Black & Ugly

by Styles, Toy

  "Don't use this. It's dirty," he interjects then puts it in the sink and walks out of the kitchen.

  "Okay," Miss Wayne responds and smiles. "Girl, Cannon is so attentive. You got you a good man there, Parade!" he calls out.

  Miss Wayne turns around and looks at me. I'm still stuck.

  "Are you okay, baby?" he asks.

  "Uh ... yeah ... I'm okay," I answer.

  "Well, go sit down now. I got this," he demands as he pushes me out the kitchen.

  I want to run out the door but everybody will know something's up. I wonder if he's gonna tell Parade what I did. But then, I remember I don't plan to stay friends with them after tonight anyway. So, in a way, it doesn't even matter.

  I casually walk to the sofa and act like nothing happened.

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  33

  Miss Wayne

  WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW is what's really goin' on with Miss Sky. She has been so distant lately and although I know she and Miss Parade have their problems, she's been taking it out on everyone else, too. I hadn't seen her ever since we picked Miss Daffany up from the hospital. Well, I'm not gonna be too concerned with Ms. Thang anymore. I have decided that after tonight, if she continues to play her little games, I'm severing our friendship.

  "How you feelin', Miss Daffany?" I ask.

  "I'm good. Just a little out of it, that's all," she responds.

  Poor chile hasn't been the same for a minute. I have a feeling that I know what it is, which it was probably my big mouth that brought things out. I think she's HIV positive. Damn! We're too young to be gettin' shit like that. I don't care what she got, she'll always be my girl and I'll always love her.

  "Well, let's start the game," Miss Sky says, clearly T. Styles

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  not getting enough attention. "I think it's my turn to start first since Parade went first last month."

  "Okay," everyone agrees.

  "Well, Miss Wayne," she says as she turns around to me, "truth or dare?"

  "Uhn-ahn, honey. We playin' charades this month, remember? We played that game last month and you know we have to switch up."

  "Noooooo," Miss Sky asserts. "We didn't finish playing because Melvin came by and picked up Parade." She turns around and looks at Parade like she's sorry. "Oh, I'm sorry, Parade. I didn't mean to bring up your boyfriend," she pronounces real slyly.

  "Don't worry, Sky. Me and Melvin are through. I've told Cannon everything he needs to know about him," Miss Parade responds calmly.

  "I doubt that very seriously," Miss Sky shoots back.

  We all look at one another, trying to figure out what's up with her 'tude.

  Right in the middle of the game, Miss Parade's cell phone rings. She excuses herself, walks out of the living room and goes into the bathroom to take the call.

  Miss Daffany jumps up, heading toward the kitchen.

  Miss Parade returns five minutes later and she doesn't have her cell phone on her and that definitely doesn't help matters. Miss Sky has an attitude as expected.

  She's probably assuming it was Jay while I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I figure she must've left the phone wherever on purpose and I almost ask, "Parade who was that?" but I reconsider. There's no need for me hot 208

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  boxing. After the little stunt Miss Sky pulled before, when she tried to use her phone, nobody really wants to hear her mouth.

  "Sorry, y'all. Uh ... that was my mom," Miss Parade says.

  "I bet it was," Miss Sky responds and rolls her eyes.

  "I don't recall you leavin' to talk to your mom in the past. But, whatever you say. Anyway," Miss Sky continues in her funky little demeanor, "Miss Wayne, truth or dare?"

  "Truth," I say, not wanting to act up as of yet by picking dare in front of Miss Parade's man.

  "Okay. Is it true that you got that outfit for ten bucks at the flea market in Baltimore?" Oh, this bitch tried it. See, I wasn't gonna take it there but since she wants to bring it, I decide to come for her when I get my turn.

  "Yes, honey. It is true. Miss Wayne knows how to look for a deal without being cheap. Something you know a lot about," I retort and roll my neck.

  "You look good in it, too," Miss Daffany says as she returns from the kitchen looking like she's out to lunch.

  I don't care. Whatever she took, she deserves to feel better after everything she's been through.

  "Thanks, baby. I try," I reply as I smack my lips then look back at Miss Sky, like the trash she is. "My turn. Truth or dare, Miss Daffany?"

  "True," Miss Daffany responds.

  "Is it true that you seen Miss Sky eat a fry that fell from her plate and onto the floor at Friday's?" T. Styles

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  "It is true," Miss Daffany answers as she winks at me. Everyone, including Cannon, busts out laughing.

  "That is real cute but it was my food," Miss Sky responds.

  "But it was on the fuckin' floor! Yuck," I tease as I brush her away to give Miss Daffany a high five. "And you call yourself a lady."

  "Don't be mad, Sky. We just messing with you," Miss Parade says.

  "Yeah, whatever the fuck," Miss Sky counters.

  "Okay," says Miss Parade, thinking she's playing, but I know the bitch is serious.

  "Truth or dare, Sky," Miss Daffany asks.

  "Truth," she responds, real nasty.

  "Is it true you think that everyone in the world is jealous of you?" Miss Daffany laughs, convincing me even more that she's high.

  "It's true because they are jealous, including all of you bitches in here."

  "Hold up, Miss Sky. Are you playing or serious?" I ask her, not feeling the attitude anymore.

  "Why, Miss Wayne," she pauses, "I'm just playin'.

  Just like y'all are," she says sarcastically. "But since you asked me a question, truth or dare."

  "True," I reluctantly respond as I try to think of what I could have possibly done around her that she could use against me. I stop as I realize that we've been friends so long and it's a waste of my time.

  "Is it true that you once thought Parade looked like a boy, and you didn't want to be her friend because she 210

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  always looked dirty?"

  "You bitch. You fuckin' bitch!" I scream at her, wanting to slap her. What hurts the most is the look on Miss Parade's face as she waits for my answer.

  "True or false?" Miss Sky repeats, trying to make matters worse. "Why you keeping everybody waiting?"

  "I heard you, bitch!" I yell in her face. "It's true," I answer in a low voice. "But we were in fucking middle school then," I continue, trying to cover up the betray-al. "What were we, like, ten?"

  "Miss Wayne, we're not playing truth, dare and explanations, so save it. If you said it, you said it. This is a game, right? We should all be able to handle anything we're dealt," she says and smiles at me.

  I look over at Miss Parade who is visibly heartbro-ken and embarrassed. "I guess so," I respond.

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  34

  Parade

  I DON'T WANT TO PLAY the game anymore, and I can tell that nobody besides Sky wants to play either. Sky embarrasses me so much that I want to go home and hide under my covers. Cannon's constant pulls around my waist make me feel better. I can tell he wants me to know that he's on my side and it feels good.

  Sky has hurt my feelings for the last time.

  "Truth or dare, Sky?" I ask.

  "Truth," she responds like she's ready for me.

  "Is it true that you never really liked me and only used me for what I could do for you?"

  "False," she answers and laughs. "Are you kidding me? What can you do for me, Parade? You can't do shit for me but g
et in my way and try to bite my style.

  Bitch, I made you. Just a few weeks ago you were bust-ed and look at you now."

  "Now who's getting mad?" Miss Wayne says, trying to help me as usual.

  "I'm not mad. She asked me a question and I 212

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  answered it. It's mothafuckin' false 'cuz never would I want you around me for anything you can do for me.

  You can't do shit for me. You ain't even got your own car. I think your tracks are too tight or something because you real funny tonight. You probably wearing a pair of my old panties right now."

  "Stop, Sky!" I yell at her as I begin to breathe hard and start crying.

  "Stop what? It's true. You been biting my style for too fucking long, trying to steal my man and shit behind my back."

  "Your man left right in front of you," I remind her.

  "Yeah, but you helped, didn't you? Did you fuck him real good? It's okay, Parade. You might as well be honest now. He dumped me. He fuckin' dumped me tonight and it's all your fault."

  "Sky, calm down. Why you always got to turn stuff into something about you?" Daffany asks.

  "Yeah. You doin' shows, Miss Sky," Miss Wayne adds.

  "And what about you, Daffany? You have some fucking nerve. When you gonna tell everybody that you HIV positive instead of spreading that shit around? A whore with HIV, ain't that something?" she says as she shakes her head.

  "What?" Daffany yells as she sits up. "It was you?

  You stole my papers?"

  "I didn't steal your papers. I saw them lying on the floor and I grabbed them up, thinking they were important, and they were."

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  "So why didn't you tell me?"

  "I forgot. And like I said, when the fuck are you gonna stop playing games and stop spreading that shit around?" Everyone is quiet and she continues, "All y'all funny. You think that just because I don't say nothin' I don't know shit." She stands. "Y'all thought the joke was on me and y'all were gonna make me embarrassed, but I turned the shit around, didn't I?" Silence.

  "And Cannon," she continues as she looks at him,

  "stop playing with that girl's feelings because anybody as fine as you don't want anything to do with Parade.

  Dump her right now while it's easy," she demands as she walks toward the door, "and don't worry, I'll let myself out."

  "Hold up for a second, Sky," Cannon interjects so calmly that his voice is like a knife cutting the tension in the air. "I haven't gotten my turn yet." She turns around, looks at him and laughs.

  "What?" she says as if he's joking.

  "I said I haven't gotten my turn yet."

  "Oh, so what, y'all planned this?" she asks, looking around the room then sitting back down on the couch.

  "So what, y'all told him all my business and now he wanna play too? Okay," she continues as she wipes the tears from her face. "Shoot."

  "Thanks," he adds real calmly. "Ask me, Parade.

  It's your turn so you have to ask me something." I take a deep breath and try to focus on the game although I don't want to play. I'm also trying to figure 214

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  out why he's doing this. Maybe he wants to calm everybody down and figures this is the best way to help.

  "Is it true," I ask as I feel tears forming in my eyes,

  "that you think I'm attractive because I really need to know if you're playing games with me and I need to know right now. You heard about my faults and you know about all my secrets. You've met ugly Parade Knight who slept with her best friend's man because she admired her so much that she wanted to see what it was like to be like her. And I was wrong. I'm sorry, Sky," I continue as I turn to look at her. "I wish I could take it back but I can't. So, Cannon, knowing all this, knowing who I really am, I'd like to know - do you really think I'm attractive and do you really care about me because if you don't, I can take it. You taught me a lot about myself and no matter what, I'm better now than I was before. So, true or false, do you really care about me?"

  He grabs my hands and says, "Parade, I came here on business of the worst kind. At first I thought you were just another pretty face. With that being said, I'll answer the first part of your question by saying that no matter what happens, I've always thought you were beautiful, and not just because of how you look, but because of who you are on the inside, too. I love your eyes, your smile and the way you make me feel," he continues.

  Miss Wayne pushes me from behind while whisper-ing, "I told you so."

  "But the quality I love most about you is your com-T. Styles

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  mitment to your friends and the people you care about.

  I don't know what happened to make you do what you did to Sky but I can definitely say that if he left her, she helped. She's the most selfish person I've met in my life." He looks at Sky, back at me then says, "But I can feel the love in you and that's tight, it's real. Maybe in another time and another life we can be together, not as boyfriend and girlfriend, but as man and wife." His response blows me away and I turn around to look at Miss Wayne and Daffany, who are also crying.

  Sky holds her head low.

  I wipe the tears from my face and say, "Thank you so much, baby. That means so much to me. It's your turn."

  He takes a deep breath and his entire expression changes as if he's becoming another person.

  "Truth or dare, Sky?" he asks real coldly like he never said any of the nice things that just exited his mouth.

  "Truth," she says, shrugging like she doesn't want to play anymore.

  "Is it true that you murdered Melony Walker?" 216

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  35

  Parade

  "WHAT'S GOIN' ON, PARADE?" SKY asks. "Why he askin' me that?" She cuts her eyes at me, wondering if I sold her out.

  "I don't know, Sky," I say real slowly, "but maybe you shouldn't say anything else." I look at Cannon and back at her.

  "No, maybe she should," he says as he pulls out a gun and places it on his lap. "Baby, get on the couch with everybody else. I'm so sorry I gotta do this." We all jump on Miss Wayne's pink couch, which can comfortably seat six people, but because we are so scared, we cram tightly together and hold one another closely.

  "I want everybody to calm down," he explains, growing irritated by our whines and cries. "And if y'all are cool, only the person I'm looking for will get hurt." His comment doesn't do anything but make matters worse. We may have had our problems, but I think I can speak for everybody when I say nobody wants anyT. Styles

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  body to die.

  "Why ...uh ... I don't understand this, Cannon," I say as my cries join those of my friends. "I don't understand why you're doing this."

  "I know, it's real fucked up, baby," he says as he places the gun back in his lap with the barrel still facing our way, "but I'm a hit man, paid to kill the person who murdered Melony Walker. I have my own ideas about who did it but I need to be sure. That's where you ladies come in. Mr. Walker is very serious about taking care of whoever killed his wife, so there are several things we must discuss first. Number one, I'm going to kill somebody tonight. I need you all to understand that."

  "Cannon, please don't do this!" Miss Wayne yells.

  Cannon silences him with his stare.

  "Number two, the rest of you will be responsible for convincing me that you won't bring heat back on my client by running to the cops and opening your mouths.

  If I'm not convinced, not totally convinced, I'm putting a bullet in all four of your heads tonight." Our cries and pleas for him not to kill us grow loud-er, and Cannon is still visibly irritated, but remains professional. All this does is make him appear even more insensitive and scary.

&n
bsp; "So you did lie to me? You lied to me about who you are."

  "No, I didn't. I told you I'm in the disposal business.

  So how did I lie?" he says as he looks at me, awaiting a response.

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  I don't have one. Even if I did, I wouldn't say it because I am too embarrassed and hurt by his ultimate plan. He did tell me he was in the disposal business and that he was responsible for removing trash, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that meant killing one of us.

  "I didn't lie to you, and I meant everything I said to you. There's no reason for me to lie to you, Parade. I've had you already and right now I'm the one holdin' the gun. Please believe me, when I was hired, I wasn't prepared for you and I wish you weren't involved in this shit. But don't think for one minute that I won't kill you if you don't tell me what I need to know." He then turns his attention back to Sky, who I'm pretty sure knows it's coming. What I don't understand is why or how he suspects her. Although I don't want to ask, I want to know.

  "Why do you think we have anything to do with it?" I inquire, trying to cause a diversion.

  "Good question," he responds as he smiles at me. "I understand that you ladies made a hell of an exit the night of the party. I also understand this lady right here," he points his gun at Sky, "had blood all over her pants that night. So, as far as I'm concerned, she's either the one or she knows who did it."

  "Please, Cannon, you don't have to do this. Plus, people saw you around us. If one of us ends up dead, other people will know something," Daffany interrupts.

  "What was the contingency of number two, T. Styles

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  Daffany?"

  She shakes her head as if she forgot, although I didn't.

  He answers his own question. "You have to convince me that whoever remains will not bring heat back to my client. If I'm not convinced tonight, that every one of you will remain silent, I'm killing all of you."

  "But why?" Daffany pleads.