Black Beauty

Is This Weed

She followed Jade through the living room, past Rashawn asleep on the couch, and into the master bedroom. All of the three-bedroom apartments were laid out the same. This would have been her mother's room but there was no bed. Plants were everywhere. Dozens of plants; potted plants, hanging plants, creeping plants. Even though she'd taken botany for two years, Shemeya couldn't name any of them.

The moisture in the air clung to Shemeya's skin and sank into her chest, making it hard to breathe. Two windows were on the east side of the room but hundreds of vines had crept up the wall and, in their greed, had blocked most of the sunlight.

"What is all of this?"

"These are my other babies," Jade said in the same tone she used when she spoke about Rashawn. She walked through the labyrinth of plants and stopped at a table on the far side of the room, barely visible through the foliage. On it lay a pestle and mortar, and inside the mortar she saw something amazingly similar to...

"Is that weed?" Shemeya asked. "You grow weed." She looked towards the door expecting to see the police. The last thing she needed was to get caught in a drug dealer's house.

Jade laughed as she pulled a leaf from a funky plant with green and purple leaves sitting on the table. "This is much better than weed. This is from my homeland. And, most importantly, it's not illegal here."

"Oh," Shemeya said, a little disappointed. She hadn't wanted to get caught with a drug dealer, but she wasn't opposed to smoking a little bit of weed.

"Where are you from?" Shemeya asked, curious.

"No place you've heard of."

"I'm not stupid. I got an A in geography-- Ow." Jade had yanked one of Shemeya's locs.

"Fuck." Shemeya rubbed her scalp. "You almost pulled out a dread."

"For it to work for you, it needs a bit of you in it." Jade held the hair in front of her face. "These five strands should be enough." She placed the hair into the mortar and started grinding it into the marble bowl with the leaves.

Shemeya watched, rubbing her throbbing scalp as her hair became indecipherable from the other ingredients. "Isn't that voodoo?"

"No. This isn't voodoo." Jade ground the mixture faster, causing the pestle to clang loudly against the marble bowl.

"Then what is it? My mom would kill me if she knew I was messing around with voodoo."

"It's an herbal medicine. When you receive blood, the doctors have to make sure they match your blood type. Adding your hair makes the herb specific for you. Like recognizes like."

"What does it do? Will it get me high?"

"It will give you courage and confidence, but it will not get you high."

Disappointed, Shemeya watched as Jade put the herbs in papers she'd grabbed from her pants pocket and rolled it. "It looks just like a joint to me."

"It is not a joint," Jade said sharply, as she handed it to Shemeya. "Smoke it here so I know I haven't wasted my time."

Shemeya studied the fake joint. She should have walked right past this place and left Crazy Jade to her craziness. But after the day she'd endured, she couldn't tolerate the thought of going back to school. Maybe, just maybe, smoking this would make it all go way. Besides, what would some herbs hurt?

"Okay." Shemeya placed the tip of the faux joint into her mouth and Jade lit it.

Shemeya inhaled. The smoke traveled from her mouth down her throat and settled in her stomach for a few intense moments before Shemeya exhaled. "Shit, that's nasty." But the taste didn't stop her from bringing it back to her lips and inhaling once again.