Finding Serenity

Chapter 2

Seth
"Hey wazz up cuz?" I asked my cousin Aric who had called before I could have enjoyed more of Karin's company.
"Don't 'Wazzup' me primo, we got things to do and you ain't here" He replied, sounding annoyed.
I rolled my eyes at him," what do you mean 'we got things to do' I thought the shipment already came in."
"It ain't about that.... Benny got shot." He said lowly, the anger rising and my heart dropped a bit.
"Uncle Benny? Who did it?" I whispered and went towards my car so I couldn't be over heard.
"Pablo's crew. The evidence clear as day too so we gon' take our revenge tonight.... So get your ass over here."
"I'll be right there, better be back at school by lunch... Some girls I gotta hook up with for the day." I replied, ending the call and turning on the engine to hear it purr, driving off to our base downtown.

Aric stood outside watching my car as it parked, his eyes narrowed and full of rage as I stepped out.
"He in the hospital right now so all we need to be concerned with is how we gon' invade cause its one thing to go after me but family is a whole different ball park."
"Truth fam, come on before your ass start burning my car with that glare of yours." I joked to lighten the mood and walked inside to the crew, a grunting noise from Aric close behind me.
"wassup homez, you good?" I asked Jason, our right hand man and our undercover spy for the Scorpions, Pablo's crew, which was stupid because which crew immature enough to think up a name when they can just be known as 'The Crew'? (which is us btw).
"Trynna hear from Tomas, you know the resident distributor." he replied, stretching his dark hand over to meet my hand shake.
"He always been good wid them coke heads, I favor them people persons, tell him to keep it up when you see him."
"yea mhen, whatever you say."

Aric moved to the middle of the large room and snapped his fingers.
The whole room that was once filled with noise became silent and I whistled lowly, impressed he was always able to catch the attention of everyone around him from just his finger tips.
"Listen up y'all, I got something to say...... I know some of you may have heard the news but to those who don't know, Benny was shot this morning."
Aric didn't wait for any responses nor did he get any because everyone in this room was taught not to openly express their emotions so he continued, his eyes focused and unwavering.
"You all know what we do when one of us get hurt... 'if it wasn't a gang war.... We make one.'"
We cheered as Aric grinned evilly, glancing at me as I did the same.
"Jason will fill you in on the plan, anyone have any ideas just come to me and we'll see what we can do."
He moved away as Jason came up and he filled us in on your mastermind idea for the night, later on I went back to school.

Maya

"Oh look, he's back." I heard Karin mumbled as we walked to the cafeteria for lunch, her head turned towards Seth approaching the cafeteria with his arms wrapped around Natasha, a girl Karin and I disliked VERY much.
Not wanting her eyes to stray for too long, I dragged her to an available table and went to get us both lunch. By the time I came back, Seth and Karin sat happily at our spot, teasing the living daylight out of each other.
"just cause she available on the daily, don't mean she a hoe." He argued as I sat down and Karin stared at him with an amused yet annoyed look on her face.
"What is she then, if you can access her like Microsoft Word? Must be chopped liver..." She mumbled back her response, her jealousy at its peak.
"Annnyywwaaayysss what's good Maya? we haven't chatted in a while... how's your boyfriend?" He turned to me and smiled.
"What boyfriend?" I asked, bewildered.
"Exactly, that's the situation we need to change right there... I think it's my duty to fix a proper girl like you with a guy that will appreciate you."
Before I could respond, Karin spoke up.
"oh? So where's my appreciative boyfriend? if you insist on dishing one out to Maya."
"Notice I said 'Proper Girl'.....you ain't apart of that league." he responded coolly and Maya placed her hand on her chest to signify mock pain.
"Damn, you don't have to do a girl like dat..."
I laughed at their back-and-forth routine, never getting tired of seeing it each day.
"Seth, I think I'm quite fine where my relationships are concerned but if I need help, I'll give you a call." I said, munching on a french fry.
"Duly noted." he responded, grinning ear to ear as his phone buzzed.
He pulled out the device and a tense look appeared on his defined face.
"whats wrong?" Karin asked, voicing my exact thoughts.
"Nothing big, just my cuz Aric." he replied, the name causing a few heads to turn from onlookers.
Aric Marshall, a name that causes fear, panic, respect and/or lust from any civilian who knew him (which was practically most of the city), runs one of the most feared and favored crews in the state and was heard to be a ruthless killer and 'lover'.
I shrugged at these concepts of him. Me being me, I have not seen Aric before and since he doesn't have anything to do with my life, other than the fact that I'm friends with his cousin, he showed no interest in my thought process, his rumor floating by me rather quickly.
"oh alright then....want some of my apple slices?" I asked, breaking the slight tension after noticing Karin's discomfort.
"yea sure." they replied at the same time, their hands lightly grazing each other as they reached for a piece.
I shook my head, inwardly smiling. "that's what you would call a future love."