The Hustler's Daughter {DC Bookdiva Publications} (7 page)

Hazel
was pretty in her own way.  She was half Dominican and African- American and
had mahogany colored skin. Her body was curvaceous. She had long, thick, curly,
light brown hair with blonde highlights. Her mother named her Hazel after
looking into her eyes, but people in the hood called her Haze because she loved
to smoke Purple.

Chamari
stood 5’5”, she was a chubby girl with a cute face. She wore appropriate
clothes for her size. Mercedes loved the hair style she rocked. It was a short
bob with spiral curls which brought out her eyes. It reminded Mercedes of
Keyshia Cole’s hair, red in the front and blonde in the back.

Last
but not least, there was Shateeya. She was the gangsta of the crew. She was a
tall dark skin girl, with the flawless skin of a model. She had black healthy
hair stretching past her shoulder blades. She rocked a gold Marilyn Monroe
piercing on top of her lip that Mercedes thought looked nice on her. She was a
cool girl, but if anyone looked at her in the wrong way she would slice them
with the quickness.

While
the girls were sitting on the bench, they caught Mercedes staring at one of the
sexiest dudes in the school. Chino was staring right back at her. He was
Dominican, Puerto Rican, and half Korean. He stood about 5’8” and had a medium
build. He had thick hair which was coifed into a pony tail and stretched down
his back. His baby hairs lay down smoothly along his double line-up. His goatee
was neatly shaven, giving him a grown and sexy appeal. His chinky hazel eyes
brought out his flawless mocha colored skin complexion. His arms were
completely covered with tattoos.

The
only imperfection he had was a big scar that ran from the corner of his right
eye and halfway down his cheek. In spite of that, he was still the cutest guy
in school that she had seen thus far.  All of the girls wanted him, but
Mercedes knew she would get him.

She
watched him as he looked at her while licking his full thick lips. He had
Mercedes drooling. Her girls saw her and began cracking up; they could tell he
had her open. He had all the chicks in the school open like that. She started
twitching in her seat because she felt her panties getting wet. This was a new
experience; no one had ever made her wet just by looking. She was coming into
her womanhood, and she knew when she was aroused.

Mercedes
looked at his gear and sized him up from head to toe. Chino rocked huge 14KT
Gold pave` diamond earrings. They glistened from both sides of his ears. He had
a nice sized Rolex on his left arm. He was exactly her style with his expensive
gear and flamboyant colors; he could dress his ass off.

Chino
wore a purple fitted Ed Hardy eagle rhinestone tee, with some Ed Hardy eagle
strikes embroidered jeans. He had on a pair of customized purple Air Forces to
match his shirt.

“Damn
girl, you must be feeling home boy, huh?” Chamari asked.

“Hell
yeah, he fly as shit.” Mercedes smiled as she looked at her girls.

“You
ain’t got a chance with that.” Shateeya assured her shaking her head

 side
to side.

“And
why is that?” Mercedes asked.

“Girl
please, Mercedes is a bad bitch. She’s beautiful and I think he’s feeling her
too.” Candy chimed in. They all looked over and noticed he was still ice
grilling their table. That’s when the girl from earlier, India, walked over and
tried to hug him. Chino gently pushed her way and turned his back towards her.

 “Because
of that!” Shateeya pointed her finger over to India.

“And
she ain’t got shit on Mercedes.” Candy said, as Chamari and Hazel agreed.

“That
was his ex, but she fucked around on him and he cut that bitch off.” Hazel
said.

“I
know he’s still fucking with her though.” Shateeya acted as if she knew
everything. Mercedes felt bad vibes from her, as if she was jealous.

“That
bitch?” Mercedes laughed. All of them looked at her wondering why she was
laughing. “How do you know her?” Candy asked.

“I
bumped into her earlier and she rubbed me the wrong way, you feel me?” Mercedes
said.

“So
I had to let her know who I was…Mercedes Carter bitch, and don’t forget it.”
Mercedes smirked as Candy screamed, “That’s my bitch.” They gave each other dap
and started smiling.

“That’s
India. India Jones, the leader of the crew Queen Bee’s.” Hazel informed her.
“She thinks she’s ill because she’s been bullying mad bitches in this school,
but she knows not to fuck with me. I’ll slice her ass up real quick. Her and
her little Latina crew think they’re what’s up.” Shateeya sounded like their
spokesperson.

“Enough
talk about that stupid bitch,” Candy cut her off.  Lunch time was over and they
all went about their business for the remainder of the day. Mercedes knew she
had some competition, but she wanted what she wanted. She was going to get it.
That’s just how she rolled.

As
Mercedes ended her school day, she and the girls came across India and her
girls. Chino stood at a distance from her with his boys, still focusing closely
on Mercedes. India quickly noticed that her boo was giving Mercedes the eye and
stepped in.

“What
the fuck are you looking at her for?” India said as she stood there with her
hands on her thick hips.

“Why
the fuck are you tripping India?” Chino asked. “Get out my face.” He warned
her.

Mercedes
looked at Chino and he quickly made her face blush. She was happy that he was
defending her. She turned and walked down the hallway with her girls.

“Damn
girl, he had his eye on you.” Hazel smiled. Playfully nudging Mercedes in the
shoulder and laughing. They made it outside and the front of the building was
extremely crowded. Mercedes noticed her limo had just pulled up.

“Damn,
whose ride is that?” Shateeya asked. She was eager to know who was getting
picked up in a limo.

“That’s
my ride. Alright girls, I’ll see ya’ll later.” Mercedes smirked and looked
around for Chino and India. She made sure that everyone saw her and knew what
she was rolling in.

 Mercedes
kissed each of her new friends on their cheeks and walked down the stairs. She
noticed India still trying to talk to Chino, but he wasn’t paying her any mind.
All of his attention was on Mercedes. She sashayed to the car walking past
India and Chino. She was trying to make her mad. Mercedes clutched on her bag;
she could feel all eyes watching her as Mr. Gates opened the limo’s door. Her
fellow students stared as if she was Beyoncé or something.

xxxxxxxxxx

 Mercedes
loved her first day of school. She had all eyes on her for most of the day. She
knew the name Mercedes Carter would ring bells.

   When
she got home, her mother and father were sitting on the leather sofa. They
noticed she was glowing and smiling from ear to ear. “Hi.” Mercedes smiled at
them and headed to her room, but her mother stopped her.

   “So,
how was your first day of high school?” her mother asked.

   “It
was great, I loved it.” Mercedes smiled. “All the attention was on me…I had
girls hating on me already.” Mercedes chuckled.

   “See
baby, that’s why I didn’t want her going there. Hatin ass little girls.” Her
father sucked his teeth.

   “What
else happened?” her mother asked inquisitively.

   “I
met some new friends.” Mercedes plopped down on the couch between her mother
and father. “And guess what Mami? I got reconnected with my best friend Candice
from elementary school, remember her?” Mercedes asked.

   “Oh
yeah, Candice, I remember her she’s a sweet girl.” Maria nodded recalling the
years that the two spent together as kids.

“How
about you invite them over tomorrow after school and let them help you with
your Quincenera invitations and outfit.” her mother suggested.

“But
Ma I don’t want a Quincenera, why can’t I just have a regular sweet sixteen?”
Mercedes asked.

“Well
you know what Mercedes, you can have your sweet sixteen-but it still will have
a little of a Quincenera’s style.” her mother smiled.

   “That
would be a good idea.” her father chimed in.

“I
just don’t want no hood rats or loud mouth girls up in here, you hear me?”
Maria said and Mercedes chuckled agreeing with her mother.

   “I’m
starving mom, what did Claudia cook?” Mercedes asked.

   “Didn’t
you eat at school baby?” Mercedes screwed up her face looking at her mother as
if she had ten heads.

   “That
food looked disgusting, I will never eat that crap.” Mercedes tried to describe
the food but she couldn’t. Her face said it all.

 “I’ll
pack my own lunch.” Mercedes assured them. Her father burst out laughing,
knowing that would never happen because they spoiled her so much. He reached
over and kissed his daughter on the head.

   “Ya'll
woman know ya’ll are picky.” Don smirked.

   “Come
on Daddy, if you would’ve seen that food, you wouldn’t even pick it up.”
Mercedes said smiling.

   “Alright
go in the kitchen, your plate is on the table.” Maria told her.

 Mercedes
got up and walked into the kitchen. Her stomach growled as she sat down at the
table and dug into her plate. It was filled with fried chicken, Spanish rice
with gravy, and fresh vegetables. She was famished and ate all of her dinner.
After she was done, she called Candice and they reminisced all night. They
caught up and promised to never lose touch again.

Class is in Session

Mercedes
awoke on Friday morning overflowing with excitement. She began school on
Wednesday and it was already the end of the week. She was happy that the
weekend was here. She removed the covers from her face and pulled herself out
of bed. She began her ritual of brushing her teeth and hopped in the shower.
School started at 7:30 AM, and she usually took a long time to get ready. In
anticipation, Mercedes picked out her outfit last night.

She
wore a pair of black Rhinestone Skull skinny jeans with a design of an
embellished skull and heart on the right leg. Along with a pink Ed Hardy shirt;
roses and spiders covered the front. She knew she was looking fly as usual. As
she got dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror and grinned from ear to
ear. She put on her pink love cross hat, also from Ed Hardy. It was embroidered
with flamboyant colors. Her hat was pulled low, but positioned so that you
could still see her eyes. Her long pretty hair flowed down the sides of her
face.

Mercedes
grabbed a pen and a note book and threw it in her Farrah Satchel Ed Hardy bag.
She walked down the spiral staircase and into the kitchen. She noticed a bag on
the table and it was a note attached to the bag that read,

“Baby
Girl don’t starve yourself -Love Daddy”

She
cheerfully grabbed the bag. She was definitely a Daddy’s Girl. She loved every
moment of his attention, except when he was overprotective. She headed out the
door and Mr. Gates was already outside waiting to take her to school.

 “Thank
you Mr. Gates.” Mercedes said as she got into the car. They pulled off and she
anxiously waited to pull up at the school. As they arrived, Mercedes informed
Mr. Gates that he didn’t have to open the door. She didn’t want to feel too
privileged. She wanted to fit in with others, even though she knew she wasn’t
like them. 

She
reached for the latch and opened the door. She stepped out and noticed that
everyone was grilling her. Her home girls were posted up on the side waving her
down. As soon as Mr. Gates pulled off, Mercedes started walking towards them.

 “Hey,
what’s up girls?” Mercedes greeted them. “Hey.” They all said in unison.

“Shit,
waiting for the bell to ring.” Candy added in. “Class starts in five minutes
and I don’t feel like going,” she sighed. Mercedes wasn’t paying them any
attention; she was trying to look around for Chino.

“Girl,
you look cute.” Chamari smiled. “You got that Ed Hardy on deck huh?” Chamari
asked admiring her bag, “This shit’s official.”

“Yeah
that’s how my girl rolls.” Candy gave Mercedes dap as they snickered. The bell
rang and everyone started rushing into the building.

Shateeya
looked Mercedes up and down, “Cute,” she said with obvious envy. “I’m off to
class.” Everyone noticed Shateeya acting funny, but they didn’t comment. They
all headed up the stairs and off to their respective classrooms. They had
arranged to meet up at lunch time.

In
her French class, Mercedes almost fell asleep because the teacher was so
boring. India’s loud popping of her gum woke her up. She grilled Mercedes.
Mercedes took it in stride and mean mugged her from head to toe.

Finally,
class was over and Mercedes exited to meet the girls in the cafeteria. She
passed the line and shook her head at the people who stood in line waiting for
that nasty ass food. Mercedes took a seat and placed her bag on the table. She
was happy that her father decided to prepare a lunch for her. She opened it and
noticed it was one of her favorites. He had cooked this one, some chicken ziti
with broccoli covered in alfredo sauce. She had a Sprite to drink.

“Damn
girl, you got it made.” Hazel said as she bit into her pizza.

“Nah,
I’m just not fucking with that nasty ass shit.” Mercedes screwed up her face
from the thought of eating the food served in the cafeteria.

“I’ll
eat it with no damn problems.” Chamari added in as she laughed.

“I
know your fat ass will.” Shateeya laughed, but no one else found her funny. She’d
been saying some slick shit lately, but no one called her on it yet.

“She
ain’t fat Shateeya, don’t say that shit.” Hazel shook her head and tried to
hide the smirk on her face.

“Anyway,
what are you guys doing today?” Mercedes quickly changed the subject because
she didn’t want her girls beefing over stupid shit.

“Nothing,”
Candy said as she looked at the girls and they nodded their heads in agreement.

“Well,
Um, how about you all stay at my crib for the weekend?” Mercedes asked wanting
to further build a relationship with her new crew.

“We
don’t even know you like that.” Shateeya barked.

“Well,
I know her like that.” Candy looked at Shateeya and rolled her eyes. “How about
ya’ll, are ya’ll down too?” Candy asked looking over at Chamari and Hazel.

“I’m
down.” Hazel agreed.

“As
long as you got some food, I’m down too.” Chamari laughed, as she rubbed her
belly.

“You
ain’t got to worry about that, I have a maid named Claudia who cooks three
meals a day and dessert too.” Mercedes assured her.

“So
are you coming with us or not Shateeya?” Mercedes looked in her direction.

“Come
on, don’t be like that Shi.” Candy chimed in.

“Yeah,
I guess I’ll go.” A smile appeared across her face.

“Cool,
I’m having a sweet 16 next month for my birthday and need help with my invitations
and shit.” Mercedes informed them as she began digging into her food. All this
conversation was holding her up from eating.

“Damn,
you’re only fifteen?” Hazel asked. “You look at least seventeen or so.” Hazel
was amazed that Mercedes was so young and beautiful. She stayed in the flyest
gear and had everything that the others wanted.

“Yup,”
Mercedes ate her food, “How old are you?”

“I’m
fifteen too.” Hazel said. Mercedes finished her meal and lead the way for them
to go back into the gym. Today was Friday and the teachers didn’t feel like
doing anything, so they allowed everyone to mingle. They had popcorn, music,
sodas, and little games to entertain the students as a ‘Welcome Back’ ceremony.

Mercedes
and the crew walked in. Chino sat with his eyes on her as soon as she entered.
He walked towards her; Mercedes began panicking inside. She didn’t know if she
should walk away with her friends as if she didn’t see him coming, or to stay
and talk to him.

“Hey,
how you doin Ma?” Chino greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m
fine and you?” Mercedes smiled internally feeling his warm lip on her face.

“I’m
aight, just chilling you know.” Chino nodded his head, “What’s your name?”

“My
name’s Mercedes.” He extended his arm and shook her hand as he stared into her
eyes. “Mercedes Carter…what’s your name?” She already had the scoop on him, but
she didn’t want him to think he had her open, or that she was already stalking
him.

“My
real name is Chanito, but my peoples call me Chino.”

 Mercedes
stood there and didn’t know what to say. His swag was on point, and she swore
she was already falling in love. His voice was deep, but was soft and sexy.
When he spoke, his New York accent became more prominent and she admired it.
She looked over to her girls and spied them being nosey trying to overhear her
conversation. Candice waved to her. Mercedes chuckled.

   “So,
where are you from Ma?” He asked.

“I
was born in Cuba, but raised out here; I live in Long Island now.”

“Oh
word, why did you come to Queens for school?”

“My
pops was trying to send me away to a private school and I didn’t want to go. I
wanted to come here.” Mercedes replied and was rudely interrupted by India. She
walked over and stood between the two of them, blocking Mercedes vision of
Chino.

“Why
you all up in her face?” India barked as she looked back and rolled her eyes at
Mercedes.

“I
told you about that shit India, you’re not my fucking girl.” Chino barked back.
Mercedes didn’t have time for the girl drama. She walked off, went over to her
friends, and watched from a distance as the two of them argued.

“What
happened?” Candy had to know.

“Hating
ass bitch came over trying to cock block.” Mercedes waved her hand in the air.

“Yeah
he’s definitely feeling you, and that bitch trying to get in the way.” Candy
added for effect. 

The
day in the gym quickly flew by and the girls were making their way outside.
Mercedes saw Chino in her peripheral sitting down and leaning forward with his
hands folded. He looked like he was pissed. She and her friends bypassed Chino
and India and made their way into the hallway. When Mercedes walked outside,
Mr. Gates greeted them all. The girls all called their mothers and informed
them where they would be staying with a friend for the weekend. Shateeya and
Chamari had never been in a limo before and were having the times of their
lives. Candy had experienced a limo ride a few times, so she wasn’t as gassed
as the other two. They rode in the car and bumped the hottest music. When they
go to the Carter home, Mercedes introduced her mother to her friends. She
couldn’t wait until tomorrow; they had a big day ahead of them.

The
following morning the girls woke up to the pleasant aroma of breakfast cooking
in the kitchen. They made their way downstairs and sat around the large table
located in the dining room. Claudia prepared a variety of food, French toast,
scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausages and sweet biscuits. Everyone was grubbing
like they hadn’t eaten in days. After they finished eating, Mercedes led the
girls back upstairs to her bedroom.

She
opened her closet and let the girls pick out an outfit. She had more than
enough to share and wanted everyone to match her style. She watched as they
were all amped, fighting over who got what. There were plenty of fashionable
selections, enough for all of them.

Mercedes
felt bad because Chamari was the only one who felt left out; she couldn’t fit
any of her clothes. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a Juicy
Couture bag and gave it to Chamari. She was so excited that she hugged Mercedes
and almost squeezed the living life out of her. 

After
the girls finished their mini makeover, they headed out. The first place they
went too was the spot to pick her Quincenera’s. They arrived at the party
planning store called Ante Up Entertainment. Maria knew the owner, so
everything she wanted was discounted as a gift to Mercedes. The party planning
process took a while, but they decided on all pink and white affair.

They
all hopped into the car and headed to the Plaza Mall. The girls were excited
entering the mall. They were in and out of stores looking for the perfect party
dress. Parisha’s Boutique was an obvious destination. It was also owned by one
of her mother’s good friends; she was a lady from Paris and was working her way
up to compete with Chanel, Fendi, and Prada. As they walked through the door
the girl’s jaws dropped. They were surrounded by so many beautiful dresses and
accessories.

“Hello
Mercedes, how are you doing today?” Parisha asked.

“I’m
doing fine and you.” Mercedes shook her hand.

“I
hear you’re having a Quincenera’s coming up soon.” Mercedes nodded her head and
smiled as she looked over at her mother. ‘It’s my sweet sixteen not a
Quincenera.’ Mercedes said to herself.

“Well,
I have a few selections you may like.” Parisha assured her. “Come this way.”
Mercedes and the girls followed her towards the back of the boutique. The girls
sat on the couch, as Mercedes went into the fitting room to try on the dresses
which Parisha picked out. As she walked in and out of the fitting room, the
girls lent their approval or disapproval of the dresses. The last dress that
Mercedes tried was sure to be a crowd pleaser. It wasn’t too fancy; it was just
perfect. It was a short pink cocktail dress with a demure strapless bodice top.
Mercedes loved it, but she needed something to jazz it up.

“That
dress looks beautiful on you Mercedes.”  Maria complimented.

“Yeah,
it’s really pretty.” Candy added, and the other girls nodded in approval.

“Turn
around.” Maria said. Mercedes danced and twirled around showing off her dress.
The girls chuckled as she danced.

“I
love it mom, but I want the big puffy stuff that makes the dress look all
pretty.” Mercedes frowned.

“Baby
don’t worry about that. Claudia will take care of it.”

“I’ll
take this one.” Mercedes grinned as she walked back into the fitting room to
change back into her clothes. She came back out and picked out the perfect
shoes to match her dress. She wanted to make sure that everyone would envy her.

“Girls,
you can get something too.” Maria told them.

“Oh
no Miss Maria, we can’t.” Candy spoke out loud.