[center][h2]The First Day of the Rest of Your Life[/h2][/center] March 18th, 1997 [hr] Smog snuffed radiance, and spring did little to ease one’s mind. A fan circled its near perpetual dance above Kentrell’s head and he was staring at the fan as it turned. It was mid-day, the stove crackled flame, Darius and Lorraine were up cooking breakfast: eggs, sausage, cheese toast. It was the same thing every morning--mornings began whenever the eldest siblings woke--Kentrell sighed. Excising crust from his eyes and tossing his mess of covers from himself, Kentrell sat on the side of the bed and pushed his feet into the house slippers waiting for him on the rug beside his resting place. As zombies of morn do, Kentrell lifted himself up and lumbered toward the kitchen. A smell once welcoming and sloughing the monotony of routine consumption, Kentrell (or Tre as his siblings called him) would have sooner found Nirvana if he never had to smell cheese toast and eggs again. Sausage made his stomach churn. Kentrell ate it anyway, he was no cook himself--a deficiency which,as Darrius and Shontay reminded him often, made him goofy. Darrius re-attached he smoke detector once all the hot breakfast had been cooked. Lorraine had disappeared into the bathroom and there was no sign of Terell, Marcus, or Shontay. Kentrell hated being alone with Darrius. No sooner than Lorraine went to get dressed for work did Darrius begin his shpiel, “You found a job yet?” Darrius sipped black coffee while Kentrell toyed with a plate of scrambled eggs, Kentrell’s eyes met Darrius’ own, “Still lookin’.” a dry enough response from the younger Price boy; Darrius knew it to be incredulous, “Uh huh. Look Tre, I’ono what you plan on doing, but it gotta be something. Shontay and Terell ass, too, cause I know damn well I’m not about to keep doin’ no’ double shifts at McDonalds for three lazy niggas.” “Man, ain’ no--” “Nah, nah, nigga. Shut up.” “Man, aight. I’ll see what up.” “I’m serious, nigga.” Lorraine came out of the bathroom and prompted an end to the exchange. In her return, Kentrell found safety from Darrius scold; Lorraine and Darrius left the house after other random chatter between themselves. Kentrell watched them leave and then finished his eggs and sausage. He went back to his room and threw on the same red t-shirt he had worn yesterday and exchanged his slippers for decaying red Converse sneakers. From inside his drawer he retrieved his red bandana and stuffed it in the back pocket of the khaki pants he had also worn yesterday. Hygiene, then Kentrell was outside. Beyond the black iron fence which enclosed the apartment complex were a handful of people, all of whom had some designated article of clothing in homage to the hood. Red belts, red socks, hats, shoes, flags. Of the ten or so young men and women standing outside, there were the two he had wanted to see most: Terell and Shontay, and of the duo it was Terrell who welcomed Kentrell--or KP as he was known in the streets--first, “Woop. What up, nigga. Where you been?” “Shit, sleep.” “Sleep?! Nigga, it’s 12:30! Been waitin’ on yo’ ass all day.” KP joined with the rest of the group, to which Shontay gave her own greeting, “Here come [i]this[/i] ugly ass nigga!” KP kissed his teeth and indulged her with a one-arm side hug. “Ya mama, nigga.” KP’s retorts were never quite tuned for quality, “Whatever, you ready?” 20 sets of eyes turned to KP, nerves flashed up the boy’s spine and settled in the rest of his body. A millisecond too long passed in silence, they could smell the hesitation. “On Lanes, nigga, you already know I’m ready. Shit, [i]been[/i] ready, blood.” the answer appeased none, but no one feigned belief better than KP and his friends. “We gon’ see.” Shontay and Terrell had already put in work, exactly what that work was was something Terell didn’t quite know. A cherry red cadillac pulled up in front of the apartments, inside a muscled, dark skinned black man with a scar beneath his eye and a blunt hanging from his mouth screeched the cadillac to a halt. Shontay let her eyes fall to the vehicle, “There he go. Aye!” she shouted to the car, “What up Bone?!” Bone only gave a nod, KP had frozen solid in just that short span of time, it took a nudge from Shontay to rev life into him. With lowered tone, she spoke, “Go ‘head nigga, don’t make him call you ova there.” KP’s legs carried him. Hands clutched the unlocked door and he stepped in. Instinctively, he reached a hand out to Bone, who merely stared at the hand and then hit the gas. And in a few seconds it all became real to him.