When I walked into the door of my house, all I could think about was what happened about 10 minutes before. There's this guy at school, he seemed nice until now. His name is Kevin, he's got a lot of friends, he's good - looking, brown - ish hair and brown eyes and real tall. Anyway, his house isn't too far from mine and we both walk home from school since the bus dosen't come to our neighborhood. I was minding my own buissness, and he started yelling some awful rude stuff at me. It was hot outside and I was wearing shorts, not the really short kind that Layla wears, but regular shorts that came down to my knees just like the school dress code required. I was always careful not to wear anything against the rules. I had seen girls get smacked with the ruler for their shirts being too low. The ruler wasn't even the worst part. If the pricibal made you get on your knees because he suspected your dress was too short, the boys would all stare at you and that's beyond embarrassing.
" Hey, baby. Nice ass ! " he hollered as his friends gave wolf - whistles. I didn't know what to do, so I tried to ignore them and keep walking. They didn't stop, though. One of them got a hold of me and thank goodness Layla was there to pound them.
Layla's a 17 - year - old hood. She robbed gas stations and jumped people just for the thrill. She punched Kevin straight in the face, probably knocking out some teeth. Good. He deserved it. After we chased those guys away, we hurried to my house.
" What the hell was that ? " I demamded, out of breath.
" Listen, kid. Guys like that " she lit a cigarette and took a long drag. " They're nothin' but trouble. Trust me, I found that out the hard way " .
" Well, thanks I guess " I replied. I had no idea what she meant, I hate it when people explain this so complicated and expect me to know what they're talking about. It was better for them to just say it.
" You've got to learn how to beat people up, just in case somethin' worse happens " she suggested.
" If I got caught beatin' someone up, Allen would kill me " I explained. I lived with my 2 older brothers on account of my parents being dead and Allen was incredibly overprotective. He was the oldest.
" No, if you got caught doin' it for no reason he'd kill you. I'm talkin' 'bout self - defense " she challenged.
" I can kick and punch people already. I can stick up for myself " I said.
" Yeah, well so can they. The world's a cruel place, Addie. Here, I sure hope you don't have to actually use this. It's good for a bluff though " she commented, reaching into her pocket and handing me a switchblade. It was about 7 inches long and the blade was sharp and shiny.
" Thanks, I guess " I replied.
" Well, kid. What do ya wanna do, now ? " she sighed.
" Let's go to the park, Risha and Johnny are probably there " I offered.
Johnny and Risha and Layla and my brothers had known each other since forever. We sort of became a family after my parents died. When you live in a neighborhood like mine, you learn to stick with your friends. If you go alone, you'll get jumped by someone. I found that out the hard way.
" Sounds like a plan " she agreed, standing up and tying her curly red hair up as I tossed my bag onto the couch.
The park was a few blocks away. It was pretty much abandoned, the swing set covered in rust and the monkey bars practically broken. One time I found razor blades glued onto the merry - go - round. Kids knew better than to go there.
" Addie ! Layla ! How's it goin' " Johnny hollered from the top of the swings.
" Hey Johnny " Layla replied. He opened a bottle of whiskey and took a sip. They were both 17, and they both got drunk a lot. Most kids in my neighborhood did. All of us, my brothers and Layla and Risha and me, were members of a gang. Not the kind of gang that beats up innocent strangers, we were a gang that only jumped people who deserved it. Kind of like Robin Hood, we only stole from rich people and gave to the poor. We were always poor, so our actions were somewhat justified.
My oldest brother Allen, kept the rest of us from misbehaving. He didn't call the cops on Layla when he caught her with weed, but he did make her stop. Her and Johnny still got hammered when Allen wasn't looking.
" Addie ! What's up " Risha yelled while she ran to where I was.
" Not much " I replied.
" Alex out with his girl ?" she asked.
" Yeah " I answered.
" Honestly, I'm sick and tired of his girlfriend. Man, I thought my parents hated me " she joked.
