Walking Among the Shadows: Awakening: Revised Edition

by Navi' Robins

  He exhaled after she released her grip but not before landing a big juicy kiss on his cheek.

  “So you’re kissing my baby right in front of my face!” my mom protested.

  “No! No! Mrs. Storm, it wasn’t me…it was…”

  “Are trying to say my fifteen-year-old forced you?”

  “No!”

  “So you did kiss her?”

  “Oh no wait, please Mrs. Storm!”

  My mom had the sternest look on her face but Sarah and I knew she was teasing Tony. Tony didn’t and after she stared at him with “the look” a little longer, he got so confused he started blaming himself.

  Finally, none of us could hold it in any longer and broke out laughing.

  “Aww, you guys are wrong!”

  “Dude, you fell for it, you can’t blame us,” I said.

  “Stop teasing my baby!” warned Sarah. “This is my future husband.”

  “Uhh, no I’m not!”

  “Please Tony, I’m fifteen now”

  “Yeah and you still got milk behind your ears. I’m not ever getting married. So me being your ‘hubby’ is slim to none.”

  “You say that now but we’re going to the same school this year so those rats you date are going to have to scurry along.”

  “What?”

  I’d forgotten to inform Tony prior to today that Sarah would be joining us at Deerfield High. His eyes were bulging as he shook his head trying to make sense of what he just heard.

  “Oh no, you are lying!”

  “Nope.”

  “You are going with us?”

  “Yep,” Sarah answered teasingly, nodding her head. “So you will be seeing a lot more of me,” she said gesturing towards her body like it was on display at an auction.

  “Jesus! Take me now,” Tony yelled while looking up at the sky. “I’m ready to come home, lord! Oh well Dick Cheney had Bush, Whitney had Bobby and crack, and I got you huh?”

  “Are you referring to me as a drug, Tony? Well, crack is addictive so I’ll be your addiction!”

  “No, that’s not what I’m trying to say! Mrs. Storm?”

  “Nope, Tony, I got nothing.”

  “No help…nothing? It’s because I’m black huh? A brother can’t get any help? Ok I guess that’s how it is then. Come on, let’s go, stalker,” Tony teased.

  “Whatever, Tony!” Sarah complained, pushing him out the door….

  Deerfield High, what a wonderful establishment. Whatever. It was a good school but after being here for so long things got kinda stale and routine. Of course it wasn’t as bad as other schools for sure but Deerfield still had its issues. Most of them were from overcompensating spoiled brats.

  “MMM, mmm, mmm…the new possibilities,” Tony said while looking over a few girls that walked past us in the hallway.

  “Calm down Tony. Down, boy!” I teased.

  Tony was already scoping out the new female students as we walked down the hall.

  “Dude whatever, it seems like God poured a pitcher of beautiful all over this school and I’m thirsty, very thirsty.”

  Tony did have a point. There was an abnormal amount of new students and the girls were all very attractive. There were a few familiar faces but it seemed like we had more “freshies” this year. A lot of the students we knew either graduated or had to leave Deerfield because of the recession after 9/11. A lot of working families were losing everything and could no longer afford the high property taxes and cost of living in a place like Deerfield. We watched over the last two years five families on our street alone lose their homes to foreclosures. Families we knew and grew up with. It was sad, but I knew other families in less desirable areas were suffering even more.

  The world was a depressing place to exist in. No one was living anymore. We were just getting by or surviving. Most adults don’t believe teenagers think like this, that all we think about is sex, video games, and social networks. And for the most part that’s accurate; but even with all of those distractions, most of us still find a way to be aware of the world around us. It’s called the Internet and YouTube. We just act out in front of adults because it’s amusing to watch their reactions to our behavior. If adults knew how much free entertainment they provide teenagers, they would first be upset and then would likely start ignoring us. And that would be bad, because attention is one thing almost every teenager needs in their lives to feel important.

  “Hey, Aiden. I know you are focused and everything, but dude you need a girl for real.”

  “Tony, you know…”

  “Yeah bro, I know but hear me out…”

  Tony leaned towards my ear as if he had a secret that if revealed would mean disaster.

  “Just because she’s your girl doesn’t mean you have to have sex with her. The thing is bro, the right girl in your life makes you a better man, completing your circle. They force us to grow up. I’m seventeen and you’ll be seventeen in a couple of weeks. If not now, then when?” Tony said while giving me an assuring nod.

  “Anyway I gotta bounce Aiden but I’ll get at you during second period.”

  As I watched Tony maneuver down the crowded hall, I realized that he might have just given me the most realistic and honest view about the relationship between men and women. But where the hell did he get that from? I just couldn’t see that inspiration coming from the mind of a seventeen-year-old player. At the time I only partially understood the wisdom he bestowed on me. It wasn’t until later in my life did I fully realize his statement. I was only sixteen and had a very limited viewpoint on the connection between the sexes and why we needed each other. Later that day when I asked him where he got that from, he told me his dad gave him that wisdom during summer vacation.

  They were talking about women and what happened between his parents. His dad told him he fought his mom constantly when she was trying to get him to grow up. Tony said he made his dad feel like he was brushing off his advice, but it must have been important for him to share it with me.

  I was going to be seventeen on September 16th. We were going to a club that Tony’s cousin owned downtown not far from the Hard Rock Café. Tony’s cousin started off as a club promoter and soon opened his own spot. He was a pretty cool dude and he always tried to give Tony whatever he wanted because of how much he looked up to Tony’s dad. He was laying out the royal treatment for us on that night. It was an eighteen to enter, twenty one- and-over to drink night club, but he assured us entry wouldn’t be a problem for either of us. I was nervous at first but then I thought what the hell. You only turn seventeen once.

  I glanced over at Sarah to see how she was taking in this new environment and as usual she had this “it’s not all that” look on her face. She was such a troll princess. Ugh!

  “Well, if this is all high school has to offer then bring on college baby!” she yelled. “Okay, lil’ big brother, I’m heading to class, okay?”

  “Try not to get into trouble.”

  “Yeah, me getting into trouble? Please Aiden, this place is so lame it would be an insult to get in trouble here. I should have gone to Lake Forest. At least they have a little more class over there.”

  “Whatever Sarah. Now your class is—”

  “Aiden stop! This place is not that big, I’m sure I can just read the numbers on the doors and figure out where to go. This place seemed to be designed for idiots; did you need directions on your first day? Wait! Don’t answer that. I don’t want to think of you any less than I do now. Have a good day brother…don’t get lost in this mental hospital, okay? Bye-bye now!”

  As I watched her prance down the hall, I so wanted her to slip on something and fall flat on her butt. But Sarah was too graceful for that.

  Oh well, to class.

  As I looked around I began to notice a lot of things and even though I hated to admit it, Sarah was right. This school was designed as if we were not capable of thinking for ourselves. I must be coming down with the swine flu to agree with Sarah.

  The day was moving pre
tty fast and before I knew it, lunchtime was upon us. I never got to meet up with Tony during second period because I needed to sign up for football tryouts. When Coach Towers saw me walk through his office door he looked at me like I was the IRS ready to probe his entire life and every opening in his body. When he inquired why I was there and I told him my intentions, he nearly fell out of his chair. I was well aware that word had got to him about my potential for the running back position and he was interested in me joining the team. But he also was aware of the lunchroom incident during my first year here with the starting quarterback’s older brother. He would have asked me to try out a long time ago but he didn’t want to chance any confrontations that could disrupt the team’s chemistry.

  “Aiden, are you sure you want to do this?” Coach Towers asked. “You understand the commitment it takes to make the team and to remain on the team?”

  “Yes Coach, I am aware and about Brian…” I hesitated; I didn’t want to say anything that would jeopardize my chances. “I will do my best to get along with him but he has to meet me halfway…”

  “True. Very true,” Coach Towers agreed. “Okay, I will make you a deal. If you can make the team, I’ll personally talk with Brian.”

  “Thank you, sir”

  “No problem Aiden and to be honest, Brian’s brother was a real prick.”

  We both laughed at the coach’s revelation. Coach Towers was a great coach and one of the few decent mentors on campus. He kind of had a pulse and could relate to us teenagers better than the other teachers on campus. He normally came to our defense whenever we clucked up and we teens tend to cluck up a lot. So we had him working overtime trying to keep us from getting into more trouble than we were already in.

  I left the coach’s office very optimistic about my chances of having a harmonious and exciting school year. If I could make the team and start at running back maybe I could start having a lot more fun. My mom just may be right; maybe I needed to try new things. It’s just that life seemed so boring to me. The world seemed so dull and lifeless or at least my life did. I found myself constantly asking myself: “Is this it?” My mom saw me backing into a shell and she just wanted more for me and enjoy life each day as if it was my last. Sarah was outgoing and aggressive so she took advantage of everything she could—so my mom didn’t worry about Sarah enjoying herself. Actually she was worried about Sarah enjoying herself too much. I was the total opposite. So, if I could make this football thing work then maybe it would be the spark my life needed to revitalize itself.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Tony texted me earlier in all caps, meaning he’d found another object of sexual affection. All the text read was “OMG!! DUDE IT’S ON!!” Yeah, he’d found another winner, as he called potential dates. Walking into the lunchroom felt like walking into a scene from a Black Friday shopping spree. Wow! There really were a lot of new students this year and they were all scurrying around trying to look cool. Everyone wanted to be seen. Either because they were proud of their new gear or because they thought they were attractive. I started gritting my teeth at the thought of Sarah being right again. This was lame. I scanned over the lunchroom looking for Tony in the crowd and after about five seconds I located him in the far right corner.

  He was surrounded as usual by a pack of shiny-eyed girls vying for his attention and phone number. I don’t know how he did it. It was like his pores secreted sex appeal. Like he had this special gland that just produced sex appeal all day long. Even older women would approach him. After he’d tell them he was under aged, they would still give him their number and tell him to call them on his eighteenth birthday and most of these women would be drop-dead gorgeous.

  So there he was doing what he did best. He looked up and saw me and immediately sent me a text to give him one more minute. He needed to close on a prospect. I shook my head and laughed. Tony was out of control. I decided to go to the line and grab me something to eat. I usually didn’t care for the food here but the pizza was pretty decent. Before I got into the line Tony appeared behind me.

  “Hey bro!”

  “What’s up, playa?”

  “Playa? No Aiden, I’m not playing. I’m for real with this,” he replied with a serious look on his face.

  “Anyway, so tell me about your text earlier,” I asked as we started walking towards the food line. “Is she one of the girls you were talking to over there?”

  “Oh no! This girl blows them out the water. I saw her in my history class. Dude, she’s unbelievable. Clearly the finest girl in this school ever and that’s saying a lot especially since Sarah goes here now.”

  “What?!” I protested.

  “Wait dude, I’m not checking out your sister like that, but real talk, your sister is beautiful. I know she’s your baby sister but she is beautiful! But this girl is on a whole other level. I got the 411 on her too. Her family is from Iraq I think, but she was born right here in Illinois. Her father owns a lot of real estate across the country and they are pretty loaded like Bill Gates.”

  “Bill Gates?” I asked giving him a look of disbelief. “For real and she goes to this school? A public school?”

  “Okay, maybe not like big Bill but they are loaded. That is a fact.”

  “Are you sure this time Tony?”

  “Whatever! Let me finish. Her name is Jasmine and she’s already got everyone up here talking. The guys are baiting and the girls are hating!”

  “Is that so Tony?” I mocked. “Because I haven’t heard anything up until now.”

  “Dude get real, how many students up here run to you and start talking about girls and shit besides me?”

  “You got a point there.” I agreed. “Okay, so when are you going to make your move on the Iraqi princess?”

  “Me? Hell no, not me…you!”

  “What?!”

  “Yep, you! Man, you have no idea how many girls ask about you. But they say you are too reserved and they mistake you for the conceited type. Plus a lot of them think you are a tad bit too pretty and girls don’t like their boyfriends looking better than them and let’s face it, you are waaaay too pretty.”

  “Tony, you shouldn’t call me pretty in public. People may think you want me or something.”

  Tony immediately started faking like he was gagging.

  “Okay seriously, dude, that was gross. Now what I was saying before you interrupted me with that horrible image? Oh yeah…this girl is right up your alley.”

  “And why is this girl right up my alley? Inquiring minds want to know.”

  “Well, for starters she looks better than any of the girls up here. I mean the girl is so fine she makes me nervous and you know your boy isn’t easily spooked by a female. But I could build up enough nerve to facilitate a meet and greet between you two when you are ready. I usually charge for that kind of thing but because you’re my bro’ I’ll do it for you “pro bro-no”.”

  Pro bro-no? Sometimes Tony takes the comedy too far.

  “Oh, so now you’re hooking me up?”

  “Naw bro, it’s not like that, you have to hook yourself up. I’m just making the transition easier for you. It’s something to consider though.”

  “Okay Tony slow down. I just signed up for football tryouts and—”

  “What?! You did what?” Tony yelled.

  “Sssh! Shut up!”

  Tony started laughing until tears began rolling down his face. I could feel the skin on my face warming as I started to turn red.

  “Dude? Come on!”

  Tony was trying to control his laughter but I could see he was losing that battle. He began to lean forward on me, still laughing.

  “Get off!” I whispered as I pushed him off me. “Dude, is it really that funny?”

  “No…wait…let me catch my breath…I’ll explain. I’m not laughing at you. It’s just when you told me you signed up for tryouts an image immediately popped in my head of you smacking Brian around the field yelling, ‘I got your punk-ass brother and now it’s your turn. Are you
trying to beat on the whole family?”

  I gave him a real nasty and angry look.

  “Oh come on Aiden, you are my boy. I wouldn’t laugh at you like that. You got skills on the gridiron. You’re gonna kill ‘em out there for real. I just can’t wait to see how Brian is going to react at having you on the field. Oh, I just had another image of Brian talking smack to you and you punting his ass through the uprights! It’s good! It’s all good!”

  Tony was holding his arms in the air like the referee in a football game confirming a successful field goal attempt. Seeing him standing there looking silly made me laugh so hard I started to tear up.

  “Dude you’re slow.”

  “Seriously though, that’s great news you’re getting into sports at school. It’s about time. The NFL is calling.”

  “I don’t know about all that, Tony.”

  “Okay, okay, fair enough.”

  “But like I was saying, that was a big step for me and now you are suggesting I go after Helen of Troy? Come on! I need to take baby steps this year.”

  “No, you need to talk to her seriously because it’s about time for you to…”

  Tony suddenly stopped talking and began staring towards the lunchroom entrance like he was under a trance.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “There she is. Look!” Tony said with excitement, never taking his eyes from the direction of the lunchroom entrance. I followed his gaze and there she was standing in the lunchroom doorway looking over the room. Wow, Tony was right, she was absolutely amazing. She was about five foot seven and possessed a body that shouldn’t be allowed around anyone under the age of eighteen. Curly and vibrant black hair ran halfway down her back and her skin…my God her skin…(hard swallow) was so radiant and perfectly tanned. And to complete this amazing physical ensemble was the most captivating brown eyes I’d ever seen on a girl. Her posture was regal, but not arrogant and you could immediately tell she was a girl used to a higher standard of living and expectations. As she stood in the lunchroom’s doorway like a living monument of the queens of ancient times her gaze slowly moved in our direction. My mind was telling me to stop staring but I couldn’t stop. She was so beautiful. It was like I was in a trance, caught in a spell with no antidote or cure.