Chapter 9
“Way to go, ladies! We are on our way!” Paige exclaimed with more excitement than she’d felt in years.
DWAP was officially up and running, and during its first week it had had enough sales to cover production expenses and to purchase more supplies, with a little profit left at the end. The marketing ploy of having the varsity football and basketball players wear the necklaces was ingenious. After one week nearly half of the student body was sporting DWAP originals, and according to the girls, even the geeks were wearing them. Although pleased, Paige wished the idea had been Seniyah’s instead of Jasmine’s.
“Check this out,” Jasmine said, waving a handful of purple order slips. Another one of Jasmine’s ideas. “Purple represents royalty, and DWAP ladies are definitely royals,” she had said while trying to persuade the group to select that color. “I have orders for at least fifty more, and this doesn’t include what everyone else has done.”
“Very good, Jasmine. Now you need to work on increasing your orders every week,” Paige told her. Paige wanted to encourage her, but she didn’t want to give her a false sense of ease. Running a business was hard work.
Jasmine smacked her lips. “Whatever, Miss Paige.” Paige ignored the teenager’s attitude. Jasmine was always angry about something. “Divas, let’s hear your reports on how you’re doing, and then we can start production and do inventory control.”
For the next twenty minutes, Paige stood in the back of the room while the divas stepped up to the podium individually and reported on their progress and outlined their goals for the following week. Paige felt like a proud mother as she listened to them identify selling opportunities and cost-saving measures. They effectively applied the principles she’d taught them, but what made Paige feel like dancing in the spirit right there in the classroom was their appearance.
During the first meeting, Paige had emphasized how important it was to look professional in the business world. At the time she didn’t think the girls were paying attention, but tonight’s display proved otherwise. They weren’t fans of long skirts and sleeves, but at least the tattoos and body piercings were covered. Most importantly, Jasmine’s hair was one color, blue, and it was pulled back and held together by a clip.
Paige squeezed her long frame behind a student desk when her protégé took the podium. That way she wouldn’t have to worry about hiding her excitement about Seniyah’s brilliant ideas. She couldn’t jump up from the small desk if she wanted to. She smiled as Seniyah opened her notebook and began her presentation. She looked confident in the wool coat Paige had given her, although Paige thought it fit more snugly than it should. She’d purchased a larger size purposely to accommodate Seniyah’s fuller frame, or so she’d thought. Paige attributed the fit to the thick sweats the girl wore underneath, and then gave Seniyah her full attention. On her next shopping trip, she’d purchase Seniyah some dress slacks.
Within seconds, disappointment couldn’t begin to describe how Paige felt. Seniyah spoke with confidence, but her ideas were mediocre at best. Her sales ranked at the bottom, and she didn’t have any concrete ideas about how to turn them around. It was then that Paige remembered that Seniyah never did e-mail her that marketing plan from the previous session. Unlike with the rest of the girls, at the end of Seniyah’s presentation, the only person clapping was Paige. As her mentor, she had to encourage her.
“Are there any questions or suggestions for Seniyah?” Paige asked the group in hopes of helping Seniyah gain a better grasp of what she was supposed to be doing.
“Ooh, ooh, I have a question,” Jasmine said, waving her hands in the air.
Paige knew this wouldn’t turn out well, but she had opened the door and couldn’t close it now.
“How much longer do we have to carry her?” Jasmine asked. “It’s obvious she don’t have a clue about what she’s doing.”
“No one asked you to carry me,” Seniyah shot back, uncharacteristically outspoken. “I know what I’m doing. I’ve just been too busy lately to focus on the project.”
“It’s not a project!” Jasmine yelled, silencing the murmuring among the other girls. “It’s a business, our business. If we don’t believe in it, no one else will. No one is waiting in line to hand us a free ride out of the ghetto like you have. I need this to work. This training and community college may be all I get.”
Jasmine’s passion surprised Paige, but she couldn’t allow Jasmine to insult Seniyah. Sure, the girl needed to work harder, but Seniyah’s family dynamics were quite complicated. “Jasmine, let’s not be too hard on Seniyah, just because she applied herself and earned a scholarship,” Paige said, maneuvering from behind the desk and walking to the front of the room. “At least she’s trying.”
“And just how do you know?” Jasmine snapped. “She hasn’t participated in any of our production sessions on the weekends. And she comes here late and doesn’t complete assignments. So unless you know something we don’t, just how do you know she’s trying?”
Paige’s steps slowed as she neared the podium to stand next to Seniyah. She’d grown accustomed to dealing with Jasmine’s outbursts. Usually they were misguided, but not this time. Paige had assumed Seniyah was now participating in the weekend production sessions, and although she’d arrived earlier than last time, tonight Seniyah was still late. For once Paige didn’t have an answer to defend her favorite student. Neither did she like the unassuming expression Seniyah wore.
“Instead of attacking one another,” Paige said, facing the group, “I think we need to come together as a team and work on our weaknesses.” She intended to spend some one-on-one time with Seniyah before the next session.
“We’ve been doing that,” Jasmine shot back, gesturing toward the rest of the girls. “She’s the one who is not acting like a team player,” she added, pointing at Seniyah.
Paige had to regain control before Jasmine convinced the group to vote Seniyah out. One of the rules governing the group was that everyone had to participate, or else they’d be asked to leave the group.
“In any business there are people who work harder than others. However, DWAP’s goal is for every member to contribute to its success,” Paige told the girls. “That being said, instead of the regular production session on Saturday, I’m willing to attend and provide training and team-building skills.” She paused and turned to Seniyah. “Everyone must attend.” She faced the group again. “If any issues remain after that, then we’ll reevaluate and make any necessary changes as a group.”
In the silence that followed, Paige prayed that Seniyah would get more involved and would lose the nonchalant attitude. She couldn’t admit it out loud, but Jasmine was right. Everyone had problems.
“Fine,” Jasmine finally said. “Where do you want to meet?”
Paige exhaled a sigh of relief. “We can meet at my office. I have a conference room. Let’s say three o’clock? The address is—”
“We have your card,” Jasmine said, cutting her off, then walked to the production table and started counting beads. The rest of the girls followed, including Seniyah, but at a slower pace.
Paige planned to speak with Seniyah after the other girls left, but as soon as the session ended, Seniyah darted out the door. Paige ran out to the parking lot in hopes of catching her, but the black wool coat was nowhere to be found.