•͟U͟N͟D͟E͟R͟S͟T͟A͟N͟D͟ ͟c͟a͟r͟t͟i͟u͟z͟i͟•͟

I

We turned off of 285 at an exit for the city of Mabelton, where my grandmother lived. Sure, it wasn't the nicest city ever, especially compared to other parts of Atlanta, but it was better than the apartment complexes that lined Sugar Creek Road in Charlotte. We passed numerous shady looking strip malls, boarded up shops, suspicious looking cars, and bus stops for Atlanta's mass transit system, MARTA.

We turned onto a side street that was lined with trees and smaller houses. We rolled into the familiar driveway of my grandmother's house, a residence I hadn't seen in almost two years. We walked to the front door, to be greeted by my uncle, Caleb.

Even though Caleb was my uncle, I still was older than him, by almost two years. Grandma Toliver had him with Grandpa Toliver, who died about two years previously, later than usual. It didn't help the fact that Mom was only 18 when she gave birth to me; it increased the peculiar age gap between me and Caleb. I always referred to him as a cousin instead of an uncle. He was always similar to me; not in the sense that he was bi, but rather how he was more reserved and quiet. Although he was typically quiet, he still was enthusiastic to see myself and my parents.

We walked into the house where Grandma Toliver was sitting in her chair watching a rerun of The Golden Girls.

"Well, it's about time y'all came back down to Georgia." Grandma stated, while standing up out of her chair.

"We're sorry it is so short notice," Mom explained, "we came home one day to a notice on the door."

"I get it," Grandma said, placing her arm around her daughter, "stay as long as you need to."

"What is the sleeping situation going to be?" Dad asked.

Grandma directed Mom and Dad to the guest room, while Caleb pulled on my arm. I looked down to him, as he said, "You're having to stay in my room, apologies in advance."

I gave Caleb a confused face.

"Bruh, don't worry. As long as we're not sleeping in the same bed, I'm chill as long as you are."  I told him. He nodded his head while giving a small smile, motioning me to follow him towards his room. I began to follow him down the hallway, past Grandma and my parents.

He opened the door to reveal a legitimately cool room. He had color-changing LED-strip lights lining his ceiling, a huge Frank Ocean poster upon his door, a TV and PlayStation upon his dresser, a beanbag chair resting in the corner, Tupac Shakur vinyl albums hung up on his wall, and an air mattress sitting upon the empty space of his floor.

"Holy shit, cuh," I exclaimed, looking around in awe, "this shit is fire."

He blushed slightly, "Thanks Jordan, I try to keep it organized."

"It's not even that, though; everything is just so-so-so," I studdered, "interesting." It was the best word I could think of the describe it, even though so many other things floated through my mind.

Caleb dove onto his bed face-first. "Is the air mattress setup good with you, cuz?" he asked.

I nodded, diving onto it myself. I was tired; I always hated long car rides. Although it was only 4 hours, and it could be even longer, it still didn't mean that it didn't suck.

Caleb got up and walked over to his dresser. I thought he was about to get on his PlayStation, but instead he opened a drawer and pulled a bag out. I sat up and looked at him as he pulled out a fat blunt. He looked over towards me, with an inquiring look that asked, "You want one?"

"You mind passing one?" I asked.

"Ya know Jordan, I never thought you hit too." Caleb informed me while tossing me a blunt.

"Hell yeah, cuh," I said, lighting up, "almost for a year now."

"I've been on this shit since the eighth fuckin' grade, cuz." he said, exhaling a large puff of smoke.

The rest of the night turned to a blur as Caleb and I continued to hit more and more blunts. All I remember was continuing to talk to Caleb, and finding out that if I was to stay here, I would be attending high school with him at Lithia Springs High School up in Cobb County. While upset at the fact that school was still an issue, I felt excited at the prospect of meeting new people, and introducing myself as an entirely new person. Hell, even Caleb didn't know the truth about me.

"Maybe that will change in Georgia," I thought to myself, laying upon the air mattress in the early hours of the morning, "I hope it will change."