SouthSide

I

Sittin on the fire escape lookin up at the sky, she bit the pen she was drawin wit as she looked at all the stars through the spacin of the other steps of the fire escape. The wind was blowin lightly as you heard the noise

throughout the block of the Englewood.  The noise consisted of Chicago Native G Herbo, loud laughin from teenage boys and girls who thought they were bout it but wasn't, and street traffic from the highway on 78th. She looked up at the sky thinkin, lookin for

inspiration for her assignment due in a few weeks. It was one of many she had to do. Besides her art assignment she had her photography and creative writing assignment for her school. That, and a contest to win a scholarship  to a college her mother wanted her to attend.

A knock on the brick wall of the apartment made her divert her attention to the person who knocked, her mother. Her mother, Raquel was thirty-six but honestly didn't look a day over twenty-three. Her hair consisted of five bundles and a closure of Italian wavy hair in a middle part. She was in her work uniform, she worked long hours as a nurse to keep the bills paid and was barely home.

"Jashaun and the boys are here." She said referrin to her childhood friends. "Aight." She said pickin up her stuff. Once her mother moved she got up and climbed back through her window. She sat her stuff down on her bed as her mother walked out then took her phone off the charger.

She walked out her room seeing the boys. Jashaun licked his lips as he looked at her while she mugged him. The two of them honestly had a thing goin on that nobody else but them knew bout. Jashaun was a tall dark skin with a low top, deep dimples and pearly white teeth.

He was one of them hood niggas wit lowkey high intelligence. Isriel hates how he faked his smarts but got on her case for embracin hers. "Wassup Milk." Lamontae, a 6'0 tall light skin with 360 waves said. He had really thick pink lips, a killer smile, dimples and hazel brown eyes.

Milk was the shorten version of the nick name he gave her, he called her milk dud because she had the skin complexion of one. He rubbed his hands up and down as he licked his lips. "Nigga if you don't stop." She laughed a little.

"You know I had to get that mug off yo face." He said pullin her into a hug. Lamontae was actually her favorite person outta the three boys, he was the only person she knew that could actually make her laugh and smile instead of muggin all day like she usually did.

"Aight lets go, I ain't got gas to be wastin." Washaun, a 6'3 brown skin dread head said as he pulled his pants up lookin down. Isriel sucked her teeth. "Nigga shut up that car ain't even yo's it's yo baby mama's." She said rollin her eyes as she walked out. "But I pay fo it right?" He asked rhetorically.

"Nah you paid fo it and signed it in ha name." Jashaun said. Washaun sucked his teeth. "Boa fuck you and you Riel." He said as they took the stairs down. They walked out the apartment building and got into the car. Isriel looked around as Washaun drove and rapped along to Bibby. Lamontae started to poke her cheek.

"Smile milk dud." He dragged. "Or Ima lick yo cheek again." He laughed as he though bout the first time he did that. She shook her head muggin him. "So what's the moves man, whea we goin?" She asked. "Yo father's trap. Yo uncle called he want us to handle some and to bring yo ass."

Jashaun said. Her uncle, who wasn't really her uncle but her father's best friend, took over her father's trap when he died. They agreed that she'd get it once she turned 18 and although he kept runnin he didn't open up the trap her father wanted on the border between the three neighborhoods. He felt it was too dangerous wit the way shit was goin now.