Hatred

By Quentin Heron

It was a hard-knock life for Mr. Earl Harris, and it was only because he was born Black. Born and raised in the small town of Green Bay, Wisconsin, where it was predominantly White, Mr. Earl Harris obviously stood out. He would always get picked on at school and anywhere else he went. Being called a nigger became a normal thing for him, and he came to the conclusion that putting his head down when a White person walked by was the right thing to do.

Sometimes Earl would ask his mother if he could be homeschooled because he was tired of the students and even the teachers picking on him, but his mother said that he would have to deal with it because she could not provide him with the proper education that he needed. For years, Earl accepted the punishment from his teachers and classmates both physically and mentally, and when he finally graduated high school, he decided not to go to college because he didn't want to deal with the pain of being bullied by his fellow classmates. But what Earl Harris didn't know was, years down the line when he was old and retired from his job, that he would endure more heartache and pain than he could ever imagine. This jaw-dropping thriller will take readers on a roller-coaster ride filled with laughs, cries, and emotional trauma as Earl Harris tried his best to survive in what he calls this White man's world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887937458

Book preview

cover.jpg

Hatred

Quentin Heron

Copyright © 2023 Quentin Heron

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88793-728-1 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88793-745-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of 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

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

About the Author

Chapter 1

February 20, 2020

It was a cold winter night when Todd Macintosh and his two friends Scotty and Kevin were outside Todd's house having a snowball fight. It was approaching 8:00 p.m., and the citizens on University Drive, in the small town of Green Bay, Wisconsin, were about to call it a night. Todd stayed with his mother Mary, who was a widow after Todd's father died in a car accident when Mary was just four months pregnant with Todd. Mary never remarried. But she did date the grocery store clerk for ten years until he was sent to prison for fifteen years for robbing the same grocery store he worked at. Mary hasn't dated since, and for the past five years, Todd has yet to see his mother with another man.

Mary was raised on a farm in Oconto County, fifteen miles outside of Green Bay. She was an only child, and her parents were divorced. One day, her father came home and found her mother in bed with another man. Mary's mother ran off with that man, and Mary decided to stay on the farm with her father and help him with all the animals. Mary's father was a racist, and he raised her to be just like him. He made her believe that the Caucasian race was the superior race and was above all other races. So as a White woman, Mary belittled anybody who didn't have the same skin color as her. And when she had Todd, she raised him to be the same way.

At the tender age of fifteen, Todd was taught that White privilege was real and was just as racist as his mother and grandfather. Mary didn't allow Todd to hang out with Black kids, so Todd choose the Armstrong brothers, Kevin and Scotty, to befriend since they were White too. Kevin and Scotty stayed next door to Todd, with their grandmother Sandy. Sandy took the boys in when they were young because their mother was a drug addict. Scotty, aged fourteen, and Kevin, aged fifteen, never knew who their father was, nor did they ever try to find out. Besides, when they were younger, their mother told them that their father walked out on them and never came back. They believed her, so they never asked any questions.

Todd, remember your curfew is nine o'clock, Mary yelled from the front porch.

Yes, Mom, I know, Todd replied. Mary turned around and walked in the house.

Yes, Mom, I know, Kevin laughed mocking Todd.

Todd looked at Kevin and said, Screw you! Todd took off his glasses and wiped them on his coat. He was trying to get them back clean after being hit in the face with a snowball by Scotty.

Hey, do you guys wanna go egg Old Man Earl's house? asked Kevin.

Old Man Earl was the only Black person that lived in their neighborhood. He was sixty-five years old and stayed in an old, rundown house five houses down from Todd's. Earl lived alone and has no kids or friends, but he did have a pet cat who he called Sheba. Six days out the week, Todd, Kevin and Scotty would go down to Earl's house and vandalize his property. The only reason why they didn't go on Sundays was because they all went to church with Kevin and Scotty's grandmother. They would throw shit, piss, and dead rats on the old man's porch. They would also call him niggers and tell him he wasn't welcomed in their neighborhood. Earl would sometimes go to the boys' houses and tell the adults on them, but Mary nor Sandy would believe anything he said. So now, all Earl did was turn off all the lights in his house and act like he wasn't home whenever he saw the boys coming his way.

Yeah, let's go! said Scotty.

Kevin ran in the house so he could grab a carton of eggs. Todd put his glasses back on, then wiped the rest of the snow off his face. Kevin ran back out carrying a full carton of eggs in his hand. Are you guys ready? Kevin asked looking at Scotty and then at Todd.

Let's go, Todd said, rubbing his hands through his short brown hair, trying to make sure all the snow was gone.

They all walked down the street heading toward Old Man Earl's house; he must have seen them coming because by the time they made it there, the house was completely dark.

I don't think he's home, said Scotty. They were now standing right in the front of Earl's house. The light-brown house had a broken screen door and looked like it was in great need of some new paint. There was an old, dirty mattress laying in the yard half covered with snow. The walkway leading to the porch looked like it hadn't been shoveled in days.

He's here. That nigger is just trying to hide from us, Kevin assured. Kevin opened the carton of eggs and took four out. He passed the carton to Todd, then walked to Earl's front yard. Todd and Scotty followed Kevin, and they all walked up and began throwing eggs at the windows. Kevin pulled his penis out and started urinating on the front steps. Scotty started kicking the front door and yelling, Nigger! Nigger! Nigger! We know you're in there! Come outside and play!

Earl was inside of the house sitting on the couch petting his cat crying. He was thinking that the boys were going to kick in his door and do something to him. They were on his porch yelling all kinds of racial slurs, spitting on the windows and laughing while doing it. Earl thought about calling the police but decided against it because the last time he called, they told him they couldn't do anything unless they caught the boys in the act. He knew that they would be long gone before the police came anyways. The kicking stopped, and Earl walked to the front window. He looked out and saw all three boys walking off his porch laughing. He sat his cat down and took a seat back on the couch.

Todd, Kevin, and Scotty ran back to Todd's house while laughing at what they just did. They were already plotting on what to do to Old Man Earl's house tomorrow. It was now 8:45 p.m., and Todd knew he had to be in the house soon. They stood in the front of his house for ten more minutes and talked until Todd said his goodbyes and walked into the house so he didn't miss his curfew.

Chapter 2

The next day, Mary and Todd went to the grocery store. They didn't do a lot of shopping. Mary just wanted to pick up a couple of items so they could have something to eat for the next few days. While they were on their way back home, they rode past Old Man Earl's house and saw him outside shoveling his walkway. Todd looked at him and smiled. He was thinking that Earl was wasting his time because later on tonight, all he was going to do was kick the snow back into the walkway.

They made it back to their house and put the food away. Todd told Mary he was going over to Kevin and Scotty's house, and he would be home by curfew. She gave him the okay, and he took off next door to get the boys. Both boys were already outside playing. Todd walked up and shook both their hands.

Guess who I just saw shoveling their snow? Todd said grinning.

Who? said Kevin.

That fuckin' nigger Earl! Todd exclaimed.

Kevin started laughing, Well, I'll be damned! Let's go over there and mess it all up!

Let's go! Todd agreed.

Wait, let me go steal some beers out the fridge, Scotty said running off into their house. Kevin and Scotty would steal their grandma's beers out of the refrigerator almost every day, and she never noticed. Two minutes later, Scotty ran from the house carrying a plastic bag with six cans of Budweiser inside.

Why you bring all that beer? Kevin asked.

Scotty replied, Because I wanted us all to have two apiece.

Okay, whatever. Let's walk to the corner so we can pass them around, Kevin said.

Scotty passed Kevin and Todd their beers, then grabbed his. He threw the plastic bag on the ground and walked off. Todd and Kevin followed. They walked to their neighborhood park so they could have somewhere to hide and drink their beers. They decided to wait until after their beers were gone to go and vandalize Earl's property.

While they were sitting in the park, they encountered another group of kids standing by the swings smoking weed. They all just minded their business and continued drinking their beers. Once they were done, they left the park and headed toward Earl's house. When they made it there, all the lights were off again. Nice and buzzed off their beers, all three boys ran on Earl's porch and began spitting on his windows. Once again, Scotty kicked the door while yelling racial slurs. Todd saw a shovel on the porch and decided to grab it. He walked up to every window in the front of the house and smashed them in with the shovel.

After hearing the windows breaking, Earl grabbed his cat, ran to his room, and closed and locked the door. Todd looked in the