Book 3- 1967 (Michael Jackson)

Chapter 10- Don't Tell Mom!

                Chapter 9- Don’t Tell Mom!

                Date: Tuesday, May 16, 1967

                Time: 7:26PM

                MICHAEL’S POV

I grabbed Jermaine’s and Tito’s guitars, while Jermaine took hold of the bongos and maracas. I could hear the faint sound of cheers from inside of the nightclub. The two of us just looked at each other, shaking our heads.

“Tonight’s gonna be rough,” Jermaine told me, turning to go inside.

“Why?” I questioned, resituating Tito’s guitar over my shoulder. Jermaine simpered, but never explained what he had meant.

I could tell that Jermaine and I were becoming closer friends than we had previously been. Normally, it was just Marlon and I, but Jermaine could understand me to a higher degree. Plus, I was beginning to believe that Jermaine was becoming more lax about having me imitate all of his moves and actions.

Plus, he and I loved pranking La Toya at every chance we got. It was just last week that we brought in a few garden spiders and shoved them in her pillowcase. Oh, was she furious! I’ll have to admit, though, that it was quite hilarious, seeing her scream over one tiny little baby spider.

As we walked inside, I took notice of the landscape. We were at another Gary nightclub, but not Mister Lucky’s. It was some new nightclub known as a ‘strip club.’ I wasn’t entirely sure what that had meant, but I didn’t feel the need to question it. I figured that a strip club was a nightclub that served bacon strips, or a club with strips of rug as an entrance. You know, sort of like the red carpet.

However, talk of the town says that Mister Lucky’s has become a strip club. Maybe they are selling bacon instead of bricks.

That may bring in a little more money.

“I’ve got myself a heap of homework tonight,” Jermaine half-explained, half-complained. “What about you?”

“I’ve gotta review my multipul- muli- multlications,” I stated, not entirely grasping the word. “Kayla said that she would help me out. After all, she knows every one of them, up to 15!”

Jermaine nodded. “Yeah,” he replied distractedly, “She can do math.”

I gave him a funny look. That wasn’t very deep, especially considering that he was technically in seventh grade. I was only finishing up third grade, and I could put together a ‘more articulate sentence’, as Kayla would put.

I walked indoors… and didn’t know what to think. I expected this place to smell like beer, because Mister Lucky’s did. And, of course, there was the strong beer smell. However, there was another quality about this place that I could not put my finger on. It felt like I did not belong here.

It appeared as though Jermaine didn’t sense anything wrong. In fact, if anything, Jermaine was hyped up. Of course, we ate a huge load of candy on the way here, so there was a reason behind that. I have eaten so much candy before that I’ve built a tolerance up to the hyperactivity. However, Jermaine never eats a lot of sugar. That is, unless Mommy makes tomato soup. Then he’s all about sugar.

Jermaine and I headed upstairs and took a left. We were met with another couple stairs, and hopped up. Kayla and Tito were standing there. We all exchanged glances, some excited, some unsure, some of sheer horror.

I noticed that Kayla looked terrified, as though she were about to meet up with Death himself. I frowned. “What’s wrong?” I inquired, not entirely certain as to whether or not that was an intelligent choice.