Tidal [HIATUS]

two

Long Beach, California
September 7th, 1995

I stared in the mirror with a frown as I fixed the collar of my white shirt. We had to wear uniforms over where I came from but only once a week.

Not every damn day.

"How's your stomach, kid?" Maru showed himself through the bathroom mirror reflection while chewing on a piece of bacon. When the hell did he get breakfast?

"It's good. Barely feel it now." I said truthfully. I was use to bruising and being battered. This was nothing. "You driving me to school?"

He made a face. "Fuck I look like? Y'all asses is walking, I got work. Plus Ma left early for work too so.. you on your own." He clapped my back and I rolled my eyes when he walked out, leaving me to grab my backpack.

When I walked into our bedroom, Kai's and I, I heard him rapping (horribly.) "Kai, come on." I called out and I raised my eyebrows when I saw him staring in his our mirror while dancing to himself, a pair of headphones on his head. My head shook when he posed and put up two C's with his fingers. The hell? "Kaito!" He jumped and pulled his headphones down to look back at me bashfully while stopping the tape in his Walkman. "The hell are you doing?"

"Reppin' my set." He said and I continued to stare at him in confusion until he huffed and grabbed a magazine off of his bed and held it up for me to see. "Snoop Dogg sis, Snoop Dogg. I'm gonna join the crips like him."

I snatched the magazine and flipped through it to see different rappers I grew to know well. Tupac, Eazy E, Ice Cube. "Where'd you even get this?" I asked and he snatched it back.

"Devante, the kid that lives downstairs. He let me hold it for two dollars." I rolled my eyes before flipping the magazine in his grasp and pointing at the large bold yellow numbers on the bottom left. "So?"

"It costs him sixty cents, Kai." His furrowed eyebrows relaxed as realization dawned on him. "You got played." I pushed it against his chest before nodding my head to the side. "Let's go before we're late."

He followed me out of the door and I locked it behind me before rounding the apartment to see two boys sitting on the steps, both around my age. "Yo Devante." Kai said with a nod and the boy glanced up, his eyes low as he looked over us.

"What's up, mutt." He said with a grin, then looking at me. "And Bruce Lee."

"Y/n." I corrected and slid my keys into my pocket while glancing at the boy next to him, my eyes catching the smoking joint between his fingers. "Charles?" He looked up and I grinned slightly once he let out a low 'damn.' "Ma told me you lived here but I never see you."

"That's cause I'm barely here, Cuzzo." He said while raising up and giving me a quick bro hug. "Where you headed? School?" He playfully pulled at my collar and I smacked my lips when he smirked. "That's cute. It's the first day huh?"

"Yeah. You not going?" He looked back at Devante and they both broke out into laughter. "What?"

He turned back to me and sighed. "Schools not something we really.. do. Not unless my moms gonna be home or some shit. But since she's not.." he shrugged and dropped back on the steps of the stairs. "We're chillin. We about to head down to the arcade and chill for a bit if you wanna come?"

The arcade? I've never been to one of those.. but I heard how cool they were. As I pondered my next decision, Kai bumped my shoulder and nodded happily. That's when I looked back at the boys and caught sight of a blue rag tucked in Charles back pocket, a blue plaid button up on Devante.

The colors my mom was talking about..

"Nah we're good." Kai gave me a look but I simply shoved him forward while nodding at them. "Thanks for the invite though, I'll catch you later."