Flirt Mendoza had the whole world fit comfortably in her hand.  She walked with a determined gait but she was so cool and so cruel.  She towered over you even when she was away from you - she had that way about her.  She would walk in a room and it was like she changed the time to her liking as everything would just fall into place for her.  She never really tried to trick people into doing things.  She hardly ever coerced, used pressure and intimidation.  She had everyone and everything perfectly mapped out in her brilliant mind.  Her eyes would widen and heads would roll as if it was a logical extension of the Laws of Gravity.

Flirt smiled that deep smile with two dimples drilled to her cheeks forming at the mere hint of something pleasant.  In that way and in only that way did you know what she might be up to.  She was magical when it came to mobilizing people.  She would have been a great musical conductor except having to gesticulate madly about with her arms would only wrinkle her perfectly pressed clothes.  Since Flirt was at least 11, she was the most immaculate dresser that she knew - she got this from her parents.

Flirt came from a loving, working-class family from Miami.  Her father was Half-Cuban, Half-Puerto Rican and her mother was from Ethipoia.  Her father had a Car Wash business and in his youth, he helped build the buses that would be so prominent in the comings and goings of Earthlings.  Her mother was a cashier at the City of Miami.  She spoke with an accent but her English was flawless and beautiful.  She would make her husband sleepy and comforted when she would speak softly to him before bed.  Flirt's family was a happy family.  Flirt however came up the hard way as well.

Flirt wasn't happy with the idea that the whole world did not fit perfectly into place.  It did not make any sense that way to her.  The world was chaotic, she thought - but this confusion made for a perfect playground.  She wanted order but this did not matter to the billions she shared the Solar System with.  The world was not very caring and this destroyed Flirt.  She wanted this world to not only be her own but she wanted the world to agree with her in every way.

Today is 3035 and Flirt made it to the top of the food chain and enjoyed the perks of a life well-lived.  Her hair was always perfectly silky.  Her nails were chiseled and perfectly shaped and colored as if a sculptor set aside his craft to work full-time on the immaculate Ms. Mendoza.  She had a team of stylists that worked on her look whenever she so desired.  She was now, at 38 years old, the head of the Mercury Family - at the top of her game.  But yesterday was a different story altogether.  It was the story of a sad bird.

Flirt used to jump from bus to bus with an ounce of Heroine at a time.  She stopped when she sold every last bag.  She would then buy herself a nice meal, called up a couple of close friends or lovers or whoever else would sit down and talk to her when she was feeling lonely.  She feasted until she was satiated.  She would say her good-byes and visit a Lab.  Labs were temporary work stations for telecommuters and consultants of various degrees.  They were also indispensable to dope dealers.  Everyone paid a fee - a paltry sum to the likes of Ms. Mendoza.  Flirt would load up her computer and all of her spreadsheets.  She had a spreadsheet made up for each region she entered.  She did this since college.  Her business was built around two pillars: advanced statistical analysis and superb customer service.

Ms. Mendoza was a fine woman who liked fine things.  She associated with Mr. Wes Coaster who offered her a hand in getting these fine things.  He was an early mentor in her gang days and throughout college.  He made sure that she could deal on the side while she earned her credits towards a degree in Business and a minor in Mathematics.  She saw school as a way to bolster her business - the business of strung out people and coming up big.  There were no limits to slanging dope in this new Solar System with limitless resources and territories.  The Outer Space had unlimited profit margins and Flirt was the shrewdest of dealers.  She drove Mr. Wes Coaster when she was earning her stripes in the gang.  The Nightingale Street Gang was a notorious Florida Street Gang that she belonged to as a youth.  Here, she was known as "Sad Bird".  When the gang became too small for her ambitions she joined up with Mr. Coaster full-time.  She acted as his companion, confidante, and partner.  She wanted him eventually gone of course.

Today Ms. Mendoza's Mercury Family is Mr. Coaster's chief rival as Canary was still pushing dope in the ghostly margins outside of Mr. Coaster's radar.  However, after she graduated from college in 3019, Flirt and Mr. Coaster were inseparable.  On this particular evening, Ms. Mendoza was speaking glowingly about her little boy while Mr. Coaster sat and listened, sipping on a glass of Merlot.  The Coffee Shop was a dank and dingy place but Flirt and Mr. Coaster's entourage of lovers, his body guard and Head of Finance enjoyed the best food and drink that Tallahassee had to afford.  They drank wine, had the best cuisine and cup after cup of espresso.  Life was like a continuous celebration when one was around these powerful people.  Canary walked in to the Shop and danger was in the air like a toxic, cosmic fog.  



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    Selim Bouhamidi Sketches: Selim's blog. 
     
    Who am I?  
    Writer and thinker, Urban Planner and Anthropologist.  Lover of sports, movies, and music.  Had to get lost a couple of times to find my way but I am home every step I take.    

    What are sketches?
    These are sketches, portraits, graceful words about the grace all around us.  I want to show you this world through my eyes.  These are all working pieces because I am a work in progress or constantly working.  These aren't meant to be perfect.  Sometimes I write out every emotion I have even if they mess with my readers.  I am who I am.  These are the thoughts that keep me up at night.

    I love Magpie and J.

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