylishly that it wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d just walked off the set of a photo shoot. As he walked, the boy’s sunglasses slid down the bridge of his nose revealing his hazelnut eyes, and a smooth but soft light brown complexion that seemed to glow in the sunlight. From the moment she saw him, Christine couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
And there he was – Lox a.k.a. Loen Wells. You know those moments in movies where the girl sees the guy, and rose peddles fly around and everything is weirdly pink and red? Well, that’s what it was like when I first saw him. I was mesmerized.
(Holy crap, he’s cute!)
“Yo, what up Ahmed.” Lox called out.
Ahmed raised his head and, upon seeing the boy, dreadfully sighed. As Christine reached the register counter, Naseem nearly leapt from his stool and cheered with his fist pumped up, celebrating his team scoring a goal. She sat the milk on the counter and briefly glanced at the tv, then returned to not-so-subtly staring at the boy eight feet away from her.
“You finished my sandwich yet?”
“No.” Ahmed replied, annoyed. “Give me a few more minutes.”
“A few more minutes?! Nigga, I called you a whole half hour ago.”
Ahmed sighed again. “You do know that you’re not the center of my universe, right? In case you haven’t noticed, I do have other customers.”
Lox sucked his teeth then jokingly replied, “Bruh, forget them. I’m your homie. I should get first priority over everybody.”
“Yeah.” Ahmed said then massaged the right side of his temple, quietly mumbling “I don’t wanna deal with you right now.”
Christine continued to eavesdrop as they went back and forth, forgetting about the jug of milk waiting to be paid for. Fortunately, Naseem was so invested in the soccer game he hadn’t noticed her at all.
“It’s not my fault you dumb slow. I could ride the A to Far Rockaway and back, and you’d still be making my sandwich.” Lox joked then sucked his teeth. “Got me feeling like I’m waiting on food stamps.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Ahmed mumbled.
“And that’s not all either! You see how long you’ve been making that gyro? It’s like you be playing hairdresser and shit. You be mad serious trying to make it all pretty like you a real chef.” He raised his chin then smugly grinned. “I bet you put mad shit on that nobody asked for.”
“For your information, I am a real chef. And unlike you, I actually contribute to society while you stand in front of cameras and,” Ahmed paused then pressed his finger into his cheek. “What was it that you said I do? Make things look pretty? Oh, that’s right! That’s what you do.”
Lox smirked. “Don’t front cuz I make more bread than you.”
Ahmed sighed then dejectedly dropped his head. “And that’s the sad part. If all I have to do is stand still and let people take pictures of me, then why work hard at all, right? This world, man.”
“You chose to make sandwiches for a living. That don’t got nothin’ to do with me.”
After another missed goal, Naseem angrily slammed his fist down on the counter, startling Christine and snapping her back to reality. He grabbed his face, groaning and swearing into his hand, then noticed her looking at him from the corner of his eye.
“Oh, sorry Miss.” he said, softening his tone. “You pay, right?”
“Well, yeah. Oh! But I’m not in a huge hurry or anything!” She said then nervously waved her hands.
Naseem slightly tilted his head, confused by her hand waving. “I don’t get what you’re doing there with your hands. You pay for the milk?”
Averting his confused stare, she sheepishly handed the money over. Just as she went to grab the bagged milk and her change, a loud piercing sneeze shot out. Ahmed wiped his nose then tossed the balled tissue to the small trash can beside him.
“Shit, my allergies are acting up.”
“Bruh, if that’s my sandwich on the side, then you’d better move.” Lox said, looking at the foil-wrapped sandwich roll beside the gyro.
“You want this one?” Ahemed pointed down at the sandwich. “You can take it if you want. And I didn’t make it pretty like the gyro here.”
Lox’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Nah, nigga you just sneezed over there. I don’t want that shit.”
Ahmed groaned. “I didn’t sneeze on it. It’s already been wrapped. And it’s exactly what you ordered too, so you might as well take it. Either that or you wait another ten minutes.”
Lox sucked his teeth. “I’m not trying to wait for another ten minutes.”
“Then take the damn sandwich!” Ahmed shouted in agitation.
“All right, damn! I’mma take it.” Lox replied, slightly leaning back. “Stop spazzing, bruh. It’s not that serious.”
As he went to grab the sandwich, his eyes ventured up the menu on the wall behind Ahmed. He stared for a moment, rubbing his chin in deep thought, and tapping his fingers on the counter. Aside from the soccer game playing, there was dead silence. Ahmed’s eyes narrowed tightly, and his teeth clenched so hard one could hear it. His frustration grew more intense with each passing second. An uncontrollable giggle began to rise from Christine’s stomach. Lox’s eyes raced from one edge of the menu to the other, then stopped.
“So, umm, dead that. Let me get chicken over rice.”
Before Ahmed could react to his nonsense, a burst of hysterical laughter filled the store. All three men turned to the source in utter confusion and surprise. Upon seeing their bewildered eyes piercing at her, Christine’s laughter quickly dissipated. Her face bloomed into a bright crimson red. She snatched the milk and her change, then made a break for the door and darted outside and around the corner.
-------------------------------------------------
1 note
·
View note