Circa Tokyo Nights Custom Tee
"I sell fertilizer, I don't give a shit!" ~Charles Hamilton
Tiny rays of sunlight clashed through the ancient blinds that covered the lone window of the room. Light feminine snores filled the atmosphere accompanied by loud masculine snores. This scene was all too familiar to a now twenty-one year old, Riley Freeman. His orbs slowly opened as he peered to his right to see his lover, his baby, his everything but most importantly mother of his future daughter, Sunshine Jones. A small smile crept across his rough face as he stroked a strand of loose hair from Sunshine’s forehead and tucked behind her ear. Admiring the silky red nightgown his girlfriend had on made him realize that his attire was very familiar. Too familiar since it was the same clothes he had on the previous night.
“Damn, must have fell asleep as soon as I got in.” the younger Freeman brother mumbled as he sat up to the foot of the queen size bed.
Once he gained enough energy in his body, Riley hopped up and walked over towards the bathroom. Glancing at himself in the mirror he realized that over the last couple of months he’s really been letting himself go. Once known for his thuggish charm and cute looks, now Riley was known for his bummy attire and poor grooming. The shirt he currently was wearing was a 3XL black tee but it looked faded and he had holy faded blue jeans. His braids were nappy, he had a rough looking goatee and heavy bags continuously became visible on his face.
“Man, I need some money!” he yelled to himself in the mirror. “I couldn’t even win no money at that MADDEN tourney last night. I actually lost about fifty bucks…”
Riley sighed and pulled out his cell phone and began to dial an all too familiar phone number. Taking a deep breath, he placed the phone to his ear and listened to it ring about two times before a voice answered.
“Hello?” the voice yawned.
“Huey, I need some money.” Riley said blankly.
“No.” Huey said in a cold tone. “After all that shit you talked back in the day about being a thug, a hustler, a gangsta and now you need something? Is that lifestyle not accommodating your economical needs? I’m not like Granddad, I will not spoil you. You’re going to have to learn your lessons the hard way.”
“Who is that on the phone, honey?” a voice yelled from Huey’s background.
“It’s Riley.” Huey answered his high school sweetheart, Jazmine Dubois. She nodded when she heard the answer and snuggled her head back into her pillow as the two brothers continued to talk on the phone.
“Please Huey, I didn’t think shit would hit the fan this bad. I just remembered that our rent is due today and if I don’t cough up any paper, the landlord will kick us out.” Riley begged.
“Riley, it’s time to be a man. What if I was dead right now? What if I lived on the other side of the planet? Would you still be able to get money from me?” Huey asked. “My point is, you are considered an adult now. Lots of things in life are not just given to you, you gotta earn them. You made the horrible decision to drop out of high school.”
“Aye now, hold up nigga!” Riley interupted. “They kicked me out!”
“And why is that again?”
“For fightin’ Butch and nearly killin’ his ass from the fourth story window...” Riley moaned. “That was a highlight of my life, but at the same time also a big downfall.”
“Yep, the charges were so high and the BOE decided to ban you from all schools in Illnois.” Huey added.
“Aight Mr. Smart Ass Nigga, what do I do?” Riley’s voice became serious.
“Get off your lazy black ass and find a job!”
“Well last night I tried to win a video game tournament, you know MADDEN-”
“Nigga, that’s not a job. I mean go find a place of employment so you can actually earn checks!” Huey practically screamed through the phone. “Your head is still empty I see…”
“Aye man, you ain’t had to yell all up in my ear…”
“It seems like that's the only way I can get to you sometimes, but I’m about to take a shower and get ready to for class. Jazmine has a class on the south campus, so we need to be heading out. I'll be over later and we can discuss some possible opportunities.”
“Ight, nigga.” Riley snapped his phone shut.
“Good morning, Riley.” Sunshine moaned from under the covers as Riley entered the bedroom.
“Sup baby.” He walked up and placed a kiss on her lips.
“Nothin’” Riley then sat down beside her. “Can you get yo mom to throw some cheddar our way?”
“You told me last week you was getting a job, didn’t you get one yet?” Sunshine sat up to Riley’s level. “We can’t keep borrowing money from my mom!”
“I’m tryin’ to get some money, some good money…” Riley said. “A normal job ain’t enough.”
“A normal job pays, playing video games and playing pick-up games at Meadowlark Lemon Park will not pay our rent!” Sunshine growled through gritted teeth.
“Oh and like yo ass is doin’ work!” Riley retorted.
“I’m five months pregnant with your daughter and I’m in school!”
“Aye Rayna is your daughter too, ain’t no need to say it like dat now…”
“You know what I mean, honey.” Sunshine rubbed her face against Riley’s. “Today, can you try to get a real job and I’ll talk Ms. Johansen into letting us pay the rent in a couple of days.”
“Ight.” Riley sat up and stepped into his all-white Reebok Classics. “Today feels like a good day.”
For the rest of the story, click here.
~TM-1
