Schoolyard Blues

Chapter Nine: Rest In Peace

"Hello, students at King James High School," The voice over the intercoms said, "We regret to inform anyone who wasn't aware that a student by the name of Terrell Ferris died by a gunshot wound to the face. Friends called him, 'Mugshot', and he was known widely by that nickname.
May your soul rest in peace."

I bounced an apple off of the cubby in the detention room, beside me were M.C., Slim, CJ, and Ajax.
They figured the best way to keep us from murdering each other was keeping everyone in close eye of a guard, but it created problems quickly.
"Pussy ass bitch gang's in here!" Ajax shouted as we walked into the room earlier, "These fuckers killed my brother Mugshot!"
"Your brother?" I asked, intrigued as to whether he meant his real brother or figurative considering they shared a last name.
"My brother, you fucks!" Ajax screamed, somehow knowing we were guilty, "And you did it!"
"We ain't know what you're talkin' 'bout," Slim lied, "We sorry 'bout your loss, sincerely."
"You lying fu-," Suddenly, the guard yelled, "Shut the hell up!"
"As Officer Friendly said," M.C. joked, "Shut the hell up."

Over the slow day, tension grew between us and Ajax's group.
"Aye, M.C.," CJ whispered, "Fuck you."
"I didn't fuck you," M.C. sarcastically stated, "But I sure fucked your sister."
CJ burst up in anger, storming to M.C.
M.C. got up, saying, "Go ahead, do it.
If you wanna get tased by a cop, be my guest."
"I'll fucking kill you," CJ muttered, walking away, "Won't we, Ajax?"
"Sure as hell will," Ajax continued, "Just a matter of time."
M.C. pretended not to be afraid, but I could tell he was.
I chimed in, "Not if we do first," but that only worsened the tension in that small room.
Like Ajax said, it was only a matter of time before another person died.

Eventually, the bell rang, letting us leave, but in a specific order.
Ajax and CJ left the room first, and after about five minutes we were allowed to leave too.
Walking out was terrifying, to the point where we didn't even go home at first.
First thing M.C., Slim and I did was go to the train tracks and call up Lucky.

"You killed Mugshot?!" Lucky exclaimed while we smoked a joint, before I shushed him, saying, "Be quiet about it."
"Praise the Lord for letting that bastard die," Lucky stated, "How pissed is Ajax?"
"Pretty fuckin' pissed," Slim told Lucky, "I dunno why he'd be happy 'bout it."
"Turns out they're brothers," I informed him, "But we should get Slim back home soon, where do you live?"
"Those apartments right over there," Lucky replied, "Onlook."
"Looks like we're going on a field trip," M.C. joked, proceeding to get up and walk down the train tracks to the main street.
Strolling through the road, I noticed two figures behind us, but didn't think much of it.
As we passed the alleyway, I proposed, "Let's go down the alleyway."
M.C. reluctantly agreed, walking into the dark and shrouded alley.
Around halfway through, we heard a familiar voice yell, "Empty your fuckin' pockets!"
It was Ajax and CJ, and Ajax had a pistol in his hand.
"Don't make me pull this trigger, empty your fucking pockets!" Ajax shouted, pointing the gun directly at Slim.
"I ain't got shit on me," Slim fibbed, knowing he had a handful of dollars and a gram of weed.
"X, hand it over," CJ told me, "Before anyone gets hurt."
I fed into it, pulling my pockets inside out and laying my phone on the ground, telling him, "That's all I have."
"Now, Matthew," CJ said, "Would you be kind enough to donate your shit to us?"
"Fuck you," M.C. responded, grabbing a handful of rocks, "You're nothin' but a bunch of low-life scumbag no good cock suckin' pieces of-"
Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the air, followed by two more.
M.C. fell to the ground, the rocks in his hand dropping like hail onto the street.
"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, "Call an ambulance!"
"Don't you dare touch your phone," Ajax growled, pointing the barrel at me, "I'll add another body to that list real quick."
"C...J.." M.C. struggled to mutter, "All I... ask is th-that you make damn sure... Michelle names that k-kid anything but Matthew."
With his final breaths, M.C. chuckled, eventually exhaling one last time.
"We gotta go," CJ warned Ajax, "They're gonna call the cops."
Ajax and CJ ran into the night, leaving Slim, Lucky and I alive, but M.C. dead.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered to M.C.'s corpse,
"I could have done so much more."

At his funeral, we paid respects to M.C., his body being lowered into a grave.
His mother cried, and I immediately noticed his father wasn't there.
It was three days before his birthday.
He never even got to turn fifteen, and I blamed myself for it.
In reality I should have been blaming Slim for starting all of this.
His grave read his full name, his date of birth... and date of death.
On a plaque next to his tombstone it read, "Baby birds stay in the nest until pushed out; this baby bird was pushed out far too soon."
I spilled tears while watching it all unfold, I couldn't believe what was happening.
I sat down at the grave, knowing I was kneeling over his corpse deep in the ground, and I whispered a final speech to him...
"Hey... I'm sorry. I never told you how much you meant to me and I should have before it was too late. If I was ever hard on you I didn't mean to be, I was just teasing. You were always like a little brother to me. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I wish it never did. I can't believe you're gone, but it's too late to go back now.
Rest in peace, Matthew."