The Candy Shop (2 page)

“Me too,” Teresa agreed as she began to empty the contents of the bag onto the table.

“What time should we start setting up?” I wanted to know.

“Well, I was thinking the best thing to do would be to set up the decorations now. And then immediately after school lets out, we could pull out the food, the drinks, and the party favors.”

“Okay. We can do that,” I said to Teresa and began to help her arrange and set up the decorations. It only took us less than thirty minutes to put everything into place, which meant we still had a little time to B.S. around before the students arrived.

So, back in my office I took a seat behind my desk while Teresa found herself a resting place on my lounge chair. And like always, we never seemed to run out of topics to talk about.

“What’s on the agenda for tonight?” I asked her.

“Darren is supposed to come by around nine o’clock, so we’ll probably order a pizza, watch a few movies, and fuck each other’s brains out.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, as far as I know,” she replied nonchalantly.

“But, don’t you think you deserve so much better?” I asked, simultaneously searching her face for definite signs of hurt. Now she has her ways of being brutally honest with me, but the past few months, she hadn’t.

Believe me, I know her like a book. She and I had been friends for over thirteen years now. We met fresh out of high school at a party some mutual friends of ours had, and hit it off instantly. Through our entire friendship, she and I only squabbled on two occasions. Neither episode was a major issue because we tried to be as non-confrontational as possible.

She had become more docile than anything. Not to mention, her petite-like frame and passive school girl image didn’t help her at all. She looked like and put you in the mind of Toni Braxton, but with a tiny bit of fire in her heart. Lately she had been dealing with her issues by sweeping them under the rug and hoping that they’d go away.

I stayed on her constantly about this guy, Darren. He was such a complete loser. He never took her anywhere because he was always crying broke. And to make matters worse, his ass was married. So, you know they had absolutely nothing invested, which was why I was always trying to introduce her to other eligible bachelors. But nothing ever seemed to come out of it. So, all I could do was wish her the best.

“At times, I do,” she finally replied. “But, he and I have been together for so long, that I just can’t see myself with no one else.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been seeing him?”

“Four years.”

“And in those four years, how many times has he promised to leave his wife?”

“Over a dozen.”

“So, you know what that means, right?”

She sighed and said, “Yes, I do.”

“Well, then, you better start acting like it,” I warned her, using a sincere and loving tone. And before I was able to carry on with my words of wisdom, my office phone began to ring. “Excuse me, a minute,” I said to her. “This is Mrs. Simmons,” I continued, speaking into the receiver of the phone.

“Good morning, Faith.”

“Good morning, Steve,” I replied in an unenthusiastic manner to a man who happened to be my boss. He was actually the principal of the entire school and an asshole, I might add. Always on my back about nonsense, which made me wonder if he ever got any pussy at home.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” he asked me.

“Oh no! How can I help you?” I continued with a smug expression on my face.

But before he could go into explanation mode, Teresa folded her arms across her chest and whispered very softly, “What does he want now?”

Wondering the exact same thing, I threw my left hand into the air and shook my head with uncertainty. Quiet as it is kept, that cracker stressed me the hell out. And the bugged-out thing about him was that, he was always coming out of left field with some of the pettiest shit a person could muster up. It had become a natural reaction for me to brace myself whenever he and I came in contact with each other.

“I was hoping you had a chance to get your hands on the SOL scores,” he finally said.

“No. Not yet.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Well, because the school board’s administrative office hasn’t posted the reports as of yet.”

“Oh . . . well, I’m afraid they have.”

“When?”

“This morning. You and I were both were emailed the results.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. So, I’m going to need you to have Teresa download and print out the entire report and have it on my desk within the hour.”

“I’ll let her know.”

“Has she made it in yet?”

“Yes, she has.”

“All right, well when she’s done, I would like for you to meet me in my office shortly thereafter for a brief meeting.”

“Okay,” I told him and then we ended our call.

“What the hell does he want now?” Teresa didn’t hesitate to ask.

“He wants me to have you to download and print out the entire SOL report and put it on his desk within the next fifty-nine minutes.”

“When did the report come out?”

“A few minutes ago.”

“Well, why the hell does he wants me to do it? Doesn’t he have a secretary of his own?”

“Yeah, but you know how he is. So, just do it for me.”

Teresa stood up from my lounge chair and said, “Trust me. I’m only doing it for you.”

“Thanks, girl.”

“Don’t mention it. I just wish I could tell your fat-ass boss to go to hell without suffering the repercussions of getting fired.”

I burst into laughter and told Teresa to calm down.

“Oh, I’m calm. I’m just frustrated at how he’s always trying to carry you. I mean, he’s always riding you behind dumb shit! And he’s probably doing it because he’s intimidated by you and scared that you’re gonna snatch his job up from underneath him. But, if I were you, I wouldn’t let that bastard faze me one bit.”

“Believe me, I’m not,” I assured her in five words or less. And then I had to usher her out of my office because she had a job to do, and it was my duty to relieve her so she could do it.

Shortly after Teresa printed the SOL report, Mr. Baker and I had our meeting as planned, which of course ended on a sour note and I got the bad end of the stick, because the SOL scores for our entire school weren’t up to his standards. Now, I had to have a meeting with my teachers and make them feel the remnants of the wrath I just encountered in Steve’s office. It was just a classic case of the domino effect. So, it was nothing personal.

Finally, my work day ended, and I was truly looking forward to the Valentine’s Day cocktail party. Winding down with a cold fruity cocktail was all I could think about. Teresa, along with a few other teachers and staff members, came together in our lounge area to celebrate this occasion as well. But, for some reason or another, Teresa did not seem to be enjoying herself. It was obvious her mind was somewhere else. The way she cradled her drink in her hand told it all.

So, immediately after I poured myself a hefty one on the rocks, I joined her in the far right corner of the room.

“What’s with the long face?” I asked her, the moment I approached her.

She took a sip of her cocktail and said, “I am so sick of my life and everything in it.”

“What happened now?”

“I just got a call from Darren.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me that he couldn’t see me anymore and that it was over.”

“Why are you sad, Teresa? Him breaking it off with you is a good thing. He did not deserve to have you in his life. So, it’s truly a blessing in disguise.”

“I know that. But, I just cannot get past the way he makes me feel when we’re together.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to. Because, believe you me, that son of a bitch is going to get over you really quick.”

“I sure wish my heart could believe that.”

“It will. Just give it time.”

“But, what do I do in the meantime?” She pressed on after she took another sip of her drink.

“Count your blessings and move on with your life.”

“Easy for you to say,” she commented and then she abruptly stood up to leave.

“Where are you going?” I got concerned.

“To the ladies’ room, to let off some steam.”

“Wait, don’t go in there. Come on; let’s go to my office, so you can have a little more privacy,” I insisted and immediately led her into that direction.

“Where are you two off to?” one of my teachers asked us as we walked by.

“To take a walk. We’ll be right back,” I told her.

On our way to my office, Teresa made a detour to her desk to retrieve her purse. But she did not allow a second to pass before she was back on the path to join me in my office. Once we had arrived, I closed and locked the door while she took a seat on my lounge chair and set her drink down on the floor next to her feet.

“Do you want to set your glass down on my desk?”

“No. It’s fine,” she replied, and then she dove head first into her handbag and began to ramble in it rapidly.

“What are you looking for?” I wondered aloud, as I took a seat on the edge of my desk.

“My candy,” she told me, revealing a folded dollar bill and an altered straw, made to be used as an instrument to snort any powdered form of drug.

In a demanding tone I said, “Wait, hold up,” as I stood up on my feet.

Teresa looked up at me in a puzzled manner and said, “What?”

“What the hell you mean, what?” I snapped. “I thought you stopped using that stuff.”

“I did.”

“When?” I replied, standing directly before her.

“A few weeks ago.” She started explaining herself as she began unfolding the dollar bill filled with a mixture of cocaine and heroin. “But, shortly thereafter shit started caving in all around me, so I went back to it.”

In disbelief, I continued to stand there, mouth wide open and unable to say a word. Meanwhile, she placed the open bill in the palm of one hand and the straw in the other hand. Then she began to gather all of the powdery substance to the center of the bill, until she had it in one straight line. Moments later, she inserted one end of the straw into the drug and the other end into her nose. What she did next put the icing on the cake. When she pulled her head back and ejected the straw from her nose, the residue from the drugs found refuge around the entire right nostril of her nose.

“Woooo! This shit is a missile!” she blurted out.

“Shsssssh, be quiet before somebody hears you. And wipe your nose, while you’re at it.”

Taking heed to my minor demands, she sat the dollar bill and straw down next to her on the chair, wiped her nose clean, and said, “You need to lighten up!”

“No. You need to get it together.”

“Why are you acting like you’ve never seen me get high before?”

“Is that the impression I’m giving you?” I asked sarcastically.

“Hey, look Faith, I don’t want to argue. So, please don’t beat me up about this,” Teresa expressed and then she laid her head back against the headrest of the chair.

“Don’t want me to blow your high, huh?”

“That’s the whole idea,” she mumbled loud enough for me to hear.

Feeling at odds with what I was witnessing hit a major nerve right in the temple of my forehead, so naturally I wanted to react. But then my conscience started eating away at me, which made me realize that I was using the wrong approach. And in knowing this, I decided to take two steps backwards. Now, as I was doing this, Teresa mustered up enough energy to open up her eyes to see what it was that I was doing. And at that point I said, “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” I pressed on.

“Hell yeah, I’m sure. This shit I got pumping through me ain’t nothing but the truth. I mean, it’ll blow your fucking mind and it’ll have you forget about all your problems.”

“So, I’ve heard,” I commented nonchalantly.

“No, I’m being serious here,” she began to explain as she sat straight up, grabbing the dollar bill in hand. “You would be truly amazed at how this shit will make you feel.”

“You’ve mentioned that to me before.” I had to remind her.

“Yeah, I know. And I’ve tried to get you to test the waters too, but you keep getting cold feet on me.”

“Look, just put that up before somebody comes knocking on my door.”

“Oh, cut it out. Nobody’s going to come looking for us and you know it. So, stop being so uptight and get on over here and try some of this good stuff. I promise you, you’re going to love it.”

Before I made an attempt to reject her offer as I’ve done a few times in the past, she pressed the issue more by saying, “Come on girl, do it for me.”

“No, thanks,” I finally told her and then I took another sip of my cocktail.

“Come on, please,” she insisted. “I promise it’s going to relieve you from all that stress Steve constantly piles on top of you.”

“What are you trying to do, turn me into an addict?”

“No, I’m not. All I want you to do is try it one time. And if you don’t like it, then that’s fine. Plus, I promise I’ll never ask you to mess with it again.”

The pressure from Teresa started mounting around me pretty quickly because on one hand, she was right. Steve was constantly stressing me the hell out. I was also beginning to dislike my job. Plus, my life at home wasn’t all that great. My husband Eric always seemed to find fault in everything I did. And the fact that he looked for me to be this perfect trophy wife really put a strain on our relationship. The only thing that kept me sane was my daughter Kimora. Looking into her face every single day was the only reason why I continued to press forward. Other than that, I’d be in a slump. So, I guessed Teresa might be right for once. Maybe taking a hit of that drug one time would do the trick for me. Who knew, I may not even like it. But, I’d never know until I tried.

“Hey, what’s up? Are you going to try it or not?” she asked once again.

I hesitated at first. But then I said, “Okay. I’ll do it, just this one time.”

Teresa stood up on her feet, smiling, and said, “That’s the spirit!”

So, within moments of the excitement Teresa put on display, I found myself lying at the hands of her mercy. She instructed me to sit back in my chair while she did the initial prepping. All that was left for me to do was to snort the drug in its entirety. And as soon as I did just that, my left nostril started burning intensely. As the feeling became more and more unbearable, I scrambled to my feet in an effort to retrieve some tissue paper from my tissue box, placed at the far right corner of my desk.