Y'all, I loved the 1st short story so much, that I thought I would do a sequel. This time, it will be a New Orleans style version.
Let's Buy Some 'Hood Snacks
on March 12, 2022
https://gangstalkedcreoleauthor.blogspot.com/2022/03/lets-buy-some-hood-snacks.html
& here's a Timberwood cult version.
No Timberwood In The Hood
on March 18, 2023
https://gangstalkedcreoleauthor.blogspot.com/2023/03/no-timberwood-in-hood.html
Uncle "D"
https://gangstalkedcreoleauthor.blogspot.com/2021/12/uncle-d.html
The Candy Lady
on July 02, 2023
https://gangstalkedcreoleauthor.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-candy-lady.html
If you want to just go straight to the short story, then here's the link.
https://ko-fi.com/post/The-Candy-Lady-L4L8MUAPR
'Hood food isn't healthy, but it's cheap. I don't have that advantage anymore (due to the gang stalking), where I could go to visit any of my family members in the 7th ward & go to the corner store.
Disclaimer: New Orleans 'Hood Slang will be used.
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Jayevelle LeBlanc & her 2 sisters are known around their local Algiers neighborhood as the "Creole Trinity". 1 dark-skinned (ebony), one brown-skinned (like the color of brown roux for gravy), & 1 light-skinned (nearly albino-looking). They have 4 brothers. 1 is a peanut butter complexion, another is a gold complexion, another is a jamoca almond fudge complexion, & the other is an orange complexion. You would think that the mom is African, but the dad looks like a White man. Passe Blanc? Guess who's the only 1 with the light eyes, though. Jayevelle! The dark-skinned sister.
Jayevelle is the oldest out of all 7 kids. They're the most famous out of the neighborhood. They all share the same parents, with no half or step-siblings. Most of the children in the neighborhood are latchkey kids. No helicopter parents. But Jayevelle's parents are strict & don't play.
It's May. Abnormal record heat. So hot that the schools decided to cancel for the rest of the week.
1 of Jayevelle's younger brothers, Jaron (the gold-complected one), was doing something he ain't had no bidness. He was sneaking & using TikTok on dad's backup phone, while dad was at work. Mom was at a dialysis appointment. A video popped up on his FYP about which New Orleans 'hood snacks hit the best.
Jaron ran out of the room & said, "Hey, y'all! Let's buy some 'hood snacks!"
1 of the younger sisters, the brown-skinned one, Jolique, loud-capped him & screamed, " 'Hood Snacks!? How we gon' get some 'hood snacks wit' no money?"
He said, "Easy. We could pay wit' Daddy's CashApp."
1 of the neighbors, a woman nicknamed "Good Nabe" overheard them plotting. She said, "You know, I really be feelin' sorry for y'all when y'all get punished, but sometimes y'all really deserve it, YEAH! Now come on & lez go ta da kawnda sto' ". (Translation: Now come on & let's go to the corner store.)
Good Nabe walked all 7 children to the corner store. She's also known for her sassy walk & sassy mouth. But she has a generous heart. The 'hood dudes kept trying to get her phone # & her Instagram. They kept saying, "I'm tryna get dat IG! Ya heard me?"
There was also a snowball stand right next door. The kids tried to pick out the most EXPENSIVE food that they could find. Good Nabe kept telling them, "Put dat back! Put dat down!"
Eventually, she made a deal with them to let them pick out whatever po' boy they wanted, whatever flavor of Big Shot drink they wanted, 2 snacks of choice (Like Elmer's Chee Wees, hot pickle, pig feet, Mexican mangoneada, Mexican elote corn, etc.), & an ooey gooey cake. The kids wanted either a hot sausage po' boy, a roast beef or a shrimp. & they wanted their sandwiches fully dressed, with added hot sauce & cheese. They weren't trying to get a hamburger or a ham & cheese po' boy. They wanted fries with that. AND chips! & they all wanted watermelon flavored Big Shot soda. Good Nabe spoiled those kids better than their own parents would!
The Middle Eastern corner store owner was always giving Good Nabe whatever free stuff she wanted. That probably was her blessings being returned to her, since she's always doing good deeds for everyone. She would even clean your house for free. Give you a free ride. Talk you out of getting in trouble. & she is VERY passionate about what she does for people, without expecting anything in return.
All she had to pay for, was the snowballs next door. & She got a 75% off discount for the kids because the snowball stand owner gives children, 17 & under, a 75% discount every Thursday. Those spoiled kids wanted strawberry cheesecake & Oreos on their snowballs. & she gave it to them.
After sundown, Good Nabe took the kids to the park to play basketball, to burn off everything they ate. Some of the other kids were looking a little jealous. Jayevelle & her siblings weren't stingy. They shared some of their food with the neighborhood kids at the park. After that, there was a surprise pizza party at the park, sponsored by the city, & the kids danced, partied & had a good time. No crime!
Once Good Nabe took Jayevelle & her siblings home, they were scared. Good Nabe explained to both parents what happened. The mother, Jeanie, demanded the kids to 'fess up. Jaron was honest & then took his own punishment. He apologized for his wrongdoing & accepted that he will be grounded from Summer Camp this year. He spared all of the other siblings from any trouble. Good Nabe is like an assistant parent to the children in the neighborhood. The children are more fearful of their dad, than anything. The father, Joshua, was surprisingly very merciful that night. Jaron was sorrowful for what he did, & he vowed to never do that again. Jaron was even afraid of going to jail.
Who knows? If Good Nabe didn't step in, & they got busted later on, Jaron probably wouldn't have been honest, & some of the other siblings probably would've chimed in on the scheme & gotten themselves into a world of trouble, too.
THE END