#afterthemeeting

As she ran home, her thoughts kept going back to Sam. she was so excited for school now. she knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep well. all she wanted to do was to keep talking to him. it was funny to her that he had tried to cover up confessing that she was pretty to him. the memory made her giggle out loud. that was when she almost ran right into a firefly. she let out a small scream and dodged it. if that didn't snap her back into reality she was sure that nothing else could. UGH! i hate those things! Layla had an irrational fear of fireflies. she was convinced that if one were to touch her it would burn and infect her skin. The fear was brought on by countless nightmares she'd had of that exact scenario. unfortunately for her, she lived in a part of the country where they were very prominent. 

Nearing the house, Layla slowed to a walk. she didn't want to be out of breath when she walked through the door. turning the door knob slowly and as silently as she could, she tip toed through the threshold and closed the large door quietly behind her. The smell of Maggie's cooking hit her immediately. Layla made her way deftly to the kitchen. she was parched. "where on gods green earth has you been chil'?",  Maggie's familiar voice chided her. Maggie was Layla's life long nanny, she was more like her mother than her own mom had been. Maggie was a large black woman, she looked rough from the outside and could almost sell it with her voice but inside she had one of the biggest hearts. Her eyes were wise, like she had seen it all and definitely knew it all. Maggie had a way with people. It took her about .2 seconds to figure out what your soul was like. Her smile had always made Layla feel like she was home. Her hair was up in her usual bun, graying on the sides and down one streak in the front. she was sporting a skirt and blouse with an apron, covered in whatever she was making for dinner. "Hi ya Magg!" Layla replied with a big smile. "You gon' answa me or ya gon' jus' stan' there like uh foo'?", she questioned with her hands on her wide hips. Layla successfully avoided the question by asking what was for dinner. "mmmm! mmm! Cajun fish and mah special wil' rice. now go on upstairs and start thuh bath. yous a mess chil'. yo' momma gon' die if she catches you like this. i'll be up in uh minute tuh help ya Layla." Layla nodded and grabbed a glass of water, she chugged it and wiped her mouth. "is daddy home?" she asked with hope. "nuh uh. not yet sug'. now get." 

Layla ran upstairs hoping that her feet didn't leave too much of a mess behind her. she was grateful that Maggie hadn't noticed the cardigan in her hand. she could hear her mother on the phone in her bedroom. that was a good sign, it meant her mom surely wouldn't be coming out of there before dinner. Layla went into her bathroom and started the water. After dipping her fingers in to make sure it was warming she moved into her bedroom. she sat his cardigan down on her bed and smiled. i like him. i don' know if he likes me and i don' care.  when she finally finished day dreaming about her encounter with Sam, she hopped in the tub.

"ya in ther' girl?" Maggie asked as she opened the door slowly. "yeah im in." answered Layla with a smile. "i'll get yer hair washed. come closa' honey bee." Layla moved her back closer to Maggie to let her wash her wild hair. "sometime' i think you should jus' live in them trees n' bushes." Maggie scrubbed Layla's hair with vigor, trying to get as much grime out as she could. All the while Layla didn't even notice how hard Maggie was scrubbing because she was smiling so much. "whatchu' smilin' so much for sug'"? Layla winced, damn, she caught me. "Magg, can ya keep a secret?" Maggie pretended to seal her lips with her fingers. "won' tell uh soul." Layla smiled and looked at her. "I met uh new friend today. He's uh boy. He lives next door." Maggie's eyes bugged out a little in surprise. "you mean Joe's boy? Samuel? oh hun' ya bes' be carful with him. his dad uh real cruel man. is tha' why ya keep smilin for? ya like him huh?" She let out a loud short laugh. "oh! this gonn' be fun for me n' muh hun' Joe tuh watch." Maggie couldn't stop laughing under her breath. "Who's Joe?" Layla turned to give Maggie a glare. "and stop your laughin'. i don' care 'bout his dad. he's a real nice boy n' hes gonna be muh friend at school too." As Maggie helped get Layla out of the tub she explained that Joe was Sam's ground keeper who also happened to be her husband. "whoa. that's weird. im gonna have tuh tell Sam that tomorrow." Layla went back into her room and threw her P.J.'s on hoping that her friends at school would like Sam just as much as she does. 

With her hair wet it made her image appear self-controlled. less like a tomboy and adventurer. She looked the way her mom always wanted her to look. Just like a lady of the good ol' plantation. she thought in disgust. Finally she made her way downstairs to have dinner with the rest of her family, except for her father. it looked like he was going to have another long night at work. Her mom took her spot at the table, dressed in her extravagant evening attire. James, Layla's 5 year old brother came bounding in from the playroom. "Hi ya Layla! Is daddy home?!" he came running over to her and gave Layla a big hug as if he hadn't seen her in days. she looked down at him and smiled, hugging him back. "no he aint home yet. sorry Jamie." his face fell a little. "awh thats ok i guess. Im starvin'!" His attention turned immediately to the food on the table. Layla loved her little brother. she and him spent a lot of time playing together over the summers, just this past one she taught him how to ride one of the horses. he was a natural of course, no different from her or their father. as she was reminiscing on fun memories with her brother, Alexis walked into the room; completely absorbed by her phone. Alexis was Layla's older sister by 3 years and was a spitting image of their mother, not just by her looks either. "Hey Lexi." Layla muttered. "Ew. hey loser." Lexi shot back at her without a glance up from her phone. "Lex, sug' get off the phone so we can eat." Layla's mother had a way about her when she spoke. It was sharp but elegant, she could cut right through you with such  finesse. not much was discussed at the dinner table for the most part, that's just the way it was. sometimes it was even worse when her father was present because there was such tension between her parents. tonight she felt like she wasn't even there, Layla's thoughts had her full attention.