Mr. Facade

A high school student who wanted to make a little extra money turns to drugs to do so. After making mistakes at a party he is in trouble. Can he get himself out of this sticky situation?

Mr. Facade

Staring out into the void that was the night I wondered to myself where it all went wrong. How could things have gone better? Looking at my hands I saw a gun in my right hand, with one round discharged. In the other was nothing but dark red. Beginning to hyperventilate I recounted the day that had been.

“Brian! Come down for breakfast! Your dad got donuts” Yelled an all too familiar voice.

“On my way! Just give me a few minutes!” I yelled in response.

Rolling over onto my side I slid my legs out of bed and onto the ground, all the while moving my arms above my head and letting out a massive yawn. My sister, Mandy, yelled as she ran out of her room.

“Slowpokes don’t get the chocolate ones!”

“Pigs who eat too many donuts get fat!” I yelled back with sas

“Shut up jerk!”

At the tender age of thirteen, she had just begun to worry about such things and it made for some low hanging fruit to pick at. Pulling up my pants I left my room and trotted towards the bathroom and looked in the mirror, telling myself.

“Looks like last night has worked its way out. They shouldn’t find anything too off.”

Meandering down the stairs and towards the table I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek.

“Mornin mama how are you today?” I said as I picked up a chocolate cake donut and took a big bite.

"doin fine. How about you? You got in pretty late last night.”

"Don't worry, I wasn't doin anything too crazy. Just went to a little party with Lamar.”

“Oh, that reminds me he called earlier this morning. Says you two need to meet up today to discuss some science project. Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?”

By science project he meant heroin. But I couldn’t tell why he would need to see me about that today.

"it's nothing too huge. We just need to meet up cuz it's a group project.”

“Okaaayyy if you say so. But I I see anything less than an A on this you can forget about parties for the next month.”

Well, that’s harsh.

“I hear ya mom.”

After finishing my donut I got up to grab another but a doorbell interrupted. Checking the porch from the window I could see it was Lamar.

“Looks like Lamar’s early. I’ll go invite him in ok mom.”

“Sure honey.”

Pulling the handle and opening the door I greeted him.

“Sup man what’s got you here so early. We were just getting through breakfast. You want a donut?”

The serious look he gave me indicated that he wasn’t hungry.

“Look dude some s***s gone down Ima need you to come with me.”

“What? Now?”

“Yeah man now. Get dressed and let's get going.” With that, he walked away and sat in his car to wait.

“Hey, mom Lamar says he’s got a family thing later today so we need to work early. We’re over to his place. Okay?”

“Oh, really hon. Now? But you’re gonna have to miss church.”

“I can hit the evening service later tonight.”

“You know what we’ll just wait till then and go as a family ok?”
“Ok, mom.”

After putting on some proper clothes I headed out to Lamar’s car and jumped in the passenger seat right next to him.

“Alright man, what’s got a stick up your a*s this morning?”

“Shut up and listen! You done fucked up real good!”

Gunning it on the reverse he pulled us out of my driveway like a NASCAR driver.

“Woah man go easy on the gas!”

Looking over I could see that he was not listening. He simply kept repeating the same four words like a madman.

“We are so fucked! We are so fucked! We are so fucked!”

me out.”

Snapping out of his daze he looked at me and started explaining.

“You know the girl you shot up with at the party last night?”

“Yeah what about her?” I replied with a building dread.

“That was Raquan’s sister.”

A boulder fell on my chest. I couldn’t breathe.

“Y...You have got to be k...kidding, right?”

“I’m dead serious man. You are in some deep s**t.”

‘More than you know’  I thought to myself as the party started coming back to me. It had been like any other party. Music, alcohol, drugs, etc.  There were some kids from Avon who wanted to get their hands on some good smack and I told them I’d give them some at a discount rate, let them get a taste and see what they thought. Among the kids lookin to buy there was this girl, probably a sophomore. I liked the look of her, and I thought if I shot up with her for free I could get somewhere with her. So we shot up. It was a good time.

“What happened to her?”

“Raquan put her in the hospital. Punched her so hard it caved in her cheek.”

“Holy s**t! I am so fucked!”

“Look, man, you’re gonna need to bring the cool customer today. You need to walk the tightrope to make it out of this one.”

“What am I supposed to say.”

“Look just try to apologize as best you can and we’ll go from there. If he starts to get too crazy I’ll step in and cool the situation back down. We’re gettin out of this. Ok?”

“Yeah, Okay.”

With that, we sped towards our destination.

Chapter 2

A blow hits my left cheek head on. His right hook nailed me so hard I needed to brace with my arm to keep from being knocked on my butt.

“What did I tell you was our policy. Speak up fool I wanna hear it loud and clear!”

“We don’t use. We sell.” I said wiping from my cheek.

“That's right you f****n dumbass. WE DON’T USE! I think I made that clear when I agreed to bring you on. And what am I hearing not one week later? You ain’t s**t! Not only are you up with my product but you are prayin to whatever God you got that I don’t blow your brains out and leave you here.”

Lamar stepped in to try to restrain him

“Alright man lets not do anything crazy. You blow his brains out we gonna be in deep s**t. Look me he gets it alright he fucked up.”

“Oh, I’d say he did a bit more than just f**k up! Not only was he up with my sister but he was it with stolen product. This f****r came up a grand short at the last count.”

Even Lamar started to give me the look. I knew I was in deep s**t.

“You think you can me and get away with it !”

“I wasn’t trying to cheat you Raquan man just give me more time I can get you your money.”

“And why don’t you have it right now. With all the product you’ve gone through you should have been able to kick back three times what you did. Don’t f**k with me boy!”

“Hey, Hey no ones f****n with anyone alright man. Just calm down and hear me out alright. I can get you back your money and thicken the revenue stream yer gettin right now.”

“Oh, you’re gonna Thicken my revenue stream are you. You hear that boys. Mr. Smartass here thinks he can thicken my revenue stream. Please enlighten me on this plan of yours.”

“Look alright I went to a party recently and I was to some people. I think I can move some smack out on the west side. I know I can. Just give me a little more time, that's all I need.

Raquan paused for a minute. He seemed to be thinking, pacing back and forth in front of me. I was beginning to think he might be coming around. But no he cocked his fist back, getting reading to punch me again before Lamar stepped in and tried to diffuse the situation.

“Alright man alright, he’s had enough. I think he gets it. Look he understands he messed up but I told you I can vouch for him. If you give him the time, he will get you your money back.”

Raquan looked over at Lamar and began to meander over to where he was standing, beginning to get up in his face.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten it was you who vouched for his a*s the first time we agreed to do business with him. Maybe I’m to wonder what you for someone is worth.”

It showed on Lamar’s face that he took exception to the accusation. No one wants to be told their word ain’t worth anything.

“Look, man, I get things aren’t as smooth as expected but that ain’t no reason to go callin me a liar. He’s good for it man. And don’t pretend this is the first time someone came up short on you. Mike was short just two weeks ago, and his excuse was he needed a little extra to buy the new Jordans. I’m sorry but let's be real for a minute here. Every man in this room knew that was bullshit and didn’t bat an eye. What makes now so damn different.”

Raquan cracked a smile but it brought nothing but a more ominous tone to the situation.

“Oh, you wanna know how this is different. Do you? It’s different because he’s , a damn cracker. I didn’t want to bring him on in the first place but I did it as a favor to you. Mike been with us for years. I trust him. Why the f**k should I trust some cracker on the grounds that you said “he’s good for it.”

Raquan backed off and Lamar recoiled. It seemed like that would be the end of things. Then with two words, my stomach jumped into my throat.

“One week.”

“I’m sorry”

“Did I stutter I said one week. That’s how long you got to pay me back. Hell, I’ll even be generous. I’ll give a week to get half of it. Give me the other half the week after and we’ll be square. No problems. We’ll just forget this ever happened.”

“Ok, I can do that. Just give me some more product to move and I can get it back to you in a few days.”

“More product? What are you on, hell maybe I should start selling that s**t. You think I’m gonna trust you with more after you just shorted me? Naw man you can find my money on your own.”

I panicked and said something stupid.

“How the hell am I supposed to get you that kind of money without dealing? Are you stupid? That's impossible!”

Raquan paused for what felt like an hour, though it was no more than a few seconds. Then turned to face me. His face was blank but there was a fury in his eyes.

“God am I getting sick of you running that mouth of yours.”

Reaching to his back he pulled out a handgun and placed the muzzle straight on my forehead, bring the entire room to a pause.

“One more goddamn word and I pop a cap in that big a*s forehead of yours.”

My brain started to check out at this point and my emotions boiled over and started talkinfor me.

“Go ahead I dare you, you ain’t got the balls, you scared of the cops I bet.”

A vacuum enveloped any sound there was. Forget a pin dropping. Each of us could’ve heard a feather touchdown if it dropped. The world started to slow down. Raquan cocked the hammer on his gun and I closed my eyes, accepting that this would probably be the end. Then I was knocked back by a sudden push. A bang went off. But I wasn’t hit. I opened my eyes and took in the scene. Raquan stood there. His face showing the expression of someone who just walked out of The Exorcist. In front of him was Lamar. As Raquan dropped the gun Lamar started to fall face forward. His body completely still as it tumbled over onto the hard ground. It didn’t take a coroner to analyze his condition. He was dead.

Chapter 3

The world stood still. No one could move. My survival instinct finally kicked in as I grabbed the gun Raquan had dropped in shock. Because Lamar’s head had fallen on it, blood got all over the gun and my hands. Picking it up I began to point it in all directions, shouting like some kind of madman.

“N...N...No one move or I’ll shoot.” Spinning in all directions I slowly made my way towards the door. My hand trembled so much I could barely grip the knob enough to turn it. Looking around most guys were so shocked they simply looked to Raquan but he gave no orders. Some guys looked like they might make a move when I finally got the door open but they stayed put. Running out the door a commotion finally started to stir as I got to the next driveway but it was too late for anyone to catch me. I ran and ran and ran. Eventually, I ran out of breath and had to start to slow down. Catching my breath I tried to guess what they might do. I guess they thought the dead body was a more pressing issue than some dumbass cracker. Slowing to a walk I began to think to myself.

‘Why! Why! Why! It didn’t have to be like this. If that f**k Raquan had just… Oh God!”

Memories began to pile in as it settled in that Lamar was gone forever, and it was my fault. I remembered meeting him on my first day at Ignatius. I remembered how he came up to me stuck out his hand and said.

“Hey, my name’s Lamar what you man.”

“Brian, I guess we’ll be next to each other this semester nice to meet you.”

“Same.”

My mind filled with memories of football games and homecomings. Memories of the fun times that would never come again all clustered together. Finally, everything settled on one moment.

“Hey, Brian I been to some guys and I think I got a way for you to make some quick cash before we graduate.”

“Is that right and what exactly will I be doing.”

“Ok man now hear me out I know it sounds a bit shady but you can make a s**t ton a money selling smack.”

“Smack? ”

“Yeah, I got some boys I known for years. They’ll hook you up and all you gotta do is kick back a cut when alls said and done.”

“Where the hell am I supposed to sell this stuff? I mean I’ve done from time to time but all the people I know already got dealers.

“I’ll introduce you to some people. They can hook you up with a few buyers. It’ll all be smooth sailing from there.”

“Alright man, I trust you. What could go wrong?”

As I had come to realize, a lot. Pacing down the road I began to come upon a bridge. It was a long one, stretched across the whole Cuyahoga River. Coming to the middle of the bridge I paused and began to look out. A power outage nearby had stolen the light from the area leaving it almost pitch black aside from the moonlight that glistened off the green and polluted waters of the Cuyahoga. I looked out into the void and tried to contemplate what I should do next. What were my options? The cops are sure to find out I was there. Even if I wasn’t responsible for the murder they’ll have evidence I was moving smack. Mandatory minimums would put me away for twenty at least. As options tossed around like a salad in my head one thought kept coming back again and again. I looked down at hands and saw the mess. In my right hand, I held Raquan’s gun. Both my hands were stained red. Lamar’s blood was on my hands, both literally and figuratively. Direct or indirect I had murdered him, my best friend. Grief racked my mind as I thought about what I should do. Again the same thought filled my head. I told myself.

‘No...No, you that. You can’t.’

My phone started to vibrate in my pocket. It was my mom. I summoned what strength I could and answered.

“Hey, mom.”

Tell her

“Brian! Where the hell are you?! You were supposed to be home hours ago. You missed mass.”

Tell her Brian. Tell her what’s going on.

“Yeah sorry, mom we ran into some problems with our project, had to work late.”

Just tell her.

“I thought you said he had a family thing?”

“Oh yeah.”

Please tell her.

“Brian? Is everything ok, your voice is sounding a bit shaky.”

I finally broke.

“No mom, I’m sorry things aren’t ok. I’ve been...I’ve been mixed up in some bad stuff.”

“Brian I don’t understand, what have you been doing?”

“I sell heroin mom.”

Silence was all she had. Tears filled my face and my voice went hoarse as I shouted my confession.

“Yes… Ok, I’m a no good rotten drug dealer. I fucked up. I fucked up so hard.”

“Brian I don’t…”

“No, you don’t know, because I’ve been a liar. I’ve been lying to you all year. I thought I was cool because I got so good but I’m just a dumbass.”

“Br…”

“Lamar is dead mom. He’s dead, and it’s all my f*****g fault. It’s my fault.”

Again her silence was all that remained. Remustering my voice I continued

“The guys we got the drugs from shot him! They shot him because they were gonna shoot me and he got in the way! He’s gone!”

She finally squeezed out a two-word reply.

“Oh God!”

“Mom what do I do? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know. I have the guy’s gun what if they pin it on me.

“I...I...I don’t. B...Brian honey listen to me you have to turn yourself in. Ok, we’ll figure things out. It’s going to be okay. Just turn yourself in.”

The words were ones I never imagined my mom would have to say to me. Again my thoughts started ramming in all directions giving me a migraine. Then they settled and my mind was clear. I knew what I needed to do. About twenty seconds had passed and my mom was calling out for a response.

“Mom I love you.”

“I...I love you too.”

“Tell Dad I love him.”

“O...Ok, I’ll do that. Brian why are you telling me this.”

“Tell Mandy I love her too.”

“B...Brian you are scaring me! Stop it! Don’t do anything just tell me where you are! I will come get you. Just please stay where you are…”

“I love all of you. Thank you for everything. I’m going to miss you all.”

“Brian no. No No No. Please.

I pulled the gun up to my temple and cocked the hammer.

“BRIAN NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Bang

Author's Note

Any and all criticisms are welcomed. This was a school assignment where we were told to write three chapters from a given scenario. Debating whether I should rewrite as a novel or novella. Thoughts?