Showdown at the Okie-Dokie Read online

  “We can sure try—after today, I feel like we can do anything!” Do’ Re Mi says, egging us on.

  “You know what?” Aqua says, her eyes bugging wide like they do when she gets a bright idea. “Let’s bring the cassette for ‘It’s Raining Benjamins’ over to Granddaddy Walker’s funeral parlor.”

  “Why?” I ask, puzzled, “You gonna give it a proper burial, or something kooky like that?”

  “No,” Aqua says matter-of-factly, “So Wilma Burrows will have some Cheetah Girls music to dance to when she gets up in the middle of the night!”

  “But, Aqua,” Do’ Re Mi says, “her corpse wasn’t in the coffin. What if she never comes back there?”

  Suddenly, I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone again. I’m not sure who’s more cuckoo—High Priestess Abala Shaballa, or my crew!

  “Don’t worry,” Aqua says shaking her head like Buddha. “Trust me, she’ll be back.”

  “Yeah, well, guess what, Houston?” I say, yelling at the top of my lungs in the speeding car. “The Cheetah Girls will be back, too!!!”

  Showdown At the Okie–Dokie

  Yes, we thought it was all about the Benjies—

  those crispy, tasty, certified papers—

  disappearing like vapors,

  ’cuz of our Cheetah Girl capers.

  That’s right, y’all,

  We got our coats pulled

  at the Okie-Dokie Corral

  and fleeced to the street by an Oakland crew

  like a bunch of cubs who ain’t for true.

  We was looking for a payday

  but all we got was a hayday

  Down in boostin’ Houston

  where the word on the street is,

  Gotcha—hee haw, hee haw!

  Now the Benjies definitely ain’t droppin’

  but there’s no stoppin’

  our record-toppin’ways

  ’cuz divettes stick together

  in any kind of weather

  and we’ll be back for another intro

  till then we’re saying good-bye to the rodeo.

  Hey, ho, hey ho, hey, ho

  We bite the Big Apple

  and we still got the flow!!

  Think a naughty thought

  And you’ll get caught.

  Write a song and try to sing along

  with someone else’s lyrics

  and there’s madness you’ll experience.

  We was looking for a payday

  but all we got was a hayday

  Down in boostin’ Houston

  where the word on the street is,

  Gotcha—hee haw, hee haw!

  The Benjies definitely ain’t droppin’

  but there’s no stoppin’

  our record-toppin’ ways

  Let’s get that payday

  and later for the hayday.

  Hee haw. Hee haw!!

  (Do you think they was really gonna hit us, Bubbles?)

  (No, they were gonna kiss us, Chuchie!!

  The next time you get the bright idea

  to crib someone’s lyrics,

  I’m gonna wack you back to the Okie-Dokie … !)

  The Cheetah Girls Glossary

  A bad case of the squigglies: Nervous. A pit in your stomach.

  Basta pasta: Enough. Chill. As in: “Basta pasta, okay?”

  Beef: Drama. Kaflamma. As in: “I got beef with her.” Or: “We’re beef-less now.”

  Boostin’: Representing.

  Deal-io: Deal.

  Drama and kaflamma: Drama times two.

  Drama queen: Someone who tends to get dramatic and cause static.

  Duckets: Money. Loot. Benjamins. Dollars.

  Frightquake: An attack of scaredy-cat-itis so severe, it may actually require immediate medical attention!

  Get my whiff?: Do you get my drift?

  Gobblefester: Cute man.

  Goospitating: Staring at someone like they’re lunch.

  Gridlock: Traffic jam.

  Growled: Sang with flava.

  Hukalaka-hookie: Nonsense. As in, “What a bunch of hukalaka-hookie!”

  Keep It Lite FM: When you don’t want to cause any static about something.

  Laced: Phat, dope, coolio, large.

  Live: Dope. Funny, as in: “I thought that was too live!”

  Mamacita: Spanglish term of endearment that you can use to address your crew, or peeps you like, as in: “Hey, mamacita, did you do the math homework today?”

  On the case like Mace: Checking out a situation.

  Photo op: A chance to get a picture taken that will be worth a thousand memories (and may bring duckets in the bucket too!).

  Pleez: Please.

  Sassy-frassy: Smart aleck.

  Spec-taculous: Spectacular. Dope.

  Thank gooseness: Thank goodness.

  Toodly: The “bestest.” The most coolio.

  Wicky-wacky: Wack. Not cool.

  Acknowledgments

  I have to give it up to the Jump at the Sun peeps here—Andrea Pinkney, Lisa Holton, and Ken Geist—for letting the Cheetah Girls run wild. Also, Anath Garber, the one person who helped me find my Cheetah Girl powers. And, Lita Richardson, the one person who now has my back in the jiggy jungle. Primo thanks to the cover girl Cheetahs: Arike, Brandi, Imani, Jeni, and Mia. And to all the Cheetah Girls around the globe: Get diggity with the growl power, baby!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Deborah Gregory earned her growl power as a diva-about-town contributing writer for Essence, Vibe, and More magazines. She has showed her spots on several talk shows, including Oprah, Ricki Lake, and Maury Povich. She lives in New York City with her pooch, Cappuccino, who is featured as the Cheetah Girls’ mascot, Toto.

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2001 by Deborah Gregory

  ISBN 978-1-4976-7722-7

  This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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  New York, NY 10014

  www.openroadmedia.com

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