by Jade Jones
Stone chuckled and nodded his head in admiration. Jude may have been young, but he had the cleverness and perception of a wise old man. “Both,” he answered.
Jude allowed his simple word to sink in before he made his way out of Stone’s cell—nearly colliding into a man lurking outside of the door. Jude recognized him immediately. He didn’t know him personally, but everyone in the tier referred to him as White. He was Stone’s loyal right hand man.
White stood at six feet five inches tall, and looked every bit of crazy as he actually was. He had pale skin—hence the nickname he was given—and sunken in eyes and cheeks. A long scar ran vertically down the side of his face and Route 666 was tattooed in bold lettering across his chest.
“The fuck you lookin’ at?” he spat. He figured Jude was staring a little harder than he needed to.
Jude opened his mouth to say some smart shit, but quickly decided against it. White had been mean-mugging Jude, and tossing him vicious stares ever since he became a part of Stone’s operation, and it was obvious that he wasn’t particularly fond of him. For what reason exactly, Jude had no idea, and quite frankly he didn’t give a fuck. The only reason he decided not to check that hillbilly looking motherfucker was out of respect for Stone.
Shaking his head, Jude walked off in the opposite direction. He had a feeling that White was eventually going to be a big problem.
***
Tiana and RJ Jr. sat at the rickety wooden dining room table. RJ sat on top of a couple of throw pillows in order to prop him up. He was making an utter mess eating a bowl of Raviolis without a care in the world, and completely oblivious to the fact that his own mother had brutally murdered his father last night.
Suddenly, Ki Ki emerged from the kitchen carrying a sharp edged knife. Her beautiful face was expressionless, and just from looking at her one would never be able to guess what exactly was going through her mind.
“Mommy, where’s daddy?” Tiana suddenly asked. “Is he okay?”
Ki Ki slowly made her way over towards her four year old daughter. The knife in her hand hung loosely by her side.
Standing behind Tiana’s chair she stared down at her child in silence. She then slowly brought the knife down towards her daughter before mumbling, “Daddy is just fine…”
11
“Daddy just went away to go to work. That’s all,” Ki Ki lied. She then reached over Tiana, and cut a small slice of lemon half-pound cake before placing it on the plate in front of her daughter.
“Now eat your damn cake and don’t ask me no more damn question ,” Ki Ki said in a nasty tone.
***
Marcus sat in the visitor’s chair beside Xavier’s hospital bed. He had made it a priority to visit his homeboy whenever he had a little free time to spare.
“You ain’t obligated to sit in here with a nigga. You know that right,” Xavier said peeling his gaze away from the television to look at Marcus. “Gotta nigga feelin’ like he a charity case or some shit,” he joked.
“Come on now,” Marcus said. “You know it ain’t shit like that man. Hell, if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d want you to show me love, ya dig?”
Xavier nodded his head in understanding and then focused his attention back on the re-run of My Wife and Kids. There was a brief period of silence between the two friends before he spoke again. “You know that shit that people be sayin’ about seein’ their lives flash before they eyes before they know they’re about to die?” He continued to stare at the television. “I ain’t ever known how true that shit was ‘til I experienced it myself.”
Marcus remained silent as he listened intently.
“I just knew a nigga was about to be out for the count when I saw all my damn blood,” Xavier admitted. “I was like ‘damn…this shit is it. This a mothafuckin’ wrap for my ass.’” He said. “Now that God gave me a second chance, I feel like I gotta start keepin’ it a hunnid with myself and other mothafuckas, you know?” He paused. “Man, I gotta be real with you dawg…I smashed ya girl Pure Seduction twice,” he confessed.
Marcus was a little disappointed to hear that, but it wasn’t like Pure Seduction was exclusively his either.
“I also looked at Cameron’s ass a couple times when she came to the show—”
“Hey! Hey! Hey, bruh,” Marcus cut Xavier off. “Now if you touch my Cam, I may fuck around and have to shoot ya ass over her.” His tone was laced with humor. “And ya ass won’t be so lucky then.” Marcus was laughing, but inside he was dead ass serious.
***
The moment Cameron stepped through the doors of the student center it felt much like a welcome relief. It felt like years had elapsed since she had last stepped foot inside of Cleveland State University when in all actuality it was only months.
Cameron missed school. She missed attending classes. She missed raising her hand to ask a question. She missed taking notes. She missed having to do difficult assignments. Hell, she just missed feeling normal. Point blank period.
College felt like a magical door that led to a magical world in which she didn’t have to worry about her past, her pains, and the drama that had quickly consumed her life. The only thing different now was that she wouldn’t have her girl Tiffany by her side as a major support system. It was because of Tiffany that Cameron even made it through the first three years.
While Cameron was busy napping during classes because she was exhausted from dancing at The Shakedown all night, Tiffany was taking notes for her so that she wouldn’t fail. She had Cameron’s best interest at heart…well…she used to have Cameron’s best interest at heart. An unfortunate turn of events had caused Tiffany to go down a path of self-destruction that ultimately led to her death.
Cameron hated even thinking about the death of her best friend so she quickly shook the thoughts from her head, and tried to push any negative memories to the back of her mind. Today was the beginning of a new semester, and a new page in Cameron’s life. It was her chance to prove to herself that she could and would be more than just some orphaned girl turned exotic dancer.
As Cameron made her way towards her first class, she noticed the few stares from her fellow female students. Some were whispering, and looking in her direction while others were shaking their heads in disgust. They were all aware of her old profession as a stripper, and they were judging her without even knowing her full story.
I don’t give a damn, Cameron thought to herself. These bitches don’t know me or my life.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and gently grabbed her forearm. “Excuse me miss lady,” a deep voice spoke up.
Cameron quickly stopped in her tracks and stared down at the chestnut colored hand softly holding onto her forearm. Her gaze then wandered up to the stranger who had grabbed her. He was an attractive guy who could have been no older than twenty-three or twenty four years old. He had a low haircut, big bright eyes, and full lips that were surrounded by a neatly trimmed goatee. He instantly reminded Cameron of the rapper Big Sean minus the petite frame and height.
“Can I help you?” Cameron asked pulling her arm away from him. She was used to the guys in school hitting on her. They absolutely adored her while on the other end most of the females hated off in the distance.
“How you doing? My name is Mike,” he introduced himself sticking his hand out for good measure.
Cameron hesitantly shook his hand with a puzzled expression on her pretty face. “Do, I know you?” she asked.
Mike chuckled revealing a cute set of dimples. “Nah,” he answered. “My homeboy told me about you though,” he said.
Cameron didn’t really like the sound of that. Scrunching her face up in confusion, she said, “Your homeboy told you about me? What does that mean?”
None of the male students attending CSU knew her intimately because the only men she had ever seriously dated were Silk—which lasted damn near two years—and Jude.
“Nah, it ain’t nothing’ like that, ma,” Mike quickly corrected himself. “He told me that you
dance at the strip club over there on St. Clair. Check it, I’m havin’ a lil’ private party. A few of my niggas, and I would love to have a couple dancers there for entertainment,” he explained. “I would love for you to be there and bring one of ya girls if possible.”
Cameron looked Mike up and down with disdain. She was upset and offended that he would be bold enough to approach her in school of all places with such an offer. “I don’t dance anymore,” Cameron admitted in a flat tone.
“Look, I’ll pay you and ya girl $500 a piece just to show up at the door,” Mike said. “It’ll be plenty of fellas there so you and ya girl will definitely clean up on the tip side. And trust me, I don’t fuck with any niggas that don’t get money,” he added confidently.
Cameron wasn’t buying that shit. She figured he probably had just gotten his school refund check, and was just looking to front like was balling. She knew how the game went.
“What part of I don’t dance anymore don’t you understand?” Cameron asked in a low tone.
“Well, look, if you change your mind, hit me up,” Mike said before hastily scribbling his cellphone number on a piece of notebook paper. He then snatched the paper out of his notebook and handed it to Cameron. “The party is this weekend,” he added.
Cameron reluctantly took the piece of paper from him and watched as he walked off. “The nerve of some of these cocky ass niggas,” she told herself shaking her head.
Cameron quickly made her way to her business communications class, but stopped in mid-stride when an unsettling thought came to mind. Walking over to the nearby computer center kiosk, she took a seat and typed in her login information on the CSU homepage website. Cameron quickly scanned her balance due which was well over two thousand dollars. She would need to pay that balance off, and as soon as possible.
As much as Cameron hated the idea of dancing again, that avenue seemed like the only and best way to get the convenient cash she needed. Suddenly Mike’s offer didn’t seem so bad…
***
Cameron headed straight to work after school without any breaks in between. If her work schedule remained the same that would only leave her a few hours after work to get school assignments done. Cameron didn’t like the idea of having to do homework or research while she was tired, but she simply had to do what she had to if she wanted to make it.
The 216 Lounge was understandably slower on a Monday night with just a few regulars here and there drowning their sorrows with booze while watching Sports Center on the large overhead television screens.
Ki Ki seemed pretty distant from Cameron during their shift together. It was obvious that she didn’t like Cameron, and Cameron really couldn’t blame her. Never was she usually that coldhearted and cynical towards people especially for no damn reason, but lately Cameron hadn’t been feeling much like herself. Who would if they had been through all the shit she had gone through?
What the hell am I going to do about the offer Mike proposed to me earlier, Cameron asked herself several times that evening. Five hundred dollars upfront sounded like a pretty good deal, especially considering that she wasn’t paid a damn thing to walk through the doors of a strip club. Hell, you weren’t even guaranteed tips, and then you still had to tip out. Mike was offering her five hundred dollars just to show up plus whatever she earned in tips. Cameron and whatever girl she decided to bring along with her would be the only dancers there so competition would be nonexistent.
Now the only question is…who am I going to bring with me to the party, Cameron wondered. She hadn’t talked to Juicy since she worked at The Shakedown, and they weren’t cool all like that anyway. Especially not after she and Pocahontas had left her in Columbus to be raped at the hands of Wallace.
Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, Cameron watched as Ki Ki bent over and retrieved a bottle of Corona from the lowest shelf in the cooler. Cameron’s eyes suddenly wandered over her thick and curvaceous body figure.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Cameron mumbled under her breath. This was her first time looking at Ki Ki, and really looking at her. She was by no accounts into females, but an idea quickly came to mind. Cameron patiently waited for Ki Ki to finish servicing one of the customers before she finally made her way over towards her. “Hey, Ki Ki. Can I talk to you for a sec?”
Ki Ki tucked her hair behind her ear, and raised her eyebrows in skepticism. “It depends,” she answered. “What do you have to talk to me about?”
Cameron didn’t miss a beat. “Money,” she responded with a serious expression.
All of Ki Ki’s prior feelings about Cameron quickly dissipated as her full lips pulled into a smirk. She was interested before Cameron even gave up the details.
Taking her smile as an invitation to continue, Cameron went ahead and explained the details of the private party Mike wanted her to do.
“I’ve never danced before,” Ki Ki admitted. “I mean I don’t even think I have the body for that shit,” she admitted.
“You’ve got ass and titties,” Cameron told her. “Hell, that’s all you need to have.”
Ki Ki’s self-esteem had been beaten down so badly by RJ that she couldn’t even see her own attractiveness. “So you do think I have the body for it?” she asked Cameron.
Cameron casually laughed. “Of course,” she told her. “Your body reminds me of Buffy the Body. Have you ever heard of her?”
A confused look was etched on Ki Ki’s face. “No,” she answered. “I haven’t,” she paused. “So um…you don’t think I’m fat?”
“What?!” Cameron asked confused. “No! The hell?” she laughed. “You’re straight. You’re good!”
Ki Ki had an ear to ear grin on her face after hearing that. Unbeknownst to Cameron, she had secretly created a monster just then.
“So look, he said it’s this weekend,” Cameron explained. “I’m off…how about you?”
“I’m off too,” Ki Ki lied. Actually, she was planning on calling off. This bartender job was not about to hold her back from making some real money.
“Well, do you got any kids? Will you be able to get a babysitter?” Cameron asked.
“No—I don’t have any kids,” Ki Ki eagerly said. “I’m free. Let’s get this money,” she smiled.
Cameron nodded her head. “Cool. That’s what I like to hear.”
Ki Ki took a sip from the shot of Hennessey she had poured herself. “You know what Cameron,” she began. “We may have gotten off to a bad start, but I think when it’s all said and done…we’re going to be the best of friends…”
12
“Ma…,” Ki Ki paused. “I need to send the kids to you…permanently,” she added. Ki Ki sat on top of her closed toilet seat in her bathroom in the dark. She didn’t want to turn the lights on out of fear that she’d see RJ’s bloodied lifeless body lying in the bathtub.
Ki Ki’s sixty-four year old mother, Abigail sighed into the mouthpiece of her telephone. “Ki Ki now you know I am too darn old to be taking care of some babies,” she explained in a tired tone. Ki Ki had just wakened her from a peaceful slumber in the middle of the night. “And what’s so important that you can’t take care of your own children?” Abigail wanted to know.
“For real ma,” Ki Ki said in a serious tone. “I think…I think I’ma hurt ‘em,” she admitted.
Abigail sighed in frustration. “Oh Lord, Kiana,” she said. “Have you been taking your medication?” she asked. Abigail blamed herself for her daughter’s mental illness, chastising herself for even having a child at the age of forty.
“Ma, I hate when you fuckin’ say that word to me,” Ki Ki said. “I don’t need medication. You and I both know that,” she stressed. “Anyway, I made a friend. We work together. I’ma be hanging out with her from now on,” she said. “So I ain’t got time for these damn kids…besides they’re always in my got damn way.”
Abigail shook her head in disappointment as she listened to her only child. She was not all too fond of the idea of taking care of any babies at her old
age, but in all reality they were probably better off with her instead of Ki Ki.
“And what does RJ have to say about all this?” Abigail asked.
Ki Ki paused, and chewed on her bottom lip. It was a nasty habit that she had done for years. “RJ…he um…he left me,” she lied.
“Oh my Kiana…”
“Look, ma, I don’t wanna talk about that sorry ass nigga,” Ki Ki said. “Can I send the damn kids to you or what? If you say no, I’m just gonna drop their asses off at some random orphanage…” She was hoping her mother gave in after hearing that.
“I’ll have their flight tickets ready tomorrow,” Abigail answered in a weary tone.
***
The following afternoon, Jerrell slowly made his way up the cafeteria line in order to be served the daily slop for the day. On the lunch menu for that afternoon was a bologna sandwich that was nothing more than two slices of white bread with a dry piece of bologna in between. No condiments or nothing. An orange and deserted cake accompanied the meager meal.
Jerrell then wondered if the facility his little brother, Jude was in served better food than the bullshit he was forced to eat just to survive. After collecting his tray, he turned around to head towards his designated table—
Jerrell’s food tray suddenly dropped from his hands the moment the blade of a handcrafted shank dug into his abdomen.
CLANK!
The food tray smacked the tile, and his food splattered everywhere.
Jerrell slowly looked down at the blade protruding from his stomach then up into the eyes of the person holding it. Darnell had a menacing look in his eyes as he twisted the blade. Jerrell grunted in pain before spitting up a mouthful of blood.
One of the prisoners quickly noticed what was happening, and shouted out for the guards who rushed over promptly, but not before Darnell viciously stabbed Jerrell in the stomach and chest several more times, slicing into vital organs. He was facing life after a murder and robbery charge, and he figured he pretty much didn’t have shit to lose. Darnell felt that his manhood had been insulted after Jerrell had punched him in the rec room.