Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:30:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: escalade_tr@yahoo.com
Subject: The Journey part 1

     Sometimes Abdi hated his life. Taking out his apron, he
left the restaurant, where he worked part-time after school.
It was already 11 o'clock. He still had tons of homework to
finish. He didn't understand why the teachers would start
giving homework when the school year started just three days
ago. The only thing he wanted at that moment was to
transport himself to home, just like the characters in the
sci-fi movies so that he wouldn't have to talk whoever was
waiting for him in the parking lot. He wondered if tonight's
guy was wearing red or blue. Perhaps luck was on his side
and he would be walking toward an empty parking lot. Perhaps
finally they understood he would not go with them but then
when had luck ever be on his side?
     Tonight's lucky messenger boy was walking towards him
in white jogging suit and a white baseball cap. Abdi
couldn't see a blue rag or a handkerchief on the guy. Of
course that never meant the guy was not one of "them".
Nobody wanted cops' unwanted attention. The guy started to
smile. He wondered if this stranger thought they were
friends or something. Abdi did not even bother walking. He
knew the guy was there for him. No need to make them think
he was happy talking to them. When the guy stopped right in
front of him and made the "power" sign with his right hand,
Abdi could see the blue doo-rag under his cap. Great, he
thought, we have the Crips tonight. He might be just a
messenger boy but he still gave Abdi goose bumps. Knowing
that the guy was probably carrying would do that to you.
"Ray wants to see you." said the guy.
     "He knows I can't come" answered Abdi as he started to
walk towards home.
     "Why not?" The guy took out a blue handkerchief from
his back pocket and started to play with it.
     "He knows why not." Abdi stopped in the middle of the
alley and showed his ankle. "I am still wearing the
bracelet."
     "Then maybe you should leave work earlier to meet up
with Ray." Idiot, he thought, as if the cops don't know my
work schedule.
     "The cops know my school and work hours and I have to
be at home in 10 minutes. So, tell Ray I will see him after
the bracelet comes off."
     "Dog, you can't run away from this. It's either us or
the Bloods."
     "We will see about that." Abdi started to walk. At
least they knew when not to follow.
     When he arrived home, he found his mom and sister
sleeping. He wished he could be home earlier to have dinner
with them. He really missed being with them. He went to the
bathroom. After completing his ablutions, he did his nightly
prayer. Sitting on the prayer rug, he asked for a solution
to his "problem".
     It was nearly 1 o'clock when he went to bed. Sleep was
impossible. His mind was always a whirl of activity at these
hours. He wondered how many masks he wore in one day. He
imagined he lived in a world where his skin color didn't
make a difference. In their home, religion was important
than anything else. "Don't act Black," warned his mom all
the time. In school, he didn't even know where he stood.
There were a lot of Muslims in the school but nearly all of
them were Somalis, who were not black like him. His sister
used to call him a coal miner. Most of the Somali kids
wanted to be like Blacks but they would never be Black. One
look at them, you knew they were not Black. Abdi was too
black to be Black. Yet, Black kids at school accepted him in
their group. Yet, he was warned not to act Somali when he
went to pray during the lunch break and not to act White
when he studied and got good grades.
     At least nobody warned him not to act straight yet
because he knew how to act straight. His life depended on
it. Half the kids at school were either Crip or Blood.
Nearly every kid in his neighborhood belonged to one of
these gangs. He would be dead meat if he looked at the wrong
guy. He still didn't know where his control came from
because the showers after each gym class and after each
football practice were hell. But sex was the last thing on
his mind when he finally slept. He dreamt of drugs, guns,
cops and Ray. He dreamt of moving to a better neighbor where
he didn't have to be initiated to a gang.
     Cafeteria was even chattier than usual the next
morning. The girls were already talking about the new guy
they saw talking with other teachers. "That must be the new
History teacher," said Jacqueline. Abdi looked at the
teachers' table but didn't see any new face among them.
     "I heard he will be the homeroom teacher for 11A," told
Cynthia. That was Abdi's class.
     Alicia was very excited. "I wonder why he didn't start
on the first day of school."
     Abdi was only interested in the conversation because
the girls started to talk about how yummy the new teacher
was. The guy must have already heard about his ankle
bracelet. All the teachers have been monitoring him more
than usual. As long as the guy left him alone and didn't
come to the classroom with prejudice, he would be okay.
     When Abdi entered the classroom, he didn't see the new
teacher. "I saw him talking to Mr. Flack next door" told
Cynthia. There was an excitement among the others. The
excitement of not knowing if the new guy would eat them or
they would eat him. Just like the rest of them, Abdi could
easily judge if a teacher would be able to handle them in
ten minutes. He liked History so he didn't want a teacher
who couldn't control the classroom. On the other hand,
Spanish was a fair game.
     Abdi was talking to Ramon at the back when somebody
cleared his throat. He turned round and he was suddenly
breathless from the intensity of the teacher's green eyes.
Going back to his seat, he wondered if he had ever seen
somebody more beautiful in his life. He didn't even look
more than twenty-five.
     When the day ended, Abdi learned he would be taking
History and Language Arts from Mr. Williams. He was laid
back but knew how to capture their attention. That night
when he went to sleep, he didn't dream of drugs, guns, cops
and Ray. Instead he dreamed of green eyes, pale skin, dark
hair and the voice that told him to let go.