Us Vs. the Streets

By Q. Love

Us vs. The streets is a story of two best friends from different walks of life. Raised in a stable home with both parents, Chad is a highly recruited senior point guard with enough talent to make it to the NBA. Korahn, raised in a single parent home, is a book smart and street savvy teen that utilizes the hustle game as a tool for a better life.
Despite being cut from a different cloth, the two college bound friends share a common groundbeing young, black and from the hood.
With the odds stacked against them, the best friends attempt to steer clear of becoming a statistic. Fast money, fast women and bad influences are just a few roadblocks in their paths to success. Lives and hope will be lost, tears will be shed and bonds will be broken as they attempt to cross the biggest roadblock of them all, The Streets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 27, 2009
• ISBN: 9781449021887

Q. Love

Q.Love introduces his unique writing style in his debut novel, Us Vs. The Streets. Born, raised and currently residing in New Jersey, Q.Love delivers a style best described as a gift to Urban America. No stranger to the hood, Q.Love uses his life experiences to deliver powerful stories of substance, along with real-life depictions of Urban America, allowing his audience to connect with characters on an intimate level. He has the ability to utilize his words to paint perfect pictures for his reading audience. Look for Q.Love to make a name for himself in the genre..."Urban Fiction" just got better.

Book preview

© 2010 Q. Love. 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.

First published by AuthorHouse 3/1/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4490-2188-7 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4490-2187-0 (sc)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Four Years Later

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

This book is dedicated to the cities of Asbury Park

and Neptune, New Jersey.

"Get the best of the streets. Don’t let the

streets get the best of you." Q.Love

Special Thanks To: My Lord and savior,

Jesus Christ. Without you, nothing is possible.

Thank you for blessing me with the gift

to write.

Special Thanks to: Terrell Thompson,

Thanks for designing the cover Cuz. For

those looking for a good cover, holler

at him.

[e-mail]

Special Thanks to: Everyone who has

supported me throughout my first writing and publishing experience and all of those who purchased

and read the book. Hope you enjoy it. This is just the beginning. Feel free to email me with

feedback or questions.

[e-mail]

Chapter 1 

Yo, shoot that motherfucka? Chad yelled to his boy.

I thought I got em’, Korahn replied.

Fuck…I’m hit, Chad shouted out. Cover me man! he added.

Korahn tightened the grip on his gun and was prepared to pull the trigger.

Aight, I’m reloaded. Let’s go! Chad shouted.

We ain’t ever gon’ beat this game if you keep gettin shot nigga! Korahn said referring to the two-player shooter game, Time Cop, they were playing for Playstation 2.

Chad was the older of the two by roughly four months. He stood a towering six foot four inches and weighed about two hundred and ten pounds. He was light skinned with green eyes and his braided corn rolls looked as if they were done daily. With his height and muscular physique, it was easy to tell that Chad was a stellar athlete. The two had been best friends since 2001 when Chad’s parents relocated to the small town of Asbury Park, right off the eastern shore of New Jersey. Due to certain misfortunes of the city, such as continuous violence, drugs and a lack of satisfactory education in the school systems, Mr. Charles Lucky felt forced to move his family to the next town over, Neptune. Although the towns were literally next door to each other, Chad’s father found Neptune to be more suitable for their standards of living. It was also rumored that Neptune had a better school system than Asbury Park. At age eighteen, Chad was the oldest of the three Lucky siblings, having a fifteen-year-old sister, Tameka and an eight-year-old brother, Charles junior. The family of five lived in a four-bed room town house in a very peaceful and serene neighborhood.

Yo, technology is crazy man. Remember Duck Hunt for Nintendo? Korahn said to Chad, while shooting bank robbers on the video game.

Hell yea. I use to put the gun right up on the TV and shoot the ducks and they still got away, Chad replied.

Word is bond and that ugly ass dog just use to laugh at you, hahahahaha, Korahn commented, mimicking the game.

Yo, did you hear anything from Temple? Chad asked Korahn.

Nah, not yet. But what about you superstar? When you gon’ sign your commitment letter to Duke? Korahn asked.

I don’t know man…my pops keep riding me about that. I’m a diehard Tarheels fan, you know North Carolina is where I would really love to play, but it’s like my father is pushing me towards Duke and Georgetown,

Korahn thought to himself, At least you have a father to push you. Korahn stood about six feet two inches tall, weighing a little less than two hundred pounds. Other than his nice build, he was almost the exact opposite of Chad. He was dark skinned in complexion with a reddish gloss, as if someone along the line in his family were Native American. He also had very nice hair, cut in a short style, with deep silky waves. Korahn was the victim of a single parent home. He was also the oldest of three children, raised solely by their struggling mother. Although Korahn knew his father, he never bothered to contact him for anything, for the simple fact that he possessed the same trait his father was known for, stubbornness. Korahn’s attitude towards his father was, That nigga knows where I live. Why should I bother contacting him? He ain’t did shit for me since the day I came on this earth. Growing up in a two-bed room apartment in the projects of Asbury Park was no easy task for Korahn. It was his vast knowledge of the streets and a hustler’s mentality that assisted him in surviving one of the roughest parts of New Jersey for eighteen years.

Chad! his mother yelled. It’s getting late. You’d better take Korahn home and get back here so you can get ready for school.

Yea, you better take me home before it gets too dark, Korahn teasingly said to Chad.

Oh you got jokes? You need to take some of that money you been making and get your own whip nigga,

Chad’s prized possession was his 1999 Lexus GS 400. It was fully loaded; black on black, leather interior, sitting on eighteen inched chrome rims. It was a gift from his parents on his 18th birthday. During the ten-minute drives to Korahn’s house, Chad would often say to himself. Damn, I’m glad we don’t live around here anymore. However, at the same time, he felt remorse for his best friend.

Yo, can you just drop me off at the corner store? I gotta pick up some breakfast for the kids. I know Karen was too tired to go shopping last night,

Yea…my bad man. I didn’t mean to keep your mother out all night, but she’s so sexy. I just couldn’t help it, Chad jokingly said to Korahn. I’ll take you by the store. I need to get a blunt anyway.

I bet J.J. Reddick don’t smoke blunts, Korahn replied.

J.J. Reddick was Duke University’s current shooting guard.

That’s why he don’t jump as high as I do, Chad replied.

As the store clerk rung up Korahn’s purchase of a gallon of two percent milk, a dozen of eggs and a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, Korahn prepared to pay with the stack of one hundred dollar bills he pulled out of his pocket.

Here, pay for this blunt too, Chad added.

I ain’t paying for no blunt,

Why not?

Because I don’t smoke,

With the popularity of weed smoking amongst young adults, it was hard for people to believe that Korahn not once partook. However, constantly hanging around Chad, he would often catch ‘contact’, a term for inhaling the smoke second hand.

Since you can’t buy me a blunt, next time walk ya ass home, Chad angrily shouted.

Shut up and make sure you’re not late picking me up for school tomorrow. Everybody’s not the number two ranked player in the country, Korahn sarcastically remarked. You know Mr. Jefferson won’t hesitate to write me up. Korahn added, as he walked out of the store.

Although Korahn lived in Asbury Park, he attended Neptune High School. By state law, he was supposed to attend the school in the city that he resided in. However, after his first year of high school, he felt the curriculum in Asbury Park was not challenging enough and had his mother use a friend’s address as his residence, which allowed him to attend Neptune.

It was eleven o’clock when Korahn arrived home that night, a few hours earlier than his usual arrival time. After unlocking the master lock on the jail-like barred gate and unlocking both locks on the apartment door, Korahn opened the door to see the usual nighttime scene of the apartment. His eight-year-old brother Kaleel would be sleeping on the living room sofa, foot to head, with his twelve-year-old brother Kamaal, the nineteen inch television set displaying the cartoon channel and his mother Karen sleeping in her bed. After putting away the groceries, Korahn made his routine stop to his bedroom. He then reached under his bed and pulled out an orange shoebox with a white Nike check on top. Korahn pulled out the stack of one hundred dollar bills from his pocket and added it to the contents of the shoebox. Afterwards, he carried his brothers into his room one by one and comfortably placed them on his bed. His last stop would be his mother’s room where he would kiss her on the forehead and whisper in her ear, Stay strong, we need you. Korahn would then turn off the living room television and prepare the sofa for a good five or six hours of sleep.

It was 6:30am when Korahn awoke to the irritating high-pitched sound of his alarm clock. His mother would already be off to work by 5:30am, leaving him responsible for his two brothers in the morning. Korahn immediately went to the kitchen where he made a bowl of cereal, two pieces of toast and poured a glass of orange juice.

Leel, it’s time to wake up, Korahn whispered, while shaking his little brother.

He would carry the groggy eight-year-old into the kitchen, to his already prepared breakfast.

Maal, wake up…it’s time to get ready for school. Go take your shower, Kamaal would take his shower while Kaleel ate his breakfast. Korahn found this system effective. By the time Kamaal was dressed, Kaleel would be finished with his breakfast. Korahn would then help Kaleel get dressed, while Kamaal ate his breakfast. The half hour process, also gave Korahn at least a half hour every morning to get himself ready for school. He would finish around 7:30am. Kamaal would walk Kaleel to school, which was a short three blocks from the apartment. Kamaal’s school was conveniently down the street from Kaleel’s school.

At the Lucky residence, it was 7:30 before Chad decided to wake up.

Tameka! Chad angrily yelled. Get the hell out of the bathroom! I have to take my shower! he added.

Well, you shoulda woke up on time, Tameka replied.

I’m not playin girl! If you make me late I’m gon’ beat ya ass,

Whateva nigga! Tameka said, as she continued to take her sweet time in the bathroom.

It was 7:40 when Chad finally got into the bathroom, twenty minutes before the late bell would ring for first period. Chad was the star player of the basketball team and did not have to worry at all about being late. If he did not show up on time, the teachers would be more concerned about his wellness rather disciplining him for his tardiness. By the time he got dressed, it was five minutes to eight.

Oh shit! Rahn… Chad blurted out. He quickly called Korahn on his cell phone.

I thought I told you not to be late! Korahn answered, without a proper greeting.

My bad. Tameka grown ass was taking too long in the bathroom, Chad explained. I’ll be there in five minutes.

Korahn, without responding, immediately closed his cell phone to end the call.

It was 8:15am when the two arrived at school.

Ah, it’s nice of you to join us Mr. King, the teacher said.

Mr. Jefferson was a five foot ten, sophisticated African American male. His grayish hair alone told the many years of life experience he had endured. He had a deep voice and spoke every word with the confidence of a lion in the jungle. He was the most intimidating of all the teachers in the school.

Did someone die in your family Mr. King? he added.

No Sir, Korahn answered.

Did someone almost die in your family Mr. King? Mr. Jefferson asked, sarcastically.

No Sir, Korahn answered again.

Well that means you do not have a legitimate excuse for being late, but since we do have students in here that come to class on time and want to learn, instead of wasting their time discussing Mr. King’s tardiness, we’ll just continue this discussion after school.

Meanwhile, Chad walked into his math class twenty minutes late. His math teacher Mr. Weimer, who also happened to be the head basketball coach, was all smiles.

"Chad! I almost thought