WHITE LINES
It was almost midnight and Huey Freeman wished he could say he was surprised to see Cindy McPhearson at the door. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and smiled when he let her in.
"Riley's upstairs." He said, walking back to the living room.
She nodded her gratitude and with steady feet, tiptoed up the stairs. Not wanting to wake their granddad up and all.
When she got upstairs she almost laughed at herself for taking precautions, dude was blasting music. She opened the door and poked her head in.
"Reezy?"
He knows who it is before he looks. This had been a routine after all, Riley cops her deal and she repays him in love. For almost a year now, he'd hook her up with a gram every Wednesday evening, knowing that later she'd show up before bed, like clockwork. He remembered the first time he met her, big eyes and knobby knees.
Looking at the white girl is a foul.
Riley turned his head away from the computer to look back at her, he returned to the screen promptly. She'd grown into her eyes, her pretty face framing their icy blue pleasantly. And her legs stretched out elegantly, making him more than willing to ball up anytime she wanted.
Talking to the white girl is a technical foul.
"'Sup?"
Even though he didn't like her when they first met, watching her hustle girl scout cookies changed his mind. And the way she stood by him when they were trapping candy bars was almost endearing, in a warped way. She'd definitely grown on him.
She frowned and closed the door behind her. "You already know what's up."
With chipped fingernails she unzipped her jacket and lied down on his unmade bed.
"So," she said quietly, waiting for him to answer.
"First drawer, C." He threw over his shoulder, hearing said drawer slide open because Cindy wasted no time getting her deal.
She clutched the vial closer to her chest, cradling it like a baby. The way her mom should've held her, Riley mused, side-eyeing her.
He remained stiff for a minute, painfully aware that she was still there. "Huey's gonna go to bed in a minute, he won't let you stay up here."
"Please Reezy, just one line 'fore I go."
Riley swallowed hard before turning to face her, he knew once he saw the pleading look on her face he wouldn't be able to say no. He sighed before swiveling his seat back to the computer, "I don't have anything you could use."
She searched the room frantically for something to sharp enough. She checked her own pockets for a nail file, a bus pass, anything. She started looking on Huey's side of the room. She practically tore the place up, looking high and low for a razor.
"Already told you girl, ain't nothing you can chop with in here." Riley reminded idly from his desk. He briefly entertained her getting so desperate as to go downstairs and use the coffee grinder.
She stopped shuffling for a little, Riley looked back to see her eyes light up when she found a manual pencil sharpener and he watched her, with horrified admiration, unscrew it with her pinky nail to pull the blade out.
White people really are crazy.
She spent the next five minutes on her knees, hastily dividing a line with an addicts precision. He spent the next five minutes worrying about how he's gonna have to disinfect Huey's bedside table.
"Reez, spot me a dollar." She whispered when she was finished.
He turned off the music and reached for his wallet, fishing out a crisp bill.
She mumbled her thanks and rolls it up promptly. Relishing the moment before taking a deep breath and craning her neck. He watches her align the tube from the beginning of the line and into her narrow, delicate nostril. He can't help but see the resemblance to her mother.
His eyes are glued to the side of her head, blonde pigtails following her neck with one clean sweep. When she looks back up she's staring at him like she wants another but only lets out a flighty snicker.
"You always got the hook up, Reezy."
It was true. Since she was rich and at times too desperate to notice, she always got ripped off and ended up paying twice the amount for less than half the quality. Chick bought a heap of powdered sugar once. He still roasted on her about it.
When her elegant nose starts dripping he snatches two tissues from his box for her. "Ay clean ya'self up, I ain't tryna look like no Chris Brown."
She stumbled towards his desk and laughed through the tissues.
He leans back in his seat and spread his legs, reminding her she still owes him. She rolls her eyes but kneels down.
"Thought you said Huey would be up in a minute." She breathed, tugging at the waistband of his sweats.
"It's been a minute."
Huey wouldn't be coming upstairs until she left. An unspoken rule of courtesy between them since they still shared a bedroom. He closed his eyes and stroked her thin hair.
Touching the white girl, oh, now that's a lynching!
animated cindy kills me
i can only imagine what she'll be like as a teenager.