Dope Girl 3

by Sa'id Salaam

  Once both kids fell asleep on her, Cameisha excused herself and went home. She nodded a greeting to Self and Bad Ass as she crossed the courtyard. Bad Ass shook his head at her ass as she passed by.

  “So tell me again how you managed to buy a whole car with half a job?” Deidra said letting her grandchild know her story was incredible.

  “Um…” Meisha replied but was saved by a familiar whistle from below. “Excuse me.”

  When she stuck her head out the window there was Self and Bad Ass smiling up at her. The look their faces replaced words so none were spoken.

  “Be right down.” Meisha called out and closed the window. When she returned to the table grandma had her lips twisted and was shaking her head.

  “What?” She giggled because already knew how Deidra felt about using the window as an intercom.

  “You ghetto is what.” She laughed. “Go on, I’ll get the dishes.”

  By the time Meisha made it downstairs a couple of young hood rats stood over Self and Bad Ass posted up on the bench. Bad Ass was palming a cute little black girl’s ass spitting his little game at her. He was almost in the panties when Cameisha blew up the spot.

  “Who dis?” Meisha demanded knocking his hand off her little hip.

  “Nobody! She um, she just…” Bad Ass stuttered as if he were busted.

  “Nobody? Nigga you was just beggin fo some booty!” the little hood rat spat hotly. She mushed his curly head and stormed off with her friend close behind.

  “My bad.” Cameisha giggled at the confused look on his face. He had been trying to fuck Clairyoyaneia for a minute and was almost in until it was snatched away.

  “See, that’s that bullshit.” He groaned painfully.

  “Believe it or not, there’s a lesson in that too. Besides, she got VD written all over her,” she added. It was true but no consolation.

  “Played yo-self.” Self cracked and dug into his pocket. It took some doing to squeeze the large roll of cash out. He managed then proudly passed it to its owner. “Got any more?”

  “Tomorrow yo, I got yall.” She sighed. Because of them she made an extra thousand dollars a day. She was up three grand from a five hundred dollar investment that was hard to just walk away from. Add Grandma, Sincerity and the kids and she hated having to leave.

  As promised, Cameisha met her little workers on the bench the next day. They were both dead fresh from a Fordham Road shopping excursion and neat haircuts. A blunt of loud fragrantly adorned them.

  “Y’all looking good,” she said pulling the blunt from between Bad Ass’ lips and squeezing between them on the bench and taking a pull.

  “You too ma,” Bad Ass replied seductively. He gave her a slow once over with his hazel eyes earning a giggle.

  “Yo, I gotta go back down south tomorrow.” She said wiping the smiles from their handsome little faces.

  “Word?” Self asked sadly. The last few days had been the best of his young life. Not just the money, which fed, clothed and got him some ass but because she cared about him. Having it come to a sudden end threatened to push a tear from his eye.

  “Word, time to get back to school,” she replied sadly.

  “Yo! You want us to come with you?” Bad Ass volunteered. It wasn’t like his young mother would care or miss him. The 28 year old girl was too busy chasing the frivolous things in life to even care.

  “I wish I could.” She admitted. It hurt her heart to have to leave them in the condition she found them in. “Y’all go on and keep this one.”

  “Say word?!” Self exclaimed accepting the last ounce of crack. It represented a cool thousand dollars each for him and Bad Ass. That would be the most money they ever had.

  “Word. Y’all need a connect so y’all can keep this shit going. And this y’all projects, keep them damn vultures out!” She demanded. Cameisha took one more pull off the blunt and passed it to Self as she stood. She planted a wet kiss right on Bad Ass’ lips and walked off.

  “See! Told you I can hit that.” He cheered.

  ****

  “What’s wrong baby, gone miss your grandma?” Deidra asked about the lone tear that ran down Cameisha’s face.

  “You know I am.” She replied turning her attention from the cab’s window. “Miss my daddy too. Can’t believe I ain’t never gone see him again.”

  “Come here girl.” Grandma cooed and scooped her up just as the water works began. The girl was sobbing so hard it broke the woman’s heart. She rocked her softly until she couldn’t take it anymore. “He ain’t dead.”

  “Huh?” Meisha frowned pushing away. “My dad is alive? So where is he? Why he? What?”

  “He’s alive baby and wanted in ten states and by the feds.” Deidra admitted reluctantly. She knew his survival depended upon the secret but her heart couldn’t bare the girl’s pain. “Be patient baby, trust me, he’ll pop up when you least expect him. Right when you need him most.”

  Chapter 9

  “Meisha!” Aqua cheered so loud airport security started to tackle her. In today’s climate any outburst was a cause for alarm.

  “Sup girlie!” Cameisha yelled back to spite the mean mugs of the security guards. She ran over and jumped into her outstretched arms and squealed as Aqua twirled her around.

  “Welcome back,” Dasia said evenly and joined the hug. She had the mixed emotions of a child home alone when their parent returns. Sure you miss them but you can’t do whatever you want anymore either.

  “Where’s Jackie?” Meisha asked when Aqua set her down.

  “She in the car driving around cuz she ain’t wanna pay for parking.” Dasia replied.

  “Cheap ass,” Meisha laughed. “So how err’ thing went while I was gone?”

  “Fine” Dasia and Aqua sang as one. Cameisha of course already knew the answer. She had been in constant communication with Jackie while she was away.

  The crew ran like a clock since the foundation was set. They sold out and re-upped twice and every coin was accounted for. They chit chatted their way through the terminal and out onto the concord. On cue Jackie pulled over to let them in. Her black face lit up when she saw her buddy.

  “Hey lady!” Jackie sang as Cameisha slid into the passenger seat. “How was the trip?”

  “Great! I hated to leave but I’m glad to be home. I mean back?” She said confused about which was which.

  “Well, you said we was going shopping when you get back so let’s get it,” Jackie reminded as she merged onto 285 traffic.

  “Shole did!” Aqua mocked from the back seat.

  “You got jokes. Anyway, let’s get it but we gotta go scoop Samantha first.”

  “Samantha! Why in the world would we do that?” Jackie asked in horror. She once timed the girl talk for four minutes straight without taking a single breath.

  Cameisha shot a glance to the back seat before speaking. Both Dasia and Aqua were boo-loving on their phones so she came clean in a low tone.

  “Yo, that synthetic coke is the real deal. I put that shit on the street at home and they ate it up. It don’t whip for shit but still!” She admitted.

  “So if Juan give us a quarter key for five….?”

  “We getting a whole brick for five bands. We can wholesale them shits for 15 or work em for fifty or sixty,” Meisha said shaking her head at the prospect.

  “Yo, so why we gotta hang out with her? Why can’t we just break her off? She talk too damn much,” Jackie lamented.

  “Exactly! She talk too much so we gotta keep her close. That chick is a gold mine!”

  “Make sense….but yo, you gotta stop with the damn secrets. I’m posed to be your right hand man!” Jackie cut in cutting off the bullshit that came with that particular tone Cameisha was about to use. “Look at that pill shit. That could have turned out real bad and ain’t nobody know nothing.”

  “You are taking English next semester cause that was like a triple negative.” Meisha laughed, getting a frown in return. “Ok, ok! No more secrets. Well, except for Saman
tha. No one can know about that, especially Juan.”

  “What about them?” Jackie asked of the girls in the back seat.

  “Them neither.” She insisted. “Now let’s get our white girl and go shopping!”

  ****

  “A-yo, this my friend from school Samantha. Samantha, Aqua and Dasia.” Cameisha introduced when they picked her up from the dorm.

  “Hey Samantha,” Aqua said cheerfully as Dasia looked her up and down.

  “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m actually hanging out with you guys. You might not believe this but I don’t have many friends. Well, Tommy but he died and…”

  “Tommy died?” Meisha cut in to everyone’s relief. It was short lived because Samantha switched subjects and went in.

  “Yes, after I tested that stuff on him, he changed, stopped eating, his fur was a mess, all he wanted was more, more, you know how when you like something and you want more. I gave him more and he got on his little wheel and ran himself to death. I performed a necropsy and his little heart just gave out. He had the heart of a much older mouse.”

  “Mouse? Tommy is a mouse and I’m all sad,” Jackie spat, “A fucking mouse.”

  Samantha talked non-stop all the way to the mall. She changed subjects deftly like channel surfing. By the time they arrived, the girls were numb.

  “Yo I’ma…ok bye.” Dasia stammered and took off running as soon as they parked.

  “Me too” Aqua said and ran behind her.

  “Yeah, I guess I’ll meet you…”

  “Not” Meisha said cutting off Jackie’s escape excuse. “Right hand man right?”

  “Okay” Jackie whined stomping her feet. Samantha was totally oblivious to the exodus and kept on talking. Cameisha allowed her ramblings to blend into the medley of sounds in the upscale mall. The low-high end mall was the place where celebrities who wanted to be spotted could be spotted. A lot of B-list and reality stars spending it while they had it or the occasional A-lister on the eve of a new movie or album.

  ****

  Trigga nodded proudly and smiled at the stacks of cash on the bed. The larger one contained twenty grand that represented airfare. Bird money, his ticket to the big leagues. Once he copped a kilo of good dope, he could blow up.

  It was rough trying to hustle up that much bread with his brother cock blocking his every move. Not only was he spoon feeding him to slow him up, he refused to give up the connect or let him make a large buy. Keith knew once his brother got his hands on some weight his reign on the top was over.

  “Time to do a lil shopping.” He told the other stack holding half as much as the first.

  The dope boy had literally lived in the trap since his return to the free world. He wore the same clothes as he trapped night and day. While his counterparts tricked and balled out in the local hole in the wall clubs, he trapped. He wisely cooked his dope properly so all the crack heads flocked to him whenever he came out. He could have come up quicker but had to pace himself to keep the others from hating. You know niggas gonna hate when a new nigga comes along with a superior product. Think urban fiction.

  Now with his cake up a little it was time to get himself cleaned up now that he could afford his own because he was too proud to accept all the handouts he had been offered since coming home. It was time for some booty too he realized. He had been surviving on a strictly head diet and now it was time for some tail.

  He still refused to fuck Sharika or any other hood rats who had been throwing their worn out boxes at him. He wanted someone with class, someone clean. A queen not any of the clownish court jesters running around the hood. All he heard all day in the trap was who fucked who. He did the math and it added up to them all fucking each other. Everyone in the complex was connected through sex and that’s just nasty.

  “You ready shawty?” Troy asked walking into the room.

  “Hells yeah,” Trigga announced eagerly. He took note of the sudden frown on his friend’s faces and asked, “What?"

  “I’m sayin tho shawty, I feel this whole do fo self shit but…you can’t go up in Lennox like that."

  “No?” Trigga asked smoothing out his prison issue pants. He ran a hand through the course hair that hadn’t been cut since he left the chain gang.

  “No. Let me give you a quick cut and you can borrow an outfit.” Troy said gently. “You know it’s gone be some of them high class hoes you looking fo up in that piece.”

  “No hoes shawty, I’m looking for a queen.” Trigga corrected.

  Trigga followed Troy over to his apartment to get straight. Once his friend ran his clippers over his head the ring of waves hibernating underneath came back to life. He pulled on a pair of ‘One Ummah’ jeans and a matching shirt.

  “Classy” Trigga quipped sarcastically, as they stepped up into Troy’s donk. The older model Cutlass was sitting high as a monster truck on the huge 26” rims.

  “I’m old school ta deaf shawty.” Troy laughed then played an old NWA track to prove it.

  Chapter 1 0

  “Ooh this is cute!” Samantha cheered just like the cheerleader she once was. She took one look at the price tag on the blouse frowned and put it back on the rack as if it were on fire.

  Before her parents cut her off for going black, she would have thought nothing of spending two hundred on a shirt. It was a little different now that it was her money being spent. An unlucky sales clerk wandered over and got caught in her verbal web of loquaciousness. She looked around for help as Samantha went in on the high price.

  “I need something exclusive.” Cameisha mumbled as she browsed the one-of-a-kind designs on the rack. She was literally sick to her stomach last time they went out and three girls had on the exact same outfit she wore. One of them was a good size 27 at that.

  “Yooooo!” Jackie exclaimed from across the store. “This you right here!”

  “Let me see what you talking about.” She said, rushing over to see what she had found. “The fuck?!”

  “The fuck is right!” Jackie laughed when Meisha snatched the dress and ran towards the dressing room.

  Once inside the small stall, Cameisha came out of her jeans quicker than a stripper. She gently shimmied into the tiny designer dress. The little golden number had a neckline that plunged to the navel exposing half of each breast as it went. Not only was the front missing but the back was out as well. It stopped right on the curve of her ass meaning no panties could be worn either. She did a little shimmy to make sure her titties wouldn’t pop out and was relieved when they stayed put.

  “Hmp” She huffed at the 1,000 price tag. She had already made up her mind that she was getting so the price didn’t deter her. She squeezed out of it as gently as she slid into it and put it back on the padded hanger. After getting dressed again she came out looking neutral.

  “Well?” Jackie demanded unable to read her face.

  “Well, I’m ‘bout to spend a band on this bad mother fucker! Now I need some shoes.” She exclaimed.

  “Me too.” Jackie announced holding up a white pants suit that fit so tight it put her camel toe on display. It made a stark contrast against her dark skin which added to its appeal.

  Samantha was still chewing the sales clerk’s ear off as Cameisha and Jackie paid for their purchases. They both parted with over a grand but it ain’t tricking if you got it.

  “Your friends are leaving!” The girl said pointing to Meisha and Jackie departing the store.

  “Ok, bye!” She said and ran to catch up.

  The next stop was a high end shoe store to find something worthy of the outfits they selected. It took some doing but the both found the perfect pair to complete their outfits. It took another five hundred each and Samantha still hadn’t bought anything.

  “If you see something you like just let me know. I got you.” Cameisha assured her. She had no problem treating her alchemist to whatever she wanted. The girl’s invention was going to make her rich.

  “I have more clothes than I could possibly wear. You can
buy lunch though. I’m starving.” Samantha replied.

  “That’s what’s up.” Meisha agreed and pulled her phone. She tapped out a quick text to let Aqua and Dasia know to meet them at the food court.

  ****

  “Fo real shawty?” Troy asked when a very dapper looking Trigga emerged from the dressing room. He liked the way he looked in the small mirror but came out for validation.

  “I heard yall niggas was running around in skinny jeans while I was away. This that grown man B.I. my nigga.” Trigga replied getting a better view in the three-way mirror.

  The charcoal gray slacks fit perfectly on his lean frame. Black shoes, shirt and belt complimented him even more.

  “Look shawty, I’m finna be king of the A, fuck that local shit! Now you can stay in the ‘partments trappin bullshit whipped dope or come with me.” Trigga announced plainly.

  “Shit I’m coming with you!” Troy shot back enthusiastically frowning as if the notion was absurd. He was the only one in the hood that wasn’t blind following Keith. Even his 16 year old brother J-bo was caught up in his sway. Keith controlled them because he controlled the dope. He would occasionally throw an extra crumb or two in their direction to secure their loyalty.

  “Then we need to start talking, acting and dressing the part. We can’t open the kinda doors I’m tryna open 'lookin like goons. Can’t get the right type of woman neither.”

  “Oh I got plenty of hoes.” Troy cheered proudly. “I get more pussy than…”

  “And that’s all them hoes got to offer, some pussy. I went four years without so that shit don’t own me. If all a bitch got to offer is some pussy then she ain’t talking ‘bout shit!”

  “What about Keith dem?” Troy asked hitting the subject they had been trying to ignore. It really was like trying to pretend you don’t see an elephant in the room.

  Keith had been hating nine ways til Sunday trying to slow up his brother’s hustle. He had been making little slick comments about Trigga every chance he got. Everyone knew he was jealous and that it could only turn out one way. They heard the Bible before; they knew the story of Cain and Abel.