Project Girl

The basis for this story is autobiographical, but I do make changes with names of individuals and some of the content to make the story flow more smoothly such as entering the minds of characters to reveal possible thoughts leading up to their actions.

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Dolly was born and lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in an area above city center that is called the Hill District.

Now by that name one might think this is a very exclusive and wealthy part of the city just as one thinks of Nob Hill in San Francisco, California, knowing it is a very wealthy part of the city that is on the top of many steep hills that overlook the Golden Gate Bridge which spans the cliffs on both sides of beautiful San Francisco Bay, a gateway to the Pacific Ocean.

While it may sound as if it would be somewhat like Nob Hill in San Francisco, the Hill District is anything but one of the ritzy and wealthy residences in Pittsburgh. In fact, it is just the opposite. Wylie Avenue, the main street that cuts through the middle of the Hill District, is located on one of the many hills that surround the heart of the city that rises up from what is known today as The Golden Triangle where three rivers meet, the Monongahela, the Allegheny, and the Ohio which is formed by the two rivers.

Wylie Avenue had, and still might have, a number of night clubs that catered mainly to blacks, and these night clubs were the half-way stops between New York City and Chicago for famous, black entertainers such as Billy Eckstein, Lena Horne, The Step Brothers, Ertha Kitt, and many more. They also were often frequented by Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, who won the heavy weight championship of the world by knocking out Joe Schmeling in 124 seconds of the first round. Therefore, in many ways the clubs on Wylie Avenue were like the clubs that used to be in Harlem in New York City such as the famous Cotton Club.

Within this community on the Hill of the poor is a community divided into two sections known as The Village, and these are Terrace Village 1 and Terrace Village 2. Together they comprise groups of redbrick tenement houses with four units and six apartments in each that are collectively called The Projects, and the divisions even extend according to race since there are groups of buildings for the whites and groups of buildings for the blacks, but the irony of this is the fact the children went to the same schools where they intermingled without much difficulty, no more and even less than all white schools or all black schools.

Dolly lived in Terrace Village 2 in Apartment 412 on the second floor fronting Wadsworth Avenue. This is her story.

She had lived in the Projects since she was three and grew up with rock 'n' roll, the blues, jazz, collard greens, ochre, and soul food.

In such a racially mixed living environment, Dolly also soon learned in her life it wasn't the color of ones skin that was important but the kind of person who was in it.

Dolly and her family were just one of many who shared a lifestyle of being poor. However, life wasn't too unkind for the residents in The Projects because everyone lived under the same set of circumstances, and since all were poor, nobody thought otherwise outside their lifestyle. It was hard enough just trying to make ends meet from day to day than worrying about and dreaming of a better life.

When food in the house was down to the last can of soup or one often ate lettuce sandwiches or syrup bread, food was more a necessity than a luxury.

Growing up in such surroundings, Dolly wanted to better herself, and while in high school she hoped to become a teacher. She was even a member of Future Teachers of America Club along with her friend Nitasha who also wanted to be a teacher.

Neither one had the means to go on to a four year college, so they applied to and were accepted into a two year pre-education curriculum at Oakland Community College. Dolly and Nitasha thought if they successfully completed the two years and made good grades, they might be eligible for scholarships to either The University of Pittsburgh or Carnegie Mellon; although, they hoped it would be Pitt.

The inseperable duo also got jobs as waitresses at a rather fancy restaurant that was below ground in one of three tall, aluminum buildings that comprise "Gateway Center," just up from The Point where the confluence of the three rivers come together.

So there the two were: both eighteen years old, high school graduates, students enrolled in a community college to begin their studying to become teachers, and waitresses at the same down town restaurant where the tips were really good to earn money to help pay their way through school. Neither of their mothers had the money to help pay their tuition, so their future rested on their shoulders.

Nitasha had very dark, black skin. She had beautiful dark eyes; dark, curly hair; full, sensual lips; well-developed, pert breasts; a firm, young body; and a beautiful smile that lit up her face.

This was in sharp contrast to Dolly's natural, platinum blonde hair; pale blue eyes; very fair skin; naturally rosy cheeks; cherry red lips; and large breasts.

Dolly was tall due to her rather long legs while Nitasha was shorter of the two, about five feet five inches.

So, despite their hardships, life for Dolly and Nitasha went fairly well except for the fact that in junior and senior high there had been three girls who were also inseparable as were Dolly and Nitasha. They were Claudette, Neesha, and Wanda, and it seemed one of their goals in life was to make life as miserable for Dolly and Nitasha as possible. This ongoing confrontation eventually came to a head while Dolly and Nitasha attended Oakland Community College.

Of course, after graduating from high school at eighteen, Dolly was glad to have the three girls who had given her and Nitasha so much trouble throughout their school years out of their lives, and the two looked forward to their schooling at the community college. What Dolly and Nitasha didn't know was the fact the three black girls, Claudette, Neesha, and Wanda, who had made their lives miserable in junior and senior high, were also going to the community college. And all three of them were nineteen years old because they had been held back a year because of poor grades and missing so much school. That was one reason these three became such close friends. Their being older brought them into their close friendship, and they also had chips on their shoulders that were definitely hard to knock off. However, all three girls were intelligent, so they knew they had to go straight and make good grades if they were going to graduate from high school. And along the way they, too, decided to enter Oakland Community College in the secretarial curriculum.

After graduation from high school, both Dolly and Nitasha were so glad to be rid of the Three Wicked Sisters of the West as they called them. However, as the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie the "Wizard of OZ" kept showing up at unsuspected times, bringing trouble with her, Claudette, Neesha, and Wanda were going to show up in an unsuspected time and place for Nitasha and Dolly.

It was on the very first day in their last class of the afternoon which was an athletics class to study and train in aerobics. This was the last, and only, day-class given, but there were night classes, too. This was scheduled to be the last class of daytime classes so the girls could get showers before going home or to wherever they had to be.

On the first day of class Dolly and Nitasha had gotten to the gym earlier than necessary so they would be ready. They were already in their exercise outfits, waiting for the other girls to show up as well as their Coach Miss Robinson. How surprised and shocked they were to see Claudette, Neesha, and Wanda come through the doorway into the gymnasium.

"Oh, shit, Dolly," Nitasha whispered dejectedly to her. "Look who's here? The Wicked Sisters of the West!"

Dolly looked in the direction where Nitasha had nodded her head. When she saw the three girls and saw them looking back at her and Nitasha with the same smirking looks on their faces, Dolly was crestfallen and felt queasy in her stomach.

"Oh, damn. You're right, Nitasha. Of all people. I thought we were through with them after graduation. It's as if they followed us her intentionally," Dolly said.

"Well, don't pay them any mind, Dolly," Nitasha assured her. "We'll go our way, and they can go their way."

"Okay, Nitasha. You're right. There's not much we can do about it excpet give them plenty of space and hope we don't run into them too often, especially in having the same classes together," Dolly replied.

This, however, was easier said than done because here they were already in the same athletic class, and this was the first day of the new Fall semester.

When all the girls were out of the locker room and mulling around the gym in small groups, Miss Robinson blew her whistle to get their attention and said, "Come on, Girls. Gather round me, and I'll let you know what we shall be doing the first six weeks of our class."

It took but a few minutes before the girls were in a half-circle facing Coach Robinson.

"You signed up for this athletics class, and we'll be studying the nature of Aerobic Exercise and also learning to do aerobic exercises correctly to your good health and the conditioning of your muscles. But for now I want you to warm up by running ten laps around the gym and then come over and get a place on one of the blue mats. Oh, and don't forget to do some stretching before you begin running."

Miss Robinson blew her whistle again to get the girls started on their laps. Nitasha and Dolly did some stretching of their muscles as did the other girls and then took off, running side by side, once more being inseparable.

As they were running, Dolly felt someone step on the heel of her running shoe, causing her to stumble forward.

Thinking it was just an accident, Dolly didn't give it much thought.

"Hey, Whitey!" Claudette hissed under her breath so the coach would not hear her. "I bet you two never thought you'd see us here. Did ya?"

Dolly didn't look back, trying to ignore her, but she knew by the voice it was Claudette.

"Hey, Bitch, you White Cracker! I'm talking to you. Don't you ignore me. Ya hear?" Claudette sounded even more menacing.

Dolly figured if she continued to ignore Claudette, the situation would just escalate and get worse, so she turned her head and looked at Claudette and said, "Look, Claudette. Nitasha and I don't want any trouble. Okay? So just let us be."

Claudette sneered and gave Dolly a mean look, "It ain't goin' to be that easy, Dolly. I've had my eyes on you for years. Ever since junior high, and I don't care for your high-n-mighty attitude."

"But I...," Dolly started to say.

"Don't try to deny it, you uppity piece of white trash," Claudette said.

"I'm not that way," Dolly said. "I try to be friends with everyone."

While this was going on Neeshsa, Wanda, and Nitasha were trying to hear what Claudette and Dolly were saying to one another, but since they were whispering so Miss Robinson couldn't hear them, none could hear what they were saying.

Claudette looked into Dolly's blue eyes, "Then why is it you pay attention only to Nitasha and noboby else? Huh? Answer me that."

"Nitasha and I are really good friends, and we've been so ever since elementary school. You ought to know that since you went to the same schools as we did," Dolly tried to ease the situation.

"But, I see the way you look at one another...all dreamy-eyed," Claudette said. "Do you and Nitasha have a thing for one another, Dolly? Huh? Do you? Are you two gay?"

Dolly caught her breath when Claudette asked if she and Nitasha were gay, but she composed herself enought to reply, "What...what do you mean gay?"

Claudette twisted her lip into a cruel curl and said, "Lesbians? Are you and Nitasha lesbians? Do you two like girls?"

"Nitasha and I are just really good friends. We have been for a long time now. That's all," replied Dolly, trying to sound convincingly.

"Then how is it you been spending so much time eating and sleeping over at one another's homes?" Claudette pressed the issue."

Now Dolly was really caught off guard. "How does Claudette know Nitasha and I stay over at one another's homes so much?" Dolly asked herself.

"That's all right. You don't have to answer. The answer is written all over your face. Besides. You know you can't keep secrets in The Projects," Claudette smiled. "It's not easy being a Project Girl. Is it, Dolly?"

At this point Dolly turned her head and looked at Nitasha and told her softly what she and Claudette had been whispering about for so long. "She knows, Nitasha. Claudette knows you and I have a thing for one another. You know? Making love with one another."

Nitasha had a sudden look of surprise come over her face, and even beneath her dark skin, Dolly saw the blushing in Nitasha's cheeks.

Dolly turned back to Claudette and looked her straight in the eyes and said, "So, what if it is true? It's nobody's business but ours anyway. Least of all yours and those two lackies with whom you run around. Besides, you three have been together as if joined at the hip for about as long as Nitasha and I. So what about you three?"

"Humph!" Claudette hissed in hushed tones. "That may be, Dolly, but now we know it's true," Claudette said to Dolly while at the same time she looked to Neesha and Wanda and shook her head in the affirmative, confirming what the three of them had suspected. Dolly and Nitasha were lovers. And that knowledge gave them power over Nitasha and Dolly.

About this time Miss Robinson came over to Claudette and Dolly and said, "You two, Dolly and Claudette. Isn't it? I want ten more laps around the gym for talking in the ranks while I have them do a few warming aerobic exercises and then dismiss the rest of the class. Come on. Get going. And when you're finished, you can join the other girls in the locker room and showers."

Claudette and Dolly both groaned, but they knew not to argue, so the two of them began their second ten laps while the other girls joined Miss Robinson on the blue mats.

After they had just begun to run, Claudette began kicking at the back of Dolly's shoes and coming along side and bumping her to knock her off stride and perhaps make her stumble. However, Dolly soon had enough of that, and since she was a fast runner, she took off and left Claudette far behind her, but then she slowed down so she wouldn't catch up to her.

Dolly, of course, finished before Claudette, and so she headed for the locker room where the other girls had gone for their showers and where Nitasha had been waiting for her in the entrance way.

"Hey, Dolly, how are you doing?" asked Nitasha empathetically.

Just as Dolly was going to tell Nitasha how she was, Claudette stumbled into the entrance way. Therefore, Dolly came up to Nitasha and stood by her. Claudette just gave Dolly a dirty look and went on while she panted due to being short of breath from running.

After Claudette passed them by, Dolly said to Nitasha, "Thanks for asking, Love. I'm all right. Maybe all of this will blow over now that Claudette let it all out. Besides, what more can she do to me...to us?" Dolly asked as they entered the locker room laughing softly to themselves.

Putting the Claudette issue behind them, Nitasha told Dolly she heard a rumor that had been going around campus about their coach Miss Robinson. It was said some thought she was a lesbian since she never had married even though she was a beautiful, well-built woman.

"Wow! No way!" gasped Dolly.

"Way!" Nitasha said.

"You have to be kidding, Nitasha. Miss Robinson can't be gay," Dolly said.

"Well, whether she is or whether she isn't gay, I can't say. But it sure is exciting to know such a beautiful woman as Miss Robinson is a lesbian. Doesn't it, Dolly?" Nitasha asked.

Nitasha and Dolly were excited about this rumor since they, too, were fond of girls and had been exploring their feelings for one another on many occasions which, of course, now Claudette, Neesha, and Wanda knew about it.

"Well, again, whether it's true or not, Dolly, let's go get showered so we can get out of here for the day," Nitasha said with excitement that lingered inside her, "and hopefully the nasty trio will be showered and gone by the time we are.

However, Nitasha and Dolly entered the locker room only to find there were still sweaty girls there in all manner of dress and undress. Some still had their gym clothes on while others were just getting out of theirs. There were also some who were completely naked, and their sweaty flesh glistened in the dim locker room lighting. From the sound of talking coming out of the shower room Dolly and Nitasha knew there were some taking their showers.

What Nitasha and Dolly didn't see or know was the whereabouts of Claudette, Wanda, and Neesha, and they looked at one another perplexed.

"Where do you think Claudette and her two shadows are, Nitasha?" asked Dolly.

Nitasha looked puzzled and said to Dolly, "I don't know where they are. I didn't see them go out of the locker room. Did you?"

"No. I didn't see them either, Nitasha. And I think they couldn't have gotten in and out of the shower that fast since Claudette just went into the locker room just before us," said Dolly, shrugging her shoulders.

Unbeknown to Dolly and Nitasha was the fact that as soon as Claudette got into the locker room and found Neesha and Wanda, she ushered them to the back where no one had lockers and the lights weren't even lit. It was completely empty. A perfect place for what Claudette wanted to discuss with Neesha and Wanda about what she had in mind for Dolly and Nitasha.

Therefore, while the three waited around in the back making plans, Nitasha and Dolly went to their lockers and began to undress and put their still sweaty gym clothes on the hooks inside their lockers until they, too, stood side-by-side totally naked.

Actually their nakedness made for an interesting and seductive contrast that some of the other girls didn't miss. In fact, some gawked at Dolly with her platinum blonde hair and soft, fluffy pubic hair and all her fair, pale skin compared to Nitasha's dark skin with her short, curly, black hair and matching hair between her legs. The truth was, the two made a lovely, contrasting pair that wasn't overlooked.

And as Dolly and Nitasha turned and walked toward the shower room, there were a few girls who saw the movment of their ass cheeks. Two white globes of ass cheeks and two black globes of ass cheeks keeping time with one another. It was enough to make a few of the girls' mouth water with the very thought of having both of them, but right now especially Dolly since she was one of the few white girls in the school who was so fair and in their gym class. And having something different usually makes it more interesting and attractive.

In that pregnant moment of appreciating both Dolly and Nitasha, the three hiding in the back of the locker room continued the plan of their devious strategy.

"I'd sure like to get my hands on Dolly," Claudette said provocatively.

"You got that right, Girl Friend," responded Neesha. "She sure is somethin'."

"Then why don't we do somethin' about it?" chimed in Wanda. "I'd sure like a piece of that blonde pussy."

"Well, then, since Nitasha and Dolly were probably the last to go into the shower room, let's wait until it is cleared as well as the locker room and then go in ourselves. How does that sound?" asked Neesha.

"Sounds like a plan to me, Neesha. What about you, Wanda?" asked Claudette.

With her mind racing and seeing visions of their having their way with Dolly, Wanda shook her head, "You can count me in, Girl Friends. I wouldn't miss this for nothing. I've been dreamin' about getting my head between Dolly's legs for some time now. And I really have been thinkin' of gettin' her beautiful, white face between my black legs."