Episode 23

We begin our episode this week with ALEXIS who is at RONNIE's house and wants to go home to call BOBBY.

RONNIE - That nigga just paged you and you are ready to run back into his arms?
ALEXIS - No but I need to confront him. He said that he made a terrible mistake and wants me to hear him out. That is only fair.
RONNIE - Fair? Was that motherfucker being fair when he was screwing Trina?

(silence)

RONNIE - Look Alexis, sit down for a minute. Let me just say a few things and then if you still want to leave, I won't stop you ok?
ALEXIS - Ok.

(ALEXIS sits down. RONNIE puts down the beers and gets a very serious look on his face.)

RONNIE- Check this out Alexis, I'm about to get real with you. And it may hurt your feelings but I care about you and I don't want to see you get played any longer.
ALEXIS - What are you talking about?
RONNIE - I'm talking about Bobby. Now I understand that you do love him and you just found out some truly crazy news about him. So your emotions are jumping around. But you have to take a second to think about this. Bobby was playing you because you let him. You didn't let him do it intentionaly, but you let him do it.
ALEXIS - How?
RONNIE - A guy will only go as far as you let him. Any opportunity that a guy can fuck around, he will. See the thing is, men and women are driven by different things. And young men can't decipher that yet. So they think that having a bunch of women is a macho thing. But actually, it is a part of our nature that has been dictated by society.
ALEXIS - A part of your nature? To not be with one woman? That is bullshit!
RONNIE - No, let me finish. Every man was told as a boy that it was not manly to cry. Or that it was not masculine to show emotions openly. We are told by society or our parents or older men that we have to be the bread winners. So many men would not even step to a sister that they knew made more money than they did. That creates this drive in most men, and I say most men, that takes over our entire being. We are driven by ego. We like to hear that we are the best at whatever it is we are doing. We like our egos to be stroked. Tell me that I made a good kill on the wildabeast that I brought in for dinner. Even if I didn't, tell me that I did.
ALEXIS - Ok, that makes sense. So if that is true, what drives women?
RONNIE - Most women could care less about ego. Women have been behind the scenes supporting men since the beginning of time. Most women are much stronger than most men. But women don't care about the recognition for their strength. Women instead care about security. They want to know at the end of the day that all the doors are locked, the children are all fed and tucked in, and the alarm is on in the house. They want to know for certain that you are committed to them with a ring or a least a verbal commitment. They don't care about ego.
ALEXIS - Ok, that makes sense too. But what does this have to do with Bobby and this bitch he was seeing?

(Tears fall down ALEXIS's cheeks again.)

RONNIE - The point is this. Bobby has an ego problem where he needs attention from too many places. He was getting it from you and he was getting it from Trina. You need to cut those ties because he is not truly sorry, he is truly sorry that he got caught. If I hadn't come to you and told you what I did, he would have never come to you and told you and you would have been still in the dark about the whole situation. So don't let his nice words fool you.
ALEXIS - I know what you are saying is true. But I am in so much of a state of shock right now. I don't know what to think or do. I just want to kick his ass and then have him hold me again.
RONNIE - Well I can take care of the ass kicking part. Then it needs to be someone else holding you.

(RONNIE places his hand on ALEXIS' cheek and dries her face.)

ALEXIS - Ronnie, I don't know what to do.

(ALEXIS cries harder and RONNIE and ALEXIS hug.)

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Our scenes change to APRIL and PJ who are in the lobby of Pratt-Russell.

APRIL - PJ, hey you surprised me.
PJ - What's going on?
APRIL - Nothing.
PJ - What brings you over here?
APRIL - I came over here to talk to Katrice.
PJ - Really?
APRIL - Yeah, we had to put a few things in perspective.
PJ - What do you mean?
APRIL - The bottom line is this. Barring what you saw, there still is a protocall here. I am a soror and she wants what I have. So do you. So we are going to put things behind us, including you, and get to the business at hand.
PJ - Ok, so what does that mean.
APRIL - It means this. You and me are tight. You are my girl. But from now on, I am the soror and you are the prospect. You need to address me as such.
PJ - Ok.
APRIL - You need to get these girls together. Time is approaching and I know you know the routine. So it's time to get busy. What we talked about is history now so put it behind you.
PJ - That is fine but can you put it behind you?

(APRIL pauses.)

APRIL - That is personal business and I am talking about sorority business. I will handle my business but I won't let it affect the sorority or the chapter. So as far as you are concerned as a prospect, drop it.
PJ - What about as far as I am concerned as your friend.
APRIL - As my friend, we will discuss it later. When it is friend time. And that will have to happen because we do live together. But for the time being, I will dictate when that is.
PJ - Ok.
APRIL - Having that said, what are you doing here?
PJ - I came to see Katrice as well. I agree with you that we need to tighten up in a lot of areas and I wanted to get moving on that.
APRIL - Cool, well this is what you do. I want a status report on your meeting with her. I want an updated bio on all four of yall. Name, age, birthplace, parent's names, hobbies, everything. I want it typed professionally and on my desk in two days.
PJ - Ok.
APRIL - Why do I want it in two days?
PJ - Because that is your line number.
APRIL - Correct. You gonna have it done?
PJ - Yeah, I will get right on it.
APRIL - Aight be out.

(PJ turns to leave.)

APRIL - PJ, good luck. Handle your business.
PJ - Thanks, oh and welcome back.

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SYLVIA has just contacted SOROR FERGUSON to discuss MONA.

SYLVIA - Hi soror, this is Sylvia Muhammad and I am president of the chapter at Ahpla.
SOROR FERGUSON - Well hello soror. How are you?
SYLVIA - I am fine soror and how are you.
SOROR FERGUSON - Just great. What can I do for you?
SYLVIA thinks - Approach this properly.
SYLVIA - Soror, I am calling about your daughter Mona.
SOROR FERGUSON - Really? What about her?
SYLVIA - I had a chance to speak with her and she is a lovely young lady. After speaking with her, I just wanted to get acquainted with you, being that you are an active soror and you have such a rich history involving the chapter here on campus. She may become an active part of the chapter and I wanted to keep you abreast of all activities involving her becoming a member.
SOROR FERGUSON - That is wonderful Sylvia. I appreciate that. I plan to play an active part in her process in any way that I can.
SYLVIA - I wanted to know what your feelings were regarding your participation. Exactly what role did you plan to take.
SOROR FERGUSON - Pledging AKA was one of the best things I ever did. Even though it was so long ago, my line sisters and I still speak on occassion and celebrate our AKAversary. I want Mona to have the same memories and experiences.
SYLVIA thinks - Yes!
SYLVIA - Are you saying that you would like Mona to go through a pledge process?
SOROR FERGUSON - Oh no, I didn't say that either.
SYLVIA thinks - Oh shit.
SOROR FERGUSON - When I pledged, times were different. Yes we pledged very hard, I was on line for six months. But you never heard of people being killed or injured in the least bit. Nowadays you can't trust what younger members of organizations are going to do. So the guidelines passed down by our national headquarters are the guidelines that we will follow with all persons seeking membership.
SYLVIA thinks - Shit, this is some bullshit!
SYLVIA - Soror, I fully agree with what you are saying and I can respect that. You know the history of the chapter here. We have never hurt anyone, injured anyone or belittled anyone. We never would. So I would like for you to be at ease with the way that we do things and know for certain that everything will be ok.
SOROR FERGUSON - It only takes one mistake for serious problems to occur. And that is what I am guarding against. As much as I love Alpha Kappa Alpha, I love Mona Ferguson more. This is my only child. If that is taken away from me, it cannot be replaced. The chapter will go on, the sorority will go on, the members will go on. But me as a mother first, that is where my concern lies. Either it is done by the book, or it is not done at all.
SYLVIA thinks - I can't believe this bullshit.
SYLVIA - That is fine. We always do things the proper way here at the chapter.
SOROR FERGUSON - That's good.
SYLVIA thinks - Yeah right.
SYLVIA - On another note soror, I did receive a phone call from Mona that disturbed me.
SOROR FERGUSON - Really?