Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“Since you’re coming back, we will give you a deal. Thirty dollars. Is that fine?”
“Okay, that sounds fair, but I won’t be able to stay and have it done tonight after all.”
The woman looked at her confused.
“Why? You just said that you wanted a take-down. I called Awa for you.”
Boiling with indignation, Genesis proceeded to let them have it.
“Okay, since you are the manager, you need to tell these women to be kind and respectful to their customers.” The two women who had been talking shit in French gasped. “How dare they stand here and talk horribly about this customer’s hair, and then accuse me of being lazy and wishing to be a White woman? Y’all are disrespectful as hell!”
Genesis turned to the culprits.
“Et oui, je parle couramment l’espagnol et le français, et grâce à moi et à mes ancêtres, vous êtes tous ici capables de travailler. Ce sent mes ancêtres qui ont ouvert la voie pendant que vous nous regardez de haut.”
Yeah, my ancestors had paved the way for these women to seek a better life, and this is how they talk about us? I’d be damned if they touched my hair after what I’d heard. I’d just go directly to Awa because she’d given me her personal number long ago. I’ll tell her what happened here because I will never step foot in this damn place again!
“Je ne veux pas que vous touchiez mes cheveux. Je vais appeler Awa moi-même, puisqu’elle m’a donné son numéro personnel il y a longtemps, et lui raconter ce qui s’est passé ici aujourd’hui, puisque c’est la dernière fois que je mets les pieds dans cet endroit! Maintenant, rentre chez toi et regarde la télévision comme tu l’as dit. Tournez-vous vers PBS pour pouvoir réellement apprendre quelque chose.”
She had to rally all her willpower to not reach out and slap the woman across the face. Let them go home and watch TV, hopefully PBS so they could possibly learn something.
Fatou placed her hand to her face, then glowered at the two women, a furious expression taking over. The customer who sat in her chair seemed utterly confused.
“Honey, don’t come back here after today. These two women, especially this one right here, whose long ass face is shaped like an uneven loaf of bread, had the nerve to be talkin’ slick about somebody’s appearance. She was just saying how bad your hair is, as if there is something wrong with being a Black woman with natural hair, all the while accusing me of probably wanting to be a White woman. So, which is it?!” Genesis turned back to the woman in red. “Do you love Black hair, or hate it? Are you proud to be Black or not? Pick a struggle! You can’t hate having to do kinky, 4C hair and call it bad, all the while accusing someone else of wanting hair that is like a White woman’s. Insinuating that that type of hair is better! Make it make sense!”
“Wait a minute.” The customer set her phone on her lap. “You understood what they were sayin’? They were talking about me?!”
“Oh yes, honey. They were talking about you, all right. I know French quite well. My best friend when I was a little kid was from Cameroon. She was an immigrant and didn’t know anything about America when she first came here. Beautiful person. Another friend of mine was from Cuba. I helped them both learn English, and they returned the favor. I took French in high school, too. Never forgot it. This heffa was ready to smile in your face, and then take your hard-earned money. Oh, not only is your hair bad, honey, we’re both apparently lazy, too, but she’s the one standing here talkin’ about wanting to go home and watch TV. I work my ass off, and if I want to pay someone to take my hair down, then I will!” Genesis sucked her teeth and looked the woman in red up and down—and she still appeared speechless.
The customer jerked her head away from the braiders and proceeded to curse them out. Genesis stormed out during the tirade, her entire body shaking with anger. As soon as she got in the car, her phone buzzed. Ignoring it, she started up her car and drove off.
“…Got me fucked up. Don’t they know people have translators and stuff on their phones now? This isn’t 2001! You can’t just be up in here talking trash about your customers in your native tongue, unprovoked, I might add! If someone that speaks multiple languages isn’t there, the technology will show your true colors either way.”
When she reached a red light, she saw that she had a notification for a CashApp deposit, but didn’t know what it was for, or who it was from. As the light turned green, her phone rang. It was Awa…