"Prime Time News"

|01|

Kalíanna

"Would you like anything else?" I shake my head in response, "No, thank you. . . that will be all." I respond with a warm smile on my face, which slowly fades when I hear an awfully familiar voice behind me.

"Mama P, wah yuh can do fimi inna the day yah?" She chuckles placing her hands on either sides of her hips. "Watch yah, yuh neva tell mi seh foreigner deh yah." He takes a seat on a stool not far from where I'm standing.

I roll my eyes at his remark. I had grown used to his antics over the years. Though, I will say that I was equally thrilled as I was repulsed by his presence.

"Yuh know seh yuh give trouble likkle boy?" Mama P laughs as she gives him a warning look.

"She know a likkle joke mi a run man. . .farrin breeze gree wid har tho." A stupid smirk forms on his face. I take the boxes of food placing them into the bag carefully.

"Nuh want mi help yuh?"

I don't give him the response he's waiting for.

TJ and I were hardly on speaking terms before I even moved from this side of town.

I take my leave but not before giving Mama P a hug, "Tek care," she says waving me goodbye. I always come to her cook shop whenever I'm on this side of town, and if I don't? It feels wrong.

If yuh nuh neva taste Mama P cooking, yuh nuh know good food.

Fight me.

When I get in the car I look on my phone to see multiple missed calls from my parents, I turn off my phone ignoring every last one them.

If they knew that I was where, I am now. They'd go ballistic and I don't need that kind of negativity right now.

"Why yuh look suh vex?" My best friend questions from his place in the driver's seat. "Nun," I shrug, playing it cool because I still feel unheard whenever I do voice my worries, no matter to whom or the sincerity of their reaction.

"Serious question?"

I nod giving him the go ahead.

"Yuh nuh plan fi gah yuh yaad?" He takes his eyes off the road to glance at me for a second. "Not today. . .why? Yuh tiaad a mi?" I say playfully trying to lighten the mood.

My friends and I booked a villa for the weekend.

After what happened on Friday morning I decided I wasn't going to stay there. I was just a pawn in my parents' games. I'm sick of it. It's always the audacity that gets me pissed the most.

"Yuh people dem a call off mi phone that's why mi ask." They never liked me hanging out with Javier, it seems they've forgotten where they came from.

We were once in the 'ghetto' as well.

We just got lucky.

But everyday they fall deeper in their glamorous lifestyle built off of the very ghetto youths they seem to shun.

Javier was a childhood friend of mine. He ended up on the wrong side of the law and it hurts to watch, but I have to understand that its due to his own  circumstances.

He never knew his father, Ms. Shauna was always trying her best to make ends meet.

He didn't have the privilege of having a family with money. So he went and fend for himself; like most young boys do in our society.

I'm not going to cut off any my friends just because they don't meet the standards of my parents. Especially not when they couldn't have met the very standards themselves a few years prior.

Javier places a reassuring hand on my thigh, probably realising how deep in my thoughts I've gone.

"Yuh nuh affi answer dem." I respond, acknowledging his prior statement.

When the gates of the villa comes into my line of sight, a sudden feeling of relief washes over me. I'm here to enjoy my weekend not to worry about anything else. It's why I planned a get-a-way in the first place.

I step out of the car with the food while Javier gets all the liquor and other necessities we purchased.

When we open the front door, I'm greeted by Rihanna. "A mek uno go mek eh food." She says referring to how long it took us. But as soon as she saw the alchol in Javier's arms her face bubbled with excitement.

"A dat you want see man," he laughs highlighting her excitement.

Our other friends, Renée, Arielle and Dandre walks down the stairs joining the party.

"Watch eh man, look like him just wake up." Javier laughs as Dandre barely makes it down the stairs. "Just a wake?" Javier asks, directing the question at Dandre.

Arielle chuckles knowingly and we all laugh in realisation.

"Uno can tek time eno. . .har pussy nah run weh."

"Rihanna-" I call out in disbelief.
I don't even know why I'm suprised. That was her job. Leave it up to her to say something out of pocket. Everytime she opens her mouth I prepare myself to scold her for a crude comment.

I take out a box of food of my own. I made sure that everyone's orders were the same because as old as my friends were, they still behaved liked toddlers; God forbid if someone had something the other didn't.

Dorraine Samuels and her co-worker appeared on the television screen, highlighting tonight's headlines.

My attention is elsewhere until a picture of. . .myself? Appears on screen.

"It is alleged that Kalíanna Stevenson, daughter of Christian Stevenson, known politician and business man in the western side of the island. . .has been reported missing. Stevenson says that he has not seen his daughter since Friday morning."

My parents have never gone as far as filing a missing person report.

I doubt he cared that much.

This was just another show for the public because I missed a press conference for his campaign today and he had to formulate some fitting narrative as to why all the members of his precious family had not been in attendance.

I shake my head in disbelief.

He's sick. . .he's truly a sick man.

My parents are aware of my whereabouts because I have not been discreet with any of my monetary transactions.

They're not dense, they know that they can track my location through the use of my card.

"How much money dem a give to eh smaddy weh find yuh? Mind mi affi turn yuh in eno Kali." I shoot Rihanna a playful glare before taking a sip of my water.

"Dem nah give yuh shit, suh gwan." Dandre responds to her question.

"Dem might all lock yuh up fi kidnapping." Javier added with a chuckle.

"Mi hate uno eno. . .uno nuh tek nothing serious." Arielle says in between laughs.

I know my friends didn't mean any harm but it really showed how important perspective was. From their perspective it was something they could laugh about, but from mine? I felt trapped.

I felt as if I had been hand picked to be provoked by the devil himself for my entire existence.

I excuse myself from the conversation.

The night breeze nearly blow weh mi mawga self along with it, as mi step outside.

No man.

Mek mi siddung caz mi nuh able.

The sound of the sliding door opening gets my attention and I look around to see a smiling Javier.

"Yuh good?" He hands me a cup of liquor, I assume. I ignore the question because I wasn't sure how to answer.

I change the topic.

"Drunk yah try drunk mi off, Javi?"

His lips curl as he lets out a husky chuckle.

"No man, a neva me mix it." I offer a small nod before bringing the cup to my lips.

I watch as he removes a freshly built spliff from behind his ear. "Want a puff?" He offers jokingly. I reach for it nonetheless. "Wah yah do?" He asks moving his hand.

I watch as he brings the spliff to his lips, taking a long pull before exhaling a breath of smoke.

"Yuh lick yuh head man." He mutters.

I roll my eyes at him.

He was quite serious about what he allowed me to indulge in. In his eyes I was still the little girl who would cling to his arm whenever we had to pass by the neighbors' dogs. I don't think he knows just how much I cherish our childhood memories.

Growing older was something I have always dread.

Having to say goodbye to a time where I was carefree, a time where I was never alone. . .I would spend every waking moment with my friends in my old neighborhood.

With age they either died or we grew apart.

That was the sad reality of growing older.

We simply didn't have the time to play as we once would because now life demanded so much of us. I can't blame them for that, nor can I blame myself.

It was only a part of life.

Javier, though? He couldn't get rid of me even if he tried.

Him goodly hate mi like poison fi all the foolishness him affi put up with, but what are friends for?

"One likkle puff, Javier?" I plead holding up a single finger as representation.

"No."

"Please?"

"Fuck off," he says before walking off.

"Weh yah go?" I ask.

I didn't realize until now that his car keys were in his hand.

"Road."

The simple response meant so much more to those who knew what danger the streets held.

I hated when he said that word, it instilled both fear and sadness in my heart. For I knew the streets of Monetgo Bay far too well and with that being said, I knew that they had nothing good to offer, especially not to people like him.

"Wah time yah come back?" I ask, my tone now filled with concern.

"Mi nah tek long, ago drop off something and fawud." He says in attempt to reassure me.

But I wasn't convinced.

"I should come then." I offer resting my now empty cup on a near by table.

He turns around giving me a harsh look.

"Yuh know yuh cya come."

"Why? Yuh nuh seh yuh nah long?"

"Just gwan inside, Kali." His tone is dismissive.

I ignore him making my way towards his BMW X6.

I'm too stubborn for my own good

He shakes his head as a small smile grace his lips. He sighs in defeat before opening the passenger door for me.

I celebrate my small victory, though it's short lived as he speaks again.

"Nuh bada feel like yah come out a eh car inna dat."

I look down at pajama shorts and white tank top before shrugging.

I'm not going to push my luck tonight.

We entered a neighborhood that didn't take a fool to know was dangerous. Javier stops in front of a shop that had a number of persons on the outside drinking, while others were engaged in a game of dominoes. The slamming of their palms on the fragile wooden table that they gathered around could be heard as they slammed down domino after domino.

The expensive vehicle caught a lot of eyes as many were eager to see who the driver was and perhaps what they were doing here of all places.

Javier was on his phone as his left hand rested on the steering wheel, his demeanor screamed impatience.

A knock on the window catches his attention.

"Yo, wah gwan?" A dark-skinned male smiled as he dapped him up through the window. "Deh yah eno." Javier's tone is indifferent. He obviously didn't like to be kept waiting and he no doubt didn't want me to be here with him at that.

He reaches over popping the glove compartment, exposing a gun and multiple wads of cash. He took out some of the money before slamming it closed.

"Your b' dat?" The guy asks referring to me. Javier simply shakes his head before handing the guy the money and asking him to put the 'product' in the back.

As soon as the guy was done loading the car he speeds off without another word. Not even a 'thank you'.

I crane my neck to get a view of what was behind me. There were multiple packages that littered his backseat, all were wrapped meticulously.

"What are those?" I inquire, turning back around.

He glanced at me then back at the road.

"Yah police?" He hisses his teeth.