may 12th, 2020
4:23 pm
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I LET YOU GUYS TALK ME INTO THIS."
Ayoluwa stood in her tracks to stare at the slightly inept Inglewood public square.
The fountain in the middle held a faded mosaic and a huge crack in the side where the water should be spouting.
"This place mashed up." Ayoluwa announced in patois as she redid her messy bun at the nape of her neck.
"Mashed up?" Giovanni asked.
"Fucked up. This place looks fucked up."
"Ayo.." Quincy said as the five continued their stroll into the rundown plaza.
"Yeah?" Ayoluwa leaned her head back to examine their location a bit more, feeling the sun touch on her tank top covered shoulders.
"Shut up." All four boys replied.
"Wow. Really?" Ayoluwa rolled her eyes.
"Just relax," Levi gripped her shoulders, "Okay? You don't even have to get a tattoo. Just come in with me please?" He dragged out the word please.
"Fine! Let's do this." Ayoluwa said, causing her friends to cheer.
The tattoo parlor was small, with a checkered pattern on the floor and the sound of buzzing needles.
Quincy, Giovanni and Levi walked forward to speak to the purple haired receptionist.
Ayoluwa watched with small fascination as a tattoo artist put her needle to the forearm of a client.
Nicholas nudged her, "You thinking about it, huh?"
"I'm thinking that tonight you're gonna finish the bottle of ibuprofen I have in my room." Ayoluwa murmured back.
Nicholas shrugged, "My pillow pet is still there right?"
Ayoluwa nodded with a snicker, "Your unicorn is still there."
Nicholas lightly hit her shoulder, "Don't say it so loud. You know how much shit Levi would give me if he knew that my pillow pet was a unicorn."
Levi waved them forward.
"All right, raise your hand if you're getting a tattoo." The receptionist said and Nicholas and Quincy put their hands up.
"Not you?" The receptionist nodded at Ayoluwa.
"Nah." Ayoluwa shook her head.
The receptionist nodded again, "Beth over there can take y'all two." Then she pointed at a blonde who looked to be in her early thirties
Sam looked up as the group approached and smiled in Ayoluwa's direction, "Who's going first?"
"Me." Levi sat himself in the black client chair.
The minute that the needle touched Levi's wrist, he scrunched his face up in pain, "Oh, shit."
"And thats exactly why I'm not doing it." Giovanni said.
"Plus your mom would kill you." Nicholas pointed out.
"That too." Giovanni agreed.
Ayoluwa kept her eyes on the needle pressing black ink into Levi's skin.
The design was of a lion complete with a mane and fangs.
Levi swore loudly as the needle moved to hit a vein.
"I think I kinda want one." Ayoluwa stated, making her friends give her surprised looks.
"I'll be back," She stood and walked to the receptionist.
"Hi, is it possible for me to get a separate artist? Ya know for time?" Ayoluwa asked as she showed the receptionist her driver's license.
"Uh," The receptionist typed something into her Mac desktop computer, "What's your design?"
"I have a couple in mind. I was hoping that me and the artist could talk it over." Ayoluwa replied.
"Okay," She typed something else, "Sam can. Go down the hall, he's the first room on the right."
Ayoluwa stuck her head into tattoo room filled with her friends, "Nick. Nick." Then she jerked her head down the hall.
"What's going on?" Levi asked.
"I'm getting a tattoo. I need some moral support." She replied.
"I can go." Levi started to rise but Giovanni forced him back into the chair.
"You're in the middle of a tattoo. Nick," She jerked her head again.
Sam was a brunette guy with glasses and hazel eyes who was sketching something on a pad.
When Ayoluwa and Nicholas entered the room, Sam gestured to the chair beside him without looking up.
Ayoluwa took a deep breath as the needle clicked on.
A couple of hours later, Ayoluwa and Nicholas were in her cream and sage green colored bedroom.
The sun had gone down and the house was quiet due to Imani being gone and Lauryn and Camille fast asleep in their respective rooms.
"Ah," Ayoluwa examined the new lotus flower and stem that went down the length of her spine, only somewhat covered by her sports bra, the koi fish around her ankle and the multiple butterflies on her right hand in her full length mirror.
"I can't believe you got all of those in one day. You talked so much shit on the car ride there only to get more than anyone," Nicholas shook his head as he sat behind her keyboard placed by the door.
"I love them." Ayoluwa said simply, "You know my mind changes faster than the seasons. Oh, that's a lyric!"
Ayoluwa snatched the songbook off of her cream dresser to scrawl the words in.
"Your grandma is gonna be pissed when she sees it." Nicholas pointed out.
Ayoluwa carefully placed herself on top of her black and white comforter, "I'm already planning my next one. Question?"
"Answer." Nicholas replied absentmindedly.
"If I write a love song, do you think it could double as manifestation?" Ayoluwa inquired in a wistful tone.
When Nicholas was quiet, Ayoluwa continued, "Like if I write about love maybe that could call love to me. What do you think?"
"I think that wanting it too much keeps it away from you. You're gonna burn out if you write too much. Butterfly isn't even cold yet."
Ayoluwa groaned, "I hate when you make sense."
Nicholas narrowed his eyes at her, "You already started the song, didn't you?"
"Just the melody and maybe a bit of the chorus." Ayoluwa defended herself.
Nicholas shook his head and played a couple of notes on her keyboard when the sound of loud rap music sounded from outside.
Ayoluwa stormed to the window and twisted the cord to open the blinds.
Ayoluwa could see the light from Joshua's room next door and the sound of rap music blared from his half open window.
"Ugh. I swear he only does shit like this to piss me off." Ayoluwa rolled her eyes.
"Why do you hate him so much?" Nicholas said in an amused tone.
"I don't hate him. I don't use my energy to hate him."
Nicholas rolled his eyes, "Dislike him then."
"He's a man whore, he's irresponsible, he thinks everyone should bow just because he plays basketball," Ayoluwa looked towards her best friend, "You need me to continue?"
"I don't think he's as bad as you make him out to be. He's always been cool to me." Nicholas replied.
"He's a hoe, Nick. Like forgetting the name of the girl he slept with hoe. There's literally no redeemable qualities about him." Ayoluwa straightened up and closed the blinds.
"If you say so, Ayo." Nicholas continued to press keys on her keyboard, "If you say so..."
NOTE FROM KY
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