“What is it that you want then, Tiara? What can you and I do together before I go to California?”
Tiara already knew what she wanted. “How about we go to the shooting range, and you can show me how to use a gun?”
Cat’s right hand flew to her chest just as her left hand flew to her mouth. The woman was in disbelief of what her daughter had just asked of her father. Cat’s mouth kept opening and closing while she tried to find the words to speak. Blake, on the other hand, had placed his chin on top of his clasped knuckles. He peered into his daughter’s eyes and was almost surprised to see that they were empty. They reflected his perfectly. It alarmed him for the simple fact that he thought he’d done everything in his power to prevent exactly that from happening. Then again, she was born a Rogers. No matter how green he would like her to stay, it was her rite of passage to know the ways of a hustler.
“What else would you like for us to do?”
“We can go out to eat, and you can talk to me about how to make my own money.”
Blake couldn’t help but to laugh. The expression on her face let him know that she was dead serious. His brow furrowed, and he cocked his head. Never had his child intrigued him so much.
“Absolutely not!” Cat interjected when she found her voice again. “Hell, no. Shoot a gun? You must be out of your mind.”
“Why not?”
“Because I said no, and you will listen to your mother!”
“My mother? Oh, you mean Stephanie?” Tiara glared at her mother. “She’s upstairs. I can go ask her what she thinks if you want.”
“Tiara!”
Blake’s bark was lethal, and Tiara instantly stood down. Cat looked like somebody had just slapped her in the face, but Tiara felt no remorse for her words. Everybody in the room knew that they were nothing but the truth.
“Don’t ever take that tone with your mother again, do you understand me?”
“Yes,” Tiara grumbled, wanting nothing more than to give Cat a dirty look; instead, she just settled for rolling her eyes. She knew better than to go against her father’s instructions.
“Good,” Blake said and glanced back at his paper. “Now, you are dismissed. There is a car waiting to take you to school. And roll those eyes of yours again and I’ll show you one of the many ways I can gouge them out. When you get home, I will be waiting, and your first gun lesson will start.”
Tiara’s face instantly lit up, and she jumped to her feet.
“Thanks, Daddy!” she said in his neck when she threw her arms around him.
“Now go! You’re going to be late for school because you’re trying to choke me.”
He kissed her forehead before she pulled away and ran to the front door. When she got outside, sure enough, there was a black car waiting for her out front. It was still dark outside and even a little chilly, just like most mornings when she left for school. She looked around her neighborhood knowing that every house her eyes fell upon was her father’s property. Before she was even born, Blake bought a large piece of land. On that land, he had ten houses built from the ground up. He rented them out to some of his family members and his most loyal workers. Around his land, there was a gate with a secured entrance, so in a way, he had created his own little community. One that he controlled and ruled effortlessly. There was nothing better than being surrounded by people that he both loved and trusted. The sun was beginning to shine now, and Tiara walked toward the black Audi Q5 waiting to drive her to school. Before she got to the car, her driver, Thomas, was already holding her door open for her to get in.
“Hello, Princess,” Thomas said, smiling at Tiara. “You look delightful this morning.”
Tiara muttered something rude under her breath, grabbing her own door and slamming it shut. She rolled the middle console up so that she wouldn’t be forced into having conversation. The day had just started, and she was already completely over it. The only thing about the day that she was looking forward to was seeing her best friend, Brandy.
The second Thomas pulled up to the front of Tiara’s school, she jumped out without saying good-bye and quickly blended in with the other kids hurrying to get into the building. Once she was certain that she was out of Thomas’s eyesight, she pulled her hair out of the ponytail it was in, letting it fall freely around her shoulders. Once she was through the tall, metal double doors, she made her way to her locker and applied her red MAC lipstick to her lips. Unbuttoning the top two buttons on her blouse, she arranged her shirt so that she could show off her cleavage. As she walked, she ignored the many girls trying to get her attention by complimenting her appearance. All she wanted to do was get to her regular morning spot.
Finally, she reached her locker, only to find a group of boys standing by it. Upon seeing her, they all gave her body lustful glances. One of them even had the nerve to lick his lips. She knew him only because he was in a few of her classes. His name was Kent something or other. He wasn’t bad looking but definitely not her type. He was too light skinned and skinny for her. The best part about him were the neat cornrows in his long, great grade of hair.
“Nigga, don’t be licking your lips at me,” Tiara rolled her eyes at him.
“Damn, Tiara,” Kent said. “My bad, but that ass gets fatter every day! You know you’re the baddest in the whole school.”
“I been knew
