The Plug's Daughter

❁˖⁺‧₊˚❁˚₊‧⁺˖˖⁺‧₊˚❁˚₊‧⁺˖˖⁺‧₊˚❁˚₊‧⁺˖❁

The Plug's Daughter
Chapter 15: I don't like surprises
The next day...

Alazhá's POV:

Alazhá stood on the carpet of her bedroom behind her homegirl Zori, vibing to Viking by SahBabii blasting through the speaker. Zori was sat on the chair perched on the vanity desk in front of her, scrolling on her phone while Alazhá carefully adjusted the wig cap on Zori's head. The other two Keisha and Mariah were sprawled on the bed, scrolling TikTok and munching on hot fries.

"'Yeah workin' that stick out the back of the truck...get feisty'" Alazhá rapped along, her voice exaggerated and off-key. Zori joined in, shaking her shoulders dramatically.

Mariah threw her head back from the bed and joined in, "'Tatted they face like he Gucci Mane nigga went "Brr", and i made 'em icy...'"

The whole room busted out laughing when Zori leaned back and dramatically mimed.

"Yo, why this song hit so hard?" Mariah asked, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"'SahBabii put his left ass cheek and septum into this song!" Alazhá replied, carefully brushing the jet-black body wave wig in her lap.

"Girl, hurry up!" Zori whined, flipping her phone around to check her camera. "I got places to be tonight, and I need this wig to be melted, Okay!"

"Hold still then!" Alazhá snapped, playfully pushing Zori's head back into place. "You move one more time, you gon' end up lookin' like somebody auntie at the cookout."

Keisha, sitting near the head of the bed, side-eyed them. "She gon' end up lookin' like that anyway with that stiff lil' wig."

The whole room went quiet for a second, and then Mariah sat up, eyebrows raised. "Keisha, why you hatin' so bad? That wig look good, and you know it."

"I ain't hatin'. I'm just sayin'," Keisha replied, shrugging with an innocent expression.

Mariah smirked, crossing her arms. "You just sayin' a lil' too much for somebody who ain't put no money on this install. You good, Keisha?"

Keisha sat up straighter. "What you tryna say?"

"I'm sayin', you been actin' funny all day," Mariah shot back. "Throwin' shade like it's a sport. What's really goin' on?"

Keisha rolled her eyes, reaching for her phone. "Ain't nobody actin' funny. Y'all just sensitive."

"Nah," Mariah said, smirking. "You mad you wasn't the one gettin' your wig slayed, huh?"

"Alright, alright!" Zori interrupted, throwing her hands up. "Y'all not finna mess up my vibe with this. Can we just keep it cute for, like, five minutes?"

"Thank you," Alazhá added, tugging the wig into place. "Keisha, chill. Mariah, stop gassin' her up."

Mariah and Keisha exchanged one last glare before Keisha went back to her phone and Mariah sighed dramatically.

"Anyway," Zori said, flipping her new hair over her shoulder and checking herself out in her phone camera. "This wig look good as hell. Zhá, you snapped on this one."

"You welcome," Alazhá replied, leaning back with a satisfied smirk. "Now send me my $40."

Zori laughed but didn't deny it, already pulling up her Cash App.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Alazhá called, standing up and dusting off her hands.

"It's me," her dad's voice came through the door.

The room fell silent as Demario stepped in, his presence commanding as always. He glanced around at the girls before locking eyes with Alazhá.

"I ain't gon' keep you long," he said, his tone calm but firm. "I just need to holla at you later. We gotta talk 'bout somethin' important."

Alazhá frowned slightly, curiosity sparking. "What's it about?"

"We'll talk later," he said, already turning to leave. "Be ready."

And just like that, he was gone, leaving her standing there with a million questions swirling in her head.

"What was that about?" Zori asked, looking up from her phone.

"I'on know," Alazhá replied, shaking her head. "But I'ma find out."

Later that evening, as the house settled into its usual quiet, Alazhá's phone buzzed. She picked it up, already smiling when she saw Romani's name pop up on the screen.

"What you want?" she answered, her voice laced with fake annoyance.

Romani's face appeared on the screen, his gold grillz glinting as he grinned. "Damn, that's how you greet me now? What's good, Zhá?"

"You tell me. You ain't hit me all day," she replied, laying back on her bed. "Thought you forgot about me or somethin'."

"Forgot about you?" He laughed. "Girl, stop playin'. I been busy, but you know you stay on my mind."

"Uh-huh," she said, rolling her eyes but feeling her cheeks heat up anyway.

"Nah, for real," he said, his tone softening. "You good, though? You been quiet."

"Yeah, I'm straight," she said, twirling a strand of her hair. "Daddy said he need to talk to me 'bout somethin' later, but I don't even know what it's about."

"Probably somethin' serious," Romani said, leaning closer to the camera. "You need me to pull up?"

"No, it's cool," she said quickly, laughing. "He'd probably lose his mind if you just popped up."

"Aight, aight," he said, smirking. "But you know I'm here if you need me."

"I know," she replied, smiling despite herself.

"Anyway," he said, sitting back. "I'm tryna see you tomorrow. Let me take you out."

"Where we goin'?"

"It's a surprise," he said, his grin widening. "Just be ready at seven. And don't have me waitin', Zhá."

"I don't like surprises," she warned, but her excitement was already bubbling.

"You gon' like this one," he said, and with that, the call ended, leaving her staring at her screen with a small smile.

Keisha: