Page 10 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

Priscilla laughed. “I swear you are so goofy at times. Whenever you have time, send me over the information so I can book our flights.”

I became excited at the thought of going on a vacation and not having to worry about anything. It had been so long since I was able to let my hair down and just exist without work, bills, or worrying about my mother being gone.

“Will do… thanks again for this,” I smiled at the phone, as if she could see me.

The extra money was helping me pull my life together. I was able to order nail supplies since I was running low and have some extra play money which was always rare. All of my money went to paying my bills, so I never had enough to do anything that I wanted.

Having the option of taking an Uber or the bus home was a luxury that had never been afforded to me. I hated to ask my cousin for money because she was a single mom. I was her older cousin, and it looked pretty ridiculous asking to borrow money when she was making do while having another mouth to feed.

“Don’t even mention it. I’m excited to hang out and really get away from everything.” She groaned into the phone. “Girl, thisthat nigga right now… I’ll call you later.” Priscilla quickly ended the call before I could speak.

Cindy looked at me, then looked away. “What is that look about? You give it every time she comes into the shop to get her nails done.”

“That girl is bad news, Stevie. I know you love to see the good in everyone, but she doesn’t mean you any good. I get a bad feeling about her.” Cindy pretended like she got the chills.

“You and Skyler need to let me have my own life. The girl hasn’t done anything except help me out without me ever asking.”

Cindy kissed her teeth as she focused on what I was doing to her nails. “I know women like her, and it never ends up good. Those are the kind of women that use you until they can’t anymore. I’ve been friends with a few women just like that girl… just rotten.”

As much as I appreciated Skyler and Cindy, I needed them to leave me alone. I was an adult, and though at times I struggled with remembering that myself, I was free to make my own choices on who I wanted in my life.

Priscilla was the kind of woman that men tossed themselves at and bought her whatever she wanted. She never had to do much because there was always a man right behind her ready to smell her dirty draws.

I wasn’t like that in the least, and men actually scared me at times. Priscilla knew how to handle and talk to men, while I was naturally shy. I was an introvert and most times I lived in my own head and found comfort there.

I avoided my neighbor for three months because I didn’t want to strike up a conversation. Once I was comfortable with you then that’s when my weirdness came out of every pore of my body.

Whenever we went out for drinks, it was always Priscilla who did all the talking. We almost always got free drinks because the minute she sat at the bar she tossed on that charm. It was a charm that I wished I had at times.

One where I didn’t get so tongue tied and nervous whenever a man paid me any kind of attention. It wasn’t that I was insecure, because I loved how I looked, and I never wanted to be anyone else.

I often wished that I had the confidence to say what I mean and mean what I say. The confidence to catch the eye ofthatguy.

Cornell wasfriends with the rapper Zay’s cousin, and he happened to be in town. He was currently on tour with Zay, the rapper’s entourage, and I thought that was so cool.

I had never met a celebrity before.

Well, Cornell wasn’t the celebrity, but Zay was, so when he asked me to come out tonight, I washed the paint out my hair and pulled myself together. It wasn’t often that I went on dates or was asked on them.

It wasn’t that I was unattractive, either. I was the kind of girl who stumbled on her words or would make a dark joke where they wouldn’t know how to respond. I watched Anime, loved to paint, and constantly talked to myself, and even answered myself.

Mom always would joke that it wasn’t a problem that I spoke to myself, the problem occurred when I started to answer myself. Well, mom, the minute you were lowered into the ground I started to answer myself.

Men didn’t come knocking down my door to ask me on a date. Whenever they did, it was because they were so infatuated with my shape, and didn’t care about anything else.

As a midsize girl, I was pear shaped, and it was something that I hated whenever I was in school. Always wearing baggy sweatshirts and pants, never embracing my curves.

The boys in school didn’t make it any better. On the rare occasion I was spotted with my gym uniform on, they would whistle, and holler, “Damn nerd,where the hell did you get that ass?”

It made me uncomfortable, so I layered even more clothes on. In twelfth grade, I was dating Tony Moore, and I thought I was in love. If you asked me, I just knew we would be married with children.

He was my first boyfriend, and the first boy that had ever showed me some kindness. Tony didn’t want anything in return, only my time and attention. We spent every day together, either at my apartment or at the library.

It was raining one afternoon, and I had lost my keys. My mom worked in the city, so it was going to take her some time to make it home, and Tony offered to take me back to his place so I didn’t have to wait in a library.

He was always so caring and considerate that way, so we took the train to his house. I remember being so excited because I was finally going to my boyfriend’s house. This counted as a new step in our relationship, and I had been counting all the steps we took within the relationship.

Tony’s parents weren’t home, and we had his room to ourselves. We shook off the wet coats and boots and got comfortable in his room. He went to grab us some snacks, while I cracked open my textbook to study for our English final we had the next morning.

---