Stacey laughed, though inside she wasn’t laughing at all. She knew what would happen once she got with Sincere. It would be just a matter of time before she made herself scarce from the group.
“Now let’s get to class. We’re late!” Brooklyn grabbed Stacey by the arm and walked down the hall.
As they walked past the staircase, Stacey glanced to her left and saw Wanda still standing there. Wanda gave her a slight smile, and when that smile wasn’t returned, she knew things were headed in the wrong direction. She turned and walked up the stairs, her mind focused on fixing whatever the problem was.
Brooklyn was floating on cloud nine, thinking about getting her shot at modeling. She didn’t even notice that Stacey was still down. They entered first period and sat down next to each other, as they normally did.
“Glad you ladies decided to attend,” Ms. Brooks called out from the front of the class.
“Sorry. I had to meet with the counselor,” Brooklyn responded.
Ms. Brooks turned her attention back to the board and began her lesson.
The day for the girls turned out to be a typical one, until the school bell rang at 3:15. Brooklyn walked out of the classroom and hurried toward the front door. She didn’t see her friends but figured they’d most likely be waiting on the opposite side of the door. She pushed open the large doors, and instead of seeing her friends, she saw Maxine with two other girls standing off to the side of the gate. She wasn’t concerned, because she knew Maxine wasn’t bold enough to try something with her friends close by.
Brooklyn continued to canvass the area and still didn’t spot her friends. She decided to head home, but Maxine and her crew stopped her. They instantly began a staring match.
“Can I help you?” Brooklyn broke the silence while still holding her stare.
“Actually you can. You can start by leaving my man the hell alone,” Maxine yelled, moving closer to Brooklyn.
“Girl, first of all, you need to tell your man to back away from me, if that’s the issue. Your man is after me.”
“He’s only after you because he thinks it’s pissing me off,” Maxine said, both hands on her hips and her face twisted in knots.
“Obviously, it’s working because—”
Before Brooklyn could finish the sentence, Maxine’s fist met the right side of her jaw.
“Bitch, are you crazy?!” Brooklyn yelled between clenched teeth as she lunged at Maxine’s neck and began to choke her.
Maxine grabbed hold of Brooklyn’s wrists, trying to loosen her grip, but was unsuccessful as Brooklyn’s combination of anger and adrenaline made her much stronger. Maxine’s group of friends, who were standing off to the side cheering her on, were now assisting in the attack, pulling Brooklyn’s hair and clothing to release the hold.
“Get off of her!” one of Maxine’s friends yelled, referring to the grip Brooklyn had on Maxine’s hair.
Brooklyn refused to let go. She began punching Maxine, vowing to at least give one of the three girls a beating before they got the better of her. The fight lasted about five minutes before she heard Sincere’s voice and felt the girls backing away one by one.
“So you’re going to take up for that bitch?” Maxine yelled while Brooklyn tried to get one last hit in.
“Go home, Maxine. You’re acting real childish. You think this will make me come back to you? Well, think again! I told you last night we were over, and I meant it!”
“You don’t mean that,” she cried, trying to reach in to hug him.
Sincere pulled his arm away from her and quickly gave her his back as he walked toward Brooklyn. Maxine stood there pouting for a few seconds before turning around and walking over to her friends.
Brooklyn was still standing there watching, her feet planted, ready for round two. Her hair was a mess, and her shirt was torn, but she didn’t care. The adrenaline had her pumped.
“Are you OK?” Sincere lifted her chin to look at her lip, which she could feel swelling at that very moment.
“I’m good, but she better hope we don’t run into each other anytime soon!” She screamed, still fired up.
Sincere smiled and grabbed her hand. “I’m going to take you home, OK?”
Brooklyn didn’t respond as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to his black BMW. She was floating on air, loving the way his hand felt against her body, which was now starting to ache from the punches she’d just received. She was smiling from ear to ear as they got in and drove away, leaving Maxine standing in the dust with her face twisted. Though she was pissed about the attack, being with Sincere was just the payback she deserved, and she was ready to get the show on the road.
Maxine put her middle finger up at Brooklyn as the car drove by, and Brooklyn looked at her with a silent laugh and waved good-bye, pissing her off even more. She smiled as she looked back over to her left at Sincere, who was bobbing his head to the music playing on the radio. Even with all of the drama, Brooklyn couldn’t have asked for a better end to her day.
At that moment, “Sucker MC’s” by Run-D.M.C. was the only thing on Sincere’s mind. Maxine was simply a thing of the past.
Chapter Four
Battle between Friends 1985
Brooklyn decided to head out to school early. She wasn’t in the mood to be bothered with Stacey and wanted to avoid the confrontation she knew would eventually happen. She was still angry that her friends hadn’t been there for her the day before when she fought with Maxine. As she headed in the direction of school, all sorts of things cruised around in her mind. She wondered how her friends could be so jealous of what she had that they would leave her stranded knowing that Maxine would attack the moment she was alone. She also thought about Sincere and the fact that, with all of the drama, she’d finally achieved the one thing she wanted for so long. She had Sincere all to herself.
She reached the corner of the school when she heard her name being called. The voice was all too familiar, and instead of carrying a happy tune, it was loud and angry.
“Brooklyn, I know you hear me!” Stacey yelled as she walked faster to reach where Brooklyn was standing.
Brooklyn turned around and huffed, “Yeah, I hear you, but I don’t really care to listen to what you have to say.” She shook her head and put one hand on her hip.
“What the hell is your problem?”
“You’re my problem, Stacey,” she screamed and pointed in her direction. “You and your selfish attitude.”
“How am I selfish?” she replied, shocked by the comment.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. If you weren’t so busy acting like a jealous bitch, things would be fine. But, no, you can’t stand to be happy for me. You can’t stand that I got the man that everyone wishes they could have.”
“Jealous? Brooklyn, don’t kid yourself. I have nothing to be jealous of. Ever since you got your little modeling contract, you think your shit doesn’t stink. Well, let me tell you one thing—Don’t be so sure you’ll keep him. He’ll drop your ass the same way he dropped Maxine.”
Brooklyn laughed. “You are so pathetic, Stacey. It kills you to see me doing better than you.”
“You know what, Brooklyn ... I’m not going to stand here and argue with you any longer. It’s not even worth my energy. Just remember the next time you’re getting your ass beat or when you’re alone after he dumps your ass that you could’ve had friends to lean on.”
Brooklyn stood there unfazed as Stacey brushed past her and walked across the street and into the school. Maybe she was a little hard on Stacey, but she hadn’t found a way to forgive her. And she believed that since she was with Sincere, she wouldn’t need friends. She walked into the school a few minutes later and went through her day without much conversation with anyone.
Anxious to get out and hoping to see Sincere waiting for her, Brooklyn exited the building at three o’clock to find that he wasn’t there. Instead of looking around for him and risk being embarrassed, she began to walk home. Soon she hea
rd her name being called. It turned out to be Sincere.
“Why are you walking home? I can’t have my girl walking around with sore feet, not when I have this nice-ass ride.” Sincere smiled as he walked around the car, which was double parked near where Brooklyn was standing.
“I wasn’t sure if you were coming, and I didn’t want to look like a fool standing out there waiting.”
“Come one now. I would never have you looking like a fool. Matter fact, I’d prefer if you looked like new money.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money. Then he peeled off three hundred-dollar bills and placed it in Brooklyn’s hand.
“What’s this for?” She looked down at the crisp bills in the palm of her hand.
“Just like I said, I want you to look like new money, so that means take that money and buy you something nice. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
“Sincere, I can’t take this money.”
“Why not? You’re going to hurt my feelings if you reject my gift.”
“I’m definitely not trying to hurt your feelings, Sincere. It just feels weird to be taking this kind of money from anyone, that’s all.”
“Well, I’m not just anyone, Brooklyn. I’m your man.” He moved close to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Brooklyn’s stomach was doing flips as she felt the heat of his body next to hers.
“Now, I need you to put that money away, hop in the car, and let me take you home. Could you do that for me?” He smiled.
Brooklyn stood there feeling like a kid in a candy store. She knew there wasn’t any point in debating with him. He kissed her softly on the forehead, backed away, grabbed her by the hand, and led her to the passenger side of the car. She got inside and watched Sincere walk around to the driver’s side, a huge smile on his face.
He got inside and looked over at her before grabbing her hand. “Don’t be afraid, all right. I promised you that we would be together, and we are. I don’t need you chickening out on me. That’s the only way this thing is going to work.”
“I won’t.”
He turned on the music and began to drive off. At that moment she was reassured that things between them would only grow from that point. She couldn’t let the words that Stacey shouted earlier that day mess up a good thing. She believed that this relationship and her modeling career were the blessings she needed.
Once they pulled up in front of her house, he kissed her on the cheek and gave her a hug before she walked into the house floating on cloud nine.
Brooklyn’s smile was turned upside down as soon as she opened the door and found her mother standing in the hallway with her hands on her hips and her face twisted.
“Who the hell was that dropping you off, with your fast ass?”
“That was just a friend from school, Mom.”
“Friend from school, my ass. Last time I checked, teenagers weren’t driving around in BMWs. Do I look like a fool to you?”
“No, Mom, you don’t.”
“Well, I know one thing. If you’re going to be giving your time to some nigga and missing doing your chores and shit around here, you better make sure his ass give you some money. We could use some things around here. Do you hear me?” Janice yelled, waving her hands in front of Brooklyn’s face as she stood daydreaming.
“I hear you, Mom.”
Janice turned back around and walked into the living room. It was just like her to turn the tables and try to make things work in her favor.
Rubbing her hands across the pocket that contained the money Sincere had just given her, Brooklyn debated if she should reveal it to her mother. After a few moments of pondering, she decided to pull out a hundred dollars. Without a word, she walked into the living room, placed the money on the coffee table, and turned to head up to her room. Then she quietly retreated to her bedroom, where she spent the rest of her evening looking forward to the future.
Janice looked down at the money on the table and quickly scooped it up and placed it inside of her bra.
Chapter Five
Rock Steady 1985
“Come on. I need your help to pick out the perfect outfit!” Brooklyn pulled Wanda up the stairs in her house toward her bedroom. She and Sincere had a date that evening, and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect.
Two weeks had passed since the fight with Maxine, which was also the beginning of the relationship between her and Sincere. With Sincere constantly working, they hadn’t had an official date yet. On occasions like these, when trying to make an important decision, Brooklyn always enlisted the help of Wanda, the most practical of her friends, and to Brooklyn, this was almost the most important decision she would make. She had finally snagged the man of her dreams, and right from under Maxine’s nose at that.
Brooklyn laid out different styles of jeans on her bed and pulled out random shirts from her closet. “Come on, Wanda, help me. Aren’t you happy for me?”
“To be honest, no, I’m not. He’s ruined our friendships. I just want things to go back to the way they were.”
“Correction—Stacey ruined our friendship by acting like a jealous bitch, not Sincere. And, furthermore, me and you will always be friends. Nothing will change that. When she should’ve been happy for me, she was angry that I wanted to be with my man instead of playing childish games with her. I just need you to support me like a true friend, though, and help me pick out something to wear. You know how important this is to me.” Brooklyn pouted, trying to win her longtime friend over.
Wanda sat, knowing that things would never be the same but still hoping that they would be. Instead of ruining her friendship with Brooklyn, she decided to help her and be as supportive as she could be without Stacey’s knowledge. With Brooklyn missing from their pack, Stacey had taken the reins as the leader of the pack, and Wanda didn’t have what it took to stand alone.
“All right, all right. Let’s see what we have here. You have to be sexy if you’re going to keep Sincere’s attention.” She smiled and started grabbing clothing off the bed, holding them up in the air to get a better look at them.
Brooklyn settled on a pair of straight-legged, stonewashed jeans with flat shoes, and a screen-printed T-shirt. Her accessories were loaded with tons of bracelets, headbands to match, and huge earrings. She applied minimal makeup, hoping to appeal to him by keeping as much resemblance as possible to her normal appearance. She didn’t want to overdo it and totally turn him off.
After Wanda wished her good luck and hugged her good-bye, Brooklyn’s nerves started to get the better of her as she waited for him. Twenty minutes past the appointed time, she was pacing the floor, hoping he wasn’t standing her up, and peeking through the curtains every few seconds just to see if he had pulled up and she didn’t hear him. She’d look like a fool for dissing her friends all week if he didn’t show up.
“He’ll be here,” she said aloud, trying to stop herself from getting upset. “I know it. He wouldn’t stand me up. I just know it.”
Meanwhile, Sincere was in his car on the west side of Philadelphia, hurrying to drop off one of his lady friends. He looked down at his watch and realized he was twenty minutes late to pick Brooklyn up. He should have turned down the erotic invitation, but good sex was hard to come by, and Octavia, an older woman, knew how to please. He kept looking down at his watch every few seconds.
“Don’t worry. You’re so smooth, you can talk your way out of anything. I’m sure your explanation will satisfy her.” Octavia smiled.
“Maybe,” he replied, not so sure that it would. Not too familiar with Brooklyn’s ways, he didn’t know how she’d react to his tardiness.
Oddly, Sincere had an understanding with all of the women he dealt with on the side, all of them aware that they weren’t his number one. So Octavia, being one of those women, knew she had to stay in her place if she wanted to keep seeing him on a regular basis, as she had been for the past six months. After dropping her off at home, he quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek an
d made his way to North Philly to pick up Brooklyn.
As he pulled up in front of Brooklyn’s door, he beeped the horn and parked. After a minute or so, he got out of the car and knocked on the door when she didn’t appear.
Brooklyn sat there on the sofa, peeking out of the window. She laughed as she watched him walk to the door. She was going to make him work after making her sit there dressed to impress for over a half-hour.
After she heard a knock, she took her time walking to the door and opening it. She stood there, her face twisted in knots, waiting for him to say something.
“I’m sorry, OK. I know I’m late as hell, but my brother had an emergency that I had to help him with. I really didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”
“I’m gonna let you slide this time, but please don’t make a habit of it.” Brooklyn smiled, closing the door shut and coming out on the top steps. With her brothers asleep and her mother out working, her night appeared to be going as planned, except for the delay.
“You look good as usual.”
“Thanks. So where are we going?”
“To the movies. Krush Groove is playing. Then we can probably grab something to eat, if it’s not too late.”
“OK.”
They walked toward his car, where he opened the door for her and allowed her to comfortably sit down before closing it.
They arrived at the Sam Eric in Center City twenty minutes later, just in time for the movie. The theater was flooded with teens and adults alike, all wanting to see the hip hop-inspired film, featuring rappers like LL Cool J, Kurtis Blow, and Run-D.M.C. It seemed like almost everyone greeted Sincere, who was one of the most successful young drug dealers in the city. Along with his older brother, he was unstoppable. Brooklyn proudly hung on his arm as they made their way to the seats in the rear of the theater.
Most of the moviegoers were laughing, talking, and throwing popcorn throughout the theater, even during the opening credits, but the moment Run-D.M.C. began to rap “Sucker MC’s” in the booth with the red light shining on the dimly lit studio, the crowd went wild. Even Sincere was out of his seat, rapping along with the duo as they jammed on the screen.
Cover Girl Page 4