The Stick Up Kid

Zax Snack

Later that day I was back in my old neighborhood, the paddock. Raquan and I were hiding inside an abandon trailer smoking and drinking. It’s been a week since I went to school and I don’t care about going back. All I‘ve been doing lately was drink beer and get high.

            I sat on the dismantled floor on the trailer, leaning against the wall. The blunt we smoked hung lifelessly from my mouth. My mind was as high as it was going to get. When you smoke mid grade marijuana, you can only get but so high. It’s a shame I didn’t have the money for the good stuff.

            “I’m fuckin’ spent dog,” I confessed. “That was last my five,” I referred to the blunt we smoked. Raquan had his eyes half closed; looking tired and stressed.

            “Me too bruh,” he added.

            “And how bout Li-Li wanna go out tonight. She gon have to pay for this one,” I told him. Raquna stirred a little, and then wiped his noise.

            “Man I been up all night last night. Been downtown trynna get it,” his voice was sleepy, almost like he just woke up. “But I aint get but fifteen dollars. Aint nobody had nothin’, not even the white folk.”

            “It be’s that way sometimes,” I shrugged, not too surprised.

            “Man… I been thinkin’,” Raquan said. The moment those words left his mouth, I knew he was going to say something stupid. “Rememba’ how Ajax planned to rob that Casino?”

            “Hell naw,” I replied, shutting the idea down. “We might as well arrest ourselves.”

            Raquan eyes opened a little more. “What, you don’t think we could pull it off?”

            I sucked my teeth, answering that question before I started talking. “This aint no movie dude. Besides, you know what we’d have to do to pull it off?”

            “I was just throwin’ it out there man,” Raquan stated.

            “Well it can stay out there,” I shot back. Suddenly my phone started ringing; it was Jaliesha. I showed my friend the caller I.D, and he halfway smiled. “Ah shit, here ‘she’ go…” I said, before answering the call. “What up babe?”

            “Hey Kashawn!” she exclaimed, sounding overly excited. “You ready?”

            I took a deep breath and let it out. “Yup,” I retorted. “Just come scoop me from Quan’s.”

             “Okay babe,” was the last thing she said before I hung up.

            “I don’t feel like doin’ shit man,” I said, standing to my feet. I put the bottle of beer to my mouth trying to chug the rest down, but failed. The beer spilled from my lips when I drunk too much. It went down the wrong pipe, making me cough and spit up the remaining alcohol in my throat. “Got, damn…” I croaked, seeing the mess I made on my clothes.

            I glanced over to Raquan clearing my throat. He was leaning against the wall looking at me like I was crazy. “Man you need to stay at home. You fuckin’ up already,” he said, wobbling to his feet.

            “Fuck that,” I replied, walking to the entrance of the trailer. “I’m hungry anyway,” we jumped out of the abandoned home, heading back to Raquan’s place. By the time we reached his home, Jaliesha’s car swerved into the grassy driveway.

            She rolled down her window, sticking her head out. “Hey boo!” she smiled in a teasing manner. The smile on her face faded upon seeing the stains on my shirt. “What the? … Kashawn, I know you aint goin’ out with me lookin’ like that.”