From Ratchet to Riches

by Patrice Balark

  As soon as they were out of ear shot, Capone let Pip have it.

  “So just fuck what I say huh?” he snapped.

  “Capone, it’s not even like that… I just thought…”

  “Wasn’t shit to think about Ava, especially after I told you to chill,” he barked.

  “I—I --- listen….” she stuttered, but Capone was already up and out his seat.

  Capone had enough of Pip; it seemed like all their arguments were about the same thing, business. Pip had a problem minding her own which he never understood, especially since she ran one of her father’s businesses for him.

  “Aye, I’m out. I’ll holler at y’all later.” Capone entered the kitchen and announced.

  Jaylan, Brianna, and Diamond sat around the island bar chatting.

  “Damn nigga, we just got here.” Jaylan replied, shuffling a deck of cards that was next to him.

  “What happened? Who pissed you off?” Diamond interrogated, noticing the annoyed looked on Capone’s face.

  “Nobody, he’s mad for no reason.” Pip appeared in the doorway and stated.

  Everyone’s eyes landed on Pip who stood with her hands on her hips.

  “I was talking to my brother.” Diamond stated, cutting her eyes at Pip.

  “That’s fine but I answered for him.” Pip snapped back, walking further into the house.

  “Capone, get yo bitch before I….”

  “Aye chill y’all, but sis I’m good. I gotta go do something. Imma hit y’all phone later.” He explained before walking off and out the front door.

  Capone pulled out his phone as he walked to the car. Lying to get away from Pip, he figured he should actually make plans or find something to do so he hit up Mecca.

  Capone: You still at Kay’s crib.

  Mecca: Yup

  Capone: I’m on my way

  26

  Pulling out her keys, Pip powerwalked to the front door just as Capone pulled off. Skipping down the stairs, she jumped in her Range Rover and skirted off behind him. With every turn Capone made, Pip did the same, making sure to stay at least three cars behind him. As she drove, she thought about all the places he could be going.

  Capone had been acting secretive lately and Pip needed answers. She knew she was the reason behind most of their arguments, but it was not intentional. Pip loved Capone but along with the big age gap, came even bigger insecurities for her. Insecurities that many people wouldn’t understand or knew about.

  “Why is he going west?” she said aloud as she merged onto the expressway with him.

  Pip followed Capone, switching lanes for ten minutes before he made his exit on Independence. She knew where all their trap houses were located, and he was not heading in the direction of one. Assuming it was a bitch, her thoughts were confirmed when they pulled on 16th and Homan.

  Pip parked on the next block to avoid being caught. She couldn’t see who the woman was; however, all she needed to know was that it was a woman. The unknown girl got in the front seat of Capone’s car; they talked for a minute before he pulled off.

  An uneasy feeling came over Pip as she wrecked her brain trying to figure out who the mysterious woman was. Feeling herself about to cry and spazz out, Pip followed them again as they made a right on Ogden. As soon as they did, the sound of her phone ringing blared through the car’s speaker. Glancing over at the dashboard, Pip noticed it was Brandy calling her. Ignoring the first call, Brandy called right back, letting Pip know it was about business.

  “What up?” She answered, never taking her eyes off the road.

  “Pip, you in the area?” Brandy questioned.

  “Yeah but I’m busy.”

  “Is this nigga taking this bitch shopping?” she mumbled under her breath.

  “Huh? Who? What about shopping?” A confused Brandy asked.

  “No, not you. What’s wrong? Can it wait? I’m a little busy.” She explained, trying her hardest to keep up but she caught by a red light.

  “It’s about one of the girls. We by the store on 12th.” She informed her.

  “Fuck!” Pip cursed to herself, bussing a U-Turn in the middle of the street. Getting caught by the light had already made her lose Capone, she figured she might as well see what was going on.

  “Here I come.”

  Pip ended the call, heading in the direction of Brandy. She had to think of a way to tell Capone she knew without telling him she followed him. She knew he was going to have a different story to tell but the proof was in the pudding, and she had all the proof she needed.

  The first time Pip hit the block, she hadn’t spotted Brandy, so she went around again and parked by the store to give her a call. When Brandy didn’t answer, Pip pulled off; she was already irritated and not in the mood for anymore bullshit for that day.

  Stopping in front of an alley, Pip cut off the air conditioner and rolled down the window to get some fresh air when she heard someone call her name. Pip looked out the driver’s side window first and then to the right where she noticed Brandy standing in the alley.

  Killing the engine, she jumped out and headed towards Brandy who had begun walking towards her. Pip met her halfway in the alley, where she eagerly began to explain the reason for meeting up.

  “What’s the problem? Who is that?” Pip asked, pointing a few feet down where three girls stood in a circle.

  “Simone and I were doing our daily rounds, collecting the money when we ran into your little friend…” Brandy smiled, turning around, looking behind her before focusing back on Pip.

  “Ok and?” Pip replied, motioning with her hands for her to get to the point.

  “Well, Simone and I ran into that dirty little girl you keep trying to save.”

  “Danielle?” Pip quizzed, knowing exactly who Brandy was referring to.

  From the moment Brandy met Danielle, it was tension between the two girls. Just like Danielle, Brandy was a young girl from the hood who needed a way out. When Pip met Brandy a year ago, she was eager, thirsty, and hungry for money. Taking her under her wings, Brandy became what Pip called “her young bull.” Brandy was responsible for making sure that the ladies under her stayed in place and she had been doing a good job as of lately.

  “Ok Brandy but why am I here?” Pip stressed, still not understanding the reason for the improv meeting.

  Without saying anything else, Brandy walked off towards where the three girls were still standing. Letting out a deep sigh, Pip reluctantly followed behind her. The closer she got to the circle, the better she could hear them bickering.

  “What the fuck going on here?” Pip asked, still confused as to why two of her workers had Danielle in a circle.

  “If y’all gon’ do something, do it… but like I told you before Pip arrived, it still not gon’ bring that ponytail back shorty.” Dani laughed, only pissing them off even more.

  It was all starting to make sense now. Simone wanted revenge from when Danielle cut her ponytail off a few weeks ago. It was clear that she was embarrassed, and Brandy had her own motives and ill feelings towards Danielle.

  “Look ladies, it’s too much money out here to be indulged in some bullshit. What happened happened. Simone, take that L and move on.” Pip encouraged, trying her best to dead the situation.

  “Nah, fuck that!” Simone screamed, rushing Danielle, causing her to stumble a few steps back but she kept her balance.

  Pip watched the girls scuffle for a while when out of nowhere, Simone fell to the ground. Pip watched as blood began to soak her once yellow shirt. None of it was making sense until Pip noticed the bloody knife in Danielle’s hand.

  “BITCH YOU KILLED HER!” Brandy screamed, standing over Simone’s lifeless body.

  Pip walked over to Danielle, who stood there with an emotionless look on her face.

  “You ok?” Pip asked, slowly taking the knife from Danielle, who released it with ease.

  “Is she ok? Simone is the one dead.” Brandy cried out, this time kneeling down to Simone.

 
“I’m good.” Dani replied nonchalantly, locking eyes with Pip.

  There was something about Danielle that drew Pip to her ever since their first encounter when she broke up the fight. Although she didn’t pry much when they first talked, it was easy to see she needed guidance and Pip had planned on being the guider she so much needed.

  “Look. I’ll handle this. I’ll handle her.” Pip said, turning around, looking at a dead Simone.

  “Here, go get in my car and I’ll be over there in a minute.” She continued, handing Dani the keys to the Range Rover.

  It had been a while since Pip took a girl in, but Danielle would be just what the team had been missing.

  27

  When Capone told Mecca he was coming to see her, she thought they’ll sit on the porch and catch up, but to her surprise, he asked her to take a ride with him. She was even more surprised when they pulled into the parking garage of Rosemont Mall. The entire ride there, she noticed him looking out his rearview mirror as if he was being followed. There were times when he’ll sigh, laugh to himself, and even shake his head. Not wanting to ask too many questions, she remained quiet about it and enjoyed the ride.

  “So what type of shit you like? What’s your favorite stores?” he asked, holding the doors to the mall open for her.

  Slightly thrown off by the question, Mecca asked him to repeat himself, even though she had heard him.

  “What type of shit you like? What’s your favorite stores?”

  Too embarrassed to admit the truth, Mecca started spitting out the names of stores she’s heard Kay say before.

  “I mean…. H&M cool. I like Forever 21 and Fashion Nova.” She lied.

  Mecca still wore clothes she got freshman year; other than that, she wore old stuff Kay no longer wanted or could fit. Same went for Danielle who was handed down clothes that was already handed down.

  “Aight cool. We can go in there. Grab whatever you and your sisters need.” He replied as they got on the elevator heading to the upper level.

  “No Capone, I can’t let you do that.” Mecca stopped walking and replied, waiting for him to do the same.

  “Mecca, I’m a grown man, you can’t LET me do shit. Now come on.” He explained, never not once looking back at her.

  Feeling like he had slightly checked her, Mecca remained quiet and walked behind him into the first store. Being a man of his word, Capone allowed Mecca to grab anything and everything she wanted. He made sure that Danielle got the same number of items. Mecca explained how he shouldn’t get Yana much because they were unsure of her situation, but he wasn’t trying to hear it. Yana got a gang of clothes and accessories too. After paying all in cash, they headed to Foot Locker where Capone did the same thing.

  “You hungry?” he looked over at Mecca and asked as they both carried two handfuls of shopping bags to his car.

  “Actually, I had a taste for some BBQ.” She replied, tossing the bags in the trunk.

  “Say less. I know the perfect place.”

  Mecca and Capone drove another thirty minutes listening to Yo Gotti, Jay Z, Lil Baby, or whatever played next on his playlist when his phone rang. Capone ignored the call but the caller was very persistent, calling back three more time before he finally answered.

  “What up ma?” he said annoyed, pulling into the parking lot of Diamond’s BBQ.

  “Why the fuck I gotta call you so many times Capone?” a woman’s voice blasted through the speakers of his BMW.

  “Is everything good Ava?” he replied as he backed into a parking spot.

  “Yes, everything is fine. I just wanted to know….”

  “I’ll call you back if everything good then. I’m doing sum,” he told her before ending the call.

  Mecca shuffled between looking at her phone and staring out the window while the entire conversation went on. Jerking slightly from tossing the car in park, Mecca followed Capone’s lead and unbuckled her seat belt when she heard him speak.

  “My bad about that. That’s my girl Ava and….”

  “That’s YO girl and YO business. It ain’t got nothing to do with me.” Mecca cut him off and replied before exiting the vehicle first.

  Mecca took her time walking through the lot to the restaurant, purposely allowing Capone to catch up to her.

  “Thank you.” She said as he pulled and held the door open for her.

  Upon walking in, Mecca’s stomach began to growl and her mouth began to water. The smell of smoked barbeque filled her nostrils and just like that, she couldn’t wait to pig out.

  “What you want?” Capone asked as they both stopped in front of the counter and stared at the menu.

  “Ummmm…. I don’t know. I’ve never been here before. What’s good?” she looked over at him and asked.

  “Shit to be honest, everything.” He replied, still staring at the food menu.

  “How can I help you?” A woman’s voice came out of nowhere and asked.

  Both Mecca and Capone looked away from the menu and up at the woman at the same exact time.

  “What the fuck you doing here?” Capone asked the woman behind the counter.

  “I own this muthafucka. What you doing here?” She shot back, glancing over at Mecca and then back at Capone.

  “What I’m saying is… you were just at the house.” He replied, walking around to the other side of the counter.

  “Yeah and I left right after you. I had two people call off, so I had to leave and come here.”

  “Rambo, let me get two combos, extra sauce.” Capone opened the kitchen door and yelled out to the cook.

  “Nigga don’t come in here giving orders. Why you leave so abruptly anyway?” she contested, this time looking Mecca up and down.

  Mecca stared closely at the woman who couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off of her and noticed the resemblance between her and Capone.

  “Aside from shorty pissing me off, I had to take care of some business.” He replied before grabbing two Pepsi out the cooler.

  Capone walked away from the counter and over to a table near the back window.

  “That’s my sister Diamond. The food should be coming up. I’ll be back.”

  Capone sat both pops on the table along with some napkins he picked up along the way and walked off. Sitting alone with her phone on ten percent, Mecca’s mind began to wonder. She wondered what Capone’s intentions were. Why was he being so nice? For a slight moment, Mecca thought that maybe Capone liked her or even found her attractive, but after seeing the girl who pulled up at the pool party, she knew that couldn’t have been the case. The chick from the pool party was damn-near flawless. She was one of those girls who could be an Instagram model with her cute petite body and designer bags. Mecca knew there was no way Capone could want her, especially since he already had that.

  “You good?”

  Hearing Capone’s voice snapped Mecca out of her thoughts. Looking up at him, she cleared off the table, allowing him room to put the food tray down.

  “You good Mecca?” Capone asked again, this time taking a seat directly in front of her.

  Mecca let out a loud sigh before letting her thoughts flood the table.

  “Why Capone?” she looked him in the eyes and asked.

  “Why what?” he asked back with a puzzled looked covered his face.

  “Why you so nice to me?”

  Mecca didn’t believe in gray areas; therefore, she didn’t beat around the bush. When she wanted to know something, she asked. She figured why wreck your brain trying to figure people out when you can simply ask them.

  “From the day I met you, you showed me that you were a rider. I remember your homegirl told my ass I couldn’t put my drugs in her hallway… yet, you put the shit in yo bra. You ain’t know me shorty.” He looked up and said before pausing.

  “When buddy stole my shit, you were upfront with me about it, which showed me that you honest. So now I can see that you not only a rider, you an honest rider.”

  Mecca laughed at his choice of words bef
ore allowing him to continue.

  “The day I seen you beating them hoes ass showed me that you no doubt a fighter but outside all of that, you the dopest big sister I ever seen. The way you get shit in order and go hard for your sisters and brother impressed me the most. You see, family is everything to me and nowadays, coming across someone with the same heart as you is rare.” He finished.

  Leaving Mecca speechless was something that most people could not do. She wanted to know what was to him and he let her know straight up. Apparently, Capone was like her too-- the type of person who didn’t beat around the bush or sugar coat shit.

  “Aye Mecca, what’s your plans? You going to college or sum?” he asked, not only changing the subject but taking a huge bit from the cornbread on his plate.

  “Nah. I got accepted to everyone I applied to. I got a full scholarship and all but….”

  “Man you can kill that BUT shit. How can you start a sentence off on so many positive notes and then say BUT…..”

  “See, that’s most people’s problem, they so quick to judge but don’t even let you finish the whole story.” She replied, rolling her eyes.

  “You are absolutely right. I’m sorry.” He apologized, reaching over and grabbing her hand.

  Capone’s touch caused chill bumps to form on her entire body. He must have noticed the look on her face because he pulled back quickly.

  “But continue your story. Why you not going to school?” he challenged.

  Mecca so bad wanted to flat out yell that she’s homeless but sought better choice of words instead.

  “It’s just complicated.” Was the response that she settled on.