Divine Sincere King, a 20 year old black young man in the hood of Florida just trying to survive. He's a local drug dealer and high school dropout who somehow lost track of his dreams and aspirations after the death of his older brother Prodigy. Str...
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"It's plenty of bread to be made, jit. You just can't be scared to make it." Tony T spoke into a young Divine's face, flashing. Divine eyed his bottom row of teeth, which was covered with flashy diamonds. Tony flashed a huge stack of money in Divine's face. Everyone Tony came around, he always bragged about how much money he had, or jewelry, or women. Trying to convince young boys to join in on whatever he had going on.
The neighborhood knew exactly what Tony was up to. But the kids just saw him as a type of celebrity.
They didn't know how he became so rich and popular; they just wanted in. He was a go-getter by any means. He sold drugs, cars, clothes, CDs, even women. Anything he could get control of. And wasn't shy about his profits either.
Tony stood up straight, sticking the money back into the back pocket of his oversized True Religion jeans.
"So what we gotta do?" Prodigy, Divine's older brother, asked. Divine nudged his brother for saying "we." "Shut up, man," Divine spat.
"What?" Prodigy eyed the stack of money in Tony's back pocket. "I'm tryna' be just like Tony. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being broke."
Tony T laughed. "Y'all youngins' gone... go back in the house mane, y'all ain't tryna make no bread."
"I am, though! Man, I'll prove it. Just tell me what to do." A twelve-year-old Prodigy retorted, sticking his chest out. Prodigy tilted his small head up to Tony, looking far up at him.
Divine sucked his teeth, he was only 8. But he was old enough to know, Tony was nothing but trouble. Divine didn't like how he bragged about his money to his brother all the time; it was like he was trying to take him or something. Divine didn't know exactly why, but he wished Prodigy didn't talk to him.
"P! Come on, mama calling us." Divine lied; his mother, Charlie, hadn't called for them yet.
But he was afraid.
"Stop being scary man, mama ain't call us because we all woulda' heard her loud ass. Now wait, I'm talking to Tony." Prodigy turned his attention back to Tony, waiting for him to tell him how he could make some money. He was intrigued.
"Nah, Lil D is right. Go in the house, if you too scared. I only need soldiers on my team." Tony T shrugged, licking his big lips.
Prodigy smacked his teeth, "Man, D go in the house mane. Tell Mama I'm at Omar and them house." Prodigy was annoyed that his little brother was messing with his opportunity to possibly work for Tony and get them more money.
"Man-" Divine started to convince his brother to come home, but Prodigy gave him the look. The big brother look.
"For real, Divine. Go home. I'll catch you later. Okay?" Prodigy's raspy voice got a little deeper, and Divine knew he was serious.
Divine nodded, putting his hoodie over his head. He watched as Tony and Prodigy walked down the sidewalk and towards Tony's building.
That day was the day Divine lost his big brother.
Not physically, Prodigy left Earth on his 22nd birthday. But that day, in 2008, He lost his big brothers to the streets. After that day, Prodigy was barely home anymore, starting to get into more fights at school, talking back, and coming home with new clothes, feeling himself.
And at 16, he moved out of his mother's house when she began to nag too much about his behavior.
Prodigy loved his little brother to death. And always took care of him until his dying day. Once Prodigy was on, that meant Divine was on. Prodigy introduced Divine to a life neither of them ever thought they would see. The brothers grew up less fortunate financially. Growing up with no father, and a single mother who worked long hours at the hospital but still could barely make ends meet. Trendy clothes, shoes, accessories, games, and other luxuries were something they just weren't accustomed to. Until now.
While Prodigy got deeper and deeper into he drug game, Divine found himself interested. He was against it at first, but after seeing how quickly they're life changed because of it, he always thought of hustling as something he could do, if he ever felt he had to. It didn't seem that bad for Prodigy.
Prodigy made it look easy.
Prodigy showed Divine that being a street hustler was the epitome of being a black man in the hood. That cars, jewelry, and money were the best it was gonna get for little black boys like them. But the fact that the boys were seeing no other male influences other than men like Tony T around. Their only choice was to believe it.
Divine wanted to be different...deep down, he wanted to become something other than what he's seen.
