.ೃ࿔* 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬. ༄ | 𝘼𝙏𝙒𝙊𝙒 𝙃𝙐𝙈𝘼𝙉 𝘼𝙐 ৎ | IN THE REMAKING.

chapter #1

— chapter name:  Our Life.
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ao'nungs point of view.
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—— flashback ——
⋆ Friday, January 6th, 2015.
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"now when it happens, don't act mad." murphy stated, "you gotta look calm.  answer they questions but don't tell 'em' nothin extra." he looked at all of us sitting around the table paying straight attention to him, listening.  "keep yo hands out'cho pockets you drop somethin leave that shit where it's at." Murphy's wife had gave him a look.  "Murphy.." she softly whispered.  he looked at her for a couple seconds, then first looked back at me, and then the others.  "leave that stuff where it's at, my bad." he reassuringly said, looking back at his wife apologizing, I looked at him, my ten year old self trying to figure out what he might explain next that we need to be aware about. As I was lost in my thoughts he pulled his hands out from his lap and onto the table, specifically looking at me, his face was serious, his palms were flat out on the table, both of his hands next to each other but leaving a little space in-between.  "now one day, y'all gon' be driving and you best bet youse gon' get pulled over."  he stopped his sentence and looked around at all of us, I did too, then looked back at him. "that don't mean you did somethin' wrong, maybe you made a mistake drivin' or maybe you ain't do nothin' at all."   As he spoke I thought to myself, what if the police officer doesn't even give me a chance to talk? what if they point a gun in the window without givin' me no consent? what if everyone believes what they hear, but not what they saw?  what if they believe the cop, and not an innocent teenager?..  — Murphy must've seen that my mind was like a highway, full of too many thoughts, I had a blank expression on my face.  He looked down at me, clearing his throat and then looking around at all of us, I sat up straight in the dining room table chair and watched him, ready to listen up again. "you gon' put'cho hands like this, on the dashboard."  he declared, I looked at his hands, they were like how they were before, palms flat out on the table, hands a bit spaced from each other, I kept an eye on them.  "c'mon."  he told looking at me, I looked back up at his face, then his hands, and slowly put mine just like his on the table, followed by neteyam, then rotxo, and then lo'ak.  "now you keep your hands posted cuz movin' gets the police all nervous.  they can get real dangerous so don't argue with em'."  I watched him, his lips started to quiver a bit after his pause in the sentence, I reassured myself and listened even more.  "but keep your hands where they can see em. this how u gon' act."  From looking at him I look down at my hands, It's hard to imagine myself getting pulled over one day and having to exit the car for nothing, most likely it'll be just because of my skin color.  Murphy cleared his throat again and I immediately looked back up at him.  "we straight?"  he asked seriously, I watched rotxo and neteyam nod their heads understandingly, then I look at lo'ak who was neteyams little brother, rotxo and I used to play with the both of them every single day when we were in diapers,  we still do all the time.  But I wasn't completely sure if he exactly knew what Murphy was trying to get through to us because he was younger, but he nodded his head as-well, then I looked at murphy, swallowed and nodded too.  He stayed looking at me for a few seconds, I felt his eyes all over my face.
     
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⋆ present day.
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ao'nungs point of view.
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I was ten years old when I first got the talk. rotxo, my best friend was nine, as-well as our best friend neteyam, and his little brother lo'ak was eight.  I clearly remember murphy saying...  "now just because we gotta deal wit' this mess, don't you ever forget that bein' black is an honor cuz you come from greatness."  Out of everything he said I remember that sentence the most after 9 years, I remember the looks he gave us all after he said the quote, serious looks, looks that mean we need to take him completely serious and that it's no funny business.  He had then passed out to us sheets on the table that've been there the whole time he was explaining to us, I hadn't paid attention to them, but when he had passed me one I picked it up and looked at it, sometimes we had to read over sheets for school but this, this was different..  "now this the black panther 10-point program" he explained, "this our home bill of rights."  he pointed to my sheet of paper, looking at me until he finished his sentence, and then looked at the rest of the boys.  "I want you to learn it" he announced to all of us, "cuz ima ask u about it, ima quiz you." — "really murphy..?" his wife remarked.  I watched them, he looked at her in a yes kind of way and then looked back at us.  "you needa protect the girls, an' u needa know your rights." he stated.  "know your worth."  Those words were swooshing around in my brain, his voice echoing.  "you understand?" murphy asked, I smiled a little and nodded, so did the others as we had already been lookin up at him, completely understanding. Murphy was probably the only person i'd say I had as a father figure, my dad was in my life, we lived in the same house, but he never truly acted like a father.  No matter what age I was he'd yell at me, hit me, tell me i'm worthless, that shit stuck in my brain for years, and years, until I started believing what he was sayin and that's how I got the way I am now, and hell I would never let him  put a finger on my little sister or brother.  ——  "yo ao'nung!" nieko yelled, he was mine and neteyams friend from our football team, Westwood Wolves. He startled me a bit but I immediately recognized his voice.  "hey man what's up?" I stopped walking and dabbed him up, neteyam watched us.  "how u doin' neteyam?" nieko asked,  "i'm alright, how bout u." teyam replied.  "i'm good bro, i'm good."  nieko interpreted.  He was acting real happy today, him and his girlfriend were arguing a shit ton last week, causing him to drink a lot to ''ease the hurting,'' he didn't seem drunk but he was honestly actin like it.  "ight man, get to class we'll talk later." I say smirkingly, hitting his shoulder n walking passed him with neteyam.  "see u bro!" he exclaimed, walking the opposite way,  I shook my head in disbelief that he was so incredibly happy, neteyam was smiling, I lightly hit him on the chest grinning.  "the hell u smilin' about?" I asked, looking at him. He was all smirky too, "nothin." he responded.  I chuckled a bit and he did too, then I put my arm around his shoulders and we walked to class.  When we got to science class everyone was in there doin their own things, we had 23 people in our class because we had classes with some of the juniors.  The nerds were playin with rubix cubes, not even talkin to each other.  kiki n' reya call em pick me girls,  but me n' the boys call em bitches, or hoes, anyway they were gossiping loudly in the front of the classroom, kiri and tsireya's friends were in the back of the classroom, also gossiping, two couples were making out with each other in-front of the door, they didn't even have this class and probably don't even need to be at school anymore, lo'ak was talking to rotxo since rotxo sat in-front of him, he was facing lo'aks desk sitting backwards on the chair, lo'ak was leaned over his desk a bit so he could hear him better.  Kiri was sitting on the side of rotxo's desk talking to tsireya and deja who were in-front of her, deja was nieko's "ex" girlfriend, she was probably talkin bout how they broke up and how she got other hoes anyway.  I found my seat next to just another girl who was talking so dramatically loud, but luckily teyam sits across from me.  The teacher later walked in and everyone quickly took their seats, the two couples that were lovin on each other ain't even in the classroom anymore, they honestly had reminded me of teyam and I when we were younger, wild as hell, I mean we still are but yk, we ain't js friends with benefits no more.  —
I scoffed and got out a pencil, slouching in my seat and looking at the front of the classroom, specifically at the white board that had science formulas and other useless shit on it, i'm serious! when the hell am I gonna have to use any of this shit in my life?  The teacher then spoke and it caught me off guard, I immediately snapped outta my thoughts when I heard my name.  "Ao'nung."  she called out.  "..ma'am?"  I questioned.  "sit up please." she said.  "why? i'm comfortable like this. Js cuz I ain't sittin up straight don't mean I ain't listening." I pointed out, not hesitant at all.  "and before you js come at me, i'm not the only one slouching in my chair." I added.  But I was, well I wasn't the only one slouching in my chair, but I was the only colored one slouching in my chair, I didn't know if that was js the problem but I assumed that it was.  The teacher scoffed and got back to teachin her lesson that I looked like I was paying attention too but I didn't understand shit so I honestly js gave up.  I carefully took out my phone n held it in my lap, I was watching the teacher as I did this and began to type to the group chat with me n the football boys in it, taking small glances at the teacher as I typed.
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'Westwood Wolves'
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(ao'nung) "hey, we don't got practice after school today right?"
— sent, 2 minutes.
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— seen, now.