by CJ Hudson
“Oh, my God, you pregnant, ain’t you?” Janice asked with wide eyes.
Tammy stood there in shock for a second and then burst out laughing. “No, Mama, nobody’s pregnant. At least not me.”
“Oh, okay then,” Janice said with a huge sigh. “Well, if you not expecting, what is so important?”
“Weeell, I just thought I should let you know that I applied for school the other day.”
A large smile fell across Janice’s face. Tears formed in her eyes. To her, this was a dream come true. “Oh, baby, I’m so proud of you,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Tammy’s neck and squeezed so tight Tammy couldn’t breathe.
“I’m not going to be going anywhere if you keep hugging me like this, because I will be dead.”
“I’m sorry. This is just such a happy day for me. One of my children is doing something that I never got to do. I gotta tell somebody,” Janice screamed. With her hands shaking, she ran to the phone and picked it up.
Tammy just shook her head and smiled. No doubt she was about to brag to all of her friends that her daughter was about to go to college. Tammy then remembered that she had left her cell phone in her room. Making a mad dash up the steps, she went to her room to retrieve it and saw that she had a missed call.
“Oh, brother,” she said, rolling her eyes. Knowing that it was Ivory, she dialed her number.
“Where the hell you been?” Ivory asked without so much as a hello. “I been calling yo’ ass for the last fifteen minutes.”
“First of all, I was talking to my mother, if that’s okay with your ass. And secondly, you haven’t been calling for the last fifteen minutes, because I only see one missed call.”
“‘And secondly,’” Ivory teased Tammy about the way she talked. “Why the hell you gotta be sounding so proper all the damn time? Yo’ ass is from the ghetto just like me.”
“Whatever. Don’t hate because I know how to pronounce my damn words.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Ivory said, laughing. “You still going up to Rite Aid with me to pick up my check?”
“Yeah, I’ll ride with you. How soon will you be here?”
“I’m on my way now.”
“All right. I’ll see you in a minute then.” Tammy hung up with Ivory and went back downstairs to tell her mother that she was about to leave. When she got back in the kitchen, her mother was still on the phone, bragging like she had won the lottery.
“I’m about to go to the store with Ivory. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Yeah, okay,” her mother said, frowning. Her dislike for Ivory was once again evident. “Oh, by the way, your job called. They asked me to tell you to call them. They said it’s important.”
Tammy spat out a laugh. “Yeah, right,” she said and headed out the door to wait for Ivory.
She knew exactly what her job wanted, and they would have to find another sucker today. Every time Tammy’s job called her, it was because they wanted her to come to work because someone else didn’t. Tammy wasn’t falling for it today, though. All she wanted to do this day was kick back and have a little fun. The weather was nice. The temperature was seventy-three degrees with a slight breeze and made Tammy think about going back into the house to get a light jacket. Before she could make a decision, however, Ivory came screeching to a halt in front of her house. Tammy just shook her head at her friend’s reckless driving style.
“You really need to learn how to drive,” she said once she got inside the car.
“Whatever,” Ivory said, pulling off as soon as Tammy’s door was closed. Tammy tried to gage Ivory’s mood as the two of them engaged in idle chitchat. She wanted to see if Ivory was in hood mode. Ivory seemed a little too calm for her, so she decided to lay it down to her.
“Okay, look, Ivory. Go in there, get your check, and let’s roll the fuck out. I don’t have time to be calling my mother to bail me out fucking around with your hotheaded ass.”
“What? Girl, ain’t nobody on that shit. Yo’ scared ass. As long as they give me my muthafuckin’ ends, there won’t be a problem.”
“I don’t know. I still think maybe you should’ve let them mail it to you.”
“‘Should’ve,’” she said, mocking her proper-talking friend.
“What the fuck ever,” Tammy said.
“And fuck that! I’m going up there to get my damn money.”
Five minutes later, Ivory pulled into the pharmacy’s parking lot and jumped out like she owned the place.
“Damn, girl, you’re getting out like you’re about to go in there and rob the place or something,” Tammy commented.
Ivory ignored her statement and kept walking. Her long legs didn’t miss a beat as Tammy had trouble keeping pace with her. Ivory walked into the store and once again spotted Cookie. She walked over to the register, where Cookie was working and tapped her on the shoulder. When Cookie saw that it was Ivory, she looked toward the office. Then she leaned over to Ivory and whispered in her ear.
“Girl, you better go ’head in there and get yo’ shit. Cassandra’s passing them out now, so if you go in there right now, she can’t talk no dumb shit about they didn’t come in.”
“Did the bitch say I was fired or just suspended?” Ivory asked.
“I ain’t heard her say shit about it.”
“Okay. Let me go in here and get my paper. Thanks.”
While Ivory walked over to the office, Tammy and Cookie engaged in light conversation. They only knew each other through Ivory when Tammy would come up to Rite Aid and see her from time to time.
When Ivory got to the door, she peeked in and saw Cassandra reaching into a large manila folder. She then pulled out a check and handed it to Nathan, the pharmacist who worked in the back. Before they even realized she was there, Ivory burst through the door like she was on a SWAT team. After a few seconds of silence, Ivory looked at the folder and crossed her arms.
Acting as if she had no idea why Ivory was there, Cassandra hunched up her shoulders and said, “What?”
“The fuck you mean, what? I want my damn check!”
“Ivory, I told you the other day that we would mail you your check.”
“Oh, you got a bitch like me fucked all the way up! I didn’t mail no muthafuckin’ hours up in this piece. Y’all ain’t about to mail me no damn check! You just gave this nigga here his paper in his hand, but you gon’ tell me that I have to wait for mine?”
Seeing trouble brewing, Nathan hurriedly ran out the door.
“Ivory, that’s a common procedure when—”
“When what?”
Cassandra was about to let it slip that she had indeed fired Ivory. Knowing how quick-tempered she was, Cassandra would have much rather sent it to her in the form of a registered letter than tell her face-to-face. But now that Ivory was there, she had no other choice but to tell her.
“Because of you calling off from work under false pretenses, combined with you pretty much showing your behind in here yesterday, the company feels that they have no other alternative but to let you go.”
“The company, huh?” Ivory said, smiling. She had been at Rite Aid long enough to know that her supervisor was feeding her some bullshit. Cassandra and Cassandra alone did the hiring and firing, and Ivory knew it.
Cassandra got nervous as Ivory started taking off her earrings. She almost pissed on herself when Ivory got up in her face. She wanted to call security but didn’t want to let Ivory know that she was partially afraid of her.
“You know what? I kind of figured that I was gonna get fired for what happened in here yesterday. But the least you could’ve done was be a woman about it and tell me that you were firing me and not hide behind the damn company. Now give me my muthafuckin’ check before I stomp yo’ ass in here!”
Knowing that her options were limited, Cassandra reached into the folder and took out Ivory’s check. Ivory didn’t even wait for her to offer it to her as she snatched it out of her hand. Ivory then turned and started to walk out of the offi
ce. She was just about to push the door open when the colored glass revealed Cassandra giving her the finger from behind. Ivory’s head spun around like in The Exorcist in an attempt to catch Cassandra dirty. Cassandra had already put her hand back down, but the reflection was good enough for her.
“Oh, so now you wanna disrespect me, huh?”
Before Cassandra could utter an excuse, Ivory hauled off and punched her in the face. Cassandra dropped to the floor like a rock, hitting her head on the cushion of the chair. Ivory then spat on her and walked out. By the time she got twenty feet away from the office, she heard Cassandra yelling for security on the loudspeaker. Not wanting to be detained by the rent-a-cop until the real police got there, Ivory picked up the pace.
“Come on, girl, let’s get the fuck outta here,” she yelled to Tammy.
“Ah shit, what the fuck did you just do?” Tammy screamed, following closely behind her. The two of them jumped in the car and peeled away, with Ivory laughing the whole time.
“I knew it! I fucking knew it! I knew your ass was going to start some damn trouble,” Tammy fussed.
“I didn’t start shit! I just finished the muthafucka,” Ivory stated with pride. “What’s that in your hand?” she asked Tammy.
“They’re invitations to Cookie’s birthday party. But I don’t know if I wanna go with your crazy ass.”
“Look, I wouldn’t’ve done that shit if the bitch hadn’t tried to disrespect me. She got what she fucking deserved. And now I need a damn drink,” Ivory said as she headed to the nearest Arab store to cash her check. For the second night in a row, the two friends sat back and got blazed.
Chapter 10
Bobby and Red sat next to each other on the couch, holding Xbox 360 controllers in their hands. The two had been lying low ever since murdering their would-be robbers the day before. It was a cool-down tactic they always employed after performing such a heinous crime. In their presence was Ray-Ray—the sniper who they had posted up behind the bleachers—Hank, and Ray-Ray’s cousin, Dennis, who had just been released from prison.
Dennis was definitely violating his parole by hanging out with felons, but like most of the thugs from the hood, being away from the homies was never an option. Also, like a lot of convicts passing through the system, he had adopted the teachings of Islam and become a Muslim. He scrunched up his face at Ray-Ray, who was eating a rib sandwich from B&M Barbeque.
“If you knew what the fuck I knew about that pig, you wouldn’t be eating that shit,” Dennis told him.
“Look here, Malcolm X, don’t start with that bullshit. I ain’t no damn Muslim, so don’t be telling me about that dumb shit. I’m getting my muthafucking grub on.”
“I’m just trying to educate yo’ ignorant ass. That pig animal is nasty as fuck.”
“That’s why it’s washed off before it’s cooked, nigga,” Ray-Ray retorted.
“Yo, man, you gon’ have ta chill out calling me the N word.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Both of you muthafuckas shut the fuck up,” Bobby yelled. “Don’t y’all see a nigga trying to concentrate ova here?”
“Yeah,” Red chimed in. “Let this nigga concentrate. I don’t want no excuses when I get finish digging off in his ass.”
“You wish. I’m the Madden star up in this piece.”
“That game’s garbage,” Red spat as he shook his head in disgust. “Ray-Ray, put something in the air.”
“You ain’t said shit.” Ray-Ray reached into his pocket and pulled out an extra-large blunt.
“Damn, nigga, you trying to get high for days off that shit,” Bobby said.
“I don’t play wit’ it.” Ray-Ray beamed.
“Oh, shit. I gotta roll,” Dennis said. Hanging around his buddies was one thing. But when they started smoking weed, he wanted to be nowhere in sight. He’d learned firsthand how second-hand smoke could cause someone to fail a drug test, and the last thing he wanted was to be locked back up on a humble, especially when he wasn’t the one doing the smoking. “Ray, you wanna give me a ride to the house?”
Ray-Ray looked at him like he was from Mars. “Now?”
“Yeah, man, now,” Dennis said through gritted teeth.
Ray-Ray mistakenly took the way he said it as Dennis being disrespectful, and he lashed out. “Muthafucka, you crazy!”
“You know I can’t be around this shit!”
“Look here. You know damn well how we get down. What the fuck you think we was gon’ do when we got together, play Monopoly?”
“But—”
“But my ass! Now, the way I see it, yo’ ass got three choices,” Ray-Ray said. “You can sit here and wait until I’m ready to leave, catch the muthafucking bus, or call Allah and see if He can come and get yo’ non-pork-eating ass, ’cause I ain’t ready to go.”
And with that, Ray-Ray fired up the weed and took a pull.
Dennis stormed out the front door in a huff. “A’ight, muthafucka,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Damn, Ray, that was some cold-ass shit to be doing to ya fam,” Bobby said, laughing.
“Man, fuck that nigga. Cousin or no cousin, he knew we was gonna be getting blown when he came up in here.”
After the four thugs passed the blunt around once, Hank asked Red, “Don’t you got a bitch who work for that Rite Aid on 105th?”
“Yeah. Matter of fact,” he said as he looked at his watch, “she oughta be here in a few. I got her bringing me a twelve-pack tonight ’cause I knew we was gonna be chilling and shit.”
The four remaining thugs went about their business, oblivious to what was about to happen next.
Dennis got on the elevator, mad as hell. Even though Ray-Ray was his cousin, there was no way he was going to allow him to disrespect him that way. He’d tried unsuccessfully to remove his family from the equation but figured since his cousin wanted to show off in front of his friends, then he was on his own. Dennis opened up his cell phone and dialed. When the person on the other end answered, he made two statements.
“I’m on my way. Get ready.”
After the elevator doors opened, Dennis rushed out and ran right into a sexy light-skinned tenderoni. She had a peacock weave in her head that was blond blended with blue and red.
“Damn, nigga, watch where the fuck you going,” Cookie screamed.
Normally Dennis would wild out at a female talking to him in that manner, but since he was on a paper chase, he decided to take the high road. “My bad,” he apologized as he knelt down to help her pick up the beer cans that had fallen out of the now-torn box. Since it was only torn at the top, Cookie could still carry it by holding it from the bottom.
“Yo, you still there?” the caller on the other end asked.
“Yeah. Hold up a second.”
Cookie could clearly hear the person on the other end on the phone. She could even hear what they were saying. Content to mind her own business, Cookie continued picking up the cans until she heard the word “rob.” Then, when Dennis mentioned apartment 3C, Cookie immediately put two and two together. Dennis was so preoccupied with his conversation that he never heard Cookie inadvertently whisper, “Oh, shit.” After Dennis helped her put the rest of the cans of beer into the box, Cookie thanked him and hurried to the elevator.
Dennis wondered why her attitude went from shitty to docile in a matter of minutes, but he shrugged it off and went to meet his partners in crime.
* * *
Rick’s moment of opportunity had finally arrived. He was mere minutes away from making a major come-up. His plan was to run up inside Red’s spot, rob him, and kill whoever was there. Nodding to the sounds of Tupac, Rick loaded his black 9 mm pistol. He was dressed in all black with a ski mask rolled up on top of his head, waiting to be pulled down. Rick had been copping product from Red and Bobby for a little over a year now. All along though, he knew the day would come when he would want to get rid of them both and take over as the major supplier in the Dawg Pound city.
What better way
, in his mind, than to get rid of them permanently and make a come-up in the process. His getaway vehicle was a stolen DirecTV truck that his accomplice, Bear, had ripped off only an hour earlier.
“You ready to go get this chedda?” he asked Bear, who was sitting in the passenger’s seat beside him.
Bear, a hulk of a man who stood six feet four inches tall and weighed in the neighborhood of 275 pounds, simply nodded. A smile was something that hadn’t been seen on his face in quite some time. A former car thief, Bear was also an expert at picking locks. He needed a quick payday to ward off loan sharks. He had twenty-four hours to pay them off, or they were going to kill his mother. Rick flinched as the back door opened, and Dennis slithered into the back seat.
“The hell you jumping for, scared-ass nigga? I told you that I was on my way back down.”
“Everything set up right?” Rick asked, ignoring Dennis’s statement.
“I told you that it was on the phone.”
Rick took a deep breath and then turned around to face Dennis. “You sure you wanna go through with this shit? That is yo’ fam up there.”
“Man, fuck that clown. I tried to give him an out, and he wouldn’t take it. And like I told you before, that jackass ain’t no blood kin to me. We just cousins by marriage.”
Rick just stared at him for a few seconds. He honestly didn’t know if Dennis was going to have the heart to bust something if shit got thick, and he was going to make sure it did. What Rick hadn’t told Dennis was that he planned on killing everyone in the house who wasn’t taking part in the plan. He concluded right then that if Dennis wanted to go down in flames with Bobby, Red, and Ray-Ray, then he would surely send him to meet his Maker.
The plan to rob Red and Bobby was devised in a bar by a chance meeting between Dennis and Rick. Dennis had sat down beside the younger Rick, and while throwing back shots of liquor, the two discovered that they had a few things in common. It was purely coincidental that both of them had connections to Bobby and Red. Rick had figured that it would be the perfect time to try to make a come-up off the two drug dealers.
