Here she was having to travel into the world of the unknown again. A new journey for a broken girl. Lakea was determined to make her mark in Whitehaven also known as Black Haven Zone or BHZ as well. She had been through too much to ever be her true, sweet, studious self ever again. Her dreams of being a song writer were long gone. She couldn't dream anymore after living her harsh reality. The world had dealt her a cruel ever-changing hand, so she decided to throw back all of the cards she was dealt, and say fuck the game. She was making her own rules, regardless of who liked it or not.
As Lakea got out of the car she looked around at her surroundings. It looked just like something straight out of Mayberry to her. There were at least ten houses on each side of the street with long paved driveways and beautifully manicured lawns. It was past 11pm on Monday, a school night, so there were no children outside. The neighborhood was completely quiet except for barks from several dogs. Lakea hadn't been over her grandma's house since last Christmas, which was also her birthday so after being away almost a year she hadn't realized just how different things were from the environment she was used to. Lakea couldn't imagine not being depressed living in a boring, stuck up place like this, but she couldn't have been more wrong. It was just as corrupt as the hood she was from, just a little more money-driven and undercover. They hid their dirt behind good jobs, fancy titles, and beautiful houses. Lakea was used to the projects and all of the noise, violence drugs, gangs, and drama that came along with it. She had never lived in a place where everything wasn't loud and in your face. It was in Memphis after all, home of the First 48, so nothing was actually Mayberry, but it was still too damn quiet for Lakea. She could hear the damn crickets chirping.
“Hey, my grandbaby!” Grandma Mo said opening the door. She had a nice four bedroom, one bath home.
Grandma's room was right off the kitchen as you entered the house. Lakea followed her grandma and her mama through the kitchen to the living room. Grandma's living room was a typical old person's living room with lots of things cramped in a medium sized space. Plastic covers were on the creme and burgundy couches and chairs. There were also plastic runners on the floor. A big china cabinet filled with crystal was beside the couch and book shelf filled with creepy looking dolls lined the wall adjourning the kitchen to the living room. The walls were covered in pictures of the family, diplomas, and different cards grandma had received over the years. Almost everything in the living room looked the same to Lakea except the 52' big screen TV that sat in front of the couch.
“Oh ma, I love yo TV.” Felicia said sitting on the couch.
“Oh yea Tricey helped me pick that out.” Grandma Mo said.
Just then Tricey appeared from her bedroom, which was right next to the living room. She had obviously been eavesdropping like she always did and was just waiting on an opportunity to come start some shit.
“What y’all say about Tricey?” Felicia's older sister asked as she plopped her 310lbs down in the loveseat next to the recliner grandma Mo was sitting it. She made one end of the loveseat rise up off of the floor at least six inches and then crash down with a loud Boom.
“Don't be dropping your big butt down on my furniture like that, Tricey.” Grandma Mo said pointing at Tricey.
“You hush the hell up mama!” Tricey snapped. “Now what you just say about me freak?” Tricey said leaning over and pointing her finger in Felicia's face.
Tricey really hated Felicia since they were kids. Felicia was always the smart, pretty, outgoing one, while Tricey was always overweight, had bad hygiene, and was always nasty to everyone. It was like she had a chip on her shoulder at birth.
“Tricey, I'm not about to go there with your fat ass!” Felicia said knocking Tricey's finger out of her face.
Even though Tricey outweighed Felicia by almost 200 lbs, Felicia still wasn't afraid of her. Felicia was a bad ass with self-defense too just like her kids. She just didn't want to hurt Tricey now, she was already dealing with enough.
“Anyway, mama I will be back at 8am to pick you and Lakea up to transfer her.” Felicia said standing up preparing to leave.
She twirled her size nine, coke bottle frame in Tricey's face as she walked towards the kitchen. Tricey was so mad she was shaking. Lakea snickered as her mom stopped and started twerking in the kitchen door. She had on tight white jeans, blue heels, and an off-the-shoulder blue and white halter shirt, looking fierce. Lakea had to admit her mom was fine. Something Tricey never heard said about her in her life. She hated Felicia for reminding her how much she was desired. She wanted to hurt her and she would try every chance she got.
“Shut up nasty bitch and get the fuck out!” Tricey yelled at Felicia. “And your lil grown ass can stop that damn laughing. I don't know why mama agreed to take you anyway. Don't come here with that fast freak hoe shit like your mammy, that's the main reason you won't be around Alicia.”
Lakea rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. That was one of the reasons she hated Tricey so much. She always thought her daughter could do no wrong and everyone else child was bad. Even though they were both fourteen and Alicia had been fucking since eleven, and been pregnant once. Hell, Lakea would still be a virgin in every sense of the word if it wasn't for Jeff. So who was the bad influence?
Alicia looked just like her mother too...BIG. She weighed about 270lbs and was 5'6”, but it was all fluff. She was beyond soft. Lakea had been beating her ass since they were little. As a matter of fact, she beat her ass last Christmas at grandma Mo house after Alicia said something negative about people from the projects and roaches.
“Maine fuck both of y’all fat asses.” Lakea said under her breath as she was getting up off the couch.
Only Tricey heard her, so when Tricey tried to trip Lakea as she walked past, Felicia sprung back into the living room and grabbed her in the collar.
“Okay, Okay that's enough.” Grandma Mo said as she got up to break up the tussle, but she couldn't.
Felicia had her forearm pressing against Tricey's chin and chest choking her while pulling her hair. Her knee was in Tricey's bottom stomach and she pressed harder and harder making Tricey cry out in pain.
“Look, bitch,” Felicia said with her mouth next to Tricey's ear, “My daughter will only be here until school is out, maybe not even that long. But know that I will fuck your whole world up if you hurt her.”
Tricey could see in Felicia's eyes that she was dead serious. She was a beast on everybody, but niggas. She would kill anybody else about messing with her kids, but she was so weak for dick.
“Get the hell off me!” Tricey said with less bass in her voice. She was scared, but she didn't want to let Felicia know it.
Felicia released her and interlocked arms with Lakea as they both giggled walking towards the back door.
“Love you, ma, see you in the morning.” Felicia yelled leaving out the door.
“Love you too.” Grandma Mo said turning and laughing at Tricey who was still sitting on the loveseat with her arms folded. “She choked the spit out yo mean ass, didn't it?” Grandma Mo said jokingly. “See, God don't like ugly.” Grandma Mo said leaving the room to fix up the bedroom at the far end of the hall for Lakea.
Outside, Lakea and her mom walked halfway down the driveway, while Felicia texted on her phone. Then she suddenly turned right and cut through the grass into the yard next door.
“I got a surprise for you.” Felicia said walking to the front door of the house.
Lakea did not know what surprise her mother could have for her next door. Last she knew, an old lady with twenty cats lived there. Lakea stood at the edge of the grass looking confused.
“What could it be over that old lady house”?
“Come on witcho shaky ass.” Felicia said knocking on the door while doing a twerk shake. Felicia loved to shake her ass. Lakea shook her head and laughed at her mom as she stepped onto the porch. Just then the front door flew open and a pretty, red-boned, big booty girl opened the door. Felicia squealed after hugging the gi
rl then turned to Lakea. “Do you know who this is?”
Felicia asked pushing the girl closer to Lakea. She was tall, about 5'6 (that was tall to Lakea, she was only 5'2) and she had long auburn streaked hair and big brown eyes. The girl had a massive butt like the video girls, but her voice was soft and her personality was quiet and humble.
“Hey Ke-Ke.” The girl said. “I missed you my bestie, the butterfly”.
When the girl said that Lakea knew exactly who she was. It was Nia, her best friend since she was a child. Her comforter. Butterfly was their symbol and their name for each other because they loved how butterflies are beautiful, how they change, and how they are free. The two girls embraced and cried. They sat on the brick wall surrounding Nia's carport and talked for an hour until Felicia had to leave to pick up one of her boyfriends from work.
“I will see you in the morning at Fairley bestie,” Nia said as they stood to part ways.
“These bitches better get ready because it’s on now that you gone be with me.”
Nia got a boost of confidence knowing that she had her true ride or die by her side. She knew Lakea was a fighter and would hold them down. Lakea was ready to make a name for herself and unleash some of the pain she had inside on someone else.
When Alicia arrived home later, Lakea had taken her bath and was lying in bed. She stuck her head into the room and spoke to Lakea.
“Hey, I heard you were here. Are you okay?”
Before her nosey ass could get all in her business, Lakea got up and yelled, “I'm fine, now go! Your mama don't want us talking, so get on, biotch!” Then she slammed the door in her face and locked it.
Lakea didn't want to talk to or be nice to Alicia. She was so sick of her uppity attitude. She just wanted to pass the time as fast as possible, so that she could go back to her world.
Chapter 4
The next day registration went pretty smooth. Lakea was placed in all honors and AP classes because although she got into a lot of fights, she was still very smart and loved to learn. She just did not know how to handle her anger. After Lakea's mama and grandma left the principle, Ms. Stewart, a young, flashy black woman who wore tight clothes, asked her to stay behind.
“Look Lakea.” Ms. Stewart said walking around her desk and standing in front of Lakea. “I read your file. I know you're smart, but I also know you have anger issues and a problem with authority. But guess what, baby, I'm not going to have it here.”
When those words came out her mouth Lakea automatically went into shut down mode. She had heard this speech a thousand times, from just as many principals, and at the end of the day what they said didn't matter. Lakea was going to do what she deemed necessary. After the speech was over, Ms. Stewart called a student down to the show Lakea around. This student's name was Jeremy. Jeremy was the sexiest, tallest, chocolatest, smoothest boy Lakea has ever seen. Unlike the boys in Lakea's hood, Jeremy talked with respect and he had the most beautiful gray eyes she has ever seen.
“Hi my name is Jeremy, beautiful and I will be showing you around.”
Lakea fell in love that very second. Jeremy took five out of seven classes with Lakea, so it was easy for him to show her around. Jeremy was also smart and the star player on the varsity basketball team. Although Jeremy was smart and respectful, he was also from the projects, Tulane to be exact. Therefore, he could be dangerous if provoked. That is what attracted Lakea to him the most. His layers, his ability to be whatever he needed to be to fit a situation, yet stay true to his real self at the same time. He was beautiful.
At lunch, Lakea found Nia sitting with a slim dark-skinned girl with a banging BeBe catsuit on, rocking an asymmetrical haircut. Her name was Cassie. There was another skinny, tall girl with short bright orange hair and bright, colorful jewelry. Her name was Zoe. Nia told the girls who Lakea was and they all instantly clicked becoming inseparable. Lakea and everyone around could easily identify each of their roles in the group instantly. Lakea was the gangster/nerd, the one to solve problems without questions. Nia was the pretty, sweet, smart one, All-American girl. She was more of a nurturer and comforter, not really a fighter, only when provoked, and then she was a beast. Cassie was the jokester, always peeling people and making light of situations. She was always fun to be around. Zoe was the wild card, the loud one, Ms. Friendly. Zoe loved to be seen and everybody loved Zoe.
Over the next month, Lakea and her three best friends grew closer. They did everything together; sleepovers, double dates, parties, fights, everything. At the same time, Lakea was also getting closer to her now boyfriend, Jeremy. On the weekends, Lakea would go back to LMG and get involved in all types of illegal shit. It was like she lived a double life. Like a Lifetime movie and shit.
At home in the projects, she was wanted by this family of eight sisters after she beat up one sister in the park on one of her weekend visits. She had beat the girls so bad she broke three bones in her face and her eye socket. They wanted her head bad, but they knew they had to really come for it. This is what made Felicia determined to move. She knew that if Lakea came back to the hood it would be a funeral and either she would be buying the black dress or the other girls mother would be buying several. So Felicia decided that Lakea couldn't come home on the weekends anymore until she moved. And that is when Lakea started rebelling at school and the neighborhood. Up until then Lakea was maintaining a 3.8 GPA and was a majorette, even though she only joined so she could stay after school to watch Jeremy. She was also in the Spanish club and the debate club. She was an actual model student, until Felicia hit her with the no coming home bullshit. Now Lakea was beating up every chick in the school who thought she was hard, from 9th grade to 12th grade. She was a beast, completely out of control.
One day in November right before she turned fifteen, Lakea and the girls had to beat up a boy and a girl for messing with Nia. Lakea, Cassie, and Zoe were chilling in the lunch room with Jeremy and his friends, when Nia burst in crying. Her face was really red on one side, and she had what looked to be a big ass hand print from her hairline to her chin. Nia explained how she was in biology and she got into an argument with this bum ass dude who liked to pick on girls named Carter.
“He got mad because I corrected his dumb ass when he was trying to read!” Nia said fuming, pacing back and forth while holding her jaw. “So he told that fat bitch Regina he would give her $20 if she slapped me. And can you believe it. That bitch slapped me. I almost went to jail cause babyyy....I was about to…uuugghhh! But see, I didn't wanna hurt the bitch!” Nia said yelling. She was really mad, no one had ever saw her like that before. They didn't know whether to laugh or go whoop a bitch.
They figured it out quickly though and went storming out of the lunch room looking for them. Jeremy and his crew were right there with them, hell most of all the poplar people followed them. They found the fat girl on the band hallway trying to hide and rushed her on sight. Cassie and Zoe ran into her first unleashing punches while Nia choked her from behind. She was trying to break her big ass down to the ground.
“Hold that Bitch!” Lakea yelled as Cassie and Zoe held the fat girl by her arms and Nia still had her in the choke hold. Lakea kneed and punched her in her sides and stomach. She screamed in pain, but they had no pity for her. Then Lakea told Nia to come and get her slap back. Nia stood in front of her tormentor and looked her dead in the eyes, then she slapped her so hard that her fake eyelash flew off and snot ran down her nose. After Nia hit Regina with a few more right hooks, she slid sown to the ground and lay there crying.
The girls caught Carter in the field besides the school on their way home that afternoon. They all took off their belts with the big metal butterfly buckle, wrapped them around their hands buckle out, and began beating his ass. They beat his ass in every spot you can imagine. Blood was all over his face and head when they finished as he moaned in pain. They still didn't give a fuck, they were tired of him doing low down shit. This was the ultimate payback. Back at school the girls were the new leaders. Even tho
ugh they were only in the 9th grade, they had earned everyone's respect; and created a lot of fear. Lakea and Jeremy were getting closer, so much so grandma Mo was letting him come over when Tricey and Alicia weren't home. She saw how he brought out the best in Lakea and made her happy. Everything was going perfect again in Lakea's eyes, she was beginning to forget that she couldn't go home. But then that Friday before Christmas break came, and her mama finally picked her up to go home until school started back.
Felicia revealed that she had moved out of LMG to the other side of South Memphis near Kansas Court. When Lakea and her mother pulled on the street she felt more at ease. She was still close to people she knew, the environment she was accustomed to. Felicia had moved into a two bedroom apartment on Simpson Street. Simpson was a dead end street with two houses and a small building on one side of the street and several two story apartment buildings on the other side. Felicia had gotten an apartment upstairs in the middle of the courtyard.
As they pulled into a parking spot in front of their building Lakea got a good look at her surroundings. Drug dealers and junkies were standing around drinking beer and shooting dice, and an old lady with a bucket on her head and her house coat wide open, revealing her panties and bra kept walking back and forth in front of the car.
A BROKEN GIRL'S JOURNEY Page 3
