Chapter 7
SEREIA
“Why do you need an apartment if you stay with them?” Asked Lake.
“Because,” I said, twiddling the charm on my Coach bag. “I just want one just in case.”
“I thought things were going good—”
“They are going good. Don’t mean things will always go good, Lake. You know how shit go.”
She didn’t. Not for real. Like I said before, Lake hadn’t lost like me. She was green when it came to life changing at the drop of a hat. How lucky was she?
“Show me the lobby,” she pressed.
I flipped the camera and showed her the lobby of Springview Hills Apartments.
I was in Wildermere looking for a spot. I wasn’t too far from the bridge, which meant it wasn’t as far away from Brickhaven.
I should have been at the house working but after telling Exodus what I had planned for the day, he sent Genny over to sit with First Lady for the hour I’d be gone.
I thought about getting an apartment somewhere in Brickhaven, but I didn’t feel safe to do so anywhere.
The only place I felt safe at in Brickhaven was The Woods.
That was my hood. My people, for real. But I couldn’t stay there anymore.
And if I couldn’t stay in The Woods, I didn’t want to stay in Brickhaven.
I had a tour scheduled with Cindy, the apartment manager.
As soon as I walked into the building, I felt out of place.
It was grand and lavish just like everything else in Wildermere.
The doorman—yes, doorman—was an older white man who gave me a tightlipped smile when I walked in.
The people in passing… all white. Just a second ago, I passed a scrawny ass white bitch in a LuLu set, with a towel draped around her neck, and those big Apple headphones over her ears.
The place… it gave bougie and I was the furthest thing from bougie.
“I’m about to walk up to the desk. I’ll send you pictures and shit in a minute.”
“It’s niiiice,” Lake said with a smile. “I can’t wait to come over, get drunk and talk shit,” she said. “Alright, call me as soon as you’re done.”
We said our I love you’s and ended the call. I walked up to the information desk with a forced smile.
“Can I help you?” asked the snooty gay boy behind the desk, eyeing me up and down like I didn’t belong there.
I stood up straight, pushed my shoulders back and held my head up with confidence.
I might not have belonged there… not for real.
But I put on the confidence of a bad ass rich bitch that did belong.
I had on Coach and an Alo set. I looked the part, but I guess there was something about me that said I didn’t belong.
Maybe the Coach bag. Most likely the dark skin.
“I have an appointment with Cindy,” I sweetly said, forcing it.
What I wanted to do was chew into him but that would be very expected, now wouldn’t it be? I didn’t believe in ‘code switching’ but I believed in conducting myself in a certain manner to show maturity.
“Cindy? Oh. Sereia? She’ll be right out,” he said, giving me the same tight-lipped smile the guy at the door gave me not too long ago. “You can have a seat right over there.”
He pointed, his sharp acrylic just inches away from my face.
I looked at it. Stood there a moment, staring at his finger before shifting my eyes to him. I made eye contact with him and put a little fire behind my glare. His pale skin turned pink before he looked away and got back to tapping around on the keyboard in front of him.
Gritting my teeth, I walked away and sat on the loveseat not too far from the desk.
While I sat there, I took a moment to take the place in a little more.
Very high ceilings. A skylight. Large chandeliers.
Fancy paintings that were probably just print outs instead of the real things.
Gold light fixtures. Tan walls. Shiny hardwood flooring. Fancy seating.
It was nice.
As nice as an apartment with nineteen hundred dollar a month rent for a one-bedroom apartment would be.
When I saw the price tag on it, I gasped and scrolled right by.
But Lake reminded me of the twelve thousand dollars I made a month and practically forced me to go back up to schedule a viewing.
Twelve thousand dollars a fucking month.
Do you know how outrageous that is? I still couldn’t really wrap my mind around it and my life.
How’d I go from making a couple of hundred dollars a week to making three thousand a week to do what I considered the bare minimum?
“Sereia, good morning,” said a heavyset white lady, approaching with her hand extended.
I pushed up from the couch and met her halfway, shaking hands with her when we made it face-to-face. “Good morning,” I said, forcing that smile again.
Cindy seemed nice enough. She had big cheeks, and small eyes that seemed to disappear behind her wire-rimmed glasses when she smiled.
“How was your ride in? You came from Brickhaven, right?”
I squinted at her, close to catching an offense until I remembered she did have a copy of my ID. I was so used to being prejudged by muthafuckas in Wildermere that I just knew she was doing that.
“The ride in was actually okay,” I said, thinking about the ride with Rocc. He let me get the AUX and I played Ken The Man the whole way in. “I didn’t come from Brickhaven. I’m staying in Wildermere right now. Just haven’t updated my ID.”
We walked off, towards the elevators. She smiled and nodded. “Ah okay. We have refreshments in the lounge if you’d—”
“No thank you,” I politely said. “I only have…” I paused and checked my Fashion Nova watch. “Forty-five minutes left on my break.”
I was sure Genesis wouldn’t mind if this meeting took longer than an hour. I just wanted to go. Plus, Rocc was waiting on me in the parking lot. He said I could take my time, but I didn't like to keep people waiting. He probably had something to do.
“Okie doke. Let’s get right to it then,” she said with a deep breath once we got onto the elevator.
On the way up, she gave me a run down on the amenities and stuff like that.
There was an on-site gym, which explained the girl from earlier with the Lulu set and the towel around her neck.
There was a convenience store on the other ‘wing’.
Wing. The community was huge. Not as big as The Woods of course but it was big.
There was a concierge service too who would be ‘happy to help me move a few pieces in’.
Utilities were my responsibility which was crazy considering back at The Woods the only thing we had to pay was the light bill.
Not only did I have to worry about all of the bills, but there was a monthly pest control fee I had to pay too.
Hearing about everything made my heart race a bit.
This was new to me. All of it. This life in general.
I wasn’t used to having to pay rent and bills by myself.
Before we even made it to the apartment, I started to second guess my decision to move into a ‘just in case’ place.
Not because I didn’t think I could afford it.
I knew I could. Knowing I could afford something so…
grand… made me uneasy. Felt like life was moving too fast for me.
However, I didn’t end the tour. When we walked into the apartment, my eyes lit up.
It was on a high floor. Big windows. Light hardwood with an open floor plan.
There was an island. Not as big and fancy as First Lady’s but fancy enough.
She showed me the laundry area, and I couldn’t believe I’d have my own washer and dryer.
Back at The Woods, we shared with everybody in the building.
Which was nasty as hell, considering so many people had bed bugs.
Luckily, the only thing we had to worry about were roaches.
The bathroom was very nice too, with a standalone tub and a walk-in shower.
I was in awe. So much in awe that the thoughts I had not too long ago was pushed to the back of my mind and I decided to apply.
* * *
After I finished up at the apartment building, we headed straight back to the house. No, no we didn’t. I had Rocc stop me at a 7-11 for a slushie and a bag of Cheetos Hot Fries. A fucking 7-11. All we had in The Bricks were corner stores and regular gas stations.
“What you making, First Lady?” I asked First Lady, sitting next to her on the couch.
She didn’t look up. Hands continued to move at a rapid pace as she continued to knit. She shifted her eyes up at the TV screen, catching a glimpse of another one of Bernie Mac’s closing remarks
“Probably another scarf,” Zeke said, dropping down into the living room from the kitchen.
When I got back, not only was Genesis still here but Zeke, Kiss, and Solo too.
The only one here with me now was Zeke and I was annoyed about it.
Wished he’d stop trying to talk to me. Yes, I still had a chip on my shoulder where he was concerned.
Felt like he knew that too. “How long she been working on that one?”
“Since I got here,” I said, pushing up from the couch to go into the kitchen to make First Lady’s lunch.
The usual. A grilled turkey sandwich with just turkey and provolone cheese.
They had a panini press I was going to use today instead of cooking it on the stove.
A damn panini press. They were some of the bougiest black people I’d ever known.
Not only did she have a panini press, but she had a juicer, and a full coffee bar that I would have had a field day using if I was big on coffee.
“Oh straight?” He said, following me back into the kitchen.
With my back to him, I sighed and rolled my eyes, as I dug into the refrigerator.
It was full now. With any and everything I needed.
All but my fucking sausage and pancake corn dogs.
The dumb ass Exodus sent to get the groceries brought back pancake batter and sausages.
Like… what? Why did they act like they didn’t know what the hell sausage pancake corn dogs were? Bougie ass black people.