Hip Hop's Horrible Nightmare

By Uncle Jon

Come and join an emotional story about social redemption as seen through the eyes of Donald 'Hip Hop' Berry, a teenage high school bully.  After experiencing head trauma from an automobile accident Hip Hop lies comatose on a hospital gurney when a devilish nightmare transports him back to the year 1855 and thrust him in the role of

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jonnie Sears, LLC
• Release date: Apr 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781733537070

Book preview

The Westborough Rap Concert

The beautiful city of Westborough has reasons to celebrate. The annual rap concert sold out two months in advance so no one is surprised when it’s a hip, standing-room-only party, even though the weather forecast predicted heavy snow on the day of the show.

Music is a universal language with broad appeal, and tonight the music is played magnificently. It captures the emotions of the listeners and draws them into the flow of the beat, making the concert everything it was promised to be. The lyrics, the rhythm, and the vibes are all synchronized. The closing act brings down the house, and the audience continues to applaud as they walk toward the exit doors.

Showgoers push the doors open, and when a gust of icy wind rushes to greet them, they immediately fasten their coats, lower their heads, and plow their way through a foot of snow en route to the parking lots. Everyone is in a hurry to get home before the weather gets worse. Some drive their cars faster than they should and quickly discover that the snow is resting on a sheet of black ice, making the streets extra slick.

Bull, Freddie, Hip Hop, and Smokey — four members of the Stinkers, a rebellious group of teenage boys — feel the bite of the icy wind as soon as they step outside the coliseum.

Whoa, did you guys hear that? Freddie asks, turning his head from left to right and pretending to look for whomever spoke to him. Of course, everyone else is confused because they did not hear anyone speak.

Hear what? they ask.

The Stinkers

Freddie crosses his arms and says, The wind. It just spoke to me! Didn’t y’all hear it accuse me of wearing summer pants in a winter storm?

The gang looks down at Freddie’s pants and sees the wind furiously blowing the flimsy fabric so hard that his pants resemble a flag waving in the wind, so they crack up laughing.

The Stinkers are close friends. Bull, the leader of the gang, is a Golden Gloves boxer who often uses his pugilistic skills to bully his high school classmates and take their lunch money. Then there is Freddie who for some reason always has trouble with the law and with girls. As usual, Smokey is puffing on a cigarette. And then there is Hip Hop, the one who wants to be a rap artist and who always wears earphones so he can sing along with the music coming from his smartphone. The gang throws snowballs at one another as they walk toward a parking lot close to where three girls from their high school are waiting for one of their parents to come and take them home.

When Hip Hop spots Brenda standing up ahead with her friends, his body heats up from the excitement of speaking with her. He immediately drops his snowball and waves to get her attention. He thinks she is hot, but his friends are unaware of this, so he yells, Hey, fellows, I’m going to split and ask Brenda about the concert; I will catch up with you later. Then he makes a beeline straight toward the honey he is crazy about.

The girls see the ‘Stinkers’ and immediately start saying naughty things about them. Oh, my goodness, Brenda, trouble might be brewing, says Janet to her BFF. Then she turns her back to the boys, so she can reemphasize her warning without being overheard. Brenda, I think your male-chauvinist rapper is on his way. He is also carrying a smartphone smarter than he ever will be, so I’m begging you… please don’t do anything to give him an excuse to annoy us.

Brenda ignores Janet and waves at Hip Hop after seeing him wave at her. She did not intend for her courtesy to be an invite, but that’s the way he interprets it, and now he is here.

What’s up? he asks.

"Hi, I’m totally surprised to see you at this kind of concert," she tells him.

Oh yeah? Why’s that?

I thought you only liked rappers whose songs have vulgar lyrics and disrespect people — but here you are anyway. You are so sweet. Did you enjoy the show?

Sure, but between you and me, I prefer the raunchy performers much more, he whispers, as if he is sending Brenda a direct message that her girlfriends would not be able to hear. But Hip Hop’s effort to make humor out of something so important to the MeToo generation is the equivalent of attacking a hive of killer bees and then waiting to see how they react.

Janet is the first to sting him with her comments. I heard that, Mr. Hip Hop! I know you like profane rap music because I heard you in the cafeteria singing songs that call women bitches and whores and making fun of overweight people. That’s so offensive. Plus, the time is over when calling women foul names will be tolerated.

My dear Janet, you must have earjacked my message. I know you are the school’s computer geek and your GPA is knocking holes in the ceiling, but that does not mean that you know everything, Hip Hop says.

But what gives you the right to call women degrading names? She asks, placing her hands on her hips and staring him down. Hip Hop responds by turning away and staring off into the distance.

Hip Hop’s Intolerance

Scarlett is the second girl to zap him with stinging comments. I’m curious, Hip Hop. What does the word ‘bitch’ mean to you?

As far as I know, it has different meanings, he admits.

Do any of those meanings fit us? Janet asks.

I can’t say that they do.

Then why apply them to us? she replies angrily.

"Do you honestly believe the women in your family are bitches?" Scarlett asks, her stingers poised to zap him big-time if he gives her the wrong answer.

Of course not, he says, looking down at the sidewalk to avoid eye contact.

Then don’t call them that, and don’t allow anyone else to do it either! she demands.

Look at me, says Brenda. You and I go back a long way. We got history — so I don’t understand why you call our race niggas when you know the term is demeaning. You ought to be trying to put an end to all name-calling instead of contributing to it.

Believe me I understand, he says.

But do you understand that mocking a person’s differences breeds anger and hatred?

Sure, but harsh words don’t mean a darn thing when we performers use them! Remember, we are just a bunch of singers and songwriters exercising our artistic freedom. We’ve got rights like everyone else, you know.

Oh Lord. Somebody please tell me I did not hear that! says Janet, looking up toward heaven as if she is praying for help.

Janet, don’t look up there because you heard exactly what you thought you heard — and then some, says Scarlett.

Shame on you, Donald Berry. You earn good grades, but then you turn around and make foolish remarks like those! How can you be so vile as to disrespect your mom, her parents, and all those members of your family from generations ago who sacrificed so much to provide you with freedom and opportunities? Brenda asks.

I have a question for you, says Janet. Suppose your ancestral lineage incudes a female slave who took fifty brutal lashes from a whip to earn you a chance to get an education. What do you think you owe her? Tell me, Mr. Hip Hop. What do you owe the bitch?

This is the last insult Hip Hop can tolerate. The girls’ scolding is cutting too deep for him to stay, but when he starts to leave, Janet comes down on him again with both feet. Whoa… hold up a minute, cowboy. Where are you going? Don’t try to get on your horse and ride away. You got three bitches here that are getting hot and bothered. Isn’t that the way you like us? she yells.

Janet’s comment infuriates Hip Hop so much that he gives her the finger. Then, suddenly and without looking, he turns and steps into the street — right into the path of an oncoming SUV. The girls scream, and the driver swerves to avoid hitting him, but the car crashes into a utility pole. The large streetlamp at the top of the pole falls and smashes Hip Hop’s head so hard it renders him unconscious. Immediately the youngster collapses to the ground without ever knowing what hit him.

The terrible weather makes it difficult for an ambulance to pick him up quickly, so Brenda’s dad, who arrives right after the accident, rushes him to the ER at Westborough Hospital. Mrs. Berry, Hip Hop’s mother, arrives shortly thereafter. She is an emotional wreck, crying over her son’s condition. She speaks with the head nurse, who instructs her to have a seat until the neurosurgeon, Dr. Brockman, finishes examining Hip Hop. A long hour later, the doctor enters the waiting area with a troubled expression on his face.

Hip Hop in the Emergency Room

Mrs. Berry? He beckons.

When she stands, the doctor gives her a warm greeting and a squeeze around the shoulders for comfort. First and foremost, your son is alive. But… he suffered a severe blow to the head and he’s unconscious. If you will follow me, I can take you to him.

Mrs. Berry is already afraid, but her fear intensifies when she sees Hip Hop lying helpless on a hospital gurney while several members of the emergency room staff attend to him.

Oh, Doctor, it’s so difficult to see him vulnerable like this. Please don’t give up trying — he’s all I have. I know he’s a mixed-up kid who says foolish things that he doesn’t really mean — but down deep inside, he’s a wonderful person.

We will do our best, Dr. Brockman assures her.

When will I be able to speak with him?

Mrs. Berry, your son is comatose, which means that he’s in a severe state of unconsciousness and we are not able to wake him up. In fact, not even light, pain, odors, or sound will awaken him.

Oh my Lord… What are they putting around his head?

Those are ice packs. We use them to limit the swelling as much as we can. The brain swells when it suffers severe trauma. Sometimes it swells so much it pushes against the skull hard enough to cause even more damage. Hopefully we are applying the ice early enough to prevent that, he says with an encouraging smile.

Oh, thank you, Jesus.

We are doing everything we can, says Dr. Brockman. Patients in deep comas also run the risk of losing control of their basic bodily functions. We expect he might have difficulty breathing, eating, and digesting food — so we have prepared for those kinds of contingencies should they occur.

But when will he wake up? she asks.

Comas are unpredictable. They tend to last for a few days, a few weeks, or even longer. In some cases, they last for years — but right now all we can do is pray for a quick recovery.

Look at him! What’s going on? Mrs. Berry cries out after noticing Hip Hop rambling as if he is delirious.

Mrs. Berry’s Woes

This is very unusual, but he appears to be dreaming, says the doctor. Apparently the blow to the head knocked him out and sent him on a terrible journey. By that, I mean he is unconscious in our world, but he might be wide-awake somewhere within a vivid dream he is having.

But he’s mumbling and flinching as though he is trying to avoid being hurt. Look at him, Doctor! Now he’s acting as though something is chasing him. My boy is scared to death — can’t you see that?

Oh my God, says the doctor as he uses his hand to draw an imaginary crucifix across his own chest. This is awful, because frightening dreams thought to be real are called nightmares, and right now your son is having one — which to him is as real as it gets. And the terrible truth about this is… we have no way to wake him up!

~~~

Plantation Life Resumes

It is just before dawn, and the Deauville Plantation is calmed by a hazy cloud hovering above it. Everyone is in a deep slumber, enjoying the relaxation the way an exhausted person enjoys a hot, soothing bath after a hard day’s work. All is peaceful and quiet until the loud, trumpeting sound of a ram’s horn shatters the tranquility. All the slaves are startled awake by the sound, and when Hip Hop sees Walter and Estell stand up, he does the same. Walter looks at Hip Hop and says, "I was sleeping so good, but that racket means it’s time to go work in the