Disclaimer: I don't even know if I need a disclaimer, but I'm putting one just in case. Probably for language. Better safe than sorry.
***
I'm going down, down baby
your street in a Range Rover
Street sweeper baby
cocked ready to let it go
Shimmy, shimmy cocoa what
Listen to it pound
Light it up and take a puff
pass it to me now
***
January 1st, '01
"HAPPY YEAR'S!"
The crowd of people in the house gathered closer and closer; sweaty bodies linked to sweatier ones, as couples and strangers each gravitated towards each other into one nasty ass kiss.
"I can't decide if this shit is disgusting or straight up ghetto," I said out loud, to no one in particular. The stench of sweat, weed and alcohol was getting stronger by the minute, each odor wrestling to overpower the other. Yeah, this shit was disgusting.
"Nuh-uh. You boring as hell sis," my homegirl, Ristyn (or Ray for short) shouted above the music. "It's crunk up in here, you can't even lie. We," she pointed at me, then to herself, "gettin' busy tonight, bitch."
"Can we just step outside though, for like, a second?," I asked, but grabbed her arm and dragged her outside with me anyway, for good measure.
Outside was, if you could believe it, just as crowded. There was a front yard to the house, and every square inch was put to use. I walked us right out the front yard to the sidewalk, which was less crowded.
"It's dummy cold out here, Yana. And nothin' is happenin'," Ray expressed with annoyance.
"That's the point," I said, breathing in the fresh Queens air.
One thing about Queens, the air was forever clean. We stayed outside a second, or at least until the next song started playing, because the next thing we knew, Nelly's voice came booming through the speakers inside: "HOT SHIT!"
Ray jumped up and cried out, "YO, I'm outta here, sis, they playin' MY song," and flew her way back in. I didn't even blame her. Something about Nelly just sits so right in my soul. So, I stayed outside, looking up at the clear, dark blue, starry sky, enjoying "Country Grammar" from a comfortable and clean distance.
I was chillin' on the sidewalk a hot minute before a shiny, black Chrysler 300c pulled up right in front of me, or the house, depending on how you saw it. "Someone gettin' scrilla", I thought to myself. Must be nice. Just as I was about to look away, the doors opened and two fine ass men stepped out.
The driver walked out with a cocky gap-toothed smile. He had a sky blue durag on, paired with a sky blue jersey and sky blue sneakers. He had on those baggy shorts that reached his ankles, but it didn't look so bad on him. He topped his fit off with a surprisingly small chain, considering he was driving a Chrysler. Oh yeah, and he was fine as hell.
His friend walked out the passenger side, quietly flossin' on us peasants with a straight face. He was wearing a red and white varsity jacket, deep blue denims, and a slim, plain jane, leather watch. His eyes were covered by glossy, black Wayfarer Ray Bans but his biggest flex were his sneakers. The all black Jordan 6s. They'd been released back in '91 and were impossible to come across nowadays. The nigga had literal street gold on his feet and was fine, too, like his friend.
Of course, I wasn't the only one who noticed the latest guests. A flock of Latina chicks started runnin' towards the car. I could hear one of 'em say to durag, "Hola papi," as she layed her hand on his shoulder while another settled by sneakerhead's side. Still another chick from behind me yelled out, "Hold up y'all. Check Cam'ron out wit the sexy ass hooptie!"
Durag, or I should say, Cam'ron, started cheesin' like crazy. Really, it was adorable.
"Ya already know how I be comin', shittt," he said, with his head tiltin' left and right. I hated a Bobblehead ass nigga though, so, I kissed my teeth and turned my eyes back to the sky.
The crowd continued to gas him up and the girls went bonkers but, after they all went inside, things got back to quiet on the street. I looked back down to see Cam'ron's friend staring at me.
One of the Latina girls from earlier had stuck around to talk with him. Or rather, to him 'cause he really wasn't listening. She was pretty, with crimped, brown hair and blonde highlights. Her dress was tighter than my non-existent one, 'cause I came to the party in baggy camouflage cargos and a dark brown tube top. She was already giving herself to him, while I stayed staring at the sky like some astrologist.
What I'm trying to say is, there were a lot of reasons why someone could consider her the better catch tonight, but that ain't stop son from staring at me. Eventually, the girl followed his eyes to see what the view was, and rolled her eyes when she saw me. Seriously?
I wasn't tryna deal with a sheisty chick tonight, especially not no Spanish girl. Not to say anything, but they could argue for days, and all I wanna do is pop you in the mouth and keep it steppin'.
I went back to minding my stars, with high hopes that she'd go back to talkin' to her lil mans. For her health, na'mean? To my suprise, she just ... walked away. No side comments, no spazzin' out. She just walked back into the house like nothing happened. I respected that and smiled to myself.
"Yo," the guy said, leaning on the side of Cam'ron's car. He jutted his chin to me, and I jutted mine back. Reflexes.
"C'mere, girl," he said.
Now, I'm not the kind of girl you just holla orders at but, I also don't always have full control of what my body does. The nerve of my feet, to actually step forward a few steps and stop til we were just 3 feet away from Mr. Holla At You.
"How come you ain't inside wit everybody else?," he asked.
"How come you not inside wit your friend?," I clapped back, trying to take control of the situation.
He chuckled and oh my God, was he beautiful. His friend didn't look half as good as he did right now, with 2 rows of straight, white, gapless, teeth. "Touché," he told me. "What's yo name?," he finally asked, to which I responded, "Aiyana."
"Aiyana," he said slowly, pronouncing each syllable. He thought about it and said, "That's pretty, real pretty." Then, he took off his Ray Bans, sat them on top of his head, and looked me in the eyes, saying, "It's nice to meet you, Aiyana. I'm Twiggy."
I held his stare for a second before I burst out laughing. "Twiggy?," I asked. "Twiggyyy? No way, dawg. Twiggy? What typa name is Twiggy?," I asked him, looking at him this time.
He had a serious look in his face and was staring at me with dead eyes. For a second, I thought he was gonna shoot me. I started to take a step back, before he said simply, "Someone I knew a long time ago called me that and it stuck."
"Oh. O.K. Makes sense," I said, nodding my head and all. It didn't. 'Cause like, why Twiggy?
An uncomfortable silence fell between us and I went back to looking at the sky.
"How come you do that?," Twiggy asked me.
"Do what?"
"Stare at the sky so much."
"I don't know. I mean, I always do. My ancestors were pretty spiritual peoples. They knew the constellations and everything. I guess it's just in me."
"Do you know them?"
"My ancestors?"
"No, the constellations."
"Nah, not really. I mean, see that star over there," I pointed upward, squinting one eye. "If you connect the other stars around it, it makes this trapezoid."
He looked at me suspiciously, "You sure you ain't makin' this up? Ion see it."
I pulled him next to me and pointed up again, "Right there. You can't miss it."
He moved closer to me and stared up my arm to my index to where my index was pointed. After a few seconds, he cheesed. "Oh shit, I really see it."
"Finally," I said. "Now, if you follow that same star the other way, you get a kind of handle. If you look hard, but not too closely, you can see all the stars making a pan. And that's your Big Dipper, son."
"Nah, that's crazy. They used to show the Big Dipper in science when I was a youngin' but my ass could never find it." He paused, still staring at the sky, before saying, "Ain't the Big Dipper 'posed to point to the North Star?"
"Yeah."
"Well, did she take a day off? I can't see it."
I rolled my eyes, and pointed right at it. "It's over there. The farthest side of the top of the dipper will point you to Polaris, the North Star."
He moved in closer to me, his cheek just millimeters away from mine and said, of course, "I see it."
We stood like that for what seemed like forever, but was probably a second before a very loud (and a very drunk) Ray yelled out, "Yoooo, Yana, guess who the fuck I found up in this joint?"
I jumped and moved very dramatically away from Twiggy, who was silently laughing at me, while slowly turning his eyes away from the sky to Ray and ... my sister?
"Maji, what are you doing here?," I asked, feelin' my temper rise with my voice. "It's a God damn school night, and you ain't but 15 years old!"
"Yo, chill out scrap, I didn't know you was gonna be here," Maji said, with a mean attitude. Oh hell no.
"That's not the point! Why are you here? Everyone in this house is old as fuck and it's way past your curfew. And what's all that makeup?"
"Really, Yana? You wanna do this here?" There was a hint of challenge in Maji's voice. I was ready. She didn't know it, but she wasn't.
"Little girl," I started off. "Let me tell you a lil somethin' 'bout yours-," I was silenced quickly by Ray, who had sobered up, knowing what was coming.
"Maji, go wait in the car," she ordered, firmly. Looking at me, with soft eyes, she said, "Let this one go, Yana. She's being a young girl and it's New Year's, baby. We'll take her home right now and just, let this whole thing go, okay?"
For all her party hard habits and loud mouth ways, Ray was a real one 'cause she was the only person in the world who could talk me out of a situation like this, for my own good. I nodded "ok" and sighed out loud, looking up to the sky. Which reminds me...
I looked over my shoulder to see Twiggy had pulled a Houdini. Huh.
***
In the car, we sat in a deadly silence. I didn't know what to say to my sister. Ray was right, she was being a little girl but, I couldn't deny the danger she had put herself into. Maji was young and no matter how grown she felt or looked, she wasn't ready for the real world. Anything coulda happened to her at the party. How did she even get from the city to Queens? She's never taken a Queens bound train and couldn't read a map to save her life.
I shook my head, hoping to shake away the questions and brush the situation out my mind before I started yelling again. Besides, Ray wouldn't have that; she'd kick me right out her car.
My questions would have to wait until tomorrow.
I looke up at the rear view mirror and saw Maji staring out the window, at nothing in particular, with a heartbroken look in her eyes. I guess the questions could wait until next week. Or something.
To be continued...
A/N: Let me know what you guys think. Also, this is (clearly) in Aiyana's POV, but my question is, would you guys like to read Twiggy's POV as well? Please let Management know
Nahla