“Fuck you think you’re going?” Mika sneered so close to my face I could smell her bad morning breath.
I tried to take a step back but one of the other girls had closed me in. In fact there was one on all four sides of me. “I’m going to school.”
“Yeah? Why bother? ’Cause they ain’t teaching you the right shit,” spoke out a heavyset girl wearing a bad weave and the wrong clothes for her figure.
“Naynay, you got that shit right.” A short, petite girl wearing braids and a scowl poked me at my side.
“Excuse me. I can’t miss my bus.” I tried to maneuver away from them but they only pressed against me tighter.
“I can’t miss my bus,” the one behind me mimicked me but I couldn’t see her face.
“What you think, you some white girl? Going to that fancy-ass school?” Mika accused me.
“No, I just want to get an education.” I knew I shouldn’t have antagonized them.
“And you saying we don’t, bitch?” Mika snapped.
“No, I’m not saying that, but I can’t be late.” I could hear the fear in my voice. Being late scared me because I knew my teacher would send me the office, where everyone would hound me to talk about my feelings. But I was definitely more afraid of what these girls would do to me. “I just don’t want any trouble.”
“You should have thought about that shit.” Naynay spat the words out at me.
“Yeah, when you stepped on my territory you were looking for trouble.”
“No, I wasn’t. I just moved here.” I could hear myself pleading with them. I’d been hating God for taking my mother but I started praying I’d get out of there alive.
“I’m not talking that kind of location. What, you tryin’a act stupid? Tryin’a piss me the fuck off?” Mika poked her fingertip against my forehead. I must have looked as confused as I felt.
“She act like she don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about. All that school and you still a dumb bitch.”
“I got to go.” I tried to push through the human wall they’d built around me but they were stronger and more determined.
“She’s talking about D-Waite,” the voice behind me shouted, her hot breath stinging my ear. I felt my stomach do flip-flops at the mention of his name. It actually hurt to hear it out loud.
“Yeah, you can’t come into our hood, stealing our men. You may look like some innocent-ass schoolgirl but maybe that’s just your stripper act.” Naynay glared at me.
“Look, I don’t want any trouble.”
“Then you need to step the fuck off and keep your ass away from her man.” Hot breath seethed in my ear.
“So he’s your boyfriend?” I spoke directly to Mika, who didn’t hide her surprise at my question.
“No, he’s not my boyfriend,” she mocked me. “We’re fuck buddies and I plan to keep on fucking him so I don’t need no stuck-up bitch cock blocking me.”
I had never heard the term “cock blocking” but I had a pretty good idea what she meant. “Then you don’t have to worry because I’m not planning to have sex with D-Waite.”
“Bitch, who you calling worried? I’m just letting you know that you need to watch your back before I watch it for you.”
“That’s right, bitch,” Miss Hot Breath screamed in my ear before banging her fists on my back.
“Hey! Get away from her,” a familiar male voice screamed out. It caused them to back away.
“You better watch yourself!” Naynay kicked me in the butt and raced off to join the others.
“You all right?” Preston came up to me.
“I’m fine.” I kept moving toward the bus stop.
“Yeah, well whatever you did to piss those hoodrats off you need to stop it. I’m not always gonna be here to rescue you.”
“I didn’t ask for you to rescue me!” I snapped, stomping away, but he stayed on my heels.
“Yeah, well anybody could see those girls meant business. This ain’t Brooklyn Heights or Park Slope. These girls don’t play by no rules. They will hurt you and not think twice.”
“I can handle myself.”
“Yeah, I see that. I can be an important ally to you, Gabby. People respect me. All I need to do is put the word out and nobody will bother you. I told you that you need a man to look out for you.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be looking out for my aunt?” I couldn’t help glaring.
“I am looking out for her! But that don’t mean I can’t look out for you too.”
“I’m good. Gotta go.” I took off racing to catch the B54 coming up the street.
“Gabby!”
I turned to see D-Waite bopping up the block from the other direction. I could see Preston watching out the corner of my eyes. I didn’t dare swivel all the way around to see if Mika and her girls were close by. I raced right past D-Waite. For a moment our eyes locked and I could have sworn I saw hurt in his eyes. Maybe it was my imagination because I desperately wanted to believe that I wasn’t the only one affected after our time together, that it was the one part of my life that had given me hope in the last couple of days.
I got on the bus and squeezed all the way to the back just to catch the smallest glimpse of his head. I turned and looked out the window to find Preston watching me watch D-Waite, a hostile stare on his face.
6
Mrs. Sharzer sat across from me, reviewing some papers, her thin lips pressed together. I knew that eventually she would turn her focus on me but, man, was I wanting this to be over.
“Gabrielle, I wanted you to know that a few of the schools have already called to see what your first choice school is. They all seem to want to offer you some sort of financial package. But even with a full-ride scholarship you’re still going to need some financial support. We just found out that your mother’s insurance policy wasn’t current. Because of your situation we have made the allowance and allowed you to stay in school and graduate, but it may be necessary for you to look into some kind of employment. How are you doing? Your teachers have been worried about you.”
“I’m good,” I lied just desperate to get out of there.
“Because you are important to all of us at St. Agnes. I need you to know that whatever you need, we are your family. We’re here for you.” She wrung her anorexic hands and offered me a supportive smile.
All I could think was, can I come live in your beautiful house where I wouldn’t be accosted by bullies or a lecherous older man angling to be my first? But instead I just smiled, playing along, and nodded as if I believed her.
“Ugh!” I exited to find Maddie waiting for me. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and pretended to gag.
“Right? All this fake concern is making me feel soooo loved.” I laughed.
“Well just to balance that shit out, I don’t give a shit.”
“Nice.”
“Wanna come over and do homework?” she asked and the thought of avoiding Mika and her crew made me jump at the offer. Not to mention Preston. I could probably spend the night if I played it right.
We got our stuff and headed out. There, leaning against a car parked on the curb, was D-Waite. My face must have lit up like a Christmas tree by the look on Maddie’s face.
“Who is that total hottie? Got you all wide open?” she teased.
“Shhh! I wanna act cool,” I warned her.
“Late for that. He’s got that same goofy look on his face.”
“Hey.” I approached D-Waite.
“Hey.” He grinned at me. Maddie cleared her throat, breaking us out of our embarrassing daze.
“D-Waite, this is my friend Maddie.”
“Best friend Maddie,” she said with total attitude.
“So what brings you to our prison?” she joked.
“I wanted to make sure my girl got home safe.”
“Well we were going to go to—”
I kneed her before she could say anything more. “So, Mads, let’s get together tomorrow?” I raised my eyes at her, hoping she’d go along wi
th me.
“Later, Gab,” she snapped and stormed off in a huff.
Damn, I just couldn’t catch a break today, but I really wanted to hang out with D-Waite. He had just called me his girl.
“You need to go after her?” he asked.
I glanced down the street after an angry Maddie and decided to move in the other direction. D-Waite followed me.
“Nah, it’s good. So what are you doing here? I mean you told me that you didn’t want to date me.”
“I wanted to see you.”
“For what? To tell me again that you can’t afford to have feelings for me?”
“Do you know what I would do if anything happened to you? I’m not there all the time. I may not be able to protect you.”
“Nobody can protect anybody all the time. Not a parent or a husband or even the cops. Life doesn’t work that way.”
“I know.” His words came out like a wounded animal.
“But I done seen some shit and been through things and it’s not pretty. My life is different than yours.”
“I cleaned up my mother’s vomit and stood by as she died. You tryin’a tell me I’ve led some sheltered life? I have a father who I heard wants nothing to do with me and I’m living with my aunt and . . .” I let it drop off, not ready to say out loud what had become painfully clear.
“What? Tell me?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.” I turned my head away, avoiding his eyes.
“Gabby, what are you not telling? We promised not to lie to each other.” He grabbed me by the hand and turned me to face him.
“There is no ‘we.’ You already made that clear and you haven’t told me one thing that would make me think differently.”
“I’m falling for you. I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t sleep or eat. I just want to be with you all the time.” He finished. I let out an exasperated breath.
“And?”
“And this kind of shit doesn’t happen to me.”
“So, what, you Superman or some shit?” I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“No, baby girl, I ain’t Superman, but if that’s who you want me to be then I damn sure want to try.” He focused all of his attention on me. I felt my knees getting weak. He stopped me and wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
“Ahh!” I took a sharp intake of breath, feeling overwhelmed and heady. This wasn’t the kind of thing that happened to me either.
“What are you doing to me?” His voice lost its edge.
“The same thing you’re doing to me,” I said all breathy and girly.
“You ever play cards?”
“Spades, with my aunt.”
“There’s a gambling term that means you’re willing to risk your entire pot. It’s called being all in. Do you know what that means?” He stared down at me, his eyes emotional and exposed.
“Yes,” I answered, suddenly afraid to move, to break the moment.
“Well, with you I’m all in.”
“Are you serious?”
“What do you think, Gab?”
“I think I’m all in too.”
And he held my chin up and planted the deepest, most intense kiss on me. This was even different from the kiss yesterday. It was just as strong and probing but without the agony of a man trying to run away. This was the kiss of a man who was exactly where he wanted to be.
“You hungry?”
“No. I don’t have an appetite . . . for food.” I stared at him.
“Girl, you gonna get yourself in trouble you keep looking at me like that.”
“Is that a promise?” I flirted, breaking into an even bigger smile.
He took my backpack, then my hand, and led me to the Brooklyn promenade. For the next ninety minutes it felt like we were the only two people on the planet and that was fine with me, until D-Waite’s phone started ringing, dragging us back into the world.
“Yeah, nah. Fuck! Yeah, I got this. I said I got this!” he shouted at whoever was on the other end before hanging up. He grabbed my hand and almost dragged me down the street.
“Whoa!” I snatched my hand out of his and stopped walking.
“Gabby, we got to go. This is serious. Fuck!” He looked really worried.
“What is it? What happened, D-Waite?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Of course you can. I’m not a baby!” I said like I was having a tantrum, stomping my foot.
“I’m not saying that but this shit is not play. The people I deal with are either so desperate for what I have they will kill each other to get it, or so dangerous that if something goes wrong they will have no problem killing me.” The weight of his words and the fear in his eyes made me scared for him. He stepped off the street and hailed a cab. This must be really serious, I thought.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled as a taxi stopped in front of us.
“Thank you.” He opened the door and let me get in first.
“Cumberland housing projects on Myrtle,” he directed the cabby. I snuggled close to him as the car took off.
Within minutes we had arrived one block from my aunt’s house. D-Waite paid and hurried me out of the cab. A big-body SUV sat at the curb in front of us. Two huge muscle-bound guys got out of the car and stopped D-Waite as we passed.
One stood right in his path and snatched his arm.
“Let’s go, D-Waite.” I gripped his hand.
“Go home. I’ll call you later.” He gave me a look that made me listen to him, even though I didn’t want to leave him with those guys. I hurried down the street and when I turned I saw them shoving him into the SUV.
7
“Where you been?” my aunt questioned me the moment I stepped into the apartment.
“Just hanging out with a friend.”
“A friend from school?” She stared at me.
“No. I thought you were going to be at your meeting.”
“I didn’t go tonight. I was tired. Preston said he saw you with one of these little hoodlums. Gab, these boys around here ain’t like the ones you used to in that fancy school. They will say anything and do anything to get what they want and after they get it they will pass you on to one of their friends.”
“That sounds just like my high school. It’s no different over there.”
“I thought you would learn from your mother’s mistake. These boys around here ain’t gonna do shit but leave you knocked up and on welfare.”
“What do you mean my mother’s mistake? You mean me?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. She had dreams for her future and once she had you she turned all those dreams into dreams for you. You don’t want to let her down. She gave up everything to make sure you had a future. You willing to throw that away for someone with no future?”
“And how am I doing that? I’m going to school and getting good grades.”
“Yes, but you are also judged by the company you keep. Just being seen with that kind of boy can get you in trouble in this neighborhood.” The last thing I wanted her to find out now was about my run-in with Mika. Of course Preston would probably run and tell her anyway with his big-ass mouth.
“And does that apply to you or just me?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I didn’t say anything. I knew I had said more than I should.
“So you talking about Preston?”
I turned away so she couldn’t see the look of pure disgust on my face at the mention of his name.
“You got something to say then say it.”
“No, I don’t have anything to say. I need to do my homework.”
“What do you have against Preston? He thinks you don’t like him.”
“I don’t.”
“Look, I know that your mother never dated. Preston said that’s what it’s about. You’re not used to having men around or sharing the adults in your life. The women.”
“Oh, and what do you think, Auntie?”
“Gabby, I don’t kn
ow what the hell to think. This mother-aunt thing is new to me. I ain’t never had to think about anybody other than myself but I like him. You don’t know how hard it is once you done all the things I done to have a decent man give a shit about you. And he wants to be committed.”
“Moving in is not a commitment. It’s just a change of address for him. I think you can do better.”
“Well I been out there and I don’t. He loves me.”
“Then why isn’t he trying to marry you? He’s taking you off the market for free.”
“What do you know about grown-folk business? You been so sheltered you believe everything you see on television.”
“This is 2013. I don’t live under a rock. I got social media, friends, and eyes and ears. I know a lot more than you think. I seen all kinds of things. Just because people have good jobs and money don’t mean they’re not as messed up as poor people. You can’t shelter anybody anymore.”
“Well, I just need you to give Preston a break.”
“I need you to let me put a lock on my door. I need some privacy.”
“Fine.”
“Wait. What did you mean about my father being from around here? I thought they met when my mother was in college.”
“She was in college. He was slinging drugs on the avenue.”
“My father was a drug dealer?”
“Yeah. Ain’t that a good enough reason not to get all messed up with one?”
“Is that why he wanted nothing to do with me?”
“What?” She seemed genuinely confused. “Your mother didn’t tell him about you. I don’t think he even knows that he has a child.”
“She lied to me? She made it seem like he was the one who had rejected me. That she had no choice but to raise me on her own.”
“Maybe that’s how she felt because of what he did for a living.”
“What else do you know about my father?”
“I can’t talk to you about this. Your mother wouldn’t like it.”
“You already told me more than she ever did. Besides, my mother is dead. I’m seventeen years old and I don’t want to be treated like I’m some baby.”
“Big John Thompson was a legend around here. He owned the streets. Hell, the first time I ever got high was off-a some weed from one of his crew. I think because he was in love with your mother he always had a soft spot for me. Treated me real good, but once he went away the dealers who took over his territory didn’t give a shit about nobody. They were all about stacking paper by whatever means necessary.”
Girls From da Hood 8 Page 3
