Trap Queen.

23♛

                                              C H A P T E R - 2 3

      “I don’t know what’s going on with today’s Los Angeles. Killings back to back and I hate that for the black community. It seems that the media and the killings depict us blacks as ruthless killing machines. I just want every black person to know that we don’t have to do this. Put the guns up. Spread the peace.” Today there was a special report on CNN talking about the gun violence in Compton. All I could do was stare at the T.V. blankly, because I knew I had contributed. I hate it, but it’s the way we gotta live.

      “Reggie, do you ever regret killing people?” I ask him. I think I already know the answer. He was born a raised here, unlike me. Anybody would agree that Reggie a lot harder than me. He has been through a lot of bullshit that makes him the person he is today. Every time I kill somebody my conscience is heavy—and I’m trying to change that. I won’t ever let myself live down the fact that I killed a little girl and few other people that I didn’t even know by name.

      Reggie looks at me crazy, and stops eating his cereal. “Hell naw, Egypt. You musta forgot who you was talking to,” Reggie shakes his head as he continues to eat his Fruit Loops. “Killing people don’t bother me. ‘Speically if they don’ did me or my kin wrong. It’s easy as hell. But you a female, so I know it’s much harder for you to get over shit like that.” I roll my eyes.

      “That don’t mean shit, nigga. I can still be as hard as any of y’all niggas,” I argue.

      Reggie kissed his teeth. “Name one female that’s hard as nigga. You got thirty seconds — go.”

       “Estrella Hermila Ramos,” I reply quickly. 

      “I can tell she ain’t even black, nigga. Name a black bitch and we’ll talk. ‘Till then, I’mma keep saying that niggas are the hardest in a game,” Reggie says. I roll my eyes at him. 

      “Talking like that, I’m seriously questionin’ how in the hell did Serena let you get her pregnant?” I widen my eyes. I know I’m pissing Reggie off when I say stuff like that, but it entertains me. Getting pregnant was the last thing Serena needed in her life. She need to focus on getting her shit straight before kids. All I could do is pray for her now, I guess.

      “Aight, Egypt. Keep fuckin’ ‘round and I’ll hook you up with A.J.” When Reggie said that, for some reason I couldn’t stop smiling. I ain’t the type of girl that go around trying to get with guys or nothing, but I was kind of feeling A.J., I had to admit. There was something about him that I really liked.

      “Egypt, get the phone for me,” Reggie asks me. I just now heard the phone ringing, so I go get it for him. I pick the phone up and hand it to Reggie. He answers it and I listen to the conversation. Just by the look on his face I could tell it was something important.    

 “She did what? She snitched?” I heard. I looked at Reggie with a crazy look because I wanted to know what he was talking about. What was he talking about? I promised on God that if I ever found who snitched on us, I would beat their ass — if I hadn’t killed them.

      “Oh hell naw. . . let me tell Egypt and Rah about this bullshit,” Reggie hung up the phone and threw the phone on the ground. “Serena’s bitch ass don’ snitched on us!” Reggie yelled. My mouth dropped because I couldn’t believe this bullshit.

      “She snitched?! For what?” I exclaimed. I stood up because I was so damn angry. After all I’ve done for Serena, she snitched on me. I gave that girl a roof over her head and all she did was stab me in the back. I tried to give her a better life than she was living, and she wasn’t loyal to me. I feel like a damn fool right about now.