time it is!â I held my hand out.
âOh my bad,â Face said. âLet me hit you off real quick.â He handed me a fifty-dollar bill, a gold chain, and a ring.
Oh. Hell. No. He didnât.
And just when I didnât think it could get worse, K-Rock handed me a gold watch and said, âI thought about keeping this for myself, but here you go, Icy.â
I slid the money in my pocket, but everything else I tossed alongside of Schooly. âI know you not asleep, Schooly. And you can have all that.â Schooly opened his eyes long enough to sweep his new jewelry collection under his pillow and then he turned toward the wall and closed his eyes again.
I lifted a nine and thirty-eight from the dresser. I didnât know if the guns had bullets in them or not, but I still pointed âem anyway. âThe way I see it, just like I told them soft mothersuckers tonight. You got two choices. This nine or this thirty-eight âcause one thing yâall not about to do is play me out. I was an equal part of the drop and I want some of that money. Now yâall fools can have the dope and the weed, but that money, I need at least twenty bills outta there. Period.â
Face frowned. âYo, you bugginâ. Put them guns down.â
K-Rock smiled at me and I hated that all I could think about was how beautiful his teeth were.
âI ainât puttinâ nothinâ down, until you put my money up. You got at least a hundred grand in that bag. Now donât let me get Queenie in here âcause you already know sheâll keep all the dope, the weed, and take half ya money just on G.P. Now try me. I said twenty bills, but since you have pissed me off even more. I need twenty-one.â
They laughed.
âYou think this is funny?â I knocked the safety off the guns. âAnd you think Iâma put back on my ski mask? And this is how you handle your business? Oh, you dead wrong. And K-Rock, donât let Face supe you up. âCause Face already know how I gets down.â
âYou trippinâ.â Face shook his head.
âNo, you trippinâ. Now cough it up.â
I watched them count out twenty one-hundred-dollar bills. âNow hand them to Schooly.â
Schooly turned over and sat up. Face handed him the money.
I put the safety back on the guns and set them on the dresser. I took all but three bills from Schooly. âYou can have that.â
Then I turned back to Face and K-Rock. âNice doing business with you.â I pointed to the rest of the goods. âNow back to your regularly scheduled program. Nah mean.â I hit âem off with a smile. Walked back to my room, tossed the money on the bed, and giggled as I stretched my arms out and landed on it.
8
Sucker MCs
âI SIS, THE POLICE HERE!â
âWhatchu talkinâ âbout, Willis?â poured from the TV as Schooly flung my room door open, freakinâ out. Tears a blink away from fallinâ from his eyes.
I was in the middle of getting dressed for school when my heart fell through the floor.
I pulled Schooly into my room and pushed the door closed. Drew in a breath. And held it. Until it kicked its way outta my mouth.
The cops.
I wanted to die. Right now. Right here. I couldnât believe it.
âWhere is Daddy and Queenie?â
He hunched his shoulders. âThey ainât here. And Iâm scared. What you and Face do last night?â Schoolyâs eyes wildly combed me from head to toe.
Sweat bubbled across my brow, my nose, and my palms felt clammy. I whispered, âWe did a lick, thatâs it. Some dudes was tryna move in on Faceâs turf. And we handled âem.â
âThey still breathinâ?â
âYeah, they breathinâ. Unless somebody else sent the grim reaper. But we didnât.â
âYou sure?â
I hesitated. âWait. What? I know you donât think they here for me?! Do you?!â
Schooly shook his