Page 30 of Simply Complicated
“Okay, but the homie recited a lyric from Big L.” Junie replies. Big L – God rest his soul – is one of the premier rappers who was the paramount for many of the 90’s rappers back then. He wasn’t well known on a global level, but if you’re a true hip-hop head, you knew who he was. “How many white boys can recite Big L?”
“Who’s Big L?” Tasha asks.
“My point exactly.” SoundCloud replies. “Only true hip-hop heads know. I would think Savior would be more inclined considering who is brother is and who he’s best friends with.”
I’m stunned in silence at what SoundCloud suggests. “What about his brother and his best friend?”
“Okay, how do I know more about the dude and I’m not the one screwing him?” SoundCloud glares at me and I flip him off. “His brother, Soul, is one of the co-creators of the FuckBoy Logic sneaker line with that Chamo dude. He also owns a large stake in Fresh Nectar.”
Fresh Nectar is one of the hottest clothing lines around with bragging rights from dignitaries to the hip-hop elite. They made gross revenue of $500 million last year. That’s a lot of hypebeasts wearing their clothing.
“Soul?” Tasha asks.
“Soul.” SoundCloud nods.
“Like soles on the bottom of my shoes?” I ask.
“Like Seoul, South Korea?” Tasha asks.
“More like Soul Train.” SoundCloud explains. “Mama Ellison was on the weird celebrity name trip before it became popular.”
“That explains about one brother but what about his best friend?” I ask. “I don’t see what that has to do with him.”
“Get out your phone and go to Caleb Kelly’s IG.” SoundCloud suggests. I look at him for a brief moment and he nods. Caleb Kelly is a NFL football player who notoriously kneeled in front of the American flag, making him both a saint and a sinner.
I just think it’s funny how no one cared about a biracial football player until he became blackity black black. And then people couldn’t wait to call him theniggerhe is, but I’m asleep, tho. I pull out my phone and bring up Caleb’s IG page. “Okay, I’m here, and what?”
“Scroll to the post where he talks about Happy Founder’s Day.” SoundCloud chews more food. “What do you see?”
I find the post in question and scroll left. My heart stops upon seeing Caleb and Savior in their red bowtie finest throwing up theyo. They’re standing right next to each other and have the sexiest damn smirks on their faces as if they’re saying, ‘Yeah, we know we’re the shit.’
It’s a recent picture of them together, probably taken within the past year. The comments, of course, are full of thirsty bitches lusting after both of them. I knew Savior was a Nupe but to know he’s best friends with America’s Pariah, puts him on a different level of Peak White Boy Wokeness.
It also might explain the tension between him and his father, if what Junie told me about elder Ellison has any truth to it. Daddy Ellison has made it very clear he didn’t support that protest at all, which is interesting considering he’s well-known as one of the earliest and most vocal supporters of the Civil Rights Movement.
My mind travels back to that fateful day when I heard Savior and Thomas arguing. And then again that night when Savior came over and just wanted to be held. He didn’t say exactly what was going on, other than cryptically hinting he was still seeking his father’s approval. Yet, I wonder if there was something else troubling him.
“Well, well, well…” Tasha interrupts my train of thought and I briefly look up. “Look who’s here.” She nods behind me.
I turn around and sigh at the visual. One of Jalen’s birds and her friends are also at the mall. I think that one is named Chermica. I think. You see one bird, and it seems they all look alike after a while.
Chermica is the girl in high school who had potential to do great and somewhere between being a straight-A student and graduating, she became a bird for life. It’s like that lyric – some girls turn into ladies, some become hoes.
She’s the type of girl who always looks like she’s a can of busted biscuits, but always have enough money to get her hair laid. Kinda makes me wonder why she can’t be nappy and get a gym membership, but they don’t hear me, tho.
It seems they have been watching me for a while and talking shit like the flock of birds they are. I roll my eyes and turn back around. The last thing I need is to go to jail for tearing out a bitch’s weave. “Lovely.”
“She’s jealous of you, you know that?” Tasha asks. “It’s so obvious.”
“She can have Jalen for all I care.” I shrug. “I don’t want that nigga anymore and it wasn’t like we were going to get married and have babies.”
“It’s a good thing that didn’t happen.” Tasha adds. “Can you imagine the type of husband and father Jalen would’ve been?”
“Oh trust, I know.” It was a realization I made when I was late on my period one time. I made the fateful mistake of telling Jalen and he spent a good hour trying to convince me why I should have an abortion and that we should go dutch on it. How sweet of him.
It’s not like I’m using abortion as a form of birth control; I ain’t that dumb. But I also knew if Jalen knocked me up, I was bound to be a single mother. There was no way in hell Jalen would’ve put on a ring on it.
“Everything happened in the way it was supposed to,” I reply. “Jalen has about three other girls he can waste his time with. He doesn’t need me.”
