Disclaimer: The events in this fiction short story are to EXPOSE, not promote, the typical scenarios that can & do happen in the 'hood.
Vanessa, Nick & Aisha are 3 siblings who grew up in the 9th ward in the Desire projects in New Orleans back in the 80's & 90's. Their mother was shot & killed when Nick was 10 years old, Vanessa was 14 & Aisha was 4. Their father had to do life in prison for murdering their mother. So, Vanessa was forced to grow up fast & had to raise her 2 siblings all by herself, while their grandmother was always working.
Vanessa ran the streets, & by the time she was 18, she got pregnant by a drug addict & alcoholic, named Daniel. All they did was argue, fuss & fight. He cheated on her with another girl, also named Vanessa, who looked just like her. Daniel was abusive & controlling. Very mean.
By the time she had her 1st child, she had already dropped out of high school @ 19 years old. She was in 11th grade. She couldn't take it anymore. Psychopathic Daniel was trying to get her to do drugs right along with him & commit suicide. He wanted to be her pimp. She was able to break free from him & start her own hair business. She learned how to do hair. Once she got the hang of it, everyone was amazed at her ability to do unique styles, such as molding someone's hairstyle to look like a tulip.
Everyone in the 'hood went to Vanessa to get their hair done. That was her way to make a living to provide for herself & her siblings. Her grandmother claimed that she couldn't afford a babysitter, so Vanessa was the babysitter. Latchkey kid. Vanessa's grandmother's friend helped her pay to go to cosmetology school, & she got her license & ran her own business.
Grandma only came home at night, & just in time for bed. On her off days, Grandma would either go gambling @ the casino or go to the Bingo Hall. & she would go to church on Saturdays because she was part of that fake 7th Day Adventist cult. Before church, Grandma had Vanessa fix her hair, & then Grandma left the kids at home.
Vanessa broke away from Daniel, & got with a guy, named Kendell. She had baby # 2 with him, but shortly after, he moved away. After that, Vanessa became more successful with her business & bought her own house & then a Honda Accord. Coincidentally, the other Vanessa eventually bought a car that looked like hers.
The End