MELODY

ONE/ KIARA PALET

* daadee- grandma in Hindu.
* bachcha- baby in Hindu.

"Kiara baby turn that music down!" Her granny yelled as Kiara continued to edit her pictures.

"Sorry daadee!" She yelled back. She turned down Ari Lennox just a tad bit, just enough for her liking and for her grandmas as well. She was in her zone and the music could help her stay in it, well for now. Her stupid neighbors were at it again.

"James I'm not stupid! Now who is she?" Maya, her neighbor, yelled at her boyfriend of two years, James. Kiara just didn't understand why she just won't leave him. The whole building knew he was cheating, but that's none of her business Kiara constantly reminded herself.

She printed out her pictures and put them into the burnt orange envelope and wrote down her clients name.

She disconnected her phone from the small speaker in her bedroom and grabbed her jean jacket, putting it on over her black graphic sweatshirt. She grabbed her backpack and slid the envelope inside and threw the bag over her shoulder.

"Daadee, I'll be back. Gotta go deliver these photos." She told her grandmother.

"Be safe bachcha." Her granny yelled from the kitchen.

Kiara grabbed her keys and headed down the stairs of her Harlem apartment. She walked passed Maya's room and heard James apologizing for the hundredth time, shaking her head at Maya's gullible mind.

As she continued to walk down she could hear her uncle Carlos' voice. She rolled her eyes in disgust. Once she turned the corner to the door he was right there.

"Hey baby girl, where you going?" He asked with his weird smile that Kiara strongly hated.

"Out." She said trying to go around him but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Don't be out too late, you know the weirdos be out at night." He whispered in her ear then stepping back to look her up and down seductively.

"Im not scared, I live with one, now get the hell off of me Carlos!" She pulled her arm back and walked out the apartment building. Kiara walked outside hearing the busy streets of Harlem, it was rush hour and everyone was out-kids, parents, everyone.

She began to walk down the street, putting her headphones in and playing her music again. Before going down the subway she stopped into the bodega to get a quick snack before her journey to Queens, which was an hour ride. She would've usually order a Lyft or something but she didn't have any cash on her card at the moment so her Metrocard was gonna have to be here best friend at the moment.

She grabbed her drinks and hot chips and headed on down the New York subway stairs. She waited on her train and bobbed her head to the jazz music that was being played by the local musicians. She listened to the music and looked at the people around her. She got a few stares from men but didn't pay them any attention. She was very attractive. Small, petite body, slim waist, nice sized backside and nice size chest as well. Her skin was a glowing brownskinned complexion, her hair was naturally curly and big, full set lips and cutest baby nose, with wide but small eyes.She got most of her features from her mom and the rest from her father, she was Indian and black, she was fully untuned with her culture. She hated her body sometimes because of how her uncle took such interest to it. Kiara was a quiet person, stayed to herself a lot. She didn't really hang around people or even gotten along with them because she knew one day all that fun and happiness was just going to go away at some point. So she trained herself to not get too attached, meaning to when it came to her relationships and friendships she was always the one to end them before they could hurt her. Her granny told her it was a toxic trait she had to let go of because not everyone wants to hurt you,but Kiara didn't pay her granny any mind. When she was young, her mother abandoned her to her grandmother, leaving Kiara wondering if she was ever good enough and when she realized she "was" the problem she decided to distant herself from people so that they couldn't leave her broken hearted again.

Her train finally arrived and Kiara stepped on, rushing to the first seat she saw before anyone could take it. Her feet were killing her from all that standing so she felt relieved to get a seat.

Kiara stepped off of her train car and walked towards the stairs to go up to the streets of Queens.

She went to the cafe that her client wanted to meet her at and waited for them. Texting on her phone she didn't realize that the brown-skin man with a full beard sit across from her.

"Kiara?" He asked her before he shook her hand.

Kiara picked her head up and gave a smile to her client.

"Yes...sorry I was just texting another client of mine." She spoke, shaking his hand in return. "Here's your pictures. I hope you like them." She said handing the man the photos.

He opened the envelope and looked them over, Kiara could tell by the look on his face he enjoyed them.

"Thank you so much, they're amazing!" He exclaimed.

"No problem, it's what I do." She smiled happily because she made another client happy. Now that he liked her work all Kiara needed was her money.

"Can I cash app you the money?" He asked.

"Sure." She said. She gave the man her cash app and he forwarded the money to her.

The man then rose from his seat and shook her hand one last time before exiting the door of the cafe.

With the new money she had she order herself a Lyft home because there was no way she was taking the train back to Harlem.

While she ordered her ride she ordered a medium coffee. She had a paper to write tonight for her History class and she needed all of her energy. She got her drink and waited for her ride to arrive.

"Hello everybody we have a special performance tonight." The man announced on the microphone in the cafe. "My great friend, Mr. Sage." The man said introducing the man.

He came out and told everyone that he was a poet. Kiara was all ears, she loved poetry, her grandmother put her on to it at a young age. She loved everything about it- the feelings, the intimacy, the rhythm, everything. She wished she was able to hear it but her ride had arrived and it was time for her to go.

Once she reached her home she quietly walked in to her and her granny's small apartment. She didn't want to wake her, even though it was 9:20 at night, granny went to bed awfully early and she didn't want to wake her creepyc uncle. Kiara went to her room and took out her Macbook and immediately started her paper. It was gonna be one long night due to her drinking all of her coffee but she was up for the challenge.