Chapter Three

Disclaimer: You and all you other pronouns out there know that I don't own this. I would also like to say that MzMinni3 inspired this. Enjoy!

"Of course there's no reason for it, it's just our policy." – Anonymous

Jazmine

"Beep!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

I sighed as I rubbed my behind and looked at the time. It was actually four a.m., which was good. That meant that I would actually get to my first day of work on time. I had finally figured out that even though I had to be at work at seven o'clock, I still had to beat all the traffic. Unfortunately, the city that never slept also had traffic that never calmed down, so this was basically my morning routine.

"Beep!"

"Damn," Cindy grumbled from above me, "Turn that damn cell phone off! I'm trying to sleep!"

This was part of the reason that Cindy and I were best friends. We both understood the value of sleeping very late. Too bad I couldn't do it today.

"Sorry," I answered her quite quickly as I lifted from the hardwood floor and took my phone out of my pocket before turning it off, but she had already gone back to sleep. I slipped into the room with Cairo, who was gone already. I knew that he was out again for work like me, so I smiled at the made-up bed and walked over to the drawers before pulling out a khaki skirt and my baby blue collared shirt.

I opened the door to the bathroom and turned on the water, letting it run down my body before drying myself and putting on my clothes. I grabbed my pair of heels and walked out of the door, ready to start the day at work with Mr. Singe.

"Call me if you need anything, Cindy," I told her.

"Shut the fuck up!" She hollered while I attempted not to laugh as she sat up, her hair a mess, "Damn, I'm trying to sleep! That's the only thing I need!"

"Fine," I opened the door and walked out of it, leaving Cindy to stare blankly into space. Then, I caught a taxi to Singe Fashion Works. I had a feeling that I would have a great day.

Huey

I could not believe them.

I could take a lot of things. I could fight with Stinkmeaner. I could talk to ghosts about things and not be afraid. I could be followed by White Shadow and still be sane. I could actually go back to the days of sitting in class with Cindy McPhearson and her annoying chatter before I could go through this.

And that's saying something. Trust me.

They were straightening my afro, so I was definitely pissed off. If people didn't think I was gay then, they'll think I'm gay now. The man, Elliot, straightening my hair isn't making it any better. He's switching his hips around from left to right and asking me for my number. And to make matters worst, all the other men in here are staring at me shaking their heads.

"You're still in the closet huh?" Elliot swerved his neck as I kept telling him that I wasn't interested in any type of relationship with him, "That's fine with me. Damn, I won't tell."

"I am not," I hopped back at the feeling of a warm itchy thing on my back, only to realize that it was my hair. Great, just great, "gay, homosexual, or bisexual."

The woman looked at me and shook her head before talking to her own female friend about men and their issues. She was rolling her eyes at me and everything, and what's worse is that she was all wrong too, "Uh huh. All the good men are taken because they don't think us women are good enough for them, girl."

She was big too. She had long dirt brown hair, falling down her back, and brown eyes. Her skin was dark, her dark purple nails were long; and her face was in a heart shape. You could tell by the way that she looked enviously at the lighter women in the salon that she wished that she had a different complexion. And you could note from her excessive talking that she always let too much slip out. Well, I can realize that. Her client clearly doesn't. She's sitting in the chair telling her everything.

"And then the other ones don't want me because they think that I'm too big for them, or I'm not good enough for them," She swerved her neck as she took out a curling iron, "I mean who are they supposed to be? And one had the nerve to tell me I don't have enough aspirations or self confidence."

"Uh-huh, girl!" The woman in the chair nodded her head, "You don't deserve to be treated that way. They should love you for all of you, curves and all!"

"That's right, girl!" Another woman called out, "Preach my sister!"

"And then, they always have an excuse," She rolled her brown eyes as she put the curler back on the heater and pushed a strand of hair out of her client's eyes, "I'm too busy. I have a job, so I can't take off every other week to spend time with you. I can't commit. What about me? Why can't I have a brother with a six figure job? Why can't he have that sexy body? Like Tank or Dwight Howard or Derek Fisher? Huh? "

"You read my mind girl! We deserve it!"

"And when you get married," One of the women got up, "It's even worst. They want you to do everything for them. Cook, clean, take care of the kids? What about me?"

"Girl, men want it all," the beautician shrugged, "What about me? What about my time? I just don't understand why I'm single. I mean dang! They can't handle all this woman?"

I snorted, causing the angry black women in the salon to turn their heads towards my own direction. They all stormed towards me as my stylist snorted and laughed while another strand of my hair hit my back again.

"What did you snort for?" The beautician pointed at me while the other woman in the room crowded around me.

"Well," I narrowed my own eyes at her, "I mean you said that you don't understand why you're single ,and let's not even talk about your unrealistic approach to the man you want."

"Boy," Elliot chuckled before shaking his head and turning the other way, "You've really done it now."

The beautician looked at me and clicked her tongue. Her hand was on her hip as she glared at me, "And? I don't. I'm a good woman. Why can't I have a man with a nice physique and six figures?"

"More like a good complainer," I rolled my eyes, "I mean let's be real for a second. Do you spend more time with men or with these ladies at the beauty shop gossiping about their problems? And do you have a sexy body, yourself? What is your salary?"

"I'm not gossiping about them," The woman folded her arms, "And I look great for my age. I'm not gossiping about men. No I am-"

"Whining about them?" I raised an eyebrow, "And it's clear that you're self esteem is low."

"What would make you think that?" The beautician looked mortified as the woman grew angrier.

"Girl, I know you are not about to go down like that."

"Harsh ass nigga"

"You want me to take care of this?"

"I mean," I shot her a look, "Why do you think men don't want you?"

"Because I'm bigger than the average woman," She sucked her lip in a little and bit it, "I'm clingy. I have a few jealousy issues."

"Right," I said as I nodded,"Insecure about your weight. You want to be all up on him on the first date when you don't really know him. And the second you finally find some decent guy, you get jealous when he talks to somebody else. Were you cheated on?"

"No!"

"Abused as a kid?"

"No!"

"Called names as a kid?"

"I was not fat, then! I was skinny! It's my damn metabolism."

"Um, father?"

The room grew silent again as the woman began their instigating once again.

"Oh no he didn't!"

"Girl, I know you ain't gone take that!"

"Do you want me to hit him? Because I will!"

"He left a long time ago," The woman's voice sounded familiar. Huey hadn't even realized that Elliot had finished his hair as he sat there listening, "I haven't seen him since."

"Exactly."

"Grrr!" The woman lunged at me, but I was shocked as the other women in the beauty shop held her back.

"No, stop!"

"Girl, calm down. Men are always doing this to women."

"Do you want to be like Luna, Nicole?"

Huey's eyebrows rose, "Luna?"

"My best friend," Nicole frowned as she gestured to the photo of her friend with wolves surrounding her on the desk, "She and I did everything together. This old man named Robert Freeman! He hurt her! He made her kill himself."

"He made her?"

"Well," Nicole rubbed her fingers together, "He definitely drove her to it! And I swore that I would kill any man who ever hurt me again! For Luna."

"Isn't that," I winced as Elliot ran out of the salon, "Crazy?"

Nicole's eye twitched as she waved her hand in the air. Her eye was twitching. She was stamping her feet, and she was angry. She really did look crazy, and people were getting afraid and interested all at once, wondering what she was going to do, "Crazy? Crazy? Oh, you think I'm crazy? You think I'm mentally unstable?"

"Eh," I shrugged before taking out a 50 and leaving it on Elliot's work station. He lifted from the chair, walked past the shocked women, and towards the clear doors. The woman all stood clad in either aprons or rollers and random clothes on, staring at the pink walls. He looked back at them before opening the door, "Yes."

As the door closed, the woman all sat back down. Nicole went back to doing hair. Elliot calmly walked back into the salon, and all the woman began their normal chatter again.

"He's cute," One of the woman noted, "harsh and rude as hell. Kinda uppity. But he's sexy!"

"He's gay!"

Elliot laughed before winking, "Perfect."

Jazmine

I looked at the building in awe. Sure, I had passed the building like a thousand times in my life before, but now, I was working here as an employee. It was so elegant. Not only was the building gold; it had Singe written down the building in a vertical arrangement with letters. Plus, there were models outside hanging from the building and striking poses from his latest collections. Fascinated tourists began to take pictures.

"I wish that I worked here!" One gushed as I finally snapped out of my train and walked towards the double doors, "She's so lucky!"

The doors opened as I walked through, and everybody turned to look at me. I felt awkward. I didn't know any of them, and I could tell just by their annoyed glances that I was definitely going to be a loner for a little while. They were clearly a tight knit bunch. I didn't understand why they were so angry with me. What had I done to make them irritated? I just got here.

"Fake ass Mariah," One of the women rolled her eyes as she threw a braid over her shoulders, narrowing her own eyes at me.

Another woman just scoffed and rolled her eyes at me before walking away, muttering something about the nerve of women these days.

"Look," The woman with the braids turned to me, "It's clear that is married. He doesn't want anything to do with you, stalker. Now, if you have an issue with that, I'm sure I can call security again."

"What are you talking about?" I raised an eyebrow, " hired me to work here. I just met him a week ago. I haven't been stalking him!"

The woman got angrier as she stepped closer to me, "Look, I don't want to resort to violence here, but I will. Get out. I know he hired you as a whore but-"

"As a whore!" I shouted, agape, "No, no, no! I work here as a designer. My name is Jazmine Dubois. I'm the new fashion assistant."

"Right," The woman with the braids snorted as she looked at me,"Like I'm really going to believe that."

I was just about to argue that she should believe me before another woman, the secretary, looked at her, "Arielle, have you seen Jazmine Dubois? She looks a little like that woman, Christal, but she should be allowed inside."

"Um," The woman sighed stubbornly as she looked at me. Her braids clinging to her glowing skin. I had to admit that she was pretty, "Fine. Welcome, Jazmine Carey."

"It's Dubois."

"Whatever," Arielle shrugged as she gestured to the office ahead of her. I frowned as I stood there for a moment. What in the world just happened?

"Are you coming or not?"

I nodded before following after her. The secretary shook her head as the phone rang, not that I was paying much attention. The inside of the building was way more astonishing than the outside. Everybody inside looked fabulous, and suddenly, I felt very self conscious about myself. It was like high school, only worse. You couldn't really convince yourself that these girls' looks would fade away. They were all beautiful, like models. No wonder Mr. Singe's company was so productive and notorious. And I was just a plain looking newbie, great.

"Yeah," I sighed, "I'm coming."

Huey

My hair was in a fucking ponytail. And it was long. I hate Mr. Gris. I hate being a detective, and I hate New York City. Again, I blame Bush.

I walked into the apartment and noted that Hiro was still there, but he was so busy listening to De La Soul that he didn't even hear half of the words coming out of my mouth.

Hey how ya doing? Sorry, I can't get through to you.

"Hiro!" I exclaimed, watching as he snapped out of it. His black hair actually sticking up a little as he looked up at me before pointing and laughing.

"Oh my god," Hiro was grinning from ear to ear, "Look at your hair. It's in a fucking ponytail. Dude, you kind of look like a girl!"

I frowned at him before slamming the door to my room, only to realize that there were unicorns everywhere. God, I hated it here. Seriously, a six figure salary for these in depth investigations with this company isn't enough. Becoming gay? It wasn't that serious.

I mean couldn't I be a baker or something. Could I be an ice cream man? I could have even pretended to be a caterer, but no, I had to do this instead. And on top of all that, Hiro had walked into my room trying to apologize and started laughing hysterically before falling onto one of the giant stuffed unicorns in the room.

"Oh my god," Hiro howled as I glared at him howling on the blue unicorn, "You really look like a girl surrounded by all these damn unicorns! A mean, boyish girl! You are so ugly!"

I frowned before throwing one of the unicorns across the room, but not before it went, "I love you too!"

"Whoa," Hiro laughed again, "Don't say that, man. I mean I like women and all, but you're just not my type."

I could just imagine Riley saying pause. I hadn't even talked to him in a while. And I hadn't seen him since his graduation about three years ago. I wondered if he even looked the same. I wondered if he was up to his old tricks. I wouldn't ever say this aloud, but I missed him.

"Damn," Hiro laughed, "That's fucked up!"

Especially right now.

"Get out, Hiro!"

"Why?" He was still on the ground," It's not my fault you're a girl."

I clenched my jaw before glaring down at him. Hiro stopped almost immediately and straightened himself. I frowned again before lifting him from his spot and throwing him outside of the off white doorframe.

"I thought we were friends?" Hiro looked up at me as he rubbed his arm that collided with the apartment's hardwood floor.

"Well," I rolled my eyes, "We're clearly not. Good music doesn't change that. And clean up that mess! All these Chinese takeout boxes have to go!"

"You sure nag like a woman."

"What?" I narrowed my eyes at Hiro who was talking under his breath.

"Nothing," He sighed as he got a trash bag and smirked to himself, "Nothing at all."

I glared at him again, "I really don't like you."

He smiled again before whistling, "Sure you don't."

"I don't."

"Whatever," Hiro opened the door before leaving me alone, "Maybe you should live a little more. Just saying."

He slammed the door before I could even get the last word.

Jazmine

After Arielle left, I realized that I all alone. I sat in the huge office and looked at the fabric. Today was supposed to be the greatest accomplishment of my life, but it wasn't. Arielle hated me. Half of the people here were beautiful and catty, and I had nobody to talk to. Even though Cindy was at my apartment, I felt alone. The only thing that was making me sane was the contours of the colorful fabric around me, begging me to create something, anything with it.

The door opened quickly as I turned around to face whoever was behind me. The girl was gorgeous, of course. She had long black hair that hit her shoulders with brown hair, and she wreaked of fabuousness. I wondered where I had seen her before when it hit me. She was one of the famous designers that worked with Singe as a model. I freaked.

"You're Tasha! Tasha Fight!"

She sighed before laughing a little, "Yeah, that would be me!"

"Wow," I sighed before laughing, "It's my first day. I'm new at this."

She laughed again in a more awkward manner before narrowing her eyes, "Um, how did you get in here?"

"Arielle brought me in here," I explained to the model who sighed deeply as her light skin reddened in fury. I backed away timidly before continuing, "She told that this was my new office."

"Where the hell did she go?" The model spoke sharply as I pointed towards the door and gestured to the left. Tasha stormed out of the door before coming back and stating, "And stay right here!"

I nodded before I heard Arielle grumbling and the click of heels.

"What the hell is she doing in my office?"

"I thought it would be a funny joke!" Arielle howled, "It's not my fault the girl is so gullible!"

"You were supposed to be helping her find her own office, so you prank her by putting her in mine?"

Wow, I was in Tasha Fight's office. I was seriously thinking about snapping a few pictures, but I thought better of it. From the sound of it, I was in enough hot water as it was.

"Um," Arielle paused for a minute before sticking her head in the door, rolling her eyes, and closing it behind her, "Yes, it was funny."

"It was unprofessional!"

"Whatever, Tasha," Arielle said as I heard the muffled tones come through the door, "Like you never pranked somebody in high school!"

"We aren't in high school anymore!"

"Well," Arielle finally broke down. Her voice was getting so low that I was actually crouched down on the door, "Fine but I still don't like her fake Mariah Carey ass."

"Somehow, I'm sure that feeling is mutual," The model scoffed before Arielle flung the door open, making me fly back against the wall.

"Are you okay?" Tasha asked me before shooting Arielle a dirty look.

"She shouldn't be standing there," She shrugged as she looked down at me with a smirk, "or eavesdropping for that matter, fake ass Mariah Carey."

I swear if she called me that one more time, I would show her what this damn fake ass Mariah Carey was going to do. Why was she snapping at me like a little girl? I hadn't done anything to her.

Tasha looked between us and smiled before waving her hand at Arielle, "Go get the girl some ice."

"She's not handicapped," Arielle snorted before rolling her eyes, "why can't she get herself?"

"Well you aren't handicapped," Tasha looked at her before rolling her own eyes, "and you aren't exactly the nicest person to be around either, knocking people down and calling them names."

"But," She frowned again before pointing at me, "She-"

"I don't want to hear that," Tasha told her as her black hair shook, "Go get the damn ice."

"Whatever," Arielle stormed out of the office as Tasha took a look at me and sighed.

"It's your first day, so I guess I'll help you out."

I raised an eyebrow at her but listened anyways while I touched the side of my face. Ouch, it was bruised.

"Look," Tasha pulled down her crème dress, "The people that work here are not to be trusted. They have one thing on their mind, sometimes two, but none of them will ever involve your own best interests. Got that?"

I nodded again.

"You're a sweet girl," Tasha smiled before frowning darkly, "but sometimes, girls like you can't survive in this industry."

Girls like me? What the hell? Who the hell did these assholes think they were?

"Don't take it that way," Tasha must have noted my face, "It's just that they see nice girls and try to take advantage. Don't set yourself up because these women can get catty."

I nodded. That made sense, but I wasn't going to let her on to anything. For all I know, I can't trust her either, "Thanks for the advice."

She smiled, "No problem."

We sat there for a moment until a bag of ice came hurtling my way. I caught it before shooting a glare at Arielle, "Thanks."

"It's my pleasure," She smiled.

Tasha cleared her throat as both of us turned around, "Well, I have work to do, so it was nice meeting you Jazmine, and Arielle, be nice."

"Not gonna happen," Arielle looked over at me before adding, "ever."

"Have a great day," Tasha said before Arielle and I even realized that we had somehow moved to the outside of the door. It slammed shut.

"Thanks a lot," Arielle snorted, "This is all your fault!"

"And you're one to talk!" I huffed, frustrated with her, "You lied to me and stuck me someplace I didn't belong."

"It was supposed to be funny," Arielle whispered back as I followed her to wherever my real office was supposed to be, "It was."

"Well," I frowned as I looked at her, "It wasn't!"

"And how would you know?"

"Maybe because I'm not laughing!"

"Well," Arielle grimaced, "fine."

She opened the door to my office, but this time I checked the name tag.

"Wrong room, Arielle!" I shouted, making her come back with a scowl.

"You couldn't wait?"

I looked at her before shrugging, "You should have taken me to the right room the first time."

"Come on, then."

I couldn't wait to get home, now.

Huey

The only good thing about being a wedding planner was that Jazmine would probably wait until the last minute to do everything, so I didn't always have to go out. I mean, who would do that three months ahead of their wedding? And more importantly, shouldn't I be booking a church for them or something. I had so much work to do.

"Ring!"

"Ugh!" I answered the phone from an unknown number, but I wasn't really surprised at the voice, "Cindy?"

"Hey," Cindy answered me, "I'm at the Starbucks on Fourth Street! I need you to come on! It's for Jazmine's wedding!"

"And Jazmine knows about this?"

"I'm paying."

"Cindy," I stated in a warning tone, "Jazmine and certain surprises don't go well together."

"Maybe not," Cindy stated so that I could practically see her shrugging through the phone, "Butcome on. We don't have much time."

"Fine," I grumbled, "I'm on the way."

I stepped out of the room and looked around, but Hiro was gone. I want to say that I was relieved, but I wasn't. I felt bad. Maybe I had been a little to harsh on him.

The ponytail went down my shirt again, but now, I was getting used to the feeling. I stepped out of the blue door and closed it again, locking it behind me before I caught a Taxi.

One hour later…

I finally walked into Starbucks. Apparently, there are a lot of Starbucks on Fourth Street here in New York. Did I mention that I really do hate it here? So now, I was late.

"You're thirty minutes late!" Cindy exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. It was seven years later, and she still wanted to state the obvious.

"You don't say," I pulled out a seat in front of her.

"Why do you have that hood on your head?" Cindy looked at me strangely as I noticed that a few of the customers were moving away from me in fear or clutching onto their purses and wallets. Even the cashier was close to the phone, "People are staring!"

"So," I snorted, "It's a free country, and I have the right to do whatever I want."

"Well," Cindy looked at me, "So do I."

She yanked it down before I could even stop her. Everybody looked for a moment before a man finally announced, "That is one ugly girl!"

"I'd leave that hood on too if I were her!"

"Dang, put it back on!"

"My eyes! My eyes!"

"Is that a man or a woman?"

Cindy was turning red too, and I could tell that she was trying not to laugh at me.

"Huey?" She looked at me sympathetically, "Are you-"

"No," I gritted my teeth, "I am not gay."

Cindy busted out laughing before looking at me and falling to the floor, "Are you sure?"

I frowned at her before standing up, "I can always leave."

"Alright, alright," She waved her hand in the hair before frowning and stifling her laughter, "I want to throw Jazmine a bachelorette party."

I raised my eyebrow before sighing deeply, "Um, why do we have to be secretive about this again?"

"Because," Cindy laughed, "Jazmine's idea of a bachelorette party is like the thought of you becoming gay."

"Impossible?"

"No," Cindy looked me up and down, "It's more like a shocker."

"I'm not!"

"Well, that too," Cindy chuckled again before crossing one leg over the other, "But I was actually talking about the fact that Jazmine is too scared to even do one, so I'm going to do it for her."

"And she won't get mad?" I said in my warning tone of voice, but as usual, Cindy didn't listen to me.

"Maybe," She shrugged as she pulled out a number and shoved it in front of me, "But maybe she doesn't have to know. I can convince her when the time comes. She'll have a great time. Trust me."

"Whatever you say," I shrugged before shooting her a hard look, "only because you're paying."

"Wow," Cindy smiled again, making me think back to the day where I hated assault laws. I still do, especially now. She's starting to annoy me again, "Somebody has a heart after all."

"What?" I looked at her, "Whatever, what do have in mind?"

"We have to get male strippers, some caterers, call up a karaoke person, maybe even get Diddy Dirty Money!"

"Um," I winced, "You like him, not Jazmine. That is, if I recall correctly."

"Whatever," She waved a hand, "What about Mariah Carey?"

"That might piss her off."

"Um," She rubbed her forehead in thought, "Whitney Houston?"

"Um," I mocked her as I rubbed my forehead in false thought, "in rehab?"

"I don't know!"

"No celebrities?" I clapped my hands together, "Great!"

"And we'll have an open bar," Cindy chatted excitedly, "It'll be amazing. Strove lights everywhere. All of her bridesmaids and everything."

"So who's coordinating all of this?" I asked Cindy bluntly, who gave me a funny look.

"You are!" She shoved me, "You're the wedding planner!"

"Told you he was gay," A cashier winked at me before handing me some coffee with a number scrawled at the top. I wrinkled my nose.

"Damn," Cindy frowned as she looked at my coffee, "all the good men are either taken or gay."

I sighed before looking at her, "I'm not going to do this behind Jazmine's back!"

"Well, then," Cindy said evenly , "I won't pay you."

I looked at her. She was still blonde. She still wore her hair down just like she had when I left, but she was definitely tougher, stronger. I didn't feel like arguing. Maybe I could compromise.

"You're her best friend," I shrugged, "You do it. I'm the wedding planner, not the bachelorette party planner!"

"That comes with the wedding," Cindy wailed dramatically, "Don't you know anything?"

"I think he's in the closet and with that poor innocent white girl at that!" Another cashier stated as she looked at us and shook her head, "That's a shame, such a pretty girl."

Apparently, I knew nothing.

"Well," I shrugged, "yeah but."

"So it's settled," Cindy smiled up at me, "You'll plan Jazmine's bachelorette party with me."

"I guess."

"And we'll need a DJ too!" Cindy smiled at me.

At least that much would be easy, "I know the perfect guy."

She looked curious, "Who is he?"

"His name is Hiro," I stated, "Hiro Otonomo."

"Well," Cindy picked up her yellow bag before lifting from the chair, "I've got to get going. Jazmine might get suspicious. Tell Hiro to give me a call, alright?"

I nodded, "Will do."

She walked out of the door and left me standing there in shock. How the hell was I going to do a bachelorette party, and where would I find male strippers?

I hate my life.

"Hey," Some big guy yelled at me, "Get outta here!"

I really do.

And that was Chapter Three

I may not update on this for a while after June 25th because I have so much going on. Don't take it personally. I'll try to finish Hi, My Name Is Trouble, but I make you no promises. Don't be mad!

And now for shoutouts:

Young Kong313, Cruella De Chelle, Paige1292, Shellie B, ronie2010, MissG2020, and Nina

I appreciate you all along with dragonnick211 and Zolow95 who added this to their favorites!

Please Review! I'll update when I can.