Brothers

Yet another short story from my 8th grade days during Power of the Pen...

 

The rain dripped down my face and down my badly bruised back. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. It lit up the dark alley I was in and shed light on the gang members closing in on me. BOOM! Thunder exploded in the air. I backed up slowly, fists raised, ready to strike like a snake in the brush. Finally I backed up so far I was against the back wall of the alley. As my enemies closed in on me from all sides, I thought, ‘This could all have been avoided if I hadn’t listened to my friend and his stupid tip.’ My blue shirt and green cargo pants, now soaked, clung to my body. Images of my friend and his stupid advice came unbidden to my mind. It had started at school this unfortunate Friday morning.

 

‘ My back slammed hard against the lockers, sounding a loud crash down the long, empty hall.

“I want those answers for the homework, or else!” Martin yelled at me. I could feel the slits in the lockers digging into my back. Grimly, I nodded me head. Martin lowered his fist and his hand, which held me prisoner against the lockers, relaxed. I let out a deep sigh and hung my head as I walked over to my locker.

My hand ran down its green front, down all the dents and scratch marks on it. As I got down to the lock, I spun it and input the code. 1-1-2-3-5-8-13-21, and it clicked and my locker door swung open. Martin shoved me out of the way and grabbed last night’s Math homework. ’

 

The thunder crashed as I swung out with a right hook and nailed a guy in the mouth.

 

‘ I got up off the floor and brushed myself off as Martin stuffed the paper into his pocket and smile at me.

“Smart move, Asian boy,” he said to me sarcastically. ’

 

Flipping backwards, I kicked another guy underneath the chin with my right while grabbing my left toes and landing perfectly on my right. Splashing into some puddles, I spun and my left leg connected with someone else’s jaw.

 

‘ As I closed my locker, a familiar voice from behind me said, “You shouldn’t let him push you around like that.” ’

 

A gangster charged at me and I smashed him with an uppercut from my left and quickly followed up with a quick strong punch to his gut.

 

‘ I turned around to come face to face with Pablo, the Mexican, the Insane Luchador, and my best friend. I smiled at him, flushing slightly, my dark tan skin turning a shade of red.

“Thanks for the rip,” I said holding out my fist. He hit it with his own, a sign of friendship. Pablo and I were as tight as brothers. ’

 

Another gangster came at me with a steel pole and hit me on the back. I fell and hit the ground, hard. ‘This is insane. ’ I thought, ‘For every gangster I take down, two take his place. How big IS Martin’s gang?’

 

‘ The rest of school went normally except for when Martin asked me for the answers to the Social Studies test. I can’t believe I listened to Pablo, him and his stupid tip. When he asked me, I said “no” and now, here I am. It’s what I get for listening to Pablo. ’

 

I could hear the splash of the gang member’s footsteps getting closer, I was praying for a miracle.

 

‘ After school, I decided to take the back alleys home. Big mistake. That’s where Martin’s gang jumped me. ’

 

I got up onto my knees, just in time to see my savior. I heard him give a battle cry as he came charging down the alleyway on his skateboard. ‘Here comes my miracle,’ I thought. The Insane Luchador had come to my rescue.

Pablo was bent low to the ground on his skateboard, gaining speed. He ramped off of a spilled trashcan and kicked his skateboard away. The skateboard hit a gangster in the face and bounced back.  My friend caught it and kicked it over to the wall as the gang surrounded us.

“What took you so long?” I asked him as I leapt up with renewed energy.

“I was flirting with the girls at the café down the street,” he said jokingly.

“You can’t flirt with any girls!” I replied. He flashed me a smile that said, “So what’s your point?” As the gang kept closing in on us, Pablo and I leapt into the fray. He and I swung left and rights and kicked our way through like twin tornadoes, destroying everything in our path.

Finally, we finished with the entire gang. We left one of the smaller guys conscious and gave him a message for martin. I was finished being bullied and being forced to give him answers.

“And you!” I said turning on Pablo. He looked shocked. I smiled and said, “Never, EVER, give me tips again.” We laughed and walked back to my house.

 

Monday afternoon, I was sitting in the cafeteria, looking at my lunch tray and my radioactive school food. Pablo plopped down next to me at the lunch table.

“Here’s a tip,” he said, “Don’t look at you food, just close your eyes and chew.” I took one look at Pablo, and glanced down at my lunch food and opened my mouth wide.