ALPHA LAMAR: ABANDONED TO THE STREETS

Chapter 3

DANIELLE POV

Finally, it’s my birthday!

I laid on my mattress looking up at the ceiling ecstatic. Today I am 18. Today I leave this hell I have been living in. The funny thing is, I haven’t had any trouble with Kelly since the day at school. Oddly enough, she has also been avoiding Donte these days. Oh well, none of my business. I stretched and the cracking of my bones felt so good. I decided they can defend themselves today. I was not cooking or cleaning anything.

I snuck into the guest bathroom for a hot shower. I knew it could not be long because they would be up in the next hour.

The water felt amazing. I washed my hair and took some of Maryland’s facial cleanser. Once I dried off, I put on some old denim jeans with a in the knee, a black crop top with a plaid shirt to cover up, and some black cat Jordans. When Kelly got tired of stuff and went shopping, she would give me the things her friends didn’t want. For the shoes, though, their feet were just too big to fit them. I flossed and brushed my teeth and proceeded to pull my hair up into a messy bun. I slipped back into my room and put the little things I had into a rollable suitcase. I got to the front door and looked around one last time.

“f**k all you who ever did anything bad to me”

Since Donte really wanted me to go to this party against everything in me, I might just go. He even gave me five hundred bucks to find something to wear. Little did he know, he contributed to my escape. I hopped into my uber with no regrets because there was no going back now.

I checked into a hotel in the city. I know they think that I don’t have money to get this far, but good old Donte is to thanks for that. Maybe I will show up at the party and stay for an hour or 2. It is my birthday. I have never had a party or been to one. No harm in that.

I grabbed some money and decided to go find something to wear and grab a bite to eat. My stomach rumbled so loudly in the silence of the hallway. I think food is first rather than shopping. I giggled to myself talking to my stomach.

I walked into a small café called Uncle Ben’s Diner. The smell of the food made my stomach growl even more. The décor was subtle. Boothes along the windows and walls, small tables for four on the floor, and a bar. For it to be only 9 in the morning, business was booming.

“Hey, sweetie. Let’s get you seated. My name is Marie. Let me start you off with something to drink. Here’s a menu. We are out of sweet tea at the moment, and we have Pepsi products. What can I get you?”

“Hi Marie, I am Danielle, but you can call me Dannie. I will take a strawberry lemonade, please.”

“Coming right up, sweetie”

She walked away before I could say thank you. I hope she doesn’t think that I am rude or anything. I started looking through the menu. Wow, they serve breakfast all day long. I watched the other servers bring out the food and it looked amazing. Every time I decided on one thing, I saw something else.

“Ready to order, sweetie?”

“Yes, mam. I will have the cheesecake stuffed waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, scrambled eggs with cheese, the steak medium well with sautéed onions on top and another one of your delicious lemonades, please.”

“Wow, you are hungry. Looking at you….well, not to sound rude or anything but sweetie, when was the last time you ate anything?”

I put my head down, too embarrassed to answer her. Then my stomach growls. I looked out the corner of my eye.

“You know what, sweetie; you don’t have to answer me. I am just being too nosey, aren’t I? You young girls just worry me so much out here.”

“No mam, you are not. It’s just that my life is not like other girls you may see coming, in here but today starts a new day for me. Today is my birthday and I just wanted to do something for myself”

“I tell you what, your meal is on me”

You really don’t have to that

“I do. Just consider it a birthday gift from old aunt Marie”

“A better gift would be to hire a girl trying to find her way”

She walked away. I guess they are not hiring, but at least I gave it a shot. I will have to find something because this 500 will not last forever, especially since I spent 125 on a room for the week. Marie came back with my food and another lemonade.

“Can you start tomorrow?"

“Really, yes mam”

Wow, my first job. Not really my first job, but my first job I will be getting paid for. I ate my food and left Marie a tip since I didn’t have to pay for the meal. I decided to go to the party for sure, since I had two things to celebrate. I walked into a clothing store for women called Fashion For Her. I wasn’t really a girly girl, so I found an all-black bodysuit, some red and white Nike dunks, and a cropped distressed jean jacket. I grabbed a couple of red accessories to match my shoes and red lipstick with gloss.

On my way out, I was not paying attention and bumped into the finest man I had ever seen in my God-forsaken life. I would think he was some kind of celebrity since I was never allowed to watch tv. All I could do was stare into his majestic green eyes. His full thick lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear a word. It was like I was in a trance.

SNAP SNAP SNAP

“Are you okay?”

“This is embarrassing. I am sorry. I didn’t see you”

I bent down to help him pick up his papers that had fallen from his folder. Once I was done, I gave them to him. His hand brushed with mine, and I could swear I felt sparks.

“I’m Lamar. The apology should be coming from me.”

He held his hand out. I reached to give him a shake.

“My name is Danielle, but you can call me Dannie. I have to go, but maybe I will see you around sometimes.”

With that, I turned to walk away and headed back to my hotel to prepare for the night.