“Lee-Lee where is mike?” Lisa asked as she came trough the door.
“He was here earlier but he left again I told him to check with you, like you said, just try his cell”, Kaliegh said softly in response to her mother. (Lisa grabs the phone to make the call and it rings. Caller ID shows that it is her husband John)
“Hello, hey honey what’s going on?”
“Nothing was just calling you all to check on you during my break’.
“You gon’ need to check on your son in a minute because I’m about to break his neck!”She replied
“Why what he do?”
“He hasn’t checked in to tell me where he is and he has been gone all day!”
“Just calm down honey, he said solemnly he will get there, you never know his phone might be dead”.
“He need to hurry up because I already told him and Lee-Lee that I need them to clean up for Ray’s party tomorrow”, she said with a irritant voice.
“No why did you have to bring up Ray? He spoke with anger in his tone, our conversation was going good until he was brung up. I know he your brother and all but its just something about him that I just can’t get with, besides the fact that he is a lying no-good moocher who uses anybody or anything to get what he wants, Ooh and l forgot the fact that he is a dr--” (She interrupts him)
“Okay John I got the point. Just think about like this, he is only going to be here for one day and not even the whole day so you won’t even have to really see his face. Can you do that for me baby? It’s his birthday and I just want things to be peaceful”, she rejoined trying to calm him down.
“I know babe but I don’t even like the thought of him being around Mike now you see all the things he has been doing lately. Actin’ out in school and staying out all night with those no-good friends of his, and Ray is just another bad influence, and if something ever happens to Mike our lives would change drastically. I mean 60 seconds can change the whole course of your life, but for you I will not let this bother me and try my best to keep the peace.”

Later that night around 11:00 o’clock Mike comes home
“Where have you been?!!”, Lisa yelled as he strolled through the door
“I was over Terry house I told you yesterday that he was having a party for homecoming weekend.
“Okay I remember that but I don’t remember you coming home at all today and speaking to me or saying I’m here or anything!”
“Ma’ I came home changed my clothes went to the mall then went over Terry’s house. Sorry that I did not check in” he says with a monotone voice.
“It’s cool” she said jokingly,
“Whoa, what did you just say?”
“I said it’s cool”, she smirked
“You are not young or cool, so you need to stop trying to be”
“Whatever boy go to bed”.
He walks into his room lays on his bed puts his headphones on and turns off the light.
Saturday around 7:30p.m.
“Hey Brenda, so glad to see you here, How you doing Tosha thanks for coming”. Kaliegh says to the invited guest.
“Everybody get down uncle Ray is outside.” Mike screamed
“Sis why are you covering my eyes I already know where we at”, Ray said,
“I know but I got something special lined up for you inside just come on and stop whining.” She remarked.
They walk up to the door and all the lights are off Lisa opens the door and takes her fingers off his eyes. Everybody: “Surprise!!!”
“What! Man I can’t believe this, all this for me?” Ray shocking stated. Ray and his two friends Dave and Mark walk in behind Lisa.
“Man this is off the chain! It’s people I haven’t seen in years here, thanks so much sis!” Everybody starts to sit down and eat and mingle. In the kitchen Mike is getting him a drink and Dave walks in.
“Aye what you doing in here?”
“Oh, I was just looking for the bathroom they told me it was through here” he says with a slow heavy voice.
“Well ‘they’ told you wrong it is through the other door”
“ My bad lil dude, calm down, you must not know who I am”
“No I don’t and I don’t care to know so please just do me a favor and stay out of here” “Aight, but didn’t I see you on the corner of Washington and Claudine with Derrick, and lil Rob?”
“ I don’t know prob’ly”
“ Just so you know ya’ll was selling my product”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m Big Red”
“ For real?”
“Yeah”
“Oh man my bad I was keeping peeps out of hur’ cuz moms b trippin” “ It’s good lil man, I like yo style”
“ So uh you need some product?” Dave chuckles,
“Em em em lil man got heart, I like that, I like that, so do you think you ready to hang with the big dogs?”
“Yeah man I’m down wit anything”
“ Aight be on Lucas and Melrose tomorrow night at 10:45, and be strapped”
“Aight”. Dave walks outside and makes a phone call.
“Yeah man, I got your stuff. Imma send one of my boys to meet you on Lucas and Melrose at 10:45 and don’t be late and bring some friends.”
~ ~ ~ ~
“Lil Rob guess who I met he other day?” Mike said with excitement in his voice
“Who?”
“Big Red”
“Man why you lying you already know Big Red don’t come out the house”
“Man that’s what you think, but he was at my house the other day for my uncle Ray birthday party”
“So what you telling me is that yo uncle knows black personally”
“Yeah he must know him because he was with him at the party, matter of fact he told me to meet him on Lucas and Melrose tonight at 10:15 and he told me to be strapped”
“Man I still don’t believe you”
“Well you can come with me then”
~ ~ ~ ~
“Man you got yo gat?” Mike ask Lil Rob
“Yeah, you ready? this is our big night shine to show them that we know how to get low like the rest of them” They both put their guns inside their pants and walk down to Lucas and Melrose. They get there at 10:10 and wait for about twenty minutes before a group of guys they have never seen appear out of the darkness.
“Yo was sup you got my stuff?” The man says to Mike like he had met him many times before.
“Uh I think you go the wrong person I’m waitin’ on some friends of mine”
“ We are yo friends you told us that you would be here tonight wit our green so stop playin these games black and give us what we paid for”
“ I am not black but I am here to see black tho’”
“Aye yo man this not funny anymore so just give us our stuff so we can go.”
“Yo fo real I –we don’t got yo stuff”, Mike responds with a annoyed voice
“Man I knew I should have never f----- wit you in the first place now you gon make me have to do something I don’t want to do”
“Man do what you do I’m just telling you that I’m not black my name is---”. The man punches him in his face before he gets the rest of his sentence out. In a frenzy Lil’ rob runs and leaves Mike by his self-getting beat by the group of dudes. They all jump on him and beat him in the face and hit him everywhere in his body they take his wallet and his phone. The big guy digs in his pants and feels his gun. All of a sudden three shots go off and they all start to run.
Lil’ Rob runs to Ray’s house and pounds on the door.
“Ray open the door hurry up!!!
“Who is it?!”
“ It’s Lil Rob open the door, Mike just got jumped --- I heard some gun shots--- I ran over here!!!” he is so frantic that he can’t get his words out.
“What Mike got shot?”
“I don’t know we gotta go!” they run down the street about seven blocks away they run up to Mike he is bleeding and his face is distorted.
“Oh my God!!, What happened Mike? Where them punks at? Where they go? Mike open your eyes come on don’t die on me!!! Mike come on man!” Ray screams,
“Rob we got to get him to the house” They get someone to drive them back to Ray’s house. Immediately he calls Lisa.
“Hello” she says with a groggy sound in her voice.
“Lisa this Ray, Mike just got jumped he is bleeding everywhere”
“What? Mike is in his room sleeping, stop playing games this early in the morning”
“No is this is not a joke you need to get over here as fast as you can!!” “oh my God! My son, my son!”
“Lisa what’s wrong” John asked with a concerned look on his face.
“That was Ray, he said Mike just got jumped”
“What!! See I told you about him, Let’s go!!”
“Oh Lord help me to handle this trail”
“Mike what happen?” he asked while putting a ice packs on his face and body
“Ih wehnt toh meeht Bhig Rehd ahnd Ih ghot jumhped bhy sohme duhdes loohking forh sohme greehn thaht blhack wahs surposehd toh givhe thehm ah lohng tihme ahgo”
“Big Red set you up?. Man I can’t believe this I’mma go get that punk! Then Lisa and John frantically knock on the door.
“Let us in Ray!” Lisa runs in and tries to assist Mike John starts to yell at Ray hysterically
“Dahd iht’s noht his fhault ih wehnt bhy mhy sehlf” Mike says with a slur in voice.
“What I can’t believe you Mike, I thought I raised you better then that!”
“And you did John but e is going to live his life and not the one you want him to. He has to learn from his own mistakes and not yours” Ray says calmly.
“Dad please don’t be mad at him be mad at me”.
“Look Mike we are not going to point fingers right now. We are going to work this out as a family isn’t that right John?”
“John, John! Can you hear me? I’m talking to you” Johns wakes up at his office and gets up frantically out of his desk.
“Where is my son?”
“ Your son?” His co-worker looks at him with a confused face.
“What is going on?, I was just over Ray’s hou-” He stops and realizes that it was all a dream.
“Ho, I know you ain’t calling me a ho!” She lifts her hand in a slapping motion. “No, I wasn’t calm down I was saying house”
“Yeah you better had been”.