Stripping Asjiah II by Sa'Rese Thompson. Page B

pound; Angel did it as a means to an end. He saw things on a grander scale, on a canvas so to speak; his plan was to paint a picture that would get him and I both out the hood.
Glancing in the rearview mirror I ruffled my curls and reapplied my Dior Reflect lip gloss and exited the car. Even though I wasn‟t showing, I didn‟t want to draw any extra attention to myself so I decided to wear black cargo pants and a white long sleeve thermal shirt that said BeBe down the right sleeve. I cinched the drawstrings just enough so they would sit perfectly around my black BCBG ankle booties.
I signaled the alarm on my car and walked across the gravel towards the entrance. Just as I was getting ready to go in; she came out.
“Stacey?”
I said her name more as a question to myself rather than a salutation.
“A‟…Asjiah,” Stumbling over her words she tried to force a smile.
“What are you doing here? Did you see my brother? Is something wrong with him?”
“Angel? He…”
Something about her wasn‟t all there. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost. Her eyes were red around the rims obvious proof that she had been crying.
“If something is wrong with my brother Stacey tell me.”
“He‟s okay; it‟s just weird seeing him in here. The fact that I get to walk away and he has to go back to some tiny box bothers me.”
She was avoiding eye contact, looking at the ground and acting as if she was in a hurry to get away from me. She was lying about something.
“Angel‟s been through a lot worse; its going to take more than jail to break him.”
“Yeah, I guess you‟re right.” Fumbling with her car keys she took a few steps towards the parking lot. “I gotta go A‟, it was nice seeing you.”
Stacey wanted to run to her car but she was sure Asjiah was still watching her. Her hands were shaking; she could barely put her key in the ignition. Her heart raced as Asjiah‟s words reverberated through her mind. Angel was here?
    “W ho you here to see baby girl,” The brown skinned corrections officer smiled as he watched me approach the counter. The gold cap that covered his front tooth made the rest of his teeth look even more yellow as he tried his best to flirt with me.
    “I don‟t think that‟s any of your business.” I turned my nose up at him and reached for the pen to sign my name on the clipboard.
“Asjiah, that‟s a pretty name blue eyes.”
    His words made me think of Cash and I wanted to reach across the table and punch him in his fucking nose for calling me that, but if I did; they would cuff me in a heartbeat and throw my little ass in a cell for assault.
    I didn‟t have time to come up with something witty to say because my attention was diverted elsewhere. Just as I was putting the pen back down I saw it; Stacey Johnson . And as my eyes followed along the line they read the person she had signed out; Lashon Travis . This bitch had been here to see LT!
    My face felt like it was on fire as I counted softly to five in an effort to calm down. Why was she coming to see him? Did Angel know LT was here?
    I didn‟t see my brother so I decided to get him a few things before the guards brought him out. There was no telling what kind of garbage they fed him in here. Although these canned juices, quarter bags of chips, and microwavable cheeseburgers weren‟t exactly gourmet dishes, it had to be better than the mystery meat he was eating.
“What‟s up pretty girl?”
    “Really? I can‟t go to the fucking vending machine…,” My voice fell short as our eyes met.
Dressed in Phat Farm jeans, a red long sleeved tee, and red, blue and white Timberlands; I had to do a double take to make sure it was him.
“Caleb!”
“What‟s good A‟?” Caleb retrieved the apple juice from the dispenser and handed it to me.
“Where have you been? I haven‟t seen you in forever.”
“I‟ve been around, laying low, staying out the way.” He rubbed his hands together allowing me to catch a glimpse of the platinum