A young girl named Elle, born in Monroe, Louisiana, always dreamed of being on the big screen. She was mesmerized by women like Pam Grier, Donyale Luna, and Diahann Carroll and was captivated by their beauty and class. When she was 16, her lucky day...
"Elle! Elle! Why ain't these dishes done? I know you hear me!" The latest issue of my Vibe Magazine flew from my grasp as soon as she burst through my bedroom door causing my picture on the shelf to fall facedown and causing my heart to race. "See that's ya damn problem right there! I know good and damn well you heard me!" True enough I heard her call my name but my mind was wrapped in the many magazines I had stacked next to me on my bed. "Do these dishes now! You all wrapped up in this book like you can be something! You ain't gone be shit!" I sighed, walking down the steps making a loop into the kitchen. I turned the water on and began washing the dishes. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned around to see my older sister, Aubrey standing there with a smile. "Hey you!" I smiled as we embraced each other in a warm hug. After I finished the dishes, we went back up to my room.
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She walked over to my vanity and picked up her red lipstick I had taken from her room. "Ya know I was looking for this one day and lo and behold, it's in your room. Stay out of my makeup." I smirked at her as she picked up another item that was on my vanity. "This is almost all my makeup!" She rambled on and shuffled the stolen makeup and opened the top drawer. "This picture is groovy. Who took it?" I smiled and closed the photo book. "Debbie." I watched as she examined the picture. "What's wrong with you? Don't you realize its 38 degrees outside and you wanna be out here taking photos?" I laughed to myself. She sat down beside me and flipped through the magazines. "Have the people from the mall called you about a photoshoot?" I shook my head. I was actually hoping that they would call me. During school, I got this small modeling gig working at the mall but due to me having school, Karmen the talent scout, didn't call me as much due to the fact that she wanted me to focus on schoolwork. December 20th I woke up, stretching my arms to the sky and let out a deep yawn. I got out of bed and sat down at the cold window in my room watching cars go by. My mother, Gina, was already awake. I went down the stairs, into the kitchen to fix myself breakfast. "What the hell you think you doing?" I stopped putting the bacon in the skillet. Not saying a word, I returned back to my breakfast. "You hear me talking to you? Look at you, just pitiful baby. Ya pitiful. All this caring on about modeling and this and that. You ain't nothing!" Trying to keep my mouth shut, I let her ramble on until I could hear the rage in her voice. "Gina leave her alone! Why are you like this? What's wrong with you?" She waved her off and threw everything I made away. "Gina what you do that for?" She shrugged with a smirk creeping on her lips. She took a puff of her cigarette and exhaled. "My house, my food. When ya'll get ya'll's asses ya own place baby, do whatever the hell you want." The more I looked at her, the more I was aggravated with her. I walked back upstairs into my bedroom, threw on my suede jacket and left for the mall. Prince "We have a show coming up in Texas and Florida. Wait, y'all seen Dre?" Yet again, Andre was late to rehearsal. We've been rehearsing for our upcoming show in Jacksonville, Florida and soon after that it was off to Detroit. "We've been rehearsing how long now?" I laughed to myself as I walked over to Dez. "Look I know but everything has to be in place. Everything has to be perfect. You understand that don't you? Of course you do." He nodded as I walked back over to the piano and began playing. Elle "He's coming. He's coming for you. He's coming. No need to run, he'll find you. He'll find you. He'll always find you." I woke up once Aubrey snatched my arm. "Are you ok?" I hear the concern in her voice. She had this puzzled, yet frighten look in her eyes. "Were you about to jump out of the window?" I looked at her, then my bed. "I called you 5 times. You ain't hear me?" She was talking to me but suddenly, I was in a daze, glaring out at all the cars that surrounded our house. How I went from laying in my bed to standing in front of my window, I will never understand. I never was a sleepwalker. I always had this same dream. I was running from something or maybe it was someone and those same words repeated over and over every since I was 9. "Come down stairs so I can watch you. You feel ok?" We walked out of my room, she was having a party. "Gina gone kick yo ass." She shrugged and walked into the kitchen. "Elle what's shakin' honey?" I laughed at her drunken friend, Tyree who always made sure to flirt with me. Anita Ward blared throughout the house. Bodies were shakin' and groovin' all around the place.
I'm glad you're home Now did you really miss me? I guess you did by the look in your eye (look in your eye, look in your eye) Well lay back and relax While I put the dishes away (put away the dishes) Then you and me can rock a bell You can ring my bell, ring my bell
I watched as drunken couples argued and her bestfriend dancing on top of the kitchen table, almost falling on her face. The whole house was groovin' and alive. Glass, laying around the floor and smoke filled the air. I watched as Audrey made out with her boyfriend and if they made out any longer, they wouldn't have no lips. She danced her way over to me and grabbed my hand. "C'mon now baby, now you know this is the joint baby! Dance with me gurl!" I smiled, making my way to the center of the living room. The glass table that was in the center was against the wall with a crack in the center. The color block shag rug was thrown to the side of room. The crimson wall was now a mess food that was thrown. As we danced and got down with the get down, they surrounded us hyping us up as we swayed to the music. Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" started up playing and Tia, our cousin handed me the remote from the TV. "C'mon I know ya not shy baby! Get down!" My sister's boyfriend, Sean picked me up on top of the table as I began singing the lyrics to the song. "I used to go out to parties And stand around 'Cause I was nervous To really get down But my body yearned to be free I got up on the floor and found Someone to choose me.."
They whistled and watched me shake and twist with the music. We all had smiles on our faces and weren't worried about a thing, not even Gina. We were too busy groovin' baby!
