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𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗵 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗶 𝗢𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘀 –––
"Wake up and get out my house!" Keisha yells startling Neveah awake, cigarette pressed between her bony fingers while she leaned against the doorframe watching the girl jolt from the mattress.
Neveah got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. After taking care of her business, She slipped on a hoodie and sweatpants.
"I'm having company over later so don't bother coming home" Keisha says when she enters the kitchen making her nod and continue her walk to the door.
She sighed heavily and walked out into the cool Chicago air, now feeling proud of choice of clothing. The walk to the store wasn't long since it was only two blocks away from her aunts' house which was convenient because it was right next to her job as well.
The chime of the bell rung as she walked into the hairdresser. The slightly chipped peach-colored walls and sounds of gossip surrounded the building.
"Sweetheart, you got five clients today and your first one is coming at 10," Ms.Brown says from behind the counter sending her a warm smile.
"Thank You " Neveah says politely before making her way to her station.
Ten o'clock rolls by not much later and her first client arrives. Neveah dusts off the black cushioned seats before instructing the woman to sit.
"So ,What can I do for you ?" She asks the client whose name she learned is sharonda.
"Medium Knotless braids" the woman replied, handing the plastic bag filled with hair supplies to Neveah as she sat down in the chair in front of the sink.
"Okay" Neveah said organizing her station before going to the sink Sharonda was at, starting the regular routine of washing someone's hair.
"Your hair is very healthy " Neveah compliments raking shampoo through her kinky curls.
"Thank you " sharonda responds with a small smile closing her eyes, enjoying the rest of her scalp massage.
"Alright, I need you to sit in the chair when I finish," she tells Sharonda rinsing the product out with cold water.
"I heard that fine ass nigga Sevyn is taking over Ross's old shop " Tanya smacked her gum parting a client's hair.
"Mm that man is fine just like his pappy, "the client says making the rest of the ladies laugh.
Neveah didn't understand what they were talking about so she stayed quiet although she wasn't gonna interact anyways. She never really said much but she did occasionally laugh at jokes they would make while working.
Neveah dismissed the thought, beginning to braid shronda's hair with Aaliyah's voice playing in her AirPods.
—
"Alright I'm out, make sure to lock up sweetheart " Ms.brown smiles at the girl.
"I will ma'am, be safe," she says sweeping up the hair from the day.
Neveah was Ms.Brown's most trusted employee and she gave her the responsibility of locking up the salon when everyone leaves which Neveah has been doing for some time now.
She put the wooden broom back into the closet and grabbed her purse walking to the door. She closed the door behind her making sure to lock the exterior metal door as well.
Neveah pulled her black hoodie over her head and stuffed her hands in her pockets trying to warm herself up.
She shivered as a cold breeze runs over her, tightening the strings on her hoodie to try to get a bit more coverage. It was a cold day and an even colder night with the temperature sitting in the low sixties which was normal for October in Chicago maybe even warmer.
She strolls into Joe's corner store silently thanking god for the warm air while she strolled through the aisles. Neveah roamed throughout the store until she stopped in front of the drinks, opening the fridge door and grabbing two bottles of water. She then walked to the counter, deciding to grab a family-size bag of chips.
It is dinner after all she thought to herself placing them on the counter ,already fishing out the little bit of money she had with her.
"$10.45," the man says in a bored tone.
Handing the change to the man, she grabs her things and leaves the store after saying a good night to the man.
"Shush baby, everything will be okay " A woman soothes her daughter.
Neveah looked at the scene, her heart pained to see the small family using a cardboard box for shelter. lord knows how long they've had to deal with the brutal Chicago weather in such little shelter, she thought to herself as she made her way over to them.
"Excuse me, ma'am, um I don't have much but I have some food and water if you would like," she told the woman. She reached out offering the white plastic bag with 'thank you for shopping' on it.
"Thank you so much, God bless you " the dark-haired woman smiled in gratitude. Her and her daughter had not had a meal in ages let alone a snack.
"Baby say thank you to the kind woman," she says to the small girl curled up by her side.
"Thank you, ma'am," the girl says in a small voice.
" I hope everything goes well, have a good night" Neveah waves with a small smile and continues her walk.
Walking up to a dimly lit motel. she decides this is where she'll sleep for the night and catch the bus home in the morning.
After purchasing a cheap room for the night, she cleans up in the small bathroom before curling into the soft chair in the corner of the room. she could've sworn she saw something crawl on the pillows of the bed.
