Black Waters (Frank Ocean Love Story)

Chapter 二十二

Ajahni’s View.

A leader must admit that without his followers, he would be nothing. But the followers are incapable of being leaders; so without someone to follow, they are utterly useless.

A similar thought process was going through my mind as Anastasia, Adriana, Qi, Barbie and I got dressed in my dorm. Everyone was gone, but on their way back. We requested Mrs. Roland to allow the other patients in the institution their free-day hours in the afternoon, and for us to go out at night. That way, we could get to the party, briefly meet Roshon, and handle business.

My plan was still in very early stages. It was impossible to execute without my followers, the girls. I couldn’t do it all by myself. But neither could they—hence the leader vs. follower theory.

“So this Ryan Safari guy,” Barbie said as she stood up from tying her dilapidated sneakers. “He’s the boyfriend of Britney Spears’ hairdresser.”

“Who’s Britney Spears’ hairdresser?” Adriana asked.

“Who cares?” Qi retorted. I looked out of the lobby window and longed to see a relaxing sunset. Unfortunately, it was just faint moonlight. I couldn’t even see the moon; it was hidden by a tall building across from this one. The only one who wasn’t ready was Anastasia. I couldn’t blame her for looking good—she was the center of our operation, the bait.

“Come on, guys. Let’s get going before the club closes.” Barbie announced. We all hushed her. She wasn’t allowed to say ‘club’ while we were still on Cedar Gardens’ territory. As far as Mrs. Roland knew, we were on a trip to a bowling alley. I was surprised by how lenient Mrs. Roland is. She doesn’t even send a guider with the patients on their free-day. If they’re not back by a given time, they are punished. That’s all.

“Yeah. I’m not even too sure why they’d call a bowling alley ‘The Country Club’, but it’s still going to be fun.” Anastasia replied loud enough for Mrs. Roland to hear.

“Yes. Leave before you waste your hours. Go.” She rushed us out of the vestibule. We made our way silently through the gardens and then began our trod toward urban streets. We needed to catch a cab.

I thought about whether or not I was actually lying to the girls. They didn’t know what this was. I tricked Anastasia into dressing up. I made a bet with her that she couldn’t seduce Mr. Safari, and she accepted willingly. If she wins, she has to walk up to me and the rest of the girls with him on her arm.

That’s just simply throwing him into my trap.

As the girls conversed among themselves, I joined in whenever there were welcoming gaps of conversation. I didn’t want them to think I was too quiet, because that would make me seem suspicious. That’s the last thing I wanted. I needed to come off as bubbly and hospitable. Somebody you want to be friends with.

“Taxi!” Adriana called suddenly. We all followed her eager gaze toward a yellow cab, who was slowing down for us. I hadn’t even noticed we reached the urban area of town. We piled one-by-one into the cab, with Anastasia sitting in the front seat. I felt like I needed to sit at the back, to keep myself on the low.

“Reagan Manor, please.” She said to the driver, taking the ten-dollar bill I handed her and passing it to the driver. He stuffed it silently into his pocket and began the traffic-ridden drive.

“You know what?” I said after about thirty minutes. “Let us out here. We’ll walk the rest of the way.”

The other girls agreed that it would be quicker to walk than to sit in this inactive traffic, so we exited the car and skipped down the moonlighted pavement toward Reagan Manor. The neon lights of the club’s awning were coming quickly into view.

As we got closer, we walked faster. Soon we were running, pelting down the blocks until we were in front of the club. Now we were faced with a problem—the line. It was so long that it almost rounded the block. Adriana sighed in disappointment. But I’d thought ahead.

“Anastasia, the next group of people to go inside is a group of girls that looks exactly like you. When they’re about to go in, start conversation with one of them. Slide into the club with them without the bouncer noticing. Trust me, he won’t. Once you’re in, you can tell him we’re with you and he’ll allow us in too. Got it?” I instructed slowly and softly.

Anastasia nodded with a smirk, probably impressed by my fool-proof plan. She followed my instructions. I didn’t even watch her while she spoke to the girl.

“Good thinking, Ajahni.” Adriana whispered to me. I smiled at her in return.

Qi pointed to the front of the line suddenly. The girls were laughing and talking with Anastasia, and the bouncer didn’t even notice as she walked in with them. Victory and satisfaction overcame me as I watched my plan succeed.

“Now all we have to do is wait.” I said to the girls.

And that’s all we really did—wait. Because Anastasia never came out of the club. She never checked back for us like she was supposed to. I wondered if something happened to her, just like the other girls did. But then I started to have other thoughts. What if Anastasia had betrayed us? She could have easily been using me for a night out in the club, just like I was using her for a meeting with my arch nemesis.

After a long while, maybe even about an hour, Anastasia finally came out with her newfound friends. This time she wasn’t as bubbly with them as she was before; she was pretending the first time. Once they said their goodbyes, and promises to call each other, she came over to us.

“Why didn’t you guys just go right in?” Anastasia asked, motioning to the empty space in front of us. We were now at the front of the line, where we had been for some time.

“You have to have pre-ordered tickets, remember? The only reason you got in is because you snuck in.” Adriana replied glumly, hushing her tone at the last part.

“Oh, yeah. Well I have good news. Come on.”

We followed her away from the club and back in the direction we came from. I kept my eye out for another taxi as we walked.

“Did you meet Ryan Safari?” I asked.

“No.”

My shoulders slumped.

“But,” Anastasia continued, “I did meet that hairdresser. Her name’s Maggie. She told me she’s good friends with Ryan. But he was busy at the moment and couldn’t really talk to me, according to her. Look, I have a picture.”

Anastasia held out her phone, which I didn’t know she had, to me. There was a picture of her and a narrow-jawed girl next to her. The face was awfully familiar.

“That’s her!” I shouted when I remembered. That’s the woman who did my hair when Roshon was holding me captive. She was there, in that building, with him.

“That’s who?”

“Oh, nothing. She did my friend’s hair before. That’s all.” I lied. There was a phone number below the picture Anastasia showed me.

“Whose number is that?” I asked.

“It’s Maggie’s number. I took it from her.” Anastasia replied proudly.

I smiled widely. “That’s great. That’s excellent.” I said, more to myself. “Now that we have her number, all we have to do is call.”

“And then…?” Qi urged me to continue.

“Then we follow her every single move. We literally stalk her.” I said.

And then we find Christopher.