Free Hustlin' by L. Divine Page A

way Rah’s concentrating on fighting for sole custody of his daughter, I better get my cash straight because I have a feeling I’ll be seeing her soon.
    â€œMickey still trying to figure out who the daddy is?” I see Bryan’s caught up on the neighborhood gossip. This city’s too small to keep hot news quiet for long.
    â€œI think she’s already settled on that one.”
    Bryan gives me a look of recognition. I know he’s been down the maybe-baby-daddy path before and he knows better than to run around without covering up now.
    â€œWell, she’d better make sure. Everyone knows how crazy her man is. It’s only a matter of time before he gets wind of her creeping.” Bryan takes his toiletries out of their Ziploc bag and arranges them neatly on the bathroom sink. The steam coats the bag, making it appear cloudy, just like my mind is when it comes to the drama between my girls.
    â€œYeah, Mickey’s on Nigel’s jock hard. I hope she tells her man soon. Maybe her truth won’t be so catastrophic if she tells him herself. But they’re not hiding a thing. Mickey was Nigel’s biggest cheerleader at the game last weekend and kicks it with him all of the time.”
    â€œAh yeah, I heard Rah and them kicked KJ’s ass on the court last weekend. I never thought I’d see the day KJ lost a game of one-on-one. But if anyone could do it, it would be your boy, Rah. I really think he missed his calling,” Bryan says. Little does he know that Rah’s missed a lot of things lately. “I hope KJ’s ego isn’t bruised too badly.”
    â€œNow you and I both know KJ’s head needed deflating. I’m just glad I was there to witness it.” And, with Mr. Adewale and Jeremy there, I was really in heaven that day. Too bad Misty, Sandy, and Trish showed up. But even they couldn’t burst my bubble.
    â€œYeah, but you know that a nigga with a bruised ego is the most dangerous nigga out there. You tell Mickey to remember that shit when she breaks the news to her man. I’ll holla at you tonight.”
    As Bryan tends to his morning ritual, I begin my trek through the kitchen and out the back door. Lexi’s lounging in her usual spot at the bottom of the back porch steps, chewing on a bone she dug up from only she knows where.
    â€œBryan’s got a good point, huh girl,” I say to Mama’s dog before unlocking the dilapidated gate. If we don’t latch both locks on the back of the wooden gate, both of the doors will swing open all day long. Last time I left the gate open, Lexi ended up pregnant. Mama finally got her spayed last year, but that was after she’d given birth to four litters. Mama says even Lexi’s affected by Oshune’s fertile powers. Lexi looks up at me, making sure I lock the gate before returning to her bone. Must be nice to live pretty much drama-free. Too bad we all can’t live in a canine’s reality.
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    By the time I got to school, it was too late for me to run down to the drama room to try on my dress. I guess I’ll have to wait until lunch like everyone else. It’s already break and I’m itching to see my costume but, as usual, Mrs. Sinclair’s nowhere to be found. She lives around the corner and goes home to visit her babies any time she can, break included. I don’t know how she keeps up her busy schedule, but she does it like a pro. I know her ex-husband, Mr. Sinclair, hates hearing from his students—Chance and Jeremy included—about how happy she is. But that’s what he gets for cheating on her and treating her like crap when they were married.
    I need to build with Mickey about how she’s going to deal with her man and Nigel, but that conversation will have to wait until another time. I didn’t feel like dealing with either of my girls today, so I’m going to spend the rest of my time in the library digging up more information on Queen