Down by Law (5 page)

I
t seemed like the whole block was outside and waiting for me, just to be nosey and find out what happened with Face. Me and Queenie had already told Schooly that he better walk straight to that short yellow bus and keep his mouth shut. 'Cause what goes on in our house, stays in our house.

The moment I walked out of my building, I saw Yvette, Cali, and Munch sitting in the courtyard, on top of the park bench. “Isis. Wait up!” I heard Yvette say from behind me as I passed them.

“What's going on?” Cali asked, anxiously.

“Yeah, why the cops lock Face up this morning?” Munch asked, like she just had to know.

I sucked my teeth and I thought about flippin' all the way out. But I didn't. I waited for them to catch up to me, then I looked into their eager eyes and tripped. “Why y'all tricks all up in the Carter business? Did I butt into your family affairs, Munch, when the cops raided your apartment and locked your mama
and
grandmama up? Am I all in your situation, Yvette? And, Cali, you don't even know me like that.” I looked her up and down. “So you need to step
allllllll
the way off.”

The Get Fresh Clique looked at me and frowned. Then a few seconds later they fell out laughing.

Cali said, “Girl, please, if you don't stop trippin, homie.”

“For real,” Munch added.

“And we cousins, so you can tell me any and everything,” Yvette insisted.

I wanted to take out my anger on them, but I could never stay mad at my girls for long. “It ain't no big deal really.” I shrugged. “They holding him for questioning, and as long as he don't have no other warrants, he'll be home in two days. You know five-oh stay buggin'.”

“Word.” Cali shook her head.

“What they questioning him for?” Munch asked.

I sucked my teeth. “They talking about it's been a string of strong-arm robberies at some gas stations. And that a gas attendant was shot last night.”

Yvette frowned and rolled her eyes. “They need to stop. That don't have nothing to do wit' Face. He ain't no thief like that. He only bring it to those in the game. That's it. He don't mess wit' civilians.”

“Thank you!” My eyes bugged and I rocked my neck. “Exactly.”

Munch carried on, “And anyway er'body know that it ain't one person doing those robberies. It's a buncha crackheads running up and down the block. And whoever got shot must've been playing hero, so they got popped. They should've just gave up the money and—”

“Hold up. Wait a minute.” Cali laughed and pointed. “Who is that?”

“Where?” We all turned around and followed her short peach finger. She carried on, “It's a bird! It's a plane. It's Mr. T—”

“Oh, heck no! That's Schooly!” I blinked, not once but three times. I couldn't believe my eyes.

This fool had on every stitch of gold that me and Face had jacked off last night. Five rope chains. Rings on every finger. And that ruby-clustered gold watch that the cop was sweatin' this morning.

He had to be crazy.

“Schooly.” I ran down the block and rushed up to him. I stood directly in the path of his friends, who caught the bus with him. And no, I didn't say excuse me. Instead, I popped my lips and said, “Montez Carter, why you got that on? Take that mess right back in the house! Now!” I pointed to Da Bricks, and said with a little more edge than I should've. And yeah, I knew I'd embarrassed him, but so what? He didn't need to be walking around wit' the evidence of hot lick. “That's just stupid!”

“Daaaaaaang, you gon' let some girl play you like that?” came from behind my back.

I whipped around and it was some goofy little punk, with a helmet and drooling, all up in my business. “First of all, why you all up in here wit' it?” I sliced my hand across my neck. “'Cause I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to my brother. Now step off.” I turned back toward Schooly and the veins in his neck bulged. I started to yank the chains off of him. I settled for yankin' his good arm, and pullin' him to the side. Schooly opened his mouth to speak and a too-big diamond grill fell out. I kicked it into the street.

Before he could say anything I spat, “I'ma cop you dead in the face if you don't take the rest of that back in the house!”

“And you know Queenie will kick yo' behind if you do! You gave this to me and now you wanna tell me when I can and can't wear it. I'm older than you. You do what I tell you to do.”

“You might be older than me, but you acting like a crackhead baby gone wild. If them fools or one of they peoplez see you with they jewelry on, Queenie and Daddy gon' be dropping you in the ground next week! Now take it off!”

“Excuse me, young lady,” Schooly's bus driver said, “but he needs to board the bus.”

I ignored her. “Take that off, Schooly!”

Schooly looked at me, grabbed his crotch with his good hand, and said, “Eat it. Now step off before you get handled.” Then he brushed me to the side and walked onto his bus. A few moments later they took off and disappeared into the distance.

“Yooooooo.” Yvette walked up behind me, sounding just like a surprised Nana. “Oh my God. I can't believe it.”

“You holding out on us,” Munch insisted. “Why you ain't tell us that Schooly is thugged out now?”

“Straight gangster,” Cali agreed.

“We in the last days,” Yvette said as we walked down the street to school. “'Cause Schooly need Jesus.”

I
was like a ticking time bomb. Waiting for the moment when I was 'bout to lose it. But I did my best to keep it together. I knew if I flipped and got suspended again, Queenie was gon' uphold her promise to bring her belt to school and beat me in front of er'body.

And word is bond, given the way that I felt—boiling hot, chest huffed up, eyes on fire—if Queenie put her hands on me today I was gon' hit her back.

So, instead of taking that chance, I tried to keep quiet in class and the most I said was, “Present,” when the teachers took attendance.

At lunch, I didn't say more than two words to my crew. The nerves in my stomach danced too much. Plus I was beggin' God to not let the cops beat Face up, set him up, or dig up some bogus charges just to keep him down.

And then Schooly . . .

My fist involuntarily clinched.

Truthfully, I just wanted to rake his behind across the concrete. I hated I even gave him that jewelry. God-lee. He worked my nerves, but he was like my big and little brother, all in one. And the last thing I wanted was for something to happen to him.

He was hardheaded though.

Didn't listen.

And now I had to be on pins and needles looking out for him.

Hopefully, Daddy'll come home tonight and maybe he'll talk some sense into him. And if that don't work, maybe Queenie'll beat the brakes off of him until he has no choice but to understand that this is not a game.

“Excuse me, Miss Carter, but are you going to solve the problem? Or are you not here with us today?”

I blinked twice as my teacher Ms. Jamison's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

My eyes scanned the classroom.

Ms. Jamison continued, “Do you hear me speaking to you?”

Blank. Stare.

I cocked my neck to the side and sucked my bottom lip into my mouth. I was tryna to nix off the oohs and slips of giggles coming from my classmates.

The teacher folded her arms across her chest. Seems she couldn't leave well enough alone. “Given that you elected to come to school, one would think you'd show up to pay attention.”

“Or are you not answering the question because you don't know the answer?”

The whole class laughed. And now I
had
to cuss her out.

I propped both elbows on my desk and leaned forward. But before I could cut her up and serve her, I looked at the problem on the board, solved it in my head, and said, “N equals six times five and X equals nine squared. And your mouth is about to equal you gettin' cussed out.”

“Ooh!” the girl next to me blurted out and then slapped a hand over her mouth.

I carried on, “See, I was tryin' not to say nothin' to you, but you don't know how to shut up and I don't know who you think you talkin' to.”

“Out of my classroom!”

“Lady, spare me. I didn't even do anything to you. You the one all in my grill. How about this: teach your class and step off 'cause I ain't goin' nowhere. Not today I ain't.”

“If you do not leave, I will be calling security!”

“Call 'em.”

“And I will be calling your mother.”

“Do it. So she can cuss you out, again.”

The class was all the way live now, and er'body, with the exception of a few kids in the front and the dude sitting next to me, laughed loudly and egged me on.

I could feel angry tears building in the back of my throat. Dang! I swear, I hated this bird. She worked er'one of my nerves. Every day she went outta her way to say something nasty or call on me for nothing.

Whatever. I couldn't keep sweatin' that, 'cause if I did, this day would be endin' with me hoppin' outta my chair and draggin' this blond-haired ho by her black roots.

Before I could see if this heifer was gon' push me to take it there, the bell rang and everyone jumped out of their seats. Ms. Jamison yelled something about being suspended, as me and er'body else rushed out of the classroom.

On my way down the hallway, most of my classmates gave me props, but I didn't care. School was over and I just wanted to be up and outta here.

Yvette waited for me at my locker. I tossed my backpack inside of it and we jetted out the door.

“You a'ight?” Yvette asked as we met up with the rest of our crew. They was outside and leaning against a stop sign.

“I'm good. Just hate that the cops took Face.”

“Me too.”

“I hope he's home when I get there.”

“He will be,” she said with no sincerity, like she was just talking to be talking.

“You good, homie?” Cali asked as we walked up the block toward Da Bricks. “You was real quiet at lunch.”

“I'm straight . . .” I said, as my voice drifted and I found myself stopping dead in my tracks and stuck in my spot. Munch ran into my back and stepped on the heels of my sneakers, as I watched a silver Audi 5000, the same exact car that me and Face had licked off, bust a U-turn in the street and creep along the sidewalk. I didn't recognize the driver or the passenger.

The passenger hung out the window, and yelled, “'Ey, yo.”

I looked over and I knew freakin' well this one-blue-eyed and one-brown-eyed creep wasn't talkin' to me.

Munch curled her top lip. “Eww. Oh no, you didn't.” She shoved both hands up on her hips. “And who is you?”

“And what is you doin'?” Yvette sucked her teeth. “We don't need no samples and we got our own smoke. Now move along.”

The dudes ignored them, pointed to me, and said, “Yo, you Isis?”

I swallowed and hoped the nerves in my stomach didn't tickle my throat and cause my voice to tremble. “Why?” I rocked my neck.

The dudes smiled and light snickers slipped outta their mouths. “Yeah, umm hmm,” they said, as if I'd just confirmed what they wanted to know. “Goddamn, girl, I heard about you.”

I looked them up and down and hit 'em with death stare. “What? You better get outta my face! I don't care whatchu heard.”

The passenger continued, “It's cool though. But hear me on this: let your brother know that we'll be back. Tick. Tick.”

I spazzed and flared my arms in the air. “Yo, my man, what you say?! Is that supposed to be a threat?! Do you know who my brother is? Do you know what he'll do to you? Don't get put to sleep, homie.”

The passenger answered with a smile and a soft wink while the driver did a U-ey and broke off down the street.

“What the heck was that about?” That was either Munch or Cali, 'cause they both had raspy voices. I couldn't tell which one because I'd taken off running and zooming back to Da Bricks.

Once I broke into my building, I skipped the elevator and instead hopped two steps at a time. After I unlocked our apartment door, I slung it open and rushed to Schooly and Face's room.

Face's bed was empty.

Schooly looked at me and smiled. He was sitting at the head of his bed, back against the wall and proudly draped in hot gold, smacking on a Squirrel Nut candy. He stuck his finger in his mouth and pulled out the hard caramel stuck between his teeth. “What's wrong witchu?”

I shrugged. “Face home?”

“Nope,” he said like nothing else mattered but the sticky caramel on his fingertip. “Queenie told Pops that Face had some warrants. And Pops said Face gon' have to sit down for a while.”

I felt like somebody had just kicked me in the gut.

“Lil sis, you still mad at me?” Schooly popped another candy in his mouth.

“Yup.”

“I thought so. That's why I traded one of those gold necklaces for a box of Chick-O-Sticks. So you wouldn't be mad anymore.” He smiled and I promise you I wanted to slam him in his mouth, but I couldn't. So I pushed away the urge and flopped down on the bed next to him.

An
ABC Afterschool Special
was on TV and usually I loved to watch 'em. But the unwanted and unneeded tears that filled the brims of my eyes was in my way. And just when I thought that maybe I could hold them back, they tipped over the edge and fell down my cheeks.

Schooly stretched an arm over my shoulders and pulled my head along the side of his neck. “I'm sorry I told you to eat it. And check it, if you want, and if it means that much to you, I'll take everything off. 'Cept the watch. 'Cause I really like it.”

I wiped these dumb tears from my eyes and said, “A'ight, I'll let you rock wit' the watch.”