Phoenix Anthology - Volume One

Songs selected by Charee Grover and Monique Pattillo, Fictional narrative by Genia Wright

At 3 am, she picked up the cake and hurled it against the wall. As the glass shattered on the ground, she thought, “he is doing it again…after all we’ve been through….” She thought about the cryptic voicemails, the secretive phone calls, and the sporadic late nights at the office. She looked through the window, into the dark, cold night and waited for the tears to start. They never came. She wasn’t sad or hurt - she was angry.

There was a knock on the door. It was Sistahgirl from down the hall, “I heard a crashing sound. I just wanted to make sure everything is alright.”

“Everything is fine.” She said. “I was just BREAKIN DISHES.

Sistahgirl surveyed the scene. “You know what they say,” said Sistahgirl, “WHEN A WOMAN stops crying, she’s ready to say goodbye. I think you know what you need to do: SHAKE IT OFF and make a plan.”

The Plan, Phase 1: Consequences. She stood in front of the remains of his precious sports car - someone had busted the headlights and windows and punctured the tires. “Maybe next time he’ll think BEFORE HE CHEATS,” she said. By 8 pm, she had really HIT ‘EM UP – he didn’t have a cent left to his name.

The Plan, Phase 2: Clarification. The next day, he banged on the door of her hotel suite, screaming profanities. He called her crazy and swore he had fallen asleep on his friends couch that fateful night. After calling security, she opened the door to face him. She raised one finger in the air and calmly said, “save it. You are a LIAR, LIAR. You should know that I have HEARD IT ALL BEFORE. Now, you’re CAUGHT OUT THERE. How does it feel? I’ll tell you how you should feel: silly. I am IRREPLACEABLE, and men like you are a dime a dozen. GUESS WHAT? I screwed your BEST MAN.” His face fell. She closed the door.

The Plan, Phase 3: Contentment. A year later, she ran into him. For 20 minutes he repented for his sins, promising that he’d grown up. “Listen,” she said, “ SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE, I can breathe for the first time. On some level, I always knew I’d end up your EX-GIRLFRIEND. I was in denial, but you woke me up with your disrespectful ways. WAS IT WORTH IT? I say an emphatic ‘yes.’ Thanks to you, now I know I don’t want NO SCRUBS.” She threw her head back and laughed. “You could CRY ME A RIVER, and I wouldn’t take you back. I don’t want NO MORE DRAMA. Besides, I’m sure U & UR HAND will be very happy together. And don’t worry about me, I WILL SURVIVE.” And she did.

Look forward Phoenix Anthology - Volume Two on September 22! Trust me, it's good! :)