by Sa'id Salaam
“No grandma,” Tywanna admitted. She was too green to understand that women got mistreated simply because they allowed it. Excuse one slight, one disrespect and you have given a man the green light to do or say as he pleases.
“You will baby, trust me you will,” Grandma relied tenderly.
Fatimah’s was an upscale Dominican hair salon in Harlem. They could have called it ‘bad bitches only’ because that’s the only kind of women who frequented the place. You didn’t have to be Dominican or Latina, but you had to be fly.
“Ohh, Ms. Deidra! Como esta?” The owner Fatimah gushed when the diva walked in with her granddaughter.
“Bien, Bien, gracias,” she replied and launched into a conversation in rapid fluent Spanish. Tywanna was impressed again by the woman. Just yesterday she was chopping it up in Arabic with the man at the butcher shop, proving true divas have brains.
Tywanna watched the pretty women in shock and awe. The way they walked, talked and carried themselves amazed her. She was so enthralled she missed her grandmother’s introduction.
“Girl where are you?” Deidra said, reeling her back in. “Say hello to Ms. Fatimah.”
“Hey ma’am,” she complied in her sweet southern bell manner.
“Oh my god, listen to you! Aren’t you the sweetest little thing!” The owner gushed. “Let Ms. Fatimah take care of you personally.”
With that, Tywanna was led to the exclusive chair that was coveted by all the women. Some women had to frequent the shop for years before being invited to the throne and having their hair styled by the queen herself.
“Where are you from chica?” Fatimah inquired as she inspected Tywanna’s hair. The texture suggested she wasn’t just black.
“Mississippi.” She replied making it sound like ‘Mis sipi’ like only a native Mississippian can.
“Ms. Sippi?” Fatimah asked Deidra confused.
“That’s Mississippi,” Grandma translated with a laugh.
Tywanna had a ball getting her long hair washed and curled. She was giddy as she sat under a dryer reading a fashion magazine like the Diva’s did in the movies.
The soft Soca music that served as an audible back drop stirred something deep inside of her. It reached her Latin DNA and caused her feet to tap along with it.
“Wow!” Tywanna gushed at the gorgeous girl staring back at her from the mirror.
“Wow is right little mama. You are all that!” Fatimah cheered.
A scene of dread chased the elation away when she saw some envious glance from some of the other patrons. Even if they did manage to secure the honor of being styled by the queen they wouldn’t look like that.
Being cute had often gotten her into trouble back home and it was about to get her into trouble here as well. For some reason, ugly girls hated pretty girls. Tywanna always down- played her looks and did her best to be invisible; It didn’t always work.
******
“Uh, uh!Who dat?”Angle, a young hood rat asked as Tywanna and Deidra emerged from their taxi.
Rumors had been swirling around town about the pretty girl staying with the Forrest family, but she was rarely seen. The only ones who saw her were the dealers and users who roamed the night while her and her father trained.
“She must be related to Mrs. Forrest,” Zaria replied. “We need to tell Crystalline!”
Crystalline was the leader of the local pack of Ratchet girls. Her Ratchet ass mother named her after a soda she bought as she walked to the hospital to deliver her.
Crystalline was as ugly as one can be, and still be considered human. To make ugly matters even uglier, she embellished the ugly with costumish clothing, wigs and weaves.
Soon a stake out was set up to spot the elusive cute girl. The pack of girls had a park bench that served as their headquarters. They could be found there rain, sleet or snow, Monday through Monday. It didn’t take long before their surveillance had paid off.
“Ohh, there she go!” Aqua cheered as Tywanna and her grandmother walked through the court yard.
“She think she cute!” one of them called out, thinking it too.
“Grandma, I think I’ma hafta fight one of‘dem gals,” Tywanna snarled, as she stared back at the girls starring at her.
“Don’t be naïve girl,” Grandma replied. “Your gonna have to fight all those girls!”
“Un, uh grandma, just one,” Tywanna said. She had been down this road before with Big Bessie back home.
Chapter 16
“Damn it! How did I forget the eggs?” Deidra fussed as she unloaded the groceries. “We can’t make macaroni and cheese without eggs.”
“I’ll run back and get some,” Cameisha offered. She was so eager to please her beloved grandmother she would have run to the moon if need be.
“I’ll go with you. Let me put my shoes on,” grandma said, stopping what she was doing.
“I can go by myself grandma, I’ll be alright,” Cameisha assured.
“Are you sure?” She asked wearily. She knew the hood rats were on their post looking for trouble. She had seen them jumping on girls from her window for years.
Any girl who wasn’t affiliated with someone in their crew was bait. They kept most of the girls in their homes and had all the guys to themselves.
“Well, I gotta go to school soon and you can’t come there with me,” Tywanna reasoned. She knew she would one day leap this hurdle, and she was ready.
“I will you know!” Grandma laughed. “Be right up in there with my FUBU or ONE UMMAH or whatever y’all kids wear nowadays.”
“Y’all? I see I’m rubbin’ off on you too,” Cameisha laughed. “Now, all I gotta get you to say is ‘finna’!”
“I don’t think I’ll be saying that one! Be careful!”
“I will grandma,” she assured as she pulled her laces tight and tied them. Her grandmother smiled when she picked up the newspaper off the table and headed out. She knew what the paper was for; her son had taught her that trick too.
Grandma rushed to the window to watch the show. She wasn’t the only one either. Half the project was out enjoying the summer day. When the new girl emerged into the court yard all activity grinded to a halt.
“Hold up yo’!” Tay said, calling an abrupt end to the basketball game.
“There she go! And she alone!” Angle announced eagerly as Cameisha came into view.
This was the moment they had been waiting on. Crystalline swore she was gonna get her if she ever caught her alone. Still, she didn’t plan on doing it alone.
“‘Bout to check this bitch for trying me!Come on Angle!” she demanded as she jumped up.
Poor Aqua really, really wanted to know how the elusive girl who never said a word or rarely looked in their direction had ‘tried’ her. Asking questions always seemed to get her in trouble so she stayed mute.
Cameisha smiled to herself as she began discreetly rolling the newspaper tightly behind her back. Not only did her grandfather teach her how to make the disposable club, but he’d taught her how to wield it. These chic’s were about to be in serious trouble. It was as hard as a bat and extremely dangerous in the right hands, and it was definitely in the right hands!
“I heard you wa….” Was all Crystalline was able to get out before Cameisha attacked.
The first wack with the club knocked the rest of the false statement on to the sidewalk along with one of her big hamster like front teeth. Cameisha knew there was no way the tramp had heard she said or did anything, so she saw no reason to wait. The girl wanted beef and nowshe had beef. More than she could possibly handle, and minus a tooth.
“Oh shit!” The whole project said as if trained. Like they had an ‘oh shit’ conductor saying ‘one, two, three and …Oh shit!”
The blow was a prelude to a short, but brutal clubbing from the daily news. Angle didn’t really want any part of what was going on but had no choice. Not helping a friend who is getting beat up would get you beat up anywhere in the world. In the Bronx it could get you killed.
She made a superficial attempt to intervene and paid the price for it.
Cameisha hit Angle from so many angles she thought she was getting jumped. Luckily the make shift club got soft after a while so she got to keep her teeth.
“Y’all get that bitch!" Crystalline demanded to her crew as she attempted to put her tooth back into the hole it had come out of. The rest of the girls jumped up to jump in.
“Ayo, y’all bitches fall back!” Sincerity called out, calling off the attack. “Either fight her head up or sit your ass back down!”
Crystalline and her crew hated Sincerity and they were always ‘wished she would’ and ‘bitch ever try me’, but only behind her back. None of them wanted to deal with the project Diva.
Aqua sat down immediately because she was use to taking orders. She was like a puppy trained to sit, bark, and steal and whatever else. Dasia and Zaria looked to Crystalline to tell them what to do.
“I need a one bitch!” Crystalline demanded even though it wasn’t really in her heart. What she really wanted was an aspirin and an ice pack, but she had to save face.
She had just gotten her ass whooped and was not eager for another but had no choice. Backing down is worse than getting beat up. Crystalline put her tooth in her pocket and moved in.
“And better not one of you bitches try to jump in,” Sincerity barked. “You do and you gonna have to fight me!”
“Me too!” Grandma Deidra who had just came on the scene co-signed.
Cameisha turned her head to see her grandmother with her boots on and Vaseline on her face. The distraction allowed Crystalline to get a punch off. It would be her only one.
Since the club was now useless, Cameisha tossed it aside and threw up them thangs. The real fighters in attendance peeped her technique and grimaced at what was about to happen.
Cameisha was a skilled counter puncher and let her opponent take the lead. Every time Crystalline threw a punch she paid dearly for it. Cameisha would duck or dodge it then unleash a furry.
She punished the girl for every punch, giving her four or five in return. The usually loud project courtyard was eerily quiet except for the thud from the blows that made the ugly girl uglier with each exchange.
Mercifully, Cameisha by-passed many opportunities to kill the girl with any one of the lethal moves she was taught. She also passed plenty of chances to knock the bully out. No, she was going to punish her. Make an example out of her. If anybody wanted it, this is what they had coming.
Pride is one of the most dangerous emotions known to man. It had cost more trouble than it was worth since the beginning of time. How many people had been lured to their death because they had been called out. It may have caused Crystalline her life too if no one stopped the brutal beating. If no one stepped in she may have gotten beaten to death.
“Aight, Aight, that’s enough,” Sincerity said casually and stepped between the beater and the beatened.
Cameisha was in her zone and quickly squared off at the intrusion. She wasn’t sure if she was a friend or foe so she kept her dukes up.
“Trust me little girl, you do not want to see me,” Sincerity laughed. “Y’all hoes want to fight her too then line up.”
Crystalline’s crew all frowned at the ludicrous question. It was like when you were acting up as a child and a parent asked if you want a whooping. Hell no, they didn't want to fight her.
They had just watched the girl who ruled them with an iron fist get her ass handed to her. Of course, they didn’t want to fight her. Fuck Naw!
Crystalline was literally bleeding out of every orifice. The beating was so severe it even made her period come on a few days early. She was so relieved to get a reprieve she hugged Sincerity.
“Get your bloody ass off of me,” Sincerity said with a shove that sent the girl stumbling. “New girl, go home!”
Cameisha saw no benefit in protesting and did what she was told. She turned to Karate Joe in the crowd of on lookers and traded a bow. She was so happy she skipped home with Deidra in tow.
“Oops, I forgot the eggs,” she remembered once they’d gotten home. “It’s ok, I’ll make rice,” grandma laughed.
Chapter 17
“Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” Grandma Deidra sang with the tone of a professional singer as a sleepy Cameisha emerged from her bedroom.
A huge smile spread on her pretty face when she saw her favorite strawberry cake ablaze with 16 candles.
“My birthday ain’t until next week!’ she exclaimed cheerfully.
“Tywanna maybe, but not Cameisha,” Deidra corrected. “Here’s your present.”
“Oh my god!Oh my god!” Cameisha screamed jumping up and down, as she accepted the gift.
“I take it you like it,” grandma beamed proudly.
“I love it! Cameisha Forrest,” she said reading her new name on the New York state ID card.
That’s one of the perks of New York City, not only can you be anyone you want to be, you can get ID’s, birth certificates, shot records and the whole nine yards. The documents could withstand the most scrutinizing eye because they were real. Using connections long established by her son, Deidra secured the girls future by erasing her past.
“Now go get yourself together so you can go up to Yonkers to meet your aunt.”
“You’re not coming?” Cameisha asked almost sounding scared. She wasn’t though, she had been venturing out and around the neighborhood since the beating up of the bully.
It was indeed just like fighting with Big Bessie back home. The whole school teased the smelly child of a crack head until she fought the large girl. It didn’t matter that she’d lost every time, it mattered that she’d stood up and fought for herself. If she could go toe to toe with Bessie and live, then they didn’t stand a chance.
The first time Crystalline saw her after the beating was a tense moment. It took weeks to recover enough to come outside again, waiting for the lumps and bruises to go away. They did eventually but the tooth was gone for good.
“Ohh, there she go,” Zaria said sounding like a tattling child.
“Bitch, leave that girl alone!” Crystalline snapped.“She ain’t did shit to you!”
Her rat pack looked at her in disbelief. It was proof that you could beat common sense into a person. Crystalline did not want to go through that again. Who would?
“No baby, I still have some business to take care of. Besides, you need to spend some time with her alone.” Deidra explained.
She saw the way the men and boys looked at her when she passed. A time- out was called on the basketball court just so they wouldn’t miss her. Grandma also saw how goofy she got when ever that curly head boy was in sight.
Aunt Denise was an alpha female. A boss bitch! She would best be able to train the child on how to deal with the opposite sex. Deidra herself didn’t have much experience in that area. She had mated for life and once her husband passed it was over for her. Her life was devoted to her children and travels.
Cameisha and the wolf pack pretended not to see each other as she walked by. It was an uneasy truce that could break at any second. She would be ready when it did.
As the usualfurious game of hoop players grinned to a halt when she walked by, Cameisha had a musical walk without even trying. Her round ass and wide hips would not be still no matter how hard she’d tried.
She and Tay traded their usual smiles when they saw each other. Cameisha still didn’t like boys but did like looking at this particular one. There was something about this one.
Still not use to the frigid air conditioning on the bus, Cameisha decided to walk down to the train station. It was only five blocks away to Yankee Stadium and the 4 train, but to the sheltered southern girl it was like time travel.
Those five blocks between High Bridge Projects and Yankee Stadium held more people than the entire town of Longs Mississippi. In those five blocks she saw people of ten different counties and took in their flavors.
She had seen the Jamaicans
peddling weed on 165th in a cloud of dense smoke that advertised their product, and the bass heavy, swinging their arms and winding their hips to it.
On the adjacent corner across the street,Authentic pizza was being tossed by one of Mario’s sons. The sights, sound and smell were all imported along with the olive oil.
A block over on 164th,Reef was supervising his crew of young hoochies who sashayed back and forth hoping for attention and the trinkets that came with them.
Anyone walking behind Cameisha would have noticed that the extra movement in her sweat pants caused the loud Soca music playing down on 162nd. Beautiful Puerto Ricans communicated in rapid fire Spanish that she couldn’t understand, yet it seemed to make sense.
Down on 161st a young Muslim boy was making the call to prayer in Arabic. He held one hand to his ear as he made a beautifully melodic chant that his brothers and sisters in faith instantly responded to. A group of pretty Muslim girls around her age dropped their conversation and headed into the Masjid.
In these five blocks, she inhaled Ganga, sofritto, pasta sauce, and incense. She heard as many dialects as she passed through as many nations.
After paying the token entrance fee, Cameisha climbed the stairs to the elevated number 4 train. The directions her grandmother had given reverberated in her head as she looked at one of the graffiti stained subway maps.
Looking out of the window the Bronx became a collage of colors and colorful people.As she headed uptown when the doors opened at the Woodlawn station, she exited in search of the number 4 bus.
A shivering thirty minutes later she found her Aunts block and pulled the cord exit. She walked two blocks over and took a right just like directed and there was Aunt D.G. beating a man with a stroller.
“Mother fucker are you crazy?” She demanded as she struck him about the head and back.
He didn’t answer of course, since he was in the middle of getting his ass kicked. The Diva beat him for as long as he stayed. Finally, he had enough and took off running. She sent him on his way with a kick on his ass.
“Excuse me ma’am. I’m Tyw… Cameisha,” Cameisha said introducing herself.
