My Mom
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It’s three in the morning. I don’t know why I’m awake, but I know that I’m starving. I was supposed to bring out the chicken so it would defrost but thank you television, I had failed my only task for the night. Mother was livid, she sent me to bed without dinner.
But I wasn’t going to go out without a fight, or at least my tummy wasn’t. It was rumbling royally, if you catch my drift. I pulled out my sock, being careful about which one it was in the middle of the night. Gladly it was my money sock. I took a few notes and shoved it into my pocket.
I had to leave the house to get food at the 24/7 except on religious holidays diner. Obviously I couldn’t leave through the front door cause dad wouldn’t be asleep either. Man sleeps like a dog, he could probably hear me thinking this right now.
But this wasn’t my first rodeo. I opened my east window… I know it’s east because the damn sun keeps waking me… And jumped across to the oak tree next to our house. It was a subtle move and the tree didn’t even budge. I remembered I didn’t shut my window and mentally bitch slapped myself for agreeing to malaria.
In five minutes I was in the diner, taking in all the smells of expensive food I wasn’t going to eat. I just had enough for a burger and that was going to have to be enough for the night. I got to the counter and placed my order in the most pleasant way, hoping I might get a free coke or something. But just like every other staff in every single country of every single workplace, that one lady who had excess makeup and had seen it all wasn’t buying it.
Thankfully, the burger was ready in three minutes and I was munching away at the flour and cow combo.
I heard a car pull up noisily considering how early it was, but I didn’t care. This was dinner and nothing would take my attention away from it…. Except the gunshot followed by shattering glass. Someone screamed and I heard a deep menacing voice say in a loud but even tone “Everyone on the ground, now!”
Oh shit, oh shit, I tapped my pocket for my phone, and no I wasn’t going to call the police. I’d call my parents first. The police will get here on their own time, no hassle. I swore when I realized that I didn’t have my phone. I smiled a little when I realized that it meant I wasn’t loosing it that night. I mean it’s a fifty grand smartphone, call me crazy but I’m not throwing her away.
In my thoughts and infinite stupidity, I realized I was the only one still on his seat. Everyone was acting as though the floor was free chocolate, but I just sat there thinking and slowly chewing the piece of burger in my mouth.
“Is there a problem?” the voice asked me
I swallowed and replied in the most embarrassing feminine voice ever cause I probably swallowed my voice with the beef “No sir”
He dragged me by my collar to the door and made me sit by it. He pointed to the street and said “Watch”
I quickly started to take of my leather wrist watch, it was way cheaper and my cellphone could replace it, but he calmly placed his hand over mine and pointed out to the street and said the same thing again and I understood. I had become the lookout.
I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. Maybe it was cause of the bile that had filled my every being or cause I had finished most of my burger, I couldn’t tell. There I sat, staring through the shattered glass door at the street praying that the cops would arrive, but also praying that they wouldn’t.
I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m anti crime and all that crap but I definitely did not want my mom to be woken up in the middle of the night to come fetch her son from a police station. I just wanted these guys to grab the cash and go, and then I’ll leave, get up the tree, into my room and this never happened.
But the universe just hates me. I heard them before I saw the flashing blue and red, and although I wanted to call back to the robbers who were way too slow in robbing a flipping diner, I realized that they had spotted the cops too.
I slowly scooted out of the way as they started to run towards their vehicle, but my new bestie grabbed my collar and hauled me into their minivan. Yay me.
Like surviving a robbery wasn’t enough, I had to be kidnapped too?
“We’re not kidnapping you, you’re a hostage” bad guy one said in a very nice accent and great English. If it wasn’t for his mask and gun, he would be a nice guy to hang out with.
“You know I can hear you, yes?”
I nodded, Ed Sheeran had nothing on me.
The minivan plowed through the streets, trying to evade the police cars, running over trash cans and taking out side mirrors. The only thing missing was a guy named Paul and a turbo boost.
“No!”
My best friend screamed at his colleague who had apparently taken a wrong turn into an alley. The back end of the alley had been shut off by a brick wall and it was way too small at the end for the minivan to drive through. Heck it was too small for the doors to open.
The crooks pushed me towards the trunk of the vehicle and opened it, I jumped out the back and was about to burst into a run but I felt that familiar hand on my collar keeping me in place. The cops blocked the entrance to the alley and pulled out their guns, aiming at me.
Thankfully, my bestie put his gun against my head and held me close to his chest. It was slightly comforting knowing that his actions, regardless of the fact that they were acts of violence, would be what would make the police understand that I just wanted a burger.
I shrank closer to him and put on my most petrified face.
“Don’t come any closer! Else I’ll shoot!”
I knew he wouldn’t shoot. If he did, the cops would then empty their bullets into his body and oh what a night this would be. My mom would kill me.
“You’re bothered about your mom now?” my bestie asked, amused at my irrational thoughts which I think out loud.
In his temporary moment of confusion, I noticed his grip loosen and I bolted. I jumped back into the car and shut the trunk. I heard shots being exchanged and some bullets hit the car. I got the front seat and pulled myself out through the open window. From my new perspective on top the car, I could easily jump over the wall the closed off the alley.
I jumped and landed on my butt. Apparently the other side of it was lower that this end. I quickly got to my feet and took off running. A few meters from my house, I spotted my window open and my house looking completely normal. So I stopped at a tree and caught my breath, trying to organize myself. I mean I was a black kid who just survived a robbery, kidnapping and a police shoot out and most importantly, the wrath of my mom.
I got to the oak tree and climbed all the way up, got into my room and pulled off all my clothes and collapsed to my bed. I checked my watch it was just past four.
I decided to use the bathroom before I went to bed and I took my cellphone. I got into the toilet and got on Instagram. I swiped through stories and I saw what looked like the video of a flooding. I waited for the audio to load but instead of running water, I heard the sexual moaning of a woman. It was damn loud and everyone would hear it.
I quickly pulled up my pants and rushed to the door, only to find those dead eyes of my mom locked on to me. I really missed my bestie in that moment, because right before me was the real danger.
