Rico & Jules

Scene 2

Jules
"My name is Rico." It was like a song that kept replaying in my head over and over again. The way he smiled the way his lips moved as he spoke. I wanted to know him, and he wanted me to know him. Or else he wouldn't have told me his name.
I thought about him most of the way home. When I got into my house my brother Tyrell was sitting in the living room with his friends Eric and Darryl. They were talking about something but suddenly stopped when I walked in. When my dad came around the corner, he gripped me into a tight hug then abruptly pulled back. "Where the hell were you at!?" He asked "At the fresh market, why? What's wrong?" From the face he was making I could tell something had happened. And whatever it was, wasn't good. "Don't worry about it. You can't leave the house for awhile. Your brother and his friends are gon' watch over you until I get back aite?" I wanted to ask more, but I wasn't kidding when I said sometimes you don't want the answer. "Ok daddy." I said. He smiled at me before leaving. "Don't ask to go nowhere, the answer gon' be 'no'." Tyrell said. I rolled my eyes and went to the kitchen to put away my groceries.
I was in my room, laying on my bed in my pajamas, listening to the entire Summer Walker album. Just thinking. What could've happened today? After Shawns visit, it seemed like the atmosphere around my dad shifted. Even around my brother although he doesn't show it. Something was making them uneasy. What I do know is someone got got, and Shawn got them. Why else would he need a gat for? "My name is Rico." There it was again. The music in my head. My cheeks started to burn just thinking of his smile. I think I have a crush on somebody, who's really a nobody I'll probably never see again. Even so I wanted to know him. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door. When I opened the door my brother Tyrell was standing with a pizza box in tow. "I ordered you pizza, pineapples and ham." "What if I don't want pizza?" I asked. He let out a hefty sigh "Then what do you want?" "Shonny's fried fish platter." I said, he sucked his teeth at me "They don't deliver." "Then let's go get it." I said "Unht Unht either eat the pizza or don't eat." Although my brother acts as if he can't stand me, he'd do anything for me. But, this time I knew he wasn't playing. I took the pizza and locked my door behind me. I couldn't take it, being cooped up in the house. So, like anybody else my age I decided to sneak out. I put on my leggings and hoodie and carefully made my way out the window. I don't know where I was going, but it wasn't going to be my house with my knucklehead brother.
Before my pops died he'd always take me to the beach. He'd tell me breathe in the air and let the sound of the waves wash away your pain. As I walked along the water with my shoes in my hand I let my feet be engulfed by the sand. I took long deep breathes to let in the salty air and, just like my pops told me, I let the sound of the crashing waves wash away my worries. I walked and walked until my feet grew tired then I started to make my way back to the bus stop. On my way I saw someone, a boy with his head between his legs. He sounded as if he was crying, but it wasn't my business. As I got closer to him I realized I knew him. "Rico?" I said. He looked up. His face was flushed, eyes glossy, and there were tears that followed from the corner of his eyes. He quickly wiped his face "Damn, who would've thought I'd see you of all people." "Fate is kind of funny isn't it?" He laughed. Not joyful, but sad. "Jules, right?" He asked "Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't forget." "Hard to forget." He said making my heart jump a little. "Are.. you ok?" I asked he dropped his head again. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want too." "Nah." He cleared his throat "Uh.... someone close to me.. died." My stomach began to turn. "Wh- what happened." I asked "He was shot in the head picking his daughter up from daycare." At that point even I wanted to cry. "I'm sorry." Was the last thing I said before a silence fell upon the conversation. I sat down in the sand next to him "Brain cancer." I said "What?" " My pops, well my grandpa, he died from brain cancer when I was nine. He was my best friend. He'd bring me to this beach a lot, told me my problems could be washed away by the sounds of the waves. Honestly he could've told me the sky was green and I would've believed him." We both laughed. "Look, I don't know who he was to you, but I do know what it feels like to lose someone special." I said. I laid my head on his shoulder and we sat like that for a long time. Comfortably.
"I think I should get going." I said. I couldn't stay out here for any longer or someone might notice I'm gone. Even though, I don't mind staying out here with him. "Yeah, it's getting late. Let me walk you to the bus stop." I could tell my cheeks were red even though it doesn't show. We got to the stop just in time because my bus had just arrived. "Can I... have your number?" He asked and the butterflies in my stomach began to fly. "Sure." I said. He brought his phone out and I typed my number in, re-reading it to make sure every number was right. We smiled at one another then I got on my bus. As the bus was taking off I looked back one more time to wave goodbye through the window. When he waved back I noticed a symbol tattooed on his wrist. A snake wrapped around an apple with a knife going through it. I knew that symbol, the Los Solidos symbol. Shit.

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Tyrell

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