The word commitment rang in my head for the rest of the night. Outside of sports, I had never committed to anything. During the one-stop ride to 145th, I focused all the anger inside me and directed it to Mr. Lopez. I mulled over all the possibilities of things going wrong. This could be my inaugural stick-up. I started rethinking robbing him altogether.
Then the thought of my mother hit me. Images of her pent-up in a hospital bed suffering made my eyes well with tears. If I didn’t figure out a way to raise funds for a serious operation, she’d spend her last days in a hospital bed. Curious stares followed me when I bought a mask suitable for a blizzard toward the end of spring on Broadway. I ignored them and picked up some gloves as well. I was out of choices.
Twenty minutes after Eric and Dana left, I called Bria. I was a lot more relaxed because of the trees. I felt bad for letting them know my scholarship situation first. Bria didn’t need to worry.
I looked through my bedroom window and saw two cops pressing a Black man’s face to the hood of their car. Bria’s phone rang and rang. I was about to hang up when she picked up.
“Hi baby!”
“What’s up? Look, I got a stressful situation that I need to tell you about.”
“Your scholarships might be all gone, right?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Dana told me, dumb-ass!”
I was in the doghouse.
“First of all, you need to stop telling other people stuff before me, like I’m not the first one that’s supposed to know some thing important like that. What if I had a big problem and I went to some other guy?”
“Look, just calm down, Bria. I didn’t expect her to come through. I just confided in my boy E, not her.”
“Well, Jaden, I wanna help you with our problem but I’m too pissed off for that right now. We’ll get up later and hopefully by then you’ll figure who to share shit with first?”
“Wait! Hold on! We still on to chill tonight though, right? Hello? Bria?”
She hung up on me. Damn! That was cool. I’d get her pretty ass back soon enough.
The following Monday, right after attendance, Nick, Eric and I was called into the principal’s office over the PA system. I gave a head nod to my comrades Nick and Eric coming at me in the main hall. I gave them the finger when they laughed at me for getting in trouble.
“Oh, so now y’all gigging on me, right?” I playfully swung at them when they closed in. The principal gave me a disapproving nod from the other end of the hallway. A teacher sprung out of his classroom to talk to him, delaying my fate.
Eric threw his hand over my shoulder and chuckled.
“My bad, son. I just thought that an all-star athlete like you would get off of whatever bad shit you did up in here.”
“Well, what I did didn’t happen in here. I stuck up the bodega on 138th Street.”
Nick and Eric were stunned. Eric stumbled back from shock.
“Get the fuck outta here, J! Shit! Me and my man Nick here are long-term trouble-makers, but 138th? Mr. Lopez’ store? After all that free shit he done hooked us up with? All them Now ‘n’ Laters and shit.”
“Yeah I know, but I was desperate. A nigga was broke and I ain’t trying to flip burgers. I hope I didn’t get popped for that shit.”
Nick rubbed his chin and thought of a plan.
“I don’t know what the principal’s got for you right now, but I’m a say this, holla at us after class, and we’ll school you on Robbery 101, all right? You’re the premiere runner on our squad. He’s not gonna give you the boot and let somebody else get the credit for scooping you up, feel me? Just play it cool and say it was psychological shit that made you do it.”
A minute later, it was time to face what I’d done. Principal Switzler showed me the way to the office, and I thrust my body down into a brown leather chair and hunkered down low waiting for bad news. Switzler leaned back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs against his pudgy stomach, watching me closely like he was reading me.
“Things have flipped upside down for you, huh Jaden?”
“That’s obvious. Look, am I being accused of something or what?”
He rolled forward. “Look, I’m here to help. I heard that you think someone set you up.”
“I don’t think. I know.”
He nodded and mouthed a thank you when his secretary brought him a steaming coffee and turned his attention back to me, twisting his moustache.
“Sure, kid. All I ask is that you keep it together until the academic year is over. I know people that know people, so don’t do anything that would hurt your chances for playing football. Keep your nose clean, okay? You’re the best athlete we’ve had at this school since I’ve been here and I want the best for you. Keep your head on and you’ll get through this minor incident. It’s been done before. That’s all. Get to class, and…” he looked outside his door. “And stay away from thugs.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ROBBING SEASON
The dismissal bell rang giving me one hour before practice. Nick and Eric caught me getting really hands-on with Bria by my locker.
“Y’all better ease up with that right there. Next thing you know, we got a little Jaden running round here trying out for the JV squad!”
Laughter rang through the hallway as other teens buzzed around.
“Look J, seriously though, we gotta talk about that thing. Real talk,” Eric said.
“Now?”
“Yes, now. Come on. Let’s take a walk.”
I drew Bria in for a romantic kiss then pulled back. I followed it up with another one and said, “Look, I gotta talk business with my boys, sweetness. I’m a hit you up before I go to practice, ahight?”
“Alright, baby. I’ll let you off this time. But you better not ever put your little friends in front of me again, you heard me?” She did a little pose and we smiled at each other.
I picked up her curvaceous frame off the ground and lifted her to my shoulder, playfully threatening her with a fake ice grill. Nick and Eric stood back cursing in impatience.
“Call me later,” she said walking away.
Nick led us across the football field, to a pizza shop nearby. After a few bites we got to talking.
“Now let’s get to when you stuck up Mr. Lopez…”
“Let me start at the beginning. I walked out and sat on the front steps, General Lee was out there drinking. Then this fine woman with an ass like a—”
“Stick to da script, J.”
“Lee asked me what was wrong. I told him moms. We talked and he felt sorry for me. He goes to his spot and comes back with this big ass bottle of E&J. I was downing that shit and start talking reckless about robbing somebody. He didn’t stop me. After a while, he convinced me that I was built to strong-arm a dude into giving up the loot. I had to piss real bad and headed upstairs. I called my uncle for a loan but he said he didn’t have a dime to spare. Talking to Bria only frustrated me, so I went to my room and did some pushups and crunches. I was heated over being broke and mom’s illness. I got fed up, grabbed the mask, my jacket and some gloves then hit the streets looking for a vic.”
Eric pulled a cigarette out and lit it.
“Number one rule: don’t make criminal decisions when you drunk. You broke that rule, didn’t you? Then you went and let General Lee put a battery in your pack like you a stone-cold killer or sump’n!”
I rubbed my head realizing how foolish a move I’d made. Eric wasn’t done.
“How you know Lopez didn’t have a hammer?”
“He did, it wasn’t loaded. I walked in acting like I had a gun in my pocket. I pointed it at him and told him to give me his gun real slow. I was sweating like crazy under the mask. I was surprised he didn’t recognize my voice. He put his piece on the table. I grabbed that shit and asked him for the cash. Smart, right?”
Nick looked around to check for anyone listening. Eric sucked his teeth and told him to keep going.
“He gave me few hundred dollars a
nd I broke out. I left the gloves and mask in the trash and took a train uptown to see Bria.”
Nick checked the time on his cell and said, “You’s a crazy boy, J. Just roll with us and you’ll learn sump’n about the hustle.”
We exchanged daps and I split. Walking back, I kept wondering if a criminal lifestyle was the only option I had left.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BACK IN TIME
That night I went to sleep high. I had overheard my mother talking on the telephone when I got in. I closed my eyes thinking about the bomb-ass family reunion we had down in South Carolina. There was music blasting and every kind of artery-clogging soul food dish on the planet was burning. Barbecues were great because they gave me a chance to grab the attention of everyone with my Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance routine. Mom never let me wear the Ghericurl. Thank God for that.
I was proud of my family and used to bring Devlin along with me to my family reunions. I would go to his. He met Uncle Nate, the lawyer and Uncle Paul who ran a car dealership up in the Bronx, he also met Aunt Pearl, she was a doctor.
All the adults ate and drank to excess. Then they were too full or intoxicated and weren’t able to keep track of us. Devlin and I left for the park to shoot hoops. We were real tight back then and played a lot of basketball. We even did our own color commentating. Different color tops of the crack-vials that littered the court distracted me.
“Jaden measures his opponent up, jukes, fakes left but goes right. He crosses over and goes baseline. Reverse lay-up! New York is up by the two!”
“Devlin backs his man down. Drop-steps, spins in the opposite direction. Skyhook is good! The game’s tied.”
“You really think you gonna go pro?”
“If I work hard enough and I’m lucky, maybe.”
“Them is pipe dreams, baby. If you wanna make fast money right now, you gotta to be pushing rocks. That’s what’s up.” Devlin said when we spotted a young dude. He was a few years older than us and sporting a heavy gold-chain.
We stopped playing when we saw his fancy gold rims on his car and a long-legged chick, wearing clothes a size too small, all over him. I wanted to have his jewelry and woman too. Devlin was drooling.
I was embarrassed when he jogged over to the dude.
“These wheels are so cool! Can I touch them?” He asked like a herb.
“Go ahead, little scrap. I just got ‘em waxed. Looks good, huh?”
“Yeah…” Devlin wore a wide eyed smile.
“You can own sump’n like this but you gotta hustle hard. You got potential. Come get down with my team.”
His gold toothed smile unveiled a hustler signing Devlin up for slaughter. His presence gave me a bad feeling. I tore Devlin’s shirt, yanking him up to his feet.
“We gotta go,” I said.
“Come see me when you ready to make that money, little scrap. I’m out here all the time. Ask for Slick. ya heard?”
I shoved Devlin when he turned back and said, “Ahight, homie. I’m a see you again.”
I knew by the way his eyes lit up that he wanted that life. Back at the barbecue, he couldn’t get fast money off of his mind.
“Did you see the shiny rims on that ride, Jaden? I want that shit!”
“Slow down, you’re only twelve. You can’t even get a driver’s permit yet. That guy Slick is bad news.”
“Whatever! That don’t mean I can’t save up till then.”
“You mess with that dude and I’m a kick your ass, Devlin.”
“Come do it now! You tough, right?”
He bear-hugged me and pressed the air right out my lungs. I broke free but he already had me above his head. I slipped out of his grip and my head bounced off the hard dirt.
“Oh shit!” Someone shouted.
We started wrestling on the grass. He landed a few punches to my ribs before Uncle Nate pulled me off him. My eyes welled up with tears but I managed to land two shots to his lip before my uncle could drag me away. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt a little better when I saw that I busted his lip. Mom scolded us for fighting. We sat far away from each other for a minute but everybody seemed locked in another conversation. I ate and watched my girl cousins doing their dance.
Later that day we cooled off and hung out. The next day, he insisted on going to the park without me. Devlin returned with sixty dollars.
“How’d you get all that money?” I asked.
“It was so easy, J. All I had to do was take a fifteen-minute bus ride and make a drop.”
“Slick is a pusher, Devlin. You know you could get in big trouble, right?”
“Stop being a goody two-shoes punk, J. I’m about making papers.”
“You’re gonna be about jail, if you keep it up.”
Devlin went shopping, stacked up on candies and he even bought a couple CD’s.
“Here hold this?” He offered as we walked into a Modell’s.
“I don’t want your dirty money,” I said with a scowl. It was easy to tell that things were changing.
It was Sunday. At twelve midday, I awoke to the insistent ringing of the telephone. I glanced outside and saw that April showers had made the dead leaves slimy and clogged the gutter. Trash bags were rain-soaked and stunk after hours of neglect on the block. I saw Eric’s number on the caller ID. Ignoring the call I tried to go back to sleep. Eric’s message made me sit up.
“Jaden, nigga if you don’t pick up this phone, I’m a tell Bria what you was doing at the Golden Lady last week, nigga!”
I grabbed the phone before he could hang up.
“Nigga you crazy! Bria could be right by my side and shit.”
“You know damn well your mom ain’t letting her sleep over. Get ready for some hands-on hood experience. I’m downstairs.”
The light burned my eyes as I walked toward Nick and Eric. Both were leaning on Nick’s uncle’s van.
“Let’s ride,” Eric said.
We all jumped in the van. Twenty quiet minutes passed before I asked where they were going. Eric stared at me for a second then he focused on the road.
“I threw a couple of dollars at this big-tittie chick, Shanice to convince Fred, this nigga that owes me money, to blow some bread on her at Garden State Plaza. She goes to his school. I gave him some credit cause nigga bought an eighth or half off me on the regular. But he ain’t come see me since.”
“So this nigga thinks he’s gonna get some ass?” I asked smiling.
“All he gonna get is a boot up his,” Eric said.
“I shoulda brought some popcorn for this.” Nick laughed.
Traffic was light because it was early Sunday afternoon. He parked about five yards away from the main mall entrance. Eric called his chick.
“Sup? You with him? Okay. Okay. Float around Mickey D’s, in front of the carousel... Ahight…”
Eric provided tips as we trooped through the front door and sliced through packs of mall rats.
“Don’t let anything distract you, nigga. Not bitches, your belly growling nothing, you hear me nigga?” I nodded.
Eric stopped when he saw his target. He led us around the other side of the carousel.
“Look at that nigga hugging up on her like he gonna get some. Stay back and check my moves, niggas.”
He leaned on the rail around the carousel, about a foot away from them, watching them take pictures of each other with their cell phone cameras.
“Yo fam, you got the time?”
He turned around and answered, “Sure. It’s… Oh shit!”
Fred pushed Shanice trying to run but Eric yanked his hood back and drew him close. He hit him once in the gut and had to hold him up. Fred coughed hard while Nick laughed his ass off. I called Shanice over to make sure she was all right.
“Don’t spit on my shoes, nigga. What’s wrong with you? You got bronchitis or something nigga?”
“I got… I got most of your money. Just give me two days to…”
Eric bared his lower teeth. “Some ain’t good enou
gh, bitch ass nigga!”
I flinched when Eric slapped Fred in back of his head.
“Let’s take a walk.”
He shoved Fred to his car and told Shanice to hop in. They were still within sight when Eric put on a cold grill. Nick and I watched closely.
“What…? This is it, nigga! Ahight, ahight. Are you trying to play me, man?”
“I ain’t doing that I swear!”
“You don’t wanna pay me? Then pay them Puerto Ricans to fix your windshield, nigga!”
Eric jabbed Fred in the jaw. He bounced off his passenger side door before hitting the ground. Eric jumped on the hood and smashed the windshield. He kicked all the hanging shards in. The interior of Fred’s car was covered in glass. Eric gave him a swift kick to the ribs and jogged back to Nick’s ride.
“It’ll be worse next time, nigga! Pay me what you owe!”
Fred rejoined his comrades breathing hard and they hit the highway in a hurry.
“See, J? You gotta size up the enemy, hit hard and get the fuck outta there with the quickness.”
“I got the notes all up in here,” I said pointing to my head.
Eric counted the money and peeled off a twenty spot for Nick’s gas. We hopped on Route 4 back to New York.
“Drop me off at 125th. I’m about to trick off with my baby, Shan here. You wanna go fancy with dinner today, boo?”
“How about Justin’s? I heard the food is mad good there.” She smiled rubbing Eric’s thigh.
“Girl, I only scored sixty bucks! I was thinking more like Wendy’s.” Eric cracked up.
Shanice didn’t laugh but we did. I scooted down in the passenger seat thinking long and hard about committing capers for dough. My problems were tightening like a noose around my neck. There was no other choice. I had to do it. Time was running out.
CHAPTER NINE
DESPERATION TIME
“Jaden, Jaden! Are you listening to me?”
“I’m not deaf, Bria. Look, all I’m saying is that I need real dough. Call me a lazy bastard but I ain’t fittin’ to work for some five or six dollars an hour. I need major paper. I was on my way until Devlin effed up my plans.”
Hustle Hard Page 4