Page 3 of About the Green

That girl is still somewhere inside me, but you would never know it seeing me in my all-pink jumpsuit that hugs my slim body tight and cinches into my knee-high, furry pink boots.

I am sweet.

I am bright.

I am fun.

It's not quite hot enough for the outfit, but considering how thin the jumpsuit is, I don't feel overheated as we wait for everyone to join us at the massive table in Blue's house.

The man in power comes shortly after I have taken my place beside Racquelle, and he takes the one on her opposite side. Lidia is on the other side of me, as we both know that she has to have eyes on everything that's happening. Though her number one is not here, she is going to do her best to make sure Racquelle is never in a position of vulnerability, especially after the events that happened when she wasn't here.

There's an opportunity for me to let my brain turn off as I’m both safe and not needed with present company. The floaty sensation of daydreaming pulls a smile to my cheeks that remains even as I relax further into wandering.

It seems that everyone at this table is carrying a little bit of guilt over how the other person has lived their life, but we can't protect everyone from everything that's ever happened — something that I can attest to with the utmost certainty.

I sit with my head in my hand, playing with my tongue ring, it swirls over my lip gloss, getting a little bit sticky, and I'm careful to not make a mess of my makeup by letting it go farther than my lip line. I do feel a few eyes on me from Dupont's side, as most of Lafayette knows better than to do anything inappropriate toward, or say anything even remotely untoward to, me. I get to have fun, but only so much, and I love a good tease.

It's been rather low energy after the news about the massive traitor and his subsequent end. If there's something that any of these crime families cannot deal with–it's a traitor amongst them.

Conversations start to unfold as the food arrives and it's being doled out. My mind wanders some more as I try to wait patiently for my food to arrive. There are just under twenty people at the table right now, and I better be getting some of that salmon that I keep seeing floating around.

Lidia snags a plate for me and puts it in front of me with the salmon and sweet potato that I like from this restaurant. Though Lidia is intimidating and oftentimes mistaken for a man, she has better manners than most of the individuals here, especially when it comes to me. I think she thinks of me as Liezel's little sister more than anyone else at the table, because she is much closer to Liezel than anyone else here is–bar Racquelle.

It's easy when your life is planned out for you and you don't really have any sort of drastic opposition to be fighting, but I know that I have a purpose that most people wouldn't peg me for.

Conversations go on as I zone out at the table, not wanting to converse with either of the people next to me, and both of them know that I have my moments of silence, where I just want to sit and be observed. The more quiet I am, the deeper I am in thoughts of crimson liquid and pained groans.

I can feel my smile stretching my cheeks further when my thoughts drift that way.

People are willing to overlook many things if you're pretty, and that's something that I know firsthand.

So, as I finally dig into my food, I continue my thoughts of revenge and wait for the moment where I can start exacting it again without Vert's interference.

Chapter 2

How everyone got into this business was almost as unique as the person themselves. For me–I had just been looking for a smoke.

I’d only been in here for a short time, and I didn’t really have any connects. Coming from Texas, I thought there’s no way that Louisiana is that far off from what it’s like living back home.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I’d just been looking for something to take the edge off after losing more and more job opportunities. I wasn’t doing anything besides retail security, which was relatively easy to find work in Texas, but for whatever reason I couldn’t find anything. I was starting to get pissed off, really, but nothing a little green couldn’t help.

And that’s always the thing for me.

I was anxious around people, and not because of some sort of tragic backstory or whatever. I just didn’t fucking like them, and working security all day meant that most people avoided me in general. Either because they didn’t want to deal with anything that I could possibly have to say about them or with them. Occasionally, someone might ask me where something is, but it was relatively solitary work, which meant that I got the peace and quiet I always was looking for.

Maybe I was still wearing my hat or something like that, and Redd asked me who I worked for. At first I thought he was fucking joking because he was very intense about the question. I told him who I was working for at the time, which was no one. I was just wearing an old hat.

And he was like, “Yea, could have swore that company was based in Texas. The fuck are you doin’ out here for?”

When he found out I didn’t have anyone to work for, he’s like, “Hey, you work for me.”

That’s it.

That’s how I came to be Dupont.

At the time, Dupont was not the Dupont it is now–not even close–but you could say I got in at a good time. Personally, I didn’t love selling marijuana, but I was definitely more attuned to keeping the sellers safe. Any of the boys out on the street–I was in charge of keeping them safe for a while.