Chapt 6 "The King and I

My first two years at my new school, Martin Luther King High, went by before I knew it. Vanessa, LaDonna and I were in the 11th grade. Regina was in 10th, she never finished the first grade. Her mom was on the run from her abusive dad. So they were constantly moving. Her dad finally caught up with them and killed her mom. He’s doing Life in the Federal Prison. So by the time she got settle in Foster Care she was a year behind in school. We all had become very close during our first two years growing up together. It all changed during our eleventh grade year.

On school days I would get up around six o’ clock in the morning so I could ride with King. He always said the early hustla gets the first dollar. None of the other girls wanted to get up that early. Vanessa was up most of the nights studying. Regina had to get her beauty sleep as she put it. LaDonna was out with her friends all night. So I quickly became King’s shadow.”I got that new Outkast!” King said as he inserted a CD into his car radio.”Fa Real!", I said in excitement. “Ooh play that Rosa Parks, that’s my song!” “Hold on let me see what number it is”, King said while looking at the back of the CD cover. “These cats on some G shit this time, look at this cover” King requested. As I looked at the futuristic designs, I heard a Flick! Flick! Flick! King lit the biggest joint I had ever seen in my life. It look like a finger, I thought. I could smell the piney scent from the cloud of smoke that was starting to fill the car. “Let me take a hit” I laughed. “Hell Naw!” King said through a cloud of smoke coming out his mouth. “I’m grown I can handle it”, I replied. King turned a corner, and parked in back of the local carwash and handed me the joint.

“Why you stop the car?”, I asked. “Shittt! Just in case your ass start trippin and decide to jump out the car”, he laughed. “Wuteva I smoked before”, I said with false confidence. Oh shit alright girl don’t start trippin, Ok, Ok, just take a small hit, I said to myself. As I pulled on the neatly rolled J, my throat instantly closed. Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! “Breathe Got damn it Breathe”, King laughed. Cough! Cough! Cough! “You good”, King asked. “Wait a minute, Let me catch my breath”, I said handing him back the joint. “I lied I ain’t never smoke before." “Shit Duh”, King snapped. “You almost passed out from a little ass hit”, King hollered. “How you feeling though”, King whispered. “I feel like I’m floating”, I laughed. King turned the music back up and laid back in his seat. It seemed like every note of the music was dancing around inside my head. I could feel the bass from his big speakers in trunk all in my chest. I looked in the mirror on the visor and I couldn’t see my eyes. It looked like I was asleep. I was so intrigued by the light on the mirror; I just kept opening it and closing it, over and over again. “London stop trippin over there and hit this one more time”, King said. I snapped back to reality for a moment grabbed the joint and took a long smooth hit.

“Ah ha, hush that fuss, everybody move to the back of the bus, do you wanna bump and slump with us, we the type of people make the club get crunk!” was blasting from King’s Speakers as we flew down Interstate 285. “King where we going”, I yelled over the music. “I gotta go get my money, business open twenty-four seven round here. “I’m thirsty can we stop by the store please”, I requested. “Aight let me bend this corner real quick”, King said as he drove past a couple of slower moving cars. “Oh shit It’s a Shell Station in front of the spot, I’ll take you over there”, King said. I was never too sure of what King did for a living but from what Vanessa told me, he was a drug dealer. He was one of the biggest around from what I heard. I figured it wasn’t any of my business, so I didn’t ask. It wasn’t until this morning did I actually see for myself what King did for a living.

“Here take this and get whatever you want, and get me a jungle juice”, King said as he got out the car. “You see that house over there with that big ass dog out front?” “Yes”, I replied. “I’ll be right over there, I’ll be back in about 10 minutes, go in the store, get back in the car, don’t move, OK”, King said as he bent down and grabbed something from under his seat. “OK”, I said. King started to walk across the street. I stood there for a minute enjoying the cool morning air just thinking to myself I’m gonna be high as shit in school! I laughed for a hot second, then turned around and walked into the store. DING! DONG! DING! DONG! “Hey pretty girl I ain’t ever seen you around her before”, said an old man sitting at a video poker machine. “Come over here and talk to me for a second.” “I’m busy right now maybe some other time”, I said trying to pay him no mind. The old man got up off his stool and staggered over towards me.

“That will be Four Twenty Five”, said the cashier as I handed him the crisp twenty King had given me. “Brown Sugar let me talk to you real quick”, said the old man who by this time was right behind me. “Stop bothering my customers”, yelled the cashier. “I'm just tryna talk to her”, he replied. “Look old man what u want”, I asked. The old man moved closer as I backed away. He was obviously trying to look down my shirt. The whole time he was talking to me his eyes were on my breast. “Girl I could do all kind of thangs to you” the old man said licking his crusty lips. Is this old man serious? I’m about to throw up in my mouth, I thought. He smelled lick ass and cheese mixed with cheap liquor. “Naw I’m good!” I said as he inched closer to me. “I know you good, but I’m tryna make you great”, he said. DING! DONG! DING! DONG!

“London! What the hell I, what the fuck?”, King yelled as he came into the store. “Nate what the fuck you think you doing?” King asked. The old man straightened up like he just seen his drill sergeant. “Hey King! Wassup man I-I was just asking this young lady here if she could help me with something”, Nate replied. “So what the fuck you need help with?” King snapped as he walked towards Nate.”I know you ain’t in her hitting on my lil sister”, King asked. Wow! he called me his lil sister, I thought. I didn’t have to say a word, I guess by the look in my eyes and the disgusted look on my face, King knew what was going on. “Get over here muthafucka!”, King yelled. Nate began to reluctantly walk towards King with his head held to the ground. “King I’m so sorry, I want never do it again” Nate cried. “You damn right you want, and you done over here, you betta go cop that BS you shoot up somewhere else”, King screamed. “Come on baby, why you doing me like this?” Nate sobbed. “Cause I’m tired of yall old heads hitting on these young ass girls”, King answered. “You a fuckin child molester man, this girl seventeen years old and you what seventy”, King said sarcastically. “Get yo bitch ass out of here!” King shouted as he kicked the old man in his ass and shoved him out the door.

“London you OK”, King said. “I’m OK”, I answered. “Come on I still need to handle some business”, he said. He walked me back over to car, opened up my door and told me to get in. I watched as he walked back across the street, but this time he looked more aggressive. Damn that shit was too crazy!, nasty ass old man!, I thought to myself as I looked around to make sure he wasn’t stalking me. All of the sudden I seen three men exit the house where King was. One of the guys was King. He began shouting at the two other men. Oh Shit!” I screamed as King proceeded to beat down both of the men standing in front of him. I didn’t know whether to stay in the car or run across the street. King stood over both of the men and grabbed a gun out his jacket. All I heard was yelling and curse words. The two men got up and emptied their pockets. King picked up the items the men dropped then started shooting at the ground. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The men ran for their lives.

King walked back over to the car and dusted himself off before he sat down. “King are u crazy!” I screamed. “You almost killed the guys!" “Calm down them clowns need to be rocked to sleep, but I’m not gonna be the one to do it”, he said. “Look in the back seat and get my emergency kit”, he said. I reached in the back seat and there was a bag filled with one hundred dollar bills. My mind began to race. Damn! Where all this money come from? Is this King’s money? Did he steal it from those guys? I moved the bag and grabbed the first aid kit. “Thanks”, King said as he began disinfecting his scratches. I had to ask I was just so curious. And with what I just seen it seemed like the perfect time to be nosy. “King”, I said. “Who money in that bag?” King looked at me and said “That’s my money”, he replied. “King”, I said again. “Look London I sell weed and coke”, King interrupted. “That’s my re-up money”, he continued. “Those clowns tried to skim off the top so I had to deal with them”, King snapped. “I promise you will never see anything like that again.”, King said. “As long as you with me and I got a breath in my body, I will always protect you, that’s my word”. “Anything else you wanna know”, King asked. “No you told me enough”, I said. “Thanks for being honest with me”

King drove down the road to my school stopping about a block away. “Since we partners-in-crime now.”, he said as we both laughed. “I need to give you a nickname.” “How about Lovely London”, I said. “No! that’s even worse than just calling you London”, he laughed. “What’s wrong with my name?”, I asked. “Nothing I’m just saying we all got some kind of nickname”, he replied. “Ain’t your middle name Rose”, he asked. “Yes! but I hate that name”, I yelled. “Nosy Rosy, that’s it, I'm gonna call you Rosy”. he laughed. “OK I can deal with that”, I said. “OK Rosy get your ass out my car!” “I’m not riding through no school zone with what I got in this car”, he said looking around for the police.”OK I’ll see u later”, I said. "No I’ll see you in the morning I gotta make a run out of state", King replied. “OK King be careful”, I said as I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. I watched as he backed up and sped off into the distance. That’s how it pretty much went every morning before school, and I loved it. I never had someone want to show me so much and spend time with me like he did. I’m his little sister and he’s my big brother. It’s the King and I forever...