"Art is not a real job," a phrase Jacob had heard oh too many times. That didn't stop him though. Art is life. Art helps you express the real you,it helps you see yourself in a way you could have never imagined.
"Mr.Perez,are you paying attention?" Ms.Hall, Jacob's history teacher asked.
"Yes,yes," Jacob replied catching himself, but he wasnt, even listening,in fact, he was busy finishing his drawing he had started earlier in Math.
"Mr.Perez you need to pay more attention in class,if not you wil see me after class in detention," Ms.Hall stated not satisfied with his response.
"Ouu," the class erupted childishly.
Jacob scoffed at the childish behavior of his peers and turned to a new page his doodle covered notebook.
As he tapped his pencil on his desk as Ms.Hall's voice faded into the background as he watched the clock longing for the last class of the day to be over.
"What's up man?" Ray; one of Jacob's friends said as he approached them. School was over and it was now late evening, Jacob usually met Ray and the other guys without his parents knowing because they wouldn't approve. Ray and his friends didn't go toJacob's school, his school was private while they went to the local public school. Sometimes he wished they all went to the same school because they seemed to be the only people that understood him.
"Yo Prince,this right here is B.J," Ray said pointing to a guy Jacob had never seen before," he goes to our school." They all referred to each other using nicknames they thought it was cooler.
"Sup nigga," B.J said giving Jacob a 'bro hug.'
"Prince right here is one of the best graffiti artist I have ever seen,he go Springfeild High," Ray stated to B.J.
"Da white school?" B.J asked as he cringed his eyebrows. Lance and Rebel; Ray's other friends chuckled at B.J's comment.
"I'm black and I go there," Jacob chuckled. But B.J was right,the private school Jacob went to was predominantly white,yeah,they were a few black kids but for the most part it was a white school. Jacob never really fit in school, everyone else wanted to be a doctor or lawyer but Jacob wanted to be an artist.
"Look man,Prince's legit for real," Ray intervened.
"AIight lemme see what you got," B.J said as he tossed Jacob a can of paint.
Jacob shook the can of paint as he looked up and down the dark street. Running across the road to the freshly painted white wall.
The guys watched as Jacob spray painted the wall. "Red," he said with his hand out as he focused on his work. Soon after he was finished and everyone stepped back to check it out.
"Dudeeee," Lance remarked amazed.
"You got skills for real man," B.J said impressed. He followed up with a fist pump.
Suddenly they saw headlights approaching as the car slowly approached Ray noticed it was a police car," Yo guys let's go," he said as he ran out of sight. Jacob gathered his bag with the spray paints, taking a quick photo he ran behind the guys just as the headlines hit his feet.
"Hey," the officer shouted. But Jacob sped up and ran across the grass and disappeared into the dark.
"That was close man," Rebel stated looking at Jacob, "You gotta be on your feet man."
They placed their food on the table and they sat down on the unsteady painted metal chairs. The decor of the fast food restaurant was red and white with dingy white tile floors. The smell of reused oil filled the restaurant as all the guys dug into their food.
"For real Prince,you gotta be quicker than that," Ray said as he sat with his head resting back.
"I know," Jacob sighed, "I'll try to run faster but I'm not really that athletic ya know."
"You don't play sports?" Ray asked,turning up his face in confusion.
"Of course he plays sports," B.J chimed in, "he play golf and polo with the white kids."
"Lay off man," Ray snapped," Dang."
Jacob brushed B.J off and continued eating his food.
"Look I gotta go," Jacob said after a while and his got up,threw away the trash and grabbed his bag.
"Dang,homeboy got a curfew too," B.J remarked as Jacob walked away.
Jacob just thought that B.J was being mean to him because he went to the private school but what he didn't know was that B.J was jealous of him and his friendship with Ray which seemed to be getting closer and the fact that Jacob was slowly taking his friends. At school they would constantly talk about Jacob and his art leaving B.J out the loop because B.J didn't want to jeopardize a scholarship if he got arrested. But having heard so much about this 'Prince' he had to see what he was all about.
Jacob slowly climbed up the tree by his bedroom window as he tried not to make a sound. It was 2Am and the house was in complete darkness. "CRACK!" a branched snapped dropping to the ground in a thud.
"SHHH," Jacob said nervously, "Great, I'm shushing a branch," he whispered catching himself.
Jacob lifted the slightly ajar window and carefully placed his feet down on the hardwood floors. Taking off his boots and changing his clothes he slowly got in his bed pulling out his phone he looked at the photo he took earlier of his work, "Now this is ART," he said to himself.
YOU ARE READING
G r a f f i t i (A Princeton and Jacob Latimore Story)
Teen Fiction"Art isn't a job,it's a hobby" A phrase Princeton knows all to well but that doesn't stop him from doing what he loves. Art bring out the real you. It may even bring out a part of you,you never knew existed. A Princeton story featuring Jacob Latimor...
