A Hustler's Promise: Some Promises Won't Be Broken

by Jackie Chanel

  Joy buzzed her into the building. Jaicyn was surprised that the buzzer even worked. Usually it was broke or the dope boys disabled it. Most people who didn’t live in the Park felt uncomfortable there but not Jaicyn. She’d been coming to the Park since she moved to Washington Heights. Joy and Taylor lived there with their boyfriends and their two kids. None of them worked real jobs but somehow the bills got paid.

  “What’s up girl?” Joy greeted her friend as she kicked toys out of the way and cleared a spot on the messy sofa for Jaicyn to sit down.

  “Why are you over here in the middle of the day? Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Joy asked before she went into the kitchen and came back with a huge bag of Doritos and two cans of Pepsi.

  “I’m in a bad situation girl,” Jaicyn said, taking a can of pop.

  “What’s up? You need something?”

  Jaicyn nodded her head. “I need some cash. Mommy’s using again. She didn’t pay the rent, and we’re out of food. I’m broke as hell. Shit’s bad, Joy, and I don’t know what to do.”

  “Girl,” Joy screeched, “I know we taught you better than that. You better get some money from your man!”

  “I can’t ask Rayshawn for money,” Jaicyn argued. “We haven’t been together long enough for him to just give me eight hundred dollars.”

  “Well, I don’t have eight hundred dollars to pay your rent but I have this thing going on with food stamp cards. I can give you a couple of those. That’s money for food at least.”

  Jaicyn was grateful for that. She didn’t care how Joy came across the stack of EBT cards that Joy pulled out of a plain white envelope. She needed one bad because her sisters had to eat. Plus, if she got really desperate, she could sell the cards for cash.

  By the time Jaicyn left Joy’s and rounded the corner of her block, it was almost time for her sisters to get home from school but she felt much better. Jaicyn hurried up the street to her apartment. She wanted to get the house warmed up before Rickie and Bobbie got home. She always turned the heat off when they went to school. She couldn’t afford to leave it on all day. Rayshawn sitting on the stoop with his overnight bag beside him and his headphones on waiting for her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. “You weren’t supposed to be here until later.”

  Rayshawn slipped off his headphones. “Where you been all day?”

  “I was over Joy’s. Why do you care?” Jaicyn eased her way past Rayshawn and slid her key into the lock.

  Rayshawn followed her inside the house. She turned up the thermostat but kept her coat on while the heat kicked on.

  “You been real shitty today,” Rayshawn commented. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing, Rayshawn, damn,” Jaicyn snapped. “I said you could stay here this weekend but if you’re going to be asking me all these questions then maybe you shouldn’t. I really don’t want to hear it.”

  “Whatever,” Rayshawn said, shrugging off his coat. He wasn’t going to leave. Being at Jaicyn’s and dealing with her attitude was a hell of a lot better than being at home.

  Instead of saying anything else, Rayshawn walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

  “Y’all ain’t got no food!” Rayshawn yelled.

  Jaicyn sat on the couch and groaned. She stayed at Joy’s too long to stop by the grocery store and now she’d have to take Rickie and Bobbie out in the cold and on the bus just so they’d have dinner. None of the restaurants in the neighborhood took food stamps.

  Rayshawn walked into the living room and noticed the pained expression on his girlfriend’s face. He sat down and put his arm around her.

  “Jay-Jay, don’t worry about it. I’ll get Little Man to run me over to the store and get some food. Don’t trip.”

  Jaicyn leaned her head against his shoulder as her boyfriend held her a little closer. Once again, she felt safe in his arms. Too bad Rayshawn couldn’t be the answer to all of her problems.

  “Rayshawn, you just don’t know how sick of this I am. Why can’t I be a normal teenager? Why should I have to worry about paying bills or where our next meal is coming from? I’m too young for this shit!”

  “I know,” Rayshawn said, trying to console her. “But we can’t change who our parents are. That’s the problem.”

  Before he could finish his thought there was a loud banging at the door. Jaicyn knew it was Paul so she got off the couch and opened the door.

  “What?”

  “Did your mother show up?” Paul asked.

  “You know she’s not here,” Jaicyn answered. “And no, I don’t have your money.”

  “Jaicyn,” Paul said sadly. “I know it’s not your fault but I need my money. I have bills too. Y’all just can’t be living in my building for free.”

  “I’m not trying to live in your building for free,” Jaicyn fired back. “My mother owes you money, not me.”

  “Yeah, but I haven’t seen her. Y’all can’t continue to live here and not pay the rent.”

  “Well, I don’t have all of it yet and last week you said you wanted it all. So since you’re not going to work with me,” Jaicyn replied, “then when I get it, you’ll get it. Simple as that.”

  “That’s not good enough,” Paul started to say before Jaicyn interrupted him.

  “Make it good enough because that’s all I can say.”

  “Look,” Paul barked, “if you don’t have my money in my hand in two days, I’m going to evict you and I’m calling DFCS.”

  Jaicyn temperature started to rise even though it was below zero outside and the door was open. She started screaming at the landlord.

  “Don’t threaten me! I said you’ll get your money!”

  When Jaicyn started yelling Rayshawn hopped off the couch and ran to the door. He pushed past Jaicyn and nearly pushed Paul down the steps.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Rayshawn hollered. “Don’t be threatening my girlfriend.”

  Even though he was about four inches taller and twenty years older than Rayshawn, Paul knew the type of kid he was dealing with and who Rayshawn worked for.

  “I’m sorry, Rayshawn,” Paul stuttered. “But I need my money.”

  Rayshawn reached into his pocket and Paul flinched. He thought Rayshawn was about to pull out a weapon and was shocked when he pulled out a wad of cash as big as his fist instead of a gun. Rayshawn quickly counted off eight hundred dollar bills and threw it at Paul. Most of it landed on the ground.

  “There’s your fuckin’ money. Don’t come around here with that shit again,” Rayshawn advised the grown man scrambling around to gather up the bills in the snow.

  “Thank you,” Paul uttered, grateful that Rayshawn had just hit him with money instead of his fist or worse.

  “Fuck that ‘thank you’ shit. Get your money and get the hell out of here. Next time you have a problem with the rent, come see me.”

  Paul nodded his head and started to walk away with his money stuffed into his pockets.

  “Paul,” Rayshawn called after him, “if you ever threaten my girl again, I will kill you. Count on it.

  Chapter 7

  Jaicyn stood outside her guidance counselor’s office nervously debating whether she should really talk to anyone about her problem. Autumn swore that Miss Devers would be able to help. Plus Miss Devers wasn’t really a stranger. Everyone in the hood knew Cheryl.

  Before she could knock on the door, it opened and Porsche, a girl that Jaicyn didn’t like, came out of the office and rolled her eyes at Jaicyn.

  “Got a problem?” Jaicyn demanded to know.

  “Don’t bother me, Jaicyn,” Porsche muttered.

  Jaicyn’s reaction to the mere sight of Porsche was usually how all of Jaicyn’s fights started. Her hot temper was her biggest flaw.

  As much as she wanted to hit Porsche in the mouth she held her temper in check for once and brushed past her. Jaicyn stepped inside the guidance counselor’s office but not before calling Porsche a bitch. She wanted to see if the gi
rl had enough balls to say something back. She didn’t.

  “Did you just call her a bitch?” Cheryl Devers asked from behind her metal desk.

  Jaicyn shook her head. “No,” she lied and sat down in one of the folding chairs in the office.

  Jaicyn had never been in any other office in the school except the principal’s office and she wasn’t impressed. Miss Devers’ office wasn’t even as nice as Mr. Jordan’s and his office wasn’t that cool either. Cheap plastic chairs, the dented metal desk were staples of a public school system that lacked resources.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here today,” Cheryl said.

  Cheryl Devers had been Jaicyn’s assigned guidance counselor since she was in the ninth grade but she’d only seen the girl twice in two years. Both times were in the principal’s office. Jaicyn sat quietly. With Angelina pulling another disappearing act, Jaicyn was tired, depressed, and confused.

  “I need some help,” she confessed.

  “Help? With what?” Cheryl asked, although she already had an idea of why Jaicyn was in her office.

  Cheryl Devers was a native of Washington Heights. Unlike most of the teachers who left Lincoln High at the end of the day and retired to their homes in the suburbs, Cheryl drove right to Moreland Avenue, a block away from the Jones’ house. Like the rest of the neighborhood, she knew all about Jaicyn’s situation. She knew that Jaicyn tried so hard to hide what was wrong with her mother but she also knew that one day she wouldn’t be able to handle it alone. Cheryl had been waiting on the day that Jaicyn came to her for help.

  “Come on Miss Devers, I know you know,” Jaicyn smirked. “I see you on the block all the time. You know what the problem is.”

  “This is about your mom?” Jaicyn nodded. “And your sisters?” Cheryl asked.

  “No,” Jaicyn said, “my sisters are good. I take great care of them.”

  “That you do,” Cheryl agreed.

  Before coming to school that morning, Cheryl had stopped by the elementary school. She talked to the principal and pulled Rickie and Bobbie’s records. They were ideal students. They didn’t miss school. They didn’t complain about being hungry. They were always clean. Jaicyn was right. She took great care of her sisters.

  “It’s just that,” Jaicyn paused for a moment, “it’s just that I shouldn’t have to take care of them. I feel like I have two kids. I’m not old enough to be doing this!”

  Cheryl listened as Jaicyn vented about her situation. She didn’t interrupt, just listened. When Jaicyn actually started crying as she talked about how she wanted to live with her father in Florida, Cheryl put her arms around her and let her cry.

  “Feel better?” she asked when Jaicyn stopped crying.

  Jaicyn nodded. “Much. I haven’t done that in awhile.”

  “It helps to let it all out every once in awhile.”

  “But what now?” Jaicyn asked.

  Cheryl didn’t have a precise answer. The responsible thing to do was call the Department of Family and Child Services. They would probably put the younger girls in a foster home and Jaicyn would be sent to a group home. That would be the worst thing she could do to Jaicyn.

  “If money seems to be the main problem, have you thought about getting an after school job?”

  Jaicyn looked frustrated. Wasn’t this woman listening at all?

  “Money isn’t the main problem. The main problem is what am I going to do with my sisters? I can’t work after school because I need to be home with them. Even if I did get an after school job and pay for childcare, it would defeat the purpose. We’d still be without food or a place to live.”

  Cheryl sat behind her desk and stared straight ahead. For the first time in her short career she didn’t have any advice for the student sitting across from her. Noticing the perplexed look on Cheryl’s face, Jaicyn took over.

  “I didn’t come here to lay my problems at your feet, Miss Devers. You don’t have to try and solve my problem. I came here to see if the school can help me.”

  “Help you how?” Cheryl asked.

  Jaicyn began telling guidance counselor about a job offer she was given. Jaicyn knew the owner of an urban clothing store who needed another sales clerk. Jaicyn could work six hours a day Tuesday through Friday and eight hours on Saturday making ten dollars an hour.

  “How are you going to take this job and still go to school?” Cheryl asked.

  “That’s why I need the school’s help. I heard that pregnant chicks get tutors when they get too big to come to school. I was wondering if I could get one until school is out.”

  Cheryl considered Jaicyn’s request. Her situation was out of the ordinary. If Cheryl was to act on Jaicyn’s request she’d have to provide the school board with an explanation on why Jaicyn couldn’t come to school. She couldn’t give them answers without putting Jaicyn and her sisters in jeopardy.

  Cheryl also considered the alternative. If the school wouldn’t provide Jaicyn a tutor then she’d probably drop out. In order for Lincoln High to pay for a tutor for Jaicyn, Cheryl would have to lie about why she needed one. As much as she wanted to help Jaicyn she wasn’t sure jeopardizing her career was the best decision.

  “Jaicyn, I don’t believe that the school will do it, but I will try. If they say no, then we’ll figure out something.”

  “Yeah right.” Jaicyn felt stupid and defeated.

  She shouldn’t have listened to Autumn in the first place. No one had ever tried to help her before and they wouldn’t start now. As usual, she was on her own. Angelina had never been gone for this long. For two months Rayshawn had paid the bills and that was long enough. Jaicyn was taking the job at Mario’s no matter what anyone said. She didn’t care if she’d have to drop out of school or not.

  Rayshawn wouldn’t be happy with Jaicyn’s decision, that she was one hundred percent positive about. He liked being the one taking care of Jaicyn and her sisters, but paying the bills also allowed Rayshawn the freedom of coming and going and staying at Jaicyn’s whenever he pleased. She couldn’t kick him out when he was footing the bills. That would change when she started working.

  Jaicyn enjoyed having her boyfriend around but she didn’t care for the idea of depending on anyone except herself. Being in love was one thing, but she could take care of herself. She knew how to hustle and wouldn’t be turning over the responsibility of her sisters to anyone else.

  When Jaicyn left the guidance counselor’s office, she went to look for Rayshawn. She didn’t have to look far. He was at his locker when she rounded the corner.

  Instantly, a warm sensation spread through her body when she saw him. Rayshawn had a magnetic quality to him that drew Jaicyn in like a moth to a flame and made her feel safe and comforted. Sixteen years old and Jaicyn Jones was head over heels in love with an up and coming drug dealer. She didn’t care one bit about what other people thought about it.

  Rayshawn’s name was quickly becoming a hot topic on the south side. In four short months, his block was finally bringing in the kind of money that King had hoped. The boy was a natural leader and worked his crew hard.

  King was proud of Rayshawn. The only thing that bothered him was Rayshawn’s irrational temper and his relationship with Jaicyn. They were way too serious to be so young. King knew that the source of a man’s problems was money or a beautiful woman. Rayshawn had both.

  The good thing about Jaicyn was that she was street smart. She knew how to hustle and was good at it. She was fighter and could hold her own against anyone in the streets, male or female. She could definitely back up all the shit she talked and if she couldn’t she definitely acted like it. King always thought Jaicyn could be a true hustler, better than anyone who worked for him, even Rayshawn, if she really put her mind to it.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be in Atlanta with King?” Jaicyn asked.

  “We’re leaving after school.”

  Jaicyn stepped into her boyfriend’s arms, hugging him around the waist.

  �
��Did you talk to Miss Devers?” Rayshawn asked again as they headed towards Algebra class.

  “She can’t help me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  They stopped walking and stood outside of the classroom as the other students filed into the room.

  “What else can I do? I did my part. I asked the school to help me. If they don’t want to then that’s on them. But I will be at Mario’s tomorrow at ten.”

  “You gotta do what you gotta do, Jay-Jay,” Rayshawn replied as the bell rang.

  Mrs. Peterson, their teacher slammed the door shut, signifying that they were late again.

  Jaicyn looked at the closed door and shook her head.

  “I don’t have time for this,” she said. “I’m going home. You coming?”

  Jaicyn and Rayshawn had been late for Algebra so many times that if they walked through that door Mrs. Peterson was going to hit them with a detention. Rayshawn didn’t feel like dealing with that and King too. He smiled at his girl and they walked to their lockers. No point in finishing the rest of the school day.

  ****

  Saturday morning, while Jaicyn was doing her hair and getting ready for work, she heard the doorbell ring. Rayshawn was still in the bed but she could hear Dayshawn downstairs watching cartoons with her sisters.

  “Dayshawn,” Jaicyn yelled down the steps, “get the door!”

  A few minutes later Dayshawn bounded up the steps.

  “Miss Devers is downstairs,” he announced. “What did you do?”

  Jaicyn ran her brush through her hair one final time and brushed a few stray hairs off of her new Sean Jean shirt. She’d only been working at Mario’s for two weeks and was enjoying her discount and the job itself. She even put up with Mario’s constant flirting. She hoped Cheryl Devers wasn’t standing in her living room in order to talk her into quitting and going back to school.

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  Jaicyn walked downstairs and greeted her guidance counselor.