Daijha Road

By C. Angel

Home is less than great. Junior high school is awful. Daijhas mom is rarely around, leaving Daijha alone and afraid. School should be an escape from her loneliness, but instead, it is a daily torment Daijha endures that further isolates her.

Things begin to change when J enrolls in school. She has sass and confidence and a whole bunch of extra weight! How can she be so confident, looking the way that she does? Is it real, or is she faking? Where does it come from?

J is not at all intimidated and has an inner strength Daijha knows not of. She stands up for herself and shows Daijha a thing or two in the process.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490852027

C. Angel

My journey of life, as a splintered child into a whole and loving person.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 Chelaise Burton.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5203-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5204-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5202-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014916320

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/31/2014

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

This book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. To my babies, Ce, Terrell II, and Hollis, God has used you three to help give my life meaning and purpose. I’m praying I can do right by Him, you, and your dad in raising you to be the best you can possibly be. Love you to life! Christina—what can I say? Our friendship has spanned our lives. You are a soul tie I thank God for all the time. Love ya dearest! Jade, Sha’Rona, and Kim (my girls!), I prayed for God to raise me up some godly female friends when I moved—He surpassed my expectations with you three. Girls’ nights (and all our times in between) are awesome. I love you guys! Jonnetta, cuz, I thank God for you. Our friendship has grown and matured. Thank you for introducing me to Mr. Burton! Traci, Carmen, and Adam—my sisters and bro, my fam!—I have so many stories to tell, but I’ll just say this: thanks for having my back, fighting for me, dragging me over the tracks, and snatching up every stray hair on my head to keep me looking presentable! I love you guys forever and always! Mom and dad, I thank you always—love you forever. To my church family: I didn’t understand the meaning of church family until I was blessed with you wonderful people at New Antioch Bible Fellowship (NABF). You’ve seen me through so much, supported me through more, and continue to be my safe place. NABF is the Best branch of Zion this side of the Jordan! Pastor Hayes and Sister Mary, you two are godsends. I love you and we thank you. And to the late Terrell Burton Sr., thank you for three of the best blessings of my life. To all my family and friends who have touched my life, thank you, and I love you all.

For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.¹

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

Home is less than great. Junior high school is awful. Daijha’s mom is rarely around, but when she is, there is turmoil. This leaves Daijha alone and afraid. School should be an escape from her loneliness, but instead, it is a daily torment Daijha endures that further isolates her.

Things begin to change when J enrolls in school. She has sass and confidence—and a whole bunch of extra weight! How can she be so confident looking the way that she does? Is it real, or is she faking? Where does it come from?

J is not at all intimidated and has an inner strength Daijha knows not of. She stands up for herself and shows Daijha a thing or two in the process.

Chapter 1

Nee, come on!

My sister is impatiently hollering her nickname for me from downstairs. My name is actually Daijha. Daijha LeNeece Compton. My first name is pronounced Daze-ja, but she calls me Nee, from my middle name. I run down a few stairs and peek around the corner. She is standing by the door, looking out of place in the shabby living room. It was once her home too, but she moved out two years ago. Oh, how I envy her!

Give me just a couple more minutes. I’m getting my shoes on.

Well, hurry up, Daijha! She glances up the stairs and jingles her keys. I’ll be in the car. I run back up the stairs and look in disgust at my shoes. Of course they aren’t the latest, hot style that everyone is wearing. They look like them, sure, but they aren’t them.

At one time, they were a gleaming white, and I was so proud and happy. They looked good then, with their gray and yellow trim, just like the newest hot style. But as I wore them, they got dirty fast and started to crack and bend in unnatural places, just like all cheap gym shoes. It’s bad enough that I only have four pairs of pants that don’t even fit right. They usually look terrible when I wear them with the few dingy, raggedy shirts I do have, but the sorry shoes—man, they are the worst. Everyone knows shoes make the outfit! Even if the outfit is a little worn, rockin’ a hot, clean pair of shoes makes all the difference! Not having the right look really says a lot about you at Ethel C. Mariam Junior High. And none of it do you want to hear.

Man, I need some new shoes, I mumble to myself. Shoot, I need some new everything. I can’t wait to get up out of here! I snatch on my knock-offs and run down the stairs. I slam the door behind me and jump down the four stairs at the front of the house. I trot over to the car and climb in. My sister, Reeni, is waiting behind the wheel. As I shut the car door, Reeni closes her phone.

Renni turns and gives me a big ol’ smile. You ready to go?

Yes! I lean