A Girl From Flint

by Treasure Hernandez

  Finally, Tasha got tired of losing money, so she gave up. She turned to Joe and said, “Sorry.”

  Joe smiled sexily. “It’s okay, ma. Let me show you how to shoot.” He pulled out a twenty, laid it on the ground, and then picked up the dice. “You got to blow the dice, baby.”

  Tasha laughed. She blew on the dice that Joe held up to her lips. He threw the dice and one landed on a four and the other on a three. “Seven means you win.”

  Tasha laughed. “I must be good luck.”

  “You must be.”

  Joe collected his money and got up from the game. He and Tasha found Tariq and Amra, and they all chilled until the party was over.

  Joe walked Tasha out to Tariq’s car. He asked, “Do you mind if I take you to the crib?”

  Tasha shook her head no, and they walked over to a freshly painted candy red ’84 Cutlass Supreme on spinners. He opened her door for her, and she got in.

  Damn, this car is too fly! Tasha thought to herself while Joe walked around the car. He had a PlayStation 3, a DVD player, and a TV hooked up in the car. She couldn’t believe how good the old car looked.

  Joe took Tasha home, and they sat in front of the house talking for about an hour. He put in a DVD, and they laughed while watching the legendary ’hood movie, Friday. She was enjoying Joe and was happy she had gone to the party. He was cool people.

  Her cell phone rang, and the caller ID said Damon. She didn’t answer it, but the call ruined the moment. She turned off her phone. “Well, I better go.”

  Joe rubbed his chin. “That was your nigga, huh?”

  Tasha laughed. “I don’t have a man. Niggas can’t keep tabs on me.”

  Joe nodded his head and smiled as Tasha stared at him. They just looked at each other, and Tasha blushed, feeling awkward for staring so hard. He is so fine! she thought to herself. She couldn’t help it though. Joe was mysterious, and something about him kept her eye.

  “I got to go.” Tasha opened her door and climbed out. Halfway up the driveway, she turned back and walked over to his side of the car. She unclipped Joe’s cell phone from his belt and entered her number into it. “Make sure you use this.” When she clipped his phone back on his belt, she felt hard metal near his waistline and knew it was a gun. It kind of scared her a little bit because she had never actually seen a gun up close.

  Joe could see that she was shaken, so he grabbed her hand softly and kissed her wrist. He started his car and pulled off.

  As soon as he left, Amra and Tariq pulled up. Amra jumped out of the car, and Tariq pulled off. She approached Tasha. “Where the hell did you and Joe go?” she asked in a teasing way.

  “Nowhere, so get yo’ mind out the gutter. I been here for a couple hours. Where did you and Tariq go, is the question.”

  Amra pulled out some money. “This is what I was doing—making money.”

  Tasha could tell that Amra was high as a kite, so she led her friend up to their room, and they went to sleep before Ms. Pat came in to see if they were alright.

  Tasha loved Sundays. All she did was chill and watch Lifetime. After waking up and eating one of Ms. Pat’s big Sunday breakfasts, she checked the messages on her phone. Damn, three missed calls! She dialed her voicemail and hit the button to play her messages.

  First Message: “What up, girl? This is Damon. Call me when you get this.”

  Second Message: “Tasha, where the hell is you and Amra at? This is Honey. I miss you, girl. Call me.”

  When Tasha heard Honey’s voice, she immediately became excited. Damn! How did I miss that call? We miss you too. She made a mental note to call her back, and then continued to check her messages.

  Third Message: “Tasha, this is Damon. Where the fuck you at? It’s two in the morning. Why you ain’t answering my calls? You better not still be out!”

  Tasha had never had anyone tell her what she could and could not do, and she for damn sure wasn’t about to let Damon start. I better not? What the fuck is wrong with this nigga? Why the hell is he calling me, trying to trip, and check me about what I’m doing? I told his ass that I was going out, and that’s that. I don’t have to explain shit to him. I ain’t got no daddy. He must be out his damn mind. He ain’t even my man. I’m gon’ have to let his ass know.

  Tasha went upstairs to find Amra. She stormed into the room. “Let me tell you what Damon’s ass gon’ leave on my voicemail—”

  Amra was on her cell phone, so she held up her finger to signal for Tasha to wait. “A’ight, I said I’m gon’ tell her. Dang! Is that all you called me for? Okay, bye.” Amra looked at Tasha and smiled. “That was Tariq. He told me to tell you that Joe wants to see you tonight.”

  Tasha forgot all about Damon. “For real?” She liked Joe, but she wasn’t expecting to see him again. She walked out of the room and called Joe.

  Joe answered on the third ring. “Yeah?”

  Tasha recognized his sexy voice as soon as he picked up the phone, and smiled. “This is Tasha.”

  Joe wasn’t expecting her call, but was glad to hear from her. “I was just talking about you, ma,” he said, trying to blow up Tasha’s head. It was working too, because she was feeling him.

  “Oh, really! You were talking about me? Damn! Why you got me all on the brain?” she asked, flirting with him.

  He laughed. “Yeah, I was thinking about you. Don’t get the big head. So, when you gon’ come see me, you know, without all the people around and shit?”

  Tasha wanted to see Joe, but she didn’t want it to seem like she was jockeying him. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  “Tonight.”

  Joe stepped out of the car in jeans and a white T-shirt with some crispy Force One’s. He approached Tasha and hugged her when he got close. He gently grabbed her chin and kissed her, and she kissed him back, knowing he wanted to kiss her the other night. Tasha felt Joe’s gun in his waistline, and that made her stop.

  They went to eat. When the waiter came, she ordered a salad. Joe frowned at her.

  “What you looking at?”

  Joe shook his head. “I know you ain’t get all that ass from eating salad. You don’t got to be cute, ma. You already got me interested. I want you to have dinner with me.”

  Tasha laughed when Joe told the waiter to bring them out two steaks. She liked him. He was real and didn’t try to beat around the bush. He said what he thought and didn’t hold his tongue. Joe made her laugh, and she found his thuggish way attractive.

  Tasha’s phone rang. It was Damon, so she let it ring. I don’t feel like dealing with his ass right now.

  When she got home, Damon called her again. “Hello?” she answered in a frustrated tone.

  “Why you ain’t get at me when I called you?”

  Tasha didn’t feel that she had to explain herself to anybody. “I was busy. I told you I was gon’ be with Amra this whole weekend.”

  “Well, what you doing now?”

  Tasha sighed. “I’m about to go to bed. I have school tomorrow.” Tasha hung up with Damon and made a mental note, I’m going to cut this nigga off as soon as possible. He’s getting a little bit too crazy for me.

  Tasha went through school each week, ignoring Damon’s phone calls and accepting more of Joe’s. Joe was different than all the other chumps she was used to hustling. He didn’t fall for her game. It wasn’t about the money with him. He hadn’t bought her a single thing since she’d met him. She just enjoyed being around him and was really feeling him.

  As the school year continued to fly by, Amra grew tired of school by the day. She became more and more restless. She had quickly stopped fucking with Tariq and was officially ready to experience the Midwest. It’s time to see what a new city has to offer. She wasn’t just ready to party in Flint, though. She missed Honey too, and was ready for the clique to be back together again. I’m tired of this shit, she thought to herself, thinking about the tedious schedule of school. She didn’t want to tell her momma and Tasha, but it was clear she wasn’t going to graduate. I mi
ght as well have dropped out a long time ago. School ain’t for everybody anyway. Shit! It definitely ain’t for me. Everybody can’t be an A student like Tasha.

  Amra walked out of the school and saw Joe waiting there to pick her and Tasha up. Tasha was already in the car, so she walked over and got in.

  “What up, Amra?” Joe said.

  “What’s good, Joe?”

  Amra thought about her future as she sat in the back seat of Joe’s Cutlass. There was only a month left before graduation, and she had to tell her mother the bad news soon.

  When they pulled up in front of Ms. Pat’s house, Amra saw Damon’s Escalade parked on the corner. She knew Tasha was too busy with Joe to notice the car, so she sent her a text message on her phone reading: Damon is sitting at the corner. Look!

  Tasha’s eyes got bucked as she thought about what she would say to him. She had been avoiding him for months, but he still hadn’t gotten the picture. She said, “Um, Joe, I got to go. I’ll call you later, okay?” She fidgeted with his car door and got out, trying to rush into the house before Damon could confront her. Just as she looked up, she saw Damon approach Joe’s car. “Shit!”

  Amra jumped out, and so did Joe.

  Damon screamed at Tasha. “What the fuck is you doing riding with this nigga?”

  “What are you yelling for? Don’t be coming over to my damn house causing no drama. I am not your chick.”

  Joe walked over and stood beside Tasha, and put his arm around her. “What the fuck is up?” he asked, standing toe to toe with Damon. Joe lifted his shirt and showed Damon his gun.

  Damon realized he had come unprepared. He looked at Tasha. “Fuck it!” he said, walking away. “We gon’ handle this later.”

  Joe turned to Tasha. “What the fuck was that? That’s your man?”

  Tasha didn’t have time for another nigga to be trying to check her. She walked away shaking her head, and then disappeared into the house with Amra right behind her.

  After that little situation, Tasha stopped fucking with Damon and barely felt like dealing with Joe. She liked Joe a lot, but she didn’t know if she was ready for what he was ready for. It was obvious that he wanted her to be more than just a friend, and Tasha felt she was too young to be tied down. She wanted to do what she wanted to do without having to explain herself to anyone. She knew that Joe wasn’t like Damon. He wouldn’t take any bullshit, and she didn’t want to disrespect him by even assuming that he should. She still talked to Joe sometimes, but she was focusing on her graduation and decided to keep things with him on a friendly level.

  A couple of weeks before graduation, Ms. Pat came into Amra and Tasha’s room and said, “Have you girls picked out something to wear to graduation yet? You’ve got to let me know, so I can give you the money to go buy it.”

  “I got to talk to you about that, Ma. You too, Tasha.” Amra sat on the edge of her bed.

  Ms. Pat and Tasha were all ears as they focused their attention on Amra.

  “I’m not graduating,” she said, her eyes down.

  “What!” Ms. Pat said, “What do you mean, you are not graduating?”

  Tasha was in disbelief. I knew that she didn’t like school, but I didn’t know that she was failing.

  Ms. Pat just shook her head. “You know what? You are about to be eighteen. You both are. Now Tasha has a future, but you . . . I don’t know. It’s in your own hands now. But I’ll tell you one thing. You are not about to be living up in here for free if you ain’t going to school, so after graduation, let me know what it’s going to be.” With those words, Ms. Pat left the room.

  Tasha looked at Amra. “I’m sorry, Amra. Don’t worry about that shit. You can get your GED.”

  Amra appreciated Tasha’s understanding and support. She knew she had fucked up, and the last thing she needed was someone telling her how bad her life was going to be.

  Three weeks later, Tasha sat on the football field in her white cap and gown. I can’t believe I made it! I’m finally here!

  “Tasha Parks.”

  Tasha heard her name being called, and she stood up to get her diploma. She walked across the stage and heard applause from the crowd. It was truly the proudest moment in her life.

  After the ceremony, she walked over to Amra, who had tears in her eyes. Even though Amra did not share the stage with Tasha, she was still proud of her friend’s accomplishment. “Congratulations!” she said as she gave Tasha a hug. “I have a surprise for you, so close your eyes.”

  Tasha put one hand over her eyes.

  “Okay, you can look.”

  She turned around expecting to see flowers or some type of gift, but instead, she saw Honey looking as beautiful as ever. “Oh my God! B!” Tasha screamed as she jumped up and down with her friend.

  Honey hugged Tasha. “Yo, it’s been a long time. You did it, girl! You graduated! You ready to leave this stankin’-ass city alone? I told you I was gon’ keep my promise.”

  Amra joined their circle. “She came over right after you left this morning. I didn’t even know she was coming.”

  Tasha looked at Honey. She looked good. She had cut her hair in long layers, and her Chloe glasses matched her black outfit.

  Amra, Tasha, and Honey went back to Ms. Pat’s house, where Honey pulled out two plane tickets. “Y’all bitches ready?”

  Amra looked confused. “We leaving tonight?”

  Honey smiled. “Yeah, bitches, we leaving tonight. Let’s go. Get your shit.”

  Amra and Tasha were so geeked to be leaving home, they started jumping up and down. They had been waiting for a year to join Honey there.

  “What are we gon’ tell Ms. Pat?”

  Amra’s mom had been upset at her since she had told her about not graduating. “I don’t care what you tell her. I ain’t telling her shit. She ain’t here, so we’ll leave a note. She wants me out of her house anyway, so I’m out.”

  Tasha agreed to leave, but she felt bad about just leaving a note for Ms. Pat. She went into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper, and started writing:

  Dear Ms. Pat,

  I love you. For as long as I can remember, you have always been here for me. You are like my mother, and you are the only person who cared about me when my own mother did not. You have taken care of me, put clothes on my back, and food in my stomach, and I want to tell you thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for everything, Ms. Pat. I love you dearly.

  Amra and I are going to Michigan with Honey tonight. Amra is upset, so she wanted to leave right away. I just wanted to let you know that we will be okay, and to let you know that I love you, and so does she.

  Sincerely,

  Tasha

  Tasha folded the letter and placed it on top of Ms. Pat’s pillow. She finished packing her clothes, and then called Joe when she was finished. She didn’t feel like she owed him an explanation, but she still wanted to let him know she was leaving.

  “Hello?”

  Tasha smiled at the sound of his voice. “Can you come over here?”

  Joe said yes, and within fifteen minutes, he was at her door.

  Honey saw Joe get out of his car. She leaned over to Amra and whispered, “Who is that?”

  Amra laughed. “His name is Joe. That nigga fine, ain’t he?”

  “Hell yeah. Tasha done stepped her game up.” Honey nodded her head in approval.

  Tasha walked outside with Joe. She looked at him sadly as she gave him a hug.

  “You look good, ma,” he said as he stood in front of her and stared down at her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were graduating today? I would’ve done something special for you.”

  She looked up at Joe and couldn’t help but smile. When she was around him, he made her heart melt. She was feeling this dude. “I guess I didn’t think you would come.”

  “I’m proud of you, ma. That’s a good look right there. Everybody don’t make it through high school. I would’ve showed up.”

  Tasha shifted in her stance. “I just wanted to tel
l you bye before I leave.”

  Joe frowned in confusion. “What you mean, before you leave? Where are you going?”

  Tasha put her hands in her back pockets. “I’m moving to Flint, Michigan.”

  Joe nodded his head and just looked at Tasha.

  Tasha was searching for anything in his eyes that showed how he felt. Joe never showed his emotions. Just tell me you want me to stay. Just say it, Joe.

  Joe went into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money. He counted out a thousand dollars and handed it to her. It was the first time he had given her anything.

  Tasha didn’t take it, though. She honestly liked Joe and wasn’t trying to get him for his money.

  Joe folded the money up anyway and put it in her purse. “Take it. You don’t know what Flint’s like. I got people out that way. That city is the gutter. You might need it.”

  Joe put his hand on her chin and kissed her. His hands wrapped around her waist and rested on her ass as he kissed her softly. His warm lips sent tingles down her spine as she stood on her tiptoes to come to his height. “Take care of yourself, Tasha.” He kissed her lips softly one last time, and walked away from her.

  Tasha didn’t know what to feel. Her heart was racing, and she didn’t know if she should stop him from leaving or not. She didn’t know that she felt this way about him until it was time for her to tell him good-bye. Do I love him? she asked herself, trying to figure it out before he left. Before she could make sense of her feelings, Joe got into his car and pulled away without looking back. “Bye!” she said quietly. She felt her heart break for the first time. She slowly turned around. Am I doing the right thing? she thought to herself as she looked at Honey and Amra.