Read Online Keep It Movin' by L. Divine - Free Book Online Page A

any more of your energy on them. Your daddy’s folks are notorious ashe stealers. Don’t give in to their negativity, Jayd. Wear your crown, girl, and forget about them. They can’t harm you or me if you learn to block them out.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” I think back. Mama always tells me the same thing. Ever since I can remember Mama has warned about guarding my ashe—or spiritual energy—from negative people, family included. My uncles—except for Bryan—and I rarely interact for the same reason. It hurts Mama to keep herself at bay from her own sons, but protection is protection, no matter who the person doing you harm is. And most ashe leaches—as Netta calls them—aren’t aware of their negative power and that makes it worse.
    â€œThose snooty-ass N’awlins girls,” my auntie slurs. “I always knew he should’ve never married a Creole. We used to hear about your grandmother across the border, and she ain’t no better than no one.” I walk over to post up in the hallway where I can get a better view of the house, which is decorated to the nines. The tree is much smaller than Mama’s but still pretty. There’s barely any standing room, so I’ll claim this spot for now.
    â€œAll good things, I hope,” I say, wiping the sarcastic smile right off of her face. I know most of the rumors about my lineage aren’t good, but that’s not our problem. I admit most of my neighbors from New Orleans are haters, but not Mama. The thing I find most peculiar about New Orleans folks is that they tend not to claim Shreveport as a part of the state of Louisiana, which is where my daddy and his folks grew up hanging out, right next to the Texas/Louisiana border. The majority of the folks on his side of Compton are from Mississippi, and that’s about as country as it can get.
    â€œHi, Jayd,” my cousin Nia says. I don’t speak to her too much, especially since she tried to get with Rah when we were all in school together. She still attends Family Christian and I’m trying to bury the hatchet, but I have a feeling she’ll be the first to dig it up and stab me in the back with it if I put it in the ground too deep.
    â€œJayd,” our little cousin Shelley says, hugging me tight. At least someone’s happy to see me.
    â€œHey, sweetie. How’s junior high treating you?” I ask, returning her tight hug. I’ve always loved my little cousin. I used to play with her like a baby doll whenever I saw her. Now she’s almost as big as I am, and pretty, too.
    â€œI love it,” she says, still naïve of the looming drama Family Christian holds. I hope she stays immune to it through junior high and high school. But I can’t help but wonder what happened to her beautiful hair? Damn, she got messed up.
    â€œYou should let me do your hair. It’ll work wonders for you, trust me.” She looks like she got a bad haircut and everyone’s lying to her face saying she looks flyy. I’ve got to help her out, whether she wants me to or not. I can’t let my relative walk around looking like she stuck her finger in an electrical outlet when I can easily hook her up. Besides, it’ll give me something else to focus on while I’m here.
    â€œDon’t let that girl touch your head,” my aunt-in-law Sandra says, walking up behind her daughter and pulling Shelley away from me like I’ve got the plague. I see she’s heard about me and my lineage, too. Noticing my hurt look, she tries to clean up her comment, but I know what she means. “I just mean to say she looks beautiful just like this. My daughter-in-law does all of our heads and she’s good at it, too.” Well, like the saying goes, denial ain’t just a river in Egypt and this sistah’s shoulder-deep in it.
    â€œOkay. But, if you change your mind you can find me at Netta’s Never Nappy Beauty Salon off