Chapter 3 #2
“Because, we used to go together. Don’t tell nobody but I fucked him a few times.
” she giggled. This caught me by surprise.
I definitely didn't know that. I mean, she seemed cool, but maybe she was hanging out with me to be closer to him.
It seemed as though I could not find a chick on their street that wasn't trying to get with Jah.
Shell was a cute girl with medium brown skin, freestyle braids, and a nice body.
I could just see Jahrein tearing that ass up, because honestly I knew his type.
He loved pretty girls, with curves. That's why I didn't understand why he'd dated Ciara.
I wasn't even mad at Shell, because she was a couple of years older than me.
So, with her I was able to kick it with high-schoolers, and go to parties with older teens.
That counted for something. If she messed with him, it was before my time so I wasn't going to hold that against her. I wasn’t concerned about her with Jah, because he didn't seem to have any interest in her.
Besides, she was a freak that had fucked every other nigga on their street.
She had a story to tell about each of them, and she thought that the shit was cute how they conveniently forgot about her after she opened her legs.
Now, I was only thirteen, but I was far from dumb.
Maybe little girls in Fifth Ward did grow up quicker, but whatever it was; I knew that Shell was being played left and right.
After I bought a few little outfits, we decided to go to the food court.
There we saw Jah who had apparently run into a few of his boys.
They were all standing around, hollering at the girls while Jalero ran around the tables, with some other little boy.
Some tall yellow girl was all in Jahrein’s grill.
I aint gonna lie, she was very pretty and it made me feel less attractive.
That was until I saw my reflection in one of the glass windows.
No, for real, I know that I am pretty and she was on my level, but it was different because she was Jah’s age, and seemed to have more confidence.
The guys with Jah had never met me, and were trying to get my number.
Within seconds, they were rushing me. For once Jah didn't try to intervene, because he was too busy talking to that girl.
Even with all that attention from those boys, a lump grew in my throat.
Jahrein was really into her. They were touching each other, and he was smiling from ear to ear.
The same way he did with me when we were alone.
“Look at this bitch.” Shell mumbled to me.
I didn't know what to do. I wasn't supposed to care about what he was doing, but at the same time he wasn't about to treat me like some young girl that didn’t know any better. I was trying to hide my attitude, because I didn’t want to give Shell any signs of me caring about whom Jahrein fucked.
I decided that I could get myself a few numbers and find myself a boyfriend, because obviously Jah wasn't mine.
One tall dude caught my attention. He was smiling and revealed dimples just like mine.
“How old are you?” I flirted with my eyes.
“Fifteen.” he smiled. I was glad to finally meet a cutie closer to my age.
“Why you choosing this little nigga, lil mama?” a dark skinned boy asked me.
“Can you buy my food?” I asked Mr. Dimples, while ignoring the dark skinned dude. I mean he was cute, but I had already chosen his boy. His black ass got the message, and stomped off.
“Yeah, what you wanna eat?” he asked me as he wrapped his arm around my neck.
I looked back and noticed the black dude, telling Jahrein something in his ear as they glared at me.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Taco Bell.” We strolled over towards the restaurants’ stand. Shell had already found a sucker to buy her food.
I was about to place my order, when Jahrein walked up from behind us. “Say, Jared, main, what chu doing?”
Jared turned to face Jahrein. “What chu talking about?”
“Why do you have your arms around Raven?” Jahrein asked him, putting emphases on my name as if that meant something.
“Oh, this Raven?” Jared asked Jah.
“Yeah.” he snapped. “So why do you still have your hands on her?”
Jared let me go. “Oh, my bad, dog.” He apologized, as he stepped away from me.
At that point, I was pissed. I was so tired of Jah doing this to me. It was not that I wanted other boys, but I was tired of him doing whatever. I believed in fairness, and fair he was not.
“Jared, you don’t have to listen to him.” I spat.
Jahrein got this deranged look on his face and started balling up his fists. “Jared, don’t let her get your ass whipped.” he threatened trying to intimidate my new-found friend.
“Jah, we boys. Why you tripping?” Jared asked, as if he was getting a little nervous.
“Jahrein, you are not my daddy. Leave us alone!” I yelled, as I stood in between him and Jared. The next thing I knew, Jah had a hand full of my hair and was dragging me out of the mall. Everybody else seemed to just stand back in shock as he manhandled me. He left behind my bags, Lero, and Shell.
“You want me to whip your ass?” he yelled at me as he let my hair go. He was making a scene right in front of the mall.
“I’ma tell my daddy on you!” I cried as I tried to walk away. I was too embarrassed. He had clowned me in front a crowd of people, making us both look like some complete fools.
He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me in the air. “Put me down!” I screamed.
“Calm down.” he gritted before pinning me against the wall. “Why you testing me, Raven?”
“Testing you? How am I doing that?” I asked him as I dried away my tears.
“You act like you don’t know that you belong to me.” he curled his lips as he stared into my eyes.
“No I don’t.” I shook my head “You was all in that girl’s face, so if you can do shit like that, then so can I.”
He grabbed my jaw roughly and looked square into my eyes. “I’m not playing with your ass, main. I will tare you up at this mall and then tell your daddy some shit that will have you on punishment for the rest of the summer.”
“I’m tired of you bossing me around. I’m just not going to mess with you anymore.” I pouted.
“Oh, yeah?” He belted. He stepped back a little only to step up, and then that bastard popped me in the mouth. My lip was bleeding!
You see, I think that that nigga forgot that I was a Fifth Ward girl. Without thinking twice, I socked his ass dead in the nose. Blood gushed out of it, as he tried to hold it back.
“Now what!” I boasted, as he tried to find something to wipe away all that blood.
It was all over his new jersey, but I didn’t give a damn.
Some yellow bitch walked over with a bunch of napkins, and tried to help him out.
I stood and watched as some woman told him to hold his head back to stop the bleeding.
People were crowding around him as if he was really hurt.
Where were they when he was manhandling me?
The bitch with the napkins just so happened to know him and began questioning him. “Jahrein, how did this happen?”
“I was trying to talk to her…” he was about to explain right before the pretty girl from earlier walked out the mall and joined the bitch with the napkins.
It turns out that they were cousins and Jahrein knew the pretty girl very well.
She was supposed to be his muthafuckin girlfriend!
They went to Worthing High together and had been together off and on for years.
I found all this out as we got into a shouting match, because I hit her man.
“Jahrein, did this bitch hit you?” the pretty hoe asked.
“Bitch? You must not know ‘bout me, you trick ass hoe.” I snapped as I got all in her face. She was at least four inches taller than I was, but I didn’t care.
“Bitch, you better get your little Ethiopian ass out my face!” the Pretty bitch screamed.
I have to admit that she got me with her little rank.
People often compared me to the Ethiopian people, because of my brown complexion combined with my grade of hair.
It was much finer than the average black person‘s.
“Bitch, I know your light bright damn near white ass aint talking! I will drag your ass all through this parking lot!” I barked as I shoved her.
She stumbled a little before balling up her fists, as if she wanted to jump stupid, while her face turned beet red.
“Melissa, calm down. That girl looks like she’s no older than thirteen or fourteen. Your ass is eighteen years old and will go straight to jail.” the girl with the napkins, said as she tried to pull my new-found enemy away.
I didn’t know if she was trying to be Captain Save-a-Hoe, but I didn’t need saving. Those hoes didn't know who they were fucking with. I had taken down bitches twice their ages back in my hood.
“Naw, that bitch don’t have to worry about going to jail, because the ambulance will be her first-class escort, when they have to surgically remove my fist out of her mouth!” I yelled.
“Girl, that little prissy bitch aint gon do shit, so let this shit go.” the broad with the napkins told the pretty bitch.
It was obvious that my physical appearance mislead them, so I ran up on that bitch and straight slid her ass.
My two-piece was so cold that the pretty bitch flew to the ground.
The broad with the napkins just stood, shocked with her mouth wide open.
I was about to stomp her ass out too, when I felt some strong arms holding me back.
I turned and saw that it was Jahrein holding me.
“Raven, baby, stop. You gon get in trouble. The security coming.” he uttered, as he pulled me away. We broke out running and ran straight across the parking lot and then across Bellaire.
He was out of breath once we made it to a shopping center across from the mall. “Damn girl, you pack a mean punch. I didn’t think you did it like that.” he laughed as if I had not just bled his nose.