How Can This Be

Ashanti- Mama, Mama please listen to me! I didn’t mean to! (Screaming in pain and hurt) Mama, it just happened.

Cassandra (Mama) - Listen to what? It happened. What can I do? You mess up; your life is messed up. (Crying in Anger )

Ashanti- What can I do? You think I’m not hurting too? It’s my life; I’m going to take care of someone else for the rest of my life.

Cassandra (mama) - That’s right. (Saying it softly with pain in her voice) You are going to take care of this baby. You made your bed, now you need to lay in it. How can you do this? I put all of my time and effort into you, and this is what you going to do to me?

Ashanti- How can you tell me that, and you had a baby when you were younger than me? (bunched up by the wall)

Cassandra Mama- Yes I did, but I also lived a bad life - in and out of projects and different homes, knowing that my family didn’t want me. I made a choice to have a family, for I can’t be alone anymore. But you-! I gave you everything. Anything you asked for, you got, and you do me like this? You shoulda learned from my mistakes; now look! You let a boy pump your head. You is too gullible. I always told you to treat your body like a pearl, and don’t never let no boy take over that. But you did. How could you do me like this…?

Ashanti- (face Scorching red, Walking slowly, touching the wall to pull her up, holding her balance). Mama, I’m so sorry. I know you raised me to be a strong, independent woman, but I can’t change this. I just need to be a good mama just like you were to me. There’s nothing I can do to help it; I can only learn from it. Do you think I want to raise a baby in the projects knowing that if I look away she/he can be gone or shot dead? It’s hard for me too! I need to worry about my baby. I can’t worry about every and anything any more, and I need to tell this boy that I’m having his baby. I need to hear his voice and what his parents need to say to me. You think they’re not going to be mad? He’s sixteen!

Cassandra (Mama)- Just stop, stop right there! What his parents need to think about you? What his parents think about you! (walking to her, shaking her head, tears flying down her face). What can they say? “Whose baby is it? What you going to do with it? Who’s going to raise it?” Forget what they need to say to you! They didn’t lay down with you; they don’t know what y’all did behind closed doors. So they don’t have no say so in this. Only thing they can do is be mad and angry just like me (smacking Ashanti in her face with force). What can they say? They’re the ones who let y’all do it in their house; they’re the ones who didn’t prevent this from happening, so what can they say? They can’t even be mad.
Matter of fact, I’m going down to the court house to press child abuse on them! How can they let two teens in their house to do something like that….. That’s nasty. Messing with me and mines will get them in a place that they don’t want to be. And you, you, my daughter - so I don’t have no choice but to do what’s best for you. But when you get eighteen, you need to get out of my house. And all I need to say is good luck because you going to need it (eyes getting bold). I’m so mad at you, how could you do me like this…..
It’s going to be hard to finish school and make something out of yourself, be somebody in life. You better hope you don’t be on Maury just to find out who’s your baby daddy!
But you know what…I’m done talking to you. If you didn’t listen to me about keeping you body up and treating it like a pearl, you will not listen to anything. It’s just gone in one ear and out the other.
But you messed up (shaking her head and pointing her finger). You really messed up your life. You shoulda made something out of your life, proved these people wrong about you. But now they got something to talk about. You shoulda broke the cycle.

Ashanti: (sobbing) Mama, I’m sorry!

Cassandra: (staring with hate and betrayal) You can go and tell him I’m done.