Unexpected 2: Junior S.W.A.T.

Chapter 4: Who are they?

Nichelle came back to the room with a big smile on her face."Ok, kids! Ready to begin?"

The kids received her with cheers of excitement. The two girls sat in the front, while the guys crowded the back. One blonde kept flirting with the tall beautiful black girl who seem to dis any effort he made.

As Nichelle talked about the upcoming activities, Chris and Street waited patiently behind the corner. They knew their cue, but were so tired! They kept motivating themselves internally to stay and not step out and go home to sleep. Hicks had been adamant about them being of excellence... one complaint by anyone that Saturday and they would both be suspended. They had to do a great job. Period.

"Here they are, kids! Officer Christina Alonso, a.k.a Chris, accompanied by the super awesome Officer James Street, a.k.a Street." Miss Rita announced, as she had moved to the front of the room and was clapping very excited herself.

With some embarrassment, both officers came in dressed in full SWAT gear. Both had a chance to present themselves and talk about SWAT and their team. They talked about their teammates and fun details to get the kids engaged. Then, it was the kids' turn.

"OK, let's see if we can introduce ourselves. Remember: with seriousness and the most utmost respect. These are officers of the law!" Miss Rita warned

Miss Rita signaled and one by one each presented themselves to the officers.

"My name is Kelly, and I am super excited to be here. I know I'm not the most threatening looking gal, but I love working with techy stuff and different devices. I like to be the life of the party, always. Maybe even drive the big truck you guys have!" proclaimed the girl who sat in the second row of chairs. Her skin was caramel color, but her eyes were full hazel. She wore a hijab, and a colorful set of shirt and pants. She wasn't shy about shocking colors, for sure!

"I'm Wy Chen. I'm fourth generation Chinese-American, since my great grandparents moved from China during WW1. I love riddles and I want to be in SWAT coz you really have to solve difficult schemes and operations. Plus, I absolutely love being a sniper. If I don't make it to SWAT, I'm definitely joining the Army, coz I dream of being in roofs or trailers or stuff like that, with a giant weapon, just waiting and hunting the enemy! I have sooo many questions!" the eager teen stood and as he spoke imitated the motion of SWAT formation and firing a weapon. He wasn't tall nor short, but he surely was skinny.

The tall beautiful black girl in the front stood showing authority, as she said "I'm Leyla Jenkins, and aint no one can boss me around. I'ma be the baddest chick in all of SWAT! Aint no bad guy gonna put his hands on me, coz I'ma just kick his ass.I'ma be stronger than all guys... and faster. SWAT's all about conditioning and pride. It's bout time we start letting females join the force! I'ma be like a tiger, quick to strike!"

"Name's Maverick Stone, Marv, and I'm the only junior in this group. My homeboy Jay Sean was the one that came up with all this. He was my brother man, we was so tight! Like him, I admire SWAT coz it gives you respect but in a good way. We read about Sergeant Harrellson and y'all, and we thought we was ready to make our own team. You know? If we trained, we could be the SWAT of the younger generation. Defend the kids! We tired of the shootings and being afraid in our own community. I wanna help people feel safe, but I'ma be true to myself. I wanna change the perspective that a black man or woman is a threat, and I think the best way is by being a cop, most definitely SWAT." said the tallest of the group. The young black fellow had a scar under his right eye, and a tattoo of a knife in his wrist.

Right next him, stood another young black man, this one with light brown eyes. They both fist pumped as the teen spoke: "I'm D'Andre Johnson, Rev as people call me, and that's my homie Marv. He and I go way back, and we both want the same thing. We miss Jay, but he our homie and we gon honor his memory. I'm all about keeping people in check, and making them pay for they crimes. I aint about messing around, no BS. We gotta make the cops accountable for they actions, but it gotta start with us the people. With God always watching over us and givin us strength. This war between black and blue gotta stop! I gots faith that we can actually make a difference."

A very hyper blond teenager in the back interrupted the silence as he presented himself, with a thick Latino accent: "Wepa! Wassup? I'm from Puerto Rico. I'm Rubio, but my mother sign the certificate of birth with Ezequiel Javier Baez. Nobody call me like that, so relax. Everybody call me Rubio, coz I'm blond. Duh uh. Girls dig me, but SWAT is another level. I like the action and beating the bad guys. You know? Kicking ass! I know I freshman, but relax. I can definitely do this coz I got a lot of talent. I can bring to this team a lot of good things. I mix Spanish and English, but it's cus Spanglish is the new thang!"

((Cultural Note: 'Wepa' is an expression equivalent to 'hey' but shows more affection and happiness))

Leyla turned and snapped "That aint a thang, you fool!" rolling her eyes

With a sea of laughter and applause, the kids wrapped up the round of presentations. The officers handed each kid a goody bag, and then split into two groups. Each officer was to work with three kids to show and model how to use the gadgets brought for Show and Tell. The five gadgets were dispersed between the two tables and the demonstration began. Also, the officers made sure to explain their entire wardrobe as the kids got a chance to touch and even wear and use some of the materials shown.

At around 11:30am, Nichelle interrupted the groups, and the kids were asked to go back to the chairs.

"Ok, group, lunch is almost here, but-" she was interrupted by cheers -"before we go eating, how about that round of questions for our officers? Miss Rita tells me that each one of you brought one question to ask the officers. In your goody bag, look for a notepad and a pencil. Write down your question there and take notes on the answer."

Wy was so excited he blurted out "Only one?!? I have like a thousand!" Everyone looked at him and giggled.

"Well, how about you asks us one now and then during lunch we can tackle another 9,999?" asked Street with a wide grin.

Miss Rita stepped in front, and said "Remember our deal: you could come and have as much fun today... in exchange for a written reflection."- she was interrupted by load whining and complaining -" Hey! I spoke with some of your teachers and they were willing to accept this for extra credit. Since we have been a lil naughty"- she paused to stared at Rubio, followed by giggles "you need all the help you can get!"

The kids nodded and removed the materials from the bag. The ladies allowed for 5 minutes as they waited for the kids to write down their questions. When most had finished, Marv interrupted the silence.

"Since you have so many qs, Chen, you start!" Marv called from the side

"Yeah!" he was so excited he hadn't even realized he stood up. When he noticed everyone sitting next to him, he embarrassingly sat. The others giggled and some even shook their heads. "Ok, so"-he paused- "I would love to meet a real life sniper. Someone that can answer all of my questions about positioning, angles and that stuff. So, my question is: can next SWAT Day include a real life sniper?"

Chris grinned and looked at Street. He took charge.

"How about one that has been ranked top 5 in all of LA?" Street offered

"Wow! That would be so cool! Is it possible?"

"Of course!"

"Man, I can't wait for the next SWAT Day, Miss Rita!" the boy turned to Miss Rita full of excitement

" Well, why wait?"

Now all the kids were excited, as Chris lowered her head with a full grin.

"Guys, you don't have to wait"- Street paused -"She's standing right in front of you!" he said as he pointed to Chris

The kids were so confused, and excited, they couldn't even figure how to react. Chris shoot a menacing look at Street as in saying 'Why did you rat me out?!'

"A girl?" Rubio asked very confused

"Oh hello nah!"- Leyla turned violently towards him -"what the hell does that mean? I didn't know being a sniper required male organs!"

The kids got rowdy now, as Chris and Street looked at each other and the two ladies in the front tried to regain order.

And so, as each kid had a chance to ask, the questions turned more and more challenging. Interestingly enough, most of the questions had more to do with their social life, rather than their SWAT career.

At one point, Rubio raised his hand. "I got a question?" everyone made silence and looked at him. "A very important question... for Officer Street."