The Boys of the Hawk Club

By Xlibris US

I am a Hawk flying high and strong, constantly staying a few miles ahead of the storm. STROKE

This story details the struggles of Quest as they fight all odds in an attempt to improve their ordinary lives and do what they are destine to do.
First they must find each other and then they can begin to find themselves. So as they do we learn about our friends of Quest, who are Blaze, Sledge (hammer), Diddily, The Rebel and Stroke. And we follow them on their unusual path as they struggle to re-invent themselves to overcome the pitfalls of day-to-day life living in Slovannah, Georgia.
And all in all hopefully with the help of the uniting of The Boys of the Hawk Club they will be most triumphant.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493161263

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Stroke T. Renigade.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 03/05/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

538415

M y friends I have a story to tell; First of all, it’s not about me. It is about another friend of mine, a friend called Stroke. Now Stroke also wanted to be a writer, he was young, tall, handsome and bright.

Stroke and I existed in Slovannah, Georgia. And Slovannah really was not that slow, the city was growing much faster than anyone in Slovannah had wanted. I mean the city was really growing fast even though the mind frame was five years behind the rest of the United States of America. But Stroke knew that if he wanted to be a part of that growth, rather if it were positive or negative well then what he needed was a serious cash flow. There is something else I should mention about Slovannah, for as far as crime went per capita, Slovannah really was not that slow. Slovannah had been in the top ten for the past fifteen years, yet it had been played down, because there was some real old money in Slovannah. And some said that there was even some confederate gold there, which had been cleverly hid as the cannons of the City that had presented to Sherman when he entered on his famous march to the Sea.

But enough of that, let’s get back to Stroke. Now Stroke knew that the way things were going Slovannah could easily go to number one, that’s as far as crime goes per capita of course.

‘How did he know’, you ask.

Well I will tell you how he knew. Stroke was a walker. He would take long walks all through Slovannah, and I do mean all through Slovannah. He would observe, and he would talk to the people he met on his adventurous walks and he would listen. And they all seemed to have the same dilemma. They all seemed to be starving for entertainment.

And no I don’t mean more movies on HOME BOX OFFICE. But… . ADVENTURE!! . . . The people needed books they could relate to. The people needed songs that shared hope. And the people needed a place they could go to meet with other people who needed what they needed… . A FRIEND!!!!

Then, all the thoughts started pouring in at the same time. Stroke went out to recruit some members for a band. He started with an old friend, he called the Rebel.

Rebel played guitar, and by that I mean he could play any guitar. But his favorite was a ripe lemon yellow Washburn. Now Rebel knew that his buddy Stroke had been labeled a paranoid schizophrenic. And that was fine with Rebel because he also had a few labels on him. But he was also hungry for adventure.

Okay, then Rebel had two more friends Stroke had not met. So, Rebel introduced him. First; he introduced himto Blaze, who played bass, and it did not matter if stood up straight or if you had to strap it on, or even if it were a synthesizer, for if it had a bass sounds in it, well Blaze could thumb the hell out of it.

Next, Rebel introduced Stroke to Sledge, an Airborne Ranger, whom had recently had his wings broken. But MAN!! Let me tell ya, that dude had an awesome voice and his skills on the six string axed shape Gibson he had found in the pawn shop, well it all just seemed to enhance his talent.

So Stroke stepped back and thought it over, and he decided that he could not lose. Especially with him keeping the rhythm on the mixed matched thirteen piece drum kit he could put together. All they needed now was a purpose and a strong meaningful name for their group. They thought about purpose and their purpose was change, they would deliver a strong message that would motivate all people.

Now the name, well truthfully Rebel only said it once, but they all agreed when they heard him say it.

QUEST

Now in order for them to form a good band, they needed more speakers, amps, cords, new lyrics and music. You know the whole nine yards. But, only Stroke T. Renegade could form a band with three white boys who were as misfortune financially as he was. So there he was back at the matter of a serious cash flow. And they wanted to jam so bad they could taste it.

But what could they do they all already had jobs. Rebel and Sledge both worked for the Krispy Kreme doughnut company delivering massive loads of doughnuts. Blaze worked in painting and construction. And, Stroke worked for the Pizza Palace. Then, Stroke had to sell his only set of skins to pay off some serious TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS. And that really did not help matters at all.

Stroke had some rich kin folks who thought well of him, and he loved them with all he had. And those folks would have done damn near anything for that boy. But he knew he could not go to his people and tell them he needed money to start a rock and roll band. Especially, when he was suppose to have been keeping his mind on his education. You see he was attending one of the local colleges where he had been studying Biology Pre-Medicine. He knew. He knew they would not approve of his new plan, so he could not mention his new thoughts.

Stroke packed a bag and moved to Beaufort, South Carolina for his annual summer vacation at his Aunt Jelly’s. She was a ‘FREE SPIRIT’. She listened and she said she understood.

Stroke really enjoyed his stays on the little island in South, Carolina. He could get up early or as late as he pleased, just as long as all his chores were done by the time Aunt Jelly and Uncle Leroy returned from work. Then there were also days when he got up early just because the tide would bring the salty seawater right up to the edge of the back yard. And it was close enough for him to walk out back with a cast net and catch a nice seafood buffet for Sonya, Diana, Niger and himself to enjoy before they started their daily chores. And he would walk right out the back door, taking the cast net and some dry dog food for bait, and catch their breakfast. Stroke loved the water and the open salted air. But mostly he enjoyed the peace and quiet, which allowed him time to sit down and resolve Quest’s problem of having no start up money. But the more he thought about an alternative, the more he became depressed.

And the more he worried, the more death seemed like a comforting thought, but that was the cowardly way out. Besides, there was too much love there. And he also knew that the Boys were looking for him to find an answer to such a simple problem.

Then it happened! Stroke woke from a deep sleep one morning there In Carolina with an idea for the ideal novel. It was of course fiction (AT THAT TIME). But he knew if it were written well, it could work. But what Stroke did not know was that he was letting himself in for more than he had bargained for.

The story he had he titled Quest for obvious reasons, would take over three years to complete, because he had never written anything that big before, and he wanted to do it right. And if he really wanted to do it right, then it also meant that he would not be able to attend college and maintain the proper grade point average for someone trying to be a doctor. And James F. and Rufus M. tried to carry him but it just got out of hand. James F and Rufus M., along with Terry E. were his class mates as well as his roommates at the crimson and crème castle. But they all knew that it also meant that he would not have time to socialize and he would have to become a total asocial. But he did not care, because all he wanted to do was finish the book, so he could sell it for some really big money. And he would use that big money to finance the band.

But one year and nine months later, Stroke found himself back in Carolina at his Aunt Jelly’s looking at his sixth draft, and hoping that number seven would be the one that he would feel comfortable enough to release to some publishing house. But, out of all the things Stroke had taken into consideration, he had not considered how many books are turned down each year. And I am talking about manuscripts that are submitted by writer’s who had already been established in the publishing world, and here he was an unknown, with no real connections. So he checked the statistics. And he did not like what he found. But Stroke was brave and he was not going to let no got damned statistics affect the faith he had in his Quest. He felt that the most important thing for him to do was go back to Slovannah, and from there on to the BIG APPLE, where anything was possible. And that was exactly what he did. By the time he left he was so damn sick of Slovannah that he really was not sure if he wanted to ever come back. Especially when he could fell the doubt over his first book and he was not sure if the BOYS OF THE HAWK CLUB had as much faith as he was hoping they would have, since they were the ones who were to benefit. And he really needed their support after spending such a long time trying to get Quest the book in the proper order.

Truthfully, he was tired of all the shit being thrown on him. So their thoughts really did not matter, because he had one friend that he thought really understood, and that friend was all blood, Aunt Betty.

Stroke had not seen her in a long, long time. But she was his only contact in New York. And it gave him a warm feeling when she said. I’ll do all I can to help.

And that was all Stroke needed to hear. Two days after talking to his Aunt Betty, he was on a Piedmont flight to New York. There was no fear in his heart, he was ready to faced whatever those big shots of the BIG APPLE had to throw at him and he would catch it and throw something right back at them. He started with a scheme; Stroke would create his own literary agency, he would be agent and writer. And he needed no real introduction, for all the publishing companies had their phone numbers in the city’s directory. It wasn’t long before Stroke the agent sent Stroke the writer out on appointments and interviews to speak with different editors. He travelled up and down the city streets of New York with his Aunt Betty and his cousin Robin right there with him. It was cool to have them go along, because both Aunt Betty and his cousin Robin were brown belts like Stroke, so he did not worry much about danger. Well, not with two super bodyguards.

Within two weeks, Stroke had received his first contract. And everyone was excited about the contract. But, well, it was not much of a contract as far as Stroke was concerned and he really didn’t think that much of it, becausethe contract would allow for a five hundred dollar cash advance and then ten percent of the loot from his book.

Well, Stroke thought that his work was worth more that they were willing to allow. So, he grabbed his manuscript, packed his bag, thanked his folks and was ready to head back home to what he knew, and that was Slovannah.

Now Stroke still had a few cards to play, so the game was not over yet, there was a small company that did not have much to offer, but they wanted Quest and they offered him sixty-five percent. They really liked Quest and they wanted Stroke to develop more stories, just like the first one. Stroke felt there could not be any harm so he sent them a copy when he got back to Slovannah.

Stroke arrived back in Slovannah on a Sunday morning, it was the first day of his sophomore year, which he could have slide back in without a lot of fan fare if he had not been freshmen class president. And not only freshman class president, but one of the first freshmen class presidents that had ever been almost impeached. But anyway, it wasthe morning before fall registration at Slovannah State College and he felt that he was ready to go back to school. There were still a lot of things going on inside of Stroke head, but he felt that this was the best time for him to return to S.S.C.: That Slovannah State College. He felt that it would help to ease the stress, because there would be so much going on he would not have time to deal with the stress. Like for instance there would be all the new faces of the pretty freshmen females arriving. And there were all of the old faces of which some seemed to have been around forever, and then there were so many that never returned.

During this time of year the spirit was very high and the magic was strong. There was a huge alumna and they always looked forward to Homecoming, for it was a very big event. And this was also the time when a lot of the former students, graduates as well as those who were not graduates they would all return so they could see how well they were doing, with their fake furs and rented cars.

But Stroke was not really concerned with all that, He was too busy trying to get his old gig back at one of the most unusual pizza places in Slovannah. He wanted the gig before homecoming, so he would have some extra change to take part in the play, or should I say participate in the festivities.

Stroke really needed the job for several reasons; first of all, he did need the money, so that he could get his drum kit out of hawk. Second, whenever he was on schedule he did not have to worry about where he was going to eat. Third, totting out all of their garbage would help make his arms stronger, for whenever he did get his drum kit back.

Stroke did not receive the call to come back to work until the Monday after the Homecoming weekend. But that was still cool, because now he could begin to move forward with his plans. Stroke really liked his gig and he really liked his gig a lot.

Well, at least at first he did. You see Stroke thought well of his employers and he really worked hard to make a good impression on the executives of the establishment. But he received very little notarization, other than an Employee of the Month award, which he really deserved. Then, he had a thought, Stroke knew they were planning to expand their business by starting to deliver their pizza, and they had a DAMN GOOD PIE. Now after careful consideration his thought was to write a promotional package. The package included a very hip television commercial that featured a delivery person named ‘Fearless’,he was called fearless becausethe idea behind the promo wasthat he would deliver pizza’s anywhere in Slovannah, even the high risk areas. Fearless would have his own theme song, and that song would have a groove like the Sam and Dave song, ‘Soul Man’. But the words for the promo song would go like this.

Coming to ya, down a dusty road

You want pizza, I got a truck load

Pepperoni, anchovy, too

I got jalapeno, so hot for you

I’m you’re Pizza Man

I’m you’re Pizza Man

Now this was an idea he just knew they could dig and he was happy with his promo for the company. So Stroke showed it to them, but he received no word one way or the other. But, he really was not worried about that because he had finally received an acceptance letter from the last Publishing Hose he had sent Quest to, so he was very excited because this is what the President of that company had to say about his book.

‘ . . . WHAT I PARTICULARLY LIKE ABOUT YOUR WORK IS THAT THE STORY IS FAST PACED AND THE CHARACTERS ENJOY QUALITIES TO WHICH THE READERS CAN EASILY IDENTIFY… ‘Quote UN Quote. So Stroke felt pretty damn good about himself. YEAH HE DID!

Then something happened which really changed his feelings about the store. At first Stroke thought that it was just him, because he was hoping that they would at least offer him a raise.

BUT NOOOOO!

Then, an opening came and he thought it was his chance to join the Management team. So he went directly to the Regional Supervisor which was as high as he could go without talking to the owner himself.

BUT NOOOOO!

Personally, I have problems with that myself. It was like what did they think he was going to do, ah, steal maybe?

No, for some strange reason Stroke felt that he should stay. Then he found out that they had NO BLACKS on their management staff. Well you guessed it. There was no way he was going to quit. He thought that maybe that was why they had none, because everyone before him that saw what was going on just decided to get the hell outta Dodge. But Stroke wanted the challenge.

Then another opportunity came and he was ready. He had been the employee of the month two months in a row. But still they were not willing to trust him.

THAT WAS IT! He was ready to quit, He had made the decision to split the next Sunday his pay period ended.

Then something crazy happened. It was the Tuesday Night of his final week, and something… something wasn’t right, or maybe it was.

How do I begin? Okay it was Tuesday night, and it was Family night, which also meant ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET. But, all of that was normal, even the fact that there was a full moon really should not have made a difference…

Stroke was experiencing the biggest family night he had ever seen. He had his back turned to the customers as they entered for he was busy cutting every pizza and finishing every pasta and sandwich order that came through the oven. So there was no way he could have seen her when she came in. And when he did get… What? You want to know exactly who Stroke had missed. Well, it was none other than Smiling Eyes. It was like every time Stroke thought of her that thought made him think.

And as he stood at the counter now taking an order for yet another pizza, he spotted here out the corner of his left eye, but that eye was a little weaker than his right, so he tried to apply both. She was standing by the salad bar and she was looking his way. He couldn’t believe it at first, so he tried to get an even longer look without being rude to the lady whose order he was taking, she was only as far as medium pan, on her medium pan pizza with pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and extra cheese. And at the moment she was still toying with the menu.

Stroke could not move his feet even if he wanted to, but he knew it was her. Yes, standing there in the Pizza Palace was Nikki Starborne and she was looking right at him, and then on top of that she was using her right hand to make a gesture. But it wasn’t waving for him to come over she was waving goodbye.

Stroke she was playing a game with him too. Well. It had to be a game, because there directly in front of him stood one of the finest, best looking, oh yeah, I should mention richest females in the world. Waving, and she wasn’t waving for him to come to her, she was smiling and waving to let him know that she was leaving.

Stroke was in total awe, he could not even form a smile on his stupid face. But his eyes were in focus and trapped by hers. And you know what? It was not her show, not at all. It was all his. Because if he wasn’t taking that order, well he would have done what most people do when they see a BIG STAR. Yeah, that’s right he would have freaked out and started jumping up and down shouting.

IT’S NIKKI STARBORNE!

But he was cool. Yet a little too cool, if you ask me. Because if she was looking at me, the way she was looking at him. Well I would have asked for her phone number that would have been a start.

But he just stood there watching her as her face showed a sign of annoyance. There she was a star and I mean a big star. And she was