Chapter 19 A Change Of thought (Joy)
Lotus returned to her mother’s house after therapy. The walls were loud full of family noise and unspoken debts, but it was temporary. She lay on the couch with a heating pad on her back and Miracle curled at her feet. Sipping some the Dominican coffee joy brought her with a pinch of salt and 3 tea spoons of sugar and little cream for her pink Boss mug.
She was fine until she heard her mother and brother arguing. She had never heard her brother so angry at their mother. Lacking the energy for drama, she decided to let them handle their own problems, especially after talking to her therapist. Usually, she would jump in to mediate. But she also wanted to see what would happen if she didn't. Suddenly, her brother came running down the stairs, angry and breathing heavily.
"She never wants to take responsibility. Always trying to justify her wrongs," Cam said while pacing back and forth in front of Lotus. She watched with concern.
"You know, Lo, I may be the youngest, but I know some things too," he added.
"Like what?" Lotus replied curiously.
"Never mind," her brother said, shaking his head. He picked up his backpack. "I'm going to stay down the street at Grandma Hattie House."
“Okay I will be calling grandma to make sure you there.” Lotus told him
Soon Cam walked out the door
An hour later Joy came through the door with her usual flair her brown curls with highlighted blond strands gathered in a loose puff atop her head, and her almond-shaped eyes glimmered with mischief. She wore wide-legged overalls over a quirky T-shirt that featured a cartoon cat wearing sunglasses and eating pizza, paired with colorful mismatched socks and worn-in sneakers. In one arm, she carried her signature llama plushie, tucked close like an old friend who’d seen it all.
“Look at you, giving ‘tragically poetic survivor’ with that blanket and ice pack.”
Lotus laughed. “And you look like you’re five seconds away from starting a TikTok revolution.”
They hugged briefly than joy kick off her sneakers and scooter closer to Lotus on the sofa.
“I’ve been thinking,” Lotus said. “I want to start over. New job. New life. Something that feeds me back. Maybe we could start a program at the community center? Like we did back in the day. But more advance in our skills and for people who actually appreciated it.”
Joy's expression shifted. “You know I’m down. I’m tired of the Disingenuous family and Bosses. After all I have done for my family. The only acknowledge and praises my sister Jessica like she’s royalty. Just because she’s more popular in our neighborhood and has a face like Kim K and questionable boyfriend with money.
Lotus snorted, a crooked smile tugging at her lips. Mm
Joy lifted her chin and said, “They don’t know I’m Vexa Noir the baddest hacker and computer programmer in the tech world and on the Black Net.” A sly grin spread across her face. “Princeton University taught me more than just code. I used to sit in on lectures and workshops while mopping floors with my dad.”
Before everything went sideways the arrest, the trial, the silence her father worked maintenance at Princeton University. Joy sometimes helped him, sneaking into computer science lectures while pretending to clean. She absorbed syntax, theory, and curiosity like oxygen. Her father used to joke that she learned more from overheard lectures than most students paying tuition.