A Good Dude

After running off with a rapper, Candace’s dreams of having a flashy lifestyle are shattered when Rilla gets dropped from his label. He returns to Overbrook Meadows and resumes drug dealing, and she is obliged to follow. In the meantime, Candace’s stomach is getting bigger, and she can’t say for sure who the father is. She thinks things are as bad as they can get, but she has yet to experience the real pain her new life has in store.

Excerpt

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“My name is Candace.”

“I’m Cheryl,” the light-skinned girl offered. She was in her early twenties. She had large eyes and sunken jaws.

“And you already know my name,” Neci said to Candace.

“You’re my cellmate?” Candace asked.

“Yeah, and don’t trip about the food. I can get some cookies later on.”

“But you’d better eat as much as you can,” Keisha advised. “We don’t get nothing else to eat till six in the morning.” Twelve hours with no food. That would explain Neci’s anxiety.

“I see you got you a dope case,” Neci said to Candace.

Candace was taken aback. “How do you know that?”

“It’s on your wristband.” Neci pointed with her spork. “Whatever color it is, say what you’re here for.”

Candace looked around and saw that all four women at her table had different color wristbands. Hers was dark blue.

Neci pointed to Keisha. “Yellows are for tickets,” she said. “Them bitches is probably going home soon. You can see it in their faces. They look happier than everybody else.”

Keisha smiled, as if to illustrate this point.

“Green is assault, or something violent,” Neci said.

Cheryl was the one with the green wristband. Candace made a mental note to keep her distance.

“Mine is white,” Neci said. “White bands are for fed cases. They trying to get me for cashing checks.”

Candace had no idea what was wrong with cashing a check.

“Red is for murderers,” Neci went on. “Ain’t nobody in here with no red, but we had this one bitch a couple weeks ago.”

Keisha shivered. “She was creepy.”

“And you got blue,” Neci said to Candace. “That means you got a dope case.”

“I didn’t do it,” Candace said immediately.

Neci smiled. “Everybody in here is innocent, baby girl. You sound like one of us already.”

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