by S. L. Walker
“I just want to tell y’all congratulations! Here’s to some money makin' women!” He cheered and downed his shot. His goon took a shot and so did Raven. The girls all followed her lead.
“I mean got damn! Big Willy likes y’all! And he don’t like nobody! The nigga wants to keep doing business. As a matter of fact, offered to double the shit! How you like that!” He shouts, laughing and pouring him another drink. The girls weren’t sure if they should smile or what. Raven waited to hear what he wanted. They didn’t come there for nothing.
“So?” She asked him. Treach took his shot and smirked.
“So,” he sat down in his office chair. “We have been invited to his mansion party this Friday night. And he wants YOU guys there and he explained to me that if y’all didn’t come, there was NO deal,” his eyes widened and he laughed as if not surprised. “Sooooooo!! That means you lil’ ladies are going and will be escorted by someone of my choosing,” he pointed at all of them. The girls frowned but no one contested it.
“It’ll be three grand each for you! Here is a grand now,” he nodded at his goon who grabbed a paper bag of wrapped money and handed each girl a $1000 each. “I suggest y’all buy y’all something nice and expensive, my drivers will pick you up at the Union Library on 3rd, it’s usually dead over there. Meet at 9,” he told them. Raven kept staring at the money and him in disbelief. She was afraid this was either the night they would be tested or the start of it. Treach could not be trusted. Clearly, only money mattered to him. And what did Big Willy want with them being there?
“9 o-clock?” Victoria spoke up. “You do realize we are only 15 right? What are we supposed to tell our folks?” She wasn’t worried about anything else. Her eyes had lit up when he handed her $1000. She had just made $2000 in two days; not doing shit.
“I don’t care what you tell them, lil’ Spice Girl, that money right there means you will be there. So be there. I need this connect and don’t need no lil’ girls fucking it up,” Treach got more serious. The girls didn’t like the look in his eyes. “Especially you, green eyes. Big Willy asked for you personally. Wonder why?” Treach looked Angel up and down. Angel swallowed hard. Angel didn't have a fully developed body yet. She had small boobs and not really a waste, but she was beautiful and Treach could see her potential, especially when she matured.
“Fine, we will be there,” Raven told him, folding the money and stuffing it in the back of her jeans pocket.
“Aight then,” Treach sighed in relief. He would hate to have had to force them to go, he did genuinely think the girls were good business and they seemed to respect him unlike his hoes, who he continuously had to put his hands on and talk down to. These girls would be an investment and if they kept obeying him the way they did, he knew he’d have them eating out the palm of his hand in no time.
$$$$
“Y’all, I saw Kaitlin today,” Victoria told them while they walked to their bikes.
“What? Where?” Raven asked her.
“Over by those cute boutiques in Macon park. She was at that expensive hotel with that chick Lila and some white guy,” Victoria told them.
“What the fuck were you doing at Macon Park?” Eva asked, curious.
“I got money now,” Victoria pointed at her backpack purse with the cash Treach just gave them. “Shit, I wanted to eat at a Bistro and shop!” Victoria frowned at her for questioning her.
“You didn’t spend that money already, did you?!” Eva got at her. She looked her up and down. “I see you rocking some new shit!” She grabbed her arm with the watch on it. Eva laughed.
“You said Kaitlin was with Lila and some guy,” Raven brushed their bullshit off. Raven motioned for them to walk and talk with their bikes away from Treachs’.
“Yeah, that’s not all y’all,” Victoria hesitated. “She was dressed all up and I followed them into the hotel. Y’all…she was getting auctioned off to the old dudes with like nine other girls.”
Raven’s head rushed.
“You don’t think?” Angel asked.
“Oh hell naw!” Eva shouted at the nerve of Treach. At the nerve of Lila.
“Auctioned?” Raven looked at Victoria for more information.
“Yeah, like a car auction. Someone bought her for $1200,” Victoria told them.
“That’s insane,” Angel gasped.
“That’s why that Lila chick been at Treach’s so much. So, she sold Kaitlin off like a slave,” Raven stared off into thin air letting her mind wonder.
“I have noticed she hasn’t been at school,” Eva added. “Well, maybe we are over thinking and just maybe Kaitlin wants to do that shit!” Eva shrugged it off. After all, she knew that nobody could make them do anything they didn’t really want to do. The only reason the girls were even doing this was for Raven, but the moment Raven was ready to stop, they would have her back.
“Do I look like I wanna do this shit?” Raven told her. “Come on now! Let’s not get naive bitches. Treach just might have sold Kaitlin to Lila to be prostituted or worse! And if he is prostituting her, guess who the fuck is next?!” Raven told them, watching their eyes wide and Angel begin to draw tears.
“Raven, we can’t let that happen,” Victoria told her. “Fuck that.”
“I don’t want to do this anymore, Vee,” Angel told her. Eva held onto Angels arm.
“We aren’t about to let anything happen to you,” Eva assured Angel.
“She’s right. We will get out of this, but first we need to talk to Kaitlin,” Raven told them hoping it wasn’t too late.
$$$$
Angel’s mom apologized and hugged Angel for the thousand time. She didn’t realize how distraught she would be; she looked a mess. Her hair was tangled in her scarf, she looked like she hadn’t slept, and her eyes were red from crying so much.
“Mom, it’s okay, I shouldn’t have made you worry like that. I know it’s tough with dad,” she held her mom in her arms on the couch as if she was her kid and not the other way around. She hated her dad for this, but her mom was just as much at fault and Angel was even angrier that he hadn’t come home; not even to see her.
“So, what now?” I let her go and leaned back onto the couch. She wiped any remaining tears from her cheeks and shook her head.
“I don’t know baby I don’t know,” she looked at me and her eyes told me she really didn’t know what was going to happen from here on out. Angel’s mind wandered from her, to Treach, the girls, and then Sam. Poor Sam. She had to apologize to him.
EVA
It felt weird walking into Professor Heart’s class. He looked good as ever. He had an all-black cashmere sweater on and black pants topped off with some all black leather dress shoes. Damn he looked good in black. He was reading something on his desk when he looked up at me. I gave him a shy smile, slightly embarrassed that I had told him we couldn’t talk anymore. I could feel Raven’s eyes glaring at the back of my head as she followed me to my desk.
“Don’t even think about it,” she whispered behind me.
“Shut up, Vee,” I rolled my eyes and watched Professor Heart close the room door for class to begin.
“Okay class! Pop quiz today!” He said sternly, holding up a stack of papers. The classroom groaned. “Yep, I said it, pop quiz, hope you were listening on Friday on the Scientific Method. I groaned too, because I was too busy looking at his fine ass to care about that long ass lecture he was giving us on a Friday. And he hadn’t given us pop quizzes since we started messing around. His eyes looked at me as he handed the papers to students to pass back to us. I put my hair behind my ear and looked down as if I was about to write something.
“Teacher isn’t trying to be the least bit discreet, is he?” Raven snickered. “Y’all really were together?” She looked at me.
“Shhhh!” I told her loudly.
“No talking, once you get your quiz in your hand you can start,” Professor Heart told the class. I glared at Raven to shut the fuck up when I finally got my paper.
The bell finally rang which felt like an eternity in class. I hurried and followed behind Raven to leave the class.
“Uh, Eva, can I speak to you for a moment,” he stopped me, and Raven stopped to. She was halfway out the door, so he couldn’t see me looking at her for approval. She shook her head a warning and I turned to Professor Heart who was leaning on his desk.
“Uh, actually,” I told him and looked back at Raven who dared me to do it, but when I looked back at his concerned look, I had to talk to him. “Ya, sure,” I gave Raven an apologetic look and walked to him. She smacked her teeth and walked away.
“Close the door behind you, please?” He said to me softly. I walked back to the door and shut it and then slowly walked over to him. He had now gotten up off his desk and was walking slowly toward me. Without warning, he grabbed my face with both his hands gently and started kissing me. My eyes closed, and I floated. When he let me go, I had almost forgot we were in the classroom.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you, Eva, but you can tell me,” he smiled. He smelled so good. He played with my hair egging me to tell him what was going on. He kissed me on my forehead and let me go only leaving a small gap of space between us.
“I, uh, Steven,” damn I couldn’t bear to tell him to his face that I couldn’t see him like this again. I couldn’t look him in his puppy dog eyes. I felt like a coward. A little girl. A real woman would have handled her business and just ended it.
“What?” He squinted and searched in my eyes for answers. I then remembered my mom’s threat and my promise to Raven. I didn’t want to get him in trouble, he was too nice of a guy.
“Steve. I can’t see you anymore. This isn’t right,” I told him just like that. I stepped back from him, putting a bigger gap between us.
“What’s the matter?” He stepped towards me.
“I-” before I could say anything his class door opened, and it was Nicole, this same ass bitch that kept popping up out of nowhere. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the both of us. She looked as if she had just been slapped in the face. I could see her take a deep breath. Her eyes pierced at Professor Heart, then at me, and then she scurried out of the classroom.
“What was that about?” I turned to him folding my arms.
“I…I don’t know,” he stuttered.
“What was she doing here?” I asked him again.
“I don’t know Eve, don’t worry about her. Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?” He tried to take my hand, but I pulled away. I didn’t want to, but I did.
“I have to get to lunch. I’m sorry Steve,” I hurried and walked away before I changed my mind. I left him like an abandoned puppy, hoping I wasn’t going to regret this.
ZARA
My dad and his buddies were popping bottles in his office celebrating the finalization of his High-End Barbershop in LA. He had just gotten back tonight, and they were already discussing plans and who was going to take over the business. I had the fireplace going in our den that we barely spent time in. I was reading one of the teen magazines debating if I wanted to take this horoscope on how to tell if you are a real friend, when my dad popped in, obviously buzzed from all the champagne.
“Zara, mi amore,” he grinned with two glasses of champagne in his hand.
“Hey daddy,” I smiled at him, closing my magazine and retrieving the champagne he handed to me.
“You didn’t think I was going to not celebrate with my little girl did you?” He sat next to me.
“I’m not a little girl anymore, daddy,” I laughed him off.
“You are absolutely right, you aren’t. Look at you,” he caressed my face and shook his head in approval. “A young lady. Just as beautiful as your mother,” he complimented me. “This is all for you, Zara. This house, these cars, all of this work I do. That barbershop in Los Angeles is yours. You know this?” He reassured me. I knew it was all for me. Even quitting the game was for me. But I was really hoping that it would be as easy as he said. My dad had done a lot of sacrificing for me; a lot of protecting. I didn’t want him worried about me anymore, so if this was the right move for us, I would go along with it; for now.
“Salud. Questa ti appartiene,” he smiled at me and we cheered.
“Salud. This belongs to me,” I smiled and sipped.
VICTORIA
Luckily, my mom was closing at the boutique tonight, so I went and did a little shopping and instantly found an all-black brady-laced maxi dress. It had a busty tight top which insinuated my breast, which were developing nicely for my age. My black spandex shorts hid underneath a long butterfly lace. A small slit flirted in the front showing off all of my little thighs. I had also bought some black strap up heels to match and a couple of cashmere sweaters. It was perfect and I honestly wasn’t that nervous to even go to this mansion party. I knew the girls were weary that Treach may have other plans for us or even that Kaitlin maybe prostituting, but we didn’t know it for sure and I didn’t exactly like that we were assuming so fast.
I looked in my bedroom mirror and held my dress up to me. I hadn’t thought of any jewelry yet, but I had time for that. I knew exactly the jewelry store I’d get it from.
In an instant, the front door opened.
She’s early!
I quickly stuffed my things in my closet, revealing all my other shopping bags that I binge shopped, and closed it.
“Tori!” She called out.
“In my room!” I turned on my little TV and pretended to watch old episodes of Martin.
“Hey, you,” she opened the door and walked in.
“I got some KFC for dinner,” she pointed her thumb towards the kitchen.
“Okay,” I told her, heart still racing from hiding my clothes. “You get off early?”
“Yes, thank God. That’s the only thing about closing by myself, soon as I am done, I am out of there. But listen,” she leaned on my door. “I will probably get a court date in soon with your dad. I got a pretty good lawyer through a friend. He isn’t expensive but he isn’t cheap either. So, I maybe doing more hours at the boutique if they approve me. Other than that, it might get a little tight around here.” She looked at me as if she was worried about my reaction.
“I get it,” I told her, guilty, looking over at all the shopping bags begging to bust through my closet door and tell all of my sins. I could easily give her this money, but there would be no way I could explain that. I didn’t even have a job and if I did, it wouldn’t be paying a teenage girl that much.
“Okay, so this your last KFC night for a while,” she joked. “So you better eat up,” she walked away. “$10 a meal,” I could hear her laughing at her self.
RAVEN
Friday arrived way too quick. I could tell the girls minds weren’t in it. We were standing outside of the library like a bunch of hookers, waiting for Treach to arrive. We all actually looked amazing. I was even able to squeeze my tomb boy ass into a long sleek maxi dress, the color of red wine. It had thin straps and a mermaid hem; which of course Victoria picked out. You could barely see my open toe red strapped heels. I had my braids in a bun with my baby hairs gracing the sides of my face; diamond earring studs with a matching diamond stud necklace. I only had a red shawl to cover me, so I was freezing.
“Angel, you good?” I asked Angel, who was also shivering in the cold. She looked worried. At least she had sense enough to wear long sleeves. Her all white dress was banging with fake diamond studs around her neckline and off-the-shoulder bell-sleeves with deep slits. It fit tight around her skinny body and she had a matching white diamond choker on with one-strap open toe heels.
“Yeah, I just want to get this over with,” she said.
“Where did you tell your mom you were going tonight?” Victoria asked her.
“Evas’,” she pointed to Eva.
“Yeah, I told my mom I was going to Ravens’ for a sleepover,” Eva laughed. She then blew into her silk red gloves she had paired with her tight red corset dress that had a silk
bottom. The dress was short and sexy and complimented her silk red closed toe pumps.
“Raven?” Victoria asked.
“I just said I was going out with y’all,” I shrugged my shoulders. My dad was in his own world after the whole Deon spill, but I knew he was still keeping an eye on us.
“Where the fuck is this dude?” Eva looked down the street as if he was coming.
“Right, it’s past nine,” Victoria looked at her pager.
“What’s up with your girl Zara? She been m-i-a lately,” Eva glared at me.
“I don’t know,” I rolled my eyes at her. Zara had been definitely missing in action, but I wasn’t about to run after anyone who didn’t want to be my friend anymore. And the way she was being distant said it all. I was pretty sure it had something to do with us fucking around with Treach and her dad being involved, but I wasn’t going to tell the girls that.
“You mean to tell me-” Eva started to talk shit but then two long black limos pulled up on us.
“Ouuuu shit!” Victoria smiled. “This us?” She looked at me for confirmation. I looked at her like she was crazy.
“This ain’t the prom, bitch,” I took her off her high horse. She bit her lip as if reminding her self what the hell we were actually there for. If we even really knew. I noticed Angel crept closer to me as both limo drivers exited and opened the doors for the men. First Treach, then DJ in the first Limo, and Canon and Nine in the other. My eyes looked at Canon in surprise. That meant either DJ knew about this or was about to know. I stopped questioning it in my head when Treach spoke to me.