For Every Decision I Make There Is a Consequence

By Aurora Lee

Absent fathers, crazy mothers, lost families, and communities full of thieves and murderers. Dont trust anybody and don't take anything for granted because in the hood the one thing everybody wants is to get out. This is a collection of short stories where teenagers are faced with very real dangers and are forced to make life changing decisions. The journey on which these characters travel shows proof that for every decision one makes there is a consequence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 31, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491841754

Book preview

FOR EVERY

DECISION

I MAKE THERE IS

A CONSEQUENCE

AURORA LEE

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AuthorHouse™ LLC

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2014 Aurora Lee. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/26/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4173-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4175-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013922381

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

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.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Just One Fight

I Wanted It

How Different We Are

We Had To Do Something

Pure Gentleman

I Remember The First Time

He Was A Real Daddy

All In Good Time

A Day At The Park

Got Money

JUST ONE FIGHT

He had the loudest voice in the whole school; he must have. Every time he walked down the hall everybody knew it, whether he was just walking to class like a good boy, or cutting class to shoot dice in the bathroom. He said it was important to make himself known, make sure people knew who he was and what he was about. Because he wasn’t scared of anything, and he wasn’t going to hide nothing about who he was.

He was cool with everybody; even the teachers all liked him. While he might have had an agenda most of the time, and while it was known that his head was always either in a new rap he’d just written or in making money one way or another, unlike other kids, he was always respectful to the adults.

In class one time a student was badly disrespecting an older teacher, and he said, Ya’ll, better be good to her. She’s somebody’s grandmama. That’s how he saw things and wasn’t scared to voice his opinion about it. The cool thing is that when he made that comment, the kid sat down and got back to work.

The thing about Ricky isn’t that everybody knew him because by the time you’re in the ninth grade, pretty much everybody knows everybody. The thing about Ricky is that everybody liked him. Now he had his group of homeboys that were closer than the rest of the school. He and his crew were always together, walking down the hallway, shooting dice in the corner of math class, shooting hoops in the gym, running the streets in the evenings, rapping in the trap house til well after midnight. Whatever it was they always had each other’s back. Brooklyn (call him Brooks), Quae, Dominique (call him Dom), and Lil’ Curt. Brooks was the leader of the crew.

Now in stark contrast to Ricky the other four boys wreaked havoc all over the school constantly. At least one of them was suspended all of the time. Dozens of parent conferences had been conducted since they were in grade school together, but nothing ever seemed to get the four under control. Many wondered why they were allowed to still attend school since they only came to make it impossible for others to learn. Every teacher always reached and tried to be the one to make the difference for one of the trouble makers, but no one could. And no one understood what went through their heads, why not just do right?

So every year staff and students turned to Ricky to ask why he wasted his time with these people.

He always said the same thing, Mane, ya’ll better lay off my homeboys like that.

It was the end of October and football season had just ended. Dom had tried to play football, but when he kept showing up to practice high, the coach finally dropped him. The crew went to all the games together to pick up girls and be seen. While in school, they had to wear the uniform, but outside of school, all five of them always had on brand new of all the latest threads. A pair of jeans would on average cost $300. Quae had a hat he’d wear that he spent $600 on. And everywhere they went, everybody stared. Every girl wanted to date them (though none of them would ever be a one woman man); every guy wanted to be one of them.

The end of October, days started to feel shorter, and a chilly autumn wind finally cut through the Mississippi summer heat.

About this time all the kids usually had gotten the hang of things. Being in high school was so new and awesome to a group of ninth graders, but by now it was all history; many of them felt like they’d been in high school all their lives.

Brooks, Quae, Dom, and Lil’ Curt were all sixteen when they finally entered high school—two grades behind. Ricky was fifteen. He had been held back when he was in the first grade when his parents got a divorce, which was cool because most of the kids’ parents were never married in the first place.

Between first and second period all of the kids were shuffling slowly in the hallway, teachers were outside in the hall directing traffic. Normal pandemonium was erupt as usual during a class change at this school. Everyone could hear the crew move down the hall: they were rapping one of their new songs. Dom had a few cds in his hand, selling them for ten bucks a piece, which is much higher than most kids get for their mixtapes.

A crew of seniors walked in Ricky’s direction. One of them said to his buddy loud enough for all of the students to stop and hear, Them fake ass niggas ain’t got a rap, and you know it. The two cracked up. Traffic came to a standstill.

This senior crew had five guys to them, too; they were all closer to being twenty than a student should be, but that’s how a lot of the kids were. Before Brooks’s crew had gotten to high school, these seniors had run the show. They consisted of Damien, Darius, Ralph, Lawrence, and Tae. Now obviously the seniors didn’t like a bunch of freshmen coming in and making a ruckus. Unlike Brooks’ crew, Damien’s didn’t even have a Ricky to smooth talk the teachers for them. Everybody hated Damien’s crew; the students were just scared of them.

After the comment was made, every student and teacher turned to see what would happen next.

Brooks stepped up and, while looking at Damien, said to his own crew, That’s all right, fellas, we ain’t got time to sweat ol’ ass niggas. Come on, we got a place to be.

With that Brooks, Dom, Quae, Lil’ Curt, and Ricky stepped right past Damien’s crew. A fight didn’t break out that day, but now everybody knew it was open war, and soon things would start happening.

The principal leaned over to his secretary and said, I’m glad it took til now for it to start, but I sure’d be all right if it would’ve waited a little bit later, too.

After school Ricky sat on the hood of an old Grand Marquis. It use to run back in the day for his daddy, but it hadn’t worked since the ol’ man split. Ricky liked to sit out on it and think about his daddy. Of course the whole crew was around him today.

Bruh, I need to get high, Lil’ Curt said.

We ’bout to go get another bag, Dom responded carelessly. They all kept sitting, lazily. Quae picked up a ball and started bouncing around the car; their goal had been blown down in a tornado about six months ago, and now they were having to go to the city park to play. That was a fifteen minute walk, and today they all just wanted to sit, chill, and smoke.

Dom, why don’t you and Lil’ Curt go on and get that bag? Brooks said.

Mane, Brooks, why you think it’s our turn? Ain’t I go last time? Dom asked.

Shit, I don’t remember. I just know I don’t feel like going after it, and you the one that said you was gonna go.

Whateva. Come on, Lil’ Curt. We gonna get that kush or that purp? Dom was asking Lil’ Curt, but Ricky responded, Get the purp this time.

Dom pulled money out of the leather cover of the back seats in the Grand Marquis, counted out ten and walked with Lil’ Curt toward 2nd Street.

It was silent for a minute except for Quae dribbling the ball.

Whatcha thinking, Ricky? Brooks asked.

He shook his head as if to get the thought out and said, Nothing, bruh. Why, what’s up, cuz?

Naw, there’s somethin’ goin’ on in that head of yours. Always is.

Not today.

Brooks stared his boy down for a minute. He knew Ricky was smart, smarter than all of them except Dom, maybe. There was always something.

That shit with Damien’s crew today, you ain’t light ’em up. Ricky said, interrupting the silence, that ain’t how you do.

Mane, them niggas ain’t nothin’. They just mad cus they ain’t running shit up there no mo’. We are, and they hate the school was taken by freshmen right out from under ’em. We gonna get them one day, dough, little cuz. Brooks started getting excited when he talked about it.

Yeah, mane, I know it’s coming one day. But, see, usually, you and Quae woulda done hit into them befo’ they got that sentence out. How come today you just let it go? Ricky asked in a serious voice.

Cus I been thinking, Ricky. I know we gonna get them bitches one day, and it’s gonna come down to just a fight between us all, but it ain’t gotta start like that. You feel me?

Ricky looked confused, so Brooks explained, Them niggas been runnin’ da school because e’rybody else scared of ’em; that’s it. See, my nig, they got fear, but we got respect, and you know that goes a lot further. Am I right or am I wrong?

Ricky nods, his eyes fixed on the hood of the car as if he’s thinking hard on what Brooks is saying.

You right, Quae said in a soft voice.

So this fight’s gonna go down, Brooks continued, I just want it to go down in the right way, soon as we got the whole school ’round us, cheering us on. We gonna fight; I want to set the stage for us to fight on.

So you’re saying we gonna set a stage for it? That’s why you ain’t get ’em today? Ricky asked.

"Fo sho, my nig. You just