Plummet: Act III

The story of Chris Winslow continues.

So Chris, Craig, and Cole go outside and head up to the top of the street where they see a local thug by the name of Brick. Brick lives up to his nickname: Standing at six feet and five inches, and solidly built. He is the primary muscle for D-Nick and his gang, The Corporation, the most powerful criminal organization in Edgewood. He has killed several people, both with a gun and with his bare hands. Being that the Corporation is so powerful, Craig and Cole both look up to them and see them as role models.

            “Yo what up Brick?” Craig asks.

            “What’s good lil homies?” Brick replies, “What ya’ll been up to?”

            “Man, we just got off of school,” Craig says. “We was about to whoop up on some clown that was runnin’ his mouth.”

            “Hell yea, yo!” Cole says. “This lame a*s kid named Mike, we about to beat him at that party after the game.”

            “Oh alright,” Brick asks. “Ya’ll need my help?”

            “Oh naw,” Craig and Cole both say.

“This dude’s a sucka,” Craig says. “We’ll take care of him.”

“Oh alright,” Brick asks. “Who’s this kid right here?”

“Oh my fault yo,” Craig says. “That’s Chris he wit’ us now.”

“Oh alright,” Brick says. “What up little homie?”

“Nothin’ much.”

“Oh alright yo,” Brick says.

“Hey yo where D-Nick at?” Craig asks, “I gotta talk to him about a couple of things.”

“He has to take care of some business.”

“What, he too busy to talk to his li’l homies?” Cole asks. “Come on Brick, we just wanna talk to him.”

“Alright yo,” Brick says, “It ain’t gonna be my fault if he gets mad at ya’ll. I’ll take you to go see him now.”

So they went in Brick’s car and drove down the street to the apartment building where the Corporation’s headquarters are. As they walk in, they hear sounds of a belt smacking against bare skin and a man screaming in agony.

“Damn,” Chris says, “What’s going on down there?” Chris asks.

 “Man,” Cole replies, “Probably some dumbass that didn’t pay D-Nick his bread.”

“Sucks to be him,” Chris says.

“Yea,” Brick says. “You don’t wanna mess around wit’ the Corp.”

“Yo Chris,” Craig says, “When we walk in don’t say nothin’ until we introduce you to him. D-Nick is crazy sometimes, he could kill you for simply openin’ ya’ mouth.”

            “Um, alright,” Chris replies.

As they are walking downstairs, the noise gets louder and they realize it’s coming from the laundry room. They open the door, where they see a man stripped down to his boxers, and tied to a hook hanging from the ceiling. He is a drug dealer who worked for the Corporation, and did not give his 10 percent of profits to D-Nick.

“D-Nick I’m sorry man!” The drug dealer says, “I’ll pay you next time!”

“What you mean you gonna pay me next time?” D-Nick asks. “You’ve been workin’ for me for what a couple of months, and you were sellin’ in my hood and you not payin’ me? Oh what, you thought we wasn’t gonna find out?”

“Naw man!” The man replies.

“What you mean naw?” D-Nick asks, “Oh, so you think you tough now, huh? Like you was probably thinkin, that dude D-Nick he wasn’t gonna…”

D-Nick flogs him with his belt, and the drug dealer screams again.

“He wasn’t gonna do nothin’ to me,” D-Nick says. “Do you know how disrespectful what you did was? You knew what you was doin man.”

“Yo Brick!” D-Nick yells, handing him the belt.

“Yea,” Brick replies.

“Give him 15 lashes so he knows what it is,” D-Nick replies. “Then untie his sorry a*s.”

Brick begins to whip him harder than D-Nick did. The man begins crying and pleading with Brick to stop.

“Damn, ya’ll really whoopin’ his a*s,” Cole says

“Come on D let him go,” Craig says.

“What you mean let him go?” D-Nick asks, “He shouldn’t have stolen from me!”

Brick is counting the lashes he is giving the man: “10…11…12…13…14…15…” The drug dealer begins crying.

“Alright yo,” D-Nick says. “Untie him.”

Brick unties the man and D-Nick turns around to where Chris, Craig, and Cole were standing.

“What’s good li’l homies,” D-Nick says. “Who’s the new face?”

 “This is my man Chris,” Craig says, “He chillin’ wit us today.”

“What’s good lil man.”

“Nothin’ much.”

“Yo D,” Craig says, “Can I ask you something?”

“You know you can ask ya’ uncle D-Nick anything Craig,” he says. “What is it?”

“You think you can get me a pistol?” Craig asks.

 “Boy what you need a pistol for?” D-Nick asks, laughing.

“This fool at my school man,” Craig replies.

“We’re gonna kill him?” Chris asks.

“Naw,” Cole says, “But it’s in consideration ya’ feel me?”

“Damn,” D-Nick says, “Ya’ll crazy. Alright, follow me.”

“Yo D!” Brick says, “What we gonna do wit’ this fool?”

“I would tell you to make him walk home wit’ no clothes,” D-Nick says, “But he look like the type that’ll snitch. Take him outside somewhere and finish him, make sure you hide the body.”

“D-NICK!” the man says, “I’m sorry, don’t do this man! Come on man!”

Chris, Craig, Cole, and D-Nick all go outside to D-Nick’s car. They drive to his safe house down the street, and then they go in the basement. D-Nick opens a large safe, and there are guns everywhere.

“Yo you said you wanted a pistol right?” D-Nick asks.

“Yea,” Craig replies.

“Alright,” D-Nick says, “This is a Desert Eagle. I gotta bunch of ‘em, you can have this one.”

“Thanks big bro,” Craig replies.

“Anytime man,” D-Nick says. “If ya’ll need anything else let me know.”

“Alright D,” Craig says.

So they all went back to Craig’s house where they sat and watched TV, Craig tunes it to the local news. The story being shown is about crime in Edgewood.

“Damn,” Craig says. “It’s gettin’ wild in Edgewood.”

“How did it get like this?” Chris asks.

“Man I don’t even care,” Cole says. “I’m gonna go hard regardless!”

“Hell yea yo.”

“Hey guys,” Chris says, “I have to go.”

“Alright yo,” Craig says. “See you tomorrow.”

Chris slaps hands with the both of them and heads home. He arrives at his house, but to his surprise, his father is not home.

“Probably at the bar or something,” Chris thinks to himself.  

He goes to his room, pulls out his books, and begins doing his homework. While he is doing his work, he frequently pauses to think about his day: Tatianna, Ms. Applegate, the altercation with Mike, meeting Craig, and the things he saw in Park Crescent. He thinks about the upcoming party, and then suddenly he realizes that it is getting late and he gets back to his work. Once he is finished, he lays down for a little bit before going downstairs to watch television.

He turns on the television and checks the guide, his favorite cartoon The Regular Show is on. After the two episodes are over, he changes the channel to BET; 106 & Park is on, he watches the music videos for a couple of hours. Around nine o’clock his dad comes home drunk with his arm around a woman.

“Is that your son Johnny?” the woman asks.

“Yea,” he says. “His name’s Chris, he’s a little wuss though.”

“Aww,” the woman replies, “But he’s so cute!”

Chris who is now angry remains quiet. If he never hated his father, he did now.

“We’ll be upstairs if you need us,” John replies.

John takes the woman to his bedroom. Chris turns up the volume on the TV in order to tune out the noise upstairs, before deciding to turn it off and go to bed.

Chris then goes to the laundry room, where he sleeps for the rest of the night; he'd rather sleep there than listen to his father and that woman all night. The following morning he wakes up, he is hungry and tired; there is no food in the house. To his surprise and delight his father is not home. He hurriedly runs upstairs, puts on the clothes Craig gave him yesterday, grabs his things and leaves the house. On his way to the bus stop, he sees some members of Mike’s gang. They do not do anything to him other than give him mean looks. The bus comes and takes everyone to school. Once Chris walks into school, he sees Miss Applegate who calls him and tells him to come into her office. So Chris follows her into the office, he sits down and she begins to discuss some things with him.

“Word around the school is there is going to be some party in Park Crescent after the game,” Miss Applegate says. “Is this true?”

“Yea,” Chris says. “What about it?”

“I don’t want you to go.”

 “Why not?” He asks, sighing.

“Because I also know Mike will be there,” She says. “I know what you and Craig are planning.”

“I have no idea what you you’re talking about,” Chris replies. “Craig and Cole invited me to a party and I wanted to go.”

“Do you take me for a fool Chris?” She asks.

“I don’t take you for anything,” Chris says. “I just don’t know what you’re worrying about. I’m just going to the party, relax.”

“Okay Chris,” She replies, “Just know I’m watching you.”

“Alright whatever,” Chris says.

Chris walks out of the office and goes to homeroom. Chris walks into his classroom and he sits down, a bunch of kids are looking at him. The kid sitting next to him asks him a question.

“You’re going to fight Mike?” The kid asks him.

“I might,” Chris replies.

 “You’re gonna get your a*s kicked,” the boy says, laughing.

 “No, I’m not,” Chris says, “My boy Craig has my back.”

“Craig’s your boy now?” The boy asks.

“Well…yea…I mean…” Chris says unsurely.

The bell rings and Chris goes to first period, he walks in and he sees Tatianna. Anxious as he usually is around her, his heart begins racing and he begins to sweat profusely. She waves at him and he smiles back. He sits down and she starts talking to him. This time he decides that he was going to muster up the confidence to talk to her.

“Hey Chris!” Tatianna says.

“Hey Tati,” Chris replies.

“Tati?” Tatianna asks. “What kind of name is that?”

“You don’t like it?”

“Eww,” Tatianna jokingly replies, “No!”

“So what’s a better nickname?”

“Some of my girlfriends call me Tata.”

“Okay,” Chris replies, “Tata it is.”

Tatianna smiles at Chris, before the teacher interrupts them.

“Chris and Tatianna,” the Teacher says, “This is the second time this week! The next time you interrupt me you’re going straight to the office.”

“You can’t be serious?” Chris asks.

“Excuse me?” The teacher replies.

“I mean is sending us to the office going to change the fact that this class is boring as hell?” Chris asks. “I mean you barely teach, you just write this crap on the board and expect us to remember this stuff on the next test.”

He continues, “The fact that we were having a conversation instead of listening to you proves that fact.”

“Well why don’t you get out of my classroom Mr. Winslow?”

“Fine,” Chris says, “It’s not like I’m learning anything anyway.”

At that moment, Chris decided that he wasn’t going to be pushed around by anyone anymore. He was going to be a “gangster” like Craig and Cole. The old Chris Winslow was dead and a more confident and brash Chris was born. Almost instantaneously, his shell of fear and low self-confidence was shed off; like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. This Chris wasn’t going to take crap from anyone; not his dad, not Mike, no one.

Chris, instead of going to the office, simply walks around the hallways. He goes back to his classroom and calls Tatianna outside, signaling his hands for her to come out. Once she comes out they begin walking around the school, talking.

“So,” Chris says, “You want me to call you Tata?”

“Yea,” Tatianna replies. “I would prefer that.”

“Alright,” Chris says. “So Tata, tell me about yourself.”

“Where should I start?”

“Well,” Chris says, “I don’t know. Favorite color, favorite food, favorite kind of music to listen to, you know stuff like that.”

“Alright,” she says, “My favorite color is green, I love tacos, I mostly listen to rap.”

“Green is my favorite color too!”

“Is it really?”

 “Yea!” Chris replies. “So you goin to that party after the game?”

“Yea,” Tatianna. “You goin?”

“Yea.”

 “You go to parties?” Tatianna asks, laughing.

“Yea,” Chris says, “I go to parties all the time. Well not like that, but I’ve been to a couple here and there.”

The bell rings. Craig walks out of his classroom and approaches both Chris and Tatianna, smiling from ear-to-ear as he sees Chris confidently talking to Tatianna.

“What’s up ya’ll,” Craig says.

“Hey,” the both of them say.

“I’ll see ya’ll later,” Tatianna says, “Bye Chris, bye Craig.”

“Hey,” Craig says, “I see you. Ya’ll talk now?”

“Yea,” Chris says, “Something like that.”

“Skip class and chill with me and Cole.”

“I don’t know if I should do that.”

“Come on yo,” Craig says. “Forget that English class.”

“Alright,” Chris says, “I guess.”

Craig and Chris go upstairs to look for Cole, walking through the overcrowded stairwell to find him. Once they reach the second floor they see him trying, and failing, to talk to a girl.

“Alright so can I get yo’ number?” Cole asks.

“Umm, no,” the girl says.

“Forget you then!” Cole says.

Craig and Chris begin laughing at Cole. Cole simply shakes his head at them.

“How does Chris get more girls than you man?” Craig asks.

“Man, forget that hoe,” Cole says. “So what’s up, what ya’ll tryin’ to do?”

“I copped some grass in the morning,” Craig says. “Ya’ll tryin’ to blow?”

“Is it loud?” Cole asks.

“Cole,” Craig says, “I wouldn’t even touch it if it wasn’t loud.”

The three of them head outside to the woods. Chris has a feeling of uneasiness, considering the fact that he has never tried marijuana before. He has always associated drugs and alcohol with his father, someone he prays he will never become. Then again, as they say: “You only live once”, right?

“Anybody got a rello?” Craig asks, referring to the cigarillos used to roll blunts.

“Naw man,” Cole says, “Let’s go buy some.”

“Are you crazy?” Craig asks. “The manager is gonna call the cops on us. You forgot we skipped school?”

“Oh yea,” Cole says, “I still have that tinny from the other day in my bag somewhere. Hold up let me look for it.”

Cole searches through the bag for the tinny. A tinny is a poor man’s marijuana pipe made out of aluminum foil. After searching endlessly, he finally finds it.

“Found it,” Cole says.

Cole hands it to Craig, who looks at it with disgust.

“I hate using this s--t,” Craig says, “But it’ll do.”

Craig pulls out the bag of weed. He smells it to make sure it was potent. The sweet, piney smell made him smile and nod his head; indicating that he had bought his money’s worth.

“Hell yea,” Craig says, “We finna get smacked!”

He pulls out a bud, places it on the top of his book bag, and rips it to pieces before putting each individual shredding into the tinny.

“Chris take the first hit,” Craig says.

“Man he’s gonna die if he hits that,” Cole says. “Pass that s--t over here.”

“Naw,” Chris says, “I can handle it.”

Craig hands him the tinny and the lighter. He places the tinny between his lips and lights its contents. The harsh, spicy smoke burns his throat and he begins coughing. His nose begins running and tears streak down his face as he coughs uncontrollably.

“Damn yo,” Cole says, “You good? I told you not to hit that first.”

After about a minute, the coughing stops and Chris leans back on the tree behind him as his muscles relax. He then begins laughing uncontrollably. He passes the tinny to Cole, who sat on his left.

“Yo a*s is fried!” Cole says, lighting the tinny and taking a hit. He then blows the smoke out of his nose and takes another hit. Afterwards, he passes the tinny to Craig.

Craig takes a hit and by the time it goes around again it is finished.

“Anybody got cologne?” Craig asks.

“Right here yo,” Cole says, pulling out the bottle of cologne and handing it to Craig.

The three of them spray themselves with cologne and head back into school. They go into the lunch room and sit down at a table.

“Yo Chris,” Craig asks, “You tryin to buy me some lunch?”

“Alright,” Chris says.

Chris goes to the line to buy Craig some lunch.

“You know,” Craig says, “He’s alright.”

“Yea,” Cole says, “Dude just needs to get his swag right. He’s startin’ to learn a little bit though.”

“Yea,” Craig replies, “He’s still a work in progress.”

Chris returns with Craig’s lunch and hands it to him. Chris and Cole, both of whom are hungry, ask Craig for some of his food.

“I definitely bought it for you,” Chris says. “So you should give me some.”

“Alright whatever,” Craig says, handing him the rest of his fries.

“Can I hang out with you guys today?” Chris asks.

“Naw bruh,” Cole says, “We gotta play tonight.”

“You gonna see us at the party anyway,” Craig says.

“True,” Chris says.

After school is over Chris goes home. He goes into his house and his father is still not home. Not that he cares anyway. He goes upstairs and changes into something nice for the party, using some of the clothes that Craig gave him. He sits down and watches TV until about an hour before the party, when Craig calls him.

“Yo you comin’ to the party?” Craig asks.

“Yea,” Chris says. “Did you guys win?”

“You already know kid,” Craig replies. “Yo come to my house, let’s chill for a little bit.”

Continue on Act IV