Kennedy Onika "Nicki" Maraj
I walked into my office, feeling everything I'd eaten for breakfast getting ready to come up. Before I could even make it to the toilet, I let it all out on the tiles of my office bathroom. I held my stomach, trying my hardest to breathe but felt near death while choking on my own vomit.
After a few seconds, I'd finally caught my breath but was quickly taken over by a nauseous feeling. My stomach was doing back flips and my heading was pounding, I knew I'd have a hell of a ride throughout this pregnancy. I sighed, realizing the mess I'd made on the bathroom floor.
Walking back into my office, I replaced my Jimmy Choo pumps with Nike Slides, allowing my feet to get some rest from the heels.
Just as I was getting ready to get cleaning supplies, there was a knock on the door. "Who is it"? I asked curiously, watching the door crack open. "Jelani, your brother". I motioned for him to come in as I stuck a piece of gum into my mouth.
"You okay Nic"? He asked with a worried look, finally entering the room. I nodded my head, "Yeah, I'm okay". He held up a bottle of water, "Is there something you need to tell me"? My left eyebrow rose, figuring that he knew something. "What do you think that I need to tell you"?
"You're pregnant, aren't you". I nodded my head, fidgeting with the huge heart-shaped diamond ring that sat on my ring finger. "How'd you figure"?
He shrugged, "You're my sister, I've been seeing your habits change. Throughout the day, you'll take about two naps and everybody knows you hate naps. You've also started to request the weirdest things from the store, and the throwing up... I can hear it". I sighed, "Well damn Mr.Know-It-All".
He laughed, "Ma know yet"? I shook my head, "No, I haven't gotten the chance to head over there. I was just going to wait until Thanksgiving, but I don't really want everyone to know yet. I'm just getting adjusted to the news, so I want everyone to know when I'm ready".
He nodded his head, "Does your man know"? I shook my head, "Not yet, only you and Kylie". He scoffed, probably thinking about something negative.
"I haven't even met him yet and he's gotten you pregnant". I rolled my eyes, "You could've met him on numerous occasions, you just never asked. You're still buddy-buddy with Safaree, so I figured you wouldn't want to meet him. It's been months since we've been seeing each other, and you've been in the same room with him more than once... So let's not go there".
He shrugged his shoulders, "You're my little sister, so whatever makes you happy is way bigger than Safaree. He seems like he's content with his new relationship, so why shouldn't you be".
"Who said I wasn't"? He chuckled, "I wasn't saying it like that, you know what I meant. I just want you to be careful this time around, you know"?
I nodded my head, taking a sip of the water he'd brought me. "I will, I'm a big girl now". He smiled, "You'll be twenty eight in a little over two weeks and you're going to be a mother, I feel old as hell".
I shook my head, "You are, to be honest. On a serious note though, I need to clean up this mess". He waved me off, "I'll get, you can go home if you need to". I sighed, "No, absolutely not. I feel like you've been picking up so much of my slack lately, and it isn't fair".
•
After cleaning up my mess, I decided to go and chill with Kylie and Jason as they bickered at their stations. "See, this is why I say don't touch anything that belongs to me. I'm missing a brush from my OPV set and you're going to pay for it bitch". I laughed as I sat down in Jason's chair, watching him search through drawers and curse Kylie out at the same time.
"For the one hundredth time, I did not touch your shit. Every time you lose something, you blame me and I never have it". He flicked her off as he finally found the brush hiding behind a few of his make-up pallets. "Now apologize". He scoffed, "Hell to the nah nah to nah nah". I burst out in laughter, slightly feeling better from the incident earlier.
"You two really kill me, I swear y'all do". Kylie shook her head, filing off one of her nails. "So what are you doing for you birthday"? Jason asked, sitting in Kylie's client-chair".
"Probably just do a dinner, nothing too big". Jason shook his head, "I was thinking Jamaica or Bora Bora, somewhere tropical".
"My birthday is in two weeks, not two months and where the hell did you get money for Bora Bora"? He shrugged, "I thought maybe our man would pay for us".
I rolled my eyes, while he burst out into laughter. "MY man won't be paying for anything because we're not going". He playfully pouted, "What if we plan a vacation for the summer or maybe early spring". I shrugged, "Eh".
"What's wrong with you"? I shook my head, "Nothing". He looked me up and down, "Mhm".
He walked over to the sink to clean his brushes, but quickly came back like he'd forgotten something.
"Fishes". I looked at him, not understanding his comment. "What"? He pointed at me, "I've been having dreams about fishes and it's you".
Kylie scrunched her face, "What the hell"? He sighed in a 'duh-manner' "When you have a dream about fishes, someone's pregnant. It's Ken, you're pregnant aren't you"?
I nodded, "Well damn, you're the second person to figure it out today". He smiled and began to speak in a hushed tone, "I hope I'm having a little girl, so I can spoil her". I glared at him, "Please stop".
"This is my child as well as it's Aubrey's, she'll just have two daddies". I shook my head, shooing him off to finish washing his brushes.
Kylie smiled, placing a few of her nail polishes into their rightful places. "You want a boy or girl"? I shrugged, "I don't know, it doesn't really matter to me".
Kylie nodded, "Marcus came over last night". I instantly rolled my eyes, "For what"?
"He wanted to apologize about the way things went down. He told me how I deserved much more than him, but he doesn't want to see me with anyone other than him".
I sighed, "Isn't that what they all say. They don't miss what they have until it's gone, and that's the sad part about it".
She nodded her head, "Samething I was thinking, you weren't thinking about me when you was with those women. Now I've finally had time to think about how much better I am without you, you show up".
I glared at her, "Just be careful boo, you know he had a spell on you". She shook her head, "I will not look like boo-boo the fool this time around. Plus, my old neighbor from LA reached out to me yesterday. His glo up is something serious, and he'll be in New York next week too".
I smiled, "That's the boy who moved next door when you were thirteen and you two had that fight". She nodded, while laughing.
"Yeah, he turned out to be a Brand Ambassador for some major companies and a photographer on the side 'for fun'. I guess he gave up on joining the NBA, and used his degree instead.
I nodded, "Well that sounds like a huge come up from Marcus". She shrugged, "Anything is a come up, I guess".
Jason finally returned, running his fingers through my hair. "Did you two miss me"? I shook my head, "Boy you were literally 30 feet away, what was there to miss"? He gently mushed my head, "Just say you missed me and stop running away from the question".
"No Jason, you were not missed". He scoffed, "You bitches are so fake, faker than Terry's drawn on hairline". Kylie and I both looked across the shop at one of the barbers, and instantly began to laugh.
"Y'all know his shit was on Lebron last week, HOW SWAY"? Jason said as we continued to laugh.
I waved my finger, "That's why no one in the shop loves you, except me". He shrugged, "And Kylie".
"A little, just a little", she butted in.
"They're just mad because I speak my mind and tell the truth, whenever and wherever. You can't be mad because fifty percent of your clients are on the DL and use my business card to contact me after hours. That's just too much tea not to be revealed".
I shook my head once again as the front door receptionist walked over to me. "Ms Maraj"? I spinned around in the chair, facing the young intern. "Yes"?
"You have someone hear for an appointment, which was originally scheduled at 3:00pm but it's 4:30pm".
I sighed, "Who's the client"? She looked down at the schedule, "Bernice Burgos, if I'm not mistaken".
The name sounded so fucking familiar. "I'll take her, but make it clear that it'll be twenty-dollar late fee".
After about two minutes, I saw a woman walking to the back, wearing an oversized-hoodie, jeans, and a dark pair of shades.
I dismissed my self from Kylie and Jason's station, walking over to my own. "I'm Berince", she reached out her hand for me to shake. I quickly shook it, "It's fine, just make sure you call next time. This is a very inconvenient situation, but I'm an understandable person".
I pulled my client-cape from drawer, shaking it out. "You can have a seat". She quickly sat down, placing her purse in her lap. I placed the cape around her body, tightening it to the second button
"How much for a wash, jet-black rinse, and a curl"? I loosened the scrunchy, letting her hair loose from the ponytail. "It looks like you need a deep condition, so $60. Plus the $20 for being late, so $80 all together".
"I heard you were really good, so I'll pay for it this time". I nodded my head, "Yeah, I'm pretty good at what I do. Hardwork will take you really far in this business".
She nodded her head, taking her phone out of her purse. "I sometimes travel and need an on-the-go hairstylist, do you travel"? I shook my head, "Under certain circumstances, what do you do"?
She pulled her shades away from her purse, "I host parties and other events. I also star in videos, I've worked with some of the top rappers in the game"?
I nodded my head, listening to her go on about her 'career'.
•
I pulled the cape from around her, watching her shoulder-length curls bounce as she stood. "Will you be paying Cash, Debit, or Credit"? She reached into her bag, "I have cash", she pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. "Keep the change". I quickly reached into my change drawer and handed her $20 back, "Nah, I don't need any tips".
She smiled while nodding, "You look really familiar by the way". I smirked, rolling my eyes as I put some products away. "You do too, just can't put my finger on it". Without another word, she walked out of the shop.
Jason walked over to me, "You know who that was right"? I shook my head, "I can't put my finger on it, but I've seen her face".
He sighed, "Bitch isn't she the one Aubrey went on the trip with"? I sighed, thinking about the girl. "I think that's her, I don't fucking remember".
My phone vibrated in my pocket, indicating that I had a text message.
Inbox>> Just waking up. Need to see you when you get off. I'll be at the stu.