Chapter Five
Monday,
April 17
11:24 AM
Dear Diary,
I'm in class now making sure the teacher doesn’t catch me and I’ll have to reveal what I am writing because I am definitely not doing my work while he is teaching and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of my friends and Karina who is in the front of the class while I am at the back. Yesterday was beautiful I got kissed and I got the girl of my dreams what could be better and this Friday is prom night which is awesome and I can’t wait. Gotta go, teachers coming.
SincerelyYours,
Cameron Cambridge
I closed my diary and put it back in my satchel which I closed afterwards and got back to work before I got into trouble.
After class, I went to my locker and put some of my books in there and grabbed my iPod Touch and put it in my pocket. Just soon as I was about to put my earphones on, Karina came and closed my locker.
“Hi!” she said.
“What up” I said.
She kissed me on my lips.
“So, did you hear about the prom?” she started off asking.
“Yeah, I was planning to ask you, but it’ll looks like you want to ask me” I said.
“Yeah, if you can come” said Karina.
“Yeah, my mom already knows she already bought me a tux” I said.
“Wow, that’s great, I’ll see you there” she said, and just when she was about to leave I called out…
“Hey, Karina” I said.
She turned around.
“Yeah” she said.
“I was wondering if you and the other girls wanted to come over my house this Friday after the prom for a movie night” I said.
“Yeah, we’ll be there, but you better show me a good time at that prom!” she said sternly.
“You can count on that” I said, giving her a thumbs up.
She left for class and I decided to do so myself.
Next, I had English which had gone by slowly as usual, but as long as I had my sketch book doing my doodles. Luckily she don’t call on me for questions because either I wouldn’t know the answer because I wasn’t paying any attention not because I was dumb it’s because sometimes I can be lazy. But another thing about this class is that Karina isn’t in it so if I get embarrassed then she wouldn’t feel that way either.
It was 1:15. Thirty minutes away from dismissal which I was waiting for to spend the day with my friends. As I was putting the finishing touches on my doodle, JT was whispering to Angela Jones ending up with her laughing. When she laughed, Mr. Bradley turned around and caught JT and said, “Mr. Robinson, are you trying to see the principal.”
“Nope, I was only asking lovely Angela here for a pencil” said JT.
“Cut the crap, JT” said Mr. Bradley.
“Oooh, Mr. Bradley said a bad word” said JT, in a mocking baby voice.
Everyone laughed.
“Do you want detention?” asked Mr. Bradley.
“Huh!” said JT, in a mocking shocked voice. “Oh no, not detention what will mom say when she hears this.”
Everyone laughed again.
“Mr. Robinson, see me at detention” said Mr. Bradley.
“Okey dokey artichokey” said JT.
Everyone was still laughing.
“Stop laughing all of you or all of you gets detention” said Mr. Bradley.
He turned around.
“Yo bitch ass” JT mumbled.
Everyone quietly sniggered, causing Mr. Bradley to stop for a minute and continue writing on the board with JT getting away with the snide remark.
After school, all five of us waited for JT who came from detention looking smug as if he was a superhero who saved the day.
“Your stupid” said Dante, half laughing.
“It’s what I do” said JT.
“Watch yourself, or you’ll get banned from the prom” said Jamal.
“Pppshhh, like that would ever happen, I’ll sneak back in” said JT.
That’s something JT would do. I knew him for a long time, anything you ban or punish him for he’ll find a way around or something useful about the situation. As we were walking off campus, and walked around the corner we saw the gay guy from school James Edwards being teased by anyone other than: Lorenzo Perkins.
“Hey look” I said to the others.
They all looked.
“Hey, that’s wrong they can’t do that him” said JT.
“JT, don’t get involved you will get in trouble too” I said, holding him back.
“That’s not fair, they can’t do that I'm going over there” said JT, pushing away my defenses.
JT walked over.
We followed him, stopping at a respectable distance.
“What are you douche bags doing teasing him?” asked JT.
“Probably trying to have a little fun” said Lorenzo, in his deep voice.
“Doesn’t mean you have to tease a gay kid” said JT. “James, what does he have that’s yours?”
“My baseball cap, my dad gave me before he passed away” he said.
“Give him back his cap!” shouted JT.
“No, what if I don’t want to!” said Lorenzo, with an angry face expression.
“Give it back or I’ll…” said JT.
“Or you’ll do what” said Lorenzo, getting closer.
“This!” said JT, as he punched him in his jaw knocking the cap out of his hands which James caught.
“James, RUN!” I yelled. And he did so by jetting to the opposite side of the street and into the streets of Jasper Road. Meanwhile a brawl engaged with me, Dante, and Deshawn holding off one crony, while Jerry and Jamal took care of the other, with JT handling Lorenzo. With three guys against one enemy it was pointless to lose against the one guy and we beat him down. I had to give him credit though he did put up a fight. Jamal and Jerry took care of the other one and all we had left was Lorenzo who was still fighting JT, who supported a black eye and a bloody lip.
“You guys could help here!?” shouted JT.
“You need your friends to help you, you little baby!” said Lorenzo, in a mocking baby voice.
“Screw you!” said JT, as he kicked Lorenzo his private place which ended up with Lorenzo flying five feet in the air and landing on his back. That was our chance to run.
“RUN!” I yelled out. We all dipped.
Just as soon as we was about to hit the corner, Lorenzo got up, and drew out a pistol and shot two bullets one hitting the wall and the last one hitting Jamal in the leg.
“AHHHHHHHHH!” he screamed out.
“Jamal!” we all gasped out.
“Grab him!” said Dante.
JT ran and lifted him under the legs and we began to run just as a bullet whizzed by JT’s left ear. We jetted down the street and we didn’t stop until we reached Harrison Blvd which was fifteen minutes away from where we last were.
I checked behind us just in case Lorenzo was still following us, but he wasn’t. Thank God, we escaped! Oh yeah, Jamal.
We all were crowded around him.
“Dude you okay!?” I asked worriedly.
“Yeah, just got hit in the leg” he said. “I should be fine.”
“Okay!” I said. “Someone pull out their phone and call 911.”
“I'm on it” said JT, as pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number quickly.
“Yeah, 911 we have an emergency on the corner of Harrison Blvd and Felix Lane.”
“A kid has been shot in his leg and he needs an ambulance quick!”
A minute later he hung up.
“They’re on there way” said JT.
We all tended to Jamal who was still gasping in pain.
“You’re a big boy, your gonna make it!” said Jerry encouragingly.
Jamal nodded.
“Man. I knew I shouldn’t have started this, I nearly got my best friends killed” said JT.
“If I never helped James this would have never happened!”
“Hey, you tried to help a classmate dude and you took guts for him” I said. “Don’t be hard on yourself; you did a good thing, a stupid thing, but good.”
“Yeah, but what if he doesn’t make it…” said JT before he could finish a sentence.
“Shut up will you, he’s gonna be fine” I said. “And besides here’s the ambulance right now.”
The ambulance pulled up on the curb with two paramedics coming out with a stretcher. We helped them place Jamal on it.
“We’ll see you later Jamal” I called as they carried him into the truck.
“Aight” he called back, and they shut the ambulance’s doors and drove off.
“Let’s go to my house and tell my mom to drive us to the hospital” I said.
We all agreed and began walking to Harris Avenue, and just before we did, I turned to JT.
“Dude, JT you’re a hero today man, a jackass all the way but a hero” I said.
JT smiled. “Thanks!”
I patted him on the back and we kept moving.