Authors: Treasure Hernandez
A Girl From Flint (8 page)
That night, the girls headed to the party. It was Tasha's and Amra's first time getting out, and they were excited to see what life in Flint was like. When they entered the party, they immediately felt the steam emanating from the hot bodies that filled the room.
“Damn, it's packed in here!” Amra shouted over the loud music blaring from the speakers.
As the girls walked through the party, Mimi scanned for the girls who'd jumped her. “They're not here,” she said.
The girls found a table and sat down and enjoyed the atmosphere of the club. It was crowded, and everybody seemed to be having a good time.
Tasha looked out onto the dance floor and saw people grinding against each other. She sat back and chilled with her girls, enjoying herself. The clubs in Flint were different from the ones back home. They were wilder, and Tasha liked the change.
Amra got up and went out onto the dance floor, pulling Tasha along with her. The girls started to dance, and men instantly jumped at the chance to be close to them.
A dude began dancing with Tasha from behind. She turned around and saw that he was butt-ass ugly.
Hell nah, brother!
she thought and slyly danced away from him.
Hell nah, brother!
she thought and slyly danced away from him.
Amra started to laugh, and Tasha made her way off the floor. Amra danced with a group of dudes and left the dance floor with one of them, and headed to the bar. She flirted coyly with the dude, and when she ran out of conversation, they exchanged numbers, and she rejoined her friends at their table.
The party lasted until two o'clock, and when it was over, the girls were tired and ready to go home. As they were leaving the club, a tall, good-looking man called Mimi's name.
She turned her head to see who it was, and a smile slowly crept across her face. “Manolo!” she said excitedly. She left her friends and walked over to him and gave him a hug.
“What up, Mimi?” Manolo looked her up and down. “I ain't seen your ass in a while.”
“You the one who be acting like a stranger,” Mimi told him.
Manolo pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down his number. He handed it to her. “I got to talk to you and your girls about something. Holla at me when you get a chance.”
“What's up? You might as well holla at us now.”
Mimi was about to motion for her girls to come over, but Manolo stopped her. “Nah, it's about making some money. I'd rather discuss business in private. Just holla at me, ma.” Manolo walked away.
Mimi walked back over to her friends.
“Who was that?” Honey asked.
“That's my boy, Manolo. We were cool back in the day. I haven't seen him in a while though. He said he want to talk to us about making some money.”
Honey's eyes glistened when she heard the word
money
. She was always down for making money. “We need to get at him then.”
money
. She was always down for making money. “We need to get at him then.”
Mimi told her friends about Manolo on their way back to the house. They all wanted to make some money, and they decided they would call him the next day to see what he was talking about.
Chapter Seven
M
anolo sat down across from the group of girls and looked them all up and down as he took in their features. He passed a blunt to Mimi. “What up, Mimi baby? What the fuck you been up to?”
anolo sat down across from the group of girls and looked them all up and down as he took in their features. He passed a blunt to Mimi. “What up, Mimi baby? What the fuck you been up to?”
Mimi licked her lips, almost tasting the weed. “Shit, just chilling. What up, though? You said you wanted to holla at me and my girls. We here, so what you want?” She took a pull from the blunt then passed it to Honey, who was sitting next to her.
Manolo sat back on his black leather couch. “I got a business proposition for you and your girls. It's easy money.”
“You know I'm all about making money.” Mimi crossed her legs. “What you got in mind?”
Manolo cleared his throat. “I saw you and your girls at the club last night. Y'all would be perfect for the job.”
Tasha was listening closely to the conversation, but she was getting fed up, because Manolo was talking in circles.
I'm all down for making money, but he ain't telling me shit. He got to come with some more details
. She was up on her game and had heard how grimy Flint niggas could be. She didn't know Manolo, and wasn't sure what he wanted them for. “What exactly is it that we got to do?” she asked, not hiding her skepticism.
I'm all down for making money, but he ain't telling me shit. He got to come with some more details
. She was up on her game and had heard how grimy Flint niggas could be. She didn't know Manolo, and wasn't sure what he wanted them for. “What exactly is it that we got to do?” she asked, not hiding her skepticism.
Manolo smiled. “A'ight, lil' mama, calm down. Look, this is what I'm saying. It's these niggas from the North Side. These niggas getting money. I know, the streets is talking. They're sitting on chips and waiting to get robbed. Your girl right here got one of they numbers last night.” He pointed to Amra. “That's one of the reasons why I picked y'all, 'cause it's already an interest on they part. Now the hustle that I'm trying to do gon' take about three hours, tops. Now this gon' pop off with or without y'all, but if you down, then you and your girls gon' get in good with these niggas. The only thing y'all got to do is get them in the hotel room, and I'll do the rest.”
Tasha put her hands up, rejecting the blunt that was being passed around the room. “Hold on, let me get this right. You want us to set niggas up for you to rob 'em?”
Manolo looked straight into her eyes and said, “
Exactly
!”
Exactly
!”
Honey hit the blunt, held it down for a minute, and then blew it out. “Well, shit, what do we get out of all this?”
Manolo laughed. “At the end of the night, we will come together, put the money down, and split it up. I'll give y'all fifty percent of whatever I get. Y'all can keep the jewelry and split the cash however you want.”
Tasha folded her arms. “Hell nah! We're taking all the risks. I'm sure you gon' be all ski-masked up and shit. We have to worry about these dudes coming back at us.”
Manolo shook his head lightly. “Ma, don't even worry about that. The way I'm gon' do it, they gon' think y'all getting robbed with them. See, what I was thinking, y'all could lure these cats into a hotel room. Make them think they 'bout to get in on some freaky ménage-à -trois-type shit, and that's when I come into the pictureâhandcuffs and everything. I'll catch them in a vulnerable situation.”
“Since we taking all the risks, we want seventy-five/ twenty-five,” Honey stated firmly. “Fifty percent between four people ain't a lot.”
Manolo hadn't expected them to bargain with him, but he was money-hungry, and these cats had too much dough to let the opportunity pass. “Deal! Now, is y'all down or what?”
Honey looked at Mimi and shrugged her shoulders, not knowing whether or not she should give the proposition any thought.
“You know I don't give a fuck.” Mimi grabbed the blunt from Honey. “Let's get those niggas.”
Honey looked at Amra and could see she was unsure about the situation.
“What do you think, Tasha?” Amra asked.
Tasha thought about it for a minute, then did the math in her head. “It's cool. I'm down. I'm not about to pass up no scratch.”
Amra sighed, figuring that if Tasha agreed to it, then it must be alright. “I'm in.”
Honey said, “So, how we supposed to hook up with them?”
Manolo nodded his head at Amra. “It's a party tonight. They gon' be there, and since Amra already got one of them interested in her, then she can just introduce the rest of y'all when you get there.”
Honey said, “Okay, but it takes money to get ready for a party like this, and since we ain't making money yetâ”
“If you can hustle them niggas like you hustling me, then we straight.” Manolo laughed. He knew that the dark-skinned beauty sitting in front of him was a hustler at heart. It was obvious that she was the leader of the crew. He reached into his pocket and counted out two thousand dollars and handed five hundred to each girl. “Y'all straight now?”
Mimi nodded. “We good.”
Manolo walked out of the room, and a couple minutes later, he came back with four cell phones. “This is what you handle business on. If you ain't hustling a nigga, then he shouldn't be calling on this phone. I'll be calling too, so always keep it on.” He handed a phone to each girl.
Tasha looked around his plush apartment. He had black leather furniture on top of white carpeting, and a plasma TV.
He's living kind of nice, so I guess he got money.
She saw that her friends were getting ready to leave, so she rose up and walked to the door.
He's living kind of nice, so I guess he got money.
She saw that her friends were getting ready to leave, so she rose up and walked to the door.
The girls left the house and walked a couple blocks before hopping on the city bus. “So, what y'all think?” Mimi asked as they all piled in.
“He cool, and I'm definitely down to do this shit,” Amra replied.
Honey laughed. “Hell yeah, we down to do this shit. First, we about to go get some outfits for tonight, though.”
The girls headed to the Valley, Flint's only shopping center, and immediately split up. Tasha hit store after store trying to find an outfit that she could afford. Eventually, she bought a black dress that was completely out in the back. It wrapped around her neck and barely covered her breasts, and the bottom clung tightly to her voluptuous hips. She tried it on, put her hands on her hips and looked into the mirror.
Hell yeah, this dress is nice.
She looked at her flat stomach, then turned around and looked at her butt to see if it looked too big. She looked at Honey and asked her, “What about this?”
Hell yeah, this dress is nice.
She looked at her flat stomach, then turned around and looked at her butt to see if it looked too big. She looked at Honey and asked her, “What about this?”
Honey looked at the outfit and immediately nodded in approval.
Tasha smiled then looked at the price tag. “Damn! Four hundred and twenty dollars!” she said aloud. “I thought this was on the clearance rack!”
“Girl, Macy's be taxing on they clothes. In a minute, you ain't gon' have to shop on the clearance rack.”
Honey bought a bluejean skirt that was so short, it barely covered what it was supposed to. She bought a black one-sleeve shirt and black strapped sandals that laced up to her ankle.
They walked around the store until they found Amra and Mimi. They were trying on clothes. Amra ended up buying hip-hugging bluejean pants, a white bikini top shirt that would show her flat stomach, and a silver Gucci belt.
Mimi tried on a sleeveless black bodysuit that hugged her skin like plastic, and picked out a silver necklace to go with it. “How does this look?” she asked Tasha.
“It's cute. Buy it.”
Mimi started to unzip it in the back. “Nah. I got an outfit at home that I'm gon' wear.” She went into the dressing room and got dressed.
They rushed home to prepare for the party. Since they only had a couple of hours to get dressed, they started as soon as they walked through the door.
“Honey, you know you're doing my hair, right?” Amra walked into the bathroom to get the first shower.
“Alright, that's cool, but hurry up, 'cuz I got to do mine too.”
Tasha laughed. “Yeah, Honey, you doing my shit too.”
“I'll do it if you want me too,” Mimi told her.
“Yeah, it will save time,” Honey stated. “She can do your makeup too.”
Mimi did Tasha's hair and makeup even better than Honey could have done it, twisting Tasha's long hair into a knotted ponytail. Tasha looked in the mirror at her hair and makeup. “You about to be hooking my shit up all the time.”
“You should have been letting me hook you up, instead of letting Honey mess you up!”
They laughed.
Honey walked in the room. “Bitches, I heard that!”
Mimi put on the outfit she had tried on in the store. Tasha knew for a fact that Mimi hadn't bought it, and seemed to be the only one who had noticed that. Tasha didn't say anything about it, though. She just went and got dressed.
By nine thirty, everybody was ready to go. They asked Tammy if they could borrow her car. When Tammy agreed, they jumped into the red Monte Carlo and left.
They walked into the party at eleven o'clock, and immediately all eyes were on them. Amra made her way through the crowd, her friends following behind. They chilled by the bar, accepting drinks from men who were trying to take them home. The music at the party was loud, and the DJ was spinning Jay-Z. The atmosphere in the club was cool, and most people were dancing in the middle of the floor, but the people who thought they were too cool to dance were sitting at the many tables that surrounded the room. It was dark, with the exception of a strobe light and the light coming from the bar, so it was hard for Amra to spot the guy she had talked to the night before at the club.
Mimi leaned over and asked Amra. “Do you see him?”
Amra shrugged her shoulders. “It's too dark. I can't really see anybody.”
Honey jumped up off the stool she was seated on and said, “Come on, we can't find them. Fuck it! We'll just have to tell Manolo they didn't come. I didn't buy this outfit just to sit around. I'm about to go dance.” She disappeared into the crowd. As soon as she entered the crowd, she drew new attention as she danced in the middle of the floor.
Amra looked around, and gave up when she was sure that she couldn't find him in the dark. She looked at Mimi and Tasha and shrugged her shoulders.
“Don't trip,” Tasha said. “We can do it another night.”
Amra ordered a drink from the bar.
“What up?”
She turned around when she heard the deep voice, and saw a dark-skinned dude with cornrows standing close behind her.
“What up?” she replied, not trying to show her interest in him.
The man stood close to her as he bent down to whisper in her ear, “It looks like you waiting on somebody. I don't wanna throw salt on your game, so I'm gonna cut to the chase. Can I get your number so I can call you later?”
Amra wanted to deny him, but his intriguing smile and dark skin tone lured her in. She was about to reply when Honey came back out of the crowd smiling, and stepped directly in between Amra and the dude she was talking to. Honey looked at him rudely and said, “Excuse me!” and he took a step back. She turned to Amra. “Fuck them niggas! It's these dudes sitting over there. I just danced with one of 'em. Let's go chill with them.”
Amra nodded her head okay, and Honey began to walk away. Before leaving the bar, Amra wrote down her number and handed it to him. “What did you say your name was?” she asked him.
He rubbed his neatly trimmed goatee. “Lloyd.”
Honey led the way over to her new friends, and Amra immediately spotted the dude from the night before. “That's him!” she whispered excitedly in Honey's ear.
Honey's smile immediately got ten times brighter as she took a seat next to the guy she'd been dancing with. The girls sat down in between the group of dudes.
Amra sat down next to the guy she had talked to and said, “What up?”
The dude was as high as a kite. He looked at her and his eyes lingered on her breasts, which were easily visible from the bikini top she had on. “What up, ma? What did you say your name was last night?”
Amra couldn't be too upset at him for forgetting her name, because she didn't remember his either. “Amra,” she said.
“Seneca.” He hit the blunt he was smoking and passed it to her.
Amra relaxed as she let the weed fill her lungs. Seneca was all over her, but she didn't seem to mind. She was dancing in front of him as he put his hands on her body, touching every place that she would let him go. She noticed the platinum necklace that hung low from his neck, the diamonds glistening brightly.
Yeah, he got money,
she thought to herself as she drank the Hennessy she had bought from the bar. She looked around and noticed that her friends were having a good time too. Seneca's friends were all over Mimi, Tasha, and Honey.
Yeah, he got money,
she thought to herself as she drank the Hennessy she had bought from the bar. She looked around and noticed that her friends were having a good time too. Seneca's friends were all over Mimi, Tasha, and Honey.
The party started to wind down, and they all walked out to the parking lot.
Seneca looked at Amra and said, “Roll out with me tonight.”
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