Maya the Monster

There’s a girl in our complex that is driving Lexie and her friends crazy. She moved in with her mother and sister at the end of the summer, and has been nothing but trouble since. Now, I am a very tolerant person, and usually just naturally like everyone, so when Lexie told me this new girl was bothering her, I told her to just be nice and be patient, that this girl was probably just trying to make friends.

I was wrong.

Apparently since she has moved in, Maya has called Lexie and her friends lesbians, used every swear word in the book at them, and spit at them. She is also in Lexie’s class at school, and on the first day was sent to the principal’s office for kicking a chair across the room and throwing her water bottle at the teacher. THEN she told the principal that it was “Lexie and Kara’s fault” that she was acting out in school, because they wouldn’t be her friend. So Lexie and Kara got called in to talk to the principal, and wonderful, well-behaved polite girls that they are, they handled things well. They told the principal that they TRIED to be nice, that they had asked Maya to give them a minute of alone time, and then they could all play together. (Lexie had just gotten back from Michigan, and the two of them wanted to catch up on their own first.) But Maya got angry, and hassled them incessantly and started deliberately annoying them. So, obviously, they decided they didn’t want her around them AT ALL. The principal took everything into consideration, and wound up telling Maya that she couldn’t force people to be friends with her, and that none of her excuses were good reasons for her behavior in school. According to Lexie, Maya wound up going to see the school counselor (“you know, mom, they guy they make you go to when they think you’re crazy”) and still pretty much gets in trouble on a daily basis.

But one day about two weeks ago, Lexie called me when she got home from school and I could tell she was REALLY angry. Apparently Maya had gone up to Lexie and snidely commented “You just don’t like me because of the color of my SKIN.” Oh – did I forget to mention that Maya is black? OF COURSE I DID!! And THAT would be because I do not STAND for intolerance or racism on ANY level, nor does my daughter. As a matter of fact, Lexie didn’t even understand the concept of “black” people until she was like in third grade – even though we were friends with a bunch of people of all races. Because, you see, “they’re not BLACK, mommy, they’re BROWN.” Racism is something that children learn, and she will NOT learn that from me. But apparently little miss Maya has learned from HER mommy the value of playing that race card to her advantage. Which pissed off my daughter, and pissed me off, as well. Lexie went on to tell me that she told Maya that that WASN’T TRUE, that she liked everyone the same, no matter WHAT color they were. And she was still fuming about it with me. I could understand her anger, but I also knew that Maya had a burning desire to get under her skin, and had just found a way to do it. So I told Lexie that the important thing was that SHE knew it herself, and to try not to let Maya egg her on. To just ignore her.

So Lexie tried her best to do just that, but Maya is not one to be ignored. Apparently, she cornered her and Kara in the complex one day, and told them “Punch me. As hard as you can.” Obviously, Lexie and Kara were pretty taken aback, and CERTAINLY are not fighters. They are wimps. So they were like, “No way!” But Maya persisted: “Then KICK me. As hard as you can. Go ahead, the kids at my old school used to do it ALL THE TIME.” Of course, the girls still said no, and managed to walk away, leaving Maya frustrated and angry. So she swore up a storm at them as they did so, to which Lexie turned and said, “You know Maya, I would NEVER talk like that.” Maya’s response? “Of course you wouldn’t, because your’re not black.”

Ok, now I take issue with this comment. Doesn’t this ignorant ten-year-old child realize that by saying something like that, she is degrading her own RACE? I had previously considered talking to her mother about her, but after hearing what she said and seeing the woman in person (loud, 6” fingernails, “motherf***** this and motherf***** that”) I changed my mind. I have known plenty of angry people like that in my day, and I have no desire to get MY ass kicked. I am a pacifist.

So I talked to M, my coworker, thinking as an intelligent, classy black woman, she would have an opinion on this whole situation. Of course, she did. First off, I was shocked to hear her say that the only reason Maya wanted Lexie and Kara to punch or kick her was so that Maya could beat the crap out of them for throwing the first punch. (And here I felt sorry for the kid for getting hit at her old school!) So, she said, make SURE you tell them never to touch her. No problem, they are wimps, too. And as far as the mother, she agreed with me about talking to her. She said if Maya ever got REALLY bad with Lexie to tell her, and SHE would handle it. She knows that my white ass would be dragged all up and down the complex if I tried to approach her myself. Anyway, that’s where we stand for now. Who knew there would be so much drama in a suburban condo complex? I thought moving out of the city would be better for my girl. M suggested I teach Lexie how to fight, and I laughed. HA! The old saying “those who can’t, teach”? Bullshit. I can’t, AND I can’t teach. Besides, judging from my Lexie’s personality and lack of athleticism, I really don’t think she would ever learn to fight, anyway. I think if Maya ever tried to start something, Lexie would wind up something like this:

(And no, she was not knocked unconscious for that picture. She just went to sleep on the couch like that one night, and I thought it was funny. And just MAY come in handy for a blog illustration someday. Who knew??)

Ah, the drama. I’ll make sure to keep you posted on “The Maya Chronicles” as I like to refer to them. Most recently, Maya was just about to give a synopsis of the movie “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” before the teacher stopped her and said that it was probably inappropriate. (Ya think??) In all honestly, I DO feel sorry for the kid, it’s pretty obvious her mother’s got one helluva chip on her shoulder and takes it out on the kid and on white people in general – judging from Maya’s “reverse discrimination.” But all the same, I’ve told Lexie to keep her distance. Gotta be Momma Bear to my little cub, you know?