SEASON 1 PART 18

TWO WEEKS LATER-Mid September 2017.
[Synopsis of last two weeks]
QJ has completed his last two weeks, but still occasional sees the guidance counselor. It turns out that he feels that he can trust her, and was informed that he could stop by anytime. Aundrea makes a B on her book report and is glad to have the book report behind her. For Labor Day, the family got together with Faye and her kids for a barbecue. Lake Charles was to receive rain from Hurricane Harvey; however, by the grace of God, the storm bypassed the Lake area. Unfortunately, that storm did hit Texas.  Yvonne reached out to the relatives in Sacramento and is in the process of planning a trip to Colorado over the Christmas break.  She reached out to Her Cousin Denise on Facebook and found out that she has three kids, with the oldest two being around Miriam’s (her daughter) age.  Malachi has made the track team and Aundrea is on the Volleyball team.
Deja decided to stay in her classroom for her lunch hour and eat a sandwich when she received a text from Jameson.
“Hey! Did you have a good Labor Day”
“I did! How are things back in Baton Rouge?”
“Same”
“I met Faye”
“Aunt Clarisse’s daughter?”
“Yep”
“She comes down to Louisiana every so often. She hadn’t been in about three years”
“Yeah, she said that”
She then talked about how they all got together for a barbecue. She offered to share some pictures of their visit over the last two weeks.
“Speaking of connecting. Your son and Taylor seem to have made a connection. She talks about him all the time! You’d think they were in the same house.”
“Wow! We’ll have to skype with the both of them nearby one day. Hey, I am going to finish eating my lunch. I’ve got another class in a bit”
Malachi is in his reading class where they are watching The Indian in the Cupboard when a quiz is announced next class. The teacher decided to pause the movie and go over section two of the study guide for the reminder of the class. As the bell rings, Caleb noted that he missed an answer on the guide. “Can I get it from you later?“
“Yeah, I have track practice tonight so I’ll be leaving a little late.“
“Works for me”
On their way to class they ran into Carson.
“Man, how’s the Junior High life treating you?” Carson asked
“Like man, outside of lunch, we don’t even see each other”
“Right? What you got going this weekend?” “Nada, wanna hang?
”

“Sure I’m game, mall?”

In home economics, the teacher informed the students that they would be watching a video on food groups. “I’m going to have you a heads up; the video is a bit like something that one would see on Nick Jr.”  That was actually an understatement and the cheerleading portion of the video was particularly laughable.  After the video, the teacher informed the class that they would be collaborating to cook a healthy dish. You will have until the end of the week to decide your dish and you will cook them next week.“Partners?” Caleb asked

“Sure, now I’m trying to think. Something relatively easy. We eat a lot of healthy stuff at home, w/ the exception of desserts. A vegetarian pizza?”

“Seriously?”

“One with spinach, green onions, pineapple and the like. We could use olive oil instead of pizza sauce”

Later that day, Malachi arrived to track practice where the coach went over basic drills. Malachi had always been a quick runner and the drills were a walk in the park, however he wasn’t exempt from the exhaustion after the fact.
“Man, I need a drink of water” he whispered, as he sat down to catch his breath.
Caleb walked down to meet him, when Malachi admitted to being somewhat concerned about his dad.
“What’s the matter?”
“I worry about him; I know he’s looking for a job.”
“But wasn’t your dad in the military?”
“Yes, he retired and his pension is in.”
He paused for a moment “Why the hell am I telling my dad’s business like this? You have to promise me you won’t say anything about it”
“Lips are sealed, you’re my friend and I’ve known you for a long ass time now. “
They had known each other since kindergarten, but they generally didn’t talk about financial matters. Furthermore, Quincy advised him that he was fine.
“He’s just not used to not working; I’m worried that he’s gonna lose his damn mind”
“Right” Caleb said, adding, “I think you’ve lost YOUR mind. Who the hell is eating pizza with only vegetables?”
“Hey, you gotta trust me on this one. I think we can work this out. Plus, I want my A. You get my drift?”
That evening, Malachi found the time to have a quick chat with Taylor.

At dinner, Quincy broke the ice by starting out with asking how Malachi’s track practice was.
“It was rough, but I’ll sleep good tonight. So coach has some good stuff to say about me. Maybe you’ll meet him at the PTA meeting Tomorrow”
“Yes, I plan on being there. I have to go to Junior’s next week.”
“Okay, so both of you are going?” Aundrea asked
“That’s right” Deja interjected “We’ve cleared our schedules.”
“okaaaayyy”
“Look at it like this, yall have made it a month without any notes being sent home” Quincy replied.
After eating dinner, Malachi checked his email and noticed an email from Taylor about the book “One Drop” that her mother was reading. “Queen Sugar” was also a recommendation of hers.
“Mom” he asked  “You watch ‘Queen Sugar’ don’t you?”
“Sure do, me and my oldest sister. Haven’t read the book yet, but from what I’ve been told there’s some variation between the book at the show”
Now that he had showered and eaten, Malachi took a little time to do his math homework and study for his science quiz. An hour and a half later, he shut the light off to his room and turned on his lava lamp. He went to sleep almost immediately. Deja walked in, lightly put a crack in the door and left to start a rough draft for another chapter of the book. This chapter would be on meeting her aunt that had been living not far from them for the past 30 years. She wondered why she had never met her, though by talking with Faye, she had an idea.
TO BE CONTINUED WITH EPISODE 19