𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 | 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭

2. || Party Chaos

Zuri Aniyah Banks
TWO DAYS LATER
HARLEM, NEW YORK

"Hey, grams?" Zuri called out, walking in the dining area where her grandmother was located.

"Yes, Zuri?" Erin replied, slowly looking up from her newspaper, immediately intimidating her granddaughter for a brief moment.

"You ready to talk about that guy and the reason fa him givin' you that type of money?" Zuri boldly asked, sitting next to her grandmother at the dining room table.

"Nope:" Erin muttered, looking back down at her newspaper. Zuri shook her head as she fought not to roll her eyes, only letting a low chuckle out.

"Grams, I swear to Santa Claus that I'll call mommy right now if youn start talkin'. I'll go back to Texas befo' I live with somebody that's keepin' big secrets from me." Zuri respectfully threatened, folding her arms across her chest.

After Zuri graduated high school, she decided to move from Texas to New York to be with her grandmother. She was the youngest of thirteen grandchildren, so she took the responsibility of making sure Erin was doing fine.

Not wanting to waste her life away without any source of income or inspiration, she decided to attend Columbia University for photography, pursuing a degree with the hidden talent that she had for many years.

Erin looked at Zuri with a hard mug. If looks could kill, Zuri would be dead. Her grandmother slammed the newspaper on the table before she sighed heavily, deciding to be honest with her granddaughter.

"When I moved up here years ago, I use to be neighbors with his family. I would look out fa him and his little brother, and I watched him grow from a teenage boy to a grown man. He always told me that when he got rich, he'd take care of me, and he's keepin' his word." Erin truthfully explained, staring at Zuri to read her thoughts through her facial expressions.

"Okay, grams. Is this money honorably made or what?" Zuri asked, sighing as she comfortably sat back in the dining chair.

"I don't know. I don't ask, I just take what he bless me with, baby." Erin shrugged, picking up the newspaper again, and Zuri laughed.

"Okay, I'll trust yo judgment." Zuri said as she stood up from the chair, walking in the direction of her bedroom until she halted, turning to look at her grandmother.

"But if I find out he sellin' drugs, robbin' people, or killin' them fa that money, ima nip it in a bud. Quick." She added, finally walking to her bedroom despite Erin laughing at her attempt to have a stern demeanor.

Zuri closed the door behind herself, sitting on the bed with her legs tucked under her body. She went to the group chat that she had with three of her close friends, tapping on the FaceTime icon.

"Hey, friend!" Loren excitedly yelled, smiling at the camera as she propped her phone on the window seal when Raquel and Ellmir joined the FaceTime call.

"Hey!" Zuri laughed, waving at the camera with a huge smile plastered on her face. She loved her friends equally despite meeting them at different times on different occasions.

The first friend that she met was Loren, meeting her during the process of her moving in her grandmother's home. Zuri was struggling to carry her tote of clothes when Loren passed by in her car, stopping to help her move her belongings. Ever since that day about two years ago, the two were very close.

"What's the move for tonight?" Ellmir asked, putting her hair in a ponytail as she stared at the screen, waiting for a response.

Ellmir was the second friend that Zuri met, coincidentally meeting her a week after meeting Loren. The girls happened to be at the same place at the same time, a basketball game, when they accidentally bumped into one another, instantly bonding over each other's equal beauty and similar outfits.