“Cool.”
Baby turned and was ready to make her exit, but one of Mingles’s goons decided to block the doorway. He was tall, shirtless, and ugly with missing teeth. “I’m sayin’, why don’t ya stay fo’ a while? You ain’t gotta rush to leave, ma,” he said.
Baby instantly caught an attitude. “First off, nigga, I ain’t ya fuckin’ ma; I don’t give birth to ugly babies. And second, nigga, you better get the fuck outta my way ’fore you get fucked up!”
The shirtless thug laughed. “I’m sayin’, ma, you lookin’ good. Stay around and chill for a minute... .”
“So you really wanna go there and dance wit’ me right now, muthafucka!” Baby exclaimed through clenched teeth. “And you lookin’ busted too; you just ugly, nigga!”
She locked eyes with the ugly thug. She showed no fear, and subtly had her blade gripped in her pocket and was ready to cut him.
“Bo, leave her alone before you have J. Rock comin’ over here and fuckin’ us up for fuckin’ wit’ his bitch,” Mingles shouted.
“I was just playin’ around wit’ her, Mingles,” he shouted back.
“She ain’t that bitch to be fuckin’ around wit’,” replied Mingles.
“Listen to your friend, stupid,” chimed Baby.
“Whatever,” the thug shouted. He stepped to the side and allowed Baby to pass.
“Stupid muthafucka,” Baby uttered loudly.
Baby stepped out of the basement apartment and exhaled. The funk in the basement was overwhelming. Baby hated that she had to endure that type of environment on her birthday. She took a quick whiff of her clothing to make sure she didn’t smell funky like the basement. But she was okay. She continued her walk to school and couldn’t wait to show off and show out on her birthday. She clearly wanted to make it known to everyone that she was eighteen and proud of it.
Chapter 2
Baby strutted through the doors with a smile and a sassy attitude. She walked through the metal detector without any incident from the alarm going off. She was clear for any weapons or contraband. She smiled at the tall guard with the security wand in his hand. He stared at Baby’s racy attire. His eyes focused on the scanty shorts revealing the camel-toe imprint between her legs, and he lusted at her shapely and long legs. The petite and shapely high school student had him hypnotized for a short moment. Baby smiled at him and said, “Why you staring at me so hard, Marvin? You like what you see?”
Marvin waved her off and replied, “You know you’re late, Baby.”
“And?” Baby replied, rolling her eyes.
“Eighth time this month that you’ve been late.”
“It’s my birthday, Marvin. You ain’t gonna wish me a happy birthday?”
“Happy birthday,” Marvin replied dryly. “But you know after a certain time, I’m not allowed to let you into this school.”
“But I’m here now, so what’s the problem? And besides, you know you gonna let me in anyway; you like lookin’ at all this. I be makin’ ya fuckin’ day when you see me move through these halls lookin’ this fine,” she commented harshly. “You wanna fuck me, Marvin?”
Marvin shook his head. He kept his composure. “You’re a mess, Baby. But eighteen or not, you’re still a little girl, and have a lot of growing up to do.”
“Whatever, nigga ... Let me just go to the office, get my late pass, and be on my way. You probably gay anyway, and can’t handle this pussy even if I gave you a chance to hit it.”
“This is my last warning to you, Baby. If you’re late like this again, I’m not letting you into this school,” he warned.
Baby smiled. “We’ll see.” She strutted by him, switching her hips and flaunting her sexuality in front of the safety officer. He took a quick glance and shook his head. Baby continued toward the main office to receive her late pass for class. The only reason she decided to come to school was because she wanted to flaunt for her birthday and see her girls. And, someone owed her money. She pranced into the office and exclaimed, “I need a late pass.”
The office staff stared at Baby with contempt. This was nothing new for them. Baby was one of a few problem students in the school, and they’d had their share of her wild antics over the years from the fights and attitude. They were still surprised that she was a student at August Martin. There were plenty of moments when she was at risk of being expelled. But, she had nine lives. It, supposedly, was her senior year, but graduation for her was still far off and farfetched.
One of the staff walked over to Baby. She had no words for the young child. Baby stared at her impatiently and said, “C’mon, Mrs. Jerry, I ain’t got all day.”
“Then why bother coming to school at all?” she asked.
“Shit, what else am I gonna do? I’m the life of this school.”
Mrs. Jerry shook her head in shame and quickly wrote Baby a late pass to her second period class. Baby snatched the note from her hands without so much as saying a thank you to the lady. Mrs. Jerry watched her sashay out of the office and said, “That child is going to end up either pregnant or dead one day.”
Baby stormed into her second period English class, handed the teacher her late pass, and marched toward the back of the classroom, interrupting Mr. Thompson’s lecture on structuring a paragraph. For a short moment, all the attention was on her. She was rude. She looked around for her friends, but they weren’t in the classroom. Baby figured that she was probably the only dumb one to come to school on her birthday. She didn’t plan on staying long, though.
Mr. Thompson stared at Baby and exclaimed, “It’s nice of you to finally join us, Ms. Rice.”
“You know it’s my birthday today, so I needed to make an entrance,” she replied.
“Like you do every day, or on the days that you actually decide to show up to school,” whipped Mr. Thompson.
“Ya funny, Mr. Thompson, I’m sayin’ ... Go on and teach; don’t let me stop you. I’m here to learn, right ...” she replied with sarcasm. “I’ma sit back here and look cute, but I’m still learning somethin’ ... but you should be learning from me.”
There was an eruption of laughter from the class. Mr. Thompson didn’t find her comment or humor funny. He glared at Baby and said, “Life is not a game, Ms. Rice. You need to understand that.”
“Whatever, just teach somethin’, Mr. Thompson, and I’ma sit here and pretend like I’m listening, a’ight!” Baby hissed back.
Mr. Thompson didn’t want to spend too much time arguing with Baby. He didn’t want to show her the attention that she always craved. He walked toward the chalkboard and continued with his lesson.
Baby slouched in her seat and looked around the classroom. She noticed a certain hard look trained on her. It was coming from Erica. The two hated each other. Baby cut her eyes back at Erica, smirked, and tossed up her middle finger, showing that she wasn’t intimidated by the stare.
The two girls had had an ongoing beef for months. It was over J. Rock. He supposedly was Erica’s man, but Baby had no problem fucking him occasionally—and J. Rock didn’t have a problem showing Baby intimacy and splurging his ill-gotten wealth on her, when Erica was his girlfriend. Baby didn’t hide the fact that she and J. Rock were fucking. Her mouth ran slick like oil throughout the hood, and she wanted to make Erica jealous. She hated how Erica flaunted herself, always bragging about her family being in the music business like they were the Jacksons.
Erica’s older brother, Sean, used to be in a famous rap group back in the late nineties and he became somewhat of a success with his producing and acting in a few films. The family came into some wealth, and Erica was living off of her brother’s success. She had everything she needed: money, clothes, and even a car. She walked around the school like she was a diva, and Baby hated it. Baby always felt that Erica was a fake bitch, and was too stuck-up to be with a man like J. Rock. They came from two different worlds; J. Rock was rugged, while Erica was the Whitley Gilbert of the school when it came to having money. But the difference was that Erica knew how t
o throw down, and was able to hold her own in a fight; she was nowhere like a Whitley Gilbert. She ran with a wild crew of girls who called themselves Live Divas, or L.D. girls for short. And, over the past few months, the Triple P girls had bumped heads with the Live Divas, and gotten into a few physical confrontations inside and outside of the school.
Baby and Erica glared at each other. Baby hated the way Erica was staring at her. She became upset, and shouted, “Bitch, what the fuck you lookin’ at?”
“You, you stupid fuckin’ bitch!” Erica shouted. “You a fuckin’ slut, bitch!”
“Bitch, that’s why I just fucked ya man this morning fo’ my birthday. What the fuck you gonna do about it?” Baby shouted.
Both girls jumped out of their seats and were ready to clash with each other. Mr. Thompson spun around and instantly got between the two girls. He knew about their history and had warned them many times about interrupting his class sessions. But the girls didn’t care; they were ready to tear into each other with hatred and disrespect and were far from worried about a suspension from school.
“Sit down,” Mr. Thompson screamed at both girls. “Not in my damn classroom. Do you two ladies hear me?”
The class had gotten riled up and was ready to see a fight take place. But Mr. Thompson quickly regained order. He wasn’t having any disorder in his room. He stood over six feet tall and outweighed both girls easily. He was a black man from a poverty-stricken ghetto, also. He was able to relate to many of his students. He hated violence, was about unity with his kids, and he hated to see black students fight each other over foolishness. It really upset him that many of his students didn’t take getting an education seriously.
“Fuck her, Mr. Thompson. I’m sick of that bitch,” Baby exclaimed.
“You a dirty bitch, Baby. I swear, I’ma see you!” Erica retorted.
“See me then, bitch!”
Mr. Thompson had both girls sit down and then he shouted, “What is wrong with y’all? Y’all supposed to be sisters.”
Baby sighed and retorted, “That bitch ain’t no sister of mines. Mr. Thompson, save that family, African-pride shit for someone else who cares. Don’t bring that shit my way.”
“There’s always a problem with y’all two, but I’m not having that nonsense in my classroom.”
“Then we just gonna take it somewhere else,” replied Baby.
“It’s sickening ... Two beautiful young women wanting to fight and destroy each other ... and over what, a boy!” he exclaimed. “How twisted can y’all be?”
Baby sighed and averted her attention from her English teacher. She stared out the window with a scowl, having her arms folded across her chest. She was itching to fight Erica. The anxiety that was bubbling inside of her was ready to explode.
Mr. Thompson went on to teaching his class and the conflict between the two girls was only postponed. A fight between them was inevitable.
Chapter 3
August Martin High School was buzzing with students and staff. It was third period, and students swarmed the hallways with their loud chatter and laughter, and the teachers hurriedly prepared for their next class. The school sat across the street from Baisley Pond Park—giving it a serene view on the busy boulevard. The entrance to the school—with its towering stone pillars, gold doors, and iconic granite structure—was a sight for everybody to see, resembling the front of the Supreme Court building.
It was a Monday morning. Samson made his way toward the admissions office. He had new jack written all over his face. His eyes scanned every inch of the hallway; and the students noticed the new guard in their school immediately. Samson was tall and sturdy, and caught a few fleeting looks from female students and the staff. Samson’s uniform fit him with style and class. The Marines taught him how to look sharp in any uniform. He wore it well with his build—it was identical to the uniform worn by police officers; the only exception was the color of the shirt, which was light blue in contrast to the dark blue shirt worn by police officers. His badge was oval with an eagle top, also in contrast to the shield worn by police officers.
Samson stood in the admissions office and waited to be greeted by his supervisor. The place was buzzing with activity: students in and out with schedules in their hands, the staff filing paperwork, and the phone ringing constantly. The aging ladies sitting in the office behind their desks glanced at Samson with smiles and admired his lean build and striking looks. He was eye candy to them—and he would be something or someone to talk about after his departure from the office.
“You’re the new guy, huh?” Billy McDonald said to Samson. He emerged from the back office and walked up to Samson, greeting him with a smile and a handshake.
Samson nodded as they exchanged handshakes.
“I’m Billy McDonald, your supervisor. Welcome to the team,” he said.
Samson remained quiet. Billy was a pudgy fellow with a protruding stomach and thinning hair. He was light skinned, clean shaven, and was always filled with trustworthy advice along with laughs and smiles for his coworkers. He was fun to be around. But he was the exact opposite of appearance when standing next to Samson. Samson towered over his supervisor by half a foot, and had a steady glance coming from the ladies in the office.
Billy was in his mid-forties and had been a security officer for over twenty years. He was married with children, and took his job seriously. He knew everything about the job and, most important, he knew everything about dealing with the students in his school.
“I heard you’re a military man,” Billy said.
“Yeah, Marines ... Did two tours in Iraq,” Samson mentioned.
Billy nodded and smiled. “My man ... I’m a military man myself, army though. But didn’t see much action ... Wish I did, though. But, hey, the past is the past; it’s the present day that matters now. You can’t live your life wondering and thinking about the what-ifs, because if you start doing that, then you’ll wake up from your daze and see that life done passed you by.”
It was Billy’s first good advice to Samson. Samson nodded.
“The uniform fits you well. I see you already got the ladies glued to you,” Billy joked, slapping Samson on the arm playfully. “But c’mon, take a walk with me. I’ll show you around.”
Samson followed his supervisor out of the office and into the lion’s den. The hallway was clear of students. The next period bell sounded and the classes were filled with a diversity of freshmen to seniors.
“Now the first thing you must know: you’re here to be alert and regulate the flow of students at entrances and from class to class, and to maintain order of the school interior. We check outer perimeters for unauthorized persons, and also check student ID, challenge visitors, and adhere to visitor control procedures. We also immediately report possible child abuse. I had plenty of those over the years. But, watch out for drugs, alcohol, gang participation, or psychological problems. On this job, we use minimal force necessary to effect arrest and so on and so on.”
Billy’s speech was textbook as they walked up the stairway to the second floor. Samson was quiet and listened intently.
“Now these kids are tough, most of them can be a handful ... A few come from very broken homes, and unfortunately, the few bad apples make it hard for the rest of the students who want to learn in this school. They will test you, try you, make fun of you ... basically, they’re gonna try to break you, get under your skin. You can’t let them. Remember, always remain professional on your job ... You’re the adult, and they’re just children, so try to remember that at all times. Some of them might want to fight you; you don’t hit back, no matter what they say or do to you. And some of these young girls will flirt with you; you keep your eyes and hands to yourself, because we take sexual harassment serious in this school and on this job. And you don’t want to get caught up in that mess ... Guilty or not, it will always leave a stigma on you,” Billy proclaimed.
Samson listened. The two men were walking down the second floor corridor when suddenly a ca
ll erupted through Billy’s radio. “We have a fight in the cafeteria ... a fight between a group of girls.”
Billy took off running and Samson followed him. As the men ran toward the cafeteria, Billy uttered, “Now you get to see the real thing.”
The men bolted for the basement cafeteria. When they arrived on the chaotic scene, there were a bunch of girls fighting in the lunchroom. It was a four-on-one battle. The two officers already present tried to break it up, but the girls were brutal; there was hair pulling, kicking and screaming, and food being thrown everywhere.
“Fuck that bitch up! Fuck her up,” one girl shouted.
The lunchroom was loud with excitement and riled up. The students around were encouraging the fight. There was blood spewing, clothing being torn, and weaves being ripped out. Erica tried to kick Baby in the face as she stumbled to the floor; she was being assaulted by three of the L.D. girls.
But, Baby wasn’t going down easily. She grabbed one girl tightly by her long weave, knotting her fist around her hair, and yanked her hair back with such force that it felt like her neck had snapped. The girl screamed from the jolt of the rough hair pulling and Baby abruptly caught her with a strong right hook against her temple.
Erica jumped on Baby, striking her in the back of her head with her closed fist. Security tried to grab Erica off of Baby, but the young girl was stronger than they expected.
“Get the fuck off! Get the fuck off me!” Erica screamed. “I’ma fucked that bitch up! I’ma kill that slut bitch! She fucked my man ...”
Baby spun around to lunge at Erica and punched her repeatedly in her face as security tried pulling Erica back from the group of girls fighting. Baby got off a few good hits until Billy and Samson rushed over. Samson immediately grabbed Baby from behind. His strong arms wrapped around Baby like a large cloth. He lifted her off her feet effortlessly and pulled Baby away from the assault on Erica. Baby struggled to break free from his strong grip, but it was fruitless. Samson was too strong.
“Get off me ... Aaaahhh, nigga, get the fuck off me ... I hate that bitch!” Baby shouted, squirming and trying to fight her way free from Samson’s monstrous hold.
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