Regular

By Wayne Ray Grayson

If you like action. If you like to laugh. And if you like stories about young adults struggling to survive urban ghetto life, then "Regular" is for you.

Hanging out with James Taylor and crew you will find yourself spending summer in the heart of the hood experiencing family and friends, music and drama. You get to see, hear, and feel how regular youngsters survive day to day in the midst of chaose.

There is James and his family, there is Omar, Jada, Kevin, Darla, and a cast of other players. And the deeper you get into the story, the more you learn about the personalities and circumstances of all involved. Regular is fast paced, action packed, and easy to read. Enjoy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 2, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440142949

Wayne Ray Grayson

Hello world my name is Wayne Ray Grayson, and I have been working a life time for the oppertunity to put my name on a published novel. Regular is my first story for sale, and there are more to come. And I am proud to say, thanks to iUniverse, I will no longer be dreaming the dream, but living the dream as a published writer. I was born and raised in the Fillmore district of San Francisco, Ca, and I have lived, worked, and played all over the Bay Area. I currently live in East Oakland with my wife Pamela, and our two girls, Mahali and Malena....Thank you, and "Buy my Book!"

Book preview

Regular

Wayne Ray Grayson

iUniverse, Inc.

New York   Bloomington

Regular

Copyright © 2009 by Wayne Ray Grayson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4401-4293-2 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-4294-9 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 7/1/2010

Contents

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James entered the house, tossed his keys on the shelf to the left of the front door, and walked toward the bathroom. As the soap rinsed off his hands and down the drain, James filled the cup of his hands with water and splashed his face. As the water and the tips of his fingers moved down his face, he froze in the mirror.

James’s wet, hairless brown face shone, and his brown eyes sparkled under the light. James took a hard look at himself from the ends of his kinky brown afro to the scar on his chin. He moved his head up and down, as if congratulating himself for getting through a tough day.

James is in his second year at City College. He has no life plan yet, because to this point James has struggled to build up his reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. And being today was his last day of school, James had math and English finals. In addition, James had to keep his cool at work. He is a part-time janitor at the J Town Mall; and his boss, a man who likes to hear himself talk, gave James a good chewin’ on the proper ways to mop up after a spilt soda.

James left the bathroom with intentions of going to his bedroom, kicking his shoes off and falling face-first onto his bed; but a few steps from his bedroom door, James saw his mother peeking at him from the kitchen. He was surprised, because he thought she was at work.

Mrs. Taylor had a smile on her face. James stopped and smiled back. James’s mother is a beautiful woman. She’s in her early forties, and like all her children, she has good brown skin, good nappy hair, and a sleek shape. There ain’t a man that wouldn’t stop, stare, and wish that he wasn’t her man. And as fine as she is, Mrs. Taylor is a better mother and role model.

She worked full time the whole time, acting as mother, father, breadwinner, protector, tyrant, and teacher. Furthermore, when she decided to become a registered nurse, Mrs. Taylor never missed a day of nursing school, nor has she missed a day’s work since becoming a nurse.

James will be the first to tell you that his mother has whipped her kids more than enough times to get them to embrace cleanliness, education, and independence.

The first words out of Mrs. Taylor’s mouth as she watched her son study harder than ever before were, Did you pass?

James’s face went from a surprise to a smile to a frown. Mrs. Taylor’s face changed when she saw her son’s face change. James wanted to hit her with the sad face and hold her in suspense before he gave her the good news.

With bright eyes and a bushy tail, James told his mother he had passed all his classes. From the look of happiness on her face, James could feel his mother’s spirit explode from her body and fly around the block screaming, Hallelujah, my baby passed, hallelujah, my baby passed.

With open arms, Mrs. Taylor approached James and gave him a big squeeze. She told her son she was proud of him for choosing the path he was on, and that he had better keep up the good work.

James felt relief as he embraced his mother. Usually all he ever did was hide what it was he was up to. But today James was making regular look real good. He was in school, had a job, had no beef on the streets, and his mom was proud. James was starting to see that being regular was like playing sports—if you practice and play hard, good things happen. As James and his mother’s embrace ended, the phone rang.

Hello? answered James.

Blood, what’s up! From the sound, James knew it was his oldest and closest friend, Omar.

Omar is the most serious of James’s friends. He is serious about loving his family, job, and his dreams of being an international moneymaker.

Instead of going straight to college, Omar applied for and won an entry-level position at a well-known financial firm, with the promise of enrolling in the firm’s Advance through Education program, which will send him to the top business school in the area. Everyone knows Omar is on the path to success.

All good, answered James, What is it?

Plenty! answered Omar. There was a moment of silence, which was broken when Omar ordered James to come down to The Zone. James told Omar he’d be down later.

Come down now! shouted Omar.

If you don’t stop yellin’ at me! responded James.

Pete got shot! stated Omar firmly.

What? For real? questioned James.

James turned in the direction of his mother. She saw her son’s face turn to stone. Omar’s words sent James spiraling into a flashback, back to last summer, when a disgruntled bus driver opened fire on the crowded bus he was driving, killing five people. Luckily for James he was sitting in the back of the bus and was one of the first to climb out an emergency exit window. James also reflected back to two summers ago, when he was robbed at gunpoint by two dudes and a he-she.

With his head down and his spirits in the dumps, James asked Omar if Pete was dead.

I don’t know, answered Omar. All I know is he got shot.

Where? asked James.

Down here.

What! In front of The Zone? questioned James.

Right in front, replied Omar.

Omar, don’t leave. I’m on my way!

As quick as an Ali jab, James slammed the phone down. He told his mother what happened to Pete and where he was going. Mrs. Taylor asked her son who Pete was. Being in a hurry, James told his mother Pete was the new kid that hadn’t been around that long. Mrs. Taylor wanted to tell James to stay home with her, where it was safe, but she knew that would not work. Instead, she told James to be careful and congratulated him on his good grades. James grabbed his stuff and was off on his bike down the streets of his neighborhood known as the Filthy.

The Filthy is not as big as most ghettos of the world, so the side effects of state-sponsored poverty—incarceration, shitty schools, cop brutality, and crime—are not as vast as those in the megaghettos, but no doubt in the Filthy it’s always on.

Pumping his pedals, James whizzed by the Etta James minipark. He had a look of urgency and disgust on his face. It was urgent that James get to The Zone to