MALIK

CHAPTER TWO

The street lights were dim, the sidewalks were quiet, and the weed smell was strong.

That night Malik walked over to Bluejade Deli, the one place that stayed open on holidays such as today. Hell, it was probably the PERFECT night to be open.

The Bluejade was owned by a 70 year old guy named Blue, who had a smooth bald head and tiny gray hairs on his chin. Even though he might've been old, he managed the Bluejade with an iron fist.

There was one Halloween night a couple of thugs broke into his store to trash it, but by the time they took out their baseball bats, Blue was already there, with a shotgun in hand.

The WALK symbol appeared. The glow from inside the deli blinded Malik as he crossed the street and opened the door. A faint bell jingled as he did.

Inside, colorful rows of beef jerky, candy, cookies, chips, and soda were lined up neatly on the racks. Malik walked down an aisle and grabbed himself a Doritos bag and a Cosmic Brownie. Just then, out of the side of his ear, Malik heard some chatter behind one of the deli doors. It sounded like arguing.

Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing a chubby girl with a pink tank top and furry slides on her feet. The girl sucked her teeth as she trudged down the aisle Malik was in.

"Fucking dick," she mumbled just loud enough for Malik to hear.

"You talking to me?" he asked, knowing fully well she WASN'T.

The chubby girl twisted her head around, and scowled at the sarcastic boy.

"Back the fuck off, nigga! Mad annoying." She swiped a Jumbo Cheetos bag off one of the racks, and opened it with intense rage. A few bare Cheetos fell to the ground.

Malik decided to try again.

"Has anybody ever told you you look like Beyoncé?"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Nah, they usually tell me I look like Laqueefa."

Malik scrunched his face. "Who the hell is that?"

"Me, nigga!" The girl, who was apparently named Laqueefa, belched and walked behind the cash register. She held out her thick hands.

"You plan on paying for that shit or what?"

Malik crossed his arms, not quite ready to give in to Laqueefa's rudeness. He'd dealt with worse in his apartment.

"Are you even allowed to be behind there?" he asked. "Where's Blue?"

"How the hell am I suppose' to know where my uncle to be at?!" Laqueefa bellowed, stuffing more Cheetos into her mouth. "His old ass probably gettin' drunk."

Malik smiled. "You know, that's funny, because-"

The entrance to the deli swung open hard, almost making the glass door shatter. In walked two teens, much taller than Malik. They wore all black. Black sneakers, black hoodies, black jeans. The only color shown was the pale white picture of a skull on their masks.

"Double Taps," Malik thought to himself.

"What ya'll niggas want?!" Laqueefa asked, clearly frightened.

"Nothing, Big Mama," the taller one said. "Just checking out the merch."

"Don't FUCKING call me that!" Laqueefa roared.

And within that split second of her saying that, one of the hooded teens swiftly took out their gun from his pants, and pointed it at Laqueefa.

"Oh shit."