Before I Black

Part 4: CALLOWAY & CARMICHAEL

The distance from Langston to Kaleb's house seems to have grown by at least three miles the next time Kenny and Kaleb finally decide to journey there by foot. Really there wasn't much of a choice in the matter. Just days after Ms. Blackman decided to switch her work shift, another employee was dissatisfied enough with the scheduling changes that they immediately quit in response. With no one else available to cover the shift, she was given no other alternative beyond returning to her former position and work time. Not that she did so without calling the Knox household and arranging for Kenny to join Kaleb, only after agreeing to drop him off at home after she was off of work. Things were changing all over New Mecca, and fast.

"So what you gonna do bro?" Kaleb figures it must be a nightmare all over again, to have such weight thrown on his conscience. The big game against the Mustangs is exactly two days away, and Kenny was once again anything but himself for the third practice in a row. Save for Kaleb's electrifying playmaking ability, the Pioneers were looking like they could be in for a long Saturday afternoon. How were they expected to focus against the only other undefeated team this season while grieving the death of one their most instrumental players? That goes without even mentioning how the city's entire populous was now more racially divided than ever, subsequently transferring all of those negative implications and energy onto a game between completely oblivious middle school children. Life sometimes can be absolutely as ridiculous as it sounds.

"I can understand if you didn't feel up to it, you know with Kedric gone. It's just a game against ponies(jokingly)." Kaleb says. Kenny responds rather coldly, "I'm fine, he's not coming back," referring to his deceased brother. Kaleb asks, "what about your dad, is he gonna be good for the game?" Coach Knox has yet to return to practice, instead opting to stay at home bedside next to his wife in mourning. "I'm not sure," Kenny answers. Kaleb can tell that his friend isn't trying to be rude at all by keeping his answers painfully minimal. He knows that Kenny too is filled with uncertainty, as any young adolescent would be. He proceeds to change the subject entirely. He asks, "you know what else is all messed up about this entire situation bro?" They exchange looks, but the question is rhetorical. Kaleb continues, "after the season ended, I was supposed to be working my first job." Sometimes Kaleb forgets that although he attends Langston Reigns, Kenny lives on the Northside of Groveland, which definitely explains his response. "Like committing a robbery?" he asks, sounding somewhere between shocked and slightly appalled. Kaleb responds sarcastically, "relax bro, just imagine everybody on the eastside wasn't a criminal." Even Kenny catches himself being a little overly tense and gives a slight chuckle, his first in weeks. "My bad bro," he concedes. Kaleb of course isn't offended by his friend's words, instead revealing, "I meant down at the old car wash on Pinedale. It belongs to a friend of my mom. I think he use to be her boyfriend or something." The statement seems a bit odd to Kenny whose parents have been married since before he was born, but this time Kaleb feels the offense coming. "My father walked out on us after I was born," he quickly explains.

The next day the boys are brought in to give statements as part of the ongoing investigation of the case. The boys weren't even allowed to change out of their practice uniforms before being brought to the station for questioning, to the chagrin of Ms. Blackman of course. She asks, "these are young boys that have been through a lot, don't you think that they've been put through enough?" One of the investigators retorts, "mam and our job is to find out what provoked our officers to act in such a manner." She maintains her dignity while questioning his, "in what world do you live in that any reason is good enough to kill unarmed children?" "We live in the same world mam, no one said anything about it being ok," he snaps back. She instantly sneers at him, now almost twice as hard as before, but she doesn't completely lose her cool. Instead, before leaving Kenny and her son to be investigated, she stops at the door to speak one last time. "Actions speak louder than words, sir."