She crossed her arms over her chest, and gave Heaven a dirty look. “What? You want your tampons back?”
Heaven shook her head. “No, no. I gave those things to you. I actually wanted to apologize to you for the other day. I shouldn’t have said those harsh things, especially when you were already upset. You didn’t deserve that.”
She clucked her tongue. “You right. I didn’t. I ain’t no low-class bum-bitch.”
“I didn’t say you were,” Heaven replied.
“But you was actin’ like it,” she snapped. “Comin’ at me all slick.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Heaven said sincerely.
“Oh no, boo-boo. You ain’t offend me. You pissed me the hell off. But, trust. It’s all good. I’ma pay you back for all the stuff you gave me when I get on my feet. Then after that, I’ma tell you to kiss my fuckin’ ass. I might even fight ya ole stuck-up ass ‘n’ snatch out ya weave.”
Weave?
Heaven flung her hair. She wasn’t going to waste her breath schooling some little hoodrat bitch on what real hair looked like. Her shit was all hers. From her roots to her ends, there wasn’t anything weaved up on her head.
“Listen, hon. I’m not looking for problems,” Heaven assured her. “I only wanted to apologize to you.”
She grunted. “Well, apology accepted. But I still fight old-ass bitches.”
Heaven blinked. Old? She wasn’t even forty yet. What the hell would she be called if she were? Ancient?
“Again,” Heaven said. “I didn’t mean to come at you like that. I was having a bad day. Haven’t you ever had a bad day?”
Her brows rose in response.
“Well, I have,” Heaven continued. “Many over the years. And I’m woman enough to apologize when I’m wrong. Anyway, I also wanted to thank you for coming by when you did . . .”
She tilted her head, and suspiciously stared Heaven down. “You wanna thank me for what?”
“You actually pulled me out of my mini meltdown without realizing it.” Heaven chuckled lightly. “You saved me from tearing up my cell. So for that, I say thank you.”
The young woman clucked her tongue, then twisted her lips. “Good for you. Anything else?”
Heaven frowned and took a deep breath. Usually, she said what she had to say, then kept it moving. She wasn’t for a lot of back and forth with these females. But there was something about her that kept Heaven standing there.
“By the way, I’m Heaven.” She held out her hand.
The young woman stared at her outstretched hand. “And I’ma hood bitch, so, in the future, watch how you come for me.”
Heaven raised a brow, pulling her hand back and placing it up on her hip. She looked her up and down and smirked. “Well, nice to meet you, Hood Bitch. Now what’s your real damn name, so I can go on about my day?”
Suddenly the young woman laughed, and Heaven could see the fillings in her teeth. “You stooooooopid. But, anyway . . . What you got in your hair, grade seven-A?”
Heaven scowled. “Excuse me?”
“Ya weave. That’s that virgin Remy hair, seven-A, ain’t it?”
Heaven ran a hand through her hair. “Oh, no, hon. My hair isn’t a weave.”
“Mmph. What you mixed with, Dominican?”
“No. Now are you going to tell me your name, or not?”
The young woman brushed by Heaven, flicking her weave over her shoulder. She waited until she got halfway down the tier, then turned around and said, “It’s Clitina. Don’t forget it.”
• • •