“I’ll try.” he answered.
“Okay, well, I went stealing.”
I could see Jah clenching his jaws. “Stealing, huh? This wasn’t your first time, was it?”
“No.”
“I knew it!” he barked as he banged the steering wheel. “That’s how your ass had the money to buy the furniture. I thought that Tasha was lying when she said that she bought her outfit from my baby mama.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
“Raven, keeping secrets from each other aint cool.”
“I know.” I nodded.
He continued to shake his head as he sucked his teeth. “That’s fucked up, main. My gal had to come through because my ass couldn’t. I guess you do have a whole lot of your daddy in you. A natural born hustler.” he thought for a minute. “Alright, I’ma flip this money, but your ass better stay out of them malls.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In two weeks Jah had quadrupled those seven hundred dollars. I think that loss had made him hustle harder. He paid all the bills and took every cent left and flipped it again and again. I was beginning tounderstand the whole street thing. He had to put in the hours if his pockets were going to look like anything.
I was like a sponge soaking in everything. I learned what an ounce was and how to cook the cocaine. Plenty of nights I stayed up late with Jahrein and helped him cook and break down his work. He said that I knew how to make his money stretch. I had gotten good at whipping the dope for him. It was during those times that we talked about everything under the sun, including our plans to live better for our children. He told me about his long term goals for the game. I was kind of surprised that he actually had any plans. He wanted to one day; invest his money into legitimate businesses, which I thought was cute. I just held onto hope that he wasn't just spitting out pipe dreams. I loved that he wasn’t a stereotypical dummy. We knew that nobody lasted in the game forever. He didn’t have great grandeur about becoming some fictional Nino Brown.
Jahrein explained to me how it was best that we had minimal company to keep people out of our business. After taking everything into consideration I agreed; for a little while anyway.
I tried to stay out of those stores, but I just couldn’t leave it alone. That shit was an addictive high. So, while Jahrein was busy hustling, I left the kids with his granny and I hit the stores with a vengeance. I was hiding clothes all over the house. I even started selling to the people around our apartments.
Every chick around the way was hitting me for some goods. I couldn’t hold onto shit for long. The money was coming in by the bundles, so I was just splurging on whatever IthoughtI wanted.
Since, the money was flowing I decided that I wanted a car of my own. I had already gotten my driver’s license in Jah’s car. In just two months I had about five G’s saved up. I admitted to Jah that I had some money stashed and he helped me find a car that was suitable for me. I found a fully equipped ‘95 red Honda Accord and fell in love with it. The man wanted $6,700 for it so Jah had to chip in.
Once I got my car, man, he couldn’t tell me shit. How many sixteen year olds in my hood had a car? I felt like I was the baddest bitch around. Then April got us these fake IDs that we hit the clubs with. I was giving Jah’s ass the blues. I no longer sat at home wondering where he was. Shit, he often had to wait on me.
Chapter 8
(You must Love Me/ Jay-Z and Kelly Price)
“Strapped her body with them thangs… as you boarded the plane couldn’t explain the strange feeling that I caught in the veins…”
Man, life in the projects was like no other. I had been raised up in the ghetto all my life, but my mama had steered away from apartment complexes that were piled up to the ceilings with ghetto ass people. A young girl with no parental guidance living in the projects was a disaster waiting to happen.
Initially, I was mingling with the chicks from around the way on a business level. Then I figured that if I sold clothes to them then I could chill with them too. That was the dumbest thought I ever had.
At first the women around the way would meet me at the door with their money and then I’d give them their merchandise. But then I had to switch it up. My neighbors were nosy as hell, and I wanted to keep them out of my business. So, I started conducting my business inside our apartment.
The different broads were all in awe at how me and Jahrein were living. Everybody knew our ages and figured that we should’ve been living like the rest of the young couples around there. Most of the young chicks that lived in the Cunney Homes barely had a bed to sleep in or a couch to sit on. But our shit was laid and well-kept at all times. Every time I had a chance, I was buying something new for the house.
Once the females saw that I was living alright then they started with the questions about Jahrein. Theywanted to know where was he from. Where did he hustle. Did he buy that for me or did I steal it. I never really had too many answers for them and I guess that that made them even more curious. Every time I looked up there was a hood rat in his face. I aint no insecure girl, so I never came out a bag on those hoes. But they were becoming bolder by the day.
Jahrein was always in and out, so I needed something to preoccupy my time. I started hanging outside more and chopping it up with the local hood rats. I would mainly sit out on my stoop and let my kids play with their power wheels and watch all the action going down. Every now and then somebody would come by and smoke a blunt with me. Shell would even come through from time to time. For the first time in a long time she couldn’t come over with gossip about Jahrein. We weren’t in their hood anymore, and he wasn’t out hanging unless it was about money.
More and more Jahrein’s name was ringing in the streets. He kept real late hours, but not once did I complain. I knew that he was doing what he had to do. I saw something different in his hustle that separated him from the rest of the dudes his age. It took me a minute to realize it, but Jah hadn’t bought himself a pair of shoes in months and I had to remind him to get a haircut. While he was on that paper chase nothing else mattered, except maybe me and the kids.
No matter how late he’d come in, I’d always sit and wait up for him. He would come home exhausted and would just hold me. Right before he’d fall asleep he’d tell me about the plans he had for us in the future. He kept reminding me that I was better than what surrounded us, and that I didn’t have any friends inthis life. He and my two kids were the only people that I should care about in the end, because they were the ones that were going to have my back when the shit really counted. I knew that he was trying to school me on the low. He was usually more hands on with me, but since he couldn’t be there like he used to he felt that he needed to drop some jewels. And warn me about the company that I was keeping.
Things with Jahrein were changing over time. He was no longer so tight-fisted with the money he gave me. I didn’t have to thoroughly explain why I needed anything. I’d say that I wanted something and then I had it. Simple as that. After a while there wasn’t any real reason for me to keep stealing, so I eased up on that. When I wanted my hair done, I went to the salon. When I wanted the newest Jordans, I went to the mall. And anything that I thought that the kids might like was theirs.
The chicks in the projects picked up on Jahrein’s generosity too. Bitches were keeping up with what new bag I had or what new piece of jewelry I was wearing. I wasn’t bothered by all the gossip, because I honestly didn’t think twice about those broads in my complex. There was no competition. Most chicks my age was already having babies, didn’t go to school anymore, and just plain didn’t have a fucking clue. No bitch had it in them to run a mile in my shoes, oh but they still tried. They tried like hell.
