Tamir~
"We'll be pullin up in thirty," I told Kaila. "Pack some drawers, some deodorant, some-
"Some brass knuckles, some Vaseline," Nalila cut in, taking her eyes off the road to lean over towards my phone.
Kaila laughed into the phone, the choppiness of the signal out here making it sound like a broken garbage disposal. "I'll make sure to bring everything we need."
"Oh, and bring me some pads cause I didn't bring enough," I told her.
"Gotchu."
"So what's the game plan when we get there. What if Ny and Reba all cozied up? Or what if Reba sleep or comfortable and we make her shit herself when we bust in?"
Ny sent Nalila a text and she frowned down at her screen. She read the words, not even bothering to look up at the road although she stayed in the lane.
"Nalila!" I screamed, "Eyes on da damn roaaddd!"
Nalila looked up boredly and slowed to a stop as we reached a red light. "Soo, Ny is saying that somehow Reba talked her into inviting Kaila, Easter, and...you."
"Me?" I frowned.
Is that why I saw a missed call from Nyahmi. "Soo, do you want me to go in there and just beat ass?" I asked slowly. "Tamir, Reba is a giant and she's also prolly strong. We don't have time for I-guess's. Althoughhh....since Kaila will be there maybe you and her will have a fair chance."
"Easter could be on Ny and Reba's side though. That's three against two," I told her.
Nalila furiously looked over at me, "There is no Ny and Reba. We are against Reba not Nyahmi."
"Whatever you say," I mumbled, tapping my hands on the door handle.
"Easter didn't like Reba either. Well, her tone."
"Isn't Easter one of Reba and Ny's friends though. You gotta remember, we're outsiders to this whole friend group. Even Kaila could be plotting against us."
"Kaila would never," Nalila rolled her eyes.
"I'm not getting my ass beat," I told her matter of factly. "Me neither," my friend agreed.
"You have arrived at Watery Falls Apartment Complex, 3-
I turned off the Maps for Nalila.
We pulled up at Kaila's for the same time Apple Maps told us. "Want me to ring da doorbell or call?" I asked, taking a look at the apartments in the complex. We didn't have to enter the code, Kaila was outside the gate waiting for us. She started approaching the car and I unlocked the doors from my seat.
"Hey shorty," I greeted Kaila.
"It's been a minute," she chuckled, dapping me up. I moved off of the arm I had been leaning on, trying to ignore the ache. Nalila and Kaila fist bumped. "You ready to get wild?" Kaila asked, still fitting all of her things into the backseat. The trunk was packed.
"You already know!" Nalila and I responded.
"I brought blunts." Kaila showed us an array of blunts from small to large. "I also brought some drinks in case you afraid sumbody poisoned dem."
"See, see. Ian een think about dat," Nalila admitted, taking a blunt from Kaila. "You know, ion usually take prerolled shit but-
A series of gunshots came from the apartments. "Girl, they still ghetto out here. Let's gon head and go befo you don't have a back window."
"GTA type of shit," I laughed while Nalila took a quick U-turn out of the complex.
We got to the lodge awhile after Nyahmi and Reba. "We should leave our shit in the car so they won't get ideas," I suggested. "They still could break in but yeah, you right," Nalila agreed. "Hey Tamir," Kaila said for the fifth time this trip. I blushed, "Hey Kaila," I repeated. Nalila bristled besides me but pulled up into the lodge.
"Shit, we shoulda used yo car Tamir. They gon know it's me right away." She started backing out. "Too late. Ima call Nyahmi- No, Kaila. You call Nyahmi and tell her we used Nalila's car to get here cause mine is in the shop. Then tell her to come help us unpack."
Kaila fumbled for her phone and dialed up Nyahmi. Nalila went to the backseat and I hoped into the passenger seat. As Nyahmi and Reba came out to help, Kaila found her way into the seat I was in.
"Warm," she commented.
"Shush," I rolled my eyes.
"She got dat WAP," Kaila commented den rolled down her window as Nyahmi and Reba approached like cops in the UK.
"Hey, I thought this was Nalila fo a minute," Nyahmi joked, her hands in the pockets of her jacket. Reba laughed along too, looking free out here in the forest with the wind through her pretty dreads. I looked away when she realized I had been staring.
"Hey guys," I meekly said.
Nyahmi shot me a look when Reba wasn't paying attention, as if to say "where is Nalila". I made sure Reba wasn't looking. "Backseat," I mouthed. "Oh shit," Nyahmi said to herself, then poked Reba playfully.
"Hey, they prolly tired from the drive and we finna turn up tomorrow. Let's help dem unpack."
"Actually we have a surprise for y'all. Some drinks, some blunts. Tamir and I planned to set it up for you Reba, since we know you kind of been down lately."
"Down?" Reba asked, confused.
"Ny said that's why you weren't around for a few days." Reba blushed, "Yeah," she weakly agreed. Reba headed back for the house and Ny shot us one last odd look. Once they were back inside, I looked over at Kaila.
"Why did you do that? Nalila was gonna jump on Reba once she opened the back door."
"I have a plan," Kaila said calmly, and when I looked back at Nalila for her verdict, she only shrugged. She hurried out to the side of the house as we pulled the car all the way up the driveway. We started getting the drinks and blunts out. Kaila said she was only giving two bottles for the main use of everyone, and only a few blunts. The rest was for us.
We weren't taking our clothes and things in. "We can lie and say 'if we take out all those clothes they might not go back in'. We can just come out to the car when we need to get our stuff," Kaila whispered. I kept trying not to smirk at Nalila making silly faces at us from the side of the house.
A few moments after we had taken all of the partying tools inside of the house, another car showed up. "Must be that Easter girl," Kaila commented, "ima go tell Nalila to hide."
I stood awkwardly by the car as Easter approached in her car up the driveway. She stopped behind Nalila's vehicle and rose her brows. Apparently she had remembered what it looked like too. That clues me in that she knows at least something about the beef between Reba, Nalila...and in my opinion, Nyahmi as well.
"Hey. I'm Tamir...from da kickback," I said, nodding to her. "Nice to see you," she smiled. "Need some help? I'm waiting for my friend to get back. She couldn't hold it and she went to pee in the woods," I stated, knowing that Easter probably had seen Kaila's slow ass drift off into the woods besides the house.
"Oh," she chuckled. "Well sure."
"You don't gotta bring everything inside. We not. Honestly, the trunk prolly won't close if we take anything out," I said smoothly. I followed her around to her trunk, feeling like a serial killer about to attack her.
Why did this feel so exhilarating?
"Same. I didn't know what we was finna do out here," she laughed. "You heard about the beef between Nalila and Reba?" I asked lowly, leaning against her car. She appeared surprised that I asked, but continued taking out a few small things. She closed the trunk and started bringing them towards the house. I guess she was going to ignore me.
"I heard some from Ny's side of things and Reba's," she finally said.
But what about Nalila's side?
"Have they always been like this?" I questioned.
"No. It seems like Nalila might be...causing the rift," Easter admitted. "I know she's your friend and all," she added, checking to see how I would react. "Hey a friend may be a friend, but if somebody not doing somebody else right, morals go above everything else," I told her. "I'm on the right side of things, I just want them to talk," I added in.
I really wanted them to fight because I hadn't seen violence in a long time up close, but the civil side of me truly wanted this beef over in a good way.
"I didn't really like the way Reba was acting that other day. She can have a mouth at times. I don't really spend time around her alone. I mainly talk to Ny privately. She's a close friend of mine." She held a smile that she couldn't seem to stop.
I was familiar with that kind of energy.
"Do you think Nalila and Nyahmi are right for each other?" I asked as we approached the front door. Easter kissed her teeth and I had my answer.
"Put your stuff inside the house and let's have a chat," I suggested.