Canada's Kingpin (DISCONTINUED)

I ❧ Another Dead Nigga [edited]

Chapter One: Another Dead Nigga

❝ When something happens in South Central . . . Nothing happens, it's just another dead nigga. ❞
- Some Rapper

[ Kennedy's Memoir ]

It was far past midnight, easily surpassing the time Kennedy was meant to be in bed. She sat in a corner of the bedroom her mother and her shared (away from all the windows like her mother had told her), her knees tucked beneath her arms as she rocked herself back and forth.

Something seemed off.

For the first time in awhile, the boisterous, annoying neighbors that stayed above them were silent. Not a murmur could be heard upstairs as if the couple were a sound asleep——a thing, it seemed, they rarely did. The usual arguments about the streets, the faint sounds of police sirens, and the usual rapid, loud banging of gunshots were not heard as they usually were. Tonight, the hood was eerily silent, and that was rare.

That alone told Kennedy that something was definitely off.

She ceased her rocking to get up and to check that all of the doors and windows were still locked as her mother had left it before she had headed to work.

As she unlocked our bedroom door, Kennedy felt my stomach growl. She'd already eaten the last of the peanut butter the night before, so she figured that she would eat the saltine crackers that were left.

The cabinet squeaked as she pried it open. She saw the crackers as well as a pack of ants. Her stomach growled once again while she debated whether or not to brush the ants off and eat them still. It was her fault anyways, that the ants had gotten to them. She had forgotten to tie the plastic bag into a knot; instead, she'd balled them up and threw them in the dusty, old cupboard.

Looking at the analog clock that hung crookedly on the dingy, cream walls, Kennedy saw that it was near three-thirty in the morning. Her mother should be on her way home soon and she hoped that maybe she'd pick up some Ramen Noodles from the local corner store.

Letting the ants finish their meal——which just happened to be the only thing we had left in this place for food——she checked the windows to see that all of them were locked and secured. As she went to check the front door, she was interrupted by someone banging on the wood and the knob twisting and turning.

"We know you're in there," a male voice sounded the banging and the twisting and turning continued.

Kennedy's heart beated wildly in her chest. She tried to remember what her mom had told her to do if someone was trying to break in, but she couldn't seem to concentrate. It was hard trying to remember something when you're panicking.

"Open up, it's the police!" a different male called.

Warily, Kennedy quietly made her way towards the door and stood on her tippy toes to look through the peephole.

Sure enough, there were two cops.

She sighed in relief, prying the door open. She stared up at the two, white officers who stared back at her with beady eyes. They made her feel uncomfortable, especially the fat one.

Officer McKellen's, as his name tag read, eyes never left Kennedy's body. He scanned over her disheveled form, taking in her baggy pants, tight shirt, and her mother's flip flops that she'd outgrown, but seemed to be at least three sizes too big for Kennedy. He recognized that Kennedy and her mother weren't as fortunate as the rest and he took all of that in with a look of disgust plastered on his chubby face.

The other cop, a lanky man, Officer Perry, differed from Officer McKellen. His stare held pity, but Kennedy didn't want him or anybody else to feel sorry for her.

"Hello officers," she greeted them with a nervous smile, "how can I assist you?"

The two men looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Your aunt told us to come getcha," Officer Perry said.

Kennedy knew that the aunt he was referring to was her mother's eldest and only sister, which confused her more because she had basically disowned them from the family. It didn't make any sense to her how she could cut them off from anything family-related and now all of sudden, wanted these two men to come bring them to her.

What could she possibly want?

"Why?" Kennedy asked, tilting her head to the side. "Why does my aunt need you to get me?"

Officer McKellen sighed impatiently. "Look, kid, forget ya questions and let's get ta going." He took a hold of her arm and urged her forward.

Kennedy yanked her arm away from him, pulling back, "Don't you think that maybe I should get an explanation?" She cried as he grabbed her arm again and started hauling her towards the door.

"You want an explanation?" he asked, causing her to nod her head vigorously.

He started to chuckle a bit and opened his mouth to say something, but Officer Perry was quick to beat him to it.

"Your Aunt, Ms. Matilda, is your guardian now."

This time, Kenndy shook my head in confusion. "No. No, no. Sir, you got this all wrong Officers. See," she pointed towards the analog clock on the wall, "My Ma should be here any minute now."

Officer Perry looked at McKellen for guidance, a pained expression etched on his tired features. "I'm sorry kid, but your mother is not coming home tonight."

Kennedy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, shaking her head in denial. She refused to believe what they were telling her. Sure, she was young, but living in the midst of South Central, this sad tale wasn't anything new. Surplus, she had heard early before when her Uncle John had passed.

"There was a shootout a couple blocks from here and your mother was an 'innocent bystander-" McKellen snorted, interrupting Officer Perry mid-sentence. "She was anything but innocent, don't lie to da girl."

[ A/N: from this point on it this chapter goes downhill ): ]

"Randy!" Officer Perry snapped.

"What? The woman was a whore."

"So? That was her mother!"

"And? Your point is? Geez, Perry, she sucked off any man for a cent," McKellen grunts, his arms crossed against his chest.

He stares at Kenndy with much distaste, "You're Ma's dead, kid. Now go pack up your shit and let's get going." He pushes her away and waves his hands dismissively.

"I honestly don't why ya pitying ha', it's just another dead nigga." Perry shook his head at McKellen's statement.

Facing away from the two men, Kennedy wiped her face. Even though she still couldn't completely grasp upon the fact that her mother was gone, she knew that had to move on. It wasn't like her case was gonna be any special than the ones before or the next. The cops wouldn't look into her death or for her mother's killer——for she was an African American woman in the hoods of California——nor would the rest of her family sure wouldn't either.

Because of this, Kennedy was forced to move on for if she didn't, she'd probably just end up like her and the rest.

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(edited March 11, 2017)