Jungle Princess ✔

Chapter 24: Girl On The Wall

The night was full of possibilities. Amarissa had told her parents she was going to Tamsin's place for their Friday night sleepover, but that was a lie. It may have been the first lie Amarissa had told her parents in a while. And it made her jittery with excitement.

"Ready?" Deandre asked her as she slipped out her apartment door after bidding goodbye to her mother.

Amarissa nodded. In her duffel bag, she had what Bonita thought was deodorant and other toiletries, but was in fact cans of paint. "Let's make some art," she declared.

The elevator ride was quiet, until the Pink Lady, who was dressed in mint green this time, stepped on at Level 5. She seemed to be everywhere, on every level at any time of the day or night. Amarissa wondered if she owned the building. Probably.

"What are you crazy kids getting up to tonight?" She asked them with a sly smile. Amarissa tried to picture her wrinkled skin and bright blue eyes as a teenager, but failed.

"Just going out," Amarissa answered casually.

The pink lady winked. "Stay safe, kids. It's a dangerous world out there. New York is full of crazies. Don't get yourselves mugged," she advised.

Deandre chuckled. "Oh, don't you worry about that, lady. I'll protect both of us." To Amarissa's surprise, he flung an arm around her and pulled her towards him. Amarissa almost swallowed her tongue.

Pink Lady grinned, flashing her coffee-stained teeth. "You do that, young man. And don't be afraid to use pepper spray. Here, I always keep an extra bottle." She handed Amarissa her can of pepper spray just as the elevator dinged and they reached ground level.

"Goodbye," she waved them out, and together Deandre and Amarissa left, walking down the foyer towards the door. Nick the doorman smiled at them as he opened the door for them, blasting their faces with cold New York air. Amarissa shivered.

"Cold?" Deandre asked, looking down at her. He had a black beanie tugged over his head, and a scarf wrapped around his neck. Amarissa, however, had nothing like that. She did not even bring gloves. All she had was a leather jacket. She wanted to look cool tonight, but she didn't anticipate that it would be in the literal sense.

"Want my beanie?" Deandre offered, taking it off and handing it to her. Amarissa stared at the woolly hat in her hands. The same hat that had sat atop the crown of Deandre. After another shiver, she shoved it on and asked, "How do I look?"

"Dangerous," Deandre said huskily. "Now come on, the boys are waiting for us in 77th street station."

The boys did not look like boys at all. Most of them looked like men. One of them towered above them all, saying his name was Angelo, who also held a duffel bag of cans. Another was short and stocky who went by the name of Hermes, who carried a silver step ladder. The last two were lean like Deandre and looked like they owned a gun collection. One of them nodded his head at Amarissa and said nothing.

"That's Al. He doesn't say much," Deandre explained.

"I see," Amarissa remarked. She then turned to the other guy. "How about him?"

The guy stepped up, scanning her up and down. He was her height, and his clothes were baggy and tattered, as if he had got them out of a garbage. He was different from the others in the sense that he was...well, white. And it looked like he was trying a bit too hard to be the opposite. Black.

"Yo, yo what's up my home girl?" he hollered, holding up a fist. Amarissa pumped it reluctantly, slightly amused by his demeanor. "My name's CJ, and I am on the market. The black market, that is." He shot her a sly wink.