Page 9 of Steel

Jaeda turned off the TV and stood with KJ in her arms.

“Say bye, daddy,” she said, waving his little hand. “Have a good day.”

I smiled as I leaned in to kiss his chubby cheeks. “I love you, Fat Man. Be good for your auntie. Thanks again, Jae.”

“No problem. We’re probably gonna make our rounds here then go visit Mama.”

I grabbed KJ’s baby bag and handed it to her. “Call me if you need me.”

“We won’t need you, but okay. Have a good day, Steel.”

She kissed my cheek before walking out the open door. I watched as she strapped KJ into his car seat and got in herself before climbing into my car. It was time to get the day started.

Four o’clock rolled around quickerthan I imagined.

Before I knew it, the bell above the door was dinging with the sounds of my after-school kids rolling in with their parents and guardians. As usual, they greeted me with hugs, pounds, and high fives. To my family and those who knew us and of us, I was Steel. To them, I was simply Mr. K.

“Mr. K, I got a hundred on my spelling test!”

“Mr. K, I made student of the week!”

“Mr. K, I made the football team!”

They were all talking at once, but I could hear every one of them. Clapping my hands, the room immediately settled down.

“Sounds like you all had a bomb week,” I said, looking around at them with a smile. “I’m proud of your accomplishments. Keep up the good work. Now, everybody, take your places and start your warm-ups. We start in ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir!”

They rushed to their places on the mat. I made my rounds, greeting the parents as usual. I paused for a moment when I saw a woman with a little girl. The child couldn’t have been more than ten, but something about both of them was vaguely familiar.

The little girl looked around nervously as she held the woman’s hand. I made my way over to them and extended a hand.

“Welcome to KD Defense Academy. I’m Kerrion. How can I help you?”

The woman squinted at me for a moment as though she was trying to figure out who I was. The little girl looked up at her and shook her hand.

“Aunt Dee, he’s talking to you.”

Dinah blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry. You just . . . you look very familiar.” She shook her head, then grabbed my hand. “Anyway. I’m . . . Dee, and this is my niece, Nayelli.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” I looked down at Nayelli and extended my hand. “Very nice to meet you, Nayelli.”

She gave a soft smile and grabbed my hand. I didn’t know what it was, but our eyes locked, and again, hers looked very familiar. I’d seen them before, but I couldn’t put my finger on who she shared them with.

“Are y’all from around here?” I asked, pulling my hand back.

“No. We just relocated to the area a few weeks ago, which is the reason I’m here. Nayelli has been having a little trouble with bullying. We’ve talked to the school, and nothing is helping.”

I frowned. “What’s going on?”

“The usual name calling. Then there’s this group of little girls picking on her all because the boy one of them likes told Nayelli she was pretty. I mean, look at her. She’s a beautiful little girl. It’s not her fault that little na?—”

She paused for a moment to look down at her niece. I could tell she was thinking about what she wanted to say. Finally, she covered Nayelli’s ears.

“Look. My sister doesn’t believe in being violent to solve a problem, but her auntie is with the shits, you feel me?”

I chuckled. “I feel you.”