Magic

Chapter 8

Kirshnik 'Takeoff' Ball

Quavo been on cloud nine ever since the show ended. I mean he hasn't stopped yet, and it's getting annoying. Yeah we won, yeah it was great, and yeah it was fun, but he's taking it to a whole nother level.

"But did you see how they was dancing with us thought?" he asked. "And then when we hopped in the crowd, awe man that was crazy."

"Yeah we know, we were there." I said to him. He looked over at me and cocked an eyebrow.

"You don't look as excited as you should be." He replied.

"How excited should I look?" I asked him.

"Do you not realize that this is it?" he asked.

"It's what!?"

"Don't yell at me." He said quickly. "It's what gonna get us out the hood, it's what gone get us new cars, buy our mamas new houses over there where the white people stay. You know, the houses where you gotta put in a code to come up the driveway and then another one to get inside the house. This could make us rich."

"One song?" I asked.

"no, we gone have to record more shit obviously, but this rap shit could work for us." he turned and looked back at offset who had been sitting in the backseat quiet the whole time.

"I'm down as long as yall are." He said shrugging his shoulders. Quavo turned and looked at me.

"It wouldn't be the migos with just two of you right?" I said.

When we got back to school after the weekend the energy from everyone was just like at the talent show. Somebody uploaded a videos of us on YouTube and it seemed like everybody and they mama watched it. We was getting stopped in the halls like we was celebrities or something and it was just a stupid talent show. I was late to first period cause everyone was crowding around us and making it hard for me to get through to where I needed to be. When I got to my history class I wasn't even comfortable in my seat and Trina was already turned around ready to bug me.

"What?" I asked.

"I saw your little show." she said.

"Yeah I know, everybody did." I replied. She really think she can run game on me like she did call me after the day in the bathroom and tell me that she wished I was dead. The way she acted you would think that we really was in a relationship instead of just messing around. "Do you need something from me?"

"Come to my house after school," she said plainly.

"I'll think about it." I said. "Now turn around before you get us in trouble for talking."

I don't like having a bunch of people in my face all the time. This shit is honestly starting to get old real fast. I couldn't even each my damn lunch cause everybody wanted to talk. this person had beats they wanted to give us, that person wanted to do a song, this girl wanted to chill, and another had a uncle with a studio that she said we could use. Quavo was living his moment and loving every second of the attention, he was taking number from girls left and right giving the guys an email address to send all of the beat and song they wanted features on, and the killer part about the whole thing was that he was charging them. This nigga was taking money for features and we only recorded one song.

I was relieved when school let out because that meant that I could go the fuck home. I sped walked outside to my car and pulled off before anyone had the chance to walk over to me and ask me for shit. I was halfway home when my phone started ringing off the hook. I figured it was just Quavo calling because I left them so I didn't worry about picking up but after the 6th time it rang I got curious. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and I had a bunch of missed calls from an unknown number. I was about to call back but another incoming call came in from the same number so I answered it.

"Hello?"

"You know I don't like to feel ignored." A familiar voice shot back. My stomach turned and in that moment I felt like I coulda shitted on myself.

"How did you get this number?" I asked.

"I have my ways." He replied. "You thought that you could just leave town and you was gonna get away from me that easily?"

"What are you talking about? I don't owe you anything." I said.

"You think that's how this is gonna work?" he asked.

"I gave you product to sell, and you think that you can just drop it back off at my house and not come through on your promise?" he asked.

"Man I told you I can't be doin that no more. My ma-"

"Yeah your mama needs you," he said with a laugh. "But let me ask you something, how would your mama feel if we went over there and sprayed the whole place? She's at work right now, but your siblings are in the house right, and a younger cousin if I'm not mistaken."

"What do you want me to do? I'm not even in that area anymore-"

"I'm sending you an address. When you get there you're gonna go see a guy named Slick. He'll give you what you need and you'll know what to do with it." He said.

"Man come on, I'm trying to straighten my life out but-"

"But you owe me, and when you're done repaying me for that loan I gave you then our business arrangement will be finished. Until then you work for me no matter where you try to move to."

The line went dead and I dropped the phone down on the seat. A few second later a text came with the address that I was supposed to go to. He sent me to this whole in the wall bar way on the other side of town. I got out and went inside and asked for slick like I was supposed to. The bartender led me through a back down to a room that was lit up by only red lights. A man sat on a sofa with a girl in his lap, she looked young....younger than me even, but that's not why I'm here.

"You're the runner that Lavell sent?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied. There was something about his face that was so familiar but I couldn't place it.

"Give him the stuff," he said waving his hand. One of the big dudes that was guarding the door handed me a duffle bag and another gave me a book bag. I took the bags and left without another word to them. When I got out to my car I put the bags in the trunk and slammed it shut. Man, how the fuck do I get myself in these fucking situations. I was doing good. I was going to school and inside at my curfew and still this shit happened. How did he even find me?

My phone started to ring again and I checked to see who it was. It was just Trina calling probably to whine about how I haven't showed up at her house yet. I haven't showed up and I'm not fucking going. That girl is more trouble than she's worth and I don't need any more trouble right now.

When I got home I left everything in the car. My mama was home and I can't bring all that into the house with her here. I don't want it here at all but I don't have a choice. I should have never borrowed that fucking money from him. I thought that working for him for a little while would be enough but he kept adding what he called interest but that was just an excuse to keep me around because all his usual guys kept going to jail and getting caught. I came back to get away from all that. I thought that he wouldn't be able to find me down here, but I was wrong.