by T. Styles
“I shouldn’t even be talkin’ to your ass right now.” Garisha says to me as she’s driving down the road. “I can’t believe you still dealing wit’ Big Boody’s bitch ass.”
“Look, stop whinning over dried shit.”
“Stop whinnin’ over dried shit?!" He repeats. "Did you forget that that bitch stabbed me?”
“Don’t put that shit on me, Garisha. How I know he was gonna catch you in your car lookin’ stupid? If anything I should be mad at you.”
“How you figure?” he asks whipping his head toward me.
“Because had your brother been smart enough to wear a long sleeve shirt, I wouldn’t have gotten into a beef with Big Boody to begin with. Now that hag extortin’ money out of me and shit. Where Detroit at anyway?”
“Girl, locked up! Again!”
“Has he ever considered the fact that crime may not be his thang?”
“I don’t know, girl” he says waving me off. “But why you payin’ this bitch anyway?”
“You playin’ right?” I ask staring at her.
“Heaven’s no…why?”
“Because she was with us the day we were with Andy. All she gotta do is tell the cops we were the last who saw him and Betty Badge would be all over our ass. There’s no statute of limitations on murder, ugly.”
“Fuck all that…are you sure Queen Paul gonna be over there? Shit, I got some place else to be and I’m not waitin’ around all day fuckin’ wit’ you.”
“Yeah…just drive, Garisha, damn!”
“Well let me know when you see Parker Street.” She says. “I’m texting my new boo right now.”
“He must haven’t seen you yet,” I laugh.
“No. But when he does it’s gonna be all good,” she says with a scowl. “Pleeeaaase believe! You just look for the street.”
Although me and Garisha were cool, she still didn’t know I couldn’t read and I wasn’t gonna tell her either. She talk too much and I didn’t feel like everybody being in my business.
“Do you see the street yet, bitch?” Garisha asks me again. “’Cause you lookin’ like you don’t know what the fuck is goin’ on now.”
“Ummm…you know I can’t really see these street signs, girl. I wear glasses. You gonna have to help.”
“Damn bitch, you worthless!” She says putting her phone away. Like she should be texting and driving anyway. “Ain’t that the street right there?”
“I don’t know…I think so.” I squint looking at the sign.
“Yeah that’s it! Fuckin’ wit’ you, I almost missed it.” She complains whipping onto the street, almost knocking over a mailbox.
When we finally reach Queen Paul’s house, just like Big Boody said, Queen Paul and his crew were in the backyard having a bar-b-que. Music was booming from the speakers and everyone was dancing and talking shit.
“Pass the house a little,” I say. When we were a few houses away from Paul’s house, she parked. “This cool right here… you got the camera?”
“No but I got my camera phone.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Garisha and me grab our bats and creep out of the car and up to Queen Paul’s house. Queens were all over the backyard in dro’s, laughing, drinking and having a good time.
“How we gonna get his ass out here? I’m not fuckin’ wit’ all of them at one time,” Says Garisha. “I hope you know that.”
When he says that, Paul walks around to the front of his house to talk on his phone and we could not believe our luck.
Quickly we run up behind her with bats in hand ready to handle our biz. But Queen Paul turns around and sees us right before we can land a blow. In fight or flight mode, Paul squares up and steals Garisha square in her extra large nose. Blood splashes everywhere. When she falls back, Paul continues to kick her with his pink pump repeatedly in the stomach. When she’s sure Garisha is dealt with, she smiles at me.
“Bitch, you must be a glutton for punishment,” says Paul.
“Miss Paul, it’s not even like that,” I say dropping the bat. “I was just comin’ over here with Garisha. I hadn’t a clue he meant to do you harm. You know we were cool after the last incident right? We even spoke at the Mill that night and everything. Remember?”
“Stop lying you wretched troll,” Garisha yells from the ground. “This was your project not mine! You got me all the way fucked up!”
“No I don’t either! I ain’t got no beef with Queen Paul.”
“Bitch, tell this lady Miss Wayne sent this mission!” Garisha continues, holding his face. “And miss me with all them lies! Tell him how Wayne wanted us to bring back the picture once we beat him down.”
Garisha didn’t know that although Wayne paid me to have Paul dealt with, Brandy was the one who wanted the work done for her own personal reasons. Since I needed the five hundred dollars anyway to give to Big Boody, I thought of a smart way to get it by telling Wayne them lies.
“Stop lyin’!” I yell at him. “This all you, guuurl!”
“I don’t know who’s lyin’! I do know you didn’t run me my rent and out of the blue show up at my house. Then my house burns down. What the fuck is up with that?”
“That wasn’t me. I know you know that, Paul. We were in that fire too and could have gotten killed.”
“Well what you talkin’ ‘bout, Miss Wayne sent this mission?” Queen Paul asks Garisha.
“It’s true!” Garisha confirms. “He got it in for you and sent us. I wish Miss Ty stop lyin’! I don’t know why I even fuck wit’ her sometimes.”
“What Miss Wayne want with me?” Paul asks confused. “I ain’t got no more business with her.”
“He said you had something to do with the house burnin’ down.” I say.
“You mean my house?” he asks touching his chest with one hand, placing the other hand on his hip. “Oh Miss girl how you sound? “What I look like burning my mother’s house down?”
“I said the same thing.” I say. “I knew you wouldn’t do somethin’ like that but Wayne wouldn’t hear it. Can you just let me go? I don’t want no problems.”
“Well bitch which one is it? At first you said I sanctioned this shit and now you said Wayne! See Queen Paul, this bitch is fabricating scenes!” Garisha yells.
Paul looks at me and in a high pitch voice yells, “Bitches on deck!”
When thirty drag queens came running from around the back of the house, my ass sweats.
“Stomp attack!” Paul says. “I want them mud!” he continues snapping his fingers.
For two long minutes, Paul’s crew beat and stomped us so badly, some of the queens got squeamish from all the blood and ran to the back of the house. They just couldn’t beat us anymore.
“Don’t let up! I want them dead!” Paul orders.
I have never been more scared, than I was right then. I had a feeling he really wanted me dead. And then one of the queens whispered to him.
“Not on your property,” he says. “You don’t want it done like this.”
When he was done Paul says, “Garisha, stand the fuck up and grab your phone too!” He does. But barely.
“Now…you did say Wayne wanted a picture right?”
He nods yes.
“Good, let me see your phone,” he says snatching it from his hand. “I wanna take a picture of you and this hog. So he can see our handywork. Ya’ll stand together.”
“What?” Garisha ask as if he wasn’t just speaking English.
“Bitch, I said get your ass over there next to Tyrone!” Garisha, who was in so much pain and could barely move, scoots next to me. Then Queen Pauls says, “Smile.”
We manage a weak ass smile. I just imagined how it would look with my broken teeth and black eyes.
Queen Paul laughs and says, “You got Wayne number in here don’t you?”
“Yes,” Garisha says, holding her stomach.
“Good.” He scrolls through the numbers and finds Wayne’s. Then he sends him the picture message he just took handing the
phone back to Garisha. “And when you speak to him tonight, you two bitches betta tell him that the next time he wants it with me, to come see me personally.”
Bold Face Lies
Miss Wayne
I was sitting on the sofa with Dayshawn on my right and Adrian on my left. We all were looking at Tyrone who was standing in the living room floor looking like a washed up ass drag queen. He had so many bruises on his face it was ridiculous. Not to mention his teeth were cracked.
“Give me what happened again, girl, ‘cause this shit don’t add up. And don’t pause a play eitha.”
“Okay…I just gotta stretch out.” She says lying on the floor. “Ya’ll don’t understand what I just been through. Even my nuts hurt!”
Adrian gasps and says. “Miss Ty, a real queen never talks about her balls.”
Now I don’t doubt she feels some kind of way after getting the black beat off of her, but she’s doin’ stunts and shows with all the gripping of her stomach and head. I have no room in my body for sympathy for her so I don’t even pretend to care. All I know is that I gave her some money to handle a job that ain’t done. And what does she do? Take her country ass over there, get beat for points and spends my money.
“When you finish your performance, I need to know what the fuck happened.”
“Wayne, please don’t look so mad. I know you probably pissed at me for doin’ the job myself, it’s just that I felt I could do it better. And I needed the money.”
“How is it that you felt like you could do it better? Didn’t she beat your ass back to the future before?”
“Yeah…but I wasn’t thinkin’.” He pauses. “I use to be able to hold my own back in my day. Adrian, tell him about the time I put work in on that queen who hit you last year.”
Adrian uncomfortably says, “I wanna stay out of it.”
Tyrone shoots him an evil glare.
“I don’t give a fuck what she remembers. I’m interested in finding out why I’m out of five hundred dollars and why I was sent a picture of you and Garisha’s monkey lookin’ ass on my cell phone. So please…save yesterday’s storylines and get to today’s paper!”
“Okay…so I go over there and tell her that you came to collect from her ass for the burning she put down on the house.”
“Why would you say my name?”
“Because she caught us.”
Damn this bitch stupid! “Go ‘head, Tyrone.”
“She was all like, ‘I burned down the house so the fuck what. It was my house and ya’ll were in it!’ She said she told us to leave but we wouldn’t listen. The next thing I know, thirty big ass girls come from around the corner and stomped me and Garisha into next week. Then he sent the picture.”
“But why would you go over there? I know you can’t read but are you retarded too?”
He frowns and looks as if he wants to strike me but trust me babies, she knows better. “It’s done, Wayne. Alls I can say is sorry now.”
I had it with her.
I’m over.
I can take no more disobedience from her fat ass.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t write you out of my life and this house?”
“Well...for starters, I can tell you how to really get at him.”
“I’m not listenin’ to you.”
“Please…I know what he really wants and takin’ it from him would hurt more than anything else you do.”
“And what’s that?”
“He wants to win the House of Star’s Drag ball next month. You know it’s the biggest ball yet and everybody sayin’ how he’s goin’ for the Legendary category. If you beat her, and take her crown, she will be fucked up.”
As I think about the new information I’m given, for some reason, I’m more than interested. It’s been a while since I participated in a ball but I’m sure I could dust myself off and still shine. Still, Tyrone has to go.
“I know you ain’t got no place to stay so I’ma make it simple. You got three weeks to find you another situation because the one right here ain’t workin’.”
“Wayne!” he wails. “I ain’t got nowhere to go. You know Shannon died.”
This bitch hasn’t said a mumbling word about his wife since he halfway killed her. He’s not even going to the funeral. But he fixes his lips to say that shit? He’s the worst.
“Cunt, that’s nowhere near my problem! And you wouldn’t know the word sorry if it sat in front of you on paper…literally. What I’m gonna do is let you keep that five hundred dollars you spent and give you a chance to save up to find another place. Consider yourself lucky.”
Tyrone stands up, looks at me and says, “I’m not about to beg you again, Wayne. But thank you for the extra time.”
As she walks to her bedroom, I think about the first time I met her and Dayshawn. I should’ve known then that she was nothin’ but trouble.
Reflecting On The Younger Years
Miss Wayne
“Did ya’ll hear about Old Man Dennis?” Parade said, sucking on a lollipop. They were sitting on the steps of Wayne’s apartment building.
“Naw…what happened?”
“He was murdered for no reason yesterday.”
“How?”
“They didn’t say much, just that it’s not pretty. I think he was shot and burned up or somethin’. That’s sad ‘cause he was always so nice.”
“You always know the neighborhood gossip,” Sky said.
“That’s ‘cause my mama always runnin’ her mouth on the phone.”
“Well I got gossip too,” Wayne said.
“What?” they all asked with widened eyes.
“Did ya’ll hear that I’m mad at ya’ll ‘cause ya’ll wanna do the same stuff everyday instead of going to the block party today?” Wayne said.
“Wayne, please stop talking about that dumb party. We can’t go today.” Daffany said.
“Come on ya’ll! It’s gonna be off the hook! I just know it.”
“But we going to the movies,” Sky reminded him. “I told you my mama was taking all of us. She was taking you too until you changed your mind.”
“We can go to the movies anytime.”
“Yeah but she’s paying for us too,” Parade added. “I don’t pass up no chance to get out of my house.”
“I wish you didn’t pass up a chance to brush your hair before leavin’ the house,” Sky laughed. “It’s all knotty and shit.”
“Shut up, Sky!” Said Daffany.
“Forget it,” Wayne said ignoring one of their usual fights. “I’ma go by myself.”
“Don’t be that way, Wayne.” Daffany said. “It’s not like we don’t want to go. We just made other plans.”
As Wayne begged and begged harder, Dayshawn and Tyrone, the neighborhood gay boys walked down the street.
“Hey…why don’t you ask them,” Parade offered, pointing in their direction.
Wayne looked at the two of them. Although Dayshawn was cute and walked with a slight switch, Tyrone was trying too hard by tying the back of his white t-shirt up in a knot and carrying a big ass red purse. His jeans were real tight and he was wearing a red pair of converse, no socks.
“Yeah…it ain’t like they not like you.” Sky laughed. Although she wasn’t a bitch all the time, when she was, everyone noticed.
“And how is that, Sky?”
“Fruity.” She laughed.
“Bitch, I’m not fruity, I’m fabulous! There’s a difference.” Miss Wayne corrected her.
“Well you betta go ask them,” Parade said picking at a scab on her knee. “They about to walk away.”
Putting his pride to the side, he ran up to them and said, “Excuse me, what ya’ll ‘bout to do?”
Dayshawn said, “We headed to the block party. Why? What’s up?”
“Yeah…what you want with us? You neva got no time for nobody but your little crew over there. So what gives now?” Tyrone said. Wayne wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling that Tyrone was drunk.
Wayne looke
d back at his friends who were staring at him with hopeful eyes wondering if he should just leave things alone.
“They are my friends, but I do get up with other people when I want to. And I want to now. I see ya’ll around high school all the time.” He continued, slight silence filled their space. “Anyway, the name’s Miss Wayne. What’s yours?”
“I’m Tyrone and this is Dayshawn.”
“So what’s up? Ya’ll mind if I roll with you or not?”
“Don’t make me no neva mind.” Tyrone said.
When they got to the block party, it was packed. People were everywhere and it was hard to move around. But what surprised Wayne was that he was having so much fun with them that he didn’t mind the crowd and people stepping on his toes. It felt good being with people who looked slightly like himself.
“So Wayne, have you tried it with boys yet?” Tyrone asked sucking a strawberry sno-cone ball.
“What you mean?”
“You know…let them put it in your mouth and stuff?”
“Naw…I ain’t gay-gay. I just like dressin’ the way I do.”
They laughed so hard Wayne looked behind him to see if someone was there.
“Hold up, did you say that you aren’t gay-gay?” Tyrone asked.
“Yeah…well, you know what I mean.”
“Honey, there ain’t but one type of gay and you’re it!” Tyrone said. “Trust me I know.”
“Well if I never been with a boy I must not be gay at all then.”
“How is it that you don’t know who you are yet?” Dayshawn asked seriously. “It must be rough bein’ in denial. I can’t believe you ain’t been with no boys either.”
“Well I haven’t and for real…I ain’t trippin’.”
“Well…the reason I’m asking is because my boyfriend Cramer and his friends are having a get together in a few minutes. Other boys gonna be there too. You sure you don’t wanna hook up?”
“First of all Cramer is not your boyfriend,” Dayshawn said. “He has a girlfriend and as far as I know…you do too. Don’t you be with Shannon all the time?”
“That’s a long story. But forget all that…Wayne you wanna roll or not?”
Wayne thought about saying no, after all, just because he was gay didn’t mean he wanted to have sex with boys. Just thinking about being with someone he didn’t know made him uncomfortable. Sure he’d look at the football team at school and feel small flutters within the pit of his stomach, but that was the extent of it. And now that the offer had presented itself, he wondered what to do.
