It's Raining Benjamins Read Online Free Page A

grinning ear to ear.
    Oh, no
! I don’t want to see his
vampira
teeth—they’re so crooked and pointy, they make me cringe!
    Luckily, Dorinda steps up to the snap plate and says, “You two try to roll like you’re the dynamic duo, right? Well, do it, duo! Buy another choker, joker!”
    â€œ
Ayiight
. I’ll take one of them, too,” Mackerel says—quietly, because he’s kinda shy. That’s when I notice that Mackerel’s eyebrows are kinda arched high—just like High Priestess Abala Shaballa Cuckoo or whatever her name is. (She is the girlfriend of Aqua and Angie’s father. We went over to the twins’ apartment before we flew out to Los Angeles, and we had to drink this nasty “good luck” witches’ brew she cooked up.)
    Maybe Mackerel is a
vampira
, too, like her. You never know how
la gente
are getting around these days—on broomsticks or the bus,
está bien
?
    Mackerel gives Bubbles a five-dollar bill, then fishes around for more money out of his pocket.
    â€œI got your back, Mack,” Derek says, diving into his deep-sea pockets for more duckets. “Here you go, Cheetah Girl,” he says, handing it to Galleria. Then he moves a little closer to her. “Maybe y’all wanna come to the fashion show at Times Square Tabernacle Church on Tuesday night. Tickets are ten dollars. It’s for a good cause, and you’ll get to see how a brutha works the runway, you know?”
    â€œMaybe,” Bubbles says, giving Dorinda and me a look, like, “We’ve got bigger fish to fry first.” “We’ll let you know, though, if we’re gonna go with your flow, you know? But in the meantime, you know where to find
us
, if you need more product.” She runs a finger slowly up between his choker and his neck, and Mr. DUH breaks into a goofy grin.
    â€œYeah, I’ll look you up in the jiggy jungle!” he says, winking at Bubbles. “I gotta bounce—I’ve gotta go right now for a fitting. I’ll check you by lunchtime, though.”
    â€œWe’ll save you some noodles. Toodles!” Bubbles says, waving behind her as the two of them go off, heckling like hyenas.
    â€œHe can heckle all he wants,” Bubbles huffs, “’cuz we are about to get
paid
. We got
chokers
. What’s
he
got to sell—
jokes
?”
    â€œWord!” Do’ Re Mi chuckles.
    â€œWhat
boca grande
told Derek that we call him Red Snapper behind his back?” I ask, frowning.
    â€œProbably that Kadeesha. They play basketball together sometimes. Can’t blame her. She’s probably trying to get Derek to ask her out. He’s tall enough for her, right?” smirks Bubbles.
    â€œWhat happened?” I chuckle, then I get my mind back on our business at hand. Turning to Dorinda, I say, “So listen. LaRonda’s in my geography class. I can give her the choker and collect the duckets for us.”
    â€œBet,
mamacita
. Better you, Do’, than Miss Cuchifrita—she’d probably run off to some pygmy pet shops before we go to lunch,” Bubbles says. “And you’d better check out Oakland on the map today!”
    Bubbles
would
bring up the little “boo-boo” I made in California. While we were backstage, getting ready for our showcase, I started talking to one of the other groups who were performing—CMG, the Cash Money Girls—and they said they were from Oakland. Me with my
boca grande
, I asked, “Where it that?”
    How was I supposed to know Oakland is in California? I mean, I’m representing the East Coast,
está bien
?
    â€œI bet
you
didn’t know where it was either,” I shoot back in protest.
    â€œYeah, well, I sure wouldn’t have let Miss Abrahamma Lincoln in on that tip, that’s all I’m saying,” Bubbles says with a grin, then waves her hand in my face.
    â€œI wonder which one of
them
writes the raps for their