Welcome to my new series where I will be free writing and writing flash fiction to have fun, to regain my discipline as a frequent writer, and to stretch and strengthen my writing skills.
This is an old story I originally wrote during college, years ago, for my creative writing class. It is a fictitious, urban story that came from I don’t remember, but it was fun to write. Editing and few changes were made prior to publishing here.
Jackey and the Stranger at the Bus Stop
Pt 2
“It’s about our dreams,” Jackey said in a calmer tone.” “And what about your music? You’re like Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde One minute you graduating as an A student and claiming you the next Tupac,” she said raising her voice. “Now you’re running the streets Mr. Street Hustler. You promised your brother you were going to stay out of the streets.
“What my brother got to do with this?” asked Desmond.
Jackey didn’t answer. She stood quietly and watched as Desmond grabbed his black leather jacket from off the table. He looked at Jackey and their eyes met each other.
This time he didn’t smile. His thick eyebrows hovered over his dark deep eyes. Deep lines formed and rested in the center of his forehead. Sadness filled his eyes.
Jackey had always assumed that those rough facial features were just a look he possessed while growing up in their vicious neighborhood. But, these rough-looking features accompanied her to senior prom and stayed after graduation.
In high school, Desmond made A’s and B’s quietly. He turned in his homework assignments but seldom participated in class. Desmond occasionally got in trouble for fighting other boys who tried to test him. They would assume that he was an easy conquest because he was quiet and usually kept to himself. They didn’t expect him to whoop them like his life depended on it.
Desmond was not only quiet, but observant. He would stand around just watching the boys play basketball or the girls gossiping before morning classes.
At Carver High School, Desmond walked through the halls at a slow steady pace. He always had his head phones over his ears with the music’s volume turned up loud. The day of their senior orientation, Jackey spotted Desmond walking back to his class with his head phones on. Jackey was curious about Desmond. She liked him. So she approached him and asked, “what you always listening to.” Not too long after this, they became the cutest couple in their senior class.”
The “cutest couple” both loved music. Jackey enjoyed dancing and singing. She danced with their high school pom pom team. Desmond wanted to be a rapper. He rapped, imitated beats with his mouth, and wrote tirelessly in the bedroom of his brother’s apartment. He kept much of what he wrote and rapped to himself, also to Jackey as well as his brother.
Desmond’s older and only brother, Dawayne, encouraged Jackey and Desmond both to pursue their dreams. It was Dawayne who bought a keyboard, computer, and microphone for his little brother. “Y’all sound good. You guys can be a rapping and singing duo,” Dawayne would say while bobbing his head to the songs they created.
Desmond lived with Dawayne during his last two years of high school. Desmond left their mother’s home because of the man she had married. He was controlling and abusive to Desmond and his mother. Dawayne was twenty-five at the time, a high school dropout, and had spent a few years in jail for robbery. He was making progress when he took Desmond in. Dawayne was repairing cars by day and working on his GED by night.
Desmond respected Dawayne. He was the only one, besides Jackey, who supported him. He had encouraged Desmond through school so Desmond was devastated when he found out his brother had died in a car crash. It happened a month after Desmond and Jackey collected their diplomas. Desmond just sat quietly on his bed looking out the window after his mother had called him and gave him the news. That was four years ago.
Desmond had planned to go to college but worked a part-time restaurant job to keep the apartment. He dropped the job for his current ways of making money–selling drugs and with some success.
Jackey applied and got accepted to Illinois Institute of Art (IIA) to study voice and dance, IIA was her dream college. Although Jackey was majoring in music, she worked as a hairstylist at the salon of her best friend’s aunt.
Most days she would leave the shop at 10:30 and on those nights she would walk outside to the bus stop to wait for Desmond to give her a ride. Sandra, another hairstylist, and Brian, one of the barbers stayed late too and helped Jackey clean and lock up.
To Be Continued…
Tannika Nikeya 