• on the hottest day of the year, aerica ray yonkers was welcomed into the world by her parents devin and samantha, along with her older brother who eagerly wanted to old the new baby on august 13, 1988. she was the youngest child until three years later, her younger brother was born, leaving aerica smack dab in the middle of two boys. her parents were young in heart and mind, never really acting like parents. they were strict when necessary, but in an overall sense, the two parents were just kids themselves. married right out of high school, the two made a modest income, lived in a modest house, and drove all-american cars. they never complained about what they had nor what they wanted. instead, they spent most of their time loving their children in any way they could, despite the rocky roads that may have gotten in the way. devin and samantha yonkers, although prone to mistakes, were good parents to their two boys and aerica.
• growing up with two brothers proved to be one of the biggest influences of her life. she never really found herself interested in dolls, tea parties, or playing dress up in her mother's clothes. in fact, she found no joy in anything remotely feminine at all. instead, aerica played army men, cowboys and indians, and power rangers with her brothers. they built forts and had water balloon fights if they were not playing horrible pranks on their mother. aerica was a girl biologically, but physically, you would never guess. her frame was even that of a boy's. she was thin and lanky, not tall, but if she had short hair, you would think she was just another yonkers boy causing trouble in the longport suburbs like usual. but no, aerica was just a very pretty girl behind the dirt and the messy hair. her mother always was trying to get her to wear a dress or at least some colors other than gray, brown, or black. she begged aerica to wear something other than old sweatshirts and baggy jeans she stole from her brother's laundry, but aerica is far too stubborn for her own good. she wanted to be comfortable, not pretty.
• inside the yonkers' household, everything was but peaceful. aerica's older brother began acting out in school as retaliation to the constant battles going on between their parents. aerica remained quiet about it as she pushed her brother away from the fights, trying to distract him with whatever game was an arm's length away, but he was too old to know what she was doing, however, still too young to know exactly what the fights were about. frankly, the yonkers' house was a battleground every night. curses, vulgar remarks, and vile slander rang through the hallways while the yonkers children tried to settle into sleep. it wasn't uncommon for the kids to come home to a fight either. they would hear the tantrums echoing from the outdoors, and in order to avoid such situation, the three kids found themselves trudging somewhere else in low spirits. devin and samantha never really knew how they were tearing their kids apart, and while aerica's older brother continued to act out in school, the younger brother became suddenly withdrawn while aerica lost all faith in girlhood ambitions for true love.
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