Nafissa Thompson-Spires reads an excerpt of the story "Belles Lettres," from her debut story collection, Heads of the Colored People, published by 37 INK in April.
Belles Lettres
Dr. Lucinda Johnston, PsyD
Johnston Family Therapy
1005 Knightcrest Rd, Claremont, CA 91711
Tuesday, October 1, 1991
Hello Monica,
I’m sure you remember me from the class field trip to the Getty in September. It has been brought to my attention by Mrs. Watson that Fatima may have started a nasty rumor about my Christinia. I hope to clear this up, as we both know how ugly these things can get. It is true that Christinia’s hamster died recently, but it is absolutely not true that it died at Chrissy’s hand. At no time has Chrissy ever put Hambone or any of her previous hamsters in the microwave, dryer, or dishwasher. What kind of child would make up something like that?
It sounds—and I say this respectfully, so I hope you won’t be offended—like Fatima has had a very hard time getting acclimated here, and that’s understandable, but I do hope you will deal with her before any such incidents become frequent. Children who start lying young often end up with longtime patterns of dishonesty.
All best,
Dr. Lucinda Johnston, PsyD
Licensed Therapist
Welcome Wagon, Westwood Primary School
Events Coordinator, Jack and Jill, Claremont Branch
Monica Willis, PhD
Associate Professor of Education
University of La Verne
1950 Third Street, La Verne, CA 91750
Monday, October 7, 1991
Dear Lucinda,
I apologize for my late reply, but I only found your letter at the bottom of Fatima’s backpack when I did my weekly cleaning.
Thank you for writing to me, though I have already spoken with Mrs. Watson, who made it very clear that she never heard Fatima say a thing about Christinia or her dead hamster(s). It was Renee Potts who claimed that Fatima started the rumor. Fatima says she only repeated what Christinia herself told her.
Many of Fatima’s stories about Christinia this year and last—which I won’t recount here—have been disturbing to say the least, but none as disturbing as Christinia’s enjoyment of torturing rodents. Fatima has a strong imagination and writes beautiful lyric poetry—which she started reading at age four—but she does not have a history of lying or telling gruesome stories. And unlike Christinia, she has no history of running off with other girls’ shoes while their feet dangle from the monkey bars. I’m absolutely sure that Fatima wouldn’t tell stories about Christinia, the hamsters, or the microwave incident if they weren’t based on something Christinia had said first.
I appreciate your concerns about Fatima, and even though Christinia has made it much more difficult for her to find friends at Westwood, Fatima will acclimate soon. She’s going to a sleepover at Emily’s this weekend. Is Christinia going? If so, I hope you will encourage her to play nice.
Best,
Monica Willis, PhD
P.S.
It is true that liars who start young often end up with psychological and social problems of the sort that Christinia has demonstrated over the past year. How lucky for you (and for Christinia) that she has access to psychotherapy through your practice.
Dr. Lucinda Johnston, PsyD
Johnston Family Therapy
1005 Knightcrest Rd, Claremont CA 91711
Monday, October 7, 1991
Dear Monica,
I never expected so much defensiveness when I wrote my original letter. Perhaps you misread it. All I wanted to emphasize is that I understand why a girl in Fatima’s position and one with her background would make up such stories. It’s hard to get attention in a new place, and Christinia has been established at Westwood for quite a while. There is probably some petty jealousy going on, but I think we can resolve this. I don’t know how you did things at Fatima’s old school (in Fresno, was it?), but here we try to help the children work through their problems without getting too involved.
I suppose you already know—and have known all along—that Christinia will not attend Emily’s party, so there’s no need for me to encourage her to “play nice.” You’ve probably heard that history already, so I won’t rehash it, but I will say that it wasn’t Chrissy’s fault that Emily broke her nose when she fell. Besides, it was three years ago. We’ve given the Kemps our sincerest apologies for Emily’s unfortunate accident, and we have moved on.
Finally, and I say this respectfully, but maybe it would be wise to go through Fatima’s backpack every night instead of once in a blue moon. I have heard from more than one parent that it smells like eggs.
My best,
Dr. Lucinda Johnston
Licensed Therapist
Author of Train up a Child
Welcome Wagon, Westwood Primary School
Events Coordinator, Jack and Jill, Claremont Chapter
Monica Willis, PhD
Associate Professor of Education
University of La Verne
1950 Third Street, La Verne, CA 91750
October 9, 1991
Dear Lucinda, or should I say Dr. Johnston,
I’d like to resolve this as much as you would, but that won’t happen if all of your letters begin and end with backbiting. I asked about Emily’s party sincerely and in good conscience, though after speaking to the Kemps, I can see why they would hesitate to invite Christinia. I would ask you to consider this, however: If Fatima is the problem, why is she growing in popularity while Christinia is only growing in girth and the number of casualties associated with her name?
I’m not of the mind that the only two black children in the class should be enemies, nor do I like the attention it draws to them (or their parents) when they’re already in a difficult position. I would think that a black woman of your stature and success would understand how isolating work and school environments like Westwood can be for people like us. Jordan and I hesitated to send Fatima to a PWI, but we know the benefits of a school like Westwood. I hoped Christinia and Fatima could be friends and could support each other in this space, but it’s been clear since second grade that you and Christinia are not willing to make that work. You could encourage your child to be cordial, however, and less brutal. You could spend more time with her so she doesn’t lash out at others. You should get the help you both need in overcoming your tendencies toward pettiness.
I’m sure Fatima would let Christinia into her growing inner circle—even her after-school reading club—if Christinia would only apologize and behave. Jealousy can become a lifelong problem. On that note, I hate to bring this up now, but we were surprised by how poorly Christinia behaved when Fatima’s poem won over hers last year. I’d like to make sure we don’t end up with a repeat performance of that tantrum when the poetry competition rolls around this year.
As for the hard-boiled egg, we resolved that last spring and bought Fatima a new backpack. And I believe you knew that already.
We should talk about some concrete ways we can encourage our girls to get along. Perhaps Mrs. Watson can help, since she has mentioned Christinia’s problematic behavior before, something to the effect of, “If we don’t fix things now, she’ll have a hard road ahead of her.”
Cheers,
Dr. Monica Willis, PhD
Author of Every Voice Counts: Helping Children of Color Succeed at Predominantly White Schools
October 9, 1991
Monica,
Excuse the informal note.
Mrs. Watson told me herself at Pavilions that “it doesn’t matter how brilliant the child is. No one will ask about her grades later in life, but they will want to know how well socialized she was.” She made it no secret that she was referring to Fatima, not Chrissy.
And to that point, I think you’re doing both yourself and Fatima a great injustice by continually emphasizing her “brilliance” over other children. Lots of people skip grades, and skipping kindergarten isn’t something to brag about. I doubt that the standards at her old school were as rigorous as those at Westwood. What exactly was she advanced at, naptime? Maybe a stint in kindergarten would have cultivated her social and problem-solving skills so she wouldn’t run home and tell her mother everything. Children need strength of character and independence, after all.
If you’ll recall, moreover, I was there at the recital where Fatima read her “award-winning poem,” and while my doctorates—yes, plural—may not be in literature, I’m pretty sure hardly anyone would call “Butterfly Pie” a work of poetic genius. You can’t rhyme “pie” with “pie” multiple times and call that poetry; you just can’t, even if you have the excuse of only being in fourth grade.
We are not self-conscious about Christinia’s blackness. I attended Westwood myself as a child and was very happy there, even though at the time I was the only black child in the entire K–6 division. Perhaps the kids at Fatima’s old school were bad influences on her? Why did she change schools after first grade anyway? That’s generally a bad sign.
Isn’t your degree, by the way, an EdD?
—Lucinda
From Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires. Copyright © 2018 by Nafissa Thompson-Spires. Excepted by permission of Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.