It Is What It Is. Montez Jordan
out the door.
“A, I’ma go holla at Tato to see what’s poppin’,” Radi said as he got into his car.
Pimp nodded. “I’ma see what’s up with this bitch out Lansdowne. She off today. Cho, you remember the bitch Lisa?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, I need some of that in my life!”
“Alright, I get up wit y’all niggas later.”
Cho looked around perplexed. “Pimp,” he asked. “What are you driving?” He scanned the parking lot.
Pimp smiled. “That.” He pointed his keys towards a row of cars that were against the wall and pushed the button for the doors to unlock. When Cho saw the lights on the 2006 GS430 light up, he couldn’t believe his eyes. “I copped it yesterday,” Pimp explained. “Check it out.”
This nigga’s crazy!, he thought. They made a rule that no one would get anything flashy. Cars brought attention and even though they had money, they felt it was best to stay on the low. A GS430 wasn’t too flashy, but it was 2004. Cho thought the new body style wasn’t supposed to hit the market until 2005. And this nigga got an ’06? He couldn’t believe it. Pimp had to be the only nigga in town with this car. Who wouldn’t notice?
Cho and Pimp walked over and Radi pulled his car in front of it. He felt the same way Cho did. They both had to admit the new body style was fresh. The car was black on black with 22-inch black BBS rims.
“Yo, you crazy! What made you buy that shit?” Cho said, frustated.
“Man, check this out! Look at all that money my brother made and he ain’t do shit with it. I mean, he bought some properties or whatever and made sure our family would be straight, but he didn’t really enjoy himself. I’ma do me! I ain’t promised tomorrow. I’ma get it how I live. Fuck dat shit!” Pimp yelled, pounding his fist into his palm for emphasis. “You niggas can sit around and be conservative wit y’all cake. I would’ve brought a Bentley, but ain’t enough of them in the city for me to do that yet. We’ve been on this run for almost two years and you niggas still ridin’ Honda Accords and shit. If I die tomorrow, at least I’ll be satisfied with my life. I got bitches, whips, houses, my family straight and my nephews are definitely good. You niggas is trippin’ over a whip?”
“But you just copped that truck a month ago,” Radi added.
“And I might cop another one next week,” Pimp said sarcastically. “As long as my paper straight, I’ma do me!”
Cho interrupted. “Nigga, you need slow down. I ain’t saying don’t enjoy yourself but you better pay attention to what you do. We ain’t tryna get knocked off. That’s why we been able to stay on this run for so long. We stay low key. Be easy. Stop being a hot head.”
Pimp had become a live wire. Since Swervo died, his whole personality had changed. He didn’t give a fuck about anything. He said he fully planned to do him regardless of the consequences and he kept proving that he meant it. He valued Radi and Cho’s opinion, but he was on some “what Pimp wants, Pimp gets” shit.
Cho looked Pimp dead in his eyes. He wanted him to feel how serious he really was. “Don’t buy no more cars for a while and please don’t ride through the ‘hood stuntin’. You know it’s hot.”
Pimp shook his head and smiled at the car. “OK. I’ll put it up, but you niggas do need to start livin’. I’ll get at y’all later.” He got in his car and waited for Radi to pull off. Then he did the same.
Cho stood there for a minute, his eyes wandering across the parking lot to check his surroundings. He realized they had been standing there for a long time and he wanted to see if anyone was being nosy. As his eyes screened the top of the lot, he saw four nurses coming out of the old market. One of them caught his attention.
He speed walked across Paca Street dodging traffic. Cho didn’t usually chase after women, but this girl really had his eye. She was tall and dark-skinned with chinky eyes, and had the perfect shape. She reminded him of Keisha off of Belly. He had to get her. The band of women noticed him coming towards them but they kept on walking. He crossed their path right in front of Lexaco.
“How are you ladies doing?” They all looked at him, but only one of them spoke. It’s always the ugly one, he thought.
“Damn! I was just saying hi.”
“Hi,” they said in unison.
“What’s your name?” he asked the one he had his eyes on. “Can you slow down for a minute?” She turned and smiled. “My name is Cho.” He extended his hand. She shook it.
Her friends stopped as well but continued to have their own conversation, not paying Cho and their co-worker any attention. The unattractive one felt some type of way that Cho didn’t want to talk to her. She sucked her teeth and spoke loudly for her friend to hurry.
“My name is Dale,” she replied. She looked to the left with a slight giggle. She knew what her co-worker was doing. That bitch always hatin’. Then she looked back at Cho quickly, observing him from head to toe. He is a handsome dude, she thought to herself.
Cho smiled. “Dale…” Damn, I never met a Dale before. I definitely won’t forget that. “I don’t want to hold you and your friends. I just wanted to know your name. Hopefully I’ll see you again.” He grinned some more.
“OK,” she replied. She knew he wanted her phone number, so she was surprised when he didn’t ask for it.
“You ladies have a nice day.” He turned and walked back towards his car.
She paused to watch him cross the street.
“Girl, come on! What you still standing there for? Damn!” The ugly one said.
Dale walked towards her co-workers, her head fucked up that he just walked away. Cho knew that this particular pick-up always worked. He didn’t want to seem too pressed, so he would just introduce himself, get the girl’s name and let her go about her business. Nine times out of 10, she would see him again and remember who he was. Then he would get her. He figured she worked in University Hospital or one of the nursing homes in the area, and came to the market to eat or for parking. He did the same thing, so he knew he would cross her path again. He got in his car and pulled off.
Cho decided to go and check on Randy, so he headed east. During the drive, he thought about what Pimp said. It was about time he bought something nice for himself. He would still drive the Accord every day, but he wanted something that he could stunt out with on occasions.
He liked the Range Rover, but he also liked the big body Benz. It was just a thought. It seemed like he had been stacking forever. He hadn’t spent a large sum of money since he had left that bitch. Damn, he thought. He didn’t want to think about her and fuck his day up.
He called Randy to let him know he was on his way. Before he could hang up, one of his other phones began to ring. He kept three phones, a two way and a beeper. One phone he had for Ol’ Head and Radi — no one else called on that line. He had a phone for his family, and the other phone was for everyone else.
All of his phone numbers would change at the drop of a dime. He couldn’t mix his business communication with pleasure, so he put them each on their own line. As he hung up with Randy, he answered the other phone. It was Ol’ Head.
“What’s up, shorty?”
“Ain’t shit. Wassup wit chu?” Cho replied.
“Chillin’. Where you at?”
“Just came from eatin’. How ‘bout you?”
“I’m floatin’ right now. Meet me down Mo’s later on.”
“Like what time?”
“Man, I don’t know. Just go down there later.”
“Cool.” They hung up, and Cho continued