Jack

  “Hey Jackie, Over here!” Darin shouted, “This one’s perfect!”

Jack’s heart skipped a beat as he looked up. Darin was standing next to a sparkling new concrete support for the freeway overpass. ‘This is it’, he thought as he shook his spray can nervously. A smile crept across his face as he made his way over. Dano was right behind him

        “What’s you smiling ‘bout, kid?”  Dano sneered.  “You ain’t done yet”, 

His tone was harsh, but Jack knew he was only teasing him.  The three of them were like brothers.  Jack, being over two years younger, was the baby of the “family” and received all the treatment a real younger brother might expect.  The teasing, the tricks, the occasional punching bag, but he knew it was out of love.  

He looked up to D&D. he wanted to be just like them, right down to the rivets in their leather Jackets.  Tonight, he was well on his way.  This was his first solo tag.  He would finally get to use his own name and his own design.

‘I'm in the big leagues now’ he thought proudly. 

 “Well, I guess this means you’re a big kid now, huh?”  Darin joked, as if he could read Jack’s thoughts.

“Shut up, Darin!”  Jack laughed and pushed Darin aside.  “You’re ruining the moment, dude”

D&D stopped teasing him and let him get down to work.  After two whole cans of paint and four colors, he was finished.  A masterpiece stared back at them that only a 14-year-old punk could have fashioned, but Jack was beaming at it proudly.  Darin and Dano just didn’t have the heart to make fun of it.  They drove him home after a celebratory smoke and ice cream.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Jack awoke to the sound of his cell phone. “Errrr…” he groaned. “What the heck?”. Jack glanced at the clock. 2:00 am. He reached for his phone. One new message from Dano. It read: 

SKIP 2MOROW

MEET ME IN THE LOT

“Damn it, Dano”, Jack grumbled “don’t you know I got a huge test tomorrow?” Jack texted back:                                                                                                                             WHEN?

 

NOW! 

“Man, this better be good”, Jack grunted as he climbed out his window.

“Hey Jack. Over here!” Dano whispered loudly. Jack saw him and trotted across the lot. It was simply an abandoned construction sight and a popular haunt for the boys.

“Hey Dano, where’s Darin?” Jack was surprised at Darin’s absence. The two D’s were inseparable and it made Jack a little nervous to be included in something Darin wasn’t. 

“Oh he’s  ...um.” Dano fumbled, “well he’s not here. It doesn’t really matter cuz I needed your help tonight, Jackie, not his. We’re meeting a friend of mine. Ok? So here’s what I need to do: take this and hang on to it” Dano Handed him an old-fashioned stiletto blade.

“I thought you said he was your friend. What do I need this for?!” Jack was getting scared now. He had never trusted Dano as much as Darin, and now his trust was fading completely.

“Just. Just take it, k?” Dano was clearly nervous. “Crap, he’s coming. He just… be cool, ok?”

Jack’s        head was pounding ‘what did I get myself into here?’ Jack thought. He didn’t trust Dano as far as he could throw him. He was holding a switchblade and waiting in an abandoned lot for some stranger he’d never met.

A man emerged slowly from the shadows. He was a tall Mexican in a clean white shirt. ‘He must be a low-rider’ Jack thought. ‘What business does Dano have with this guy?’

“You called me?’ the man said. His tone was not friendly. Dano was fidgeting but didn’t reply. “Well, what do you want, híbrido?!”

“I. I got something for you”, Dano told him, his voice full of malice though his fear was audible. “Come on Jackie, why don’t you show him what I got for him?”

“You didn’t give me nothing, D” Jack said as panic gripped him. He knew Dano meant the blade, but he didn’t want to give it to him. He saw the anger in Dano’s eyes and knew he wasn’t right.

“Come on, Jack! Hand it over!” Dano yelled as he wrenched the knife from Jack’s back pocket. Jack grasped for the blade, but Dano already had it open. A crimson line appeared on Jack’s palm and he recoiled. 

The man eyed the action, but was either too proud or too stupid to run. Dano flung himself forward and plunged the knife into the man’s chest before Jack could even comprehend what was happening.

“Oh My God! Dano, what the Hell did you do?” Jack was crying. He watched as the man gasped for breath. “You gotta help him, man. Call the cops!”

“I cant do that, I’ll go to Jail” Dano was shaking. “I’ll go to prison! I cant. That b*****d robbed us! He took everything, man he stole everything. My mom worked so hard. Now we aint got nothing. He took it all, man. I just took his good for nothing life, Jackie. It’s all ok now. I made it all ok”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jack was on his knees now. He was trying to help the man, who was gasping out his last breaths. Jack wrapped his hands around the knife to try and stop some of the bleeding but it was gushing too fast. The man tried to speak, but blood was gurgling out of his mouth. “Call an ambulance!”

“No. no I cant!” Tears were coming down Dano’s face now as well. He turned as if ashamed he was crying. “I gotta go. I have to leave. I’m sorry Jackie” as Dano was talking, Jack heard sirens in the distance. Dano heard them too and ran. he ran out into the street and into the darkness.

Jack was left with the man, his last breaths leaving his body. The blood on Jack’s hands was already getting cold. A chill ran through his spine, but it wasn’t from the wind. He heard the sirens getting louder. They were getting closer. his heart jumping around in his throat. Just then he heard tires screech and an officer over the radio: ‘yes. we got a possible 187. we have the suspect cornered though not in compliance’ Jack heard Dano’s voice, but it sounded so disconnected with the person it used to belong to. He heard him swear and scream. Jack heard the officers tell him to stand down; to back up and get on his knees. Jack’s noted that his knees were soaked with blood. ‘I’m to young to go to prison’, he thought as he stared at them with disbelief. He heard Dano continue to defy the cops. Two shots rang out into the morning air. A crystal clear death knell accompanied by a quavering voice on a PD two-way: Shots Fired. Shots Fired. Suspect down.

 

Author's Note

Please leave a comment if you read it. thanks :)

Reviews

[V. Lucien Maier]

very SE hinton for sure. Reminds me of many of the scenes in rumble fish and outsiders. If you haven't read them I suggest you do so. The scene plays out nicely the introduction of the taggin scene is a bit random and moves off quickly to the next one but it still holds its flow nicely.
You hook the reader, you bring them into a circle of friends, very nicely done.
Very good descriptions and words are from and expansive vocabulary.

[Justin Robben]

While I enjoyed this, I agree with Maier's point. It moves almost randomly from the set-up scene of them taggin' to the "problem".
If you perhaps found a way to bridge those scenes a bit better, it'd be a nice, quick read. Quick more because it flowed well and was enjoyable and less because it's only a 1200 word piece.

Bravo!!

[JRB]

I found this write enjoyable, keep up your writing,,

[nostal]

Marvelous and interesting. Great job.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

fascinating piece... it is true to life as to what can happen when someone wants to fit in so bad and how it can lead to trouble.