Free Getting Played by Celeste O. Norfleet

at me. “He didn’t pay your damn tuition to go to some damn Hazelhurst. What he needs to be doing is taking care of his real responsibilities here, in this house. But he’s not doing that, either.” She looks at him ferociously.
    I ignore her. “Did you pay it, Dad?” I ask.
    â€œNow, tell her why you didn’t pay her school tuition.”
    I look at my dad again waiting for him to say something. “We’ll talk when I get back later this evening,” he says. But I know my dad. This is his way of avoiding the issue. He’s not coming back tonight. “I gotta go.” He kisses my forehead and turns to leave.
    â€œDad…” I begin, but get cut off.
    â€œJames, are you gonna get up off some money or do I have to sue your ass for palimony and child support?”
    He stops, turns and glares at her. “You can try, but we both know you don’t want to do that, don’t we?”
    She opens her mouth, but then closes it instantly. Her eyes narrow in hatred. Okay, I don’t know what’s going on right now, but something definitely is. See, this is why I hate coming here. It’s always Jerry Springer up in here. I know this is my home and all, but putting up with Courtney and all this drama gets on my last nerve.
    â€œYou know what, James…” she begins.
    â€œCourtney, why don’t you just chill,” Cash interrupts,speaking up for the first time since they walked in. We all turn to look at him.
    â€œStay out of this, Cash. It’s none of your business.”
    â€œCourtney, just drop it,” he says.
    By now, my dad is walking out of the office. I follow him, brushing by Courtney as she’s talking to her brother. “No, I’m not dropping anything. He needs to take care of his responsibilities.”
    â€œDad,” I say, still following. He stops and turns to me.
    â€œBaby girl, I gotta get out of here.”
    â€œYeah, I know. I get that, but what about me? What’s going on with my tuition? I need to know.”
    â€œI’ll take care of it next week.”
    â€œNext week is too late. The new semester starts Monday morning. Are you gonna pay it or what? I need to know,” I say.
    He looks at me. I can see the struggle in his eyes. “Kenisha…” Just then Courtney walks up. Cash follows. She starts yelling about money all over again.
    â€œTell her where your damn money is,” she insists.
    I look at her, shake my head and just start laughing. Seriously, she doesn’t have a clue. All she can think about is money. For some reason, she got it in her head that when me and my mom left the house, or rather got kicked out of the house, we took all of my dad’s money. What a joke. My dad knew, but he never said anything. He just kept letting Courtney think he had money. My mom told me the truth. I’m not saying that he didn’t have it at one time. I guess he did, but that was a long time ago.
    As for who’s got money now, that’s complicated. Jade toldme that our mom put money into a money market account years ago. Then the stock market tanked. I don’t know exactly what’s in it ’cause it’s for me and Jade and I can’t touch it until I’m eighteen years old and enrolled in college. The alternative is when I’m twenty-two. Either way, nobody’s getting their hands on anything for a while.
    â€œI’ll tell her,” Courtney says vindictively. “He’s broke.”
    The baby starts crying. We all look at the monitor receiver on the living room coffee table. Cash walks over to Courtney. “Come on, let’s get the baby.”
    â€œYou go, I’m staying my ass right here,” she says.
    â€œNo,” he says adamantly. “Come on, Courtney, get the baby.”
    She glares at me one last time, then walks away with her brother. I shake my head. She is such a trip. I have no idea what my dad saw in her. But