PRETTY BRIGHT (6 page)

“Deja, go inside the house with that knife now!” Treasure yelled, trying to contain the situation that had arisen between Deja, Ryonna, and a group of girls that were trying to jump on Ryonna.

“Those bitches gotta a problem with my sister, then they got a problem with me!” Deja yelled, holding her knife in stabbing position. She wasn't gonna stand for anybody thinking they were going to punk or jump on her little sister. And just like she told the group of rowdy fifth graders before one of the other neighborhood kids ran over to get Treasure for help, if they touched her sister, she was gonna get to slicing and dicing, and she meant it.

By the time Treasure and Suge made it around the corner, the little girls’ parents and older family members had already made their way over to the scene. Seeing Deja with a knife in her hand caused an eruption from the parents who felt their children's lives were being threatened. The chaos and loud noise that were taking place was loud enough to wake up the dead, and even with Treasure and Suge on the scene, the problem still seemed to grow bigger and bigger.

“That little bitch better be lucky that she didn't use that knife on my baby!” An angry parent yelled, pointing and yelling at Deja, causing an uproar from the other parents.

“I wish she would have used that muthafucking knife!”
Another chimed in.

Deja had tears in her eyes. She was so mad that she wanted to fight, stab, and swing at the next person that yelled at her. “If that little bitch would have touched my sister, I would have sliced her ass up, so she better be lucky!” Deja yelled back to the lady that called her out of her name.
How dare that grown lady call me, another woman's child and a little girl, a bitch?
She thought, growing angrier and angrier.

“Take Deja in the house, Suge!” Treasure yelled, trying to calm the situation down. Once she had seen Suge take the knife and grab Deja up, she directed her attention to the angry mob of people in front of her. “Why would you call a kid out of her name? That was so fucking immature!” Treasure began to yell in the direction of the woman that called Deja a bitch. “Yo grown ass out here going hard on a little kid like y'all wouldn't have done the same if y'all were in the same position. All five of these little girls were trying to jump on one little girl and her big sister came out trying to defend her. She wasn't gonna stab anybody, she was just tryna scare them off of her sister!”

“These kids’ mama ain't never here, and they little bad asses always out here getting into shit, cussing and disrespecting adults, especially them damn boys. So I'll call the little bitch what I want, especially if she even thought she was gone stab my child!” The woman yelled with an attitude, popping her neck and stepping into Treasure's direction.

“Lady, don't come get up in my face, cause I don't mind fighting adults, and sending they asses to jail either. So to avoid all this extra shit, get y'all kids, and I'ma get mines. And if y'all have a problem, come holler at they mama and my auntie Rose in the morning!” Treasure snapped back with attitude. Before long, Treasure and the lady were face to face yelling and arguing when Bright and Larry pulled up.

“What the fuck is going on?” Bright yelled, breaking through the crowd with Larry on her heels. She had received a call at Larry’s house from her mother, yelling and screaming at her for leaving her sisters and brothers unattended.

The lady yelled, then pushed Bright out of her face and onto the ground. Bright falling on the ground sparked off the forceful blow that Treasure took to the lady’s face.

“Bitch, no you didn't!” She yelled, igniting a block fight. Larry helped Bright off the ground and without saying another word, she begin to swing in the direction of the angry crowd that was attacking and trying to take Treasure down. Seeing this, Suge, Deja, and Ryonna ran down the stairs to aid them. Suge fought her way through the crowd to help her friends while Larry tried to break the fight up and pull Bright off of another girl. Deja grabbed the water hose and begin whipping it at the crowd to get them off of her sister and friends. When Cordell and Ramon ran up and saw Deja whipping the crowd with the water hose and Ryonna fighting two girls, they instantly jumped into the fight to help.

“What the hell is going on?” Rosette said, climbing quickly out of her beat up 1995 Honda Accord. The sound of the police sirens began to break up the fight and made the adults who had children snap back into reality and grab their kids.

Rosette grabbed hold of Deja, who was now swinging the water hose on a group of little girls who were jumping on Ryonna. One of the little girls was beaten pretty badly and had blood all over her face from the lashings that Deja had given her.

“Oh Lord, what have you done, Deja!” Rosette said, going to the aid of the wounded little girl on the ground.
“They was tryna jump on Ryonna, Mama, and like you told us, if one fight, we all fight!” Deja said, not feeling any remorse for the little girl.
The girl’s cousin, catching a glimpse of her little battered cousin, ran over to check up on her. “Is my cousin okay?” she asked, falling to her knees with Rosette.
“Call the paramedics, somebody, this little girl is hurt!” Rosette yelled, holding the little girl in her arms. “Cordell, Ramon, Deja, and Ryonna get yawls tails in the house right now!!!” Rosette ordered with so much authority that the whole scene had quieted down. Once the police got there, they begin arresting everyone on the scene that was involved in the fight. Children and adults were thrown into the back of squad cars and taken to jail, all beside Rosette and Larry, who had both been trying to break the fight up.
Inside the house, Rosette called her job to explain the urgency of her leaving, and was fired for insubordination. She had left one of the elder residents in bed at the convalescent home that she worked at without the railing pulled up, resulting in him falling out of bed and later being sent to the emergency room for treatment. Disappointed, Rosette hung up the phone, held her tears back, then left her apartment to check on her children.
Later that night, all of the juveniles were released from juvenile detention except for Deja. The adults that were involved in the fight were all awaiting their court dates. Deja had beaten the little girl so badly that assault and battery charges were pressed against her. Deja had broken the little girl’s nose, cracked three teeth, and had opened flesh wounds all over her head that had to be stitched up. The girl was in poor shape.
Bright, Treasure, and Suge were released the same night, and sadly, the minute Suge made it home, her mom beat her so badly that she would need weeks to heal. Treasure's mother Jackie was very upset at first, but she felt it was necessary for her daughter to help her friend and family in such a situation. She warned them both to turn the other cheek in the future. Rosette, on the other hand, was very upset with Bright for leaving her children unattended, causing her to lose her job, and more so because Deja was still in juvenile detention. She restricted Bright's phone usage and limited the time she spent with Larry. But Rosette knew once she found herself another job that Bright's punishment would go right down the drain.

osette had been off from work for over two weeks and because of it, both the landline and cable had been turned off. Not able to tolerate it any longer,

Bright called Terrence to break her off. “Hey boo, come through and drop me off some money, my cable and home phone is off, that’s why I haven't been able to call you,” she said, standing on the corner of Long Beach Blvd. and Artesia, using the pay phone.

“No ‘hi, hello, how you doing’ or nothing, just give you some money, huh?” Terrence said back into the phone.

“I'm sorry baby, I just been stressed out,” Bright sighed. “My little sister is still in juvenile, my mom lost her job behind it, and I don't have a phone to call you or any cable to watch.”

“Yeah I see you been goin’ through it, baby,” Terrence said, happy to hear her voice. It had been almost a week since they last spoke, and over three weeks since he last hit it. But since she had a good reason for not calling him, he decided to go easy on her and not curse her out like he had planned on doing. “Give me about twenty minutes, and meet me by the elementary school, I'm leaving the eastside of Long Beach right now.”

After grabbing sodas from the donut shop, Bright walked across the street with Treasure to Starr King Elementary School to wait on Terrence.

“I can remember my elementary school days at Starr King like it was just yesterday,” Treasure said, reminiscing.

“Fuck Starr King, it was all about Clara Barton Elementary!” Bright said, laughing. “Now them use to be the days when we lived in the Carmelitos!” Bright said, “I remember it used to be a gang of fine ass little boys up in there back in the day.” The Carmelitos was a known housing project in North Long Beach that Bright and her family used to live in during her elementary school years.

“Whatever , but it was my Starr King ass that saved yours when ya yellow ass got transferred to Hamilton Junior High School!” Treasure hissed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Bright teased. “That’s crazy how you came to my rescue that day in the locker room. Maria and them were gonna jump me. You was like ‘ain't none of y'all gone jump her, let the new girl catch a fair one,” Bright remembered.

“Yelp, cause they only wanted to jump you 'cause you were new, pretty, and the talk of the school - straight hating!” Treasure said.

“Man, I was so happy to see you step up for me too,” Bright said, remembering the day clearly. “But you see it wasn't no punk in me either, cause I was about to fight every last one of them females by myself. Even though they were gone probably beat my ass!” Bright laughed.

“I wasn't gone let 'em though,” Treasure said, “cause they tried to pull that same bullshit on me in sixth grade. And trust when my mother called my auntie from Compton, her and all her bad ass kids came and turned that school upside down! And I ain't never had no more problems out of them haters since,” Treasure laughed.

“Ain't no cute scary females over here!” Bright said. “Real talk!” Treasure added.
“Heyyyy Sexy Bright and company!” Terrence

yelled out of the window of his Escalade as he hit the corner.
Bright smiled and begin posing like a supermodel.
Treasure laughed. “Will y'all knock that shit off,” she said, shaking her head at Bright as she proceeded to act like America's Next Top Model.
“That’s my baby right there,” Terrence said as he sat back in his truck, smiling, watching Bright work her fancy.
“Hey, daddy,” Bright said upon climbing in the passenger seat to kiss Terrence's lips. “You gone take me to get a phone today, Ice?” Bright said, holding up to her end of the bargain by calling him by his street name in the presence of others.
“You know I'll do anything for my baby-boo,” Terrence said as he started his truck back up. After Bright told Treasure to get inside, they made their way to a local Cingular wireless store to get Bright a phone. Grabbing one of the hottest phones on the market, Bright walked out of the store with a brand new Razor cell phone. Once they got to Treasure's house, Treasure climbed out and Bright headed to the motel with Terrence to break him off before he dropped her back off.
“Why don't we ever go to your house, Terrence?” Bright asked, wondering why they always ended up at sleazy motels to fuck. She had never stepped foot in his house.
“Cause I'm always out in the city grinding, and ain't no use in taking you to my house way in the valley just to turn back around to take you home.”
“I guess,” Bright replied, then Terrence climbed out of his truck to go pay for a room.
Inside the room, Bright worked Terrence a few times before she hopped in the shower. When she got out of the shower, she heard a loud commotion going on outside. “Terrence, what’s goin’ on out there, daddy?” she asked as she threw her clothes back on. When she didn't get a reply, she stepped out the bathroom and called Terrence’s name again. He was good for falling asleep after some good sex.
“What the fuck,” Bright said out loud to herself. “Where the hell is Terrence at?” Once Bright was fully dressed, she grabbed her cell phone and called Terrence, then she looked out the motel window to see what was going on. Catching a part of the action, Bright’s mouth flew wide open as she watched a madwoman swing a bat repeatedly at Terrence truck, while she yelled and screamed at the top of her lungs at him. She was a sickly looking woman that stood about five feet seven inches tall; she was dark-complexioned, with what appeared to be a long, jet black wig, and had a skinny frame. Bright thought,
Damn, is Terrence out here turning bitches out on dope or something? First Netta, now this bitch outside...what the fuck? I popped an E pill with him a few times, but I'ma need to start watching what this nigga be putting in the weed before I be next.
“Tell me what room you got this little bitch hiding in right now, Terrence, or I'm taking all these windows out!” She demanded in a loud squeaky voice. “Does the bitch know you’re a fucking married man!” she yelled in his face.
“Tameka, put the fucking bat down, baby, I ain't here with no fucking female! I keep tryna tell yo ass that... I'm here on business, and you making me look bad out here,” he said trying to calm his wife of eight years down.
“Business, my ass!” she yelled, hitting the hood of his truck, leaving dents with each blow. “I told you if you cheated on me ever again I was divorcing yo sorry ass, I'm fucking tired of this shit and I can't believe you'd do this to me after everything I've been going through!” she yelled, punching him with her free hand.
“Hit my muthafucking car one more damn time, Tameka, and you gone make me hurt you out here!” Terrence said heatedly as he grabbed his cell phone from his pants pocket. It was a good thing he ran an operation out of this particular Motel 6, otherwise he would have been stone cold busted. Terrence called his homeboy and asked him to come outside to holler at his wife, because she thought he was at the motel cheating instead of handling his business. After his homeboy came outside of the stash room and met them in the parking lot, Tameka cooled off and apologized to Terrence for her behavior. Then she hopped in her Beamer, and left the parking lot.
“Damn, all this for a fucking piece of pussy,” Terrence said, looking his truck over with his homeboy.
His boy nodded his head in agreement. “You should have
taken that shit from her my nigga, 'cause on the real, babygirl fucked yo shit up. You gone end up having to buy another one,” he said.
“On everything!” Terrence said, boiling on the inside.
Bright had had enough. She knew she had a man and was playing Terrence, but how could he go on seeing her without letting her know that he had a wife? Feeling betrayed, Bright sucked up her anger, grabbed her things, and then made her way out of the room. She had already called a cab to take her home, but she needed to grab some money from Terrence before she cussed his ass out and left.
“Ice baby, come here!” Bright yelled out to him from their motel room.
“Fuck! I hope she didn't see or hear that shit Tameka came over here with,” he sighed, backing away from his partner, before walking back into the room.
His homeboy just nodded his head.
Terrence walked in the room observing Bright closely. “What’s up Beautiful? What you doing?” he asked, not sensing any animosity from her.
“Nothing,” Bright smiled. “Just got out the shower. “You ready to take me home? It's almost time for my mama to go to work.” she said as a devilish grin appeared across her face.
Terrence looked at the time on his cell phone. “Yeah it is about that time, huh?” He was familiar with her mother's work schedule.
“Yelp, you still gone give me that money before we leave?” she asked with her hand out.
“You already know I got you, baby, but you gone have to take a cab home,” he said, shaking his head in disappointment. “One of my homies’ girls came up here tripping, thinking that my truck was his truck, and she fucked my shit up, thinking this nigga was cheating on her...and I'm heated too!” He said.
“Really? When did all this happen?” Bright asked, playing it off as she looked out the window to observe his truck.
Terrence passed her four one hundred dollar bills. “Is that cool right there, baby?” he asked Bright. He was obviously still very disappointed.
“The phone bill is three hundred alone, the cable is oneeighty, and I need some money for me,” she said, rubbing his back. He gave her an additional five hundred dollars and then told her to keep the rest for herself.
Bright put the money in the pocket of her jeans. “You have a twenty so I can pay the cab? They may not have any change for these big bills,” she said with her hand out. Terrence peeled off a couple of twenty dollar bills and then passed them to her. Bright tucked it in her bra. Then, without further words, she hauled off and slapped Terrence into the next week and headed to the door.
Stopping himself from slapping her back, he yelled, “What the fuck was all that for?” He grabbed her by the arm to stop her from leaving the room.
Bright yanked her arm from him. “Get ya fucking hands off of me and go home to yo wife, you fucking liar!” Then, once she heard the cab driver honk his horn, she slapped him again then made her way out the room and to the cab.
“Come here, let me holler at you, baby!” Terrence yelled out to Bright. “I love you, baby, let me explain!” he said, hoping that she would stay and give him a chance to come up with a good excuse and clear everything up. Bright didn't look back; she just climbed in the cab and told the driver where to take her. She knew that playing the hurt role would benefit her in the long run, and that Terrence would be throwing money her way- money that she wouldn't even have to fuck for or ask to get.