Chapter 5

Everybody knew everybody on the bus. So, Netta stuck out like a sore thumb. By not knowing anybody in the church’s congregation, naturally she drew some curious stares. She returned their greetings with a kind one of her own, though she didn’t care about them or their church. She only had one thing on her mind, boosting in the Big Apple.

Running late, thanks to you know who, Tina, Timmy and Mimi were the last ones to board the bus. There were only two remaining seats; one next to the Reverend’s wife and the other besides Netta. There was no way Mimi was going to sit next to the Reverend’s wife and get beat in the head with scriptures all the way to New York. She rushed down the aisle to the other seat and let her mother and son sit there. She didn’t know the strange face of Netta’s, having never seen her at church before.

“Hi,” Mimi said, warm and inviting.

“Hi,” Netta said, cold as ice.

Quickly, Netta then turned her head towards the window.

Well, fuck you too, then. What the hell is your problem, Mimi thought, reasoning at the same time that she was too nice to people.

Netta completely ignored her. She thought Mimi was trying to get familiar and she didn’t need no born-agains all in her business. She went into her Coach bag and grabbed her Walkman. Switching it on and turning the volume up, she prepared for the long ride to New York.

Closing her eyes and flowing to Faith, she was zoning out as she pictured herself coming off with fly gear.

Them broads at school will really be sick if I show up in some new unheard of fly shit, Netta thought, smiling to herself.

Right next to her, Mimi quickly dozed off and her head gently came to a rest on Netta’s shoulder. All those late-night feedings had caught up with her. At first, Netta started to wake her up, but she looked so peaceful sleeping, she let it slide. In three hours, they’d be in New York and she’d be getting jiggy.

Finally, the bus arrived in Midtown Manhattan. It was a blustery winter afternoon in New York City. The lack of motion by the bus and Netta’s sudden departure awoken Mimi. She opened her eyes just in time to see Netta high-tailing it off the bus. As soon as she hit the pavement, she disappeared, blending into the sea of people on 34th Street. Netta was all business. She had a lot of stores to hit and only a few hours to do it.

Not to be intimidated, Netta walked down the streets of New York like she owned them, returning the mean looks she received. She wasn’t some dumb tourist amazed by the mass of people or gazing up at skyscrapers. She was on a mission and carried herself like a native New York, moving from point A to point B. She was in a rush like everyone else.

First up on her list was the Fendi shop. There, she boosted sweaters and khakis. Next came the Gucci shop. Netta thought she died and went to heaven when she entered the store. She boosted Gucci bags, slacks, shoes and shirts. All high-priced stuff. She planned on keeping all this for herself too. Damn, that was easy, she thought, as she made a clean getaway. Netta expected tighter security. She thought New York stores were more high-tech than the stores in B-More. With ease she snipped, ripped or popped her way through buzzer alarms and ink packs. It was like taking candy from a baby. Stopping back at the bus, she unloaded her haul. She wasn’t worried about leaving her stolen goods alone on the bus. She was with the church. Who would steal on a church trip? Checking her watch, she noticed two hours had already passed. She still had enough time to hit Macy’s, though.

Strolling carefree around Midtown, Mimi, her mother and her baby looked every bit of the tourists that they were. In amazement, they stared up at the tall buildings. They actually stopped and gawked in amazement at the vibrant scenic look of New York. Going from store to store, comparing prices until they found the best buy, they went to various department stores and boutiques. They stopped to eat lunch and to change the baby before heading over to Macy’s.

One of the world’s largest department stores, Macy’s had something for everybody. From yuppies to hip-hoppers, Macy’s featured all the designer fashions and was one of the biggest shopping attractions in New York. The children’s department was their first destination. Tina and Mimi were looking at clothes for Timmy. When they were finished, they went from department to department, browsing. Tina was notoriously slow and picky. Mimi’s attention span began to waver. Anxious to get her own shopping spree on, Mimi huffed and puffed, dragging Timmy along behind her mother. Finally, Tina let Mimi go shopping on her own.

The urban department was where Mimi again laid eyes on Netta.

What a coincidence! It’s the girl I sat with on the bus. Maybe she’d like to walk back to the bus together, thought Mimi.

Damn, where’d this bitch come from? Netta said, cursing to herself. I hope she don’t see me doing my thing. That’s all I need, some born-again Christian turning me in. Fuck this holier than thou motherfucker, I got to get mines.

Netta stood there and debated whether she should or shouldn’t. Completely ignoring Mimi for the second time and without a second thought, Netta went to work. Back and forth, she slipped in and out the dressing rooms carrying hangers of clothes. She had DKNY, Sean John, Roc-A-Wear and Fubu. These items were mostly to fill for her customer orders. They would pay top-dollar to be the first in B-More to have this gear. It was common knowledge that everything, especially clothing, hit New York before other cities like Philly, D.C. and Baltimore.

Meanwhile, Mimi busied herself trying on gear, but her intentions were totally different from Netta’s. She planned on pay for her stuff. She peeped Netta in the dressing room doing her thing. Netta kept bringing more racks of clothes while never returning any.

I’m just gonna mind my business, Mimi thought, keeping to herself.

Netta was going for the gusto, being greedy. She wasn’t on her job, as she thought shit was sweet. If she hadn’t been slipping, she might have noticed the female store detective stalking her. Mimi saw her, though. Mimi was being mad observant, hoping to catch a sight of a rapper in the Big Apple. Who could miss the white lady behind the mannequin? She was definitely 5-0. Mimi thought of a way to warn Netta that she was being watched. However, she didn’t want to take the chance of being mistakenly implicated in her crime, especially if Netta got arrested. Decisions, decisions. Mimi decided to help the girl anyway, just indirectly.

The opportunity presented itself when the store detective was hot on Netta’s heels. Netta was on her way to the store exit escalator. Mimi watched Netta as she made her way down the aisle with the security officer proceeding behind her. As soon as the security detective attempted to pass Mimi, she jumped out of the aisle blocking her patch and momentarily cutting off the pursuit. The store detective attempted to side-step Mimi, but Mimi moved from side to side, right along with her.

“Damn bitch, why the fuck is you following me? I ain’t stealing shit!” Mimi yelled at the top of her lungs real ghetto, “I got money too. Why ain’t you following no white people? You must be prejudice. You been following me since I left the children’s department. I’m warning you, you better stop following me or you’re gonna get more than what you bargained for, lady!”

Mimi’s hostile words caused dozens of shoppers to stop and stare. Even Netta turned back towards the commotion as she made her getaway. The disturbance alerted her to the danger behind her. She put a pep in her step and raced for the escalator. Taking two steps at a time, she made her way down to the 34th Street exit. Looking around nervously, she kind of expected the exits to be swarming with security. When they weren’t, she thanked her lucky starts and tried her best to blend in with the other pedestrians as she made her way to the bus.

Embarrassed, the store detective turned beet red.

“Ma’am, I…I…I… wasn’t following you,” she said meekly, looking past Mimi for Netta who had vanished just that fast.

“Oh, I guess I was wrong,” Mimi said, as she walked away laughing to herself.

Offended, the store detective stood there, looking as if someone had just plucked her on the forehead.

Back on the bus, Netta was sweating bullets, literally and figuratively.

Boy, that was a close call, she thought as she began to undress in the bus bathroom. All the clothes she had boosted, she wore in layers underneath her oversized black leather trench coat. Slowly, she peeled off the stolen merchandise, carefully folding each item. As she did so, she couldn’t help but wonder why the girl from the bus had looked out for her like that.

Steadily, the congregation began to board the bus. Netta had already bagged up her goods and placed them in the overhead compartments. She was seated and listening to her Walkman by the time Mimi arrived.

Mimi walked onto the bus alone with bags in hand. As she made her way down the aisle, Netta watched Mimi closely.

She seems nice. Maybe I shouldn’t have brushed her off earlier.

When Mimi reached her row, it was Netta who spoke first, breaking the ice.

“Girl, good looking out back there. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be locked down right now,” Netta said, thankfully. “That white security broad almost had me,” she added with a smile.

“Oh, you seen her?” Mimi asked, surprised.

“Yeah, by that time, it was too late to put all that shit back,” Netta said, as both girls laughed at the joke.

“Girl, I didn’t want to see you locked up all the way in New York, you know?” Mimi said sincerely.

The more Mimi talked, the more Netta felt bad about how she had treated her earlier. Netta was touched. No one had ever looked out for her that way except Miss Mae. Suddenly, Netta realized they hadn’t been formally introduced.

“Girl, we been talkin’ and I don’t even know your name,” Netta said.

“I’m Mimi, my real name is Tamia, but everybody calls me Mimi.”

“I’m Netta, short for Shanetta. Don’t call me Shanetta though,” Netta said.

And just like that, a friendship was formed. All the way back to Baltimore, they kicked it. She introduced Netta to her mother who made the remark she hoped to see her in church on Sunday. Tina also made a mental note of how happy Mimi looked. She hadn’t seen her this excited in years.

Mimi brought her son to the back and introduced him to Netta. Netta never had the opportunity to be around a baby. She played with him and held him the rest of the way home. She even nicknamed him Tiny Tim. During the three-hour ride, Mimi and Netta spilt out the intimate details of their lives to each other. Though they had just met, it just felt natural. Mimi confided in Netta all the drama surrounding her family. The life sentence her one brother got and the death of the other. She talked about her father and her baby’s father Twan. Netta was relieved to hear Mimi had problems, too. She wasn’t the Miss Goody Two Shoes Netta had made her out to be. Talking to Netta felt so good to Mimi, it was like they were long-lost sisters. A good listener, Netta soaked up all the information from Mimi and not once did she interrupt. She just communicated her feelings by a series of facial expressions and nods. After Mimi finished, it was Netta’s turn.

Picking up where Mimi left off, Netta told the story of her life. She spoke freely about her mother’s drug addiction and her poor living conditions. How and why she started boosting and the violent death of her guardian angel, Miss Mae. For the first time in a long time, she let her guard down. It felt wonderful not to be condemned for her way of life. It was as if a burden had lifted off her chest. What a relief it was to Netta to hold a quality conversation with somebody who was truly concerned about her well-being. She hadn’t experienced this since Miss Mae died.

Funny how time flies. The bus arrived in B-More as scheduled. Neither Mimi nor Netta noticed the bus had even pulled into the bus station, as they were too busy talking. A noticeable sadness traced over their faces like two kids who had to put away their favorite toy at bedtime. The girls exchanged numbers and said their goodbye’s, reassuring each other they’d be in touch soon.

All the way home in the car Mimi couldn’t stop talking about Netta.

“Ma, me and Netta have so much in common. I can tell we’re going to be best friends,” Mimi exclaimed. Then she added, with confidence, “Watch, she’s the sister I never had.”

Tina smiled and continued driving. She was happy that her daughter was happy. This was the old Mimi. She hadn’t seen her like this since all the trouble with the twins.

Over the next few days, the girls stayed in constant contact by phone. The phone calls eventually lead to Netta paying Mimi a visit. Since she was too ashamed to let Mimi see her apartment where she lived with her mother, she insisted it would be better for them to visit at Mimi’s home. Mimi understood, and being as though Netta never invited her over, she never asked. Netta’s visits became so frequent they turned to sleepovers.

Several months later, when Tina found about Netta’s home life, she asked her to stay with them. The invitation was a no brainer for Netta. She didn’t even ask her mother for permission to leave; she just packed up and left one day with Renee was out chasing dope. Before she packed though, Netta carefully shook out all of her clothes for roaches and eggs. She didn’t want to take her unwanted buddies with her. With no luggage, Netta put all her things into green garbage bags. Then, she caught a hack to Mimi’s house.

The transition from the projects to Mimi’s place was smooth. Tina thought so highly of Netta, she offered her the twins’ old room. Netta graciously declined the offer. How could she accept? The room represented itself as a shrine and had been left intact and untouched the way it was since the day of the murder and the arrest. Netta felt more comfortable in Mimi’s room.

Always having their own rooms, both girls welcomed each other’s company. Mimi was ecstatic every night, as she dreamed about Netta and sharing her room with her. Netta was her best friend, like a sister, and so it came natural to share everything. She finally had the best friend and roommate she wanted all her life.

The first few months of Netta’s stay was like one big slumber party. Regularly, they stayed up to the wee hours of the morning talking and listening to “the Quiet Storm” on the radio. They seemed to never run out of things to say. Mimi talked about her sexual experiences and the pain of childbirth as virgin Netta listened carefully. Netta knew about the birds and the bees, but she never did it.

Mimi’s talks of wild parties, clubs, boys and sex intrigued Netta, sparking a curiosity of adventure she had never thought about. She was ready to see B-More, not just her hood or school or the projects or Renee’s junkie ass. Many nights, she dreamed of having a girlfriend like Mimi. She had always fantasized about going through the door of a club, DJ playing her favorite song, swinging her hair, all dressed up in whatever special Chanel design she copped for the occasion. Yes, heads would turn indeed, and no one would miss the fact that she was there. She always dreamed of having a sister or someone she could hang with, someone who knew the circuit and who knew where to go to be seen. It didn’t take Mimi long to make her dreams come true.

Hammer Jacks was the first club they went to together. Netta was in awe at all the people Mimi knew. At 17, she had never been inside a club before. She liked the loud house and rap music that blasted over the club’s system. This social setting was just the perfect place for her to show off her clothes. She was in fashion heaven. Although Netta dressed down this night, wearing tight Guess jeans and a matching Guess shirt with sparkly diamond dots, she complimented the outfit with a red, butter-soft leather jacket and some Jordan’s. Even dressed down, she still shined.

All night long, dudes were trying to holla. Netta and Mimi took a few numbers but didn’t give out their own. None of the cats appealed to Netta. She didn’t plan on going out with any of them, so wasn’t no need in all that swapping numbers rap. She may have been young in age, but she was mature beyond her years. Mimi, on the other hand, flirted constantly and had hustlers buying them drinks. Since having Timmy, Mimi hadn’t really been on the scene. It had been some time since she had been out or had a boyfriend. But now, she had Netta and she’d be smarter this time, not like with Timmy’s father. This time, she’d call the shots.

As the night wound down, Mimi had some young hustler she knew drop them off home. Inside the bedroom, the two girls undressed and talked. Mimi eyed Netta’s body closely, every mark, every curve, everything about Netta’s body she consumed with quick glimpses and subtle stares. When Netta turned her back to hang up her clothes, Mimi admired her dark smooth skin tone and hourglass shape. As they spoke, she tried to shake it off, but she couldn’t stop looking. She wanted to see her breasts, watching as Netta stripped down to her panties and bra. Netta, paying no mind to Mimi, put her nightgown over her head and climbed in her bed. Tucked in under the covers, with the lights out, the girls began their midnight chatter that usually lasted all night. Except, this night was almost over.

“Mimi, I had a good time tonight. Girl, you sure do know how to get your swerve on,” Netta said, giggling.

“I see you do too,” Mimi giggled right back.

“Did you see them niggas sweatin’ us?” Netta asked.

“Girl, that ain’t nothin’. Wait until tomorrow. It’s on!” Mimi said, getting Netta excited.

“Where we going?” Netta asked, as if Mimi’s answer was worth a cool million.

“We going to the hottest club in B-More, where all the ballers be. O’Dells!” she excitedly exclaimed.