Building Blocks- Deal with Daredevil

Chapter 1: "He like yuh"

Fourteen year old Zoe rose quickly from her seat and followed the group of noisy fourth form boys who walked along the corridor and then stopped to talk by the stairway. When she approached them, she walked by slowly with her school books embraced in her slender, caramel-coloured arms while starring at Andre with desire.

Andre was a class clown and a member of a notorious group of boys in the Cunupia High School. Zoe's elder sister Zelda had noticed Zoe running off behind the crowd of boys and pursued her. "Zoe leh we go!" urged Zelda as she tugged on the curls of the mesmerised Zoe. Zoe was the second in a group of four siblings. "Yuh does always fall in love wid dem chupid, aimless fellas! Yuh too good for dem ah tell yuh plenty times. Yuh bright an beautiful; yuh could get ah bright an handsome guy." Zoe squirmed as she walked off unwillingly with Zelda. Zoe could not help it. She didn't know why she was drawn to mischievous guys. Their personalities appealed to her. She found bright, ambitious boys too boring. Yet Zoe had her limits. She detested the actions of boys who hung out aimlessly on the block. At least Andre was in school and aspired to become somebody one day, she told herself sometimes. But the guys on the block smoked cigarettes, traded illegal herbs, disrespectfully called out to girls passing by, used obscene language, and had no vision for their future.

"Pssst! Sexiness!" called out a bare back, tattooed boy of African descent, about eighteen years of age to Zelda and Zoe as they walked by the block on their way home from school. He was known as 'Sure thing'. "Darlin, leh meh put a smile on dah face nah!" "Why yuh doh go home an brush yuh teeth so yuh could puh a smile on yuh own!" yelled back Zelda. She was known to be short tempered. "Gyual gone from here nah! Nobody was talking to yuh!" reproached Sure thing who also conveyed some obscenities to Zelda. By this time Zelda had stopped walking, poised to reprove. She was thick skinned, tough, tomboyish and protective. She had dark, smooth, shiny skin and short, soft, curly hair. "Zelda! Come on leh we go!" encouraged Zoe. "Yuh cyah see yuh sister nicer dan yuh." Sure thing teased. Zelda steupsed. "Eh," Sure thing called for Zoe's attention "Yuh see da blue-eye boy over dey?" He pointed to a light-caramel coloured, short, slender boy.

He seemed to be mixed with African, yet he had blue eyes. He appeared to be about Zoe's age and inhaled from a cigarette before passing it to another of the group. He was seen hanging out on the block by the sisters before, but he never uttered a word to them, not even in response to 'good afternoon'. All he did was stared blankly at them. They often wondered if he was dumb, but this thought was neglected when they saw him whispering among the group on occasions, yet his voice was not  heard. He would just stop talking and stare at them without emotion, such that they could not decipher what his stare meant. 

"He like yuh." Sure thing continued, as he began to chuckle. The boy could be seen to be getting annoyed as his nose flared and his breathing hastened. Zoe squirmed and walked off. Zelda followed. "Eh! He name is Daredevil an he number is 5710528." Sure thing yelled out to them, before continuing to chuckle. Daredevil could be seen jovially attacking Sure thing in the distance. It was the most action they had ever seen from the boy. "Zoe, stay away from dem, yuh hear!" warned Zelda. "Yuh feel ah chupid Zelda? I'm so not interested. Ah not interested in school drop outs, smokers an limers. Ah wouldn't stoop so low. Buh Andre on de other hand..." "Ok stop right dey!" requested Zelda. The two girls chuckled. "Ah jus lookin out for muh lil sister. One day, yuh will marry ah handsome, bright, wealthy, ambitious man who will make yuh happy and who go be worthy of yuh mind and yuh love-the love yuh does give to Andre." They chuckled again.

Daredevil walked into a shambled apartment and heated quarrel between a relatively young, light coloured, slender, woman with curly, blond hair, dressed in revealing attire, and an older man of African descent dressed in a vest, a damaged pair of jeans and a dirty, renowned brand sneakers with a bandanna tied around his head. Daredevil slammed the door behind him in an attempt to announce his presence and cease the squabble. However, his attempt proved futile, so he ran upstairs to his room, pulled out a concealed box of cigarettes and went through his window onto the roof top where he lighted a cigarette and indulged. His mother was known to be always quarrelling with Dexter, his mother's long time Jamaican boyfriend, mostly on the topic of money. She would imply that he owed her money for groceries, rent, beauty products, and liming although he indicated he had already given her. She argued it wasn't enough and that he needed to provide more if he wanted her to be happy, healthy, look and smell good for him at night. He would eventually give in to offer her an extra couple of bills when she threatened to withhold sex. Daredevil's mother also often warned him that when he reached sixteen years, he too would be required to 'cough up cash or ride out'.

"Dorian!" Daredevil's mother burst through his bedroom door, causing him to quickly hide the cigarette. "Way yuh?" she enquired, pushing her head out the window, causing her excessively exposed cleavage to be emphasized. She counted the bills in her hand. "Ah want yuh to go in de shop an buy some tings for meh to cook." "Ma, yuh cyah cook!" "Boy hush yuh mout!" She yelled angrily as she motioned to slap him. "An is way yuh was whole day, eh? Yuh feel ah born yesterday. Ms. Milly say she see yuh since ten o' clock dis morning liming on di block wid dat good for noting Sure thing. And she say she see yuh smoking an gambling!" Dorian's mother squeezed through the window, again exposing her underwear due to her mini skirt. She tapped Dorian three times on the head. "Yuh has better bring home some passes for me, yuh hear! Leh yuh come out like yuh good for noting, jail bird fadda, yuh will see di next side of me. Ah-fed-up-tell-yuh-stay-a-way-from-dat-Sure-thing." She used each syllable to deliver a blow to Dorian's back, as he wriggled and yelled. "Now go an buy a softdrink, di black one, a slice bread, ah box of mac an cheese, two egg, a Vienna sausage, a pack of rice an a tin of corn beef. Or, an a cigarette an a paper. Make sure to bring back meh change eh! Ah cyah count buh I go know if yuh rob meh." Dorian rose slowly, hoping that the cigarette by the bench foot would not be seen. "An leh me hear bout yuh gone back to lime with dat Sure thing, it go be ah sure thing for ah cut *** for yuh." Dorian hurried off. "Wait!" his mother called out. She had found the cigarette. Leh me see yuh smoking dis ting again ah go chop off yuh tin foot!" She then smoked the cigarette. 

(Play Gyptian- Mama don't cry)

Defintions

Yuh - you

Leh - let

Wid- with

Dem- them

Chupid- stupid

Fellas- guys

Ah- I

An- and

Pssst- a sound used to get someone's attention and let them know you find them attractive

Meh- me

Dah- that

Doh- don't

Gyual gone from here nah- girl, move away from here.

Cyah- Can't

Dan- than

Steupsed- (Past tense for steups) a sucking sound made with the tongue and teeth to express annoyance or acknowledgement

Eh- hey

Dey- there/ they

Buh- but

De- the

Muh- my

Lil- little

Way- where