Andree
"Get up!" I heard my dad practically screaming in my face. I opened my eyes and saw him giving me a furious look. He then grabbed me by my shirt and lifted me out of the bed. "Get up, right now!"
Before I knew it, he flung me on the floor. "What the hell, dad!" I yelled as I got up.
"You want to tell me why you didn't show up at school yesterday?" He asked me. "You better not lie and say you went, either!"
"I don't want to go to that stupid school!" I scoffed. "It's the last week, anyway!"
"You better be dressed within the next twenty minutes because you're taking your ass to school." He demanded. "If I have to drag you then I will."
"Whatever." I shook my head.
I walked across the room and went into my bathroom then slammed the door shut. I took a quick shower and rushed out of the room after I got dressed. Of course, my dad was waiting for me at the end of the steps. He took a good look at my white tee shirt and my baggy jeans and immediately frowned.
"Why are you dressed like you have no sense of class?" He asked. "Where did you even get those clothes from?"
"I'm going to school, not church." I answered him.
"Church is where you need to be." He snickered.
I ignored his comment and followed him outside, then got into the limo. I didn't say a word to my dad the whole ride to Walton High. I was pissed that he was actually making me go to school when I literally only had three days to go, excluding today. It just didn't make sense to me why he wanted me to be so miserable.
After the long and uncomfortable ride, we had finally made it to Walton High school. Hundreds of kids flooded the campus, and most of them were gawking at the limo as we pulled into the parking lot. Security stuck to my dad and I like glue as they made sure we got inside of the building safely. Of course, all the girls outside screamed like they had seen a celebrity when they laid their eyes on me. I guess because I was a celebrity. I stifled a laugh at myself.
A tall African American woman dressed up in a business suit and heels stood by the office door and she gave my dad and I a warm smile.
"Goodmorning," She extended her arm out for my dad to shake her hand. "I'm Mrs. Rogers, the principal here."
I noticed that he gave the woman an odd look, and practically ignored her hand shake. Thinking it was just my dad being stuck-up, I didn't think a big deal of it.
"You must be Andreson." She smiled at me.
"Yeah, or you can call me Andree." I smirked. "I prefer Andree, though."
"Unfortunately, that's not the name your mother and I gave you." My dad just had to add himself into the conversation. Even when it had nothing to do with him, he always wanted to be apart of it.
"I am estatic that you decided to let your son enroll in Walton High." She said. "I give you my word that I am going to make sure he gets to all his classes and enjoys them just like any other student here, Mr. Valdez."
"That's good to know." My father rudely answered her. "Just contact my wife if anything goes wrong. Have a good day, son. I have to head to a meeting."
He patted me on the back and security escorted him back out of the building. I looked at Mrs. Rogers and could tell that she was bothered by how badly my father had treated her. I wanted to tell her that he was just a natural jerk, but I'm sure she already could tell that much. Maybe me saying nothing about it would do just as good as me saying anything at all. I mean, it wasn't really him that she had to deal with, right?
"I have your schedule printed out on my desk." She smiled. "You can follow me and I'll take you to where you need to go."
I followed the principal into her office and she insisted that I sit down so she could get to know me a little more before she escorted me to my classes.
"Walton High is one of the best public schools in New York City, and I'm sure that's why your father had you enrolled here." She smiled. "I'm glad to have you join us. Here, you will get to enjoy the real High School experience. Tell me a little about yourself, and maybe we can get you involved in some activities for the next school year."
"I like music." I said, blankly.
It wasn't like I could be completely honest and tell her that I enjoyed smoking weed and partaking in gang activity. What could I tell her about me without going too deep into it?
"That's a starter." She chuckled. "What kind of music is your favorite, Andree?"
"Tupac." I said. "I think he's the best rapper alive."
"Tupac seems to be very popular and accepted by most teenagers that go here." She said. "Why do you think Tupac is the best rapper alive?"
"Can I be honest with you, Mrs. Rogers?" I asked.
"Of course you can." She smiled. "What is it?"
"I observe his words and I think they're deeper than what people actually hear." I said. "I mean, he talks a lot about the real problems in the world. I know that I'm nothing like him, but I understand the struggle he has to deal with to be a black person here in America. It's not right how the black community is treated here, Mrs. Rogers."
"Wow." She said. "You are the first person that I've ever heard say that."
"I hope I'm not offending you in any way." I said. "But, I love Tupac. I listen to him all the time, and I feel like I understand."
"If only everyone thought the same way that you do, Andree." She sighed.
The room became quiet. It was as quiet as I've ever heard quiet been. I wondered if I had said something wrong, or If I offended her. I couldn't tell by the look on her face, so I just didn't say anything else. Maybe I would have been better off telling her a different answer.
"Here's your schedule." She smiled and handed me a piece of paper. "I know it's not very useful since we only have a few days left, but maybe you'll get to know your way around here for next year."
"Thank you." I said.
"Come on, let's get you to your first period class." She said then stood up from her desk.
I followed her out of the office and she led me down the hallway to a classroom with a purple door. She opened it, and we walked inside the room. The teacher was a white lady dressed in a blue pants suit, and she smiled at me. I smiled back and looked on the board to see her name, Mrs. Stephens, written in chalk.
I then took a good look at my peers, and I noticed them already examining me. Of course, I didn't have to introduce myself because they already knew who I was. Especially the females. They seemed very happy to see me.
"Alright, students." Mrs. Rogers sighed. "I know this may be unusual for us to get a celebrity student at this time in the year, but I want you all to treat him just like he's a normal person because he is. He is a regular teenager, just like all of you, so we shouldn't have any problems with him being here. And ladies....?"
"Yeah?" All the females responded in sync.
One of the girls winked at me, and some of them were gossping amongst themselves while staring me down.
"Act like ladies, please." She warned them. "Take a seat, Andree. I'll be back when the bell rings, so I expect you to just enjoy your first period class."
She then left the room and closed the door behind her.
"You can take a seat anywhere, Mr. Valdez." Mrs. Stephens said. "It's far too late in the year to give you an assigned seat."
I sat down in an empty desk in the middle of the classroom. That feeling of frustration hit me like a wave as I realized how much I didn't want to be here. It was so stupid and I knew for a fact that we weren't going to learn anything.
Suddenly, a balled up piece of paper landed on my desk in front of me which caught me off guard. I unraveled the paper and saw that it was a note.
"You're really cute. Can I have your number?" It read.
I looked over to see a cute, blonde headed white girl waving at me and giving me the puppy dog look with her greenish looking eyes. She was dressed in an oversized blue tee shirt and colorful baggy jeans.
Typical girl of 1992.
I balled the paper up and threw it back at her. The whole class laughed at my response, but I could see that the girl wasn't amused with it. She rolled her eyes and went back to talking to her friend like nothing had happened, so I decided to put my head down.
My whole day had been bunk. In every class period, I did absolutely nothing but sit in a stupid desk and get notes passed to me all day. As expected, most of the girls here jocked me. I couldn't lie--It was quite flattering, but I knew I didn't really care for any of them.
Once I arrived back home, I went straight to my bedroom and closed the door. I was glad to be home and I just wanted to go to sleep. As soon as I sat down on my bed, I heard a knock on my door. I groaned and got right back up, and answered the door to see it was my moms.
"Yeah?"
"Can I come in?" She asked.
I shrugged, "I guess so."
She walked in and closed the door behind her. "How was school, son?"
"A waste of time." I scoffed. "Every single class period, we sat there and just looked at each other it seems like."
"Any numbers?" She smiled.
I turned my pockets inside out and numerous pieces of papers fell out of my pockets and onto the floor. My moms gasped and laughed at me.
"Andreson, you're a girl magnet!" She exclaimed. "I knew at this age you would be stealing girl's hearts."
"It's only because I'm apart of the Valdez family."
"What's that supposed to mean, honey?"
"Girls only want to talk to me because I'm rich." I sighed. "Just imagine what it would be like if you guys weren't so wealthy and famous? Girls probably wouldn't even look my way. That's why I don't really care too much about them."
"Honey, I'll tell you now that not all girls are like that." She said. "You will run into a lot of chicken heads, but just remember that there's always going to be that one girl that will accept you for who you are, no matter if you have a million dollars or even just one."
"You really think so?" I asked.
"I know that for a fact, dear." She smiled. "God has made a companion for each of us. He never tells us when and where we meet them, but it just happens. I'm sure you will meet yours very soon. Just keep your eyes open for the girl that stands out from the rest."
"I guess so." I crawled into my bed. "How do I even know if she's the one?"
"You will just know in your heart." She said. "And she will too."
I was honestly shocked to hear all of these things that my moms was telling me. In all the years of my life, I don't think I've ever heard her say anything that deep or meaningful to me. I wasn't going to lie; I was happy that my moms was trying to get on my good side. But, a little talk wasn't going to make me love her like I should.
"I'll see you at dinner, tonight." She ruffled my hair. "Get some rest."
She got up and left me in the room alone, and that's how I spent the rest of the day. I didn't do anything but lie in my bed and sleep. In the evening, I had an awkward dinner with my parents and right after I went back into my room. Now, it was pitch dark outside aside from the street lights, and my parents were knocked out.
The phone on my nightstand rang and I quickly answered it to avoid having my parents hearing it. "Hello?"
"Sup, b?" I heard Hernando say. "We're about to take care of some business that King gave us to do. You down?"
"Yeah, of course." I said.
"Cool." He said. "I'll be outside the gates in a few."
"I'll see you." I said, then hung up the phone.
I threw on a white wife beater, baggy jeans and a pair of Nike sneakers. I then grabbed the pistol from under my mattress and made sure that the clip was loaded. I made sure I had my dad's spare key card, my mask, then I opened my window and climbed out. I jumped down on the roof of my dad's car, praying that he wouldn't hear me sneaking out.
I jumped on my bike and sped all the way down to the gates of the community. Hernando and the crew were already waiting for me in his car on the other side of the gate. I swiped the key card in the slot of the security pad to open the gates, then I hopped in the back of Hernando's car.
He drove off and we made our way deep into the city. "What exactly is the plan, Hernando?" I inquired.
"Word is, there's some people that owe King some cheddar and they haven't bothered to pay up." He said. "We either gonna get it the right way, or we gonna gank, foo'."
"Word is, King got some people that owe him some cheddar. We either going to get it the right way, or we gonna gank, Ese."
"What happens if we get it the right way, then?" Minnie asked.
"We still going to spray 'em baby!" Hernando laughed. "You know this."
"Calm down foo'." Jay said.
We soon arrived to an apartment in the Bronx. Hernando parked the car then I got out along with him and Jay.
"Come on, Money." Jay said. "Greg, you stay in the car and keep a look out for anything suspicious."
I made sure that my mask was on the right way and I walked up the steps of the apartment with Jay and Hernando right behind me. On three, I kicked the door in and we rushed inside the dark room. I sent Money and Hernando to check upstairs, and Jay to check in the other rooms. I walked into the kitchen and saw a young woman on the phone with her back turned towards me.
"Someone is inside my apartment." She whispered.
I crept up behind her then put the gun against her temple as I wrapped my other arm around her. I had obviously scared her, because she nearly dropped the phone trying to see who was behind her.
"You tell them that it was a misunderstanding, or I'll blow your head off." I whispered in her ear.
She nodded her head and put the phone back up to her ear. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding." She said. "It was just my dad."
"Are you sure you're okay?" I heard the officer ask her.
"Yeah, I'm sure." She reassured them. "Goodnight."
She hung the phone up, and I grabbed it and put it on the counter. "Here's the deal, babygirl. My friends are looking for whoever else is inside your crib. We're going to be here until someone cough up my cheddar." I whispered. She nodded her head and I smiled. "Glad you understand. You smell good, by the way."
She turned around and looked at me with her dark, brown eyes. This girl was quite attractive with her pretty Hershey chocolate skin and thick, black hair. She didn't even look much older than me, so maybe I could take my shot. Just kidding.
"Are you gonna kill me?" She inquired. "Please don't."
"You would be the last person I killed." I smirked. "But, I still gotta keep my eye on you."
"I-"
I pointed the gun at her and she shut her mouth too quick. "Just take me upstairs, and don't try anything funny, princess."
I followed her out of the kitchen and Jay came rushing into the living room. "We got 'em." He grinned. "And, I see you found me a new girlfriend."
"I don't think so." She scoffed.
"Yeah, I already claimed her." I smirked and brushed past him.
We went upstairs and into the only lit up room in the whole hallway. There was a man already tied up to a chair and an empty chair next to him. "Sit next to him, princess."
She did as I told her, and Money began tying her up.
"You got our beans, foo'?" Hernando asked the man as he loaded the clip of his gun. "I'm only gonna ask you once!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, man." He panted.
"Don't act dumb!" Jay warned him. "I swear to God we will kill your daughter. So, you might wanna start talking."
"Please don't hurt my daughter." He pleaded. "I'll give you whatever you want, just please don't touch her."
"Where's the money?" Jay asked.
"It's under the mattress." He said. "Just take it all and leave!"
Hernando lifted up the mattress and took the stacks of money from under it. He laughed and then put it in the bag.
Mission complete!
"Alright." I heard Jay say as he pointed the gun at the man. "You want to listen to some tunes before you die?"
"Nah, don't kill him." I told Jay. "It's not worth it. We already have the money so we should just go home."
The crew gave me weird looks, and I knew they were on a totally different page compared to me.
"What the hell are you talking about, man?" Jay furiously asked me. "You know what? Lets have a talk out in the hall."
He grabbed me by the arm and we went into the hallway. "Let go of me." I demanded as I tried to get out of his grip.
He let go and handed me the gun, "I'm giving you this gun for one reason. I hope that you make the right decision and not bitch out on me like you did last time."
"I didn't bitch out." I argued. "We got the money and that's all King wanted."
"If King was here he would have put a cap in his forehead." He said. "You call yourself being apart of this gang but you're not acting like it."
He shook his head and began to walk off. "You can handle this situation. I'll be in the car."
I made sure the clip was loaded and then I walked back into the room. "What are we doing?" Money asked. "We gotta get moving."
"Please don't kill me." The man pleaded. "I-"
BANG!
He wailed out in agony because of the bullet I put in his leg. His daughter started sobbing, but at this point I didn't care. I was pissed and tired of the way Jay was acting. "That's what your ass get for stealing, and that's just a warning. Let's go, man."
I walked out of the room and the crew followed right behind me. They didn't say a word to me on the way to the car, but I already knew what they were thinking. I decided to ignore all of them the whole car ride home, even though they werent making an effort to speak to me, either.
What a night this was..right?