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Authors: Treasure Hernandez

BOOK: A Girl From Flint
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Tasha was hungry, but she didn't want to eat in front of him.
Damn, I'm trying to get my grub on. Ain't nobody trying to eat cute.
She said yes anyway, though, and he took her to Red Lobster, where she ordered a salad. When their food arrived, Damon's plate made Tasha's stomach growl. She looked down at her salad, and then looked across the table at his plate and thought,
Damn!
But, of course, she ate like a lady and didn't even finish the whole salad.
After leaving the restaurant, they went to a movie. Tasha had to admit that even though she had her doubts about Damon, she felt comfortable around him.
And he is paying for everything,
she thought as she ordered a frozen slush from the snack stand at the movies.
When it was time for her to go home, she knew Ms. Pat would be home because it was seven o'clock. She had Damon drop her off at Honey's house.
“So, when I'm gon' see you again?” he asked as he pulled up in front of Honey's house.
Tasha smiled. “I don't know, 'cuz I don't really have a number that you can call me on.”
Damon handed her his cell phone. “Holla at me.”
“How I'm gon' call you if I got your phone?”
Damon licked his lips. “I got another one. The number's programmed in the phone already, so holla at me.”
Tasha smirked at him.
This nigga think he cute.
She took the phone and got out of the car, and he waited to make sure that she got in the house.
Honey opened the door and saw Damon pulling away from her house. “No, you didn't! You called him? No, you didn't! What y'all do?” she asked as Tasha walked into her house.
Tasha tried to act calm, but Honey could see the smile on her face. “Ask your momma if you can take me home,” Tasha said.
Honey took Tasha to Ms. Pat's house. When Tasha got out, Honey yelled, “I'm gon' call you when I get home, and you better tell me everything.”
Tasha laughed. She held up Damon's cell phone. “I'll call
you!
”
Honey screamed, “Aww, bitch! No, you didn't! He bought you a phone? Damn! You just met his ass last night.”
Even though Damon didn't actually buy Tasha the phone, she let her girl think that.
She ain't got to know everything
. “Look, though, I'll call you later.”
Honey sped off, and Tasha went into the house.
Tasha saw Ms. Pat sitting in the kitchen. “Hi, Ms. Pat. How was work?”
Ms. Pat looked up from the paper she was reading. “It was fine. What did you spend the day doing?”
“Nothing. Went over to Honey's house and was chilling with her all day.”
Tasha walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs and told Amra about Damon. “You will not believe what I did today,” she said as she walked into the room that she shared with Amra.
“What?”
“I saw Damon.”
Amra got up off of her bed. “No, you didn't!”
Tasha put the phone in Amra's face. “Yes, I did.”
Amra gave Tasha almost the exact same reaction as Honey had given her. They were all excited, not at the fact that Tasha could get a twenty-year-old, but that she had gotten him to give her his phone.
Tasha called Damon whenever she could, and that next week, he picked her up and took her and Amra to Honey's open house. He didn't know Tasha was only sixteen, figuring she'd graduated with Honey, making her at least eighteen. When he pulled up to Honey's house, he told Tasha, “Call me later, alright? I'm trying to see you tonight.”
Tasha leaned over and gave him a kiss. “Okay. Thank you, Damon.”
Amra and Tasha got out of the car.
Amra laughed. “It ain't even been a week, and his nose is wide open. Your pussy must be gold.”
Tasha laughed, but she hadn't actually had sex with Damon. She just figured that he liked spending time with her, so he went out of his way to make her happy. No one knew, but Tasha was still a virgin, and she had no intentions of losing that to Damon.
They walked around the house and into Honey's back yard, where her open house was being held.
“Damn, it's a lot of people here,” Amra said as she maneuvered her way through the crowd to find Honey. Almost every person that had graduated with Honey was at her open house.
Honey came up to them with a plate of barbecue ribs. “Hey, y'all. Thanks for coming,” she said, smiling at her friends.
Tasha handed Honey a card and hugged her friend. “You know we wouldn't miss it. Damon gave me a hundred dollars to put in your card.”
Honey smiled. “Oh, did he now?” She was amazed at how much money Tasha was getting from this dude. He was spending money on her like it grew on trees. She heard her mother call her name, and she turned to her friends and said, “Well, I have to go meet and greet, so just chill or whatever. It's some food over there. My momma's hooking it up. Y'all know that y'all can make yourselves at home.”
Honey's open house was off the chain. It seemed like no one wanted to leave. It was like a party, and it lasted until well past eleven p.m.
That's basically how the whole summer went. It was one big party.
Tasha continued to see Damon, and the more she saw him, the more money, clothes, and jewelry he gave her. It was like Christmas every day, and life was good.
Summer was about to end. There was only two weeks left, and Honey was putting the finishing touches on her plans to go to Flint. She rolled up a blunt in Amra's room.
“So, when are you leaving?” Amra asked Honey.
“Not this Tuesday coming up, but next Tuesday.”
Amra shook her head, still upset that Honey was going to Flint. “That's fucked up. Flint is far as hell.”
Tasha was upset too, but not at Honey, just at the circumstance. Honey had become like a sister to her. “Yeah, you better not get there and start acting all funny either, bitch. Don't be acting like you can't call us and shit.”
Honey laughed. “Y'all know it ain't even like that. We sisters, and that's not gon' change just because I'm moving. I'm gon' always be here whenever you bitches need me. You know me better than that. And shit, y'all only got one more year of high school, and as soon as y'all graduate, y'all can come out there. We'll be doing it big for real. I told y'all about how those Midwest niggas get down.”
Tasha could feel the tears forming in her eyes. Honey was like her sister for real, and she didn't want her to go and forget about them.
They are the only family I've got,
she thought as she looked at Amra and Honey. “Look, we got to promise to always stay in contact. We got to stay together. No matter what, after we graduate, you have to come back for us. We all got to promise each other, and we can't break this promise. You two are the only family that I got, and I ain't trying to forget about that just because Honey is moving away.”
Amra nodded her head. “I promise.”
“I promise,” Tasha said, wiping her eyes.
Honey hugged her sisters. “I promise.”
Tasha jumped up. “Hold on. Let me take a picture of us.” She went into her drawer and pulled out a digital camera.
“Where you get that from?” Honey asked.
Tasha shrugged her shoulders. “Damon bought it for me.”
Honey and Amra looked at each other.
Tasha ignored them and got close to her friends and held her arm out and snapped the picture herself.
Two weeks later, Honey packed her clothes and looked at the picture of her, Tasha, and Amra.
I promise,
she thought. She carefully placed it on top of all her clothes in her suitcase. She had said her good-byes to Tasha and Amra over the phone the night before. She didn't want them to go with her to the airport because she knew for sure that she wouldn't get on the plane and leave them if they were there watching her. Her mother drove her to the airport. She kissed her good-bye, and she got on a plane to Michigan.
Tasha lay in her bed staring at the picture of her and her friends.
I love you, Honey.
She knew that Honey was off to a new city, and just hoped that she would get there safely. And although a year apart was a long time, deep in her heart, she knew that Honey would not forget about them.
Amra sat in her summer school class and stared at the clock. It read 11:38. She knew Honey's plane had left at eleven, and she felt the pain in her heart as she realized that one of her best friends had just left her. She opened up her math book, and the picture that she had taken with her friends two weeks earlier fell onto the floor. She picked it up and looked at it.
You better remember,
she thought. She quickly wiped away the tear that slid down her face.
Chapter Four
A
s Honey boarded the plane, she thought about her friends she had just left behind. She felt guilty for leaving them, but she had to worry about herself first. She sat back in the seat on the plane, listening to her CD player.
A couple of hours later, she arrived at Flint's Bishop International Airport. She took a deep breath and got up to exit the plane. When she stepped through the gates, she noticed her aunt waiting for her, and walked toward her with a big smile. It had been a long time since she had last seen her, but her aunt still looked the same. Tammy was a woman who aged well. Though she was in her forties, she could easily pass for a lady in her mid-twenties.
Honey dropped her bags and embraced her aunt. Tammy hugged Honey, and they rocked back and forth, hugging each other. Tammy was happy to see her only niece. It had been over three years since the last time she had seen her. She grabbed Honey by both shoulders. “Look at you . . . all grown up!”
Honey smiled. “Where's Mimi?”
Mimi was Tammy's daughter and Honey's favorite and only cousin. As children, they were inseparable, until Tammy up and moved out of town.
“She went to the bathroom about ten minutes ago. She should be walking her fast ass back any minute now.”
Just as Tammy finished her sentence, Mimi started running toward Honey with her arms out. They hugged and jumped up and down screaming. People started to look at them strangely, but they didn't give a damn.
Honey noticed that Mimi's looks had changed. She remembered a skinny nappy-headed girl with braces. Mimi had cut her hair real short, and had almost no hair at all. The look was feminine, and it looked good on her. She had dyed her hair blonde and developed a body to die for. Mimi had hazel contacts, and her teeth were pretty and perfectly aligned.
“Look at you, girl. You looking good.”
“You looking good too,” Mimi replied.
Mimi had developed a Midwest slur, and Honey could hear it in every word. Mimi and Tammy each took one of Honey's bags and began to exit the airport.
Mimi and Honey caught up on old times and talked nonstop the whole car ride home. Mimi mentioned to Honey that there was a community college near her home that she was thinking about going to. Honey thought back to when they were younger. They'd always said that they would go to college together when they graduated.
“I guess I'll check it out sometime this summer,” Honey lied. She had no intention of attending college. She was there to get on her hustle, not sit up in a classroom all day.
Mimi nodded her head in approval as Tammy pulled up to their South Side home.
Honey took a look around and noticed a group of niggas shooting dice on a stoop, kids spraying water from the fire hydrant, and some teenagers playing stickball in the street. She thought to herself,
Damn! Everybody's doing something.
When the girls exited the car, the guys on the stoop next door stopped all their movement, all eyes glued on Honey. A couple of them tried to holler.
“Hey, ma!”
“What's yo' name, baby?”
Honey didn't even look toward them. She was surprised that the house looked so nice inside. Judging from the outside, she thought the house was raggedy-looking. The big white house sat right in the middle of the ghetto. They had black leather furniture and had a big-screen television in the living room.
Mimi and Honey walked back to Mimi's room, where Mimi helped her unpack.
Honey pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “What's really good?”
“Nothing. Trying to get out the 'hood. I need to find a baller who's trying to save a ho, you feel me?”
They both burst out into laughter and gave each other a high five.
Mimi didn't even let Honey settle before she reached under her bed and grabbed her “candy jar”, as she liked to call it. As soon as she opened the black shoebox, a strong weed aroma filled the air. Mimi grabbed a blunt and some weed from the box and began to split the blunt with her fingernail. She filled the blunt with some weed and put it to her mouth and started to light it.
Honey's eyes shot open. “Girl, yo' momma in the other room!” She got up and closed the door so her aunt wouldn't see them with the blunt.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” Mimi opened the door and yelled, “Ma, you wanna hit this blunt?”
Tammy stepped in the room. “Hell yeah! Light it up!”
Honey was amazed. She looked at her aunt, and then back at Mimi, and thought to herself,
Hell nah!
Tammy passed the blunt to Honey, and Honey puffed away. Tammy left their smoke session after half of the blunt was gone, and Mimi and Honey continued their “puff, puff, give” rotation.
Mimi got up and turned up the radio, and Jay-Z's latest song began to play. The girls just sat back and bounced to the music.
After the spliff had burned to its end, Mimi reached under her bed for the candy jar, and her phone rang. The vibration of Mimi's cell phone startled her, and she jumped. Honey started to laugh out loud, and Mimi joined her in the laughter. Mimi put her finger over her mouth to signal Honey to hush and answered the phone. Honey went to the bathroom as Mimi began to talk on the phone.
When Honey returned, Mimi was searching through the closet for an outfit. “Find something to wear. We're going out tonight. Mama said we can use her car tonight.”
Honey agreed, but mentioned that she was tired from her flight and wanted to take a nap. She lay in the other bed in Mimi's room and went to sleep.
As the girls began to get dressed and do their hair, Mimi's phone rang. She answered it and paused for a minute. Then she yelled into the phone, “Stop fucking calling me! I told you, I can't fuck with you no more. It's over!” She folded her phone up and took a deep breath.
Honey smiled. “Girl, you okay?”
“Yeah, but that nigga won't stop calling a bitch. I quit that nigga a month ago, and he still on my ass.”
Honey started to brush her hair, stroking it slowly.
“B, I wish I had your hair.”
“Girl, please. I wish I had your body.”
Both of them began to chuckle.
Mimi interrupted the laughter. “Oh shit, it's time to go. It's ten thirty.” Mimi grabbed her jacket and they headed for the club. She wanted to show Honey around Flint, and if she was anything like her cousin, the first place she would want to go to is the club.
They got out of the car and stood in line so they could enter the club.
Honey looked up toward the front of the line. “Damn, girl! This mu'fucka is packed. This line is way too long.”
Just as Honey finished her sentence, a bouncer screamed, “Mimi!”
Mimi looked at the front of the line and yelled back, “Jay!” She pulled Honey by the hand and headed toward the front of the line. When they approached the bouncer, Mimi gave him a big hug. “She's with me.” Mimi pointed at Honey.
The bouncer opened the doors for them, and they went into the club. Honey was impressed and gave Mimi a high five as they entered the building. The club was packed, and everyone was dancing, drinking, and having a good time. As soon as they walked in, people started yelling, “Mimi!” Mimi started nodding at people. “What up, Mimi, baby?” It seemed like everybody had a different nickname for her.
The girls went toward a table near the back of the club, sat down, and ordered two drinks.
Honey looked over at Mimi. “It's jumping in here.”
Mimi was bouncing to the music. “Yeah, it's always hype in here. This is my spot. Let's go and dance.”
They both got up and walked to the dance floor and began to dance with each other. Before long, a dude cut in and began to dance with Mimi, and another guy got on Honey.
After three songs Honey stopped dancing and went toward the table where they had been sitting. Mimi noticed Honey leave the dance floor and followed her back to the table. Both girls were lightly sweating.
Honey said, “I'm about to go to the bathroom to freshen up. Where is it?”
Mimi stood up. “Over here. I'll go with you.”
They entered the bathroom, and both of them went straight to the sink.
Honey brushed her hair while looking in the mirror. She laughed. “That nigga I was dancing with was starting to get musty. I was like, hell nah! I hurried up and left his ass on the dance floor.”
Mimi leaned toward Honey and sniffed her.
Honey leaned back. “Bitch, what you doing?”
“I was just checking to see if that nigga stench got on you.” Mimi laughed loudly.
Honey started to laugh. “Girl, please. Don't nothing on my body stink.”
Mimi told Honey she had to pee and entered the stall. Then two girls came in the bathroom talking loudly.
Honey looked at them through the mirror and noticed that they were wearing braids and big hoop earrings. They both were ‘hood rat-looking girls. They stood at the sink next to the mirror Honey was standing in front of and began to talk. One of them said, “Girl, you see all these niggas in here? I'm getting me a baller tonight. Watch me.”
The other girl was in the mirror putting on lip liner. She pursed her lips together. “Fuck the niggas! Did you see that bitch, Mimi in here? I should beat that bitch ass! She think she's the shit. Her stank ass ain't nothing but a ho. I know if that bitch calls my nigga one more time, we gon' go at it.”
Honey stopped putting on her eyeliner and looked over at the girls, but they were so busy talking, they didn't notice her. The two girls exited the bathroom, and Mimi came out of the stall. “Did you hear those bitches?” Honey asked.
Mimi took off her earrings. “Yeah, I heard them hoes.”
Mimi wasn't the one to be played with. She never had beef with anyone for too long before acting on it. She walked around the club looking for the girls who were talking shit about her in the bathroom. Though she hadn't seen them, she already knew who they were. Honey followed her, knowing they were about to get down.
They spotted the girls sitting at the bar, and Mimi immediately made her way over to them. She walked past them with an attitude and sat right next to them. Honey didn't go near them. She just sat back and watched to see what Mimi was going to do. Next thing you know, Mimi was fighting both of the chicks. One of the girls was on the floor wrestling with Mimi, and the other one was kicking her in the side. Honey rushed over to the bar and hit the girl standing up with full force, her rings digging deep into her knuckles as her fist collided with the girl's mouth. The girl fell to the floor, and out of instinct, Honey knelt down next to her, grabbed her hair, and dragged her around the club, hitting her hard in the face as she went. “Bitch!” She gave the girl an ass-whupping she wouldn't forget.
The people in the club gathered around to watch the fight. Someone yelled, “Damn! She is beating her ass!”
Honey stomped the girl hard, and then felt strong arms grab her and pull her off the girl sprawled out on the floor. The girl got up off the floor and lunged at Honey, but someone grabbed her and held her back. Honey managed to wiggle away from the bouncer that was holding her and ran up on the girl and bust her hard in face. The girl fell to the floor, and the bouncers rushed to her aid to see if she was okay. Honey looked over at Mimi and saw that she was on top of the other girl, beating the shit out of her. She ran over to the bar, grabbed a beer bottle off of the counter and smashed it in the girl's face. The girl grabbed her face as the blood dripped from her forehead, and Honey and Mimi both kicked the girl in the face repeatedly.
Mimi got up first and noticed that the other girl was knocked out. She grabbed Honey and said, “Let's get the fuck out of here.” They had beat the girls down so badly, Mimi knew if they stuck around, they would be spending the night downtown.

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