Norphoria Jones: A.K.A. No

CHAPTER ONE

NORPHORIA JONES

Norphoria Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. For those of you who’ve never lived or visited Los Angeles, this city will eat you up and spit you out alive. This is the city of movie stars, fashion statements, and fast flashy cars with expensive rims—who has what and who doesn’t. People here will help millionaires get rich and stay rich, because without designer gear you could as well not come to school—in their eyes anyway. Norphoria was a well known and sought after eighteen-year-old diva in her environment. She was born to middle class parents. But if you saw her dress you would wonder if her parents were quite wealthy. She had a style all of her own. Let’s just say, she knew how to work the mall and other people’s money in the worst way. She had charisma. Her father worked as a mechanic for a Toyota dealership. He had for the past twenty-eight years. He was waiting ever so patiently for his retirement date. Her mother worked as a supervisor for the city. She was also waiting for her retirement as well, after twenty-seven years of service. They weren’t rich people. But they weren’t uncomfortable people either. What brought their riches were their two beautiful children: Norphoria aka NO and Zachary aka Baba. They both had the deepest dimples you could have ever seen with a complimentary Kool-Aid smile, all courtesy of their beautiful mother, Iesha Jones. Zachary was the elder child, ten years Norphoria’s senior. Norphoria had nicknamed him Baba, simply because she could not for the life of her, as a child, pronounce brother or Zachary. So Baba kind of stuck with him all through the years. Zachary was a child who made his parents proud. He graduated with honors, from UCLA, which is the University of Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in child psychology. Then he went on to obtain his masters. His plans were to open up his own practice as a child psychologist and help children with mental disabilities. Yes, school just came easy for Zachary. Iesha Jones, their mother, just couldn’t stop bragging about her son. You see, she had every right. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He stood at six feet three inches, with honey color skin tone, simply smooth, and a very athletic built. His peach fuzz was starting to thicken above his top lip, which he kept edged up quite nicely. All the girls were crazy about Zachary.

He had one main flame called Bethany. She had been his girl since junior high school. She dared any female to step to her man. She would definitely let them know who he belonged to and in no uncertain terms. She was just as proud of Zachary as his mother, and why not? He belonged to her (or so she thought). Bethany came across as wanting to be Ms. Bad Ass. She was sassy, somewhat classy, curvaceous, and cute as hell. Her skin was a rich mahogany brown—smooth. She had no problem attracting male callers. She stood at five feet eight inches and knew how to rock a pair of apple bottom jeans. Bethany knew nearly ever girl in college at that time who wanted a piece of her man. That’s why she had no other females around him except for her cousin Max, short for Maxine. It kept problems in its place and drama out of sight. Maxine was a very attractive girl too. She loved to dress. It came easy for her simply because it made her feel good about herself. Bethany knew Maxine would never messy with her man. That’s the kind of person she was—loyal. She would sacrifice her happiness first before hurting Bethany, and Bethany knew it too. That’s why she didn’t have much to worry about when Max was around. Maxine could draw the fellas, quite easily herself. Maybe it was because of her outgoing personality, her style of dress, or maybe her down-to-earth attitude that drew people to her. Whatever the case, people seemed to love Maxine. She was the type of girl any man would be proud to take home to his mother.

Zachary’s little sister, Norphoria, was often preyed upon by older girls, mainly, because of her brother, Zachary—Baba as she called him. Those girls would compliment her on her hair, her unique style of dress and her big, beautiful Kool-Aid smile with those deep dimples that reminded them of her brother’s. Hey, they would even offer to braid her hair for free and take her to the mall and buy her things, just to drive her home to get to meet her brother. Ridiculous! But hey, she thought why not take advantage of them. They were trying to take advantage of her. That’s how she came up with half her gear. Simple-minded females tried to use her and got used themselves. That’s how life is. Only the strong survive in Los Angeles. That why they call it Sin City. Everybody has a motive. That’s why Norphoria only hung out with her two best friends. The loudest of the three was Jasmin aka Li’l Mama. She stood about five feet and came across as no joke. Many people would say that little people have the biggest mouths. Well, in Li’l Mama’s case, this was true. She was as pretty as a penny, but her mouth made her come across much bigger. She wore her hair in an updo with all the different colored hairpieces added to match whatever she wore. She rocked the gear as well as the three-inch heels on her feet, which she wore with ease. Basically, she wore them because she was so short, and they made her feel taller. Li’l Mama had four brothers, and she was the baby. So you see she was spoiled rotten. Her brothers were raised to watch out for their little sister. And Lord knows, those boys took their jobs quite seriously. No one talked bullshit to Li’l Mama. With Duke eighteen years old, Matthew nineteen, Damien twenty, and Marcus just turning twenty-two, Li’l Mama literally had her very own team of bodyguards. And you know she used them to her advantage. Hell, who wouldn’t?

Pasty aka Joker was an only child and had no siblings to think of. Lord knows, she wished she had at least one or two. That’s where NO and Li’l Mama came into play. They were more than her best friends; they were the two sisters she never had or never would have any time soon. Joker was the piece of the triangle that made the whole thing come together. You get my meaning? And to make it even better, she had always been a daddy’s girl. You see, her mother had three miscarriages before she conceived Joker. So when she came into the world, the sky was the limit and she could do no wrong in her parents’ eyes. Man, she had them snowed, and I mean but good. Anything that Joker did while growing up was so cute or either funny as hell.

I couldn’t believe some of the bullshit she got away with. She basically got away with murder, with no jail time. Hell! On her sixteenth birthday, her father went out and bought her a black 2004 Honda Civic with the license plates that read Joker 16 on the back. That the trio put to good use. Funny how people get played different cards in life. It’s like playing Russian roulette. You can only hope you don’t get a dope fen, a drunk, child molester, or an abusive parent. Other than that, If you are lucky enough not to get any of the above, then consider yourself blessed or lucky as hell. Norphoria Olympia Jones aka NO was the leader of this merry trio. Her peers and second-grade teacher Mrs. Jeffery had nicknamed her Ms. NO. It was mainly because if you asked her for anything and you didn’t give it to her then, the answer was, is, and always would be NO, unless she liked you or you had something she wanted. Oh yeah, or unless your name happened to be Li’l Mama or Joker. So don’t ask, period! As time went on, those girls actually did become as close as sisters. No one, and I mean no one, could break up that merry threesome. Lord knows many had tried. He says, she says was always the way to start some BS, especially when it came to females. But my girls, NO, Joker, and Li’l Mama, had a saying that they always lived by in times when haters would attack their friendship, which was If we don’t see it, it didn’t happen. If we don’t hear it, it wasn’t said. And if we can’t buy it, it isn’t worth having. Period! Basically meaning, if it was not affecting their inner circle, then what the outside circle was doing or saying was irrelevant. Period! This philosophy was thought of by no one but yours truly—yes, Ms. Norphoria Jones herself. Her girls, Li’l Mama and Joker, just adopted the slogan throughout the years as they grew up, each using it to their own advantage. Smart girls, I must say. Many adults should try using the same attitude. They would probably have less drama in their own lives.

Now, how many girls do you know who have remained friends since the fifth grade? Not many, I’m sure, mainly because as African Americans we tend to get jealous of one other. I guess that’s one stereotype that was passed down through the generations during and after slavery days, where you had the house-working Africans and the field-working Africans. The workers in the fields got jealous of the workers in the house simply because it was cooler or warmer inside than working in the heat or the cold outside. Well, they had a point. Maybe, if back in slavery days they had adopted rotating shift work like it’s done today, we as a people wouldn’t have held that grudge throughout the years straight into the twenty-first century. The people would know what it is to be happy for the next person when it was their turn to work indoors. It would have given them something to look forward to, even made time in the fields a little easier because they would have known that their shift inside would start next week. You get my drift? Sure you do. Now, the trio had history, trust, love, and loyalty for one another. Hell, they had more going on in their relationship as friends than most marriages and relationships today. In other words, those girls weren’t blood relatives, but you couldn’t tell that by their actions. When it came to pulling together, they pulled as a team.

CHAPTER TWO

In the class of 2008, the trio were finally going to be done with high school. Everything was clear sailing from that point on, simply because they all had been in school together for the past three years. Each one basically knew how far to push the other and they knew each other’s pet peeves. So why not sail on through the last year? School had finally started again. They had their gear intact. Li’l Mama was wearing her hair in her favorite updo. She had added a colored hairpiece to match her light tan apple bottom jeans. Her top was a baby-doll style, light tan with black thick thread stitching in a design pattern, her short sleeves split down the center. Her shoes were light tan stick-ons with points, stitched in black thick thread. She was hot to trot, and boy, did she know it. Then there was Joker with her slim built and busty size 38cs. She was letting the boys know that she’d filled out a little over the summer. And believe me, they all took notice. She was going for a more mature look this year, being her last year of high school and all. She opted to wear a form-fitting summer dress in multicolors of rust, tan, and beige with a V neckline to show off her bust. Her shoes were beige two-inch sandals that tied up around her ankles—in micro suede material. Her beige micro suede purse really set it off. And let’s not forget about the girl’s hair. It was still in her favorite long ponytail with those schoolgirl-cut bangs. She looked so mature that year.

But where was their ringleader, NO? She was running a little late that morning, and since everybody wanted to make their own entrance on the first day of school, Joker drove herself. Li’l Mama’s brother, Marcus, who had just turned twenty-two, dropped her off, and well, as for Ms. Norphoria, she finally arrived without a minute to spare. She got out of this bad ass, black BMW with the sunroof open; it had tinted black windows and yes it was set on twenty-two-inch rims. Did she ever make a grand entrance? Every head turned, even Li’l Mama’s and Joker’s, who were trying to see who was driving because the windows were so dark. The courtyard in front of West Cali High was still full of kids not ready to start the new school year when she stepped out of the car in this camouflage tan, white, and brown low-waist gauchos that tied up around her knees, which gave it a baggy look. Creative! And since there was a no belly out rule at West Cali, she decided to wear a mesh red body blouse with spaghetti straps to cover her stomach area. On top of that mesh body suit, she wore a mini matching tuxedo-style vest that went with her gauchos. The material hung quite elegantly on her shapely body. Her legs were tanned with that Jergens Even Glow lotion for tanning. She swore by that so much. Her shoes were two-inch tie-up sandals similar to Joker’s but red with dark wood heels. Banging! Her toes had a fresh French manicure. She was wearing multi-brown toned Dolce and Gabana sunglasses; it had been left for her by one of Baba’s, her brother’s, admirers. But to top things off, she wore her hair in its natural wavy form. And my girl’s baby hair just lay perfectly trained around her face. Not only that, she was rocking dark wood multicolored accessories, an eighteen-inch necklace, bangles, and her trademark ear rings—those big ass eighteen karat gold hoops, the ones her brother, Baba, had bought for her when he entered college and got his first grant check. That she loved and never took off. The girl looked as if she had just come from a taping at 106th & Park, you know that show that showcases all the latest hits that the youngsters love so much. I’ve got to give it to the girl… She was a young diva in the makings. As soon as her foot hit the bottom steps of where Joker and Li’l Mama were waiting, Lil mama went, Girl, who the hell it that?

Norphoria smiled that big old Kool-Aid smile with those deep dimples and asked her, Girls, you don’t know?

Li’l Mama gave her a serious look and standing with one hand on her hip pointed her index finger at NO and said, Girl, if you don’t stop playing with me…

Norphoria didn’t want to get Li’l Mama’s mouth started so early that morning, so she told her, pointing to the car leaving, Oh that! That’s Baba.

Li’l Mama and Joker both froze, staring at each other. They both broke out laughing, saying, "Oh, hell na’ll! Girl, baby, looking good these days."

Joker asked, NO, is that his whip?

She told her, Thank it ain’t?

Joker said, Tell Baba that my chee-chees have grown since he seen me last and I ain’t that little girl anymore.

Hell no! shouted Li’l Mama. You tell Baba that I’ll be his baby mama anytime.

Then Norphoria puts both her hands up in front of the girls’ faces and struck a pose. Now, you bitches know, Bethany will beat that ass messing with her man! You know that girl’s a psycho case waiting to happen. Li’l mama said under her breath, That bitch don’t know me, really. She don’t? I’ll snatch all that weave out her head, Trust me, I can make it happen. I might be little, but I’m quick, like Mohamed Ali. You feel me?

Norphoria turned around and stared at her feisty little friend for a few seconds. Then she grabbed Li’l Mama by the hand. Come on here, girl, she said, pulling her. Stop all that dramatization you got going on so early this morning. Then NO shouted at the top of her lungs, while they were walking down the hallway of West Cali High. This is it. Yo! She tried to sound native Bronx (that’s in New York). This was our last fuckin’ year, yo! Little did she realize that, the accent would come back to bite her in the ass… The girls were looking forward to prom night, picking prom king and queen, grade night, their senior trip, class rings, being put in the yearbook, and so on. Each of them even got accepted into the same college—the University of Pasadena. How coincidental is that? And they were definitely looking forward to their future as best friends in an adult world. Or so they thought.

CHAPTER THREE

TEKA WATTS

Teka Watts was an only child living a normal life with her parents—Byron and Katie Watts. Her father, Byron, had been sick for the past five years. He’d had multiple surgeries. The doctors said he had a rare case of leukemia. If only Teka’s father had a sibling or two, maybe a transplant from a sibling could have saved his life. That was what many doctors had told them. But he too was an only child. His illness had started to take a toll on the family. Bills were piling up and saving accounts were nearly empty. Teka and her mother were beginning to feel the pressure.

School days for Teka were beginning to change. For her, there was no eagerness to start the day, no willingness or drive to excel in school anymore. Her hopes for her future were slowly fading from sight.

Teka’s mother knew something had to be done to help her daughter and soon. But what could she do with a husband in and out of the hospital and bills climbing the walls? She saw no way out. She had an older sister who lived back in California. They had remained close even after Teka’s father had gotten a new job in New York to head the engineering department at Capital Investments, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

The family was reluctant to relocate. But Byron’s skills were in high demand in New York. And California was not paying him for what he was worth. So he did what any red-blooded American boy would do and relocated his family to the East Coast. Teka adjusted to the new school system there with ease, especially because of her good looks, which helped her fit right in. She was smart too! She excelled in all that she set her mind to. Her parents were very proud of her. But as her father’s illness got worse, her motivation and interest in school started to fade. Her attitude was becoming unbearable. Teka’s mother started to think about their future. What if? What if they lost her husband, Teka’s father? Would they both continue living in New York alone, with no family to speak of, outside of a few close friends that the family had acquired since living there? It would be a lonely situation for the two.

So with that Teka’s mother, Katie, started fishing in California for job offers, thanks to the help of her elder sister, Kendra, who knew of a few good leads… After a few months had passed and there were no job offers in sight, Byron, Teka’s father, took a turn for the worse. And in less than two weeks, he had departed this world. Thank God, the company that Byron worked for had a good insurance plan. They paid for his funeral, headstone, and other expenses. They did it mainly because they knew the family had relocated from California six years ago, leaving the only family they had behind, and that their medical expenses had taken a toll on the family’s finances. Just when you think all is lost, God will step right in and make a way. Shortly after burying Byron, Katie got a call from a law firm in California for a job offer. She started to cry because living in New York had become unbearable for the two. She needed her family. She needed her sister’s help. She needed her daughter, Teka, to become that child she used to be—motivated, excelling in school, and wanting to see a bright future for herself. She called her sister and told her the good news. Katie’s biggest worry was that she had no place to live once she and Teka relocated back to California, and the thought of living with her sister was not an option. Her sister, Kendra, told her not to worry. She said that she knew of a place to rent not far from her and that she would talk to the owner and tell him about her circumstances. Kendra felt certain the owner, Mr. Thompson, would let her have the place. Everything seemed to be falling in place. She had hopes again. She had missed her sister dearly and longed for their relationship to get back the way it had been before she had left six years ago. And so did Kendra. The following day Kendra left a message on Katie’s answering machine. Katie was at work. But when she arrived home that evening, she listened to her messages. She started to cry. God is good! she said over and over again to herself. He might not come when you call him, but he always makes it in time. The owner, Thompson, was allowing her and Teka to rent the house for less than the original rent of $2,500 a month.

He would rent it to her for half that amount mainly because he said after the loss of his own wife he too had it hard. But he was lucky enough to have family and friends close by. And he just couldn’t imagine not helping someone in need like he was because he remembered how that felt. Katie couldn’t wait for Teka to get home from school. She was so excited about the news. But hours had passed and there was no Teka yet. Katie began to worry because Teka had started hanging out with this fast tail little girl called Mo, short for Monique. Monique was no angel. She smoked, drank, and she had an older boyfriend called Zane, known for putting in work on other brothers his age and those older. He went for bad, so most of the kids stayed out of his way. Katie felt they were trying to pull Teka into that life. And she wasn’t about to let that happen. She needed to get her daughter out of there quick. Teka came home about 6:35 p.m. from school, smelling of liquor and cigarette smoke. She was just going to pot, Katie thought. Her clothes were beginning to be worn in bad taste, exposing more than she should for an eighteen-year-old girl. No way was Katie going to lose her daughter to the streets right after just burying her husband too. This was going to be a fight to save her daughter, and this would be a fight Katie had planned on winning.

After selling most of the furniture and renting a small trailer for the trip, Katie was a little worried how they would do on the road by themselves. But to her surprise, Kendra called and said her husband, Gene, had taken a week off to fly out and drive her and Teka back to California. Katie was so relieved. Her elder sister Kendra had come to her rescue once again. She didn’t want her sister to know she was a little nervous about the trip. But since Kendra was Katie’s elder sister, she already knew her little sister had always been the nervous type. And she couldn’t imagine that much had changed in six years. So she sent Gene, her husband, to watch over the two back to California so that Kendra could watch over them once they arrived.

Katie thanked God for her elder sister. She was a real sweet person and had always looked out for her even when they were little. And she hadn’t relinquished that job to anyone, not even their mother who was now in a nursing home for the past three years. The trip took nearly three days and three nights, stopping only to eat and sleep. Teka kept complaining about how uncomfortable and sweaty she was. She was driving Katie and Gene up the walls. The only time Gene and Katie had time to really talk about her husband’s death and life in general was when Teka fell asleep. They felt he few hours of silence were golden, which they both appreciated. Gene kept in touch with Kendra, his wife, by cell phone, giving her blow-by-blow account of their episodes with Teka along the way. She kept telling him that she’d be all right once they got settled. Gene tried to stay optimistic. Let’s face it, he was ready to give Teka a piece of his mind, and who could blame him. She was acting like a spoiled brat, and she couldn’t care less what anybody thought, not even Katie, her mother. It seemed like they would never get there. The days were long and the nights were even longer. All Katie could do was pray and thank God that she and Teka weren’t on the road alone.

Finally, they arrived and pulled up in Kendra and Gene’s half-circle driveway. Teka was fast asleep. As Katie was grabbing suitcases for a change of clothes and possibly a bath, Kendra came running out of the house to meet them. She and Katie hugged for nearly full five minutes, eyes full of tears and hearts full of blessing. Gene was even tearing up himself. Then out came Teka’s cousins: Brandi fifteen and Katie named after Teka’s mother. She was called Kat for short. She was sixteen and thought she was Ms. IT. You could tell by her demeanor. She was wearing a stomach out summer top with a low-waist mini jean skirt with Roman sandals. Her toes sported a fresh French manicure; she was slightly taller than Teka, yet Teka was older by a year. She had the smallest little waistline. Kat was as cute as a China doll. Both cousins had that same cold black, slightly wavy hair as Teka, and both had that honey color skin tone. Brandi was about Teka’s height—five feet six inches; she had big hazel eyes with thick black eyelashes. She also had a small waistline like her big sister Kat. Yes, you could tell they were all related. Teka finally woke up, and to her surprise, her two cousins were watching her through the window of the truck. What are you two staring at? Teka said with a huff.

You? Kat said. What? We can’t look?

I guess you can, Teka snapped back, but just not at me.

Oh, you must be trippin’, Kat snapped back just as hard. Don’t be coming all the way to Cali with some fuckin’ attitude problem! You heard me?

No, I don’t hear you! Teka snapped back again.

Well, it looks like Ms. Attitude needs to be taught a lesson on who’s who and what’s what here in California. And the sisters give each other a high five. You feel me, Sis?

Brandi said to Kat, Oh, for sure that! And they both turned with a jerk and headed back into the house to join the others.

Teka was thinking to herself then, No, my mom did not bring me all the way down here to live around these people and all this BS . . . But in fact, she had, and Teka had to make the best of it.

She finally decided to join the others in the house, since the truck was getting pretty hot inside. When she came through the door, her cousin Kat sucked her lips, like What the hell you come in for? Teka ignored her and found her aunt Kendra and her mom in the kitchen talking. Kendra stood up when Teka came into the kitchen, and Teka flashed her the sweetest smile. Kendra opened up her arms to welcome her home and she responded. She gave her aunt Kendra the biggest hug ever and actually told her she loved and missed her very much. Kendra thought that was so sweet. And she told her so too. Meanwhile, Brandi walked by and saw the way she responded to her mother and figured that maybe she had misjudged her. But when Teka turned around and saw Brandi looking in, she frowned, and Brandi thought, Not! She walked away.

The doorbell rang. In walked this six foot smooth cocoa brown skinned brother, with those hazel eyes like Teka’s cousin Brandi. He had an athletic built, with close-shaven hair in waves, thick eyebrows, and thick, thinly edged mustache. He was gorgeous. Teka could see him from the kitchen doorway. Could he be her cousin Gene Wayne Guyton, Jr. nicknamed J. R.? Teka hadn’t seen her favorite male cousin since they had moved to New York. He had been so nice to her as a child. He would buy Teka and her two younger cousins Brandi and Kat drumstick ice cream cones—her favorite. Before she realized it, she had an uncontrollable smile on her face. J. R. came into the kitchen and spoke to his mom and gave his auntie Katie the tightest hug. He hugged her tight until she was lifted off her feet. Katie started to cry. She said, You see, this is what Teka and I need in our lives right now—the love of family and friends.

All of a sudden, Teka felt eyes on her. J. R. said, Look at my little cousin. I always knew you’ll be a looker. And with that, Teka’s smile got that much bigger. She ran right up to J. R. and gave him the same greeting she had given her aunt Kendra—real love and affection. Then to Teka’s surprise, another pair of eyes was on her. It was J. R.’s mentor. His name was Cash. J. R. was doing mentoring through a program for black males without a father. He was teaching him how to be responsible and to grow up to be a productive male role model and functioning adult when the time came. Cash was really keeping his eyes on Teka. Teka found herself checking him out too. So did J. R., Katie, and her aunt Kendra. Anyone who walked in could see Cash was taken with her. And in walked her cousin Kat. Cash had never meet J. R.’s family before, so when he spotted Kat his eyes started to drift in her direction. Before anyone could