It was then that I told them about Jenna
Hunter's calling me and threatening me. I left out the
remarks she had made about her and Celia.
"Don't pay any attention to her threats. She's the
frightened one who's just trying to put on a good
front. It's over. April," Brenda said. "Consider
yourself lucky this time. If you do something that
stupid again, you might not be so lucky."
"If they do bother you to such an extent that
you can't stand it. then go to the dean of students,"
Celia suggested.
"They'll get even meaner if I do that," I whined. "So, don't do it unless you absolutely have to do
it," Brenda said. "Just do what I said, and ignore them.
You'll see. They'll get bored and leave you alone." "We'll call you every week to see how things
are going," Celia promised.
I didn't want to look grateful, but I was. I just
wished it had been Brenda who had said it and not
Celia.
Finally, we all went to bed. They were up early
to have their breakfast and start back to college. They
had things to do, they said. I couldn't blame them for
wanting to get away as quickly as they could. It was
too demanding to be in a house full of so much
depression. After all, how much laughter and how
many smiles could you force before being exhausted
with the effort?
I stood by Mama as she hugged them both in
the doorway. Celia promised to return but tried again
to get Mama to promise to come to Memphis. I was
waiting and hoping they would invite me. Finally,