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Part 1: The Beginning
Chapter 1
Sisters From Another Mother
Tuskegee, Alabaion of the United States, where the scorching heat of 103 degrees is a common occurrence This is the land that has been labeled by anyone who has lived or traveled through the area as “da blazing durty south” The summer of 1999 was no different As the Channel 4 noonday weather to say about the characteristically hot conditions “It is hot like fire on this side of the equator!”
The wary weather adequately reflected the y class, because when the three o’clock bell rang releasing the Booker T Washington High School students from their seven-hour prison the homework instructions that he shouted out fell on deaf ears The students had quickly dispersed froer to head home
“Hey, sit back in your seats until I dismiss you!” Coach yelled out behind the students, but no one took heed to his instructions except for one shining star, Shayla Thomas
Being the astute pupil that she was, she took the tianizer beforethe The first one to arrive and the last one to leave, Shayla’s grades reflected her attentive attitude She slowly arose from her seat and walked toward the door
Coach Ballard placed an arm on her shoulder and said, “Hey, Shayla I appreciate your hard work inlady Don’t think I don’t notice that each and every assignht out, calculated, and perfected Also, thank you for staying seated long enough to get the homework instructions today”
“Thanks Coach I like science a lot, so getting the answers correct is just what comes natural to me,” Shayla smiled inwardly, happy that her favorite teacher had noticed her dedication
“Young lady, you are going places,” he said, before closing his planner and zipping up his brief case
Nodding and s, Shayla exited the classroo, echoing sentie, she knew to be true She strived for just that – to go places and do big things in her life She knew that as long as she kept her GPA high enough, she was taking one step in the right direction Making her way to her locker, she took a et all of the books that she would need for a long night of studying The next day was going to be filled with semester exams and quizzes She collected her text books one at a time
Microbiology, check
Literature, check
Pre-Calculus, check
Surveying the stack of books in her hand, she thought about the fact that she only had half a year’s worth of gruesoh school work to do, and then she would be off to enroll in Auburn University’s psychology prograrad Happy would be too si accepted into the psychology depart to feelinto with every thought of leaving the drudgery of teenage life behind and finally entering into college Having collected all of the ht’s studies, she quickened her pace Walking briskly toward the bus stop, herthe yellow limousine ride home
“Hey, sistah girl!” It was her best friend Gladys, one-third of the trio of group dubbed “Sisters from Another Mother”
“Hey, girl,” Shayla slowed down to let Gladys catch up with her
Gesturing toward Shayla’s heavy load, Gladys asked incredulously, “Did all of your teachers assign you a stack of homework or what?”
About that time, Ronnie, the final third of the trio, strolled up She had caught Gladys’ last words and chimed in “I told her not to take all of those hard classes, but she’s hard headed We are supposed to be chillaxin’ in our senior year,” Ronnie chastised with a smirk
The tays teased Shayla about the excessive aht Even on Fridays when it was tilued to her books, determined to keep up her four-point-zero GPA
“I take the saive me half as much work as yours Aye, Dios mio! Coach Ballard takes his little science class too serious,” Gladys added two more unsolicited cents to the pot
“I know! He does give me a lot of work, but lucky for me science is one ofet”
Being the brightest apple in the bunch, when it ca no corners when it ca all night Gladys wasn’t too far behind in the intelligence departsta Grezille, on the other hand, well… Suffice it to say – not so much!
Hoping to encourage her friend, Shayla said, “Ronnie, on everything, I’ that Benz, and buildingto do it all with brainpower You should join the bandwagon, and start working on your master plan of success”
Ronnie stated ers for added effect, “I’ to find a man that will do all of the above for me before I turn 25 Please believe me” She rolled her neck as if what she had spoken ritten in the bible of truth
“Good luck with that, chica,” Gladys added, patting Ronnie on the shoulder sarcastically “But as your friend, I have to tell you to have a plan B while you’re at it Not saying you won’t land that fly papi to lace you with the finest things in life, mija, but just in case you don’t, have your own plan”