It was the second to last day of school finally. We were all playing around in the back. Jasmine was eating her cookie and Derek sent a card gliding right over her head.
"Derek." I said walking towards him.
"Yes?" He said watching a custodian sweep up his card into the trash can.
"So why do you throw those cards?" I said following him over to the bench.He sat criss-cross and I sat next to him in the same way. He slid a card out of his pocket and handed it to me.
"Try to throw this." He told me. I took the card and just looked at it. He demonstrated for me with another card. "Hold it in between your fingers lightly. Bend your wrist, back and forward." I copied what he was showing me. "Then just let it fly." He said throwing the card so far away.
I attempted but it just went down.
He went went and got the cards. When he came back he explained.
"Every time a card is thrown, a new bird will try to fly." He looked at me for a while. "If you throw the card in the right direction, at the right angle, it will fly."
I thought about those words. If a bird tries to fly, but is at the wrong angle it will fall.
I took the card between my fingers and flicked it. It sored over to the water fountain. Everything Derek said seemed so wise. Probably because he was older than the rest of us. He got held back a few grades.
The last class of the day and the bell rang, kids flooded into the hallway. I ran as fast as I could away from Trey. He chased me down the hall.
He yelled "I TOLD YOU I'D GET YOU!" and knocked me down. I kicked him once I got up, and he punched me back. Kids were standing around in a circle. They were yelling and cheering.
I grabbed his waist and tried to push him down. He had my head locked under his arm. I punched him frantically and stretched his shirt, as he choked me.
Kids were laughing and talking loud. I couldn't hear what they were saying through Trey's arm.
He was on top of me and I then heard a grown man's voice.
"Stop it!" Mr. Ricky yelled sternly ripping Trey and I apart.
"Knock it off!!" The teacher yelled. I looked at Trey, he was bruised.
I couldn't even feel my face, it was so numb. But I could tell I had a bloody nose because of the cold stream.
Mr. Rickey walked us to the office, and we missed the bus.
Silently waiting in a office chair with a tissue on my nose. A lady walked in and asked for my side of the story.
"I walked out and he jumped on me. Then we fought." I explained simply.
"Why did he jump on you? There has to be a reason." She said crossing one leg over the other.
"He was mad at me. I had to pay him but I didn't." I said choosing my words carefully.
She had a questionable look on her face when she said "What did you have to pay him for?"
I really knew this was a bad conversation already. There has been a secret system that I got involved with when I met Jasmines friends. Everyday tuesday at 4:20 AM an older kid would drop off something behind the tennis court in the dark. Derek would receive it and pay the guy by leaving money in the same spot. If derek forgot to leave money, he would be dead the next day.
Derek then would sometimes ask one of us to deliver it to different people for more money than he gave. Trey payed me earlier because I promised to give it to him.
It's like a game, and each move can get you closer to the top. However, just as easily, one move could get your king knocked over.
"I owed him a..." I paused, not knowing what to say to the lady. "I owed him...some stuff. I don't know."
She looked at me and didn't say anything. I didn't know what she was thinking and my heart was racing.
"All I want is for you to be honest." She finally said.
I felt like I was going to throw up. But the only thing that came out of my mouth was "Yes, I know." I thought long and hard about what to say.
"He paid me money. I owe him tickets for a game..." I lied. She stared at me blankly then said quietly that my dad was going to pick me up shortly.
She rolled the chair over to her desk and started typing. I went and got another tissue, and waited for my dad to arrive.
The thing I owed Trey was a drug that I knew wasn't allowed. I finally after all these years had a group of kids to hang out with like everyone else. I just couldn't rat them out like that. I have fused into their plans, and schemes. It's just the direction I took in order to fit in. I'm part of them now. That's why I couldn't tell the lady I owed Trey marijuana.
