Crooked G's

by S. K. Collins

  “No, Your Honor. I don’t use drugs.”

  “Are you homeless?”

  “No, Your Honor. I have somewhere to live.”

  “So you are not on drugs, nor are you homeless. Do you like selling your body to men?”

  “No, Your Honor.”

  “How old are you, Miss Marshall?

  “I’m twenty-one, Your Honor.”

  “Is your father in your life?”

  “No, Your Honor.”

  Judge Tomlin removed his glasses and rubbed his brow. He was a father and couldn’t picture not being in his children’s lives.

  “Miss Marshall. I have two daughters that are around your age. One of them attends the University of Pittsburgh for law school and the other is a sophomore at Virginia State University. I understand how hard it is for a young girl to not have her father involved in her upbringing. I certainly didn’t have my father in mine. Yet, I didn’t use that as an excuse not to be able to succeed in life. Instead I found a few role models to help me get to where I am today. Just like my two girls, I also see promise in you, Miss Marshall.” Shakita didn’t ask for the motivational lecture, but she damn sure was listening.

  “Now, Miss Marshall, normally what I do for women who come before me with soliciting charges is give them a minimum of thirty days in jail with a maximum of ninety.”

  Shakita’s whole facial expression changed when the judge talked about how much jail time he could give her. She never thought that she would receive so much time for never being locked up, but she didn’t ever think about what would happen if she ever got caught. Shakita was scared as hell.

  “But since you are young, Miss Marshall, and still have a long life ahead of you, I’m not going to do that today. I’m going to offer you a chance to turn your life around. Will you accept my offer?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” Shakita quickly nodded her head, willing to accept any form of punishment other than jail.

  “What I am going to do for you is have you assigned to a counselor so they can seek job placement for you. You will meet with your counselor today between the hours of three and five p.m. Your counselor will then see to it that you get on the right track. Since you have never had any prior arrests, I am going to let you leave here today on your own recognizance, and conduct a follow-up on you in sixty days to see if you have made any progression. Also, I will be placing you under a strict curfew that will require you to be at your primary address by midnight. Your curfew hours will be set from twelve-oh-one a.m. to six a.m. each night of the week. Does any of what I have said to you sound unfair, Miss Marshall?”

  Shakita wanted to tell him that his whole offer was bullshit and that he was severely interfering with her social life. That meant she couldn’t work at the spa, she couldn’t go to the casino, she couldn’t do shit that made her life seem normal. Yet, if she went to jail, her problems would be way worse. She had no choice but to play along if she wanted to get out of there. She shook her head, letting Judge Tomlin know that what he was offering her was fair.

  “Okay, Miss Marshall. I want you to know that if you violate your curfew, you will be sent to jail for ninety days. Is that agreed?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Now, if I ever see you in my courtroom again, I promise you I will not be as nice. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “All right. Case adjourned,” Judge Tomlin said as he banged his gavel. Shakita was escorted back out the courtroom on her way to getting processed out. Judge Tomlin watched Shakita leave the courtroom and thought heavily on his decision. He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.

  CHAPTER 20

  Shakita was processed and given back all her property except for the money she had in her purse. She couldn’t get it back since it was considered trick money, so she didn’t worry about it and made sure everything else was in her purse. She’d gotten all the information she needed to bring with her when she’d met her counselor and was hoping that Latrice hadn’t shown up to come get her yet. It was only 11:15 and she wasn’t expecting Latrice to be there for quite some time. Since she was released with no bail, she didn’t need Latrice after all. Shakita hoped she could avoid Latrice a little while longer until she thought up another plan.

  Shakita looked around for Latrice, and when she didn’t see her, she proceeded to leave out through the doors, trying to make a smooth getaway.

  “Did you forget you asked me to come down here?” Latrice asked, coming up from Shakita’s blind side.

  “Fuck!” Shakita said under her breath not wanting to turn around to face her. “No. I thought you might be waiting out in the car,” Shakita said, turning around saying the first thing to come to mind.

  “Yeah. Bullshit. You can’t avoid me now.” Latrice wanted some answers. Shakita was backed up against a wall now.

  The car ride to Latrice’s apartment was unbearably quiet for Latrice as Shakita acted as if she was sleep to avoid being confronted. There were so many things racing through her mind as the thought of Shakita being arrested weighed heavy on her heart. She looked over at Shakita, well aware that she was pretending, but soon enough, her truths would be revealed.

  • • •

  Shakita sat down on the couch as Latrice stood over her waiting for her to talk. Shakita had run out of ways to dodge Latrice or bullshit her about what was going on. Latrice was not going to let her leave without telling her everything.

  “So what do you want to know?”

  “What do you think, Shakita? I wanna know why you were out there being a damn hoe.”

  “I had to make some money, that’s all,” Shakita said, not able to look her in the eyes.

  “Come on now, bitch. You were that pressed for some money, you had to be a trick bitch? That’s not even like you. Well, maybe it is ’cause I feel like I don’t even know you anymore. What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you a whore? Are you on drugs?”

  Shakita felt so bombarded with questions that she didn’t know which one to answer first. “No, I’m not on drugs,” Shakita said, answering the easiest one.

  “Then what the fuck is your problem then? I know you ain’t out there lunching for nothing.”

  Shakita saw how angry Latrice was getting. She took a deep breath and decided fuck it. It was time to be straight up with her.

  “All right, Latrice. I’m gonna tell you everything. I love you and you’re my best friend. But once I tell you, I don’t think we’re going to be friends anymore.”

  Latrice was confused. “What are you talking about?”

  Shakita wiped her face with her hands before she revealed what was causing her and Latrice to become so distant.

  “Latrice. I blew Bay’s money.”

  Latrice gave her a puzzled look. “What money?”

  “The money he had you hold for him until he got out,” Shakita was embarrassed to say.

  “Nah. You’re lying,” Latrice said, shaking her head in disbelief, as she went to go check where she’d hidden the money. Latrice ran into her closet and started throwing everything out of the way so she could get to the money. She opened up a mini door that led to a crawl space, and that’s when she saw the large empty plastic bag that was once filled with money. Latrice broke down instantly.

  “No! No! No! Fuck no!” Latrice cried out loud enough for Shakita to hear her in the other room. Shakita could then tell that Latrice was coming back to confront her. She could hear her footsteps and grunting getting louder. Shakita was ready for Latrice to explode as soon as she entered the room.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you? I told you not to touch that fucking money! Bay’s going to kill me over that shit! I feel like smacking your ass out right now! I can’t believe you would do some dumb-ass shit like that!

  “I’m sorry, Latrice. I tried everything I could to make it back.”

  “Yes, you are a sorry-ass bitch. What did you do gamble it all away?” Shakita didn’t respond. “You did, didn’t you? For that shit you’re going
to get us both killed. You know he’s coming out this month, right? You really picked the best time to fuck up his money. He was going to use that shit to start up a record label with the artists I fucking got for him. Now I can’t sign no fucking body!” Latrice was furious and couldn’t believe her best friend had ruined everything she was working toward. Latrice began to pace the room thinking about what Bay was going to do to her while Shakita stayed quiet.

  “You know what, bitch? Since you want to be on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ so fucking bad, then you’re telling Bay your damn self.”

  “Okay, I will. I really didn’t mean to get you into this shit. I know I fucked up.”

  “Bitch, you did more than fucked up. You just killed yourself. Bay merc niggas for stealing ten g’s. So what the fuck you think he’s going to do to us when he find out over two hundred thousand of his money he told me to fucking hold for him is gone? That nigga’s going to go on a killing spree!”

  “I’ll tell him it was just me, and you had no involvement.”

  “You can tell him whatever the fuck you want. I know I got to get the fuck out of town,” Latrice said as she headed back into her bedroom.

  “No you don’t, Latrice! I can fix this!” Shakita said, getting off the couch to follow her. Latrice started packing up everything she needed, not knowing when she would be able to return to her apartment.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I told you I’m getting the fuck out of here. I had dreams of making it big before you decided to turn my life into a fucking nightmare.”

  “Please stop and let me talk to you for a second,” Shakita said as she sat in front of Latrice’s suitcase. “Give me another chance to fix this shit. I owe it to you to at least do that. I’ve been doing some things that I’m really not proud of trying to get the money back, but kept coming up short. Please give me another chance to make this right and if I don’t, we’ll both leave together.”

  Latrice heard Shakita’s sincerity but was still too emotional to acknowledge it. She told herself that she was going to give Shakita a chance to make things right before Bay got out. She didn’t know how Shakita was going to pull it off, but she was praying for a miracle. Latrice had to accept that Shakita was now going to gamble with something she was never willing to do herself. Shakita was going to gamble with her life.

  Shakita called Monique, the receptionist at The Black Emporium, and told her she wouldn’t be coming in that day, and didn’t know when she would be returning. She didn’t tell Monique about her having a curfew since it wasn’t any of her business but her own. Shakita wanted to tell Eric herself that she may not be back, but didn’t want to hear his comforting voice over the phone. Eric wasn’t willing to help her any more than he had, so there was no point in telling him more than he needed to know.

  Shakita walked into the National Institute of Corrections building and went up to the fourth floor to the Office of Correctional Job and Training Placement. “I’m here to see Yolanda Graves,” Shakita told the receptionist as she read the name off of her folder.

  “And your name?” the secretary asked.

  “Shakita Marshall.”

  “One second. Let me see if she is available,” the secretary said as she got up and walked to the back of the office.

  While she waited, Shakita looked at the other people in the office that were using computers or waiting to be seen, and couldn’t believe she was there to actually get a real job. She hadn’t been in the work force since she was a teenager and didn’t want to deal with the minimum wage paying nine-to-five. She was used to chasing fast money at a high expense, but that was all about to change now.

  The secretary walked back to her desk and right behind her was Yolanda Graves. Yolanda was a tall, brown-skinned woman and looked like she used to play in the WNBA a few years back.

  “Miss Marshall. You can come with me,” Yolanda informed her as she started to walk back to her office.

  She could have at least shook my hand first, Shakita thought to herself as she followed behind Yolanda.

  “You can have a seat right there,” Yolanda said, signaling her as she stood outside her door waiting for Shakita to step into her office. Shakita sat down as Yolanda closed the door and sat behind her desk.

  “So how are you?” Yolanda asked as she had her elbows on the table and bridged her hands under her chin.

  “I’m fine,” Shakita answered, wondering if Yolanda was trying to intimidate her by the way she was looking at her.

  “So how long have you been soliciting yourself?” Yolanda asked smugly.

  “Not long. Only a few times.”

  “Only a few times, huh? Let me ask you this, Miss Marshall. Do you respect yourself?”

  “Yes, I respect myself.”

  “If you respect yourself, then why do you offer yourself to men? Your body should be your temple and not used as a doormat for men to walk on. You don’t have to do sex work.”

  “Wait a minute. I thought I was here so you could get me a job? I didn’t know you were gonna chastise me. I’m not some lil’ whore who runs tricks ’cause she ain’t got no self-esteem. I know who I am. I just made some bad decisions that required me to do what I had to do.”

  “I’m not trying to offend you,” Yolanda said, taking the more subtle approach. “I wanted you to know that there are other ways you can earn money.”

  “Well, do you know how I can make over two hundred fifty thousand dollars in a month?”

  “Now that amount would be unrealistic, don’t you think?”

  Shakita gave her a serious look. “Not to me. That’s my reality right now. What’s unrealistic is for me to still be alive if I don’t get it.”

  Yolanda took concern. “Are you in some type of serious trouble? Do you think we should get the authorities involved?”

  “The police already got involved. That’s how I got arrested. They can’t help me so don’t even worry about it. I’ll figure it out myself.”

  “Shakita, if someone is trying to harm you, I think you should let me know. I have people that can help you.”

  “Police don’t help people like me. They only make the situation worse; they can’t protect me every second of the day so I’m better off without them.”

  Yolanda saw that Shakita was being stern and wasn’t going to force her to say anything she didn’t want to. “Well, before you leave, what I’m going to do is give you a number of a good friend of mine. I believe he can help if you decide to change your mind, okay?” Shakita nodded her head yes.

  Yolanda had misjudged who Shakita was in the beginning, and decided to give her a job that wasn’t a sign of punishment for being a disgrace to her race. She was going to place her with a job that she could use as a career builder and at the same time displayed hard work. Yolanda felt Shakita needed another chance to show she had more to offer to society. Yolanda believed Shakita wouldn’t like any job she gave her, but she placed her somewhere she would stay out of trouble.

  “I’m going to place you as a custodial technician with BERK Transit System,” Yolanda said. She then passed Shakita her paperwork. BERK was the name of the city’s metro train system. The initials stood for Better Equipped Rail Kompany.

  “I’m going to be a janitor?” Shakita asked confused.

  “ ‘Janitor’ is the old term, Shakita. The pushing-the-mop stereotype is no longer associated with this position. You’ll have plenty of duties and responsibilities. This position will give you an opportunity to move up in the company if you desire.”

  Shakita wasn’t exactly sold on the whole idea of being a custodian, but there wasn’t much she could do but play the game right now. Shakita’s work hours were able to be set anywhere between the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with two days off scheduled throughout the week that would be decided by her manager. This meant she wasn’t able to find a way to get back to the spa to make some real money. She didn’t know what she was going to do in order to come up with the money. She had to think fast. Bay’s
release date was rapidly approaching. Shakita walked out of Yolanda’s office with a job, but still had no positive outlook on her future. She thought in the back of her mind, if push came to shove, that she might have to break the “street code,” and get Bay caught up even more. He’d never see the light of day again.

  CHAPTER 21

  Shakita had been at her new job for a week now and still hadn’t gotten used to being in a normal work environment. She hated all her job responsibilities except for punching off the clock on time. Other than that it was the worst job she’d ever had. She would rather be a waitress somewhere than change garbage cans and mop floors all damn day. She didn’t know how much more she could take of it and needed to find another way to get Bay’s money back. Time was ticking away and Shakita had three weeks to come up with something big.

  Maybe I should rob a bank, Shakita thought to herself as she swept the sidewalk outside the Greenbelt BERK Station. Nah, that shit’s dumb as hell. That’ll never work. What if I robbed some balling-ass nigga? That shit would take too long for the nigga to trust me though. If I knew how to get to Eric’s shit, I would rob his ass. Shakita began to laugh at her thoughts as she picked up her dustpan and broom, and went inside the station. I can’t think of shit. Damn, what am I going to do? Shakita thought as she began to sweep around the subway passengers that were coming and going throughout the busy station.

  Shakita continued to sweep until she heard a vibrant sound that sent shockwaves up her spine. It damn near gave her an orgasm. She immediately associated it with the same sound she heard at the casino when someone hit big on the slot machines. She quickly turned around and saw a BERK employee dumping hundreds of coins out of a fare machine and into a large metal canister. Shakita continued to watch the employee with hungry eyes as he went from machine to machine removing thousands of coins and bills. When he was done, she followed him outside and watched as he loaded the canister onto a long white Ford van with tinted windows and then left the station. Shakita stood there in total disbelief of what she had seen, and was soon able to think up a plan that would get her riches beyond her wildest dreams. She couldn’t wait to tell Latrice her plan. She hoped this time she would be part of her scheme. She was definitely going to need her for this one.