Tales of the Hood (2 page)

As I carried the coffin containing my beloved mother alongside Maurice, tears moistened my cheeks. We placed her on the stand and sat down with Vanessa and Holly. Things had gotten serious between me and Vanessa. It was at the right time when I needed support, and support is all she gave.

“We are gathered here today to lay to rest a loving daughter, mother and friend, Justine Daley” said the priest, beginning the service. I broke down as he carried on. I wondered what her last thoughts were. I wondered if she knew I was sorry for getting her caught up in my own mess. I know I looked like I was soft crying but I didn't care. I'd lost my mum. All that I had left in this cold world was gone in an instant. I didn't know what I would do without her in my life any more. The priest called a break from the ceremony where everybody could catch up.

“Babe, I'm just going to the toilet,” said Holly to Maurice.

“Cool. Don't be long because it's starting soon,” Maurice said, kissing her on her cheek. I didn't really know what was going on between Maurice and Holly. She certainly wasn't wife material but I think she'd actually grown on him. The minutes went by and Holly still hadn't returned from the bathroom so Maurice went to go look for her. I leaned on Vanessa's shoulder. I don't think she understood how much I appreciated her being there with me.

“Are you alright, Jay?” she whispered.

“Yeah I'm holding up okay. Maurice and Holly need to hurry up though,” I replied with a hint of frustration.

“What's going on?” Maurice shouted from the back of the church. I ran up to see what all the commotion was about when I walked in on Holly kissing another man at my mum's funeral. I couldn't believe how selfish she was; to do this to Maurice and I.

“It's not what it looks like, Maurice,” she blatantly lied.

“So what is it meant to look like? You better come out my face before I have to deck someone over! How can you do this at my boy's mother's funeral, Holly? Fair enough you lack general respect for yourself but at a funeral!” he said walking away. I think he didn't want to make a bigger scene than he already had but you could see he was angry and hurt.

“Jayden please talk to him. I love him, I really do. I didn't mean to hurt him. This seriously isn't what it looks like” she cried. I didn't know who she was trying to fool. We all saw what was going down and she was still persistent with her lies.

“Holly you take the piss! You're meant to be his girl, or at least his companion for the day, and you're kissing up to next man in the back of a church; the church where I'm burying my mother. I'm not even willing to waste my time considering the tragic circumstances so just get out!” I said with my blood pressure rising. She screwed me with red watery eyes then left.

We carried on with the ceremony but the atmosphere was incredibly intense. Even though my mum was peacefully laid to rest there was still so much hurt being felt. When I saw all the flower wreaths and condolences left by many friends and family it finally hit me that she was gone. My mum, the woman that raised me from birth single-handedly was gone.

***

That evening, Vanessa and I stayed at Maurice's. I think we all needed each other for support and stability right now, especially Maurice. The sheer embarrassment he experienced today was ego-crushing. My mum's death made me think that I wanted to make something of my life just for her. I was into music but I didn't think it would get me very far. There were so many obstacles to avoid when starting from the bottom. It's like people never want to give you a chance to showcase what you can really be. That's why Chipmunk was one of my idols. It was good to see a boy from a deprived area making it big, using only the limited resources he had. It inspired me to make something big of myself too and I knew music was the way to do it. It was in my nature and it was in my blood.

The next day I went to the studio with Maurice. It was the best way to release any negativity we had and I knew if I wanted to do this music thing I needed to be able to drop a couple of bars properly. Maurice fixed up a beat and I tried my best at free styling.

I finished laughing until my abdominals hurt.

“Yo that was sick still, but don't go talking like that often,” he laughed. ‘I think you can actually get somewhere with this,” he added.

“I know but I have to be dedicated to this and we both know I ain't one for making commitments. Plus trying to find out what happened to my mum and working on this is going to be a mission,” I said thinking about her.

We both sat down and thought about the best way to go about things. In the end we just packed up and hit home. It was too soon to dive into anything major. My mind wasn't 100% and I had too much resentment inside me to spit passion on the mike. Since the murder I'd been staying at Maurice's house. Seeing the image of my mum's body on the floor had left me somewhat traumatised. The wall where she lay was stained red. It was like every time I closed my eyes that one wall turned into the gateway of hell: roaring red flames surrounding a question mark in the position where I tried to put a face. It was hard. Staying in that house would bring back so many bad memories that I didn't want to forget but at the same time didn't want on my mind. I lay down that same night and thought about life. I hadn't seen Jamal around the ends for a while. Maybe he was trying to lay low because he knew what he'd done and he knew that it didn't end here. I punched the mirror with anger and watched my blood drip; staining the white material of my sheets; conjuring up the image of the blood-stained wall I tried my best to erase from my thoughts. I was so paranoid these days. Every boy that looked in my face resembled Jamal. I wasn't certain it was him and there was actually a possibility he could have nothing to do with it but it was unlikely; very unlikely. Remembering the last thing he said to me after the fight gave me a pretty good idea that he was going to do something.
‘Remember, I know where you live.'
Those words were like a horrible lullaby ringing in my ears. I made up my mind. I was going to find him. Find him and kill him! Regardless if it was him or not, he was a chip on my shoulder that wouldn't shift. Some might say it was karma but whatever it was I had to end it. With that last thought floating around in my head I lay down waiting; waiting for sleep to creep over the insomniac of the night.

***

Vanessa came to link me at Maurice's early the next morning. “I got a surprise for you,” she grinned cheekily. I smiled with my drowsy eyes. I wasn't a morning person at all and I was shocked to see her here so early.

“Tell me what it is then,” I replied.

“Well, I have tickets to see Chipmunk later and I was wondering if you want to be my date?” she smiled knowing what my reply would be already. I jumped up and my eyes were wide awake now.

“Don't lie. Are you serious?” I replied, becoming sceptical.

“Yeah, I got them yesterday. I thought since you liked him so much we might as well see him in concert. Give you a bit of inspiration for your own music.”

I hugged her tightly and kissed her plump lips. She was so thoughtful. That was so hard to find these days; someone that can show compassion in every way. Moments later Maurice burst into the room raging. “What's going on, who's on this beef ting?” he shouted croakily.

“Ha-ha, no one bruv. Vanessa just came round to tell me she got me tickets to see Chipmunk tonight. There's a spare if you wanna roll,” I winked.

“You're gay, don't wink at me,” he laughed.

“I can't believe she thought to do this for me though, I got myself a girl trying to push me in the right direction,” I smiled kissing Vanessa once more.

“Alright I'm going back to bed now. It's early and I can't stand here watching you smooch,” Maurice said, walking back to his room.

***

A couple of hours before the concert Maurice and I started to get ready just to make sure we looked fit for the night. I was feeling a purple and white vibe tonight; casual but cool. I also wanted to make a good impression on mine and Vanessa's first official night out. I appreciated the fact that she was going to support me whether I decided to pursue music or not. Maurice, on the other hand, wasn't as inspired by music like I was, so he just wore anything, not looking to impress anyone. I think he still had the whole Holly situation on his mind. I told him that we'd been through this before and he had to take it on the chin and move on. I couldn't blame him though; what she did was wicked and wrong. Speaking of the devil, when we were on our way to the concert we saw Holly walking towards us. Me and Vanessa thought she was looking for attention so we walked on a bit but stopped close enough to hear whilst she talked to Maurice. Even though she violated him I knew he still had feelings for her for some odd reason. He was usually very detached from his emotions so I was surprised at the way he was handling the matter.

“Maurice, I miss you,” she said gently.

“Well things like this happen when you're meant to be with me and you choose to cheat with some other man at my best friend's mum's funeral,” his reply was monotone.

“I'm so sorry Maurice. I really want to show you how you made me feel again. Listen to what I'm saying; I'm having a little party at my house on Friday. More like a gathering. I you could pass through we can talk properly. I want to show you how much I mean my apology. I know I hurt you but you have to understand I have unconditional love for you, and I'm not going to let you go so easily,” she pleaded desperately.

It was rather pathetic to be honest. How could she expect him to even think about patching things up after her actions?

“Hmm, I'll think about it,” he replied bluntly.

Around ten minutes later he re-joined us in the line. “She just wanted to invite us to a party. I don't know if I'm going though. I don't know what mans gonna be there or what she wants to talk about,” he said, considering her invitation.

“Hmm sure,” I replied.

Front row seats with a drink in one hand and a hotdog in the other. I believed this was the life. Chipmunk was on stage spitting his latest hit and I was just kicking back letting the rhythm flow through me. Just watching him own the stage made me wonder what it would be like for me if I got that far, the exhilaration and adrenaline must be mind-blowing. As dreams owned my mind, time went by and before I knew it the concert was over.

“Blood, that was actually live you know,” said Maurice walking out of the arena.

“I know fam. I definitely know that music is the route to success for me now. The best way to do something is to begin with having passion for it. Never know I might blow tomorrow,” I laughed.

“Yeah right,” said Vanessa sarcastically.

“You don't rate me?” I replied humorously. She laughed and hugged me tightly. It's the little things that make her special. As we stood there talking about the concert, a blacked-out car pulled up swiftly outside the arena. You could tell the car was dodgy just by looking at it but you were certain when a dark-skinned male rolled down the window and stared in the faces of the excited people. Seconds later a gun emerged from the same window and started spraying random shots into the leaving crowds. Screams; fear and running feet dominated the area. I dragged Vanessa to the ground and Maurice dropped beside us.

“Who the fuck is that?” said Maurice panting.

“I have no idea but we need to bounce fast before we get caught up in this shit!” I said, checking to see if Vanessa was okay.

“My hair isn't made for this kind of excitement,” she cursed. I slowly popped my head over a nearby car and saw other boys getting out of the car. It seemed like they were looking for someone and were ready to slaughter anyone that stood in their way.

“Stop this madness! Youngsters should not be fighting youngsters. Why do you have to carry on like this!” shouted an old man. One of the boys turned around and punched him in the face with no remorse. They didn't care who got hurt as long as they achieved what they wanted to achieve. We couldn't believe our eyes; the heartlessness and brutality of their actions was immense. They were hurting innocent people for no reason. As they made their way into the arena and out of sight it was definitely the chance to run so we got up and sprinted; sprinted for our lives! I didn't know what that was all about, even though it wasn't anything new. Gangs were always popping bullets to gain a little status. It was nothing new at all.

***

The following days were full of questions. Who were they looking for? What did they want? Why were they hurting people that had nothing to do with their goal? These were questions that only they could answer. I tried to push it to the back of my mind and think of what Holly's party was going to be saying tonight. I didn't want to leave the house until the party so I stayed in with Maurice and got high for the day. We were feeling real nice; expanding our minds; looking at things from a whole different perspective. Whenever we were together and we were high, we caught too much jokes. Everything we spoke about would make no sense to anyone else. The topic was always life or girls; reminiscing about the good and bad times.

“Since having sex with Holly I swear I don't like sex anymore,” laughed Maurice randomly.

“Blood, you just chose a hoe instead of a wife. There's plenty more fish in the sea so stop brooding like a bitch,” I joked.

We had so much love for each other it was emotional. We'd grown up together from so young that it was hard to find a memory Maurice wasn't involved in. I remember when we were younger and we messed around causing trouble on the blocks. Terrorising the neighbours at every chance we got. It was those times that we had nothing to worry about. Where we could walk around and look at anyone without fear of getting beaten up; poked up; slapped up. It's like the boys of my generation fed off the humiliation of others. I should know because I was the same, but there came a time when I saw what it was doing to my mum and I had to change. As I grew up I saw how the area we live in evolved from something safe to a danger zone. There was always tension and drama of some kind, that's what gave the area its unwanted character.