by Sa'id Salaam
Some were going to party like rock stars even though they were not. The sheltered kids usually fell off first. Going from zero to sixty would prove to be too much for quite a few. Non-stop partying took its toll on them. First grades slip, attendance wanes, classes get dropped and next thing you know it’s 'welcome to burger shack can I take your order.' Why you think the cashiers have attitudes. Because they fucked up at school and had to come home in disgrace.
Others would have that first drink and like it. That would lead to their first joint and they would like that too and once they were high, why not pop a pill and get a little higher? Makes sense don't it? Next thing you know a CHRONICLES OF A JUNKY book is being written about them.
Atlanta College featured several housing options but once grandma got wind of the female only dorm, she called in a favor to get Cameisha in. It was long distance cock blocking. Jackie was selected at random and assigned the room in the dick free dorm.
"Ooh, they got Sheppard's Pie!" Jackie announced triumphantly as she read the menu.
"My favorite!" Cameisha lied. In truth she could afford to eat out and avoid the bland institutional food served in the school's cafeteria but she wanted the complete college experience.
"Want some more?" Cameisha asked as Jackie scraped her plate empty. The few bites she ate satisfied the college experience and she was going to order a pizza.
"Mm hm." Jackie grinned and snatched the plate away. Her new buddy watched as she quickly scarfed it down.
As they walked back over to the dorm, they spied a block party being set up on one of the outdoor basketball courts. This would be the first party of the school year and a must for the freshman.
"Yo, we gotta get fly and hit that!" Meisha gushed.
"You go head. I gotta…um, study." Jackie lied.
“Study what? We aint even been to class yet."
“I know, but I gotta…"
"Say no more. I got you." Meisha said understanding her dilemma. The girl barely had a stitch of clothes.
Since Jackie was taller and thicker than Cameisha, borrowing a pair of jeans was out of the question. They settled on a summer dress that looked so much better on its guest than its owner. Cameisha decided she didn't want it back. The bright yellow dress contrasted the black skin so well it would make bumblebees jealous.
Not to be outdone, Meisha squeezed into a pair of snug jeans that made her ass look like she was trying to smuggle a basketball into the party. The tight tee showed off her nice chest as it advertised its designer. Crispy white sneakers set off the casual ensemble.
The first thing that hit the girls when they stopped onto the court was the smell. Damn near everyone was smoking weed. Every group, couple or solo person was passing or puffin on a blunt. The dope girl couldn't help but multiply each blunt by ten bucks. Somebody just made an easy grand she surmised.
The thing about hustling, you never really stop.
"Nuh uh daddy!" Meisha whined as the memory came to mind.
"Huh?" Jackie asked thinking she was talking to her.
“Uh, nothing. Ooh that's my shit!" Cameisha exclaimed as Erv-G's latest jam pounded through the speakers. She rushed to the make shift dance floor to show them how the fat-fat dance was really done.
Jackie suddenly felt ancient as she watched the kids' party. It broke her heart that her whole life was spent in one jail or another. First was the prison of the projects. Sure you could come and go but no one was really free. Generations had served life sentences in the red brick prison. Her crack head mother and dead beat boyfriend were her jailers. Their mental, verbal and physical abuse had reduced her to a zombie. A deer scared of its shadow, ready to flee. Zero self esteem made her easy prey.
"Sup cutie?" A cute teen asked offering a smile along with the question. Jackie frowned, and then leaned back assuming whoever this 'cutie' he was talking to was behind her. "I'm talking to you."
"Me?" Jackie asked looking confused. She even pointed at herself for clarification.
"Yeah, you! Don't tell me you aint know you was a cutie." He laughed. "I'm Marquis."
"Jackie." Jackie stifled a giggle with her hand.
"So Jackie, you want a beer?"
"Yes." She replied even though she didn't drink.
"Wanna smoke a blunt?"
"Yes." came the reply even though she didn't smoke. Jackie was so tickled by the attention she answered yes to every question.
"Wanna go to your room? Can I have a kiss? Can I hit it?"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes."
"The fuck?" Was the question on Cameisha's mind when she returned to where she left her purse with her friend and found neither. She scanned the packed area with a scowl until she came across a brilliant smile.
Curt was a six foot four inch point guard on the school's team. He was as handsome and had the groupies to prove it. He was surrounded by several pretty girls all yapping at him at once. The politician’s smile pasted on his face was meant to placate them but it was obvious he wasn't paying them any attention. How could he when Cameisha had his full attention.
The smile became real but it still wasn't returned. Cameisha was far too concerned with the contents of her purse. Yeah, he was cute but where's her phone? Still she didn't take her eyes off of him. They engaged in a full court staring contest until Meisha won by default.
The appearance of a beautiful girl came and stole the show. The groupies all got ghost when the light skin, brown haired curvy little thing showed up. She tipped toed up and planted a kiss on Curt's lips. Arnell followed his gaze over to Cameisha. She scrunched up her face as she studied Cameisha. Declaring her as no threat, she turned her attention back to her boyfriend. They were the school's version of a celebrity couple. The typical sports star dates head cheerleader scenario.
Meisha now had someone else to amuse her as she studied the girl. Arnell was gorgeous but full of drama and extremely animated. She made a variety of facial expressions as she rambled on to her boyfriend. Not just the run of the mill smiles and frowns. She had some complex combinations to express her inner thoughts. She might lift one brow, curl her lip and cock her head to one side to express herself or an even more complex series of eye flutters combined with a half smile, half frown and giggle.
Meisha watched with amusement as Curt stared back lustfully. The pretty new girl would make a nice addition to his, 'I hit that list.' Every man has one, yes even your man. Go ask him. It's not to be confused with a 'hit list' which is active. The 'I hit that' list comes in handy when out with the fellas and a pretty girl happens by and you can say, 'I hit that.'
She got tired of watching the Arnell Show at the same time she gave up on looking for her friend. It wasn't like she didn't know where Jackie lived, so that's where she went.
Cameisha declined all offers as she weaved her way through the crowd of weaved girls and wanna be thugged out college boys. Too bad black boys want to dress like goons when they aren't. She marched the way back to the dorm like a North Korean solider in anger. As she did, she noticed that and wondered why the school was dead in the middle of the hood. It was surrounded by projects on two sides but they somehow didn't show up in the brochure pictures.
“Leave the projects a thousand miles away and still in the damn projects." She huffed as she marched.
She was already feeling some kinda way but finding the room door ajar only added to it. It was bad enough if her purse was gone but all the rest of her stuff was inside. It went from bad to worse when she saw Jackie and Marquis having sex.
"Say Shawty, give us a second…or you can stay." Marquis announced at the intrusion. He was about to dismiss her until he saw how pretty she was. Now he put on his best stroke to impress her as Jackie covered her face with her pillow.
"Nigga, your second was up the second you came in my damn room!" Meisha spat. She was about to really go in but dude grunted and contorted signaling that his second was indeed up.
She frowned in disgust and turned her wrath on her bunk mate still hiding
behind her pillow. "How the fuck you got some nigga up in here?"
"You gotta go." Jackie meekly told her guest.
Marquis was done anyway and pulled his bare dick out and stood to get dressed. He put a little sway in his hips when he saw Meisha staring at his wood. It was far from a lustful gaze as she shook her head in dismay. The man she loved burned her from unprotected sex, what would a stranger give you?
Jackie snatched the sheet over herself and stared up at the ceiling. She was confused at why her friend was so upset and now her boyfriend left without leaving a number or saying goodbye.
"Umm….earth to Jackie. Hello!!" Cameisha demanded coming closer and yelling louder.
"Yes." She answered softly, afraid to look up at her.
"Look, I don't give a fuck about you fucking some nigga you met two seconds ago but I do care about you doing it up in here! And how the fuck you gone run off with my shit and leave me at the party?"
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry? That's your answer to all them questions, you sorry! You sorry alright, sorry excuse for a woman. You sure you from Harlem cuz…"
Jackie tuned out the yelling as she had done her whole life. It was just like with Ill Will, just like with her mother. She was never good enough, always in trouble. Cameisha's mouth moved rapidly but Jackie didn't hear one word. She wished she or her could just disappear.
"We gotta stay up in this bitch, fine, but I don't fuck with you. Don't fuckin talk to me, don't touch my shit. Don't….."
Chapter 4
Meanwhile, back in the Bronx, Dasia and Aqua were attempting to break the world record for shortest time to fuck a package up. Ironically, the record was held by Jackie's late boyfriend Ill Will. He got popped trying to sell nine ounces to an undercover shortly after buying it.
The girls had two major obstacles in their path to flip the ten pounds of weed. The first was their own weed habits. They were both pot heads. It took an early morning blunt to get them started then followed up at regular intervals to maintain their high. Staying high and being productive do not go hand-in-hand. They don't even know each other. Never met.
Marijuana contains the compound THC which causes the euphoric high weed heads love so much. It's what makes you happy when you smoke. It also contains a liberal dose of 'fuck it.' Fuck it is the chemical substance that affects the part of the brain that controls motivation. A person will still be able to acknowledge all the things they must, should and supposed to do and then just say, 'fuck it.' It can make you lazy in small amounts but too much leads to a grinding halt in productivity.
Instead of hitting the block to hustle, the girls spent most of the day watching videos or movies while smoking and eating. Dudes would have to knock on their door to buy a bag of fat-fat. If and when they got up to serve them then came their second problem.
Both girls were addicted to dick. The plain, yet pretty Dasia could do a lot better than being a jump off but low self-esteem convinced her otherwise. She was so excited to get attention especially by the cute guys with diva girlfriends, she was bait. And Aqua was of course, Aqua. Her esteem was plenty high. You couldn't tell big girl she wasn't fly. It was her low I.Q. that gave her problems. Lack of education leads to becoming a slave to desires. If it felt good she was with it.
Once word got out about the dunces with the good weed, guys flocked to them. They would gladly hang out with them for free weed and pussy. Soon they were crediting and borrowing weed that would never be paid for.
E-Baby controlled the drug trade two blocks over on 164th. He was a grown ass man but had no qualms about beating the girls out of their package. Back when Meisha had it pumping, he felt a pinch in his pocket. He started to send a squad of youngins over to the project to rob them until he heard she was related to Killa. E-Baby was old enough to know what that meant. Niggers don't want it with Killa.
He settled on just conning the girls out of their weed. Aqua would have been easier but Dasia was cute. He decided to trade the pretty brown thing some dick for dope. It took a day of staking out the bodega for him to catch his prey. She actually planned on working that day and had on her fat-fat short set.
Cameisha, the marketing specialist that she was had short sets made with their product name Fat-Fat on the chest and ass. Worked like a charm.
"Sup beautiful?" E-Baby asked standing over Dasia at the counter. He was close enough for her to smell his Sandalwood oil and she was drunk off it.
"Fine." Dasia sang ready to fall into his arms. That's exactly what she did. The next time she looked up he was on top and inside of her. The grown man put it on the teen so good the rest was easy.
“How much of that weed you got left?" E-Baby asked a second after she had the first orgasm of her life.
"Fine." She sang again, as if it answered the question. "Oh..uh…. about five pounds."
"Tell you what, since you and me go together now, bring it all to me and I'ma knock it off for you."
"You for real?" Dasia exclaimed at both offers. "I am? You will?"
"Sure! You my girl ma. Bring me the weed. I'll sell it and call you when it's done. So you can get your money."
I guess I don't have to tell you that call never came. Dasia waited patiently then not so patiently for weeks and nothing. Finally, she worked up the nerve to walk over and confront him. Aqua came with her for moral support and because she was sober, broke and hungry. They found E-Baby sitting on the stairs to his building like a king on his throne.
"Uh uh! Who deze bitches?" Meka squealed from her seat between his legs. Her crew of hood rats all came close for inspection.
"Um, can I talk to you?" Dasia asked timidly.
"No." E-Baby replied casually then went back to watching his workers work the block.
"I need my money." She whined desperately but it fell on deaf ears. He didn't even look in her direction.
"I need my money." Meka mocked cracking her cronies up.
"Yall bitches need to step." One of the ratchet girls demanded too close to Aqua's ear and got knocked out for it.
Meka was next to get knocked out when she leapt from her porch and was met by one of Aqua's meaty mits. The rest of the girls jumped in but got nowhere. They all got quick beat downs. The young boys on the block had to intervene to beat them up properly. Dasia and Aqua limped back to the projects bloodied, battered and bruised. Not knowing what else to do, they returned to their reserved bench in the courtyard and moped. That's exactly where Sincerity found them.
"The fuck wrong with yall?" She asked stifling a laugh. She could only shake her head as she listened to their story. She was moved, but not moved enough to do anything. They were after all, not her problem. She did make a call on their behalf once she got upstairs.
"Sup chica, let me tell you ‘bout yo girls." She cackled when Meisha picked up in Atlanta.
Chapter 5
College English was a required course but Cameisha looked forward to it with zeal. She always had a passion for reading and recently decided she wanted to be an author. Why not, everyone else is. Got ex dope boys writing books about dope girls. That of course was in addition to being a doctor, a lawyer, vet and a model. And an astronaut, and dentist and social worker, and….
The professor was a dreamy African American man in his early forties. A slight streak of grey decorated his temples, framing a chiseled chestnut face. He spoke in measured tones with the bass in his voice turned too high. Women often got caught up in the sounds emanating from his thick lips instead of the words they carried, young girls as well.
Cameisha let out a school girl sigh listening to him introduce himself and his class. Mr. Woods as he called himself had her full attention. She only half noticed the fashionably late students slink in and scramble for the remaining empty seats. She did notice Curt when he made his next appearance into her life. She tried not to stare as he surveyed the room but got caught up in his cool. When their eyes locked, he decided the empty seat next to her was his.
Curt led a trail of batting
eyes as he made his way over to where Cameisha sat. He sat down, leaned back and waited. The popular point guard was so use to girls throwing themselves at him, he expected the pretty girl to do so too. Good thing he wasn't holding his breath because she was too busy soaking up her first class to be concerned with him.
"Hey, I'm…"
"Shhh!" Meisha demanded, killing the introduction that threatened to make her miss one of Mr. Woods's words. He frowned from being shushed for the first time in his life. He had no comeback for being rejected and it confused him. It wasn't his first time being confused in the class. Actually, since he kept failing it, it was his third time being confused.
"Get up. I need to sit next to him." A dangerously close voice demanded getting her attention.
Cameisha prayed a silent prayer that whoever it was, was not talking to her. She glared up to see Arnell standing over her tapping her foot impatiently waiting for her command to be carried out. Getting into another first day of school fist fight would not go well with grandma. Especially since this was college but it looked to be inevitable. Still, she was polite.
"Can you please back the fuck up?" Meisha asked, offering a fake smile.
"Excuse me?" Arnell frowned, raised a brow and wiggled her nose. This was her perplexed face.
"If you want to sit next to him then both of yall go find a seat together!" She growled through clenched teeth.
Curt watched proudly at another episode of drama started behind him. The exchange caught the attention of those closest who turned to look, which in turn caused the rest of the class to turn to look, which caught the attention of the star of the show.
