Influence

by Carl Weber

  He was quiet for a few seconds and then said, “No, I don’t believe they were. It’s no secret that Krush kept weed. He couldn’t keep quiet about anything he did. If that was really his dope, we would’ve known. I think the pressure of being in here and the lack of support from his family, especially his pops, really got to him. He started crumbling, especially after that fight.”

  “You’re right. Then after that guy Meat testified against him that day in court, I guess it got to be too much. I wish . . . man, I don’t know.” I sighed.

  “It would be more plausible for that dope to have been Tony’s,” Kwesi suggested.

  I frowned. “You think? Nah, not Tony.”

  “I mean, he did plead guilty, and then he flipped it and put it on you.”

  “Come on, Kwesi. You did the same damn thing.” I tensed up a bit, wondering how Kwesi, who was the first one to take the deal, was calling Tony out.

  “It was Tony who snitched, Lang, not me. I was never going to testify against you. And I didn’t plead guilty to anything,” he said.

  “What do you mean you didn’t plead guilty? Your ass is in here with me.” I was confused.

  “I pleaded no contest, and my charges were reduced as part of that plea. They wanted me to talk and make up a story, but I refused. There is a thing called loyalty to your brothers.”

  “Damn.” For a second, I felt as if I’d been punched right in the stomach. The entire time, I had thought that Kwesi turned State’s witness, but he hadn’t.

  “I did what I had to do,” he said. “And so did you, I guess.”

  “But we were innocent, and we should’ve stuck together. The verdict might’ve been different,” I said, afraid to admit to myself that maybe I should have taken the deal just like he had.

  “Might? I couldn’t take a chance on might, Langston. You took a chance on might, and you’re here facing twenty years. I’m about to get out in less than one.”

  The reality of his statement was sobering. Had I not been so hell bent on proving my innocence, things could have turned out differently.

  “You’re right,” I said sadly. Then I asked, “Do you think we’ll ever find out where the hell that dope came from?”

  Kwesi shrugged. “Probably not. But at this point, does it even matter?”

  “I guess not. But, Kwesi, just so you know, I wasn’t trying to jump bail and leave you guys hanging. I’d never do that. It was stupid of me to even go along with Simone’s idea to get away for the weekend. I wanna say I’m—”

  “No need for all of that. We’re good, Lang.” Kwesi reached over, and we exchanged the fraternity grip he had denied the last time we were face to face. My life was much different now, but some things were still the same, and for that, I was grateful.

  “I do have something to ask you, bro,” Kwesi said.

  “What’s that?”

  “There’s a rumor going around here that you snuck outta here one night to go have a lobster dinner with your moms. Is it true?”

  I thought about that night my mother arranged and the trouble she could get into if I confirmed the story. I hated having to lie to my fraternity brother, especially since we had just resolved our issues, but I didn’t have a choice.

  “Kwesi, my mother may have some influence, but do you think she could pull that off?”

  He raised an eyebrow as if to say, “Yeah, I do.”

  “Nah, it ain’t true. I ain’t have no lobster dinner with my mom.”

  As we stood laughing, I realized that it wasn’t a lie after all. My mom and I had feasted on a lot of things that night, but lobster wasn’t one of them.

  “Hudson, Adomako!” A CO called our names, and we walked over to him. “Come with me.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked as he placed cuffs on us.

  “To hell, if you don’t pray,” he shot back. “Now, stop asking so many damn questions and do what I tell you.”

  I shook my head and kept my mouth shut. This was my new reality, and I would have to learn to deal with this disrespect daily.

  He led us inside, then down quite a few corridors and through some gates before I realized we were headed to the same location where I had been turned over to the marshals that night. Maybe Mom had set up another feast to cheer me up.

  Once through the final gate, I almost fainted from surprise. It wasn’t marshals who were there to greet me. It was my mother, with Perk, Desiree, Lamont, Carla, and Simone. Kwesi’s parents were there too.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as Mom came up and gave me a hug.

  “You’re being released on your own recognizance, pending a hearing tomorrow, when the judge will set aside your verdict.”

  My head was swimming. I couldn’t even process this news. “Released? Set aside my verdict? How? Why?”

  My mother glanced over at the others. “Perk and Carla. It was more their doing than mine, with a little help from District Attorney Grace Frazier.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “Come on. We’ll explain it to you in the car. Let’s get you to the hospital. Your father wants to see you.”

  I didn’t argue. I just lifted my hands so the CO could remove the cuffs, and Kwesi did the same. We gave each other one last frat grip before we were surrounded by our loved ones.