Get It Girls Read online

  The girls began to mock her further by making clucking sounds. Tiny was clearly vexed, and Vonda, Jessica, and Lynn knew it by the way she was biting down on her lip. She was also slanting her eyes, and that was an expression they were all too familiar with. It had gotten them in more than their share of trouble in the past.

  “Tiny, don’t say a fucking word. Just keep on walking,” Vonda whispered.

  “Yeah, Tiny. Let that shit go,” added Jessica.

  Tiny continued to bite down on her lip and clutch her fist. Halfway down the block, Tiny couldn’t take it any longer and lost it. She turned around and yelled at the top of her lungs, “At least I’m not a high school dropout like you, you dumb dyke bitches!”

  That was it. Tiny had set it off, and the four girls ran as fast and as hard as they could toward the train station. Cookie and the four other girls were fuming as they yelled obscenities at the retreating girls’ backs.

  “Get it on 'em, girls. Get in their asses! We gonna fuck y’all up. Get it in, y'all! Get it in on 'em!”

  It was only in vain, as Cookie and her crew ran out of steam after only one block of pursuit.

  “That’s all right, bitches,” yelled Cookie. “When I catch y’all asses it’s fuckin’ on!”

  Jessica, Vonda, Tiny, and Lynn ran five more blocks and slowed down only when they were sure they were no longer in danger. When they arrived at the number 3 train at 148th and 7th Avenue, the four girls were out of breath and so furious that that Vonda threw Tiny up against the entrance wall and began digging into her—hard.

  “You just couldn’t keep your fuckin’ mouth shut, could you? You just had to say something, Tiny, huh?” Vonda grabbed her by her sweater. “Now you got us in the fucking mix with them bitches and now we got to watch our backs!”

  Tiny knew she was wrong and could not respond.

  Vonda refused to let up as her eyes turned blood red from anger. “I fuckin’ told you not to say nothing, but you don’t listen.”

  If it wasn’t for Lynn and Jessica pulling Vonda off of Tiny, she would have surely wound up choking Tiny to death. Tiny coyly eyed the ground like a child, only now realizing how much she had put them in jeopardy. Vonda’s chest heaved in and out. She stared down at Tiny red-faced, awaiting an answer, but she never received one.

  Forever the peacemaker, Lynn wiped the sweat from her brow. “Damn. I don’t know about y’all, but I sure could use a snack, ’cause my diabetes must be acting up.”

  Just like that, the four of them laughed as they looked at each other’s hair, which was now sweated out. Tiny walked over and lifted her chin toward Vonda. They stared at each other for a moment, and then they both grinned wickedly and embraced.

  “Why the fuck do I keep you as a friend?” Vonda wondered out loud as she patted Tiny’s hair back into place.

  “’Cause without me, your life would be boring.” Tiny snickered.

  “No, because she would get that ass kicked every day if it wasn’t for you.” Jessica grinned as she playfully patted Tiny on her head.

  They began to fix their clothing back into place and used their fingers to restyle their hair and walked down the stairs to the train station.

  “They really wanted to get our asses, huh?” Vonda asked.

  They all nodded, and Jessica asked, “Yo, was it me or did I hear that fat bitch Cookie yelling, ‘Get it in, girls’?”

  “Yes, she did,” said Vonda. “‘Get it, girls. Get their asses, girls.’ Shit, I felt like we were being chased by a pack of hungry wolves or something.”

  All the girls started cracking up. After their adrenaline rush subsided, reality once again struck them and Jessica said, “But, yo, them bitches is serious, so we can’t walk on 7th or Lenox Avenue no time soon.”

  They all looked down and agreed with a nod.

  “We could just catch the train on 135th instead of here from now on,” Lynn suggested. “We only got two months left till we all graduate. We lay low for the summer, and after that we don’t have to worry about them bitches forever.”

  They collectively discussed it for a moment and agreed to avoid their rivals by lying low. “So that’s what it is,” said Vonda. “Watch each other’s back from now till we go off to college.”

  They all nodded. They watched the train pulling into the station and Vonda added, “We are now wanted girls, so we got to be on point.”

  Fear once again was in their eyes and Vonda saw it and joked, “We not just wanted girls, but we are the Get ’Em Girls.”

  A smile instantly came across all their faces.

  Lynn asked, “So, is that the name of our crew now? Are we the Get ’Em Girls crew?”

  All at once, the girls began to nod and agree. One by one, each stuck out her fist and put it together in the center. In unison they said, “Get ’Em Girls!”

  Chapter 2

  When Jessica arrived home with her younger brother Jordan, she immediately began to follow her mother’s orders and took out some frozen meat from the freezer. She paused for a moment and listened closely. “Jordan, cut that Atari off and get to your homework, now!”

  The sound coming from his room instantly stopped, and she became suspicious. She knew her brother, and she also knew that he didn’t take well to being told what to do that quickly, so she quietly began climbing the stairs to his bedroom. She listened at his door for a second and thought she heard the handling of the Atari controllers patting away. She rushed in his room. Just as she thought; he’d only turned the volume down on the television and continued playing the game.

  “Aha!” yelled Jessica as she ran toward her little brother and snatched the controller out of his hands. “Jordan, you think I’m that stupid? You know Mama said you have to do your homework before you get on these games.”

  “Come on, Jessica,” Jordan pleaded. “My friend at school let me borrow his game till tomorrow, and I’m just testing it out for a minute, that’s all.”

  “Jordan, you know that if Mama comes home and finds you playing these games without your homework being done she’s going to yell at me too for letting you.”

  “But, Mama ain’t getting home for another two hours, and I’ll be finished with my homework by then, Jessica.”

  “Mommy isn’t getting home,” Jessica corrected, “and I’m not going to get yelled at, so the quicker you get your homework done, the quicker you can get back to your game.”

  Jordan felt wounded and put on the pouting face. Jessica stared at her twelve-year-old brother and instantly felt sad. Jessica and Jordan always had a deep affection toward each other and were extremely close ever since he was born prematurely. He grew up sickly, and Jessica, as well as her parents, was always overly protective over him. Jessica would do anything to protect the little boy. She was closer to him than his own parents because she watched him most of the time.

  After staring at her little brother slowly unzipping his school bag while pouting, she relented and said, “I hope that game has two players, because I’m about to whip that little butt of yours.”

  Jordan’s eyes lit up and a huge smile came across his face and he said, “Yes!”

  **********

  Later that evening, Vonda called just as Jessica was finishing up washing the dishes.

  “Yo, Jessica, guess what?” said Vonda.

  “I don’t know, what?”

  “No, guess,” Vonda repeated.

  “Bitch, I don’t have time to be standing here guessing all night. Spit it out,” Jessica teased.

  “Aight, you know Stevo and them dudes that always be trying to holla at us from 143rd Street? Anyway, me and Tiny saw him walking through my block a little while ago and he said that he was throwing a big party this Friday and invited all of us to come.”

  “And?” said Jessica, like it wasn’t that much of a big deal.

  “And, we are going, right?”

  “I don’t know, Vonda. He’s probably going to invite everybody from the neighborhood there, and you know we can’t get
caught up with the bullshit again.”

  “No, it’s not that kind of party; it’s a house party, and he’s handpicking everyone to show up. He told me that no bum bitches are allowed at his party, and you know Cookie and them other bitches are straight-up chicken heads, so that’s a wrap.”

  Jessica sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “Come, Jessica. It ain’t gonna be right if you don’t come. I’m tired of going to parties with only Tiny and Lynn. Tiny always showing her ass, and Lynn’s always complaining she ready to go because nobody be asking her to dance. I get tired of that shit. At least if you come I can have a good time because I don’t have to be feeling so guilty.”

  They both laughed.

  “Oh!” said Vonda. “I forgot to tell you!”

  Jessica smiled and folded her because arms because she knew Vonda didn’t normally get this excited over just anything. “What?”

  “Guess who gonna be at the party too?”

  “Who?”

  “Fine-ass Kenny!” Vonda squealed.

  Jessica was at loss for words and melted by just hearing his name.

  Hearing Jessica’s silence, Vonda knew that was the hook, line, and sinker. “Yeah, I knew that would get your ass open.”

  “No.”

  “Bitch, get the fuck out of here. Yo’ ass is probably creaming your panties right now.”

  Jessica shifted from one leg to the other, embarrassed that she was right.

  “So, you gonna go or what?” asked Vonda.

  Jessica frowned and bit down on her lip and spoke in a low tone. “I want to, but I don’t know if my mother’s going let me go, though.”

  “Come on, Jessica, you almost eighteen. She won’t mind you going to one little ole party.”

  Jessica shrugged. “What time the party starts anyway?” Jessica knew instantly there was a problem when she heard Vonda’s brief pause.

  “It starts at ten o’clock.”

  “Ten o’clock, Vonda? Ten fucking o’clock, Vonda?”

  “Just tell your mother you staying over my house,” offered Vonda.

  Jessica shook her head. “No, she still won’t go for it.”

  “Well,” conceded Vonda, “you got by Friday to figure something out, ok?”

  Jessica shook her head as Vonda gave her a reminder, “Remember, we got a half a day on Friday too, so we could chill and change at my house till it’s time to go to the party, aight?”

  “Ok,” said Jessica, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up the phone softly. Jessica immediately began formulating a plan of action. She smiled and walked into the living room, where her father was half asleep as the ten o’clock news played. Jessica sat on the arm of his La-Z-Boy chair, where he reclined, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

  Mr. Robert W. Jones smiled immediately and asked, “What was that for?”

  Jessica’s forty-seven-year-old father was the absolute apple of her eye, as she was to him. Jessica would forever be his pride and joy, and he’d spoiled her since the day she was born. It was impossible for him to tell her no to anything, and she knew it.

  “Nothing, Daddy . . . I just felt like giving you a kiss.”

  He eyed her suspiciously and said, “Ok, how much do you need?”

  Jessica chided him and said, “Oh, Daddy, I don’t want any money.”

  He displayed a surprised look. “Let me check your temperature.”

  She tapped him on the shoulder and smiled. “Why something got to be wrong with me, Daddy?”

  “I know, baby. I’m just joshing you.”

  They stared at the television in silence until Jessica asked, “Daddy?”

  “Yes, pumpkin.”

  “It’s this premiere to a movie coming out downtown this Friday, and me and Vonda and the rest of us have free passes to see it, but the only thing is it starts at ten o’clock. You think I can go?”

  He scratched his fading hair and said, “If it starts at ten, you won’t get out till at least midnight. That’s pretty late to be getting home by yourself,” said Mr. Jones.

  Jessica anticipated his answer and quickly stated, “I know. That’s why we all planning on staying at Vonda’s house so none of us have to walk home by ourselves.”

  He shrugged. “Ok, that make sense.”

  Jessica jumped up and asked excitedly, “That means I can go, Daddy?”

  He nodded his head and submitted, “Yes, baby, you can go with your friends.”

  Jessica began clapping and gave her father a big hug and a kiss. “Thank you, Daddy! I love you so much.”

  These were the moments Mr. Jones lived for, as he saw the joy in his baby girl eyes. She gave him another kiss on the cheek and then headed upstairs to her bedroom. Just before she went up she peeked back into the living room and asked her father, “Daddy, umm, what about Mama?”

  Mr. Jones looked into his daughter’s big doe eyes. “Now, you don’t have to worry about your mother. I’m still the man around here, if you haven’t noticed.” He winked.

  **********

  The day of the party, Jessica packed her clothes and shoes in an overnight bag before she went to school. She made sure her outfit for the night was looking fresh and hugged all her curves in just the right places. Jessica thought that she would have to be the most stunning girl at the party if she had any chance of getting Kenny’s attention.

  Kenny Duboise was a neighborhood teen who had it all—good looks, style, and a fierce reputation as a ladies’ man. Girls and women alike flocked around him because of his magnetic personality and smooth demeanor. But what really set Kenny apart like no other were his deep, penetrating hazel eyes. Just one look into a girl’s eyes would send them in a whirl, so Jessica knew the competition would be thick.

  Even though Jessica herself was highly sought after, she was used to seeing Kenny with older and more sophisticated women. She had to at least try to stand apart from the other girls even though she doubted her chances of being with a person like him.

  After the four girls got out of school at noon that day, they went over to Vonda’s house to practice the latest dance moves. Vonda had gotten some weed from one of her older brothers, and she, Lynn, and Jessica were having a ball, smoking, dancing, and bragging on how they would rule the dance floor that night. Tiny, however, was disinterested in dancing and remained laid back in a chair as she smoked the weed and watched the three of them dance through her icy eyes. The more weed she consumed, the more she seemed to grow angry at the world—especially toward her arch nemesis, Jessica Jones.

  Lynn and Jessica were doing their thing in the middle of the room and had just perfected an intricate succession of dance moves.

  “Oh, snap,” said Vonda, as she watched her two home girls twirl and spin to the beat. “Yo, let me learn that shit.”

  Tiny watched Vonda take Jessica’s hand as she taught her the reinvented Hustle move. Even though The Hustle wasn’t in style anymore, they still practiced the dance and used it from time to time at parties to showcase their style. Lynn changed records and put on what she felt was the ultimate Hustle song to dance to: “Trans Europe Express” by Kraftwerk. Vonda and Jessica immediately screamed their excitement and went into full dance mode. Tiny’s glassy eyes turned into a slant as she watched the two tall girls groove to the song. The more she watched them, the angrier she grew and finally had enough.

  “Wack . . . wack . . . wack! That shit y’all doing is straight up wack!” yelled Tiny, instantly breaking the girls’ stride.

  The three girls stopped in their tracks and stared at Tiny, who was now standing up wiping the marijuana ashes off of her clothes.

  Lynn took the needle off the record player and immediately pressed Tiny. “Why are you always hatin’, Tiny? You just mad because you can’t do it.”

  Tiny only rolled her eyes. “All y’all doing are biting someone else’s shit. But, me,” she patted herself on the chest, “I’m gonna be original with mine, not like that tired played out shit Jessica be doing.”


  Jessica immediately rebutted, “I knew it. She’s just jealous.”

  “Jealous!” said Tiny, exasperated. “Bitch, the day I’m jealous of you will be the day I die.”

  Jessica pulled Lynn and Vonda farther away from Tiny.

  Perplexed, Tiny asked, “What the fuck are you doing?”

  Jessica smiled cunningly and said, “We got to stand away from you because God is going to hit your jealous ass with a bolt of lightning if you keep lying.”

  Vonda and Lynn busted out with laughter.

  This time, like any, Tiny hated to be clowned on. “At least I don’t have to lie to my parents so I can go out to a party. Do I, bitch?”

  There was complete silence for a moment. Vonda put her head down for violating Jessica’s trust by telling Tiny how she’d gotten out to go to the party.

  Jessica had to show control so Tiny didn’t know she was hurt. She decided to check Tiny just as hard. “At least I don’t wear my little brother’s clothes.” Jessica gave a sly smile.

  Tiny quickly countered. “At least my li’l brother ain’t slow.”

  Jessica walked right into that one, she thought, but she had to show no emotions or Tiny would feed off of it forever. Jessica decided to hit her where it really hurt.

  “At least I don’t have to put tissue in my bra to make it look like I have titties, bitch.”

  That was it. Tiny was livid as she looked at the only one who knew she put tissue in her bra: Vonda. Tiny’s eyes began to slant, and she turned her anger back toward Jessica, who was laughing and giving Lynn a high five.

  Suddenly, as if she’d had a revelation, Tiny silently sat back in the chair, relit the joint, and simply smiled wickedly at Jessica. The three girls knew Tiny was up to something, but they didn’t know what. She would never have allowed anyone to out-talk her in her life. For her to walk away from verbal confrontation, they knew she was up to no good.

  Breaking the tense atmosphere, Lynn put the needle back in the record. “Come on y’all, we got a party to go to tonight, and it’s going to be nothing but cuties up in that piece. We got to show them other bitches who’s the queens of the dance floor, so let’s dance.”