Crackhead (9 page)

“You know,” Crystal added, “real bitches do real shit.”

“My bad, ladies,” Laci apologized as she got her laughter under control. “I wanted to be a part of the storytelling for once.”

Monique was fed up. “I don't know 'bout y'all hoes, but she ruined the sex shit for me.”

“Ditto,” Shaunna agreed. “You got some food up in your kitchen, Crystal? My baby is hungry.”

“Bitch,
your
fat ass is hungry,” Crystal said jokingly. “That baby don't know what the fuck food is.”

“I ain't pregnant, but I'm eating for two anyway,” Monique said as she stood up and stretched out. “What you got to whip up?”

“I don't know,” Crystal said, getting up from off the couch. “Come into the kitchen and see what you have a taste for.”

All of the girls followed Crystal into the kitchen.

“What's up for the summer?” Monique asked no one in particular as they entered the kitchen. All the girls looked at each other but said nothing. Monique tried again. “Let's not all answer at the same time,” she said sarcastically. “No one has any plans? Tonette, what about you?”

“I ain't really got anything planned,” Tonette said, shrugging her shoulders. “Hell, I'm living just enough. You know how I get down. I play it on a daily. I was thinking about maybe trying to take some classes for that stupid-ass GED again.”

“Evidently it ain't the GED that's stupid,” Laci said, hoping to make a cute joke. She immediately wished she could take it back.

Tonette stopped in her tracks. What she wanted to do was haul off and slap the shit out of Laci, hell, maybe even take one of them butcher knives from the block in Crystal's kitchen and cut her fuckin' throat. But something told her to let it go, and she did. She looked at Laci and forced a fake grin. “Ha, ha. That was real funny, Laci.”

Crystal rolled her eyes at Laci, shook her head, and opened the refrigerator door.

“Sorry,” Laci said, putting her head down. “I was just kidding. You know I would never come at you like that.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tonette said insincerely. She told herself to let it go . . . for now anyway. “Crystal,” Tonette said, moving on, “what about you? What you got going on for the summer?”

“You know I just want to chill,” Crystal answered as she examined
the contents of the refrigerator. “But I'm also thinking about summer school. Maybe there won't be as many guys there to distract me.” Crystal closed the refrigerator door and opened the freezer.

Monique interjected. “Well, I don't have to worry about a GED, high school diploma, or none of that. I gots my high school certificate of completion.”

“You mean attendance, don't you?” Shaunna said jokingly. “You got a certificate for just showing up every day.”

“You stupid,” Monique said. “I'm getting my high school diploma. I passed the son of a bitch with flying D-minuses.” The girls started laughing. “But seriously, if y'all hoes gon' be all caught up wit gettin' an
edumacation
, then maybe I should do the community college thing. Crystal, you trying to go to college someday?”

“Nah, I just want my diploma,” Crystal said with a shrug. “Dink said if I get it, he gon' take me out to celebrate anywhere I want to go. You know I'm trying to go to Morton's Steak House.”

“I know you glad you got him,” Shaunna said. “He be takin' care of you. That's why I don't know why you ever crying broke. You know all you got to do is ask that nigga to hold something and you straight.”

“I know,” Crystal said, pulling out a block of bologna from the fridge. “But I don't like to always have my hand out. Niggas get tired real quick of a beggin' bitch. If he don't give it to me on his own, I usually only ask him when I really,
really
need to hold something. Y'all want some of this?” she said, holding up the bologna.

“Yeah, fry it up,” said Shaunna. “I wish I had a muthafucka holdin' me down like that,” she said, reflecting on her own situation. “I wish I'd done my thing in school instead of poppin' babies
out by a no-good nigga. Seems like you can't do shit without a diploma.”

“Fuck that,” Tonette cut in, sounding frustrated. “If I get it, I get it. That shit don't hold no weight for black folks anyhow. Once you get a diploma or GED, muthafuckas start talkin' about you need a bachelor's degree to make some real paper. Then the next thing you know, that ain't even good enough. The system ain't built to work for us.”

Monique nodded. “Got a point there. I mean, I think I wanna go to college, but who the hell wants to sit through another four years of school? That shit ain't gon' get me no money. I should probably just get a job at the post office or the bank. They pay three hundred dollars a week. I could get a Fourth of July outfit and new leather Gucci jacket with that.”

Laci looked at her friends and shook her head. Monique had no job experience and didn't have the temperament to work for anyone. Besides that, she had too much pride to apply at the places where she was qualified to work. There was no way she was going to get a job at a bank.

“You awful quiet over there,” Crystal said to Laci as she sliced the bologna and threw it in the frying pan.

“We already know that bitch probably gon' die in school,” Monique laughed. “She's probably going to be one of those career students who as long as they stay in school, Mommy and Daddy will foot the bills.”

Laci ignored the comments and said nothing.

“I don't know what I'm gon' do aside from have this baby,” Shaunna added. “I know someone in Housing and they supposed to hook me up with a two-bedroom apartment. Hopefully, by the time the baby comes, I'll have more space. But y'all know how the system works. President Reagan don't give a shit
about black folks in the hood.” Shaunna sighed and rubbed her stomach.

The girls just stood there staring at her, feeling her pain.

“Monique, look in the cabinet and get the red Kool-Aid mix. Y'all want something to drink while I fry this up?” Crystal said to break the monotony.

The girls all nodded or mumbled yes.

“Do you know what you're having?” Laci asked Shaunna.

Shaunna's face lit up. “No, I want to be surprised. I already have my son, so it would be nice to have a girl. But only God knows.”

Laci walked over to Shaunna and held her hand up to her stomach. “Can I?” she asked with caution.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Shaunna said with surprise in her voice. None of the girls had ever seemed to want to connect with the little life inside of her.

Laci placed her hand on the center of Shaunna's belly and pressed softly. It was an amazing feeling to Laci. Shaunna's belly was as hard as a rock and she could actually feel the baby. It was surreal.

“Who's the father?” Laci asked innocently.

It was like a record had started to skip and the deejay snatched off the needle. There was dead silence. Shaunna disregarded Laci's question and asked one of her own.

“What about you, Laci?” she said, removing Laci's hand from her stomach and walking over to the snack table to retrieve her drink. The other girls followed her lead.

“Yeah, Laci, what are you getting into this summer?” Monique asked. They all looked at her.

Laci's inquisitiveness had set her up for the fall. She didn't know how to answer the question without starting an argument. For some reason, she could never get shit right. She always managed
to say the wrong thing. If she told the truth, the girls were going to start trippin' on her. If she didn't tell the truth, they'd know. They were like Superman when it came to Laci; they could see right through her. Her lying to them would only piss them off even more.

“Uh, nothing much. Just going to Puerto Rico before I leave for college,” Laci tried to say nonchalantly as if it was no big deal.

Crystal wasn't about to let Laci get off so easy. “Oh, so Little Miss Thing's parents are paying to broaden her education?” she said, batting her eyes and puckering her lips. “Figured as much. Too bad the rest of us don't have caked-up parents.”

“First of all, it's just me and my mother—you know that. And, I got a scholarship,” Laci said, shutting Crystal up.

“Scholarship?” Monique asked, confused. “You ain't no athlete. I ain't never known you to play ball, run track, or nothing.”

Laci shook her head. “I received an academic scholarship,” she said as if she were talking to a child.

“Academic?” Monique asked, still a little baffled.

Crystal helped Monique comprehend. “Duh, yeah, stupid,” she teased. “When you get good grades, colleges give you a free ride to their school. It ain't like she, of all people, needs it though.”

Trying to cover up her jealousy, Tonette joined in on the conversation. “What school are you going to, Laci?”

“Boston University,” Laci said proudly.

“That's supposed to be a pretty good school,” Shaunna said.

“How the hell would you know?” Monique said, taking a sip of her drink.

“Fuck you, slut,” Shaunna shot back. “I had an uncle who went there, so now.”

“So now,” Monique mocked Shaunna, sticking her tongue out at her.

“You keep playing and I'm gonna put that pretty tongue of yours to use,” Shaunna winked.

“Oooh, can I watch?” Crystal joked as she finished up her drink and sat the cup down on the snack table.

“Anyway,” Tonette cut in, “forget about that school shit. What's this about Puerto Rico?”

Laci swallowed down her Kool-Aid, hard. The girls looked at each other with a mixture of jealousy and hatred. All of them wished that they could travel anywhere other than the five boroughs, but they weren't as blessed as Laci. The only thing that saved Laci from a round of Bash the Rich Girl was Crystal's boyfriend, Dink, who was standing in the doorway.

D
INK COULDN'T TAKE
his eyes off of Laci. There was something about her that wouldn't allow him to look away. She was pretty, but not enough to trip over. He had seen pretty girls come and go. This one, though, just had a certain air about her that he couldn't shake. She had his nose open without even trying.

Crystal was his boo-boo, but he wasn't in love with her anymore. If anything, he liked her a lot and had love for her, but as far as being in that unconditional love bullshit, it wasn't happening. When it all came down to it, Dink saw Crystal as not being much different from the rest of her crew. She was okay to look at when she was dressed up, but not wifey material. Laci, on the other hand, had something about her that Dink needed to know more about.

Crystal read Dink's eyes like a kindergarten spelling test. She wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she was hardly stupid. She knew the look that Dink was giving Laci, because that's exactly how he'd caught her two years ago. The muthafucka
could bat his eyes and lick his lips all he wanted, but Crystal was determined to show the both of them who the queen bitch was.

Hugging Dink, she kissed him on the neck. “I think you left something in my room,” she whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. For emphasis, she grabbed his package.

“Damn, Crystal,” Dink said. He held her at arm's length. There are people here.” He fronted like he was embarrassed, but Dink really loved that kind of shit. Crystal was a freak and a half, which was part of the reason he kept her around. He thought about the last time she had sucked him off and let him blow in her mouth. Just thinking about it made Dink want to wet himself.

Crystal and Dink's fooling around made Tonette jealous. It had been a minute since her main nigga, Dame, had given her a taste. She figured if she couldn't get any, she'd block Crystal's action.

“Crystal,” Tonette coughed.

“Okay, okay,” Crystal giggled. “Y'all know how I get when I see
my
man.” Crystal shot a look at Laci, hoping that she understood where she was coming from just in case she had any ideas.

Dink zipped down his Sergio Tacchini sweatsuit jacket and flipped it behind him like Michael Jackson, exposing his Polo shirt and two gold rope chains with a Batman medallion. He was in stunt mode now. “So what you ladies getting into tonight?”

“Nothing really,” Shaunna said, rubbing her stomach. “We'll probably keep it local. Besides, I can't go too far with this belly.”

“You probably don't need to be going nowhere,” Monique said. “Why you always gotta be the pregnant girl at the club?”

The girls snickered. Shaunna stuck her middle finger up at Monique.

“Do you know what it is yet?” Dink asked, walking over to Shaunna and placing his ear against her stomach.

“What the fuck you think you gon' hear?” Crystal said, jealous that Dink was touching Shaunna. “You think it's gonna bust out freestyling or something?”

“I don't know if it's a girl or a boy,” Shaunna said, running right over Crystal's comment. “I want to be surprised.”

Even though Dink had no intentions for Shaunna, the attention he was giving her made her feel warm. Her own children's fathers didn't pay that kind of attention to her. She wasn't used to it, and this only made her crave it more. As Dink began to rub her stomach, she imagined that he was her man instead of Crystal's.

“That's cool,” Dink said, smiling. “Did you eat yet? You know you gotta keep your strength up.”

“Damn, baby,” Crystal cut in, “since when you love the kids? She's fine, she just ate two fried bologna sandwiches.” Crystal walked over to where Shaunna was sitting and pulled at Dink's arm. “C'mon now, I ain't seen you in a minute. I missed you. Shit, nigga, come rub on me.”

“I missed you, too,” Dink said, patting Crystal on the ass. “You think I don't think about you when I'm out handling my business? C'mon now, you know you're always on my mind. Stop actin' like that.”