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“So, what are you doing for yourself, Danielle?” Wendy asked.
“Um, right now, I don’t really know. I’m staying wit’ my boyfriend and I’m also lookin’ for a job. I was in Philly for two years and things didn’t go to well out there for me so I came back here to stay.”
“I see. Well, you’re a beautiful young woman. You could have a lot going for yourself.”
“I’m trying. Your mother used to tell me that I was too beautiful to give myself away for cheap. She tried to teach me how to be a young lady but, to be honest, I was young then. Naïve, selfish, and did what I wanted to do. Now I see what she was trying to say to me,” Chaos said.
Wendy smiled. “So, what are you looking to do? What skills do you have? Maybe I can help you with something.”
Chaos shrugged. “Shit, to be honest, most of my life all I ever did was run the streets and do dumb shit. I slept around and used to fight a lot. I mean, I never took school seriously or really contemplated my future. Shit, the only thing that I did that had some skills to it was maybe doing my best friend’s hair at times.”
“I see. So, there’s a start.”
“What? Doin’ hair?”
“God is a blessing, Danielle, because it so happens that I own a hair salon on Fordham Road and I probably could use a young, vibrant girl like you around in my shop. I mean, if you’re willing to take it seriously.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I can get you into a cosmetology school in the city and get you started with obtaining your license to do hair.”
“Oh my God, is you serious?” Chaos cried out.
Wendy nodded and said, “I know my mother wouldn’t have given up on you, so I’m here to help you make a better life for yourself. So, you’re ready to take this seriously?”
“What? Hell’s yeah! Oh my God, thank you!” Chaos jumped up and hugged Wendy. “You don’t understand how much I needed this.”
“You know, it was a blessing for you to come to my door when you did. We’ll put together a plan, see what schools are the best, and set you up with financial aid if you need help with money.”
Chaos was flabbergasted. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She cried tears of joy and thanked Wendy again for the help. God knew that she needed it and she felt that this was the perfect opportunity to do something with herself.
Chaos knew how to do hair, just not professionally. With a little training, she felt she would be the best in her class. She hugged Wendy and thanked her once again. They talked for a while, getting to know each other better and then Chaos left the apartment, gleaming brightly like the sun itself. She couldn’t wait to tell YB the great news. It was a start for her, and she knew
that with the push and break she was getting, she could finally turn her life around. She finally felt that she could leave her past behind and move on to better things.
Chaos jumped into the truck and started singing to herself. It was a great and gorgeous day and she wanted to be with her man.
29
Chaos enrolled into the Empire Beauty School in Midtown Manhattan that same month. She was excited about the program and YB was very supportive of her goals. The tuition wasn’t a problem for them because they still had $60,000 left of the money from Philly. I addition to their shopping and dining, some of the money went to getting a two-bedroom apartment in the Tremont section of the Bronx.
The area was okay and not shabby. Chaos was finally happy, and everything seemed to be going well for her. YB was another matter, though. He missed Philly and he was worried about his mom and thought about his cousin and Magic often. He would call his mom from time to time on her cell phone. She was in Barbados and enjoying herself. YB was happy that his mother was out of Philly for a while.
The thing that bothered YB was that he wasn’t a nine-to-five dude. He had only worked for himself his whole life by selling drugs, and knew a job couldn’t happen for him. He was happy for Chaos, but his situation was a bit different. He knew it would be only a matter of time before the sixty grand that they had left would start to dwindle. Between paying rent, the tuition for her school, and food, they needed a steady flow of income.
As a side hustle, YB got in good with a few other hustlers around the way and started to sell weed. Niggas from the block liked YB’s swagger and took him in like he was family. YB played his position, knowing that he was in the Bronx and was on someone’s home turf. But he was vulnerable on the streets. He had no real muscle, and his Glock could only do so much. He kept a low profile and did business discreetly. Even Chaos was unaware of YB’s side hustle since he was in the drug game again at a slow crawl. She was wrapped up in finishing school and trying to distance herself from the street life.
***
Months passed and everything seemed to be on the up and up for the couple. Cosmetology school for Chaos was going well, and she kept in constant contact with Wendy. By the fall, Chaos would finally have her license to do hair and she already had a job waiting for her at Wendy’s shop on Fordham Road.
YB’s future in trying to go straight didn’t look so bright. He found a connect in Yonkers and began to mess with the dope game again. Weed money was good but for him, but it was too slow. He was used to moving bricks in his hood while making tons of cash. You could take a man out of the ghetto, but it was hard to take the ghetto out of YB. He only knew one thing, and that was hustling.
With the connect YB had met in Yonkers and the prices he could get for his dope, he knew that he could flip the bricks quickly and kill the game on a whole new level in Philly. He was careful not to cross the wrong niggas in the Bronx, knowing to never shit where you ate. The money was good, though. He knew that in due time, he would have to drive back down to Philly to handle his business.
30
Chaos was a week away from obtaining her license to do hair. She was so happy that she was on Cloud Nine for the entire week. She had a job waiting, had her own place, and her own bank account. Thanks to Wendy’s guidance she knew that she was going places.
