“I want to get out of the projects.” She sighed.
“Stay there, Simone,” he ordered. “Be smart about this. You don’t have to worry about Money, either. I had him taken care of. Okay?”
“Okay,” she answered.
“Baby girl.” He put Aphtan down and kneeled so that she could see his face. “You have to be strong for your mama. Okay?”
“Okay.” Aphtan nodded her head up and down.
“Don’t become a product of your environment.” He grabbed her face. “Always survive by any means, but be smarter than I was about it.”
“I promise.” Aphtan hugged his neck.
“Keep getting those straight A’s.”
“I will,” Aphtan promised as the door opened.
“Time’s up.” Kevin stood at the door.
“I love y’all so much.” Boss grabbed and kissed them one last time. “I’ll be home before you know it.” He stopped at the door. “Aphtan, be careful who you trust. The devil was once an angel.”
Simone’s eyes began to flow with water. It was not controllable. Her emotions had taken over her body. She quickly grabbed Aphtan’s arm and walked out of the room and down the hallway, colliding shoulders with anyone who was near her. She went outside and strutted to her parked car on the street.
She grabbed a tissue from her purse to wipe away the tears as she put Aphtan in the backseat, then positioned herself in the driver’s seat. B Angie B’s hit song, “So Much Love,” boomed from the radio as she accelerated off into traffic. She reached for her purse on the floor of the front seat as she came to a stop at a red light.
“Turn around.” She looked in the backseat at Aphtan.
She eased the pipe out of her purse and kissed it. She needed one hit. One fix would make all of the pain go away for her. She looked in the backseat to make sure Aphtan’s eyes were closed. She flicked the lighter underneath the pipe and hit it. The feeling took over her as she pulled over to enjoy it.
“Are you okay?” Aphtan asked from the backseat.
“Yes, sweetheart.” Simone took another hit. “Just keep your eyes closed for mama.”
Aphtan fought back tears as she looked in between her fingers at what her mother was doing. She was ten, but she had seen base heads on the street do the same thing; have the same hand gestures and movements. She closed her fingers together as her mother looked at her in the rearview mirror.
She didn’t know it, but that day would be the day her mother lost herself to drugs forever. That was also the day that her life would change forever. Everything her father had instilled in her was about to be tested. The next few years of her life would be the hardest, and what she would have to endure would make her or break her.
PHASE TWO
TEENAGER
CHAPTER 8
The stifling heat smothered the atmosphere. Only a creaking, moaning floorboard under the teacher’s shoe invaded the monastic silence. Seventeen-year-old Aphtan’s eyes darted toward the window as she witnessed a bare tree branch silently dancing in the afternoon breeze. As the teacher resumed vigil seated at her desk, the creak of her chair invaded the classroom. She silently breathed the still present vapors of the custodian’s pine-scented cleaner. Ahead of her, an empty much-scarred and faded desk sat in silent testimony, witness to countless generations of scholars.
Aphtan stared off into space as the teacher droned on about the food triangle. She had heard it a dozen times before and had better things to keep her mind occupied. She twirled her long, red quick-weave hairstyle around her finger and doodled on the paper in front of her.
The sound of the classroom door closing with a bang snapped her back to attention. Standing at the front of the classroom was a tall, good-looking boy with a Caesar fade, light brown eyes, and a smile that could make every girl in the room weak. The teacher introduced him as Cole Dixon, and Aphtan found it very difficult to take her eyes off of him.
He sauntered to a desk situated behind Aphtan, and as he passed, he winked at her and smiled. She felt a pang of annoyance at his cool, calm manner. He sat down, scribbled down something on a piece of paper, balled it up, and threw it so it landed in front of her. Looking around her to see that the teacher wasn’t looking, Aphtan opened it. It read “you have lipstick on your teeth.” She quickly rubbed her two front teeth and hid the note under her book.
She turned around. “That was rude as hell.”
“I thought that you should know.” He smiled at her, his neatly trimmed mustache shifting with the movement of his mouth. “What is your name?”
“Aphtan,” she answered before she turned back around.
“Aphtan.” He leaned forward so she could hear him. “You sure are pretty.”
Red leaked into her cheeks as she nervously smiled and bit her lip. She looked away slowly, but she couldn’t hide the red glow that came over her face. She tapped her hands on the desk gently as she batted her thick lashes.
“I’m serious.” He leaned in further. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“That’s enough talking,” the teacher yelled from her desk. “End all conversations, now!”
Cole leaned back in his chair and tugged at the polo he wore. It was if Aphtan would be his from the way that she blushed. She seemed like a good girl. Good girls were all he talked to. If he had to stay in a new city, he might as well pass time with a beautiful girl.
The sound of the bell ringing sent joy through the students as everyone stood to end their day. With her book in hand, Aphtan left the classroom and headed to her locker. She could feel Cole following her, and as she looked behind her, his smile was the only thing that she saw. She stopped when she made it to the royal blue locker. Before she could enter the combination on her lock, Cole was standing with his back to the locker next to hers.
“Can I help you with something?” Aphtan opened the locker.
“You can help me with your number.” He smiled at her.
Cole, the six-foot-three God incarnate, had her lost for words. With a fresh fade and round eyes that you could swim in, he was a bit intimidating to her. His lips were full and plump, and his face—oh, his face—was just perfect. It was as if he were an angel that had fallen from Heaven, so perfect and sweet, and landed there, in that wretch of a city to grace her with his presence.
“You can’t speak now?” He peaked around the locker door.
“Of course I can.” Aphtan closed the locker. “It’s just a matter of if I want to or not.”
“Are you single?” He followed behind her as she walked away.
“You can say that.”
“That’s a good thing for the both of us.”
“How do you figure that?” She maneuvered through other students in the packed hallway.
“That means that we can get what we want.”
“What is that?” She stopped and leaned against a rusty old water fountain.
“Each other.” He grabbed her hand.
“You’re silly.” She snatched her hand away from him quickly.
Aphtan looked past Cole and saw her best friend, Mila, walking toward them. A knockout, she strutted seductively, making everyone in the hallway look. Mila’s skin was a rich shade of chocolate. She had long, brown hair and the silhouette of a goddess.
“Who is this?” Mila bit her lip. “I didn’t know we had new meat at the school.”
“This is Cole.” Aphtan looped her arm inside of Mila’s to walk away. “He ain’t nobody.” She pulled them in the opposite direction.
“He doesn’t look like a nobody to me.” Mila yanked away from her best friend’s grip. “I’m Jamila, but everyone calls me Mila.” She held her hand out for him to shake.
“What’s up, Mila.” He shook her hand as his eyes met Aphtan’s. “So, I’m nobody,” he asked with a smile, as two dimples on each side of his cheek appeared.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Aphtan folded her arms into each other.
“I thought we went together,” he joked as he walk
ed toward her. “But seriously, Aphtan, whenever you ready, let me know.”
Chills ran through Aphtan’s body as Cole’s skin touched her own as he walked by. Everything went into slow motion as they looked into each other’s eyes as if it would be the last time. If someone were to tap her at that moment, she would have fallen over. Her legs were noodles. She watched him walk out of the door, her breathing retrieving its normal rhythm the farther away he was from her.
Aphtan smiled at his tenacity. She’d never had a guy approach her like that. It was different to her, so foreign. She couldn’t tell if it was genuine, because where she was from, the approach was opposite. The magnetic connection between them promised more conversations, and she couldn’t wait.
“Damn, he looked right through me.” Mila shook her head with disbelief. “It seem like he wants you.”
“Is that so hard to believe?” They started walking through the now empty hallway.
“Well, over me, yes, very hard to believe.” Mila nudged her in a playful manner.
“Fuck you.” Aphtan laughed as the rays of the sun met them after they went through the double doors. “Let’s go. We can’t miss the bus, even though your ass missed it this morning.”
“Girl, I’m over buses.” Mila pulled a pair of keys out of her purse and dangled them in Aphtan’s face.
“Who car you stole?” Aphtan laughed, thinking her friend was talking shit like usual.
“It’s mine.” Mila hit the button on the keys, and the lights on a brand new Lexus flashed twice. “It was a gift.”
Aphtan grabbed the keys out of Mila’s hand and hit the alarm for confirmation. As the lights flashed at her command, she walked closer to make sure the shiny new car with dealer tags was really there and she wasn’t imagining it. Other students looked on as she rubbed the cherry red paint with the palm of her hand.
Aphtan looked back at Mila. The bus they normally rode zoomed by on the street behind them. Mila smiled as she ran over to the door to open it. She signaled for Aphtan to get inside as she rubbed her manicured nail around the rim of the steering wheel. She danced in the seat with excitement as Aphtan entered through the passenger door with hesitation.
Aphtan rubbed the leather seats that were underneath her as she closed the door behind her. She felt the new dashboard and tried to remember the last time she had been in a new car. The new car smell invaded her nostrils as she looked at Mila in disbelief. She tossed her the keys, the silent ignition started, and they were pulling off in an instant.
“This isn’t bad for a bitch from the slums of Dallas, huh?” Mila tossed a small sack of weed onto Aphtan’s lap.
“Spill.” Aphtan started to break down the weed. “One day we’re riding the bus and the next day you in a brand new fucking car. What’s up?”
“I saved up for this.” Mila cut down the radio. “I’ve been working this whole school year. This is my graduation gift to myself.”
“Bitch, we stay in the projects. A fifty-thousand-dollar car is unheard of for girls like us. Are you in some illegal shit?”
“Aphtan, you know me better than that.” Mila threw a lighter in her direction. “I’ve been working. Trust me.”
“When the fuck did you get a job?” Aphtan emptied the guts of the cigar out of the window after she broke it down.
“You know how I been missing parties, football games, basketball games, and other shit?” Mila raised her eyebrows.
“Yes,” Aphtan answered.
“Well, I’ve been working at Pearl Tongue for the past eleven months.”
Aphtan stopped putting the weed inside of the cigar as she looked at Mila. They had been friends since they were kids. They’d been staying next door to each other in the projects for years. The last thing that she wanted to see was her friend become a statistic. They had made a promise to each other to do better, so they could live better. All she wanted was for them to get out of the projects.
“Come on, Mila,” Aphtan exhaled. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“See, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you shit.” Mila hit the brakes with full force. “Don’t fucking judge me, Aphtan. I’m not playing.”
“Shaking your ass to music for strangers for money, Mila? We are better than that, my nigga.”
“No, you’re better than that.” Mila turned to look at Aphtan. “I don’t have straight A’s and acceptance letters from every college in America, Aphtan. You got the brains, and that’s a beautiful thing, but I don’t. This is how I’m going to have to make money. Either this or taking orders at fucking McDonalds.”
“Mila, we promised to get the fuck out of this place; out of our situation.”
“I’m going to keep that promise. We both gone get there. We just have to take different roads. It’ll be the same destination, I promise.” Mila grabbed her leg. “Anyways, let’s change the topic. Do you like that Cole dude?”
“I don’t even know him.” Aphtan licked the cigar to close it. “He’s fine, though.” She put the blunt in her mouth and lit it.
“Yes, he is.” Mila bit her lips and started grinding in her seat.
“You’re a yamp.” Aphtan laughed as she passed the blunt to her.
“Sometimes.” They both laughed. “You going to the party tonight?”
“I want to, but I got a lot of homework.” Aphtan rubbed her fingers through her hair. “Besides, I don’t have anything to wear.” She grabbed the blunt from Mila’s hand.
“Cole is probably going to be there.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means that you should go. Let’s go to the mall, peel some shit like we used to, and go have a good time.”
“I don’t know.” Aphtan wrapped her lips around the blunt and inhaled.
“Aph, we have to go, it’s Friday. You’ll have all weekend to get your school work done.”
“Okay.” She rolled her eyes as Mila sped down the busy street.
They pulled up at North Park Mall as a light trickle of rain fell onto the dark tinted windows of the car. The sun still shone through the mist as they made their way into the clear double doors. They had a plan; they had been stealing at this mall since they were thirteen years old. They knew security guards by name and flirted with them on purpose. The map of the mall had been tattooed on their brains. They could maneuver through the whole establishment with closed eyes.
Store after store, they hit without a problem. From the outside looking in, no one could tell that they had four full outfits apiece underneath their clothing. They didn’t speak during the hits; they communicated with nods and facial gestures. They were professionals, and there wasn’t anything from any store that they couldn’t steal.
Thirty minutes had passed, which was their time limit to stay at the mall. They met each other at the escalator, their agreed place to meet up at a certain time. The escalators carried them slowly down as they noticed a group of cops going up on the opposite side. When the cops saw them and started to walk down the escalator that was going up, they understood they had been caught.
“Fuck,” Mila said softly without panicking. “Aphtan, we got an issue.” She nodded toward the cops. “Don’t be stupid, bitch. Get away, don’t hold on to shit.”
“Oh, my God,” Aphtan hyperventilated. “I can’t go to jail. I can’t fuck up my shit by having a record.”
“You won’t,” Mila said as their feet hit the bottom level. “Run.” She sprinted off.
The world passed Aphtan physically, sure, but her mind was racing as well, and that blurred disposition smearing by her line of vision was also all of the what-ifs and worries that she was thinking about. They dashed through the mall, hitting shoppers with no remorse as the cops ran after them.
“Split up,” Mila yelled as she made a swift turn and Aphtan continued to run forward.
Aphtan trembled as she continued to run. Her slanted eyes filled up with tears, and for the first time in a while, tears were coming from her eyes. She glanced back at the
cops as the entrance to the mall got closer. She clenched her jaw and wiped the sweat from her brow.
All she could think about was her dresser full of college acceptance letters. All that crossed her mind was obtaining a college degree and making it. The last thing she needed was to have it all end before it even began. She had to get away.
Aphtan rushed through the entrance doors as she looked back to see the cops right on her tail. She looked forward, and before she could react, she had run into a man at full speed. They fell onto the ground as the cops surrounded them. She held up her hands with her eyes closed. Her head banged with pain from the collision.
“Lay flat on your stomach,” one of the cops yelled as they drew their guns.
“Please,” Aphtan yelled hysterically as she opened her eyes, “don’t take me to jail.”
“Shut the fuck up,” another cop yelled as spit sprayed from his mouth.
Her intestines curled into her stomach, hands clawing up her throat and choking her, letting the words coming out of her mouth drag back down her throat and dissolve into the acid of her belly. Her heart throbbed violently like a fatigued wolf howling at the iridescent moon concealed in the black velvet sky. Laboriously, her hands began to perspire as the feeling of anxiety surged through her tender body like a waterfall cascading over granite boulders.
“Hey,” the man that Aphtan had run into yelled as another man helped him off of the ground, “it’s no need to be that rough with her.”
“Sir, you need to shut the fuck up,” another officer ordered.
Aphtan cried silently with her face pressed against the hot concrete pavement. Embarrassed, she tried to hide her face from the crowd of people who stopped to see the story end. The coolness from the handcuffs caused her to jump as the sound of them closing around her wrist made her sick to her stomach.
She rose from the smoldering ground with force from the arresting officer. Her jeans were stained with rocks and dirt from the ground. Her chest moved in and out animalistically, reacting to how hard she was crying. Her hair flowed loosely, a little bit of dirt showing at the ends.
Pearl Tongue Page 6
