Riches Get Stitches

Leaving It All Behind

Living in Eastside wasn't always bad. It was a prodominantly white/hispanic town, so the food was great. Everybody knew everyone, whether you had a record or not. But it was mostly bad. We had three restaraunts, one gym, one car shop, and one local store. That was pretty much it.

You we either in a gang that had a lot of memebers with street credit, or you were the smart person and stuck to something you were good at to stay out of trouble. That's what I did. I lived in a small house with my mom. I've lived there my whole life, and learned very quickly to not trust anyone with street cred and to do what you're good at. My uncle would visit very often and help take of my mom when she got sick, and eventally moved in with us. My mom was diagnosed with cancer when I was thirteen. It left, then came back twice. while my uncle was there, he would mess around with me and teach my how to box.

My uncle used to be a nutorious boxer when her was teenager and loved to teach me. Eventually, he tok me to a gym and I got really good at it. I made a lot a friends at school, and everyone knew not to mess with me. I guess that's my version of street cred. When I wa in high school, I would go to the gym and train by myself, and I got noticed. I was offered a bunch of contracts, but I declined them all because we didn't have the money. Still, I made sure everyone knew that I could fight, and nobody gave me a hard time.

Now I'm eighteen and a senior in high school. I was walking home from school one day saw an ambuance outside my house. I ran to my uncle who was getting in to the vehicle with the paramedics and told me to drive the car to the hospital. We were there for four hours, and eventually they came out with sunken faces and looks of sarrow. You didn't have to be a mind reader to know what happened. My mom died that night thanks to the freaking tumor in her chest.

It was three days after the funeral and I still felt empty. Uncle Jack was already packing up her things and I still needed to finish mine. This was my last day at Eastside High, and I hated it. I had to say good bye to friends I've know for years and a gym I trained in since I was thirteen. Even though I was legally considered an adult, court stil wanted me to live my dad until I graduated. My dad left when I was three and I've seen him once.

"So you have to live with your Pops?" my friend Carlos asked. I've known Carlos since fourth grade. I helped him out with science homework and he shared his Twinkie with me.

"Yeah. The guy lives in some place called Jaspar Creek. Never heard of it." I say. I shrug my back pack on after I finish cleaning out my locker.

"And you've only met your dad like, what, once?" my other friend Lucy asks. I shake my head and we walk outside. Across the street is my uncle's beet up Honda and you can see my stuff in the back. I slowly walk towards the car and Jack rolls the window down.

"Can I walk home? Please? I just really need to say good-bye." I ask. He gives me a small smile and nods.

"Sure kid. I have some stuff I need to do before we leaveanyways, so go ahead. And hey,  if he's waited fifteen yeas to see you, he can wait another fifteen minutes." He says this and rolls away in the car with my backpack. I walk home with my friends and tell them to call me everyday.

"Honey, you know I'll call you everday. I've always wanted to know if Riches are as cute as they are in the movies." Lucy says with a deelish smile.

"Chica he wouldn't take you, you're a cholla weda. A ghetto white girl." Carlos says. We all laugh as Lucy punches Carlos in the arm.

"I don't know what you're talking about Carlos. You're the one who sags your pants and wears a freakin red bandana on the belt loop." I back fire at him. Lucy lets out one of those annoying "OOO!s" and Carlos just smiles with pride. I think about all the great times we had together as kids. This town was broken down and ghetto, but hey it's home. We pass families outside grilling, some people are just sitting outside, with hteir car radios blasting. It was an awesome spring day. Perfect for leaving everything behind. When we show up to my front door, I stop and tur to my friends. Lucy looks as though she's about to cry, and Carlos hangs his head down and looks at his feet.