South Side Story
Nw Johnson

 




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“Terry will you wait a minute” my math teacher, Mr. Rogan said. I turned around and tried to see if I was in trouble. If I was and he told my stepfather I’d have to stay away from the house for a couple of hours so he could calm down.
“What is it? If this is about my homework I’ll have it tomorrow”, I said nervously.
“No, I wanted to ask you what happened to your arm.” He asked normally though I guessed he was worried.
I had forgotten I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. Last night I forgot to mow the lawn and my step-dad was drunk and hit me in the arm. It left a big bruise on my shoulder. It had been a dark purple this morning but it had faded slightly and was beginning to yellow. I couldn’t tell him that, so I made up a lie real fast.
“I was riding my dirt bike and fell” I said trying to sound plain but I was sure he could tell I was lying.
“Ok I just wanted to make sure everything was all right.” he said sounding relieved. I really liked Mr. Rogan so I hated to lie to him.
“Oh god, today is Wednesday right.” I said with dawning horror.
“Yes.” he said sounding slightly confused.
“Do you know what time it is?” I said quickly as soon as the words left his mouth.
He apparently didn’t have a watch on either so I looked at the one on the wall. It was two-thirty I realized and I had to be home by two-forty-five. It takes an hour to get to my house from school I thought horrified. My step-dad was going to kill me, and he plays poker on Wednesday so he was more than likely drunk.
“I really have to go”, I said and ran out in to the crowds of unfamiliar faces and people that either hated or liked me. It was good I only had homework in the two classes I had the books for, or I would have been screwed. I ran to my beaten-up Ford and turned it on, praying that it wouldn’t stall or break down this time. Even though I had my car I knew I was going to be late.
Just as I started to pull out of the parking lot I heard: “Terry, wait up we need a ride.” It was my friends Carl and Brandon. I had known them since I was five.
“I can’t Carl, Eric will kill me if I’m late and he’s drinking.” I said hurriedly. And with out waiting for a reply I drove off.
Just as I pulled around the corner I heard Carl yell, ”That’s all right. Just don’t get in a fight”.

I accelerated quickly and jumped forward. I had slipped just a little above the speed limit. (About thirty miles per hour over.) I quickly turned a 90-degree angle and felt with satisfaction the back swing wildly a little too far and swerved back on course. The rest of the way was similar.
I drove as fast as I could and screamed into the driveway. We lived in a kind of crappy part of town. You could hear the neighbor’s dog, Alfie, barking loudly. Soggy trash littered the curb and street from the storm the night before. As I stepped out of the car door, an old McDonald’s ad rolled by. It got caught on my foot and I kicked it off. I looked up at my house, and braced my self for the fight waiting for me inside. I took a deep breath and began walking up the driveway.
We live in an old beat-up one level house with a tin roof. You could practically taste the liquor from the front yard it smelled so strong. I heard the loud drone of our half-broken down lawn mower.
What the heck? I thought. My brother Jeff was mowing the yard for me. As he began to come around the front I signaled for him to stop and he let go of the gas. Even after the engine sputtered and died I could smell the old stale gasoline.
“Thanks a ton. Didn’t Eric notice you?” I asked exasperatedly.
“ No he’s sleeping so I saved your butt.” Jeff said as matter-of-factly as possible.
“Ok see ya in a bit.” I finished mowing the yard. It felt like a hundred degrees when I was done. Sweat was poring down my back and my cut off white tee shirt clung to my body like a drowning person to a life preserver. Eric was up and he’d heard Jeff and my discussion. He stood slouching over like a huge bear that was waiting for the kill. He had Jeff by the arm and was getting ready to hit the crap out of him. Jeff hung limply by his arm totally defenseless against Eric’s bulk. I yelled with horror and ran towards him. I hit Eric with all the force in my body. He looked surprised but it didn’t faze him for long. He hit me with a beer mug and almost knocked me out. It felt like I had been hit with a cannon ball. I grabbed around for the closest thing to me. It turn out to be a large, heavy, black metal flashlight. I hit with all my strength. He uttered a small grunt and fainted there on the grungy, dirty floor.
“ Thanks a lot.” Jeff gasped, barely able to breathe. It looked like Eric had gotten a few hits on him before I got there. His arm had a massive bruise, the size of a CD, and he would have a black eye. Eric was out cold and he was bleeding from his left temple.
“Oh my god!” My mom gasped sounding horrified, as she walked in the room. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard what had gone on in the living room until now. Then I thought maybe she refused to hear what was going on. She looked so shocked I could tell she hadn’t heard any of it. She ran over to Eric and looked him over. As she passed me I smelled the unmistakable odor of vodka, and had my answer to my question. She was hammered beyond belief. Then she went to Jeff. I was so shocked she went to Eric first I didn’t say anything for a while. Then I let her have it.
“What is wrong with you?! You go to the person who did this before you go to your own son. He almost broke Jeff’s arm!” I screamed at her, brandishing around me to show what I meant by “this“. My eyes were bulging out so much it hurt. But still I screamed on.
“Terry, I saw Eric was bleeding so I went to him.” She mumbled feebly and clumsily as if it would make Jeff stop trying not to cry so he wouldn’t disappoint anyone, and as if it would make his arm stop throbbing. As if my head was going to stop throbbing because she made a bad excuse.
“So was I wrong to hit him? Was it a bad idea to defend my brother and defend myself?” I said in a horrible rage that I didn‘t know I had inside of me. She tried to think of another excuse but I walked out of the house before she could think of one. I grabbed Jeff and walked with broad strides. Jeff was running to keep up with me. I’m pretty tall and I have long legs. My mom tried to stop me but I grabbed her by the arm and threw her aside like a rag doll. She hit a doorframe and let out a small gasp. I wasn’t sure if it was from surprise, horror, of if I had winded her. I hoped it was all three. Jeff gasped but didn’t say anything.
I grabbed Eric’s wallet and mine and tolled Jeff to get his. I went and warmed up the car. I knew mom wouldn’t try to stop him. She was in shock of what had happened. He ran out with his jacket and when he got in he tossed me mine.
“Can I listen to music?” He asked apprehensively and I sensed him being a bit timid, as if I would explode.
“Sure.” I said so he would have something to listen to besides the old rusty motor.
He turned on the CD player and the familiar sound of metal bands that Jeff couldn’t listen to flooded the car. I told him to change it and he moaned. I told him to change it again and he found some lighter music.
We pulled up to my friend Brandon’s house. Jeff got out and I followed him to the door. He lived in a nicer neighborhood than ours but not by much. We opened a small, rusty wire gate. His huge black lab came bounding at us and jumped on Jeff. I rang his doorbell and he opened the door. I could hear quite well whatever cartoon his little brother and sister were watching.
“Can we crash here for tonight?” I asked as plainly as I could. I tried to look plain but he knew I had a fight with my mom again. He looked at me, studying my features, just looking at me.
Then finally he said, “Sure I’ll tell my folks that you’re staying here.” Brandon’s parents knew I had problems with my folks so they always let me stay. Jeff looked around and looked the house. I had never taken Jeff with me to get out of the house. He knew Brandon’s brother and sister but he had never been here. I walked down a narrow hallway. Brandon’s parents gave me a casual greeting and then continued talking.
Then Brandon pulled me aside and asked, “What happened? Did Eric freak out and hit Jeff?” He sounded concerned but he looked normal.
“Yes, he hit him in the face and threw him against a wall. Then he hit me with a beer mug.” I said.
When I tolled him this he looked surprised and said, “You should think about filing charges against him for domestic abuse.”
“You know for someone who gets Fs you are pretty smart. I think you’re right though. He has been smacking my mom around. Even though she is totally brainwashed she’s still my mom. He always comes home at two in the morning and starts yelling at her to go cook dinner.” He frowned when I said something about his Fs but he understood it was a complement. Jeff was watching television with Brandon’s brother and sisters.
We stayed up and talked for a while. We talked about school and bands mostly. Brandon was really smart he just didn’t do the work.
Then later we were talking and Brandon said, “Guess what. I got three tickets to the Korn to concert! Fifth row and parking passes! I won them on the radio!”
“You are kidding me right! Who are you going with?”, I asked. Trying not to sound apprehensive.
“Well, Ronald McDonald, and my mom.”, He said sarcastically, and then added, “You, Chris, and me are going“. Carl has tickets already so he's going to meet us there.”
“Sweet! When is it? And what time?”, I asked excitedly.
“It’s on Monday at nine. Do you want me to pick you up our are you going to drive?”, he said. I figured he wanted me to go with him so we would be able to have some fun on the way.
“Ya, sure. Its not like I have anything better to do.” I said trying to sound casual but Brandon knew I was pumped, "So do you have ay other ideas of what to do?”
“Not really. We’ll think of something.” He said some what sneakily. I was wondering quietly about what he had planned when he asked, “Do you know how you’re gonna get Jeff to school tomorrow?”
“No not really.” I said trying to hide that I was secretly wondering about it too. ”I guess I’ll just drive him to school tomorrow.” I said flatly as if I had nothing to do tomorrow.
“You know just as well as I do that you can’t take him. If you’re late for school tomorrow the principle will give you I.S.S!” He said nervously.
“Oh well. Its not like I wouldn’t get it any way. He hates me. Like yesterday I walked in just as the bell rang. Guess what he did.” I said with menace, “He called me into his office and told me that I couldn’t get a pass to my homeroom! You’d think the little freak would have something to do like bust the kids that every one knows has drugs.”
“Yea well that is life when you don’t have the money to pay him off like the kids in the valley”, Brandon mumbled. It seemed he reduced everything down to money lately.
The valley is one of the sections in Kansas City. It’s where all the rich kids come from. The valley is where all the huge closed gate communities and places like Brire Cliff. It’s also one of the most popular places for us (meaning kids from The inner city) to toilet paper and tag all over. One time this guy I know wrote “let the valley burn” on the hood of some guys Boxer with dish soap. It melted through the bright cherry-red paint and you could read what he wrote. He was busted four days later by the cops. I heard he had to pay for the whole car to be repainted.
“Well I’m going to go talk to Jeff.” I said trying to end the conversation. I got up and walked down the hall to Brandon’s brother’s room. Once again I stopped to look at all their pictures. All the vacation with Brandon and his family looking happy in their pictures.
Then I reached the end of the pictures. After another step I reached the end of the hallway. I knocked softly on the door.
“Hey, Jeff are you in there?”, I asked quietly. I waited a moment and heard a small reply; “Yea, I’m in bed.” I softly opened the door for some reason I seemed to think I had to be quiet. It then occurred to me what I was doing and I relaxed and opened the door regularly. I moved to the couch-bed he was sleeping on, and sat down next to him. e you alright?”, I asked him quietly, keeping my head down as if I was ashamed of what I had done.
“No, I’m fine. And don’t worry it wasn’t your fault.”, he said reassuringly, catching my guilt. I sat there and groped for an excuse for why I was late, but there wasn’t one. For a moment I thought I was going to break down and cry in front of Jeff. I forced my self not to because if I was crying then he would know how bad this really was. Softly he said, “Mom and Eric are smokin’ weed and crack aren’t they?”
That was what made me know we had to get out of there. For my brother to have to live in a house where he’s afraid to make to much noise, or he’ll get hit. that’s not something he should have to live with but it’s livable. but to live in a house where he knows that his mother is taking drugs is just sick.



 

 

Copyright © 2003 Nw Johnson
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