Kenya and Kofi

Part 1: Kenya

I ran away from home at 12. I was tired of my father and my mother’s abuse. I was tired of the isolation. I was tired of being lonely. It seemed like they hated me. They treated me as if I wasn’t their child. I was treated more as a slave. And yes I know every teenage girl screams for freedom, but I was in real captivity. I was home schooled…or brainwashed. I couldn’t have friends. I couldn’t watch T.V. I couldn’t even listen to music unless they played it which was usually just to drown out my cries for help.
I ran away from home and found Daddy aka Captain. He is this big time drug dealer in Detroit. He is the major supply man in the city. Mostly all of the smaller dope dealers work for the Captain. And if they weren’t well, either they were eliminated or isolated. He had the best call girl service, too. He only employed foreign girls. Most of them could barely speak English. He lied about me. Told people that I came from Nigeria. It seemed as if he was telling the truth because of my wide lips and nose. What made me a number one seller was my blue eyes on top of my sex appeal. Yea, I was dark as tar with blue eyes.
But my life here was no better than home. I was a slave here, too. This was a plantation. The only difference was that the field niggas were the house hoes. They had the least freedom, the least respect, the whole nine. The house niggas were the street hoes. They didn’t get much respect either but they had more autonomy. They could use drugs or not use drugs, visit family…or not. Go shopping or not. Trick or not. Some of them had kids, their own house and partners. They just had to bring the Captain back what he asked for.
Me, where did I fit in? I was his Main Bitch. I knew the ins and outs to his whole operation. I was the only woman he took advice from. I was the only woman he confided in. He even put me in charge of the hoes. I had a lot of leverage, except the fact that I was not allowed outside the house except when it was time for me to visit the library or whenever I was with him. Yeah, he allowed me to go to the library for four hours every other Tuesday. I know you’re probably wondering why the library of all places. Well, I love to read. I love to research. If he allowed me to go to school, I would definitely be in school, however, that was the issue. He was afraid that I would run. So, every move I made was under surveillance. My only friends were the tricks and strippers, but they hated my guts because they said I was bougie because from time to time I used ‘big words’. My family, well, they were my family. I wasn’t allowed a cell phone not even an email address. My only outlet was books and National Geographics and all the other documentary channels.
I didn’t mine this slavery too much though. Might sound crazy but, sex and seducing men gave me satisfaction. It was one of the few things I controlled in my life. I couldn’t control who I slept with or how, but I controlled how fast I could make them bust. I turned it into a game. If they could last longer than 15 minutes, I lose. If not, it was a point for me. I had many regulars. Some that tried to save me. As I stated before, I was under surveillance so, they ended up being matched with someone else because Daddy, well, he was territorial over me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that he was in love with me. However, his love wasn’t anything like I had read about so, I knew he didn’t love me. He only loved his money oh and his momma.
“Kenya, get yo’ self togetha’. We gotta be at the club in an hour.” Captain said.
I said, “Okay Daddy. Can I just finish this one chapter?”
“What the hell is you readin’ nah?” He frowned.
“Message To The Black Man by Elijiah Mohammad.”
“Ain’t that that Muslim Cat and shit?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you just read that book?”
“No, that was The Autobiography Of Malcom X.”
“Oh. Well, hurry that ass up. You got request tonight.”
“Okay.”
I hurried up and read the last of the chapter before going into the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth. I sighed as I prepared to go into that club. I really did not feel like being stripped naked by eyes today but it was my job so, I had to do it.
When we got to the club, I went into the dressing room. Some of the girls were already back there dressed. It smelled like burning hair and cheap perfume.
“Assalamualaikum Queens!” I said as I walked into the dressing room. I always greeted them in a positive way. Partially to uplift them and partially to piss them off.
“Here you go with that Black Power bull shit.” An old head named Crystal said. She was about 33. It was obvious that her days were numbered. Her stamina was even low. She could not hang with us. She really didn’t make any money either. Only from her regular custos and people she brought in but that was it.
“So, what? You rather me call yaw crackhead bitches and hoes and shit?”
Crystal snarled, “Naw we just wish yo’ ass quit actin’ like you got a GED or some shit. Yo’ ass a hoe just like the rest of us.”
Snow asked, “Kenya, why you think you bettern us? ’Cause you sleep in the bed wit Daddy?” She was a white girl. One of the few that worked in this club. She stayed blowed with her flat ass. The only reason why she got them bucks was because she gave good head and she was white. Yea white privilege was a mutha fucka.
I grimed all of them and said, “I really don’t give a fuck ‘bout what none yaw think about me. Yaw bitches ain’t gotta speak to me really.”
“Shut up talkin’ to us then!” Crystal yell.
“Like I said, if you don’t wanna speak to me then ignore me. But as long as these mutha fuckin’ vocal cords work, you gon hear me speak. You got two options, like that shit or love that shit.”
“I’ll fuck you up Kenya! Witcho ugly black ass.”
I laughed at that old bitch and said, “You can try Crystal. Captain ain’t back here to save you this time.”
“You think you tuff? It was yo’ black ass he was savin ’cause he kno’ I’ll beat that ass.” She was mad that she had got demoted from main bitch when I was fifteen. He moved her to another house because he couldn’t watch her all the time and he didn’t trust her with me anymore.
“If you feelin’ froggy Crystal, leap bitch.”
She jumped up and headed toward me. The girls were trying to hold her back. I put down my eyebrow pencil and turned toward her. She was nothing but talk and people thought because I didn’t talk much that I was soft. But they ain’t want to see these hands for real. I done beat most of the house bitches and street bitches’ ass already. Not saying I didn’t get my ass whooped a few times, but I wasn’t no punk bitch and I didn’t back down to no female.
She got free from the girls and was in my face yelling calling me all types of ugly hoes and bitches. In a fit of her rage, a speck of spit flew on my face. The next thing I knew, her fat ass flew back on the bar stool, which broke under her weight and blood was dripping from her face. At first, I covered my mouth in shock because I wasn’t trying to hit her but then I thought about it and said, “She shoulda’ never spit in my face.” I turned around and finished putting on my make-up.
She continued yelling and screaming. I knew it was just to get the Captain to come running back there which he did.
“What the hell goin’ on back here?” He asked.
“They were fightin’!” Snow said.
“Who?” he asked as the girls picked Crystal up off of the floor.
Diamond, one of the house hoes, said, “Kenya hit Crystal for no reason.
That lying bitch! They was always trying to make me out to be the bad guy.
He walked over there to me and smacked the taste out my mouth and yelled, “You broke her nose bitch! You costin’ me money!”
My eyes swelled with tears, “But she”-
“I don’t give a fuck! Don’t say shit!”
He tried to break my fighting spirit but I wasn’t easily broken.