Honey’s eyes shot open. “Girl, yo’ momma in the other room!” She got up and closed the door so her aunt wouldn’t see them with the blunt.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” Mimi opened the door and yelled, “Ma, you wanna hit this blunt?”
Tammy stepped in the room. “Hell yeah! Light it up!”
Honey was amazed. She looked at her aunt, and then back at Mimi, and thought to herself, Hell nah!
Tammy passed the blunt to Honey, and Honey puffed away. Tammy left their smoke session after half of the blunt was gone, and Mimi and Honey continued their “puff, puff, give” rotation.
Mimi got up and turned up the radio, and Jay-Z’s latest song began to play. The girls just sat back and bounced to the music.
After the spliff had burned to its end, Mimi reached under her bed for the candy jar, and her phone rang. The vibration of Mimi’s cell phone startled her, and she jumped. Honey started to laugh out loud, and Mimi joined her in the laughter. Mimi put her finger over her mouth to signal Honey to hush and answered the phone. Honey went to the bathroom as Mimi began to talk on the phone.
When Honey returned, Mimi was searching through the closet for an outfit. “Find something to wear. We’re going out tonight. Mama said we can use her car tonight.”
Honey agreed, but mentioned that she was tired from her flight and wanted to take a nap. She lay in the other bed in Mimi’s room and went to sleep.
As the girls began to get dressed and do their hair, Mimi’s phone rang. She answered it and paused for a minute. Then she yelled into the phone, “Stop fucking calling me! I told you, I can’t fuck with you no more. It’s over!” She folded her phone up and took a deep breath.
Honey smiled. “Girl, you okay?”
“Yeah, but that nigga won’t stop calling a bitch. I quit that nigga a month ago, and he still on my ass.”
Honey started to brush her hair, stroking it slowly.
“B, I wish I had your hair.”
“Girl, please. I wish I had your body.”
Both of them began to chuckle.
Mimi interrupted the laughter. “Oh shit, it’s time to go. It’s ten thirty.” Mimi grabbed her jacket and they headed for the club. She wanted to show Honey around Flint, and if she was anything like her cousin, the first place she would want to go to is the club.
They got out of the car and stood in line so they could enter the club.
Honey looked up toward the front of the line. “Damn, girl! This mu’fucka is packed. This line is way too long.”
Just as Honey finished her sentence, a bouncer screamed, “Mimi!”
Mimi looked at the front of the line and yelled back, “Jay!” She pulled Honey by the hand and headed toward the front of the line. When they approached the bouncer, Mimi gave him a big hug. “She’s with me.” Mimi pointed at Honey.
The bouncer opened the doors for them, and they went into the club. Honey was impressed and gave Mimi a high five as they entered the building. The club was packed, and everyone was dancing, drinking, and having a good time. As soon as they walked in, people started yelling, “Mimi!” Mimi started nodding at people. “What up, Mimi, baby?” It seemed like everybody had a different nickname for her.
The girls went toward a table near the back of the club, sat down, and ordered two drinks.
Honey looked over at Mimi. “It’s jumping in here.”
Mimi was bouncing to the music. “Yeah, it’s always hype in here. This is my spot. Let’s go and dance.”
They both got up and walked to the dance floor and began to dance with each other. Before long, a dude cut in and began to dance with Mimi, and another guy got on Honey.
After three songs Honey stopped dancing and went toward the table where they had been sitting. Mimi noticed Honey leave the dance floor and followed her back to the table. Both girls were lightly sweating.
Honey said, “I’m about to go to the bathroom to freshen up. Where is it?”
Mimi stood up. “Over here. I’ll go with you.”
They entered the bathroom, and both of them went straight to the sink.
Honey brushed her hair while looking in the mirror. She laughed. “That nigga I was dancing with was starting to get musty. I was like, hell nah! I hurried up and left his ass on the dance floor.”
Mimi leaned toward Honey and sniffed her.
Honey leaned back. “Bitch, what you doing?”
“I was just checking to see if that nigga stench got on you.” Mimi laughed loudly.
Honey started to laugh. “Girl, please. Don’t nothing on my body stink.”
Mimi told Honey she had to pee and entered the stall. Then two girls came in the bathroom talking loudly.
Honey looked at them through the mirror and noticed that they were wearing braids and big hoop earrings. They both were ‘hood rat-looking girls. They stood at the sink next to the mirror Honey was standing in front of and began to talk. One of them said, “Girl, you see all these niggas in here? I’m getting me a baller tonight. Watch me.”
The other girl was in the mirror putting on lip liner. She pursed her lips together. “Fuck the niggas! Did you see that bitch, Mimi in here? I should beat that bitch ass! She think she’s the shit. Her stank ass ain’t nothing but a ho. I know if that bitch calls my nigga one more time, we gon’ go at it.”
Honey stopped putting on her eyeliner and looked over at the girls, but they were so busy talking, they didn’t notice her. The two girls exited the bathroom, and Mimi came out of the stall. “Did you hear those bitches?” Honey asked.
Mimi took off her earrings. “Yeah, I heard them hoes.”
Mimi wasn’t the one to be played with. She never had beef with anyone for too long before acting on it. She walked around the club looking for the girls who were talking shit about her in the bathroom. Though she hadn’t seen them, she already knew who they were. Honey followed her, knowing they were about to get down.
They spotted the girls sitting at the bar, and Mimi immediately made her way over to them. She walked past them with an attitude and sat right next to them. Honey didn’t go near them. She just sat back and watched to see what Mimi was going to do. Next thing you know, Mimi was fighting both of the chicks. One of the girls was on the floor wrestling with Mimi, and the other one was kicking her in the side. Honey rushed over to the bar and hit the girl standing up with full force, her rings digging deep into her knuckles as her fist collided with the girl’s mouth. The girl fell to the floor, and out of instinct, Honey knelt down next to her, grabbed her hair, and dragged her around the club, hitting her hard in the face as she went. “Bitch!” She gave the girl an ass-whupping she wouldn’t forget.
The people in the club gathered around to watch the fight. Someone yelled, “Damn! She is beating her ass!”
Honey stomped the girl hard, and then felt strong arms grab her and pull her off the girl sprawled out on the floor. The girl got up off the floor and lunged at Honey, but someone grabbed her and held her back. Honey managed to wiggle away from the bouncer that was holding her and ran up on the girl and bust her hard in face. The girl fell to the floor, and the bouncers rushed to her aid to see if she was okay. Honey looked over at Mimi and saw that she was on top of the other girl, beating the shit out of her. She ran over to the bar, grabbed a beer bottle off of the counter and smashed it in the girl’s face. The girl grabbed her face as the blood dripped from her forehead, and Honey and Mimi both kicked the girl in the face repeatedly.
Mimi got up first and noticed that the other girl was knocked out. She grabbed Honey and said, “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” They had beat the girls down so badly, Mimi knew if they stuck around, they would be spending the night downtown.
“I hate that stupid-ass bitch! She had the nerve to talk shit about me? That’s why I beat her ass,” Mimi said.
Honey had no clue why they were fighting. The only reason she’d jumped in was because Mimi was her cousin. She looked at her swollen knuckles, shaking her hands to stop them from
throbbing. “Who in the hell were they?”
Mimi shrugged her shoulders. “These nobody-ass bitches named Keesha and her friend Kia. We been beefing since high school. They’re jealous of me, and always trying to jump somebody. I started fucking with Kia’s man about a month or so ago, and ever since then, it’s been beef every time we see each other. It ain’t my fault she can’t keep her man.”
“Shit! Let me know when you about to scrap. I didn’t know what you was about to do.”
“Sorry. You know how it is when you on a mission. I saw you over there beating her ass though. Your ass fight like a nigga,” Mimi said.
They both laughed and entered the car.
“Damn! Those bitches done fucked up my night. If Tasha and Amra were here, they would have really felt it.” Honey put her hands on her hips.
Mimi frowned. “Who are they?”
Honey laughed to herself. “Oh, they just my girls from back home. They cool as hell, and they always got my back.”
Mimi reached out her hand. “Thanks for having my back, girl.”
Honey replied, “You know I got yo’ back, girl. We family. Fuck them hoes! If they want it again, then they know where to find us.”
When they arrived at the house, Mimi put the car in park. “Honey, you my girl, you know that?”
Honey nodded her head yes, and gave her a wink. Mimi turned back the ignition, and they began to listen to her Lauryn Hill CD.
Mimi reached in her purse and pulled out some weed. She rolled a blunt and sparked it.
“Damn, bitch! I thought I smoked a lot!”
Mimi giggled. “After fighting those hoes at the club, I need one.”
The girls sat there, smoking and reminiscing about their childhood, and how they would get out of the ghetto.
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” Mimi asked.
“I’m going to have a big-ass salon with a Lexus—paid for, not leased. I can’t wait until I can sit back in my own shit, you know? Just chill and enjoy life and sit back and count my own money, not money that a nigga done gave me, but my own shit.” Honey looked at Mimi to see if she could relate. “You feel me?”
“Hell yeah. That’s what’s up.” Mimi always thought about get-rich-quick schemes and was always on the look out for that big lick. She was what you called ghetto fabulous. She had grown up in the ’hood, knew all the right people, and was determined to be paid within the next five years.
That next morning around eleven o’clock, Honey awoke before anyone else. She realized she hadn’t talked to her girls in a while, so she called Tasha’s cell phone. When she got no answer, she left a message: “Tasha, where the hell is you and Amra at? This is Honey. I miss you, girl. Call me.”
Honey went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She began to brush her teeth and saw a man pass the bathroom, startling her. Her aunt Tammy followed him, and they headed toward the door, never noticing Honey in the bathroom. Honey overheard their conversation and began to eavesdrop.
“How much do I owe you?” the man asked.
“Two hundred, baby! This pussy is well worth two bills.”
Honey heard the shuffling of paper and assumed it was money being peeled off. Damn! Aunt Tammy’s tricking? That’s how their house is so plush and shit. She doesn’t work, and she ain’t on welfare. Fuck that! She out cold!
Tammy snapped Honey out her thoughts. “Hey, Honey. I didn’t know you were up. Want some eggs?”
Honey thought about where her aunt’s hands might have been. “No thanks, Aunt Tammy. I’m not that hungry.”
Tammy smiled. “Okay, baby.” Then she walked into the kitchen and began to cook breakfast.
Honey shook her head and continued to brush her teeth. Fuck that!
Chapter Five
Tasha and Amra returned to school a week after Honey had left for the Midwest. “It feels funny being here without Honey,” Amra said as she walked with Tasha down the hallways of their school. Everything seemed different. Instead of a trio, they were now a pair.
“I know, shit ain’t the same. At least she called to let us know that she made it there safely.”
Tasha and Amra parted ways, and Tasha headed to her homeroom. She knew her senior year would go by quickly, so she wasn’t stressing it. She had taken most of her required classes during her other years, so she only needed to take three classes. Tasha was focused on graduating from high school. Her grades were good, and she wanted to keep them that way, to secure a good future. She hadn’t really thought about what her future had in store for her, but she wanted to have a better life. She wanted to go to Flint after high school, but after that, she had no clue. Maybe I’ll go to college, she thought to herself.
At lunchtime, Tasha and Amra sat down at a table.
“I hate school.” Amra said, and bit into the cold fries that the cafeteria served.
“Just stay on your shit this year so that you will graduate,” Tasha said, reminding her friend of her stint in summer school.
Amra wasn’t trying to hear that though. “So, you want to come to this little get-together with me Saturday night?”
Tasha nodded her head. “You know I’m coming with you. Who’s having it?”
“Oh, this nigga name Tariq. I got his number over the summer. He invited me to a little party at his house.”
Tasha was down to go. She’d been partying over the whole summer, so she figured going to the party tomorrow wouldn’t hurt.
Saturday came, and Tasha called Damon to tell him she was chilling with Amra for the weekend. He’d gotten used to seeing her every weekend and sounded disappointed, but Tasha didn’t care. That nigga getting too attached anyway. I hope he knows we’re just friends.
Tasha looked in the mirror in the room and turned around to make sure her panty line wasn’t showing. She had on a red dress that slit open at the top to show a little cleavage. She knew that she would be fresh to death when she put it on.
Amra came out of the bathroom wearing tight white pants with a white sleeveless shirt that barely covered her breasts.
Tasha applied bronzer to her already brown face. “When is your boy coming to pick us up?”
Amra looked at her cell phone. “It’s eight fifteen. He’ll be here at nine.”
Tasha put on some gloss and shook her head to drop the curls she had put in. “It always looks better when Honey does it,” she mumbled to herself as she looked in the mirror. Tasha’s cell phone rang and she answered it, “Hello,” she answered, still shaking her head, trying to make the curls fall.
Damon said, “Can I see you tonight?”
Tasha frowned. “I told you I was chilling with my girl tonight, so I’m gon’ have to catch up with you another time.”
Damon smacked his lips and said, “What about after you done chilling with your girl? Can I come and get you?” He asked her in almost a pleading way.
Tasha shook her head. Damn, nigga, I said no. “It’s probably gon’ be late, so I’m not gon’ be able to.”
After another ten minutes of negotiating, Damon finally accepted the fact that he would not be seeing her tonight, and Tasha hung up the phone.
Amra got a call on her phone. “We on our way,” she said before hanging up. “Come on, they’re in the driveway.” They grabbed their purses and were out the door. They walked down the driveway and got into the Tahoe parked in front of their yard.
“Hey, this is my sister, Tasha. Tasha, this is my friend, Tariq.”
Tasha shook his hand and sat back in the back seat.
They drove into Brooklyn and pulled up to a nice two-story brick home. Tasha knew that whoever owned the house wasn’t broke. She got out of the car, shook her hair making sure it was loose, and followed Amra and Tariq into the house.
There was haze in the air when they walked in the house. People were lighting up blunts all over the house, shooting dice, playing cards, and just chilling. And the music was crunk.
Tasha relaxed. She usually didn’t feel comfortable in house
parties, but this one was under control.
Tariq fell into the scene of the party, and Amra and Tasha sat down in one of the chairs in the front of the house. Somebody passed around a blunt, and Amra hit it a couple times. She seemed to relax easily after she smoked, and this time was no different.
Tariq came back with a tall, basketball-player type. He pointed to Tasha. “Tasha, this is my nigga, Joe.”
Tasha smiled and shook his hand. She looked him up and down and could tell he had a little bit of money in his pockets. He wasn’t bad in the looks department either. The nigga was fine as hell. “So, is this your house?” she asked, screaming over the music.
He nodded his head. “Just a little something to start out with.”
Tasha looked around and noticed the plasma TV and the black furniture. It seems like quite a bit to me.
Joe led Tasha to one of the less crowded rooms, and she immediately became uncomfortable. He looked at her and said, “So, how old are you, Miss Tasha?”
Tasha looked at him. “Seventeen, and cut the miss—I don’t fall for games.”
Joe laughed, rubbing his goatee. “Okay, okay. That’s good, ’cuz I don’t play them.”
Tasha looked Joe in the eye. Witty mu’fucka!
“You want something to drink?”
She shook her head no. “That’s okay. I don’t drink. I do want to shoot some dice though.” Tasha didn’t know how to shoot craps. She was just looking for an excuse to get out of the secluded room.
Joe smiled, grabbed her hand, and led her to the living room, where a group of dudes were in the middle of a dice game. He pulled a wad of money out of his baggy jeans and peeled off one of the fifties. He put it in the air. “You know how to shoot?”
Tasha rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know how to shoot.”
He handed her the money and she got into the game. Not knowing what she was doing, Tasha quickly lost his money, but Joe didn’t seem to care, because he kept peeling off twenty-dollar bills for her to shoot with.
A Girl From Flint Page 5