Read Online What a Fool Believes by Carmen Green - Free Book Online Page B

why Tia didn’t out him.
    â€œI’d like to go next,” said a soft-spoken woman two rows from the front. “My name is Ginger Kelston—”
    â€œDon’t give your last name, please,” Fred said.
    â€œOkay.” She began again. “I’m Ginger, no last name, and I was sent here by my family therapist, who thinks I have anger issues, because I sleepwalk.”
    The woman across from Ginger gave her a suspicious look. “You sleepwalk? That’s it?”
    Ginger laughed, and her russet hair bobbed. “Well, I’ve been arrested three times for trying to board a plane, bus, and train with semiautomatic weapons in my possession.”
    â€œWhere were you going, and what were you going to do with them, Ginger?” Fred asked as he eased toward the door.
    Punk.
    â€œIt seems I’m always heading to Utah, where my husband moved a month ago with all of my inheritance so he could become a polygamist.”
    The class went absolutely still.
    Ginger threw her clueless hands into the air and sat down. “Crazy, huh?”
    Nobody spoke for a full minute.
    â€œWhy aren’t you locked up somewhere?” Pebbles asked.
    â€œBecause I’m not on drugs. And I haven’t done anything wrong,” Ginger responded with an airy laugh.
    â€œN–n–next?” Fred backed into the dry erase board and scared himself.
    The big lady rolled to her feet. “Hey,” she drawled in her native Georgian tongue. “I’m Pebbles. I destroyed the master bathroom in my home after I learned my husband had another woman in there. See.” She showed her hands to Ginger. “No guns. You ever heard of a life sentence? Death penalty mean anything to you?”
    â€œI’ve never fired a gun in my life,” Ginger stated matter-of-factly.
    â€œAll right. The Three Faces of Eve . Just remember none of us is your cheating man.”
    â€œDon’t worry, Pebbles. I won’t hurt anyone,” Ginger said, but her sanguine smile made a few of the women shudder.
    The other ladies admitted to various misdemeanors, but Byron stopped keeping track and made a mental note to update the beneficiaries in his will.
    He finally stood. “I’m Byron, and I had a disagreement with my boss.”
    Pebbles glared at him. “Did you hit him?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œBut you wanted to, right?”
    â€œThe thought crossed my mind.”
    Tia didn’t turn all the way around, but Byron knew he had her attention.
    â€œWas he white or black?” Pebbles wanted to know.
    â€œThat doesn’t matter,” screeched Fred, who was white. “Color has no bearing on anger. This class is racially mixed, but you share one common bond. You’re here to learn how to control a very complex emotion. Anger is one of the most honest emotions we humans possess. Along with hunger and the desire to have our basic needs met, anger is an alert system to the body when something isn’t right.
    â€œWe’ve all seen children have tantrums. They haven’t learned reasoning skills, but they can and do get angry. Anger can be raw, powerful, and potentially harmful if a mechanism isn’t put into place to control it. You’re going to learn techniques to help you deal with your anger.”
    Fred passed out textbooks and wire-bound notebooks. “For homework, read chapters one through five. Also, for the duration of the class, you’ll be required to keep a journal.”
    A collective groan moved through the group. “I’m not keeping a journal,” Debbie said, as she sat across from Ginger. “Anything you write can be used against you in a court of law.”
    A chorus of dissenters agreed, and notebooks hit the tabletops in protest. “Forget it,” was the consensus.
    â€œLadies, you have to,” Fred squealed, failing to talk over them. “Listen to me. I’m the teacher.”
    Byron dropped his head. This