[27 June]
"HOW WAS IT?"
"Not bad, actually."
"I thought teens were hard."
"They can be, when you haven't understood em yet. Um... were you not a teen once?"
I snickered, and I peered at Carlos and Hailey, who were sitting with me on an isolated bench on Hailey's side of the campus. "I was a good teen," I said.
My eyes drowned to my new high-heel boots. Mama had bought them for me. Shocking? – I know!
"Oh please. The ones who were the bad teens claim to have been the good teens."
"Monique!" I snickered once more, then slurped at the slushy I was holding. Before I was truly done, Carlos took it from me and sipped from it too, and passed it back. I sipped again. "Well," I muttered to Monique, looking at my man weirdly, "what time will you be back? For the date, I mean..."
"Four o'clock latest." Monique paused. There were birds that squawked through the phone on her side. I heard her talk to someone excitedly. After a moment, she spoke to me, "Jae and I will hit y'all up later, ight?"
"Okay," I murmured, sipping again, then having the slushy taken from me again and finished off by Carlos, "yeah, sure."
She hung up. Hailey lifted her eyed from her phone while Carlos was throwing the straw at me. "How is she?" Hailey inquired.
"Really fine," I said, getting up. I threw the straw back too, but then picked it up because I knew he would leave it lying there.
The two with me got up as well after a moment, and we pulled up our masks and started walking across the grass, where other students were hidden in masks and roughly walking or sitting in small groups too. I was in the middle, so Carlos took my hand at once and yanked me. As usual, I collided with him, even when I attempted resisting his pulls. I wouldn't stop trying just yet.
"Did you tell her about my issue?" Hailey asked me after a little striding in silence.
"Lol, which issue?" I teased, "Your daddy issue?"
"Gosh no," Hailey purred, then came in close so that only I could hear. "Those are like, really personal..." She straightened with a small, almost shy laugh. "I'm talking about the sugar daddy thing..."
"Oh!" I muttered, and I chuckled hard, shaking my head. My man, doing the usual thing of minding his business, simply enjoyed my hand, swinging it back and forth, forth and back. My big baby; the one who made my heart spring. I believed we were still to cross the honeymoon phase. "That one's on you, babe," I murmured when quiet. "Nique is not yet experienced in solving cases concerning sugar daddy's who don't tell you about their wife."
"Ben has a wife?" Carlos inquired, surprised. Yeah, I was surprised too when I found out the night before.
"Yup," I told my man. "He got kids too. Really big kids..."
"I still like him though," Hailey said, shrugging and somewhat slowing our pace.
"Hey," I countered, "that is not like..."
Carlos finished for me, "that is lust."
"Hustle, you mean," Hailey told us, grinning like a she-devil. "He's got good money... I just... love that about him."
I reeled my eyes. Murmuring, "why don't you think about his wife as a woman, Hailey?"
"He doesn't think about her," Hailey said casually, "so why should I?"
Rendered speechless by her statement, I gave a small shrug and focused on moving. And just then, the heel of my boot began sinking deep into the grass. Until I looked down and realised the heel had just broken off.
Perfect.
My company slowed down and joined me in looking at my problem. It was so quick, too quick, how Carlos came up with a solution; he stood in front of me, his back facing me, and crouched down, telling me to jump on. No, I wasn't compromising what I thought to be my dignity. I had come a long way in manufacturing it. "No," I muttered to the love of my life matter-of-factly, "that's crazy."
"Oh please, Niraaj," – Hailey just had to open her dirty mouth - "we both know his back isn't the craziest thing you'll be riding."
Carlos was still waiting on the ground patiently, but now laughing and nodding his head. Hmm, that fool. I think he just loved every shameless implication about us that was shoved his way. The nigga always bobbed his head at them. Sometimes, he'd even add on; he'd twist our morality so well with his words. He was wise not to add today; as a replacement for adding, he only got up and stopped laughing when he glimpsed me crossing my arms like the reserved girl I was, then he faced me head on and held out his hand. "Should I give you my shoes instead?" he murmured. "Then I ride on your back..."
Even more compromising!
I shook my head with my face scrunching up, and Carlos copied my expression, sardonically though, and took my hand. He tugged me into him, hard. Then towed me till I was in his arms like a bride. The nigga worked some real miracles; he juggled me in his arms, all until a point where I was on his back. Sitting on his damn back!
He started walking, as did Hailey. Both not listening to my demanding put me downs. Soon enough, I was quiet and hugging his neck calmly. I guess his back wasn't so bad. He was a pretty good ride.
So anyway, Hailey guided Carlos and me to the edge of this prodigious courtyard. She slowed down with us and faced us, still having a grin on her face, and she bowed theatrically. When she was up again, she gave a laugh and said, "See y'all tonight, ye?"
"What's happening tonight?" Carlos inquired.
I told him, "Campus party." Then I looked at Hailey and said, "No, you aren't seeing us tonight."
The suddenly chuckling Hailey swivelled and started away, and Carlos and I watched her walk down the lush grass we had just moseyed over while shaking our heads a bit. Through seeing a bunch of young men walk up to her with rolls of money inscribing their pockets, Carlos turned and told me to never ever think about being banged by a gang, and to always pray that I never found myself in that situation. I giggled, innocently. And he strolled into the car park, now chattering with me about where we were going. The bank.
The drive was not long, since the bank was in the vicinity of Hailey's campus. After telling her about our deposition, she had expressed of her undying love and undying respect for that establishment. So, we loved it even more.
Today, after having decided it being better to come in the flesh, we were coming to purchase some money for a date at a fancy restaurant. Good thing I had left a pair of my sneakers in his car a few days before. Across the green tiles we went, and to the pale lady we had gone to last time we went. She smiled at us genuinely behind her mask; I think she remembered our eyes.
"Afternoon," she said freely. "How may I help you?"
"We'd like to purchase some of our cash money," Carlos said.
The lady nodded then peered at her fancy computer. Carlos and I looked at each other and grinned. We may have been excited that time too. As the lady was going to the back after making us undergo a few procedures, we eyed each other again. There was a loud beep from my pocket. I wasn't familiar with this beep. I pulled out my two phones and checked the retro one, and there was a message. The phone beeped a few more times. Messages flocked in. I covered my mouth to not scream. Carlos asked me what. I told him nothing while opening the messages. They made me exhilarated, and relieved.
Hi
Yes, I'm safe
Are you safe?
I miss you
How is everyone?
How is your man
Tell everyone I say hi
I smiled and started typing. Carlos asked me what again. And I told him, "Miranda's alive."
"Really?"
I glanced at his face. He hadn't sounded as excited as I was feeling. "Yeah," I said. "I'm talking to her right now!"
Yes, I'm safe
Everyone's fine
My man is great lol
I miss you also
I will
How are you?
Responses came in instantly, second after second. I assumed it was the Wi-Fi in the bank that catered for this.
Good
I'm good, but I really miss you guys
Zac and Ruth say hi
Zac's alive?
Yes
He survived the shots
Are you actually safe?
Yes, I am safe
Why ask?
I'm concerned.
About what?
No response.
Miranda?
No response.
The replies stopped coming second after second. I stopped smiling because of it. Carlos asked me what, and he came and stood next to me but slightly behind me.
"She just stopped texting," I told him.
He made a nonchalant sound and told me it was probably the network. I let him convince me; I put the phone away and spun to face him. "So..." I started, grinning. "It's a double date, huh?"
I saw he was grinning as well behind his mask. "Yeah, babe," he said, taking my hands.
"You ever been on a double date?" I murmured, slanting into him.
He shook his head slowly with his eyes on mine. Telling me, "na... you?"
"Nope," I said with a subtle shake of my head. He leaned down to make our foreheads touch, to make his curls hang between us. "Do you think it's a good idea...?" I asked the question quietly.
"Nope." Carlos was blunt. It made me chuckle and look down. "But Chang and Nique both know this date shit more than we do... Maybe we could learn something..."
While shrugging half-heartedly, I moved away from the man. Moved away to prop up against the stall. He copied me the moment I began scanning the bank.
For a while, we just saw people coming and going, going and coming. How long did something so simple to do take? I needed to freshen up. I needed to change for the date, look good for my date. We hadn't gone out in a while. In fact, we hadn't ever gone out to a fancy restaurant.
The shadows in the bank had changed completely when the pale lady returned. She looked paler, and tired. We were tired too; we were irritated.
"Sorry for the delay," she said. "There seems to have been a problem with our banking systems."
"Is that so?" Carlos inquired, crossing his arms.
"Yes." The lady sighed. "We also just recently updated our cybernetic systems."
"How come it seems to only be us with the problem?" I quizzed dubiously.
"Sector five, which is where your deposits are, is the newest sector where we chose to upgrade first this season." She sighed again. "It has the fewest deposits. In a way, it's a very special sector--"
"Special sector?" Carlos scoffed. "You've made us wait here for a fucking good two hours. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this special sector fucks with people's money!"
The lady was patient. "Sir, you have to understand that this bank is one of the most trusted banks in the whole of Canada. There's no way that this bank could ever play with the clientele it has been gaining faithfully over the years."
"So where's our fucking money?!" Carlos asked the question quietly, but the spite in his tone was manifest, even from behind his mask.
"Sir, the purchase you have made from your deposits is being worked on as we speak. It will not take long."
I saw my man's rage, so I took his arm and rubbed it mildly, and I pulled him away from the bank lady. I made him stop ten metres from the stall, in the middle of nowhere. His expression was fuming. Yet it never made him red. I hid a naughty smile and said, "relax, babe. We made reservations for 5pm."
Carlos heaved a breath. "That gives us an hour to get ready," he hissed. "And I know that as a young woman, you might want more."
"It's fine." I stroked my way down his arms and clasped his hands. "One will have to do."
He squeezed my hands while looking down at me. For a moment, I saw him calming down. And eventually, he allowed himself to let it go. As we were making our way back to the stall, there was a loud bustle that suddenly happened at the doors. Immediately, Carlos and I inspected it with everybody else.
It happened in slow motion: Magenta swarming in from the doors. Magenta shouting 'everybody get down!' Security, which didn't get down, shot before my eyes, and green dropping to the ground with fresh scarlet like flies.
I expected an alarm to go off, but that didn't happen. Instead, there was screaming, and fear.
I didn't scream, but I already had panic surging in my blood at the sight of dead guards. Carlos shoved me backwards and made us jump over the stall. And the bank fell silent subsequently.
One valiant voice spoke in that silence after a moment, and there was a quiet pitter-patter of footsteps that diffused across the place. The bank lady from our stall had disappeared. Other bankers had not thought to duck down or back away into their grey doors, so they were upright, hands raised into the air.
I looked at Carlos, and he was listening to the valiant voice. I couldn't listen. I could only panic, until he clenched my hand and covered my mouth with an index finger.
There was a sudden outburst of gunshots minutes later. I could feel them. I could feel them clinking onto the floor, shattering glass, splitting through the ceiling board. Under the chaos came shrieking and the pitter-patter of footsteps once more. Then the footsteps died down, and commotion happened, then died down under the firing.
The last shots were painful. I thought I felt them. I thought I experienced their bullet penetrating my back. I looked down after a moment to see if I wasn't just imagining. I saw blood. My blood. My blood oozing out my lower torso.
Dazed, maybe suddenly traumatized, I covered it with my hand. And the unforgiving pain came like a blade. The pain brought tears to my eyes, so I closed them and propped my head on the board of the stall construction.
I heard Carlos whisper something seconds later, then I felt his hand on top of mine, on top of my blood. On top of my pain.
He called my name. I was prepared to answer, but I couldn't. I couldn't form words with my mouth. Couldn't open my eyes. Couldn't see the light any more.
06/02/2022