Page 3 of The Ninth

My ears tuned out of their discussion and focused on the scenery the moment we officially hit the inner city. The beautiful tall buildings. The people walking quickly to and from. Their clothes were fire, and not the bullshit you see in Jeffersonville. No two people looked the same. One was rushing down the street in a suit. The second was strolling casually in jeans and a shirt. The other was running with an Alo fit on. The little girl in me smiled a bit seeing the Ferris wheel at the Navy Pier. I’ve always wanted to ride it, but we never had time.

“Wait, what is this area of Chicago called?” I interrupted their conversation.

“Umm...” my mother sung softly while looking in her phone. “Streeterville.”

I spotted not only a good looking breakfast place, but a nice, chill looking tattoo shop down the way. Nice enough to be in this part of the city, but chill enough to not be overly bougie and busting heads. Both moved to the top of my to-do list.

“This can’t be the right address. Why are you pulling in?” my grandmother ruined my romantic meet and greet with the city.

“Tish, this is what Cassandra sent. Look, there’s valet. She told me valet was expecting us.”

The car came to a stop. A smiling Black man stood at the sidewalk, waiting for us to get out. I opened my door hesitantly. Even I was unsure that Cassie lived in the gorgeous building. It looked extremely expensive. That made me uncomfortable. How much am I going to be expected to pay in rent?

My head fell to the back of my shoulders as I spun in a circle, looking up at all of the skyscrapers. They all stretched beyond the clouds and looked as if they were just cleaned. My eyes fixated on Cassie’s alleged residence. Optima Signature. This is the name she gave me. Maybe she just is this successful. Hm.

“Okay! This everything?” the guy asked as another pulled away with my father’s car.

“Uh, yup. I believe so!”

“Alright then, let’s get you up there. Oh, no need to tip. Cassandra has already did that. Follow me.”

The four of us shared a look as we entered into the building.

The air just smelled fucking expensive. The apartment building was connected to a damn Whole Foods that you could access from inside of here. A breakfast restaurant called Egg Harbor Café was nestled in the corner. There was even an entire nail salon.

As we all walked stunned behind the valet man, our eyes scanned each of the signs incredulously. Basketball courts, golf simulator, yoga, gyms, swimming pools, rooftop lounges, a theatre, a fucking library.

I grabbed my father’s arm before he entered the elevator behind the others, “Dad...this is ridiculous.”

“Who are you telling!” he chuckled under his breath. “It’s time to lock in, Devy. You deserve to live as ridiculously as Cassie does.”

With that, we stepped onto the elevator.

That’s not what I wanted him to say. What I wanted was a “Yeah...I don’t think this is you. Maybe we can find you a small apartment away from the inner city.” Or a, “let’s just go home.” Instead, they pushed me on.

The elevator ride was long. My heart sunk to my ass once it stopped. We were on the fifty-fifth floor. There were fifty-seven of them. The elevator was even nice. You couldn’t even hear it carry us up to heaven. We ourselves were as quiet as a mouse. Not that I ever expected to see one in here.

We walked just a few doors down before the valet guy knocked softly. “Coming!” a sweet voice shrilled from the inside. The lovely scents of her apartment hit our noses before we even entered. Moments later, the door swung open.

I forgot how short Cassandra was. It was almost comical. Her 5’4 self-compared to all of us who were 5’7 and taller. I myself am 5’9. As quickly as I took note of her height is as quickly as I took note of her beauty. Still had the same gorgeous, dark brown skin. It always seemed as if she was glowing. Her teeth were perfectly straight and white. Eyes titled up. High cheek bones. Long, old-money blonde hair that fell beneath her ass. The blonde against her skin was everything.

“HI!” she yelled loudly. As she stepped to the side, her skirt swung softly. She had on an all-white, matching Ralph Lauren Polo set. Her blonde hair was put back by a white headband. Ears had three sets of pearls in each. Skin free of tattoos or any imperfections. She was as perfect as her life.

I walked in after the valet. Cassandra and I both gave each other a polite smile. She seemed nervous for some reason. I was just too stunned to say anything.

There was a full bathroom when you walked in. That connected to another bathroom that connected to a master bedroom. The living room, or the great room as Cassie called it, was MASSIVE. The entire wall was lined floor to ceiling with glass windows. The furniture was the prettiest pale pink. The TV had to be at least one-hundred inches. Art lined the walls, and the real kind of art you got from exhibitions. She had a corner apartment with a beautiful view of Streeterville. There’s just no way I can afford to even split this. There’s no way.

I looked to Cassie to decline her offer. Instead, she nervously looked to my parents and grandmother, ranting on and on about doing make-up, how it’s been finishing school, and moving into here. Apparently she’s been here for about five years now. Being able to maintain this lifestyle for so long without assistance was impressive. They wanted to see her bedroom, but she said it was a mess and next time.

“Oh, Devyn!” she smiled. “Your room is right there, baby.”

My mother softly pushed me to the room. The valet guy nodded towards us after placing my things inside. Once we got to the room...I was in shock. Yes it was huge and beautiful blah, blah, blah. It was also fully furnished. However, you could tell Cassie was using it as a closet.

A make-up chair was in the middle of the room. Unopened boxes of make-up, shoes, clothes, purses and bags from places like Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel. I’ve never felt more uncomfortable in my skin.

“Oh, Devyn!” she yelled again. “We’ll move all of that stuff later.”

“Well, come on, ladies!” my father yelled to my mother and I. “I gotta beat that rain.”