Confessions by Sasha Campbell Read Free Book Online

twenty. They’ll be available in two weeks.”
    â€œThanks.” Cimon grinned like she suddenly thought of something funny.
    â€œIs something wrong?” I couldn’t keep the attitude from my voice.
    She gave it right back to me. “Nope. Nothing at all.” She stuffed her documents back in her purse, then rose.
    Oh, I wasn’t done with her. “While you’re here, I need you to go to the career center next door and apply for some jobs.”
    Cimon looked at me as if I told her ass to rob a bank. “Why I need to do that?”
    â€œDon’t you wanna do something with your life other than receiving food stamps and living on Section 8?”
    â€œFo’ what? It cost me more to get a job and pay for a babysitter.” Another chick trying to get over on the system. Women like her made me sick.
    â€œYou got three kids, which means you are entitled to full education benefits. You can get a free ride. I wish I could have gotten a degree for free. Did you know you are eligible for child care?”
    â€œFo’ real?” She gave me a greedy look.
    â€œYeah, as long as you’re working or going to school.”
    Cimon sucked her teeth and quickly lost interest. Ha! She really thought we were going to pay for daycare while her lazy ass lay around at home with some thug.
    I pointed down at the sheet of paper on the counter. “I need you to sign here and here.”
    I stared at her pinch braids while she signed. They looked like she had just gotten them done. It would have cost her at least one fifty, but she didn’t have money to feed her kids. Did I tell you women like her made me sick?
    After she left, I went and took a bathroom break and checked my makeup on the way out, making sure I was still looking good. I was. Before going into the office, I went outside to get a newspaper from the rack out front. It was the week before the Martin Luther King holiday and cold as hell. I dug a quarter out of my pocket and was shivering as I reached for my paper. I was moving back into the building when I spotted Cimon climbing into a bad-ass midnight blue Lincoln Navigator. Before she could pull out of the parking lot, I memorized the license plate, which was easy. C IMON . That bitch thought she was slick. Just wait until she tries to swipe her EBT card and comes up short. You got to get up very early in the morning to fool me.

5
Nikki
    I removed the last magazine from the rack and took a seat on the floor. Running a bookstore was hard work. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Book Ends was open seven days a week with a different event scheduled almost every evening. That night was open mic night, which meant I wouldn’t close the store until after nine. Not that I was complaining.
    I looked across the store at Karen, my assistant, as she rang up another customer’s order. It was buy two, get one free day, and as usual the store had been busy. I was grateful business had been good. As much as I wanted a black bookstore, the only thing black about it is the owner. I learned that catering to just my people was not a smart business move. No offense, but you know good and well we like to borrow each other’s books instead of trying to support black bookstores, which is why so many have gone out of business. I’ll admit, I can’t compete with the prices at Walmart and some of the other online stores, but that’s why I offer specials. I also make sure I have books for everyone. White, black, Chinese, religious, you name it, I try to have it in my store.
    â€œNikki, the mail’s here,” Karen cried from the front counter. As soon as the last customers left, I rose from the floor and grabbed the mail from behind the counter.
    â€œI’m running to Popeyes. You want me to get you something?”
    I looked up at her gold-toothed smile. At first glance, Karen wasn’t what one would consider front desk material with her blond weave