I decided to challenge myself. I was bored at work a time or two and decided to write up some short stories. The thing is is that each of these short stories were written on a sticky note, from front to back. I filled out 15 sticky notes, 15 short stories.
"Aight."
"I'm 4, 5 seconds from beating that ass," I said as I got this Kool-Aid right. Bruce was laid up on the couch.
"Whatever, nigga," he chuckled while playing 2K15. I walked into the living room and just stared at him.
"A true nigga."
"Whatever, bitch." A knock came at the door. I said, 'Who is it?' I heard Cam's voice so I opened the door. He came through dancing with his tongue sticking out. "You got the Chipotle, nigga!" I grabbed the bags from him.
"Oh shit, it's on and poppin' now. The food's here," Bruce said.
"Nigga, this ain't got nothing to do with you, I forgot your order," Cam said unapologetically.
"Stop playing!" Bruce cheesed.
"You can check if you want to." Cam threw his jacket aside.
"He's right Bruce, it ain't much here," I said. Bruce became mad.
"Stop fucking playing. I'm hungry just like ya'll niggas."
"I'm playing, bitch!" I yelled and threw a burrito at his stupid ass.
"Where Ricky?" Cam asked and grabbed the controller. I shrugged while biting into my taco.
"Better be out there getting that weed," Bruce said.
"Nigga you got food, now you want the weed? Nigga, if you don't just be grateful," I was saying when a knock came. I asked, 'Who is it?' and heard Ricky's voice. He walked right in, spotted the bag in my hand and looked through it. I squinted my eyes at him. "Where the weed, nigga?"
"Nigga, you good." He held up a bag. "Now where the guac?"
"Wren!" I felt as though my voice hadn't reached far enough as I came around the side of the house. The night was dark and Section 2 was alive, as it always has been, but tonight felt... malicious. I didn't care about that, I needed to find my sister. "Wren!" I called again. I don't remember how I got here and I'm pretty lost. I just remember being with my sister. We were together just a couple of minutes ago. She couldn't have gotten far. A couple were standing together across the street. I paced myself over to them. "Have you seen my sister Wren? She has dark red hair, about 5'6"?" I didn't like this couple. The man was in a black suit and one side of his face was burned to the muscle, angry and red. The woman's hair was matted in blood and blood oozed down her face. They both looked as if they wanted to kill me. Then they grinned at me and snickered. I backed away and kept walking. "Wren!" I ran into a little girl, almost half her face missing. "Have you... never mind." She probably didn't know where Wren was. I saw another couple up ahead. They looked decent looking. "Hey! Hey!" Good. No blood, missing pieces, just normal looking people. They looked a little frightened. "Have you seen my sister Wren? She has dark red hair, about 5'6"?" The guy squinted at me. He looked at the girl by his side.
"I think this is the guy they were talking about. The one that died in that car crash about 2 years ago. He had an older sister who was missing."
"Oh, right." She frowned at me apologetically. I brushed passed them, they couldn't help either. Where is she? We were together just a couple of minutes ago.
"Fine!" Veronica shouted with tears falling down her cheek. She spun her blonde hair around and began to stomp off but then turned back to me. "Fine! It's over then, Clay! I hope your dick falls off!"
"That was unnecessary," Faber said. We called him that; by his last name. I watched Veronica hop into her Mercedes and screech off. I was happier this way. I started to walk away but Faber stopped me. "What's the rush? Where you going?"
"To, uh, look for someone." Faber stared at me for a moment longer before a smile broke out on his face.
"I knew you were seeing someone else. Who is it?" I hesitated. "Is it Sarah? Oh God! Is it Terry? Please don't say Terry, say it's Kerri. Veronica's cousin was always hot."
"No," I simply replied. He kept up with me as I continued to walk.
"I got to come with you man, to see who this lucky gal is to make you up and dump Veronica." I sighed. "I can't believe you didn't drive." We proceeded to move up Section 3. After about ten minutes Faber looked a little confused but stayed silent. We were leaving the mansions behind us and heading towards the cheaper homes. "Why are we going to the dumpier part of town? Are you now dating Alison or something? Her father is a janitor, you know." I remained quiet. Faber was right about there being another girl but he would never guess. We made it to her place and stood on her porch. Faber was slightly disgusted. "I don't think I know this girl."
"Faber, she doesn't know you. She doesn't know any of our friends." I knocked and the door answered. And there she stood. This gorgeous, black girl. I smiled.
"Breathe," the lady told me. I was scared. When it was all over I almost felt light headed. She gave me my prescriptions and sent me on my way. I didn't have a ride so I walked. I wanted no one to know. I felt awful and sick. This didn't feel right but she told me this was normal. The sun was so hot, it made me feel sicker. I looked all around for a resting stop. Don's Bakery was up ahead and I nearly ran for it. Once inside I found the bathroom and threw up in the toilet before I could close the door. She said this might happen. Looking at the pastries made me nauseous again so I rushed out to get to the pharmacy. I needed this medication. The pain was growing intense and I wrapped my arm around my stomach. I passed by faces and voices but I wasn't there. It took about 30 minutes for my fills to be ready. I could have sworn the young woman gave me a strange look as she handed me the medication. I looked for the nearest bathroom. Once in the stall my phone ringed. It was Charmin.
"What's up, girl?" She asked.
"Nothing. I don't feel good right now. I'll call you later." I hung up and grabbed on tighter to my waist as I rocked back and forth. I decided to check. The blood was stll coming. I left the stall and popped one of the pain meds. At the sink I took a drink from the faucet. I still felt sick. Slowly I walked home. Nobody was there. When I got to my bed I picked up my cell phone.
"Hey," he said. "How'd it go?"
"I did it, that's for sure."
"Cool." I squeezed my eyes shut, I could tell he didn't really care and that he was probably relieved.
"It just all hurts," I murmured.
"I guess that's what comes." Yeah. I sat there feeling empty inside.
"Run!" Trainor yelled. I managed to keep up with his long strides whereas Torrence was further behind. "What the hell, Torrence, let's go!" I could hear Torrence heaving. I spun my head to look at the back of Trainor's.
"It's still behind us!" I yelled and that's when a loud, sharp, piercing cry came from Torrence. Trainor stopped and turned around with a scream. "It got him," I cried.
"That's my fucking brother!" Trainor shouted and started to run back to where it was behind us. I grabbed his arm.
"No, Trainor!"
"That was my brother, Syd!"
"I know but do you want to end up like him?" The look on his face was grim and serious.
"Maybe. Why continue on now? We're all going to die, Syd. Everyone is gone. Now my brother."
"But we're all we have now like you're saying. We can get away from it."
"Look around you, Syd. We're in the middle of the woods at night in Section 2. It's over!" He began to run the way we were just running away from. "You want me now! You can have me!" he screamed.
"No, Trainor!" But I couldn't move and I just watched him until he came to an abrupt halt. He sees it! Here I was, meant to go on while Trainor sacrificed himself. He slowly turned to face me as we stood feet apart.
"He's gone. It's gone!" He yelled to me then stood straight up and froze. Suddenly he ran back to me. "Sydny!" Confused I turned around and gasped but had no time to scream.
"Wait." I looked up at Leah. "Isn't that that Tyrone guy?" I looked to who she was referring to. It was the new black guy. He was in my History, English, Sociology, and Math class. We may as well be study partners. But he looked fine studying alone, looking at his textbook. Leah and I sat at a table in the school's library not that far from him. His name wasn't Tyrone though.
"His name's Tyler," I informed. Leah's face screwed up as if the thought of a black guy having that name was completely unheard of. "What about him?" I asked and looked down at my own assignment.
"I heard he was your new friend." Leah obviously wanted to feed into the gossip.
"So?" I said.
"So...." she herself didn't even know what she wanted to ask. I looked her straight in the eyes.
"Yes, Leah, I have a black friend." She looked almost appalled.
"That's not what I meant. I was just wondering how's he like." I sighed
"He's really cool. We have a ton of classes together." I looked over at Tyler. He sensed me looking and looked up at me. A small smile played on his lips before he looked back at his textbook. Leah missed it.
"How does the team feel about him?" I played on the lacrosse team. Season hasn't started yet but I was cool with all the guys.
"Why does it matter?" I asked. She eventually just shrugged then looked back at her phone. I was unaware that I was staring at Tyler longer than I should.
"Why are you staring at him?"
"No reason," I reply quickly. Tyler looked.
"Quiet!" Mr. Barrett called out to the class.
"What is this code blue bullshit?" I overheard Shawn ask.
"Someone done smuggled drugs into the school," Caine answered.
"Who would do some dumb shit like that?!" Shawn asked.
"Niggas be doing this shit everyday, B. Some dumbass just got caught this time," Raheem inputted. I noticed Monay roll her eyes. "When will this be over?" A student asked. Mr. Barrett shrugged.
"Just wait for the announcement." Almost everyone groaned.
"I got shit to doooooooo," Shailene moaned.
"I got a hair appointment at 3:30. Will they let me leave this lockdown early? Before then?" Casha asked.
"Girl, that ain't even important," Shawn said.
"I said quiet!" Mr. Barrett looked annoyed as he sat at his desk eyeing the curtain covering the door window.
"This is probably Denis' dumbass fault," Raheem muttered. Denis looked at Raheem like he was crazy. "What, nigga? Everyone knows you sell weed. Even the science teacher." A few students laughed. Mr. Barrett's veins were popping.
"I can't stand this shit," Caine said
"I'm about to go out there when Mr. Barrett ain't looking," Deondré whispered.
"And what? Get ya ass bit?" Raheem questioned. Deondré looked confused. "They got dogs out there, you know. Sniffing for that shit." Deondré swore under his breath. "I bet they going through Denis' locker as we speak."
"Shut up, Raheem!" Denis growled in a whisper.
"Oh my God! It's 3 o'clock," Casha moaned.
"You're lying," Juan replied.
"Read the clock, nigga."
"How many dogs they got? One?" Shailene asked.
"Shit is taking mad long."
"I got work today," Juan groaned.
"I'mma have to reschedule my hair appointment."
"Denis, just turn yourself in."
"Shut up!"
"Quiet!"
"Yum!" My little sister exclaimed as she shoved my classmate's eyeball into her mouth. I sipped on my blood drink and said nothing. Claire's insides weren't as... tasty as I thought they would be.
"Do you like your heart, honey?" Mom asked me. My dad chewed away on his slice, blood drooling down the sides of his mouth.
"It's pretty tough. Tougher than usual," my dad remarked.
"The eyeballs were really good," my sister said. Mom turned to me.
"You get the eyeballs next time, Marc." The eyeballs were one of my favorites. "Tomorrow I'll use the kidneys and make stew."
"Sounds really good, mom," I voiced.
"When are we going to eat Stella?" My sister asked about her classmate. Mom had a confused look on her face.
"I thought Stella was your best friend, sweetheart?"
"Yeah, but she likes the same boy as me." Dad rolled his eyes. Mom looked at dad.
"Hon, how many births so far this week?" Dad was an obstetrician. If we were practicing cannibalism then we had to make sure the population remained steady. By being a obstetrician my dad could keep an eye on such things. Not that it really mattered since we lived in Section 2.
"Roughly around 60." Mom contemplated.
"Okay, dear." My sister was so happy.
"I can't wait to eat her eyeballs."
I went to bed full off a pretty good meal. For breakfast tomorrow it's liver patties drenched in syrup.
"Bye." My mom turned to look back at me.
"Christie, dear, we're leaving now."
"I know, I can see you mom, bye. Have a safe trip."
"Okay. See you.... Wednesday night." I kept waving 'bye'. When will she just fucking leave?
"Bye!" I closed the door, exhaled, and rolled my eyes. I called up Stephanie. She was over in 5 minutes, top.
"Wooooo! Parents gone! Don't forget to invite Chris," she almost warned. I rolled my eyes.
"Of course."
"I called Kate, she'll be here."
"That stupid bitch didn't give me her new number."
"Ha!" She said to my face.
Chris came over with Taylor, Bryant, and Trevor. They chilled out in the living room, going through my dad's bar. "Yeah, right. Mr. Stein is a dickwad. He seriously would not take my paper a day after it was due. A day? Really?"
"Asshole," Bryant responded to Chris.
"And my dad invited him to start golfing with us," Trevor inputted. Chris chuckled.
"Your dad's golfing adventures are a joke. Doesn't your dad golf with those black men and their sons?"
"You mean Jolen.... and I think the other one is Mark, Michael, Murphin...."
"Whatever. It's a disgrace and pitiful. Who do they think they are? The next Tiger Woods?" Kate eventually showed up... and with some black kid. The room went silent.
"Who's that?" I whispered to her.
"My friend Anthony." I frowned a little. Anthony looked from me to Kate.
"I think I might go," he said and walked out.
"Great!" I smiled at Kate. She stared at me before backing up to leave with him.
"Hide," my boy Sticky whispered. I got underneath a parked car. I could see Sticky's Jordans as he stood by the car. A minute later they showed up and walked over to Sticky.
"Where's the money?" A deep voice questioned. It must be K. I swore under my breath for getting us into this situation. I just had to lay the drugs in the open so my crackheaded dad could get to them. Now we were in trouble. There was no money.
"We ain't got it." Sticky sounded nervous. He sighed. "Brendan's da-" there was a sudden sound and Sticky buckled to his knees, groaning.
"No excuses, bitch. We want that money you owe us. If you couldn't get the fucking job done you shoulda never taken it. Beat his ass." I had no choice but to wince as I watched them kick, punch, and stomp him out. I caught his eye every time his head got punched my way. They continued this until he was a bloodied mess. He laid still on the concrete panting. I opened my mouth to scream but wasn't quick enough. They had aimed the gun and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered my face.
"Fuck!" I screamed.
"What was that?" One of the guys said. I crawled from under the car and ran. "There his ass go!" They started to chase me. But I was faster. I didn't know where to go. My legs carried me. I ended up at the beach, running on the sand. I said 'fuck it' and ran into the ocean. I began to swim out. A few feet out was when I heard the gun shots hit the water, missing me. I turned to face them in the distance as I floated in the water. Silence.
"C'mon," I groaned as I watched my girlfriend, Liz, run off laughing into the dark, foggy woods. We had just finished dinner at the most expensive resturant in Section 2. Liz looked over her shoulder towards me.
"Come on, Kyle! Let's play tag, it'll be fun."
"But in the woods, Liz? This is Section 2. Let's go home before one of us gets killed."
"Nonsense." She ran back to me and tagged me to be "It". She ran off and I slowly followed her. Engaging in her little game. What a night this will be. "You're too sloooooow, Kyle." She ran passed me laughing. I made the left and slowly followed her. A smirk played on my face as I watched her. The fog ate her up and she vanished. I made a turn and then rounded the corner of a tree. Liz abruptly stopped in front of me. I startled her. "Whoa! That was fast. H-h-how. Whatever. I'm it."
"I think I'll remain it."
"That's not fun."
"Just run along." I slowly blinked while she rolled her eyes and ran off.
"You won't catch meeeee!" I followed her with my eyes but continued walking straight ahead. I measured my distance. Became familiar with the tree barks. I listened to her voice and laughter. I made a sharp left and almost collided into her. Was that fear I saw in her eyes? She slowly backed away from me. "How are you doing that, Kyle? You're barely moving." I creeped towards her as she backed away. But I caught up with her and stuck my blade as deep as it would go into her back, paralyzing her. She groaned and dropped to the ground. Her eyes pleaded but I slashed her face in half.
"Look." But I didn't. Then, "Scum just moved in next door." I looked over to where she was standing from the couch. She was standing the stillest I have ever seen her in front of the window.
"Mom?" I questioned. My friend Taryn texted me asking what I was doing. I told her what my mom said.
"Good morning, honey." Dad pecked mom on the cheek, but mom was unmoved.
"Do you see this?" She asked him. Her voice sounded so dark and I realize she still hasn't answered me.
"No, dear, you're taking up much of the window space," he chuckled lightheartedly. She abruptly stepped aside.
"Tell me you see what I see," she huffed. Taryn texted back: Scum? Whoa! Why did she say that? I texted back: Idk. I don't know. I looked back at my parents. My dad's face had a disturbed look to it. "Well?" Mom pressed.
"I don't know, hon."
"This cannot be happening, Bill. What will the ladies at the book club say? This is unbelievable. How can those people afford that house?" My mom tried to whisper the last part but I heard her. Dad exhaled. I was so curious at this point. I finally stood up and exited to my room. On my way up I called Taryn.
"I'm going to see what my mom is talking about."
"I really want to know."
"I can't imagine who it is."
"Me either." At my window I looked out. I saw a moving truck and then a black guy appeared. Then a black woman.
"OMG!"
"What, Julia?" I couldn't speak. I couldn't believe my parents.
"Now," he said. "C'mon, off to bed little man." I slouched my shoulders and groaned but walked to my room.
"But I'm not tired, Antwan."
"Boy! You got school in the morning and it's going on 9 o'clock."
"But all my friends are still out at this time." I stopped and stared up at my big brother.
"All your "friends" are 13 and 14, boy you only 10 years old and mom said off to bed you go." I groaned and flopped in bed.
"But I'm not a baby." Antwan sighed. He sat in a chair next to my bed.
"André, it's dangrous out there and it's late."
"But you're going out there, isn't it dangerous for you too?" He shook his head.
"I'm a big boy, André, I know how to take care of myself."
"Me too!" He began to tuck me under the covers.
"No you're not. Stop rushing your years." I folded my arms while he smiled. "Want a bedtime story?" I squinted angrily at him.
"No!" He laughed.
We heard it at the same time. There was gunfire outside. Even Antwan looked frightened.
"That sounded pretty close," he said as he went to close my blinds tighter.
"Are you still going out there?"
"Y-yeah, it's nothing to worry about, lil bro." I was scared for him now. It is dangerous out there for him too. "I'm meeting up with some friends, so I'll be cool."
"Will you really?" He stopped for a second then nodded his head. I don't know if I believed him. He turned my light out.
"Go to sleep." I listened to him leave. After the door closed, as I laid in the dark, I heard more gunshots.
"Stop."
"What?"
"You didn't see that back there?" Charles looked through the review mirror then the side mirror. He looked back at me and smirked.
"Seeing things now are we, Keisha?"
"Fuck you!" I chuckled. "For real, there was something behind this car," I addressed to his face. He looked me in the eyes.
"This place is getting to you. That's why it's time to leave." He turned his head back to the windshield. "Oh shit!" I spun my head to look too, to see what shook him and I jumped back too. "She came out of nowhere." A little hispanic girl stood still at the front of the car.
"Drive around her," I suggested.
"She's just standing there..."
"Drive around her," I pressed. Charles put the car in reverse and started to back up, looking out the back window, when he screamed. "What?" I asked.
"It's her!" I looked as well and sure enough she was now behind us. The same girl.
"Twins?" I asked and he shrugged and put the car in drive.
"Let's get out of here." I was watching the girl. She stood there staring at me. "What the fuck!" I turned around and looked out the front of the car. She was there again? "This isn't right," Charles sounded defeated. Something made me look in the backseat. Once I did I screamed, covering my mouth. Charles was laying in the backseat with his throat slit, blood gushing from the wound. He was trying to speak, his eyes were begging.
"H-h-h-" I sputtered. I looked to the driver's seat and the little girl sat there, staring at me.
"Ouch!" It felt like every eye was on me. Samantha backed up from where she stood to get a look at me. I had hit the ball too hard, my wrists were beat red and screaming.
"Why did she even tryout?" I overheard Samantha say. She hated my guts, I swear. She's been the biggest bitch to me since we met in grade school, but she leaves my sister alone. My sister and I are only a year apart but we are in the same grade and both play volleyball. My sister shrugs and gives me an apologetic smile. She's the popular one and I just seem to fall in her shadow, follow in her steps. The game resumes and I try not to screw up. I made the team but I couldn't save us in a game. I didn't expect to make it. I just figured to try out since my sister was and wanted me to.
"I got it!" Trish calls
"I got it!" Samantha calls as the ball goes into the air after Trish hits it. It comes my way, so I had no choice, "I go-", but the ball hits me on the top of my head, knocking me down and flying into the crowd.
"This isn't soccer," Monica retorts.
"What the hell is wrong with this girl?" I overhear Samantha whisper aloud. My face couldn't get much redder.
We won the game but I still felt bad.
"You did well, honey," mom tells me.
"You were terrific, hon!" Dad says as he walks over, speaking to my sister. He looks at me. "Oh hon, you'll only get better as the game goes on." I frown. "But don't think about it. Let's all go eat and get ice cream!" Our younger brother "Woooooes" and starts to leave behind dad. Mom follows.
"I am hungry," I say.
"Can you tell mom and dad I can't make it. I told Samantha and them I'd eat out with them." Of course Samantha didn't invite me. And my sister just stood there smiling apologetically.
"Okay," my voice cracks. I watch her go catch up with Samantha and the girls.
"Aight."
"I'm 4, 5 seconds from beating that ass," I said as I got this Kool-Aid right. Bruce was laid up on the couch.
"Whatever, nigga," he chuckled while playing 2K15. I walked into the living room and just stared at him.
"A true nigga."
"Whatever, bitch." A knock came at the door. I said, 'Who is it?' I heard Cam's voice so I opened the door. He came through dancing with his tongue sticking out. "You got the Chipotle, nigga!" I grabbed the bags from him.
"Oh shit, it's on and poppin' now. The food's here," Bruce said.
"Nigga, this ain't got nothing to do with you, I forgot your order," Cam said unapologetically.
"Stop playing!" Bruce cheesed.
"You can check if you want to." Cam threw his jacket aside.
"He's right Bruce, it ain't much here," I said. Bruce became mad.
"Stop fucking playing. I'm hungry just like ya'll niggas."
"I'm playing, bitch!" I yelled and threw a burrito at his stupid ass.
"Where Ricky?" Cam asked and grabbed the controller. I shrugged while biting into my taco.
"Better be out there getting that weed," Bruce said.
"Nigga you got food, now you want the weed? Nigga, if you don't just be grateful," I was saying when a knock came. I asked, 'Who is it?' and heard Ricky's voice. He walked right in, spotted the bag in my hand and looked through it. I squinted my eyes at him. "Where the weed, nigga?"
"Nigga, you good." He held up a bag. "Now where the guac?"
"Wren!" I felt as though my voice hadn't reached far enough as I came around the side of the house. The night was dark and Section 2 was alive, as it always has been, but tonight felt... malicious. I didn't care about that, I needed to find my sister. "Wren!" I called again. I don't remember how I got here and I'm pretty lost. I just remember being with my sister. We were together just a couple of minutes ago. She couldn't have gotten far. A couple were standing together across the street. I paced myself over to them. "Have you seen my sister Wren? She has dark red hair, about 5'6"?" I didn't like this couple. The man was in a black suit and one side of his face was burned to the muscle, angry and red. The woman's hair was matted in blood and blood oozed down her face. They both looked as if they wanted to kill me. Then they grinned at me and snickered. I backed away and kept walking. "Wren!" I ran into a little girl, almost half her face missing. "Have you... never mind." She probably didn't know where Wren was. I saw another couple up ahead. They looked decent looking. "Hey! Hey!" Good. No blood, missing pieces, just normal looking people. They looked a little frightened. "Have you seen my sister Wren? She has dark red hair, about 5'6"?" The guy squinted at me. He looked at the girl by his side.
"I think this is the guy they were talking about. The one that died in that car crash about 2 years ago. He had an older sister who was missing."
"Oh, right." She frowned at me apologetically. I brushed passed them, they couldn't help either. Where is she? We were together just a couple of minutes ago.
"Fine!" Veronica shouted with tears falling down her cheek. She spun her blonde hair around and began to stomp off but then turned back to me. "Fine! It's over then, Clay! I hope your dick falls off!"
"That was unnecessary," Faber said. We called him that; by his last name. I watched Veronica hop into her Mercedes and screech off. I was happier this way. I started to walk away but Faber stopped me. "What's the rush? Where you going?"
"To, uh, look for someone." Faber stared at me for a moment longer before a smile broke out on his face.
"I knew you were seeing someone else. Who is it?" I hesitated. "Is it Sarah? Oh God! Is it Terry? Please don't say Terry, say it's Kerri. Veronica's cousin was always hot."
"No," I simply replied. He kept up with me as I continued to walk.
"I got to come with you man, to see who this lucky gal is to make you up and dump Veronica." I sighed. "I can't believe you didn't drive." We proceeded to move up Section 3. After about ten minutes Faber looked a little confused but stayed silent. We were leaving the mansions behind us and heading towards the cheaper homes. "Why are we going to the dumpier part of town? Are you now dating Alison or something? Her father is a janitor, you know." I remained quiet. Faber was right about there being another girl but he would never guess. We made it to her place and stood on her porch. Faber was slightly disgusted. "I don't think I know this girl."
"Faber, she doesn't know you. She doesn't know any of our friends." I knocked and the door answered. And there she stood. This gorgeous, black girl. I smiled.
"Breathe," the lady told me. I was scared. When it was all over I almost felt light headed. She gave me my prescriptions and sent me on my way. I didn't have a ride so I walked. I wanted no one to know. I felt awful and sick. This didn't feel right but she told me this was normal. The sun was so hot, it made me feel sicker. I looked all around for a resting stop. Don's Bakery was up ahead and I nearly ran for it. Once inside I found the bathroom and threw up in the toilet before I could close the door. She said this might happen. Looking at the pastries made me nauseous again so I rushed out to get to the pharmacy. I needed this medication. The pain was growing intense and I wrapped my arm around my stomach. I passed by faces and voices but I wasn't there. It took about 30 minutes for my fills to be ready. I could have sworn the young woman gave me a strange look as she handed me the medication. I looked for the nearest bathroom. Once in the stall my phone ringed. It was Charmin.
"What's up, girl?" She asked.
"Nothing. I don't feel good right now. I'll call you later." I hung up and grabbed on tighter to my waist as I rocked back and forth. I decided to check. The blood was stll coming. I left the stall and popped one of the pain meds. At the sink I took a drink from the faucet. I still felt sick. Slowly I walked home. Nobody was there. When I got to my bed I picked up my cell phone.
"Hey," he said. "How'd it go?"
"I did it, that's for sure."
"Cool." I squeezed my eyes shut, I could tell he didn't really care and that he was probably relieved.
"It just all hurts," I murmured.
"I guess that's what comes." Yeah. I sat there feeling empty inside.
"Run!" Trainor yelled. I managed to keep up with his long strides whereas Torrence was further behind. "What the hell, Torrence, let's go!" I could hear Torrence heaving. I spun my head to look at the back of Trainor's.
"It's still behind us!" I yelled and that's when a loud, sharp, piercing cry came from Torrence. Trainor stopped and turned around with a scream. "It got him," I cried.
"That's my fucking brother!" Trainor shouted and started to run back to where it was behind us. I grabbed his arm.
"No, Trainor!"
"That was my brother, Syd!"
"I know but do you want to end up like him?" The look on his face was grim and serious.
"Maybe. Why continue on now? We're all going to die, Syd. Everyone is gone. Now my brother."
"But we're all we have now like you're saying. We can get away from it."
"Look around you, Syd. We're in the middle of the woods at night in Section 2. It's over!" He began to run the way we were just running away from. "You want me now! You can have me!" he screamed.
"No, Trainor!" But I couldn't move and I just watched him until he came to an abrupt halt. He sees it! Here I was, meant to go on while Trainor sacrificed himself. He slowly turned to face me as we stood feet apart.
"He's gone. It's gone!" He yelled to me then stood straight up and froze. Suddenly he ran back to me. "Sydny!" Confused I turned around and gasped but had no time to scream.
"Wait." I looked up at Leah. "Isn't that that Tyrone guy?" I looked to who she was referring to. It was the new black guy. He was in my History, English, Sociology, and Math class. We may as well be study partners. But he looked fine studying alone, looking at his textbook. Leah and I sat at a table in the school's library not that far from him. His name wasn't Tyrone though.
"His name's Tyler," I informed. Leah's face screwed up as if the thought of a black guy having that name was completely unheard of. "What about him?" I asked and looked down at my own assignment.
"I heard he was your new friend." Leah obviously wanted to feed into the gossip.
"So?" I said.
"So...." she herself didn't even know what she wanted to ask. I looked her straight in the eyes.
"Yes, Leah, I have a black friend." She looked almost appalled.
"That's not what I meant. I was just wondering how's he like." I sighed
"He's really cool. We have a ton of classes together." I looked over at Tyler. He sensed me looking and looked up at me. A small smile played on his lips before he looked back at his textbook. Leah missed it.
"How does the team feel about him?" I played on the lacrosse team. Season hasn't started yet but I was cool with all the guys.
"Why does it matter?" I asked. She eventually just shrugged then looked back at her phone. I was unaware that I was staring at Tyler longer than I should.
"Why are you staring at him?"
"No reason," I reply quickly. Tyler looked.
"Quiet!" Mr. Barrett called out to the class.
"What is this code blue bullshit?" I overheard Shawn ask.
"Someone done smuggled drugs into the school," Caine answered.
"Who would do some dumb shit like that?!" Shawn asked.
"Niggas be doing this shit everyday, B. Some dumbass just got caught this time," Raheem inputted. I noticed Monay roll her eyes. "When will this be over?" A student asked. Mr. Barrett shrugged.
"Just wait for the announcement." Almost everyone groaned.
"I got shit to doooooooo," Shailene moaned.
"I got a hair appointment at 3:30. Will they let me leave this lockdown early? Before then?" Casha asked.
"Girl, that ain't even important," Shawn said.
"I said quiet!" Mr. Barrett looked annoyed as he sat at his desk eyeing the curtain covering the door window.
"This is probably Denis' dumbass fault," Raheem muttered. Denis looked at Raheem like he was crazy. "What, nigga? Everyone knows you sell weed. Even the science teacher." A few students laughed. Mr. Barrett's veins were popping.
"I can't stand this shit," Caine said
"I'm about to go out there when Mr. Barrett ain't looking," Deondré whispered.
"And what? Get ya ass bit?" Raheem questioned. Deondré looked confused. "They got dogs out there, you know. Sniffing for that shit." Deondré swore under his breath. "I bet they going through Denis' locker as we speak."
"Shut up, Raheem!" Denis growled in a whisper.
"Oh my God! It's 3 o'clock," Casha moaned.
"You're lying," Juan replied.
"Read the clock, nigga."
"How many dogs they got? One?" Shailene asked.
"Shit is taking mad long."
"I got work today," Juan groaned.
"I'mma have to reschedule my hair appointment."
"Denis, just turn yourself in."
"Shut up!"
"Quiet!"
"Yum!" My little sister exclaimed as she shoved my classmate's eyeball into her mouth. I sipped on my blood drink and said nothing. Claire's insides weren't as... tasty as I thought they would be.
"Do you like your heart, honey?" Mom asked me. My dad chewed away on his slice, blood drooling down the sides of his mouth.
"It's pretty tough. Tougher than usual," my dad remarked.
"The eyeballs were really good," my sister said. Mom turned to me.
"You get the eyeballs next time, Marc." The eyeballs were one of my favorites. "Tomorrow I'll use the kidneys and make stew."
"Sounds really good, mom," I voiced.
"When are we going to eat Stella?" My sister asked about her classmate. Mom had a confused look on her face.
"I thought Stella was your best friend, sweetheart?"
"Yeah, but she likes the same boy as me." Dad rolled his eyes. Mom looked at dad.
"Hon, how many births so far this week?" Dad was an obstetrician. If we were practicing cannibalism then we had to make sure the population remained steady. By being a obstetrician my dad could keep an eye on such things. Not that it really mattered since we lived in Section 2.
"Roughly around 60." Mom contemplated.
"Okay, dear." My sister was so happy.
"I can't wait to eat her eyeballs."
I went to bed full off a pretty good meal. For breakfast tomorrow it's liver patties drenched in syrup.
"Bye." My mom turned to look back at me.
"Christie, dear, we're leaving now."
"I know, I can see you mom, bye. Have a safe trip."
"Okay. See you.... Wednesday night." I kept waving 'bye'. When will she just fucking leave?
"Bye!" I closed the door, exhaled, and rolled my eyes. I called up Stephanie. She was over in 5 minutes, top.
"Wooooo! Parents gone! Don't forget to invite Chris," she almost warned. I rolled my eyes.
"Of course."
"I called Kate, she'll be here."
"That stupid bitch didn't give me her new number."
"Ha!" She said to my face.
Chris came over with Taylor, Bryant, and Trevor. They chilled out in the living room, going through my dad's bar. "Yeah, right. Mr. Stein is a dickwad. He seriously would not take my paper a day after it was due. A day? Really?"
"Asshole," Bryant responded to Chris.
"And my dad invited him to start golfing with us," Trevor inputted. Chris chuckled.
"Your dad's golfing adventures are a joke. Doesn't your dad golf with those black men and their sons?"
"You mean Jolen.... and I think the other one is Mark, Michael, Murphin...."
"Whatever. It's a disgrace and pitiful. Who do they think they are? The next Tiger Woods?" Kate eventually showed up... and with some black kid. The room went silent.
"Who's that?" I whispered to her.
"My friend Anthony." I frowned a little. Anthony looked from me to Kate.
"I think I might go," he said and walked out.
"Great!" I smiled at Kate. She stared at me before backing up to leave with him.
"Hide," my boy Sticky whispered. I got underneath a parked car. I could see Sticky's Jordans as he stood by the car. A minute later they showed up and walked over to Sticky.
"Where's the money?" A deep voice questioned. It must be K. I swore under my breath for getting us into this situation. I just had to lay the drugs in the open so my crackheaded dad could get to them. Now we were in trouble. There was no money.
"We ain't got it." Sticky sounded nervous. He sighed. "Brendan's da-" there was a sudden sound and Sticky buckled to his knees, groaning.
"No excuses, bitch. We want that money you owe us. If you couldn't get the fucking job done you shoulda never taken it. Beat his ass." I had no choice but to wince as I watched them kick, punch, and stomp him out. I caught his eye every time his head got punched my way. They continued this until he was a bloodied mess. He laid still on the concrete panting. I opened my mouth to scream but wasn't quick enough. They had aimed the gun and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered my face.
"Fuck!" I screamed.
"What was that?" One of the guys said. I crawled from under the car and ran. "There his ass go!" They started to chase me. But I was faster. I didn't know where to go. My legs carried me. I ended up at the beach, running on the sand. I said 'fuck it' and ran into the ocean. I began to swim out. A few feet out was when I heard the gun shots hit the water, missing me. I turned to face them in the distance as I floated in the water. Silence.
"C'mon," I groaned as I watched my girlfriend, Liz, run off laughing into the dark, foggy woods. We had just finished dinner at the most expensive resturant in Section 2. Liz looked over her shoulder towards me.
"Come on, Kyle! Let's play tag, it'll be fun."
"But in the woods, Liz? This is Section 2. Let's go home before one of us gets killed."
"Nonsense." She ran back to me and tagged me to be "It". She ran off and I slowly followed her. Engaging in her little game. What a night this will be. "You're too sloooooow, Kyle." She ran passed me laughing. I made the left and slowly followed her. A smirk played on my face as I watched her. The fog ate her up and she vanished. I made a turn and then rounded the corner of a tree. Liz abruptly stopped in front of me. I startled her. "Whoa! That was fast. H-h-how. Whatever. I'm it."
"I think I'll remain it."
"That's not fun."
"Just run along." I slowly blinked while she rolled her eyes and ran off.
"You won't catch meeeee!" I followed her with my eyes but continued walking straight ahead. I measured my distance. Became familiar with the tree barks. I listened to her voice and laughter. I made a sharp left and almost collided into her. Was that fear I saw in her eyes? She slowly backed away from me. "How are you doing that, Kyle? You're barely moving." I creeped towards her as she backed away. But I caught up with her and stuck my blade as deep as it would go into her back, paralyzing her. She groaned and dropped to the ground. Her eyes pleaded but I slashed her face in half.
"Look." But I didn't. Then, "Scum just moved in next door." I looked over to where she was standing from the couch. She was standing the stillest I have ever seen her in front of the window.
"Mom?" I questioned. My friend Taryn texted me asking what I was doing. I told her what my mom said.
"Good morning, honey." Dad pecked mom on the cheek, but mom was unmoved.
"Do you see this?" She asked him. Her voice sounded so dark and I realize she still hasn't answered me.
"No, dear, you're taking up much of the window space," he chuckled lightheartedly. She abruptly stepped aside.
"Tell me you see what I see," she huffed. Taryn texted back: Scum? Whoa! Why did she say that? I texted back: Idk. I don't know. I looked back at my parents. My dad's face had a disturbed look to it. "Well?" Mom pressed.
"I don't know, hon."
"This cannot be happening, Bill. What will the ladies at the book club say? This is unbelievable. How can those people afford that house?" My mom tried to whisper the last part but I heard her. Dad exhaled. I was so curious at this point. I finally stood up and exited to my room. On my way up I called Taryn.
"I'm going to see what my mom is talking about."
"I really want to know."
"I can't imagine who it is."
"Me either." At my window I looked out. I saw a moving truck and then a black guy appeared. Then a black woman.
"OMG!"
"What, Julia?" I couldn't speak. I couldn't believe my parents.
"Now," he said. "C'mon, off to bed little man." I slouched my shoulders and groaned but walked to my room.
"But I'm not tired, Antwan."
"Boy! You got school in the morning and it's going on 9 o'clock."
"But all my friends are still out at this time." I stopped and stared up at my big brother.
"All your "friends" are 13 and 14, boy you only 10 years old and mom said off to bed you go." I groaned and flopped in bed.
"But I'm not a baby." Antwan sighed. He sat in a chair next to my bed.
"André, it's dangrous out there and it's late."
"But you're going out there, isn't it dangerous for you too?" He shook his head.
"I'm a big boy, André, I know how to take care of myself."
"Me too!" He began to tuck me under the covers.
"No you're not. Stop rushing your years." I folded my arms while he smiled. "Want a bedtime story?" I squinted angrily at him.
"No!" He laughed.
We heard it at the same time. There was gunfire outside. Even Antwan looked frightened.
"That sounded pretty close," he said as he went to close my blinds tighter.
"Are you still going out there?"
"Y-yeah, it's nothing to worry about, lil bro." I was scared for him now. It is dangerous out there for him too. "I'm meeting up with some friends, so I'll be cool."
"Will you really?" He stopped for a second then nodded his head. I don't know if I believed him. He turned my light out.
"Go to sleep." I listened to him leave. After the door closed, as I laid in the dark, I heard more gunshots.
"Stop."
"What?"
"You didn't see that back there?" Charles looked through the review mirror then the side mirror. He looked back at me and smirked.
"Seeing things now are we, Keisha?"
"Fuck you!" I chuckled. "For real, there was something behind this car," I addressed to his face. He looked me in the eyes.
"This place is getting to you. That's why it's time to leave." He turned his head back to the windshield. "Oh shit!" I spun my head to look too, to see what shook him and I jumped back too. "She came out of nowhere." A little hispanic girl stood still at the front of the car.
"Drive around her," I suggested.
"She's just standing there..."
"Drive around her," I pressed. Charles put the car in reverse and started to back up, looking out the back window, when he screamed. "What?" I asked.
"It's her!" I looked as well and sure enough she was now behind us. The same girl.
"Twins?" I asked and he shrugged and put the car in drive.
"Let's get out of here." I was watching the girl. She stood there staring at me. "What the fuck!" I turned around and looked out the front of the car. She was there again? "This isn't right," Charles sounded defeated. Something made me look in the backseat. Once I did I screamed, covering my mouth. Charles was laying in the backseat with his throat slit, blood gushing from the wound. He was trying to speak, his eyes were begging.
"H-h-h-" I sputtered. I looked to the driver's seat and the little girl sat there, staring at me.
"Ouch!" It felt like every eye was on me. Samantha backed up from where she stood to get a look at me. I had hit the ball too hard, my wrists were beat red and screaming.
"Why did she even tryout?" I overheard Samantha say. She hated my guts, I swear. She's been the biggest bitch to me since we met in grade school, but she leaves my sister alone. My sister and I are only a year apart but we are in the same grade and both play volleyball. My sister shrugs and gives me an apologetic smile. She's the popular one and I just seem to fall in her shadow, follow in her steps. The game resumes and I try not to screw up. I made the team but I couldn't save us in a game. I didn't expect to make it. I just figured to try out since my sister was and wanted me to.
"I got it!" Trish calls
"I got it!" Samantha calls as the ball goes into the air after Trish hits it. It comes my way, so I had no choice, "I go-", but the ball hits me on the top of my head, knocking me down and flying into the crowd.
"This isn't soccer," Monica retorts.
"What the hell is wrong with this girl?" I overhear Samantha whisper aloud. My face couldn't get much redder.
We won the game but I still felt bad.
"You did well, honey," mom tells me.
"You were terrific, hon!" Dad says as he walks over, speaking to my sister. He looks at me. "Oh hon, you'll only get better as the game goes on." I frown. "But don't think about it. Let's all go eat and get ice cream!" Our younger brother "Woooooes" and starts to leave behind dad. Mom follows.
"I am hungry," I say.
"Can you tell mom and dad I can't make it. I told Samantha and them I'd eat out with them." Of course Samantha didn't invite me. And my sister just stood there smiling apologetically.
"Okay," my voice cracks. I watch her go catch up with Samantha and the girls.
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