The Journey to Freedom: Path to WW3

Chapter XXXVIII

I grew up with just my mom. She and I were like best friends.

She's a very independent woman and I admire that about her.

In my life, I've tried to be like that.

To be okay with being on my own and being independent.

Emma Roberts

The next morning we wake up around 7am. I get up to go shower. I start singing 2pac: Dear Mama while I shower. I don't even notice that Evelyn was in the restroom with me while she was brushing her teeth.

"I didn't know that you could rap." She says.

I tell her that it was a song from 2pac dedicated to his mother. "I used to listen to a lot of rap music when I was a teen. When I was in a gang, the rap music made a lot of sense to me because of the streets that I grew up in. I tell her that the guy that we saw at the mall used to be part of the gang that I was in. They were called 'Midnight Dreamers XII' or MND XII for short."

She asks what was the XII for and I tell her that it was because of the highway that was nearby. Loop 12. "What did you do that made him hate you so much?" She asks.

I tell her, "I did a lot of stupid shit. I started gang wars to try to take over more territory for my gang. But the real reason was because I saw that my mom was struggling trying to give us a better life and gang banging wasn't bringing any money to the table. So I stopped and disappeared from them and another gang came in and took over our streets. So we moved to Irving, Tx. And I decided to better my life. So I decided to stay in school and do better. I pierced my ears because the school that I went to let guys wear their earrings, and I always wanted to pierce my ears, so I pierced two piercings in each ear. But I stopped wearing the earrings once I joined the army. I was blamed for a school fire that I didn't do and went to juvenile hall. And when I was turning 18 they told me that either it was jail or the army, I chose army and stayed in it ever since."

I shut off the shower and open the curtain up and see her in her kimono. "That's why the file says that you joined in since you were 18." She says.

I look at her and say that there is more to the story about the fire.

"Long story short. I had a girlfriend, she dumps me for another guy, she dumps him for his best friend, the new guy pokes at me instead of his friend, I get tired of his shit after a year, we fight, I break his nose, he cuts me under my chin with brass knuckles, get set to the vice principles office, get In school suspension, he leaves first, talks shit, I run out of the room, jump on him, break his jaw when he falls on the floor, I hit the vice principle by accident when I think that his friends try to jump me, I get expelled, I come back, get ISS, he tries to burn down the school and I get blamed for it." I say really fast.

She looks at me in amazement.

"Oh, that's not the end. My mom had a couple of arrest warrants thanks to my dad, the cop tells me that he knows that I didn't do it because there was no evidence to prove it. So he tells me if I don't admit to it then she goes to jail, my four sisters go to foster homes and I go to juvi and then prison and no more family. So I confess to it and the probation officer send psychiatrist that give me all kinds of tests and then tells the judge that I am incredibly smart for my age and the judge says that either I choose prison when I'm 18 or Army. So I chose Army. I liked the..." and I stop talking.

She looks at me and asks me that I liked what.

"I liked the killing." I say with a sound of defeat in my voice.

"Oh honey, its ok, you don't have to be ashamed of it. You were a kid taking your anger out on enemies. It doesn't make you a bad person." She says.