My Works #15 //.
Here's something about me: I have many, many ideas sometimes daily, weekly and monthly. I don't want to have a thousand books on my profiles (besides I usually don't have an entire storyline) so I've decided to do a book of these id...
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"Liyah, you need to get you one for real. Everyone's getting one." Lisa rolled her fingers over her pager, holding it up to my view.
I shrugged, unknowingly. "I don't know Li, my dad isn't going to get me one. He'll think I'm going to try to talk to boys or something."
"Like you aren't seventeen." She rolled her eyes and blew out an annoyed breath. " That's why we need to get hired at this job. They still haven't said anything back?"
"Not to me." I replied, unmotivated.
Lisa and I continued down the path of the sidewalk, engaging in small conversation. Once it would get quiet,I would catch myself humming low melodies as I held my books tightly to my chest. Until I could get hired at an actual occupation with payroll, I tutored kids on the block for salary.
The neighborhood wasn't the best in Los Angeles so whenever we could, Lisa and I would walk the other to where ever they needed to go.
"You should be a singer. I hear the vocals." Lisa blurted, paying attention to my hums. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I need some voice training and definitely too shy to sing in front of a crowd." I shivered at the thought.
"Yo, we could be the next big thing! You lay down the vocals and I put a few rhymes together and boom!" Lisa exclaimed in excitement, holding her palms out in front of her.
I've never heard her rap, but I've read a few lines of what she has written. She'd always had a poetic influence. She'd be more outgoing in the music industry than I would.
"You're crazy." I giggled, leaning my chin against the books.
"I sure am! We could really get this money A-" She halted in mid sentence as we both heard an catchy instrumental in the distance.
It wasn't far in the distance as we saw a guy with a nose ring standing beside a boom box with a microphone in his right hand. He bobbed his head as a few heads turned as they passed but continued along their way.
"Uh.. Uh.." He made a sound as he continued to bob his head. Then he placed the mic back to his lips with his hands wrapped at the top of it tightly:
" I hear Brenda's got a baby but, Brenda's barely got a brain. A damn shame, the girl can hardly spell her name."
Lisa sharply chuckled and turned to me. "Bird brain Brenda got a baby?" She asked in seriousness but I kept my attention on this unnamed guy and his skill.
"Well let me show ya how it affects the whole community, now Brenda really never knew her moms and her dad was a junky, went in death to his arms. It's sad 'cause I bet brenda doesn't even know just 'cause your in the ghetto doesn't mean you can't grow."
He moved from each end of the sidewalk as far as the cord of his mic would take him as his extended hand motioned in harmony which each word. He got a couple of people to stop and listen other than us but growing up here, it was hard to gain support.
" But oh, that's a thought, my own revelation. Do whatever it takes to resist the temptation."
A few clapped as he thanked the ones who littered his nearby box with dollars. He untangled the cord to his mic before his head turned towards us.
My heart sunk from feeling put on the spot with him looking directly at me, but he simply smiled wide looking over me. He nodded, for whatever reason then kneeled down to flip tracks on the boom box by exchanging cassette tapes.
"You've got ten minutes to get to Ralph's ho.." Lisa's voice trailed off as i made my way across the street quickly just as another beat began to play from his boom box.
I had built up courage from wherever. He stood up with his back to me just as I walked up. He turned my way, taken back to my new placing but smiled, clenching his jaw. That's when my bashful nervousness returned.
"Um nice rap." He nodded.
"Glad to see I got your attention."
"So what's your goal out of this rapping thing?" He looked down at his mic and boom box before locking eyes back with me.
"Trying to spread love and positivity the best way I know how. Change the world by sharing awareness of the struggle out here. I may be viewed as..a rebel with a cause." He shrugged.
I could sense the intelligence oozing from his vibe, but there was also something else about him that I couldn't put my finger on. It was intriguing.
"What's your name?" I asked finally.
"Tupac."
"I'm Aaliyah."
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