An Excerpt from ‘Wildwood Parkway: Book Two (1980-1981)’ by
Laurence Bass
Bon Bon Vie
April 11-12, 1980
The stone castle sat atop a foundation of red and blue pebbles Its columns were the identical shade of gray They led upward to the red flag at its summit Next to it was a treasure chest full of painted golden coins, pearls and every other spoil royalty attains at the end of any fabled conquest. Joi looked at this pictorial as lemon, green apple and wild cherry flavored gummy bears stuck to her molars. She enjoyed them well past her normal bedtime of 9:00 Joi soaked in the other pieces of the scene before her the platinum blonde mermaid, aqua-green seahorse and red-shell crab with sunglasses The fixtures that amazed soon became an afterthought when the burnt orange scales of a passing goldfish broke her line of vision Her name was Tina She was one of six Frankie, Justine, Alvin, Amanda and Yvonne rounded out the bunch swimming through the inlands and outskirts of this brightly lit aquarium Joi didn’t care for the names, but that was not her choice to begin with That responsibility belonged solely to Krystal
“No, Maxi Get down ” Krystal whispered forcefully to her cat, Maxine, trying to shoo her away from the cracked window The pitter-patter of the heavy drizzle outside attracted the black and white feline to the change in weather Krystal quietly rolled off of her bed and onto the white carpet in the hopes not to wake her parents “Stupid cat, always trying to sneak out again ”
“Again,” Joi asked, reaching for the last of the SweeTarts they shared
“Yeah, when we first moved up here I left the window open one day and Mr Jones next door found her in his backyard meowing for milk ”
“How’d he know it was her?”
“The little scar on her nose Maxi had that when we first got her She was probably doing something dumb then, too.”
“Oh ”
The cat Krystal scolded not a minute ago was the same one she held against her chest like her school books when boys were nearby Her nose was buried in the top of Maxine’s black scalp as she kissed it while rubbing her white belly Joi watched as she slowly opened the bedroom door to let her out into the dark hallway The aquarium was her nightlight. Her room’s walls matched the ocean blue paneling reflecting the halogen lamp providing brightness to the underwater marvel in front of them. Joi knew not to look around the room too much. Doing so would only entreat her to the other treasures lining the powder blue walls Toys and dolls of all makes and complexions sat in the attire their owner desired for them Joi knew them by the names she heard announced during the commercials shown after school and Saturday morning Their homes and trinkets from make believe professions were bright in color even as the darkness of midnight covered them all What couldn’t be put high on display was either stuffed in the toy box or tossed in the closet The plastic houses styled with polychromatic furniture were a replica of how Krystal’s room was assembled Her large twin bed was covered with a frilly white-laced blanket and matching pillow cases. The material’s fringe was stitched red yarn giving the illusion of pink falling from the bed Joi bit down on the fruity bitterness in her mouth, breaking it into smaller pieces that enhanced the sour Children fail when trying to conceal their jealousy Tongues poked out and rolling eyes mark the signs of discontent for what they lack Joi had grown past that It was the aspect of her friendship with Krystal that she overcame weeks before the cast she first autographed was removed She was one of the only students at Beechfield Elementary that she could relate to on the playground and in the classroom making her a priceless ally in the insecure universe of fourth grade
“Did you see what LaTrice did today on the field trip,” Krystal asked as she slowly climbed back into bed.
“No, what?”
“She sat next to Paul on the bus ”
“So.”
“So? She knows I like him ”
“No you don’t ”
“Yes I do ”
“Krystal, when he gave you that note last week, you checked ‘no’. Remember?”
“I did it only because he spelled my name with a ‘C’ and my Aunt Debbie said never go with a boy if he can’t even remember your name ”
“I guess ”
“You’d do the same if it was Charles.”
“I don’t like him He said I had a big head and called me a geek ”
“But I saw you read that card he gave you for Valentine’s Day”
“Yeah, because he taped a bag of M&Ms to it and my Aunt Junie told me never to let chocolate go to waste ”
“You stupid.”
Their laughter rose above the tone that shielded their conversation from the adults sleeping down the hall Two knocks on the door interrupted their throwing of pillows across the room Krystal motioned to Joi to hide the candy they promised not to eat late at night
“Y’all still awake,” Roy Harris asked on the other side of the door.
“Yes, daddy”
“It’s going on one, now Y’all need to cut out all the horseplay and call it a night Especially you, Joi Your daddy said he’d be over early to pick you up ”
“Sorry, Mr Harris ”
“Yeah Sorry, daddy”
“Alright, turn off the light on the fish tank and y’all get some rest ”
“Goodnight ”
“Night, daddy.” Krystal said and then cut off the only source of light in the room. Upon reaching for her pillow, she lamented towards her overnight guest. “Why you gotta go to that thing tomorrow anyway? Why can’t you just say you’re sick and stay here?”
“You wouldn’t say that if it was the Girl Scouts ”
“Because the Girl Scouts are cool ”
“All y’all do is wear badges and sell cookies.”
“And Saturdays are supposed to be for fun, not for science fairs ”
How they each spent their free time was the last place of opposition Krystal made numerous attempts to get Joi into joining her troop, but to no avail She could not understand why her friend of six months was so loyal to devote her “Head, Hands, Heart and Health” to the community with the 4-H Club Krystal met some of Joi’s friends from the organization when she accepted the invite. She only saw their physical appearances. The chubby girl with braces, the socially-awkward preteen forced into it by his dad and the beanpole whiz kid showing off of his new calculator was all Krystal needed to make up her mind on the group Angela suggested to Dennis that Joi should attend a Girl Scouts meeting back in November Krystal was a Junior, decked out in a hunter green vest with an ironed on number for her troop and assortment of insignias None of the plans set forth by the troop leader excited the guest Joi found herself looking for the Samoa cookies she always believed they dipped in milk after meetings Regardless of how each felt about the other’s weekend activities, both of their allegiance had nothing to do with their outlooks. Judith wanted more for her niece than to down sugary cereals on Saturday mornings She believed that the only way to make use of what was perfected in the classroom was to see it in action in the real world Judith saw how women were being marginalized in the fields of science and mathematics She wanted Joi, the young mind she helped cultivate into a finely-tuned machine, to never have the feeling of being looked down upon due to her gender Angela Harris thought the same for her daughter She believed that even if the Girl Scouts were typecast for their sales of baked goods and merit badges, it was teaching Krystal a valuable lesson The ability to get the most out of each penny and the chance to see how far a dollar could go would instill one of the varying mores she envisioned for her daughter. She wanted Krystal to gain the confidence to approach complete strangers knowing that every word was a chance to advance in a society not built for her This was bigger than lessons in salesmanship and science It was a new decade for the black woman Both Angela and Judith, in their own ways, were raising the expectations of intelligence and independence for each girl It would take time for both to see the imprints left on them by their elders, but for now, the hour was getting late Krystal fluffed her pillow and Joi curled up in her sleeping bag