Black Suburbia

By John Rosalina

Tay and Rena are two middle school kids from the ghetto of the Eastside projects. They are both proud and more mature than their ages might suggest, and although very different, they both win the eighth-grade writing contest. On this night, the stage is theirs to share, and unknown to anyone—including Tay and Rena—this award links them together forever.

One beautiful spring day, Tay drives home after dropping Rena off at her parents’ place and notices a house on her street that seems vacant. No lights are ever on. It’s always dark, dead to the world outside, and the yard is a complete mess. The house is out of place, mysterious.

Tay dreams that this house possesses secret hidden treasures. He has a vision of riches beyond belief and crisp, green dollar bills. He devises a plan, accounting for every possible scenario, and decides to pull it off alone. However, Tay doesn’t account for one thing. His plan ends in horror that will haunt both he and Rena for the rest of their lives, turning their childhood potential into eventual tragedy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Oct 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781480884021

John Rosalina

John Rosalina was raised strict Catholic in the liberal setting of a hairdresser’s home in Cleveland. He earned a double major in English and Latin from the University of Rochester before enrolling in criminal studies at the Cleveland Marshall School of Law. After the death of his father, John spun out of control and ended up in prison, where he rekindled his love for reading and discovered a new passion for writing.

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Copyright © 2019 John Rosalina.

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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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.

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

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-8401-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-8402-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019915936

Archway Publishing rev. date: 10/9/2019

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 The Contest

Chapter 2 The Fireworks

Chapter 3 The Williams’ Brothers

Chapter 4 Sista’s and Brotha’s

Chapter 5 Tay Steps Up

Chapter 6 Headlines – Eastside Gang Warfare Erupts

Chapter 7 The Real Aftermath – The Wake and the Funeral

Chapter 8 The Three Dee’s

Chapter 9 The Monroe Sex Club

Chapter 10 The Structure of a Playa’s Life

Chapter 11 On the Street: Hip-Hop Dealers Playin’ the Game

Chapter 12 Niggars Robbin’ Niggars

Chapter 13 A Playa’s Birthday

Chapter 14 Niggars Robbin’ Houses

Chapter 15 The Treasure House

Chapter 16 The Aftermath

Chapter 17 The Discovery

Chapter 18 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Autopsy

Chapter 19 Rena’s Discovery

Chapter 20 The Contract

Chapter 21 A Best-Seller

Chapter 22 Oprah

Chapter 23 Thanksgiving Charity

Chapter 24 The Starter House

Chapter 25 Pregnancy and Political policy

Chapter 26 Speeches and Politics

Chapter 27 The Visitation

Chapter 28 Sweet Love

Chapter 29 A Life Changed

Chapter 30 A Second Discovery

Chapter 31 The Police: Boris visits Rena

Chapter 32 Tay’s Downward Spiral: Boris visits Tay

Chapter 33 The Interrogation

Chapter 34 Arraignment Court

Chapter 35 Tay Learns his Fate

Chapter 36 Tay Faces the Mirror

Chapter 37 Tay Changes his Plea

Chapter 38 Tay has Two Visitors

Chapter 39 Rena Visits

Chapter 40 Man’s Right to Decide

Chapter 41 A New Hope

About the Author

CHAPTER 1

The Contest

A die is cast …

SUETONIUS

M r. Cooley, the principal of Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, was very tall in stature, but very thin and up close he came off scrawny rather than imposing or authoritative. For this reason and a few others, he did not possess any power with the faculty and students alike, nor did he do anything of real importance at the school he was supposed to lead. Except, at the end of every school year, he did what he did best; seemingly miles above the school’s gym floor, before the entire 8 th grade class and their friends and families, he stood on the gym stage behind a podium, and looking even taller than usual, as if that was even possible, he delivered the grade’s yearly awards.

And the female winner of the eighth-grade writing contest for her essay ‘On the Importance of Teaching Family Values: A Moral Guide’ is … Syrena Thompson.

No one in the entire middle school auditorium was surprised when petite little Rena Thompson strolled down the aisle and onto the stage. Although it was her first time in the spotlight, it didn’t look like it, nor did she act like it. Rena, of course, was good at anything she set out to do, which was why even in the confines of her small middle school and low-income neighborhood, she was the cream of the crop and hailed as commander-in-chief.

For on this night, she could have been called a debutante, but Rena was so much more than that. She was as close to perfect as a child could be and it was as if God himself had chosen her all along to be singularly strong. A very necessary trait as she would discover for later in her life. Even she fancied this event as a coming out party, where the whole world if it were watching, could indeed look on her and see the depth of her soul and the power of her spirit.

She wore a proper yet stylish white dress, which accented her slight, yet well proportioned adolescent figure. She had lightly browned skin, radiant rosy cheeks with a high bone structure and a warm affectionate smile. There was no question that Rena’s star shined bright. Indeed, she was daddy’s little princess, especially tonight, but at the same time, she was also her mother’s long awaited dream: A brilliant young student, who was intelligent and beautiful, but not at all stuck-up; not only was she proud, but she was raised much too caring to be the least bit arrogant.

Confident and articulate, Syrena stood before the now seated audience captivating them with her essay, which highlighted the personal virtues instituted by her parents along with the moral content and significant influence of proper role models in a child’s life. Nonetheless, at the conclusion of Rena’s speech, it was her grace and the ease of her demeanor, which earned the crowd’s exuberant applause.

And there, up in front and clapping the loudest, mostly to make up for the fact that there were only two of them, stood Rena’s parents – her father, a successful advertising executive and her mother, an inner city English teacher. Both were the first in their family’s to earn a degree beyond high school. Both had put themselves through the local community college, where they had met and fell in love.

Only by the most careful planning, was Syrena born and raised. Audra and Lewis Thompson analyzed every decision and discussed thoroughly, or more accurately debated, all contingencies before agreeing on any particular choice of action in their life. Their deliberate nature was the bedrock of their success and accordingly, Syrena was an only child and surely no accident. As the applause died down, Rena curtsied to the audience; and as calculated, the Thompsons were last to be seated.

When Mr. Cooley returned to the stage, Rena moved off to the side until the male winner was pronounced. This was customary so the two students could then stand together afterward in order to receive a second ovation.

And the male winner of eight-grade writing contest for his poem entitled Growing-up Ghetto: Life in the Projects’ is … Deontay Williams."

Everyone, including Tay himself and his own family, was totally shocked by his selection as the male writing contest winner. Tay’s situation was almost the exact opposite of Rena’s. No one would ever have ever guessed that Tay would win. In fact, if Tay were a horse at Churchill Downs, he would have been picked dead last – not that he would have gotten in the field to run in the first place. Surely, the odds would have been a gazillion to one and still no one would have laid a single bet on him to win.

Nevertheless, as Tay went by Rena into the spotlight the audience erupted in approval. His entire family was present leading the congregation’s applause with a mixed bag of shouts, claps and whistles. When Tay passed Rena, she purposely brushed up against his shoulder, taking one step outside the curtain to make herself visible and to join in the extraordinary ruckus. Tay felt like everything was occurring in slow motion, not sure which was shaking more, the stage or his rubbery legs.

Tay was also a blessed child endowed with many gifts. He was the youngest of four children, two older brothers and a twin sister born two minutes after him with whom he was extremely close. A very good looking, tough but charismatic kid with deep feelings and a polished exterior beyond his age, Deontay could handle himself where ever he was, in almost any social surrounding, but the circumstances on this night, the presence of Syrena, his family and the whole auditorium combined with his adolescence awed him.

For only a moment, although it seemed to him like eons, he stood at the podium silent. He felt uneasy and awkward, then like an involuntary reaction, like a single sneeze or knee jerk, his ability to rise to whatever circumstance thrown at him appeared. He snapped into gear reciting his poem. Tay’s tone and mannerisms changed with every stanza matching its message. First was wonder; second, caring; third, inquisitive and smart, and finally authoritative and resolute. Now Rena was awed.

She had known Tay had gifts, but not these. He had proven himself on the basketball court to be a star and team leader. Regularly, he took over late in the games when needed most and seemingly on command, guiding his fellow teammates to victory. But this was totally different. For the first time, Syrena felt an intellectual and spiritual presence; a strength in Tay which she had not observed or even sensed before.

Rena had liked Tay for all the reasons he was not she. He was attractive, a good athlete and street tough. Moreover, she could tell from his looks that he would become even more distinguished with age. And now she had unearthed this; he had a literary mind too! It was the final piece to the man she envisioned as a child and dreamed about in the years that came after. These thoughts blinded her from recognized Tay’s most important characteristic and strongest trait; his chameleon-like ability to adapt to his environment or any particular situation. This attribute was scarily similar to a brilliant actor who innately reacts to a missed line, another peer’s mistake or a different scene.

Earlier, as the two had stood next to each other backstage before the ceremony, there had been a physical awkwardness. Syrena quickly reached puberty and started liking boys’ two years before, but still had not yet been with one, which was rare for these times and her neighborhood. Girls and boys were hooking up much younger and seemingly with a multitude of partners. Sadly, teen pregnancies were common among her classmates. Two of her friends were already pregnant and all the others had already basically done it.

Tay was the first boy who really caught Rena’s interest, especially in this way. When she thought of him, her body tingled with sexual excitement. She thought her feelings were obvious to him, but in Rena’s presence, Tay was dealing with his own uneasy nerves, this besides having to deliver his poem to a large audience. Unquestionably, both were extremely young and anxious.

Not many words had been exchanged when they were backstage. A proper and quaint, Hello, came from her.

Tay responded, Hey, Rena, then adding, You look very nice tonight.

Syrena knew Tay didn’t need any compliments on his appearance so she simply said, Good luck. Not ever thinking that they would later end up back on stage together.

Now as Syrena watched him from the corner of the stage, she saw Tay shine. When he ended his reading, the audience sat for a moment in silence absorbing the work as a whole and then after he looked up for the last time, the audience like a volcano erupted in approval. Leading the standing ovation was Tay’s family rarely all together at the same time. His mother, Matty, a strong black woman and avid church-goer, his two older brothers, Julius shouting and Percy whistling, and finally his twin sister, Sheontay sandwiched between them clapping as loud as her hands would let her. Absent as usual was his father, a self-contracting laborer, who was always out on a job, or more likely, drinking and carousing as he was definitely a well-known and accomplished womanizer. Upon inspecting his family, one could see why Tay was the way he was. How the polar parental influences had affected his character – the charisma of his father and moral depth instilled by his mother. The positive results of these conditions were obvious to everyone except Tay himself.

Off to the side, Syrena was smiling and clapping. With all the excitement, she ventured further out from the red stage curtains making her whole body more visible in an effort to make sure Tay saw her approval.

Then Mr. Cooley motioned for Rena to come and join Tay on the stage. Not finished filling the air with noise which was as loud as the thunder of an impending storm or a 4th of July fireworks finale, the audience broke out even louder than before as Tay and Rena stood side-by-side before what had become a standing room only ovation by the crowd.

Deontay and Syrena were two middle school kids, both from the Eastside projects, both from the ghetto, both proud and older than their ages, and although very different, they both won that school year’s eighth-grade writing contest. On this night, the stage was theirs together and unknown to anyone including themselves, this night would inexorably link them together forever.

CHAPTER 2

The Fireworks

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross’d lovers …

Romeo & Juliet ll. 5–6

R ena and Tay had spent some time together around the neighborhood early that summer goofing around, but they were still very young. As most kids, their respective families dominated their day-to-day lives, but with more maturity and more freedom changes would mark their near future.

During the last week of school, two had decided to make plans to get together in the summer on the Fourth of July. They would have dinner on the square where they could meet and then go and watch the fireworks further on down the RTA tracks between the Heights and the city.

To arrive, Tay used the bus. The Eastside of the city had changed greatly. What used to one of the ritziest areas full of wealthy white robber barons and their families was now a mix of elderly new immigrants mostly Russian and Korean, and blacks moving out of the city into the most accessible part of the suburbs. The RTA line provided just that. Because of the poor economy and the rising price of gas and car insurance, the rapid train lines were gaining popularity and provided a decent alternative to driving an automobile.

However, on the whole, the city’s public transportation was woefully inadequate. Less buses and longer routes made for a poor combination. To be fair, the Eastside was much more spread out than the Westside and not really suited for a decent bus system. Still, it sucked waiting for buses, especially during the colder winter months, and therefore, the trains which in the old days used to be colored completely yellow and looked like fast moving ripe Chiquita bananas, were often rode. Simply Park & Ride was RTA’s slogan.

Rena’s parents dropped her off first. The two youths had planned to meet at an enormous Barnes and Noble bookstore on the northeast corner of the Square. It was a beautiful summer day. The area was bustling with quaint specialty shops, restaurants, venders and things to do all around the Square and along the RTA tracks. A small fair with jazz bands was set to begin at 6:30 PM and last until dusk. The Square at one time long ago was only for the elite upper class, but was now mixed and more accurately predominately black, especially on the South side. Again, high-rise apartments, public transportation, and of course, location, location, location lent to the diversity and change. The trains were now totally modernized outfitted with maps, intercoms and painted murals of famous black historical figures and it was by far the best way to travel back and forth from the east suburbs into downtown, especially when the heart of the city was hosting a large sporting or political event. And it was the perfect venue for Tay and Rena’s first official date.

Tay came off the bus dress sharply in jeans and white cotton T-shirt with a comfortable lose-fitting light blue button down oxford shirt over it and his favorite soft black leather jacket. Rena picked him out as soon as he stepped from the bus. Realizing her anticipation, her heart immediately jumped a beat.

She had made sure to arrive a whole half-hour early. Then she sat on the Brazilian café’s patio outside the bookstore facing the tracks and bus stop so she could see Tay arrive. Both smiled as they saw each other. They shared a modest embrace, stood close and sat next to each other on the patio. They had recently run into each other a few times, but were always busy either coming or going and had not been this close up for over a couple of months, and certainly, not for an extended amount of time.

A few recent phone conversations had resulted in their holiday rendezvous. Although the date was more of Syrena’s doing, she was very subtle in the proposal and its planning.

This was a good idea, opened Rena proud of her accomplishment. Look like we picked a beautiful night.

More aggressive than usual, Syrena had really encouraged this moment, but had enough tact to let Tay feel he was the initiator or at least that the arrangement was mutual.

You look great Rena, Tay replied.

Rena was wearing her favorite jeans and Roger Carter tennis shoes, white with gold lace holes and flakes streaming down the side. Her top was a soft cream sweater which matched her favorite tan soft suede ¾ length jacket with a plush collar. The outfit was nice and warm and she had recently bought the stylish sneakers for just such a walking occasion. She wore the ensemble comfortably. A Vera Bradley handbag and blanket sat in the chair next to her.

They each dressed for both the warm day and the cooler evening’s extravaganzas. As a couple, they were a perfect fit. Although this was their first date, it seemed like they had been together much longer.

You know Rena, Tay had thought about what to say on the train ride up out of the ghetto, but as usual decided to wing it and see what happened. He was direct and honest asserting, I’m surprised your parents let you come out.

Rena decided to take the same approach. They did and they didn’t. I told dad, that I was meeting my girlfriends and I was the only one responsible enough to bring a blanket.

Tay smiled inside knowing that Rena’s parents would eat up her explanation. But his words were more consoling, That must have been difficult to do.

They both gave a knowing sideways glance then laughed, which seemed