Charm City Part 1 (Welcome to Bodymore Murdaland)

by S. L. Walker

  “Deon is smart enough to get the stuff off in lump on his own. Why would he risk needing your help?” Clearly she didn’t believe me.

  “I don’t know. Look, if you don’t want to help,” I stood up.

  “Okay. Okay, sit,” she gave in. I smiled to myself. “I have a few people I know that are looking for a lot right now, as long as it’s good stuff.”

  “Great, so, when can we do this?” I said eager to get it done asap.

  “I’ll call him after I am done here. I will page you 123 if it’s a go and you meet me at that Howies Burger on 5th. If I page you 444, it’s a dead deal and we can meet back here. If this dude doesn’t work out, I only have one other guy and I don’t really like messing with him too much cuz cops watch him sometimes,” Kaitlin said.

  “Coo!” I was excited and nervous at the same time. Kaitlin pulled out her cell and took my pager number. I couldn’t wait to get a cell phone one day. A lot of seniors walked around rocking them, getting them taken from teachers.

  “Make sure you bring something with you just to be safe,” Kaitlin said pulling up her sweater and showing me her small gun in her pants.

  “Holy shit, Kaitlin, you got a gun?!” I laughed.

  “Shhhhh. Glock 19. You get into this shit deep enough, you will realize that you need it more than you think. Especially being a girl,” she said.

  “You shot anybody before?” I asked, now intrigued. I didn’t realize Kaitlin was a low-key bad ass nor did I realize she was as deep in the game as I thought.

  “Fortunately, no,” she told me. She then looked past me causing me to look too. Some guy in a blue hoodie was signaling for her.

  “Gotta go to work. I’ll page you,” she waved bye and ran over to the guy. I felt this weight lifted off me. Now, all I had to do was get it, pack it, and get it ready to go. He will be pissed up until I hand him a chunk of his money and maybe a little on top, and he can stop the bullshit without doing any of the work. I nodded convincing myself that this was the right thing to do. Piece of cake.

  I was walking my bike back when I passed Tommy pushing up on some Freshman girl. I remembered seeing her around and I think she was in my homeroom. She never really talked. I was always trying to make out what race she was. She looked Caucasian, but I could tell she had to be something else. She had dark eyes and long dark hair braided into two French braids. She looked as if she was uncomfortable pushing Tommy away and trying to walk away from him. He then snatched her and pushed her on his car causing her to grimace.

  “Hey!” I yelled running over to them with my bike. They both looked at me surprised. She looked away when she locked eyes with mine.

  “Raven, this ain’t your business,” Tommy said to me, releasing her from his grip.

  “You aight?” I ignored him and looked at the girl. She looked nervous and annoyed.

  “She good!” He turned towards me.

  “Where’s Jaimie?!” I smirked sitting my bike down.

  The girl gave Tommy a pissed off look and folded her arms.

  “I knew it!” she shoved him.

  “Bitch, fuck you!” He got in my face.

  I guess I added a gash to the cut.

  “Tommy!” she pulled his arm. He snatched his arm away from her and stormed up to me as if he was about to punch me in my face.

  “Is there a problem here?” said a local police officer slowly patrolling in his car. Tommy fixed his face real quick and I smirked at his coward ass.

  “Naw,” he said to the officer. He turned to the girl. “I’m out, Zara!” He shouted at her as he got in his car and left.

  “What the fuck?” Zara cried out to him as he pulled off.

  “Are yall alright?” the cop asked us.

  “Yeah,” she told him, picking up her backpack and purse off the ground. He nodded his head and continued his slow patrol.

  “Raven, right? Thanks, a lot. Did I really look like I needed help? We were just having an argument. Now I lost my ride and a possible shopping day,” she scowled, hurling her bag over her shoulder and walking off.

  “Well, you’re welcome!” I shouted at her. “I thought I was helping you out!” I watched her walk off angrily. I rolled my eyes and got back on my bike.

  Ungrateful bitch.

  CHAPTER 1

  Raven, Victoria, Eva, and Angel met that Sunday morning in the cabin in the woods. It was a brisk morning and they all were tired and a bit irritated. The sun barely had shown through the clouds, yet.

  “We really could’ve waited till it got just a little warmer outside, Raven, damn,” Victoria complained.

  “Tori, shut up okay, we got a fire going and we got trreeeeee, so just chill. I got something I want to tell yall,” Raven told her. They had managed to build a mini fire in a metal trash bin to keep the place a bit warm.

  “I think I need a smoke,” Angel said bundling into her coat. They all looked at Angel curiously. One thing she didn’t do was smoke, she barely even liked alcohol.

  “What’s going on witchu?” Raven asked pulling out her weed to roll up.

  “Nothing, it can wait. So what’s this thing you got to tell us?” Angel brushed off her issues.

  “I’m helping Deon sell some of his product he gets from working with that guy Treach. Kaitlin is gonna help me sell it,” Raven watched her girls reactions as she quickly told them.

  “Wait, what the hell did you say?” Victoria stood closer next to Raven to hear her better.

  “Who is Treach?” Eva asked.

  “Treach is that drug dealer over by Park. Some even say he buys and sells guns, too,” Angel answered. The girls looked at her surprised, again.

  “How do you know that?” Eva laughed.

  “I watch TV! He’s been on the news a couple of times,” Angel said.

  “Anyway, Kaitlin found me someone who might buy it all. She’s gonna let me know soon if he’s even up to meeting me. If he needs me to come, I’m gonna need someone to watch my back. I don’t have a gun and I only trust y’all,” Raven told them.

  “Raven, why are you doing this? Let your brother sell it, he knows what he’s doing,” Victoria scolded. Raven didn’t know anything about selling drugs. At least Deon knew what he was getting himself into. She didn’t.

  “Yeah, I mean your brother wouldn’t want this. And you don’t know those people. Drugs and money ain’t nothing to play with,” Angel added.

  Raven looked at everyone in despair. She wasn’t expecting them all to tell her not to do it.

  “Fine, look, he has a football tournament on Monday out in Oxford, so if he doesn’t sell it by then, will you guys come with me? He won’t even know it’s gone until I have the money in his hand,” Raven told them.

  “I don’t know. I don’t like it,” Victoria shook her head.

  “I’m down. But only if he doesn’t get it off before he leaves,” Eva agreed. Victoria looked at Eva as if she was a traitor.

  “Yeah, me too. I’ll go with you,” Angel went along with it.

  Raven finished rolling her two joints.

  “So, Tori?” She asked Victoria.

  Victoria shook her head not liking what she was about to agree to.

  “Okay, fine,” she gave in. She gave a hesitant laugh and we all nodded in agreement.

  “My ninja,” Raven said handing Victoria the joint for her to spark up first.

  RAVEN

  I was sleep in bed when my pager buzzed on my dresser. I jumped up and my eyes locked to the time, 10 pm. I grabbed my pager and it read 123-55. It was Kaitlin with the go on meeting her friend. Another page went off with a phone number. I jumped up and peeped out my door to see if my dad or Deon was home. Deon didn’t leave for his tournament till tomorrow and I wasn’t sure him or my dad had even spoken yet. Deon played for the school, but he also played in this teen football program my dad got him into a couple of years ago to keep him out of trouble. All it did was introduce him to more and more kids like him who wanted fast money and nice things like all high s
chool kids. My dad had even bought him a car when he turned sixteen. He used to bring home good grades and everything. I still don’t know how Deon got mixed up with Treach, but now I was happy that I could help him bail out and focus on football and graduating.

  I walked past my dads’ room, his door was closed, so that meant he was sleep. I then turned the hall and looked down it to see if Deon’s door was closed, it wasn’t, and the light was off. He hadn’t made it in yet. I scurried over to the house phone on the lamp table and dialed Kaitlin back.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  “Kaitlin, this is Raven,” I whispered.

  “Oh good girl, you got my page. Can you meet at Howies at 10 am and bring a sample?” she asked.

  “A sample? Uh,” I stuttered.

  “Yea, enough that he can smoke and try it out. He said that’s the only way he would buy all,” she said.

  “Yea, Yea, sure,” I said uneasily.

  “Cool, gotta go girl, see you tomorrow,” she hung up. I said bye and hung up staring into the phone. I looked back at Deon’s room with a now or never feeling. I quickly snuck towards his room being careful not to turn on his light and use the little light from the living room. I scurried over to where he showed me his stash in the closet and opened it. I noticed it wasn’t as much as he had before and figured he had taken some to sell. I quickly opened a piece that was already dug into and started grabbing small chunks. I heard the front door open and close. I panicked, stuck the weed in my bra, and closed his hiding place back. I could hear him around in the kitchen and walked back towards my room.

  “What you doing up?” He asked before I could make it to my room. I slowly turned around with him in front of me.

  “Last time I checked I didn’t have a bed time,” I scooted past him towards the kitchen trying to avoid conversation.

  “Where’s dad?” He asked.

  “I don’t know, I think he is sleep in his room. I just woke up,” I lied.

  “Yea right,” he smirked. “If you’re going to smoke, Vee, at least spray yourself, so dad don’t find out. You stink,” he waved his hand over his nose and went in his room, closing the door behind him. I smelled my shirt where I had put the weed in my bra, and it definitely had a stench. I headed back to my room to put it away and tell the girls the news.

  ANGEL

  I had just got off the phone with Raven about meeting up with her and her little transaction tomorrow. My dad had just walked in the house, so I couldn’t wait to hurry back to my room. My parents were too cheap to buy a cordless phone, as if they weren’t only twenty dollars at the store. Plus, I had been asked them for a phone in my room so I could have more privacy. They felt like I was still too young to have that much privacy. For my birthday, though, I told them I wanted a cell phone and my dad was actually considering it.

  I rushed into my room and slowly shut the door so he wouldn’t hear. My mom hadn’t gotten home yet and I could imagine what was to happen. There was a tap at my door.

  “Sweety, you up?” He asked through the door. I quickly hopped under my covers and closed my eyes. I heard him open the door and pause.

  “You can’t keep pretending you’re asleep, Angie. Your mom is almost home and eventually you and me need to talk. We are going to keep this between us, ok?”

  I opened my eyes and turned and looked at him, still laying down.

  “I will tell your mom myself. I don’t want her knowing you had to see that,” he looked at me with more of a threatening face than an apologetic one. “Ok?” he asked.

  I turned back over with my back facing him. I immediately heard the front door open and he rushed out shutting my door. I laid there staring at my wall.

  My mom must’ve walked right past my dad because she quickly came into my room to check on me. I turned over to her and sat up.

  “Oh, he told me you were sleep, I was just coming to say goodnight,” she walked in and sat on the bed and hugged me. She smelled like Vanilla, from her favorite French perfume. “How was your weekend?” She graced my cheek with back of her hand.

  “Fine, mom…” I paused. I wanted to tell her so bad, right then and there.

  “What, sweety?” She sat there looking at me to say something. I felt my dad’s presence listening, although he wasn’t there.

  “How was the convention?” I asked her.

  “Oh, I had fun. I brought you back a t-shirt,” she laughed. “Did you help your dad around the house?”

  “Yeah, mom-” I paused again to my dad appearing in the doorway.

  “So you’re up now that mom’s home huh?” He joked. I didn’t laugh. I couldn’t even fake laugh.

  “Well, I think I woke her,” she looked at me and I could tell my facial expression wasn’t good. “It’s late anyway, I’ll let you get some sleep. I’m tired myself.” She said and got up. She then turned my light off and her and my dad walked out. I listened for the usual arguing. But nothing.

  CHAPTER 2

  It was unfortunately cold the next day when they met up at Howie’s. The popular burger spot had just opened so no customers were in line yet. They were all nervous as hell. Victoria and Angel had mace. Raven brought one of her pocket knives that she collects, and Eva brought nothing but her prayers. When they pulled up to the spot, they were sitting outside at a table. They instantly saw the girls coming and stood up. Kaitlin was with two other guys and she immediately walked up to Raven.

  “Wassup, let’s go around back,” Kaitlin motioned for them to follow her. Nobody said anything, instead, let Kaitlin lead them around the side of the restaurant.

  “Raven, this is JJ and his homeboy, Kris,” she introduced us.

  “Cool, these are my girls, Vicki, Eva, and Angle,” Raven pointed at them. The boys didn’t look the least bit intimidating to the girls.

  “So you got that for me or what?” JJ asked folding his arms over in front of him and standing firm with his feet spread apart like a bouncer.

  “Yeah,” Raven said pulling out a couple of rolled zig zags. “Already ready and everything.”

  He took the blunt and Raven helped light it for him. He took a deep breath, inhaling the smooth taste of the Purple Haze. They all watched at his expression as he closed his eyes and then exhaled into the chilly air.

  “Yeap! You got it,” he said nodding his head to Kaitlin and Raven. “I will cop this from you today if you want.”

  “Really-” She almost got too excited.” Yeah, yeah. Same place?” She switched up her attitude towards him.

  “Hell naw. you’re gonna give it to Kaitlin to give to me,” he said looking at Kaitlin. “K, I trust you with my money, yea?” he asked as if to reassure himself and her that there would be no problems.

  “Yeah,” she nodded suspiciously.

  “Coo. Tonight it is,” he threw up the peace sign and walked back towards the front still smoking on his joint.

  “That went well,” Raven said to Kaitlin.

  “We still gotta sell it. It ain’t a sale until money is in our hands and the shit is in his,” she said with an off attitude.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Raven asked her.

  “Look, when I text you on the meeting spot for the exchange, you come asap, I don’t care what you’re doing. The faster I get that shit into his hands the better. That’s a lot of weight that I’m not comfortable running for other people. I am doing this for you as a favor for your brother,” she said coldly to Raven.

  “Okay,” Raven looked confused. Kaitlin’s awkwardness came from the way JJ spoke on Kaitlin about the full exchange. For some reason it made her uneasy and damn near wanting to cancel the sale all together.

  “Be there,” she told Raven, and walked back towards the front. Raven looked back at her girls and her frown quickly turned back up and she giggled proud of herself.

  RAVEN

  My brother was due home that night but by some grace he still hadn’t returned home. I grabbed an old backpack and crept past my dad’s room where he had called i
t an early night in his room. I snuck in Deon’s room for the rest of the stash and crept into the kitchen and grabbed the phone to call Victoria and Eva, who had agreed to come with me again. I glanced at the clock that read 9:30 pm. I was to meet Kaitlin soon at another local park close by. I offered to go with her to make the transaction with JJ but she refused. She said she could handle it, but to stand by so she could give me the money.

  I met Victoria and Eva at the park.

  “Sup yall,” I said parking my bike next to the park benches they were standing near.

  “It’s cold as ice out here tonight. Is she on the way?” Victoria asked.

  “For real, you know how hard it is to carry a hot chocolate and ride a bike?” Eva joked. I checked my pager. No new text and it was 10:00pm on the dot.

  “She said ten,” I reassured them. I took out a pre rolled blunt and started it up to smoke it.

  “How are you late to your own transaction?” Victoria whined.

  “Chill, she’s coming,” I said. We looked around to see if any cars or anything were pulling up. There were only two street lights working, so it was dark as hell. I shivered and kept looking towards the empty streets. Only a few cars were driving by at a time.

  Finally, a small red Honda slowly pulled up. We all squinted our eyes at the car wondering if it was Kaitlin.

  “Dude, is that her?” Eva asked.

  “I don’t know, I’m not about to go up to some random car,” I said. I looked a little harder and the passenger window rolled down and Kaitlin popped her head out.

  “Raven?” she half yelled and whispered.

  I waved.

  “Come on,” she waved her hands towards her. Each of us strolled over to the car. We noticed one guy was driving and another in the backseat.

  “You got it? Sorry I am late, I had to grab a few of my friends. I know it’s cold,” she apologized.