Not So Pure and Simple

by Lamar Giles

“. . . and we see the evil on our TV and in our news reports, Lord. Bless those endangered spider monkeys of the Amazon rain forests!”

But, Mom was one-half of the votes on my “Driving Privilege,” and my Spider-Sense warned me that refusing church would have had consequences.

With effort, I tore myself away. There’s Prayer Peeking and there’s Prayer Staring. I wasn’t a creepy dude.

The word was a bunch of girls made a strange, strange pact to get pregnant because of their music, or something they saw on TV, or video games. The word was some epic unknown threat had come to Green Creek and corrupted the minds of the youth in one of Virginia’s most peaceful towns. What else might the kids be plotting? The horror! Dun-Dun-Dunnnnh! That word was trash. I’d never heard a song, or seen a movie, that made me make a baby. And, what senior’s conspiring on anything with a freshman? If they wanted the truth, they should’ve asked Freya. That was the name of the out-of-nowhere freak blizzard that blanketed our part of the state in snow last October. School got shut down for a week. But parents still had to go to work. A lot of boredom set in. It was that simple.

“Sometimes I think simple hurts worse. So people make stuff complicated because there’s more ways to toss around blame.”

I’d forgotten the hectic mornings pounding on the door because Cressie was barricaded in there, doing whatever sorcery was necessary to become publicly presentable,

At least that’s how it was for the black kids. I’d seen white boys looking like a whole soccer team get a smile and nod from the mall cops.

A lot of women have been hurt and will be hurt because we—men—are mostly still operating on a caveman’s script.”

I’d told the truth. That shouldn’t be wrong, but the truth could be a weapon depending on who used it.

When she pried a volume free, I saw the “it” was a novel by Jacqueline Woodson, glossy in its newness. Kiera flipped the cover open, skimming the writing on the jacket, then brought the open book to her face like she was going to lick it. She inhaled deeply; eyed me like she’d gotten hold of a strong drug. “New book smell is the best smell.” She blinked. Put the book back. “You think I’m weird now.”

“Examine all of your current options.” Jaylan paced before us like a drill sergeant. “Evaluate the pros and cons of each. Extrapolate each pro and con out one year, three years, and five years to determine the possible results. Thinking about it that hard, that clinically, will make things so much clearer. In case any of you were wondering.”

We’re only right when we please you. When you’re not pleased, we’re crazy, or juvenile, or stupid, or not worth your time. Because you’re so nice.”

But, we all knew that, didn’t we? It’s the other gender that seems ignorant to their toxic colonization of a woman’s right to breathe, and sunshine, and solace. Too bad they aren’t reading these stories, too.”

Because I know what it’s like for a woman. Doesn’t matter age, looks, what we wear, where we go. There’s always danger, because of, well, you.”

But all I can think about now is that animal who put his hands on Cressie was probably getting good-natured encouragement from his dad, and his uncles, and all the guys around them. ‘Go get that girl.’”

‘Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.’