How I Met Your Mother

Royce stares out the window, blowing hot breath on the window and wiping it with his finger to do it all over again. Usually, he's in the wild with his grandfather and friends, but his grandfather’s out of town at a meeting, so he’s stuck at home and back to being outnumbered.

Even when G-Pops is home, there are still more women than men in the three-bedroom house in Raleigh Park. His older twin sisters, Rain and Rian, are sixteen and mean. They often keep to themselves, so much so that Royce feels they don’t like him. Renelle, his other older sister, is still mean, but at least she doesn’t ignore Royce. She still makes enough food for him, and takes him shopping for new shoes when he busts his old ones. She’s only mean because she’s a “moody teenager,” as he heard his G-Pops describe her. It’s not because she doesn’t like him. 

“Turkey, what are you doing?”

Royce rolls his eyes before turning around to face his favorite sister. His mama called him her Turkey, and it stuck, even after her death. You’d think he was born on Thanksgiving to have the nickname, but that’s not true. What happened was, his mother went from grocery store to grocery store Thanksgiving morning to find a turkey, and somehow ended up in a grocery store in West Kenton. One that got robbed as soon as she picked up the turkey. She was locked in there the whole day and well into the night. It was on the news and everything, primarily because when the police finally breached the store, the robbers were gone.

Nine months later, Royce was born. Her baby that came about from needing a turkey.

“I wanna go see C and Peanut but the twins left before I could get dressed.”

Renelle pokes her bony hip out and folds her arms. “Don’t wanna rough it out with your sister, huh?”

Royce smirks and rolls his eyes again. Two things he loved to do were roll his eyes and smile. Though, recently, he’s been doing more of one and less of the other.

“Ain’t you supposed to be next door?” Renelle decided to start earning extra money babysitting whoever lives next door. He’s never seen any kids coming or going, but then again, if he’s not at G-Pops’s cabin with his best friend, he’s reading his mother’s old comic books.

Renelle kisses her teeth. “Yeah, but you can still come. Autumn and Wynter aren’t that bad. Isn’t Wynter in your class?”

Don’t remind me, Royce thinks to himself. When his mother died and he and his sisters moved in with G-Pops, he had to switch schools. All his friends are at Elm Street Elementary, and now, a year later, he still hasn’t made many friends at Parkside Elementary. Royce thinks the other kids are weird. Raleigh Park is a nice neighborhood. All the kids have clothes that fit, and shoes that don't have holes in them. He doesn’t understand why they all try to act like something they aren’t, acting like the songs they hear on the radio. Especially when they found out he was from the Birch. Everyone wanted to try him, and he got in so many fights last year that now he avoids them, and they avoid him. Wynter, his neighbor, included.

“I don’t wanna hang with all girls, Nellie.”

“Well, I’m not leaving you here alone, so put your shoes on.” She turns around and disappears down the hallway before he can even reply, but he knows better than to stay put. Renelle’s quick to slap the back of his head when he doesn’t listen.

As soon as Royce double knots his KSwiss, he runs into the living room and out the open door. When he sees the green Monte Carlo parked in front of G-Pops house, he skids to a stop and smiles. He loves seeing this car around. That means he was always finna have a good time, and come back home with some money.

His best friend Casey opens the passenger door and hops out. He hears his front door close behind him, but he doesn’t dare look back. One look from Renelle and she might make him stay with her.

He hears his big sister kiss her teeth anyway. “Uh-uh, Baby Boog. Turkey’s staying with me today.” She comes to Royce’s side and throws an arm around his shoulder.

Royce rolls his eyes and sighs. “Nellie–”

“We just going to the courts, Nellie. You can come, too.” Casey’s gray eyes twinkle with mischief as he glances at Royce’s sister before he meets his gaze. They’d always been able to communicate with just looks, and by the look on Casey’s face, he knew, without a doubt, he had to get back to the Birch.

Royce looks up at Renelle. “I’ll be back in a couple hours. I’ll even bring you some catfish from The Soul Food Spot.”

Renelle’s eyes light up at the mention of Harold’s famous fried catfish. Her mouth twists in a wry smile and Royce knows he got her. “Fine. But I want a full platter. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw don’t be having no food, so bring enough for the girls, too.”

“Aw man–”

“It’s that or you can play Uno with us all day.”

Royce pushes Renelle off him as she cackles, backing away toward their neighbor’s house. “Don’t let him forget my food, Baby Boog. Tell Big Boog I said wassup!” she yells.

The driver honks his horn, acknowledging he heard Royce’s big mouth sister.

“Your sister likes my uncle,” Casey snickers as Royce makes it to the passenger seat. He flinches at his best friend, making him laugh harder as Royce climbs into the backseat of the car.

The faint smell of weed is overpowered by a cherry air freshener, and the smooth leather seats are cool under Royce’s hands.

“Waddup, Turk?”

When Royce looks up, Casey’s uncle Boog is looking right at him. His deep set eyes always seem like they can read every lie you’ve ever told, but Royce’s G-Pops drilled in him to always look a man in the eye, so Royce does that, and fights off the squirm that always builds in his spine every time he’s around him. Boog has always been that nigga in the Birch, and sometimes–really, all the time–he couldn’t believe this was his best friend’s uncle, and therefore, his uncle, too.

“Waddup, Uncle Boog?”

Boog’s stoic face broke into a smirk, showing his deep dimples that matched Casey’s. “Put yo seatbelt on.” 

Royce obeys him and no sooner than they hear the click Boog zooms off.

“Where Peanut?”

“Sick. Him and Mama got the flu.”

“What’s happening at the courts?”

“Tournament of the Towers.” Royce hears the smile in Casey’s voice. Random times throughout the year, the Birch Babies would hold a basketball tournament between the six towers for a cash prize. The teams were separated by loose age requirements, but Royce and Casey had finally turned eight last year, and were tall enough to be on Boog’s team. With Peanut sick, it was their time to shine.

Royce rubs his hands together and the most devilish smirk graces his lips. “Bet.”

Hours later, Boog drops off Royce with four catfish platters and his share of the prize money; $75. They were champions of course; Royce, Casey, and Peanut were beasts at basketball, since the courts and gym were the only extracurricular activities in the projects. 

He knocks on the white door against periwinkle walls impatiently, knowing Boog won’t pull off until he’s in the house. His arms ache from throwing the ball. He’s tired and dirty, and hungry as hell, and wants to eat and maybe convince his sister to let him go to their house alone to shower. Whenever she babysat next door, the Shaws wouldn’t be home until late Sunday, sometimes early Monday morning.

Right before he knocks again, the door opens, and Royce feels his eyes expanding over his entire face before his arms go limp at his sides, and the heavy styrofoam plates land with a thud beside him.

He didn’t know she lived here, too.

The girl who sits all alone on the playground. The other kids avoid her, too, though he never could figure out why.

She’s so pretty, like the doll Renelle keeps under her bed. Her skin is the color of the clay they play with in Art, and she has long, curly, black hair. She’s always staring off like she’s lost, or lost something, so Royce could never tell what she looks like besides the side of her face, but staring at her now, their fronts to each other, under the porch light, Royce could see the girl’s eyes are hazel. And unlike when they’re at school, they’re smiling.

Her face mimics that when the corners of her mouth lift. “Hi.”

Her voice. Royce hadn’t heard someone sound so angelic since his mother. He braced himself for the inevitable sting that came with thinking of her, but it never came. Not now. He just kept staring at the girl in front of him, at her ponytails, at her X-Men shirt and sweat shorts. At her smile, that goes from closed to open-mouthed, showing the front tooth that’s begun to grow in. He wants to say something, say anything, but he can’t. He doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t quite know the words, yet. 

“Autumn, who’s that at the door?”

Royce’s sister’s voice registers, but he’s only stuck on the first word she said. Autumn.

This is Autumn Shaw. 

The female version of him. The kids at school avoided both of them, so Royce figures they could be alone together. He just couldn’t quite work up the courage to approach her before. He knew he’d freeze up, like he’s doing now. 

But still, this had to be… something. The word escapes him. But it had to be something. The girl he wanted to know is his next door neighbor. His favorite sister babysits her and her sister on the regular. 

“Oh, it’s Turkey. Is that our catfish?” Renelle is at the door behind Autumn, now, and grabs the containers that were just abandoned on the floor.

“Catfish? My favorite,” Autumn mumbles.

She loves catfish, too.

Royce knew he and Casey would be best friends forever, since he was always the last baby to be picked up from daycare. Royce knew Peanut would always be the big brother he wanted after coming up to Parkside Elementary last fall to help him jump the kid that caught him slipping.

And now, Royce knows Autumn Shaw isn’t going anywhere, either. They’re neighbors. They love the same food. And they both love the X-Men. 

Fate. That’s the word Royce couldn’t think of before. 

Yeah, it’s fate.