Donna

I guess, since I talked about Ellen yesterday, I might as well talk about her one time lover, Donna. I had known Donna since the 7th or 8th grade. She was one of those girls who developed very early and had the body of a full grown woman by the time she was 14 years old... "built like a ship", as the old guys said.

We boys had a nickname for Donna... we called her "Bounce" because frankly, everything on her jiggled and bounced. She was just a cutie pie. Very vivacious, very charismatic, the life of the party, and everybody loved her. We also called her Bounce because she could dance... there wasn't a dance invented that she couldn't do. If there was a party and you danced with her, you had better know what you were doing or she'd make you look real bad. She could cha-cha, bop, step, you name it... Bounce could do it. She was such a nice girl and she didn't deserve what happened to her in the ninth grade.

I had a crush on her and so did a lot of guys. She knew it too and sometimes she used it to her advantage to get things from guys... like free lunch, her books carried, the answers to a quiz but, all in all, she was a good girl. She wasn't having sex with anybody or doing anything like that. Guys were trying to get "serious" with her (as serious as you could get in the ninth grade) but, she wasn't having it. She was turning guys down left and right. The waste basket was full of notes asking, "Can I stand a chance?"... "Would you be my girlfriend?"... etc. She just wasn't interested in any of the guys in our school.

Although, there was a guy who I'll call Derrick, who I think she did kinda like at first. He was in high school, 17 years old, and hung with two other guys who were out of school. They were about 18 or 19 years old. The way I heard the story, Derrick tried to show off for his boys and she clowned him in front of them. She clowned a lot of guys but, there is a big difference in clowning a guy who is 14 years old and clowning someone who is 17 or 18 years old. They took that way too personal and the trio snuck into our school one afternoon and snatched Donna out of the hallway and tossed her into the girls restroom where they raped her repeatedly.

Everybody was talking about it... they said that she had a "train" run on her (slang for raped by multiple people or gang raped, as it is called today). This was quite common when I was in junior high school and half the time, it wasn't reported... the girls were too ashamed. Anyway, these three pieces of human excretion were captured within three days of their deed. One guy said that all he did was watch the door while the other two actually committed the rape. He testified against his buddies and didn't do a day in jail... but, he had to transfer to another school. Nobody likes a snitch and a snitch involved in a rape is a marked man. We never saw him again. The 18 year old got a five-year stint in state prison (he was tried as an adult). The ring leader, who at 17 years old was still considered a minor, was locked up in the Youth Study Center until he turned 21 years old.

Unfortunately, Donna is probably still serving her "sentence" for something that was not her fault. She was never the same person again. She was quiet, withdrawn, and would freeze up if a guy just touched her shoulder. She was traumatized. We were black, from West Philly, and there was no therapist or counseling for people like us... we just had to suck it up and deal with it.

I didn't see Donna again until years later when I was in my twenties. She was going with a guy I'll call "Truelove". He was a legend in his own mind and thought he was more than he actually was. My brother and I would listen to his stories, look at each other, and shake our heads. We never knew if everything he said was true or not but, he didn't lie about Donna. He complained bitterly about her... "Man, I don't know what's wrong with her... she freezes up. If you try to put your arms around her, she get all tense. Kissing her is like kissing a cold fish and if I don't get no magumbo (sex) soon, I think I'm gonna have to leave her. But, she looks so good. I would hate to leave and someone else get it."

I explained to him what had happened to her and he said that he knew about it... she had told him. But he said, "That was damn near nine years ago and she needs to get over it. The dudes that done it have served their time and got out." I wasn't the most evolved man at the time but, his insensitivity irked me so, I quickly changed the subject.

I wasn't trying to persue a relationship with Ellen anymore but, we did remain friends. I still went over to her house and watched basketball games with her. Every now and then, I would ask her if she was sure she liked women and she would assure me that she still did. In fact, she told me she had already met someone and they were pursuing a relationship. I must admit, I felt a twinge of jealousy... I didn't know why, but I did.

One day, I was on my way to work and I realized that I had left something of mine over Ellen's house... so, I walked over there and rang the bell. Nobody came to the door. I knew she was there because her car was out front. The door was open so, I went in. The smell backed me up as usual, which meant that Jake had just left. I walked upstairs, cracked the door, and there was Ellen and Donna... butt naked on the floor, kissing, and fondling each other. Ellen had a dildo and was using it on Donna. I was stunned. I backed up and out of the door. Then, I slipped back into the room where they were, grabbed my package, and walked out. I didn't know if they had seen me or not.

I told my brother about it and he howled with laughter and said, "Wait until "Truelove" finds out!" I said, "He ain't finding out from me and you neither... let's just leave that alone." He never found out from us but, he did find out... and he was devastated. He couldn't fathom losing a woman, "his woman", to another woman. He too, was never the same. Of course, all the guys who knew him laughed and joked about it and he took it all very personal. He eventually quit his job and moved. I don't know what ever became of him but, this story gets even murkier...

Shelly, the AKA that I dated in college (see my "School Daze" posts on Sept 25+26), began coming around to see me. We were no longer a couple but, we toyed around with getting back together for a hot minute. One day, she came to see me and Ellen was sitting on my steps. I explained to her that Ellen was just a "friend who was on her way home." I don't know if she believed me or not but, later on Ellen called me and asked me, "Who was the cutie?" I said, "That's my ex-girlfriend." Ellen replied, "Damn Keith... you got good taste... she's fine." I felt like I was talking to a dude and I felt weird.

Shelly came to see me at another time and Ellen came by and began talking to her. They were getting along famously. Ellen gave her her number and told her to "stop by sometime." Shelly said to me, "Your friend Ellen is sooo nice." I said, "Shelly, she likes you." Shelly said, "I like her too." I said, "You don't understand, babe. She likes you like I like you. Do you follow me? She's gay and plus, she got's a girlfriend." God, I felt like I was competing with Ice again! Shelly replied, "Oh my God... why didn't you say something before."

Donna caught Ellen and her roving eye and beat her up. They would go on like this all the time... fighting like cats and dogs and then making up just like a guy and a girl would. I used to just shake my head and laugh.

Epilogue

Donna got married the same year me and my wife got married (1989). Donna and her husband have a little girl and she should be about 10 years old now. Ellen also married a few years ago and has two sons. Derrick, the ring leader of the train rape back in the ninth grade, went back to jail for another rape. He was killed in prison.