Abnormal lives, p.5
Abnormal Lives, page 5
“Well, I don’t do freebies.”
“Now, if I had a man like that, I’d never leave the house.”
“Whatever; that’s what you say.”
“Naw, that’s what I mean. I wouldn’t care if he was missing four teeth, strung out on crack, wouldn’t do shit for me, and couldn’t do shit else,” Stefan said. “As long as I could lie up in the house with him lapping on me all day, I’d be one raggedy bitch. I might even go out and suck some dick so his ass could get high.”
Simone shook her head. “Now you’re tripping.”
Stefan laughed. “You’re right; I am tripping.”
Simone got out of the car and straightened up her skirt. “Do I look okay?”
“You look fine,” Stefan said. “Maybe you’ll pick up some more clients on your way in.”
“Maybe so,” Simone said, as she winked her eye and then made her way into the building for her interview.
6
Simone stood in front of the mirror in the ladies dressing room of the Battery Park swimming pool, putting on sunscreen. She and Stefan were scrambling to join their crew outside.
“Can you rub some of this on my back?” Simone asked.
Stefan reached for the bottle of sunscreen and began to rub it onto Simone’s back. “Let me ask you a question. Why were you snooping through my gym bag?”
“Snooping? I wasn’t snooping. I was looking for some lotion.”
“Then how did my prescription fall into your clutches?”
“I found it in the compartment with the lotion,” Simone said. “You never mentioned not feeling well, or going to the doctor. I was wondering what it was for.”
“Well, if you must know, they’re hormone pills.”
Simone was puzzled. “Hormone pills?”
“Yes, I finally decided that I want to have my operation,” Stefan said. “I mean, who would make a prettier woman than me?”
Simone hugged Stefan. “Aw, that’s why you’re so hung up on saving money. I can’t wait. I’m so happy for you.”
They heard the sound of flip-flops coming toward them and turned around. It was Paris. He leaned against the wall, resting one foot on the other with his arms folded. He wore his long black micro-braids in a bun, showing off the beads dangling from the tie of his low-cut yellow swimsuit.
“What y’all doing in here?” Paris asked.
“What does it look like we’re doing?” Stefan asked. “We’re getting ready.”
“Y’all should’ve done that before y’all got here. Ain’t no telling what might happen up in here,” Paris said. “Y’all will start getting dressed at home when one of y’all get y’all choke broke messing ’round up in here.”
“If that’s the case, I see why you get dressed at home. As worn out as your ass is, you wouldn’t know someone broke in it until you damn near made it home,” Stefan joked.
Paris stuck up his middle finger and made his way out of the dressing room.
When Simone and Stefan stepped out of the dressing room, Paris, Crystal, and Jewel were posted up against the wall with three others Simone had never met before. They all wore pastel-colored swimsuits. They either had on bikinis or halter-style swimsuits and everyone had a fresh manicure and pedicure with bold designs except for Simone, Stefan, and Paris, who always wore a French manicure. They thought multiple colors, candy paper, and cut-up dollar bills looked better scattered across the sidewalk than they did on their nails and swore never to wear that tacky shit. As soon as they all noticed Simone and Stefan, they walked forward, one behind the other, as if they were ready to strut down the runway in a fashion show.
Simone and Stefan slid in the middle of the group. As they entered the pool area, they received stares and smirks from all who were present, even the lifeguards. The guys began to jump out of the pool. One guy damn near knocked his girlfriend on the pavement, trying to get out of the pool before they could jump in and taint the water. Simone’s heart began to race. The contempt in the men’s eyes warned of what was about to go down. The guys walked past them on their way out and the girls that were with the guys cackled. Jewel reached his trembling hands over to play with the ties hanging from Stefan’s top. He complimented Stefan on how nice he looked. Jewel was trying not to notice the stares they received as the guys walked by. A guy name Calvin paused in front of them and eyed them.
“I hate y’all faggot muthafuckas,” Calvin spat, then spit on the ground near Stefan’s feet.
“Hold the fuck up!” Crystal yelled.
Stefan kicked off his sandals, thrust his arm back, and delivered a blow that made Calvin’s knees buckle. The brawl was on. Fists were flying so fast that Simone couldn’t determine whose were whose. The girls that remained in the pool jumped out and the lifeguards left their posts to assemble around the fight. Calvin grabbed a handful of Stefan’s dreads and banged Stefan’s head against his knee. Stefan rammed Calvin into the wall and deluged his sides with punches. Paris and Jewel struggled to separate Stefan and Calvin. Simone decided to join them in their efforts. Simone grabbed Stefan’s arm and was slung to the ground as he threw his next punch. Four of Calvin’s friends, Robert, Gerald, Haywood, and Xavier, ran over to break up the fight. Robert and Gerald pulled Calvin away from Stefan, and Haywood and Xavier ran up on Paris and Crystal.
“Y’all can’t be ganging up on my man like that. That shit ain’t gonna ride,” Haywood spat.
Paris stood his ground and bucked back at Haywood. “We ain’t got to gang up on your man. My nigga handled his business.”
“Your nigga?” Xavier said. “You mean your girl.”
Haywood laughed and dapped Xavier up, enlivened by his comment. Paris stood in silence, thinking of a comeback.
“Y’all walking ’round here like a bunch of bitches,” Haywood snapped. “Switching and shit with y’all dicks bulging out y’all bikinis. People ain’t trying to see that shit.”
“Ol’ take-it-in-the-booty-ass niggas,” Xavier said before he and his friends walked off.
Stefan picked up one of his sandals and tossed it at Xavier, hitting him on his shoulder.
“What the fuck!” Xavier turned toward Stefan.
“Yeah, nigga!” Stefan shouted. “Fuck you gonna do?”
Paris stood beside Stefan with his hands on his hips, Jewel held onto Stefan’s arm, and Crystal reached inside his top and inconspicuously pulled out his razor. Simone stood beside them thinking about how she was too delicate to be scuffling with a bunch of men. She hoped they would make their way out front before anything went down so she could get her hands on one of the loose bricks that laid beside the entrance and wallop the hell out of whomever came her way.
“Nigga, y’all don’t want to fuck with me. I’m an O.G. and y’all, y’all some bitches, some wannabe hoes,” Xavier said, and then followed his friends out front.
Stefan jolted toward Xavier and Jewel attempted to restrain Stefan with one hand on his arm and the other tugging at his top. Stefan broke free and rushed out front behind Xavier and his crew. Everyone followed Stefan except for Jewel, who stood there holding Stefan’s top in his hand.
“Bitches!” Stefan ran up behind Xavier. “I’ll put some lipstick on yo’ ass and make you my bitch. After I finish with you, your girl’s gonna wonder who should be fucking who.”
Xavier stopped in his tracks and squinted at Stefan, then began to approach him.
Simone picked up a brick and joined Paris and the rest of the bunch, who stood behind Stefan.
Robert threw his arm in front of Xavier, prompting him not to go forward. Xavier slapped Robert’s arm away.
Robert squeezed Xavier’s shoulder. “Man, fuck them; let’s go.”
“Yeah, that’s what he wants to do; fuck me. That’s why he’s so hot and bothered,” Stefan said.
Paris snapped his fingers. “You ain’t never lied.”
“I ain’t going to stand here and let no fucking faggot disrespect me like this,” Xavier said.
Robert whispered in Xavier’s ear and nodded his head toward his SUV.
The crowd became anxious and started to belittle Xavier for not attacking Stefan.
Crystal started to become jumpy. He thought there was a gun in the SUV and that was why Robert was so eager to get to it. “Oh, hell naw; don’t let them damn niggas make it to their jeep,” Crystal said.
Xavier waved Stefan and the crew off and headed to the SUV with his friends. Crystal ran up to Calvin and tagged him. Stefan followed suit and ran up to Xavier, punched him in his groin, and then followed up by slamming his elbow against Xavier’s jaw. Robert rushed toward Simone and she hurled the brick that she held behind her back into his head. Robert staggered, knelt down, and grabbed his head. Simone picked up the brick, ran toward him, and smacked him with the brick repeatedly until he hit the ground, and then began to kick him. Robert covered his face with his hands to prevent Simone’s foot from slamming into his face. Simone felt something warm splash across her face. She turned around and saw Crystal pulling his razor from Calvin’s bleeding face.
Somebody’s going to jail today, Simone thought. Well, ain’t like we don’t have the money for bail.
Simone, Stefan, Paris, and Crystal were all in the same profession; they conducted their business in different circles so there wouldn’t be any hard feelings behind one of them cutting the other’s throat on a customer. If need be, Simone and Stefan would pack their belongings and leave town. Neither one of them was willing to give up their freedom, not even for a day.
Simone looked over at Stefan to see how he was holding up against Xavier and scoped the area for Paris, but was unable to locate him. She continued to kick Robert, who laid beside her feet, trying to inflict more pain each time she jammed her foot into his gut.
The sound of sirens drowned out the roots of the spectators. Simone’s eyes met with flashing blue lights and she ran over to Stefan to warn him of the arrival of the police. Before Simone could reach Stefan, she was blinded in her steps. She stood there, gasping for air, until she was snatched off of her feet and handcuffed.
Simone, Stefan, and the rest of the bunch sat on the sidewalk in handcuffs, flushing their eyes out with tears. They could hear Crystal yell obscenities as he slammed his feet into the door of the police car.
Crystal was dragged to the squad car after he attacked a police officer. The police officer clenched his hands around Crystal’s neck in a poor attempt to pull him off of his opponent.
Two officers went around, obtaining the statements of witnesses, and two other officers on the scene searched Robert’s SUV. They confiscated what appeared to be a kilo of cocaine and an ounce of marijuana from the SUV.
Stefan sucked his teeth. “Damn, I wish I could’ve gotten my hands on that shit.”
Simone remained quiet. She sat there, mentally chastising herself for tagging along. She knew it was going to happen. It went down that way every year. They kicked off the summer scrapping with the patrons of Battery Park Pool. The incidents increased in their severity each year. It started out as bickering and unkind gestures, and then escalated to heated arguments that threatened bodily harm, and then shortly afterward turned into fist-fights.
The previous summer Stefan and Paris had gotten into a quarrel with two guys after accidentally bumping into one of them as they walked up the hill on their way leaving the park. The guy shoved Stefan and they began to tussle and rolled down the hill. Stefan spotted a forty-ounce bottle and beat it against the man’s head until it broke. The man lay there unconscious, covered with blood. The guy’s friend charged Stefan, threatening to kill him for what he had done to his friend. Paris picked up a remnant from the bottle and forced it into the charging man’s side. Luckily, they managed to slip away before the police arrived but this time, they weren’t fortunate enough to have that opportunity.
Simone looked down at the curb as she questioned her association with the bunch. It seemed like every time they went somewhere together, there was some type of drama and it wasn’t always finding its way to them. It seemed like they went on a pursuit to find drama and she followed behind them like a foolish child. She didn’t know what else to do. They were the closest things to home girls she had and whenever she needed them, whether it was to borrow money or go snatch some hoe’s ass, they were there for her. Simone dismissed her questioning as selfishness, her not wanting to do for them what they wouldn’t hesitate to do for her.
Simone looked over at Paris. She was sickened by the bluish abrasions that covered his face. “Damn, what happened to you?”
Paris frowned. “What you think happened to me? I don’t know about y’all but when the cops started spraying that mace, I was like, whoo—thank the Lord.”
Stefan laughed, disregarding the serious expression on Paris’s face. “That nigga must’ve given you a run for your money.”
“Humph, if I could’ve got my hands on my cell phone, I would’ve called the police my damn self,” Paris said.
Simone and Stefan sat around, teasing Paris, until one of the officers came to release them. The officer explained to them that they were banned from the property and if they stepped foot on any area of it, pool or park, they would be arrested for trespassing. They nodded their heads in agreement. They were glad that they weren’t riding to the city lockup with Crystal and Robert.
The officer hopped in his car and slammed the door. “Y’all better be on y’all way. I ain’t leaving until y’all remove yourselves from this property.”
Paris stood there with his arms folded and sucked his teeth.
“One of you over there got some kind of problem?” the officer asked as his partner came and stood beside the car.
“No, ain’t no problem, officer,” Stefan said.
“You should be thankful; we could’ve hauled y’all asses downtown along with your friend here, but based on the reports we got from some of the witnesses, we decided to cut your asses a break. So if I was you boys, I’d run my asses on home ’fore we change our minds,” the officer said.
They all paused for a minute. Stefan and Paris stood there, pissed, wanting to be defiant in order to regain their pride, but the others that accompanied them didn’t feel the same way. They felt like getting the fuck out of there before the man did change his mind. A couple of them slowly departed across the street, Simone followed suit and shortly afterward, Stefan and Paris did the same.
7
Simone and Stefan sat outside in the parking lot of the Courtyard by Marriott on West Broad Street. They hadn’t said much to each other between getting dressed and arriving there. Simone was exhausted and Stefan was still in a funk about the incident at the pool. Stefan asked Simone to stop by the store on their way to the hotel so he could get a pack of cigarettes. Stefan hadn’t smoked since he and Eugene had become an item. Eugene couldn’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke and was completely turned off by it. Stefan decided he would rather be without the cigarettes than be without Eugene, so he stopped smoking. But after the stress of that evening, Stefan disregarded Eugene’s feelings, and calming his nerves became his top priority.
Stefan struggled to free the cigarettes from the plastic that sealed them. He became frustrated and threw the pack against the dashboard. He grabbed his head and squealed before retrieving them from the floor.
Stefan began to unravel the plastic and turned to look at the lock on the car door. “And, you’ll start locking these doors when somebody slide in here beside you and slit your throat,” he snapped at Simone.
Simone continued to clean her nails with her ice pick, not uttering a single word. Stefan was upset and whenever he was, he always found something to nag the hell out of her about. She never locked her car doors and he never had an issue with it up until then. Sometimes she would leave it outside for hours with the top down and never had a problem with anyone trying to steal it or with any of her belongings coming up missing, unless it was a pen or pack of gum that Stefan confiscated from the glove compartment. She didn’t give Stefan’s comment a second thought.
Simone sat in the car, trying not to doze off. If it were anyone else, she would’ve rescheduled but she couldn’t wait to get acquainted with her sexy new client and take him up on his offer.
Stefan flicked the ashes from his cigarette out of the window. “I swear that muthafucka made me so mad, I could’ve plucked his fucking eyes out.”
“I know,” Simone said. “What do you think is going to happen to Crystal?”
“Shit, you know Paris got him. They’re like you and me; they’re gonna look out for each other.”
“What happened to Jewel?”
Stefan cut his eyes at Simone. “What you think happened to him? He bounced.”
“Well, that’s your friend.”
“Correction,” Stefan said, snapping his fingers. “That’s Paris’s friend and I doubt if Paris will still fuck with him after this shit.”
Simone shook her head. “Jewel is terrible.”
“He’s a pussy.”
Simone leaned back in her seat and placed her hands behind her head, waiting for Stefan to elaborate on his comment.
“We all be walking ’round here primping, trying to be cute and shit, but when it’s time to brawl, it’s time to brawl.” Stefan pulled his cigarette before he became roused. “It’s time to put that bitch shit on hold and handle business.”
Simone nodded. She understood where Stefan was coming from but, on the other hand, she wondered had he considered that Jewel didn’t crave drama like he did. Yeah, Jewel liked to party, drink, and get high, along with all the other bullshit they were into, but when it came to fighting, he didn’t want any parts of it. And although Crystal was a bit temperamental, he seemed to stray away from trouble until he felt like it could no longer be avoided. It was only Stefan and Paris who were on a hunt for it.
Simone and Stefan sat at a small table in a room on the second floor of the hotel. They looked out of the window, watching the cars that cruised up and down Broad Street as they waited for Ivan to retrieve his friend from the adjoining room.
“Now, if I had a man like that, I’d never leave the house.”
“Whatever; that’s what you say.”
“Naw, that’s what I mean. I wouldn’t care if he was missing four teeth, strung out on crack, wouldn’t do shit for me, and couldn’t do shit else,” Stefan said. “As long as I could lie up in the house with him lapping on me all day, I’d be one raggedy bitch. I might even go out and suck some dick so his ass could get high.”
Simone shook her head. “Now you’re tripping.”
Stefan laughed. “You’re right; I am tripping.”
Simone got out of the car and straightened up her skirt. “Do I look okay?”
“You look fine,” Stefan said. “Maybe you’ll pick up some more clients on your way in.”
“Maybe so,” Simone said, as she winked her eye and then made her way into the building for her interview.
6
Simone stood in front of the mirror in the ladies dressing room of the Battery Park swimming pool, putting on sunscreen. She and Stefan were scrambling to join their crew outside.
“Can you rub some of this on my back?” Simone asked.
Stefan reached for the bottle of sunscreen and began to rub it onto Simone’s back. “Let me ask you a question. Why were you snooping through my gym bag?”
“Snooping? I wasn’t snooping. I was looking for some lotion.”
“Then how did my prescription fall into your clutches?”
“I found it in the compartment with the lotion,” Simone said. “You never mentioned not feeling well, or going to the doctor. I was wondering what it was for.”
“Well, if you must know, they’re hormone pills.”
Simone was puzzled. “Hormone pills?”
“Yes, I finally decided that I want to have my operation,” Stefan said. “I mean, who would make a prettier woman than me?”
Simone hugged Stefan. “Aw, that’s why you’re so hung up on saving money. I can’t wait. I’m so happy for you.”
They heard the sound of flip-flops coming toward them and turned around. It was Paris. He leaned against the wall, resting one foot on the other with his arms folded. He wore his long black micro-braids in a bun, showing off the beads dangling from the tie of his low-cut yellow swimsuit.
“What y’all doing in here?” Paris asked.
“What does it look like we’re doing?” Stefan asked. “We’re getting ready.”
“Y’all should’ve done that before y’all got here. Ain’t no telling what might happen up in here,” Paris said. “Y’all will start getting dressed at home when one of y’all get y’all choke broke messing ’round up in here.”
“If that’s the case, I see why you get dressed at home. As worn out as your ass is, you wouldn’t know someone broke in it until you damn near made it home,” Stefan joked.
Paris stuck up his middle finger and made his way out of the dressing room.
When Simone and Stefan stepped out of the dressing room, Paris, Crystal, and Jewel were posted up against the wall with three others Simone had never met before. They all wore pastel-colored swimsuits. They either had on bikinis or halter-style swimsuits and everyone had a fresh manicure and pedicure with bold designs except for Simone, Stefan, and Paris, who always wore a French manicure. They thought multiple colors, candy paper, and cut-up dollar bills looked better scattered across the sidewalk than they did on their nails and swore never to wear that tacky shit. As soon as they all noticed Simone and Stefan, they walked forward, one behind the other, as if they were ready to strut down the runway in a fashion show.
Simone and Stefan slid in the middle of the group. As they entered the pool area, they received stares and smirks from all who were present, even the lifeguards. The guys began to jump out of the pool. One guy damn near knocked his girlfriend on the pavement, trying to get out of the pool before they could jump in and taint the water. Simone’s heart began to race. The contempt in the men’s eyes warned of what was about to go down. The guys walked past them on their way out and the girls that were with the guys cackled. Jewel reached his trembling hands over to play with the ties hanging from Stefan’s top. He complimented Stefan on how nice he looked. Jewel was trying not to notice the stares they received as the guys walked by. A guy name Calvin paused in front of them and eyed them.
“I hate y’all faggot muthafuckas,” Calvin spat, then spit on the ground near Stefan’s feet.
“Hold the fuck up!” Crystal yelled.
Stefan kicked off his sandals, thrust his arm back, and delivered a blow that made Calvin’s knees buckle. The brawl was on. Fists were flying so fast that Simone couldn’t determine whose were whose. The girls that remained in the pool jumped out and the lifeguards left their posts to assemble around the fight. Calvin grabbed a handful of Stefan’s dreads and banged Stefan’s head against his knee. Stefan rammed Calvin into the wall and deluged his sides with punches. Paris and Jewel struggled to separate Stefan and Calvin. Simone decided to join them in their efforts. Simone grabbed Stefan’s arm and was slung to the ground as he threw his next punch. Four of Calvin’s friends, Robert, Gerald, Haywood, and Xavier, ran over to break up the fight. Robert and Gerald pulled Calvin away from Stefan, and Haywood and Xavier ran up on Paris and Crystal.
“Y’all can’t be ganging up on my man like that. That shit ain’t gonna ride,” Haywood spat.
Paris stood his ground and bucked back at Haywood. “We ain’t got to gang up on your man. My nigga handled his business.”
“Your nigga?” Xavier said. “You mean your girl.”
Haywood laughed and dapped Xavier up, enlivened by his comment. Paris stood in silence, thinking of a comeback.
“Y’all walking ’round here like a bunch of bitches,” Haywood snapped. “Switching and shit with y’all dicks bulging out y’all bikinis. People ain’t trying to see that shit.”
“Ol’ take-it-in-the-booty-ass niggas,” Xavier said before he and his friends walked off.
Stefan picked up one of his sandals and tossed it at Xavier, hitting him on his shoulder.
“What the fuck!” Xavier turned toward Stefan.
“Yeah, nigga!” Stefan shouted. “Fuck you gonna do?”
Paris stood beside Stefan with his hands on his hips, Jewel held onto Stefan’s arm, and Crystal reached inside his top and inconspicuously pulled out his razor. Simone stood beside them thinking about how she was too delicate to be scuffling with a bunch of men. She hoped they would make their way out front before anything went down so she could get her hands on one of the loose bricks that laid beside the entrance and wallop the hell out of whomever came her way.
“Nigga, y’all don’t want to fuck with me. I’m an O.G. and y’all, y’all some bitches, some wannabe hoes,” Xavier said, and then followed his friends out front.
Stefan jolted toward Xavier and Jewel attempted to restrain Stefan with one hand on his arm and the other tugging at his top. Stefan broke free and rushed out front behind Xavier and his crew. Everyone followed Stefan except for Jewel, who stood there holding Stefan’s top in his hand.
“Bitches!” Stefan ran up behind Xavier. “I’ll put some lipstick on yo’ ass and make you my bitch. After I finish with you, your girl’s gonna wonder who should be fucking who.”
Xavier stopped in his tracks and squinted at Stefan, then began to approach him.
Simone picked up a brick and joined Paris and the rest of the bunch, who stood behind Stefan.
Robert threw his arm in front of Xavier, prompting him not to go forward. Xavier slapped Robert’s arm away.
Robert squeezed Xavier’s shoulder. “Man, fuck them; let’s go.”
“Yeah, that’s what he wants to do; fuck me. That’s why he’s so hot and bothered,” Stefan said.
Paris snapped his fingers. “You ain’t never lied.”
“I ain’t going to stand here and let no fucking faggot disrespect me like this,” Xavier said.
Robert whispered in Xavier’s ear and nodded his head toward his SUV.
The crowd became anxious and started to belittle Xavier for not attacking Stefan.
Crystal started to become jumpy. He thought there was a gun in the SUV and that was why Robert was so eager to get to it. “Oh, hell naw; don’t let them damn niggas make it to their jeep,” Crystal said.
Xavier waved Stefan and the crew off and headed to the SUV with his friends. Crystal ran up to Calvin and tagged him. Stefan followed suit and ran up to Xavier, punched him in his groin, and then followed up by slamming his elbow against Xavier’s jaw. Robert rushed toward Simone and she hurled the brick that she held behind her back into his head. Robert staggered, knelt down, and grabbed his head. Simone picked up the brick, ran toward him, and smacked him with the brick repeatedly until he hit the ground, and then began to kick him. Robert covered his face with his hands to prevent Simone’s foot from slamming into his face. Simone felt something warm splash across her face. She turned around and saw Crystal pulling his razor from Calvin’s bleeding face.
Somebody’s going to jail today, Simone thought. Well, ain’t like we don’t have the money for bail.
Simone, Stefan, Paris, and Crystal were all in the same profession; they conducted their business in different circles so there wouldn’t be any hard feelings behind one of them cutting the other’s throat on a customer. If need be, Simone and Stefan would pack their belongings and leave town. Neither one of them was willing to give up their freedom, not even for a day.
Simone looked over at Stefan to see how he was holding up against Xavier and scoped the area for Paris, but was unable to locate him. She continued to kick Robert, who laid beside her feet, trying to inflict more pain each time she jammed her foot into his gut.
The sound of sirens drowned out the roots of the spectators. Simone’s eyes met with flashing blue lights and she ran over to Stefan to warn him of the arrival of the police. Before Simone could reach Stefan, she was blinded in her steps. She stood there, gasping for air, until she was snatched off of her feet and handcuffed.
Simone, Stefan, and the rest of the bunch sat on the sidewalk in handcuffs, flushing their eyes out with tears. They could hear Crystal yell obscenities as he slammed his feet into the door of the police car.
Crystal was dragged to the squad car after he attacked a police officer. The police officer clenched his hands around Crystal’s neck in a poor attempt to pull him off of his opponent.
Two officers went around, obtaining the statements of witnesses, and two other officers on the scene searched Robert’s SUV. They confiscated what appeared to be a kilo of cocaine and an ounce of marijuana from the SUV.
Stefan sucked his teeth. “Damn, I wish I could’ve gotten my hands on that shit.”
Simone remained quiet. She sat there, mentally chastising herself for tagging along. She knew it was going to happen. It went down that way every year. They kicked off the summer scrapping with the patrons of Battery Park Pool. The incidents increased in their severity each year. It started out as bickering and unkind gestures, and then escalated to heated arguments that threatened bodily harm, and then shortly afterward turned into fist-fights.
The previous summer Stefan and Paris had gotten into a quarrel with two guys after accidentally bumping into one of them as they walked up the hill on their way leaving the park. The guy shoved Stefan and they began to tussle and rolled down the hill. Stefan spotted a forty-ounce bottle and beat it against the man’s head until it broke. The man lay there unconscious, covered with blood. The guy’s friend charged Stefan, threatening to kill him for what he had done to his friend. Paris picked up a remnant from the bottle and forced it into the charging man’s side. Luckily, they managed to slip away before the police arrived but this time, they weren’t fortunate enough to have that opportunity.
Simone looked down at the curb as she questioned her association with the bunch. It seemed like every time they went somewhere together, there was some type of drama and it wasn’t always finding its way to them. It seemed like they went on a pursuit to find drama and she followed behind them like a foolish child. She didn’t know what else to do. They were the closest things to home girls she had and whenever she needed them, whether it was to borrow money or go snatch some hoe’s ass, they were there for her. Simone dismissed her questioning as selfishness, her not wanting to do for them what they wouldn’t hesitate to do for her.
Simone looked over at Paris. She was sickened by the bluish abrasions that covered his face. “Damn, what happened to you?”
Paris frowned. “What you think happened to me? I don’t know about y’all but when the cops started spraying that mace, I was like, whoo—thank the Lord.”
Stefan laughed, disregarding the serious expression on Paris’s face. “That nigga must’ve given you a run for your money.”
“Humph, if I could’ve got my hands on my cell phone, I would’ve called the police my damn self,” Paris said.
Simone and Stefan sat around, teasing Paris, until one of the officers came to release them. The officer explained to them that they were banned from the property and if they stepped foot on any area of it, pool or park, they would be arrested for trespassing. They nodded their heads in agreement. They were glad that they weren’t riding to the city lockup with Crystal and Robert.
The officer hopped in his car and slammed the door. “Y’all better be on y’all way. I ain’t leaving until y’all remove yourselves from this property.”
Paris stood there with his arms folded and sucked his teeth.
“One of you over there got some kind of problem?” the officer asked as his partner came and stood beside the car.
“No, ain’t no problem, officer,” Stefan said.
“You should be thankful; we could’ve hauled y’all asses downtown along with your friend here, but based on the reports we got from some of the witnesses, we decided to cut your asses a break. So if I was you boys, I’d run my asses on home ’fore we change our minds,” the officer said.
They all paused for a minute. Stefan and Paris stood there, pissed, wanting to be defiant in order to regain their pride, but the others that accompanied them didn’t feel the same way. They felt like getting the fuck out of there before the man did change his mind. A couple of them slowly departed across the street, Simone followed suit and shortly afterward, Stefan and Paris did the same.
7
Simone and Stefan sat outside in the parking lot of the Courtyard by Marriott on West Broad Street. They hadn’t said much to each other between getting dressed and arriving there. Simone was exhausted and Stefan was still in a funk about the incident at the pool. Stefan asked Simone to stop by the store on their way to the hotel so he could get a pack of cigarettes. Stefan hadn’t smoked since he and Eugene had become an item. Eugene couldn’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke and was completely turned off by it. Stefan decided he would rather be without the cigarettes than be without Eugene, so he stopped smoking. But after the stress of that evening, Stefan disregarded Eugene’s feelings, and calming his nerves became his top priority.
Stefan struggled to free the cigarettes from the plastic that sealed them. He became frustrated and threw the pack against the dashboard. He grabbed his head and squealed before retrieving them from the floor.
Stefan began to unravel the plastic and turned to look at the lock on the car door. “And, you’ll start locking these doors when somebody slide in here beside you and slit your throat,” he snapped at Simone.
Simone continued to clean her nails with her ice pick, not uttering a single word. Stefan was upset and whenever he was, he always found something to nag the hell out of her about. She never locked her car doors and he never had an issue with it up until then. Sometimes she would leave it outside for hours with the top down and never had a problem with anyone trying to steal it or with any of her belongings coming up missing, unless it was a pen or pack of gum that Stefan confiscated from the glove compartment. She didn’t give Stefan’s comment a second thought.
Simone sat in the car, trying not to doze off. If it were anyone else, she would’ve rescheduled but she couldn’t wait to get acquainted with her sexy new client and take him up on his offer.
Stefan flicked the ashes from his cigarette out of the window. “I swear that muthafucka made me so mad, I could’ve plucked his fucking eyes out.”
“I know,” Simone said. “What do you think is going to happen to Crystal?”
“Shit, you know Paris got him. They’re like you and me; they’re gonna look out for each other.”
“What happened to Jewel?”
Stefan cut his eyes at Simone. “What you think happened to him? He bounced.”
“Well, that’s your friend.”
“Correction,” Stefan said, snapping his fingers. “That’s Paris’s friend and I doubt if Paris will still fuck with him after this shit.”
Simone shook her head. “Jewel is terrible.”
“He’s a pussy.”
Simone leaned back in her seat and placed her hands behind her head, waiting for Stefan to elaborate on his comment.
“We all be walking ’round here primping, trying to be cute and shit, but when it’s time to brawl, it’s time to brawl.” Stefan pulled his cigarette before he became roused. “It’s time to put that bitch shit on hold and handle business.”
Simone nodded. She understood where Stefan was coming from but, on the other hand, she wondered had he considered that Jewel didn’t crave drama like he did. Yeah, Jewel liked to party, drink, and get high, along with all the other bullshit they were into, but when it came to fighting, he didn’t want any parts of it. And although Crystal was a bit temperamental, he seemed to stray away from trouble until he felt like it could no longer be avoided. It was only Stefan and Paris who were on a hunt for it.
Simone and Stefan sat at a small table in a room on the second floor of the hotel. They looked out of the window, watching the cars that cruised up and down Broad Street as they waited for Ivan to retrieve his friend from the adjoining room.
