Someone Like You

By Mazelaine Corvil

Friendship

Kari had always thought nothing could come between her and Sandra since theyve been friends since middle school. Sandra was more of a sister to her or so she thought. The two had always had a close relationship which was about to change when Sandra encountered her high school crush Yahim. Kari was shock to see how a man could change everything between them, and to find out that their friendship was not really how she thought it was.

Friendship and love

Kari and Kevin had one thing that bonded them together; it was their rough childhood years that scarred their hearts, but other than that they were completely different people. Life has a way to put a twist in every story when they both ended up falling in love with each other, but they both knew there was a big gap of differences between them. Kevin did not meet Karis expectations of the man she wanted in her life, while Kevin thought Kari was not near his match. Kari found herself getting attach to the mysterious man when her and Sandras friendship was falling apart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462064373

Mazelaine Corvil

Mazelaine Corvil was born in Haiti, but came to the U.S. at the age of eleven with the ambition to take the given opportunity to become something. Unlike some people, she enjoys a good book in her free time, and writing is one of her passions. She is currently attending college and is interested in the education field because she believes that education open closed doors. Someone Like You is her first book, but she plans to write many more.

Book preview

Chapter one (Part One)

He was a bitter person, most people would agree. He could be careless of what they all had to say or think of him. Why should he care anyway? They neither fed nor clothed him. A loud knock on the door disturbed Kevin’s thoughts. Why was he even thinking about what people thought of him anyway? He walked to the door, looking through the peep hole, and could see his brother standing impatiently for Kevin to open the door. Martin wanted something, and Kevin knew it. Why would he be here, knocking on his door like he owned the place? He only does that when he needed a favor from Kevin. Kevin looked again and in his head he was deciding whether he should open the door or not. Martin would know that Kevin was home regardless because his car was parked outside; as if he really cared if his brother got mad. Just out of curiosity of knowing what favor it would be this time, Kevin opened the door slightly that he could barely see his brother.

What’s yo problem? he asked. Is that any way to greet your older and only brother? His brother, Martin, answered trying to put a smile on. He was trying hard, and Kevin could see, but there was no way Kevin would do it for him this time. What do you want Martin? We both know I don’t get to see your face until you need me for something. What is it this time? Kevin said with annoyance. Even if he had all the time in this world, he wouldn’t waste it on his brother. Can I visit my brother without him thinking that I will ask him for a favor? Well since you’re already assuming that, I might as well ask you for a favor. Will it be possible for you to pick Jimmy up for me after school? I have this big emergency, but I will try to make it back as soon as possible. Martin said, still trying to put the fake smile on his face. No. Kevin replied dryly. What do you mean no? Martin asked while quoting the word no. For one Martin, you came here asking me to do something without thinking that I might have my own plans. I have a life too, you know. And second, you always have some big emergency, then I have to put my life aside and do whatever you are asking me for. And third, you need to stop neglecting this kid you call a son because you are not being a father to him. We both know that he is innocent and he didn’t ask you and his mom to bring him to this world. So, my answer is simply no." Kevin said taking a deep breath. He knew he did hurt some feelings there; well… the truth hurts, doesn’t it? And somebody had to throw that at his brother’s face. If he happened to be the one to do it, so be it.

For a while, they both stood on opposite sides of the door and said nothing. At one point Kevin thought his brother would explode, seeing how furious he was, But Kevin paid him no mind. I did not come here for you to lecture me Kevin; you don’t see me lecturing you. You said you have a life; do you care to tell me what life? I mean you are still working in a fast food restaurant, living in a tiny apartment and I don’t even want to… Martin stopped himself before saying the one thing Kevin could kill him for. Look man… he continued, I know I ask you for a lot of favors, but I never ask you to lecture me. Martin said, and waited for Kevin to answer. When he didn’t say anything, Martin just left, doubting if Kevin will really pick Jimmy up, but knowing his brother was not this heartless, and would pick Jimmy up eventually. Martin felt sorry for his son though, but that was life, unfair as it has always been. Martin had to learn that the hard way; being raised in a poor and abusive family, he knew everything about life being unfair. He could in fact write a story about it.

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Sitting deep in her thoughts, Karianah was mesmerized by her kindergarten class. The kids had so much energy, and they were so talkative. They talk about everything which were really were nothing, like OMG, my mom bought me the cutest teddy bear yesterday. And the other one would say, really, can I see it and play with it, you got to give it a name. smiling to herself and thinking how she loved her job. These kids gave her hope and knowing how innocent they were… gosh, they were so naïve which she used to be once. But life has a way to snatch all that innocence from you. She glance over the clock and noticed the class would end in about twenty minutes or so. Ok everybody; it’s time to start cleaning up. So, who can tell me why putting things back in their place is important? karianah asked as she usually does at the end of every class. Naemah, the most talkative and hyper one raised her hand. Yes, Naemah tell the class. Karianah said nodding her head as a sign for Naemah to start talking. Karianah knew this kid would never finish talking, so she braced herself.

Thank you miss Kari, my fellow classmates, one day, I was playing with my favorite toy. My mom had told me to make sure to put it back where I found it. But I didn’t. When I did finish playing with my Barbie, I left it on the floor and went to eat, then I went to take a shower, you have to clean you know. I went… Naemah why don’t you just get to the point? Karianah said knowing this story would never end. Well, my point is because I left my beautiful Barbie on the floor, daddy stepped on it and broke it. I cried for days, and days, and days… Naemah said on the verge to cry. The point is… karianah said, If you don’t put it back in its place, you will not find it to use it again. At that same moment, there was a knocking on the door reminding her that class was over. Okay everybody, say bye-bye to your classmates and I will see you tomorrow. Karianah said, feeling a bit relief that class was over. Indeed, she loved her job, but it could also be so tiring. She went to open the door, greeting each parent by their names. One after another they took their kids, thanking the teacher and left.

When she thought everyone was gone, she gave the class one last look and noticed, jimmy, the quiet one in the class was still sitting in the back of room. His face had the picture of sadness; well this kid was always so sad. She wondered what could be the problem. A kid at this age should be happy, thinking the world is a happy place. Maybe jimmy was dealing with some problem at home. That could really affect a kid terribly. Poor jimmy, she thought. She walked over to the kid and noticed that he was crying. Jimmy, are you okay? Why are you crying? Come here. Karianah said, opening her arms so she could hug the kid. She knew what a hug could do for a lonely soul. Her thoughts brought her back to her childhood. Being raise in a foster home, she was always so sad, yearning for someone to care, even a hug would do. She would always feel lonely even when she was not alone. All her days would fill with empty wishes that would never come true. Wishing she had a mom, a dad, someone to call a family. She had no friends at school and would always sit in a little corner. Until one day, she met a girl who was new in class. When the girl entered the class, all eyes were turned on her. She walked to the teacher and the teacher pointed her to the seat that was next to Karianah. The girl was the first to say; hey I’m Sandra, what’s your name. Since then they were good friends, no best friend, no sisters. Yeah, sisters, was the name for it.

Hearing the kid sniffed, karianah realized she had zoned out from the present. Why was she visiting these cold feelings? She had no idea. She held the kid in her arms, knowing she could not stop harm from reaching him. After awhile she felt the kid body relaxed, and then she realized that jimmy fell asleep. She tried all her might to lift the kid up so that she could put him somewhere to sleep. Poor kid, she thought again. But one thing though, where was his parents; they knew that this was a school, not a child care center. How did they know that she had no plans for herself? Well she didn’t, but that doesn’t mean that she wanted to spend the whole day here? I bet they will have some kind of lame excuse, karianah thought. Silly, but I do want to hear it, she said, smiling against her will.

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He knew he would have to pick him up eventually; the kid did nothing to deserve this. In fact, he was a well behaved child, but he was also so quiet, maybe just around Kevin; he almost never sees his nephew laugh. It was truly not right how Martin was treating this kid. Kevin knew the teacher would be angry, but like always, he didn’t care how others feel. He got up, took his keys and head out of the door.

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The room was so quiet that the silence was too hard to bear. It was two hours now, and she saw no sign of the kid’s parent. She was about to phone the main office to let them know them about the situation when she heard a loud banging on the door. The person was pounding with such force that karianah thought the door would collapse. She was not sure whether to open the door or not. This person had some real nerves, she thought. She went with wobbly legs to open the door. She did not recognize the face but it had a lot of resemblance with Jimmy, but, in this world look can be deceiving; it was better trusting no one. Where the hell is Jimmy? The man said ignoring the fact that she was standing at the door’s entrance, he past her by, and went straight to wake Jimmy up. And who are you suppose to be? Oh wait don’t tell me. I’m guessing Mr. rude. And I know you are not Jimmy’s father, so who are you? karianah said trying to hide the fear from her voice. If one thing she learned in life was even if you don’t have strength, you must have courage.

I’m Jimmy’s uncle and I came to pick him up. His father couldn’t make it today, he sent me. Kevin said not hiding how irritated he was by her questions. Ignoring the fact that he was irritated by her, she asked, How do I know you are not lying, you might be some kind of murderer. I am responsible for the safety of my kids; therefore I have the right to know. Kevin Looked her over knowing, even if she was annoying, she was cute, no… beautiful, and fragile. She had everything in the right places, and probably thinking that she was all that. Yeah… he knew her kind who thought so highly of themselves. Jimmy will you tell her I’m your uncle? Kevin said still gazing at the beautiful woman. Yes, he is. Jimmy said, still looking sleepy. Okay, well you have some real nerves. For one you are so late, and then banging on this door like that. And you know the worst part is that you didn’t even apologize. Anyway thank you for ruining the rest of my day, and I’ll see you tomorrow Jimmy. Karianah said. She was not a bit surprise to see the blank expression on his face. This man had no feelings, so why would he care about hers.

Kevin did the best he could not to show how her words affected him. Truly, he was being rude. For one he was late picking Jimmy up without thinking about the teacher if she had somewhere to be. Then, he just came banging on the door with so much rage. It wasn’t her fault that his life was in a mess, so why should she have to pay for it. For a second he thought of apologizing but changed his mind. He just grabbed Jimmy’s arm and left. And, that did not surprise Karianah for a bit. Some people are just too proud to admit their faults, she said to herself. Then she cleaned up after the kids, took her keys, and head out for home.

When Kari got home, she saw Sandra’s car, her best friend, parked outside, and then found out that she was cooking something in the kitchen. That’s when she remembered that they had planned to meet at a restaurant. Wow… how did that slipped her mind? Knowing Sandra, she’ll be angry forever at her. When she entered the kitchen, Sandra acted as if she was not even there. Hey girl, I am so sorry. I have an excuse. You know I would never do that to you in purpose. Kari said, hoping Sandra would at least say something to her. Something is definitely better than nothing, even a screaming would work right now. When Sandra said nothing, and was still doing what she was doing, Kari just walked to her bedroom. She’ll get over it in no time, she will. After taking a long, warm shower, and put her favorite pajama on; even when it was daylight Karianah just love how pajamas just feel so comfortable. She headed to the kitchen again to check if Sandra was still there. She found her sitting in the living room eating. She went back to the kitchen to take a plate for herself. In truth, Sandra was a fabulous cook, and she couldn’t have chosen a better major for her skills. Girl when I’m getting married, I don’t know which one and you’ll be, my maid of honor or my cook. She remembered telling Sandra, and she meant every word. She went to sit by Sandra on the sofa. I’m listening. Sandra said without turning her head in Kari’s direction.

Well, what had happen was, this kid name Jimmy was still in the class after everyone was gone. I thought his parents would be late for a few minutes, but after two hours this rude, mean guy who claimed to be his uncle came and got him. So you see, it’s really wasn’t my fault. Am I forgiven? she knew that her excuse was lame because she could have called to let Sandra know that she wasn’t coming. Kari knew that she just has to tell her that she totally forgot about their rendezvous. Ok Sandra, why are ignoring me like that. I’m sorry I messed up. The truth is… I forgot that we were meeting today. Kari said. She hated when they were fighting. Sandra was the only family she got. See… doesn’t it feel good to tell the truth. Sandra said smiling.

You are forgiven missy even if you made me wait for two hours before I decided to come to your house. I called your phone, no answer. I called the school, for some reason, these people were ignoring my call. But you are off the hook only because while you were not there I met a special someone we ended up dining together. Sandra said, only this time her smile was wider and she was looking suspicious. That got Kari’s attention. Something must be going on. See, you should be thanking me right now for not showing up, so spit it out girl friend, who was that special someone? Sandra said nothing just to irritate Kari, but she was still smiling. Girl, you remember Yahim from 11th grade, right? Sandra said waiting for Kari’s reaction, when she got just a nod from Kari, she continued with her story, well, I saw him today and thanks for your not showing up, after dining together, we talked, if you know what I mean… Kari knew exactly what her friend meant. Sandra had a crush on Yahim for as long as she could remember, but at that time Yahim had a girlfriend, so to prevent any drama Sandra had chosen to stay away from him.

He told me that he was now a lawyer, still hasn’t been married because, Tiffani, his high school sweet heart moved to another state, and the long distance relationship was not working for both of them, so they called it quit. He also told me that he doesn’t live too far from here, and I know you were waiting for that part; he asked me if he could see me again. Sandra said, and noticed the question on her friend’s face. She didn’t say the part where she told Yahim she had to check her schedule and let Yahim know because she knew Kari would kill her. Just because she had a crush on the guy which she still does, does not mean she has to act desperate. So, what did you say? Kari asked when she couldn’t take it anymore. I said no. Sandra replied laughing. When she saw how shocked Kari was, she concluded, I told him I would let him know. They both started screaming holding each other. Wait a minute, how are you going to let him know, you have his number right? Kari said realizing something was missing. Girl, mama didn’t raise a dummy, and I told him he has to call me because I don’t call guys for dates. So I’m expecting his call today. Sandra said, and they both started screaming again.

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Yahim parked his car and was relief from another busy day. He left his secretary, Aleyah, to finish the rest of the report. The case he was working on was very important and he had no choice but to win it, but he needed some rest; he needed to think things through. How was he going to defend a case like this one? His case was about a 13 year old kid name Johnny; he was accused of stealing in a store. What made it worse was that they had the whole scene on tape. From what Yahim has learned, Johnny was not a bad kid; he just hung with the wrong crowd. The kids he hung out with were much older, so Yahim was pretty sure that they were behind it all. Since Johnny was nerdy like, he had no friends at school; therefore he was left to do whatever it took to fit in. the jerks he called friends were using him since they knew that Johnny wanted to just fit in. Johnny grade’s which were only A’s were now C’s and D’s.

Trying to push all of that behind his mind, Yahim opened his car’s door and made his way inside the house; and then out of nowhere, Sandra popped in his mind. It truly was a small world; who knew that he would see Sandra today of all people. She really did not change much other than the fact that she was more beautiful than he remembered. Or maybe he just didn’t notice her when he was in high school; well how would he when Tiffani wouldn’t let him breathe for a second. When they finally decided to let the relationship go, Yahim was so relief. For once, he felt he was enjoying life without constantly having to report his whereabouts to Tiffani. He honestly did miss her for the first couple of months because he had no one else to talk to on the phone since she didn’t give him the chance to have any outside relationships. Therefore, he would only see and talk to his friends while he was at school. What a life that was, he thought. His mind went back to Sandra; he surprised himself when he had asked to see her again. Throwing his keys on the table, he went straight to his room. Maybe a long shower would cease his aching body, and then he will call Sandra as he had promised.

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Kevin lay on his back, thinking of the beautiful lady he saw today. Despite of himself, he smiled. She had an angel like face and he must admit she attracted him in a way he didn’t really understand. Not that he was proud of it the fact that he not only scared her knocking so loudly, but he didn’t even greet the beautiful lady. Was she married? He found himself asking, but he did not pay attention to her hand to see if she had a ring in her finger. But even if she was not married, that was none of his concern. For one he was not of her match. Beautiful ones like hers were heart breakers, and he had enough of them already. At that moment, his fiancée, Kaila, came to mind. He’ll never forget the pain she had put him through when he caught her cheating with his best friend. Damn, it could have been anyone else, but his best friend. They had tried to make the relationship worked after the incident, but it just was not the same. Kevin once thought he could never love another human being on earth because Kaila had everything he wanted and needed. But he found out that he didn’t have all she wanted and needed. Like his brother said, he was still working in a fast food restaurant as a manager; like they say the truth hurts, so even Kevin knew that he should have been further in life than he was now. He needed to get his act together and fast because his birthday is just around the corner, which reminded him that he was getting older, at twenty-seven years of age, there are a lot he could have accomplish instead of dropping out of college. What hurts the most was that he wasted a full tuition scholarship. Stupid… . yeah, you can definitely say that. The past is the past and there’s nothing I can do about that, I must move on. Taking a deep breath, Kevin closed his eyes hoping sleep would soon come.

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Kari in the other hand, was just getting ready for bed, her back ached while getting up as a reminder of sitting too long. Wow, she was getting old, she thought to herself, but then laugh at herself. Although she was not getting any younger, but at twenty-three years of age, she has some more years to come. She turned off the television, went to the chicken to get everything in order, then went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and made her way to the bedroom. She glance around the room like it was her first time seeing it. Kari got on the bed, putting her blindfold on, and hoping sleep would do the rest. Instead of sleep, the day’s events were playing in her mind. First, there was Jimmy who seemed troubled; she hoped the kid is alright. The world is a cruel place and these innocent little ones don’t deserve such harsh treatment. Then there was Sandra and her big news, truly she was happy for her friend and she wished her all the luck in this world. Eventually her day will come to have a man in her life, she certainly can wait, until then she will be happy for her friend. Although things may change between them because her time with Sandra will now be shared with Yahim, and She already know that Yahim will get more time then her. Wow, maybe she does need someone in her life after all. Which brought her