Diamond and her sisters turned to leave, but Cam’s voice made Diamond turn around; he had never said a word to her before, yet there he was giving her a nickname.
“Aye, Dime…You can’t whoop the world,” he shot with a smile that made her look back at him.
“What Lil Wayne say? Show me my opponent,” she replied with a smile before turning the corner.
Dime…I like that…
2
“Cam, take those garbage cans to the alley,” his mother called out from the second level of their home.
The Stones lived in the nicest house on the block, it didn’t even look like it belonged in the hood. His father, “Stone,” was born and raised on 16thStreet and he never wanted to leave, even though he was in another tax bracket. They lived in the house that made people whisper when they walked by. It was surrounded by tall iron gates with blacked out cars sitting in the driveway. Stone had his house built from the ground up and it was the only house in the neighborhood that had a winding driveway.
Stone was a name people said carefully, whether they were speaking of his father or their family. His father ran shit like the businessman he was and was teaching Cam to be. He had always been a sponge to his father and Stone hid nothing from his son. Cameron was wise beyond his years; at seventeen, he could run circles around some of the heaviest dealers in the game. He wastaught to protect his family, women, and children, that was the code his father lived by and so did he.
Cam was never one to brag on his lifestyle, but he didn’t have to, everyone already knew. Though he could pop his shit everyday if he wanted to, he didn’t, he was humble. He hung with his same friends from the sandbox, they were his brothers that he never had, with him being an only child. That was the only thing he longed for; he envied those households that had a lot of kids.
“I already did it, Lady,” he shot back from the couch as his mother made her way down the stairs.
She moved around the crib like she was a superstar: silk robes, diamonds gleaming off the lights, and her pixie cut was also done to perfection. Though she lived lavish, Stacy Stone was hardcore, loyal, and blunt. She held no punches when it came to the people she loved, especially the family she created. She, too, came from the hood, but her stomping grounds were on the southside of the city. Her and Stone often had debates about whose side was the best side, and Cam stood ten toes with his father, the west side was the best side.
“Good and you have one last fitting for your suit today.”
He still couldn’t believe he was about to graduate high school, on top of that, he was also turning eighteen at the end of the month. He planned on throwing the biggest house party ever, Kid and Play wouldn’t be able to come how he was coming.
“Is Farrah going or not?” He asked never looking up from his phone.
“Yes, she is and why don’t you sound happy about it?”
Cam wasn’t happy at all; Farrah had been a thorn in his ass since they were kids. Their families were always trying to force a relationship that he didn’t want. Farrah, on the other hand, was obsessed with Cam; in her head, they were together, no matterhow many times he shot it down. After a while, he just let them have it.
“Because y’all didn’t even ask me if I wanted to go on prom with her.”
“You right, baby, but it’s too late to find another date, prom is in a couple weeks.”
“I’ll go with her, but for y’all.”
“Nah, this is your day, and you only get one prom so if you want to take someone else, let me know so we can get it together.”
Cam had no other female in mind because every time he thought he was going to talk to someone, Farrah scared them off.
“Son Son, what’s the word? You’re late for school,” Stone walked in and sat at the long marble table in the dining room.
“School starts at eight.”
“Early bird gets the worm. Discipline builds men.”
One thing Stacy didn’t play about was her son, not even with her husband, “He’s a seventeen-year-old young man, Stone, not one of your soldiers.”
Stone sat back in his chair, his gaze was hard but calm, “He is my son, which means he’ll inherit more than any soldier could dream of. He needs to be ready and disciplined.”
“I stay ready, Pop,” Cam replied, grabbing a water from the refrigerator and kissing his mother’s cheek before heading out the door.
Cam hit the locks on his black-on-black Nissan Maximum, it was fully loaded and he loved it. Farrah drove a Nissan Altima, which made their relationship look even more serious. Farrah had been throwing pussy at him since he took her virginity freshmen year, and he only smashed her when he was bored ever since. Everybody thought they were the cutest couple, they had no idea he had no feelings, the shit felt like a trap.
He drove to school with his music blasting as he did every morning. For a second, his mind flashed back to Dime. She stuck out to him because she was from the other side of everything. The one who didn’t care who he was, on top of that, she stood in front of danger like she was built for it; she didn’t need protection, and dam sure didn’t fake perfection like everyone else did. What you saw was her, raw and uncut. He didn’t know why, butsomethingmade him want to protect her even though the hood knew she was capable of doing that herself. In a world full of Farrahs, there was real, there was Dime. And that made her dangerous in a completely different way that she didn’t even know…yet.
By the time Cam pulled into a park, the streets were packed with khaki and white uniforms. He topped his off with a pair of Gucci sneakers and the backpack to match. As soon as his feet touched the pavement, people started talking to him, people that he didn’t even know for real.
