The Lipstick Clique

by David Weaver

  Skye knew that this day would come. She knew it was going to come down to her having to choose between her own flesh and blood and her best friend, Treasure Brown. She gritted her teeth together and nodded her head. Treasure ran around and opened the door to the Jeep and started it up. Skye opened the door to the Jeep and stood there.

  “Bring your ass on girl!” Treasure screamed as she slid her seatbelt into the clasp. She put the Jeep into reverse so that she could pull out and drive off, but Skye just stood there with a sad look on her face. Treasure understood that look the instant she saw it. It was the look of a woman torn. She felt guilty that she had even put Skye into a position to choose between her own blood and her friend.

  Treasure didn’t have room for error or emotions, and she felt that she had to let it be known. But she would do it in her own style. “Skye… I love you. I’ll see you around baby girl. Shut my door.”

  “Treasure…” She started, but thought better of it. She exhaled and stared at her friend for a moment, then backed away and shut the door. She watched Treasure’s Jeep back out of the parking space and burn rubber from the Publix supermarket.

  __________

  “Whoooooooo!!! Whoooooo! Whooooooooo! Crank that shit up Skye, let’s roll!” The girls came running out of the supermarket with brown paper bags filled with cash. They had jubilant smiles on their faces, and Skye noticed that Milan had never looked happier. Skye hot-wired the new vehicle, a silver Ford Mustang, and they skirted away from the Publix supermarket going 55 miles per hour in the inner city. Seven blocks away, they spotted a car wash and pulled in.

  “Hello!” The car wash worker spoke when he saw the three girls pull up. “What type of car wash would you like today? We have a special going on today. A car wash, wax, wheel clean, interior vacuum, and your choice of interior fragrance for only $30. Are you interested?”

  Skye had come up with a plan while the man was speaking. “Yes, let me get the special, thank you.”

  He grabbed his tablet and started writing out a receipt. He snatched it out of the book and handed it to the driver. “O.K., drive up to the X and we’ll take over. You’ll pick your car up over there.” He said, while pointing to a line of cars that had been washed and were now being dried off.

  Skye smiled at him and they all exited the car, each of them carrying bags of money. There were a few men standing around waiting on their vehicles to be finished, but when they spotted Skye, Milan, and Lena, they forgot all about their vehicles and tuned in to the lovely ladies. They watched the women’s every move, but none of it registered until they all walked up to a silver Nissan Pathfinder at the front of the line of cleaned cars. Without saying a word, they threw the bags of money inside the SUV, jumped in, and drove away from the premises like it was theirs.

  The guys who were working dutifully to shine the vehicle, took off running behind the car to no avail. They stood around staring at each other in confusion. One guy slammed the tire shine liquid on the ground and hung his head low. He just knew he was about to be fired, and he needed that job.

  The owner of the car dropped the hoagie he had been eating as he stood there wide-eyed and in utter disbelief. He couldn’t believe his damned whip had just been stolen with him standing less than 15 feet away. As angry as he was, he had gotten the SUV through illegal proceeds, so he was definitely not going to call the police on them. Damn! He thought to himself, I just bought that damned whip! Fuck!!

  He had an extremely sharp memory, and he knew that no matter what, one day he would see them again. And when he did, there was going to certainly be hell to pay. He had a tattoo on the back of his hand that said Grimmer, and he kissed it whenever he promised himself something. He kissed his tat and closed his eyes.

  __________

  Not only was Treasure angered because The Lipstick Clique turned their backs on her, but she was also angry because the girl that worked in the strip club had tried to get her murdered! For her to have been so much of a survivor, it made her feel bad that she had let so many things seep through her exterior armor in such a quick time frame. It made her feel as if all of the lessons that she’d learned in prison had been in vain, when that was certainly not the case.

  Carrying a new mind frame and a new plan to match, she stopped at a convenience store and went inside. The citizens of Columbus, GA were the complete opposites from the harsh, cold, and uncaring citizens of her hometown. Philadelphia was so different from Columbus, that it almost seemed like a joke to her. Up there, people would only speak to you when they wanted something, or were trying to progress to a certain position, but in GA, it seemed as though they were speaking to her like they were her next of kin.

  “Hey shawty what’s yo name?” A guy said to her as soon as she walked into the store. She ignored him and walked past him. She was on a mission, and didn’t want any distractions throwing her off of her planned path. But the guy continued to follow her. “Damn shawty… I can’t get a name from you?”

  Exasperated, Treasure turned around and stared at the man. She was about to curse him out, but thought better of it when she remembered that she had no friends in the city. She sighed and picked up a five hour energy drink bottle off of the shelf. “My name is T. What’s your name?”

  The man laughed for a second. “Cool… My name is 5.”

  Treasure frowned and shook her head. She grabbed a Red Bull out of the refrigerator and walked to the counter. The man was walking directly beside her. She turned and looked at him. “Listen, Please stop following me. You’re bringing me attention that I do not want. Why don’t you give me five feet as a courtesy?”

  The man held his palms up at her. “I’m sorry Ms. Lady, let me leave you alone. It was nice meeting you.” He turned and exited the store.

  That was weird! Treasure thought as she paid for her items and got back into the car. She swallowed the 5 hour energy drink and chased it down with a can of Red Bull. She had things to do, and sleep would only get in her way.

  __________

  Milan was amazed at how simple it was for them to get hotel rooms in the area. It seemed that everyone minded their own business, and didn’t have time to notice that just maybe, she was on the 6 o’clock news with a reward for her capture. Her and Lena had gotten their own room and Skye had separately gotten hers. She flopped onto the bed beside Lena. “Hey baby girl!”

  “Hey Milan!” Lena started, but got cut short.

  “What I tell you about calling me Milan?” Milan snapped as she tried to swallow her anger. “Let’s try this again Lena!”

  Lena jumped out of fright. She didn’t mean any harm to Milan, because she was really beginning to look up to her. “I’m sorry mama.” The young girl said as she hung her head.

  Milan smiled. “That’s more like it Lena. That’s more like it. Hey, grab that bag over there with the pistols in it. Let me show you again how to lock and load.”

  __________

  The walls in the strip club were worn and tattered. The foundation of the club itself looked so weak that if the wind blew, Treasure was sure that the entire establishment would roll over like a puppy. The stripper pole had patches of rust on it, and it seemed like each of the women had to slide down the pole using a specific technique in order to not get a skin piercing.

  A blonde was working the pole to the best of her abilities when Treasure walked in. She was dancing against it, kissing and licking it, caressing and sucking it… she was doing everything except for sliding down it. The pole looked so rough, that Treasure couldn’t imagine any human being sliding down it; it looked like a vertical slab of cement. The permanent cigarette smoke lingered in the room, and the permanent stench of strip club aroma was so heavy and thick that it seemed as if it was engraved in the panels of the walls.

  The DJ was screaming through the microphone so much, that no one could really hear the music being played. “Get down Snowflake! Yessssirrrr! If you ain’t tippin or sippin, then you needs to be dippin! Ohhhhhh look at Snowflake! Damn gir
l, you sho’ nuff bad!”

  The DJ irritated Treasure to no end, but she ignored it since it really had nothing to do with her. Men were scattered about all over the club. Most were in the middle of the room or as far away from the stage as possible, trying to avoid tipping the strippers. They were drinking their drinks as slowly as possible. Treasure couldn’t imagine surviving on the type of income these ladies were probably making.

  Treasure had a seat at the front of the stage and leaned back in her chair. She had on a beige thigh length skirt and a red blouse with a beige flower on the shoulder. She was wearing a red pair of 5 inch pumps and her purse matched her skirt. Her red lipstick accentuated her thick lips, and her manicured nails had been cut short on purpose. She wanted no interruptions when it was time to fire the pistol, wanted nothing to get in the way of guaranteed power.

  No matter how much trouble Treasure had gotten into, she still wanted to look and feel beautiful. She was still an aspiring school teacher at heart, and when she thought about the drastic change of direction that she had endured, it made her sick to her stomach. Her ex-boyfriend Benji had single handedly come into her life and turned it upside down. He had hurt her in so many ways, that she was absolutely positive that she would never love again in life.

  When “Snowflake” neared the end of her set, the DJ walked to the edge of the stage and pulled out a large roll of dollar bills. He started throwing dollars and sliding them between her thong string while smiling at her. When Treasure saw the interaction between Snowflake and the DJ, she knew right then that she was his girlfriend. She could also tell that working in the strip club had not been Snowflake’s idea at all. Her facial expressions whenever the DJ glanced away told Treasure the whole story.

  Her entire demeanor lacked confidence, and the way that she danced made it look as if she was in pain. Her fake eyelashes were deep-dark brown and extra-long. She was tall, close to 5’11 or taller. Snowflake had long hair, and her body was so tight that it was obvious that she was either fresh out of high school or a freshman in college. Her neck was slender and graceful, her mouth cute and thin.

  When the song went off, Snowflake grabbed the money that the DJ had tipped her and angrily stormed off of the stage and into the dressing room. The DJ smirked at her and went back to his booth so that he could announce the next performer. There were a few women working the floor, trying to convince hard working men that they needed to pay them for their bodies. Treasure breathed in her atmosphere and paused at the peak. She gave her lungs a chance to understand her life, and when she felt that it fully understood; she exhaled.

  She exhaled frustration, pain, suffering, struggle, smoke, madness, and exhaustion. It felt good to have everything leave her body, even if for a brief moment. When she inhaled again, all of her problems came right back. She thought about Milan and Skye, and felt horrible that they had decided to depart from her, but she knew that it was better that they leave her sooner than later.

  “Fellas, please welcome Danielle to the stage! Make sure you tip her, because she is a badddd one!” That was the introduction that Treasure was waiting on. She removed her heels and grabbed her sneakers out of her purse. Evidently, Danielle already knew what time it was. As soon as Treasure looked back up, Danielle had run back off of the stage and into the dressing room.

  Treasure jumped on the stage and started running after her into the dressing room. When she got back there, she saw Danielle changing clothes at a frantic pace. “I was waiting on your performance Danielle.” Treasure said as she walked closer to her. “But then I saw you run off the damn stage… what’s with that?”

  Danielle tried to ignore her and just continued putting her clothes on. “Bitch do you hear me speaking to your weak ass?” Treasure spoke as she walked all the way up in the woman’s face. Danielle dropped her shoes out of nervousness and tried to reach for them, but Treasure kicked them away. “Do you hear me?!”

  “Yea! I hear you!” Danielle said desperately. “There was nothing I could do Treasure! I’d told you about that lick, but I had no choice but to tell them when they asked me later on! They run Columbus, I couldn’t say no to them.”

  Treasure looked down at Danielle and shook her head. “Who the fuck is them? You keep saying them like I know who those negroes are. Who are they?”

  Danielle sighed, and her shoulders slumped down as she spoke. She had the look of a confused woman on her face as she answered. “I’ll have to introduce you to them Treasure. They were in the back of the club, so I know they were wondering why I ran off the stage and why you ran behind me. I’ll have to explain anyways…”

  Treasure frowned up. “But who are you to them? I still don’t get it…”

  Danielle cut her eyes at Snowflake, who had been giving her the evil eye. Then she looked Treasure in the eyes. “They’re my brothers Treasure. They call themselves the Dirt Mob… and trust me… they live by those words.”

  __________

  Skye sat in her hotel room watching the news, and figured that her best friend Treasure was somewhere doing the same exact thing. It hurt her that she’d had to pick her sister over her best friend, and it was driving her absolutely crazy. She’d known Treasure’s story from day one, and knowing how many times she’d been betrayed, simply made her feel worse. The more she sat there thinking, the more she wanted to go find out how her friend Treasure was doing.

  Finally, she set it in her mind that she was going to go force her sister Milan to get with the program whether she liked it or not. She grabbed her pistol and car keys, and walked out of the hotel room. The sky was clear and dark, and the moon held down its area with full authority. The full moon illuminated the parking lot so well, that it seemed as if it was literally just sitting above that exact area.

  She walked around the corner to the odd numbers, and knocked on Milan and Lena’s door. She knocked three times, and stood there waiting for them to answer. When several moments went by without them answering, she decided that the two girls must have gone to sleep and didn’t hear her knocking. She briskly walked back to her room and called the girls’ room phone. No one answered.

  Getting nervous, she hurriedly jogged to the front office and got a key made for Milan’s room. She’d paid for both rooms using a fake ID, so they handed her a key immediately. She ran back to Milan’s room and opened the door frantically. She was hoping that the two girls were sleep, and praying that the two crazed loonies hadn’t taken each other out of this life.

  When she opened the door, her heart dropped to the ground. She couldn’t believe it.

  __________

  “Mommy! Let’s rob that bank over there! Mommy! What about that gas station? What do you wanna rob mommy?”

  “Quiet child, let me think!” Milan screamed to Lena while she drove around the quiet city of Columbus, GA on a mission. She had a deeply rooted passion for violence and mayhem, and she just didn’t feel as if there was enough of it going on in her life. She’d convinced Lena that she was her real mother, and that God had allowed everything to happen just so that they could be reunited. She’d convinced Lena that robbery was good, and that firing a pistol was even better. The naïve adolescent believed in everything that was told to her.

  “Mommy, what about the McDonald’s? What about the Taco Bell over there?”

  “Lena! Relax, you’re driving me crazy!” Milan pulled over into the parking lot of a tax office and put the stolen car in park. She placed her hands on the sides of her head and screamed, as loud as possible, from the bottom of her lungs. “Arrrghhhh! Shit! You’re fuckin irritating me you fuckin brat!”

  Lena’s eyes misted up and started leaking when Milan screamed at her. She was truly hurt that the woman she looked up to thought she was irritating. She didn’t know why, but that hurt her worse than seeing her parents dead on that fateful night. “I’m sooo sorry Mommy!!! Pleaaaassssee! I don’t want you to think I’m irritating. Please Mommmy!”

  Milan rolled her eyes. “Relax damnit! Just relax. Tell m
e you love me and I’ll let it slide!”

  Lena smiled immediately. It was a smile so bright, that no one could mistake it for anything other than a child’s innocent adoration. She grinned so hard that a bit of saliva leaked out of one of the corners of her mouth. “I love you mommy!” She said, with a smile that rivaled the mascot of Chuck E Cheese.

  Immediately, Milan pulled her hands down from the sides of her head and perked up. She mirrored Lena’s smile and nodded her head. “See… that’s the type of stuff I wanna hear from you. And since you’re being so nice, I’m going to let you pull the robbery off by yourself tonight!”

  Lena was enthusiastic, but nervous. It was the type of nervousness a person felt when their mother tells them they can drive her car for the first time. She was excited, and wanted to make it happen, but she was scared that she was going to let Milan down. However, before she could have a chance to protest, Milan pulled into the parking lot of a pawn shop.

  “O.K. Lena… you remember everything I told you right?” Milan said as she made sure that the child’s 44 Magnum was loaded and ready. Gently, she reached across the seat and handed her the chrome pistol along with an extra clip. “Just go in there and tell them to put the money in a bag. If someone jumps wrong, waste them. I don’t give a fuck who it is. Any problems… waste em.”