“Woo- wee. This is some good stuff, my man.”
I was laying on a bed of money with two beautiful girls beside me. I was high as a kite. This is the life I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little kid. Just chill all day and collect the money from the dealers I supplied too.
“This is the life”
Suddenly I heard a loud noise that scared me.
“Ringggggggg,” my alarm clock screamed.
“UGHHHH! It was just another dream again.”

I rushed downstairs, grabbed a cereal bar and said in a groggy tone, “Bye mom.” Every day I met up at 5:45 with my best friends, Jackson, and Will. We got to school early because we had to sell our drugs before the fuzz came around. My family couldn’t afford much, so I had to make money for myself.
7:00, it read on my watch. “Everybody, line up, time to go through the metal detectors,” one of the teachers yelled. The fuzz checked each and every one of us thoroughly. Sometimes the fuzz got out of hand.

“Hey girl you got a fine body,” one of the cops whispered to my sister one day.
“Get the hell off of her,” I said as I pushed him off and walked through the metal detector.  I hated cops. They always tried to hit on girls. Especially my sister… well, before she was shot.

  It was a late December morning. I was out with Jackson. We were getting into a scuffle with gangs; my sister was just trying to protect us.  Then bang--my sister was shot.

Cops always tried to convict us of some kind of crime because of our color. That’s why gangs were formed. Gangs scared away most of the cops, but not the stubborn ones. Most of those were killed.

Jackson and I walked together to our first class. Though instead of going to class, we walked right outside to where we sell our drugs. Today was the first day we were skipping school. I walked over to gather up all the drugs, but I saw someone at our stand. “Hello,” I said.
“Oh, hi. You scared me. What is this?” she replied
“What’s a girl like you trying to buy some drugs? I bet you have a future unlike most of us,” I remarked.
“Well yes I do, but I am new and I was just searching around and decided to check this out,” the girl said.
“Are you a narc?” I got closer as I said this.
“Not if you sell it for free. I need some and have no money.”
“It’s a sunny day. I like sunny days. Don’t you?” I explained as stared at the beautiful sun.
“Huh?”
“I don’t like to repeat myself. Do you want it or not?’
“Uh… yes. Here’s $5. Thank you.”
“Now get out of here and don’t come back.”
Once Will arrived, we were off. We sprinted. We climbed. We turned. We jumped. We got out without anyone seeing us; a police officer tried to stop us, but we escaped.

Thursday afternoon. City Park. Gangs are everywhere. I was actually surprised by how many there were. As I walked through the gate, my jaw dropped. My brother was right at the entrance with a cigarette. He was supposed to dead. I ran over to him and gave him a huge hug.
“Hey little buddy,” my brother said.
“I thought you were dead,” I whimpered,”Mom is very sick, she needs you.” 
“I can’t bro. She will kill me. For real this time.”
“Please, Deshawn she needs to see you. It’s her last wish to see you again.”
“Okay, but we have to be quick because the supplier is coming at 6:00.”
At 5:00 we arrived at the house. I was so excited. I ran inside and screamed, “Mom De is home, he’s alive.” I sprinted up the stairs. “Mom. Come on De.” I ran into her room “Mom Deshawn’s home.” I choked up. “Mom… mom get up De’s home.” I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe it. It was over. I grabbed my jacket and ran.
The bridge was my destination. My life was a complete mess. De tried to catch up, but he was too slow. I escaped my town without anyone seeing me. I was sprinting. Breathing heavily. Arms pumping. Legs swinging. Knees wobbling. Heart racing. Face burning. Eyes crying. My life was over. 
I dropped to the floor. I laid there for hours thinking of what I would do now that she’s gone.  Thirst. Hunger. Loneliness. After a while, I gathered up enough courage and I was ready to end my life. I ran to the bridge. I climbed up the ramp and jumped.

I didn’t wake up for almost 3 weeks. My brother was right by my side the whole time; so he told me. I didn’t believe him. He was too busy with drugs and his gang. When I woke up, his face as bright as the sun. Deshawn was so happy that I was still around. Without me, he would have been nothing.
“Why’d you do it?” De said.
“I couldn’t handle life without mom. She was my everything. I wanted to be just like her. Now, she’s gone,” I screeched in a raspy voice.
“She’s not the only one,” De replied in a quiet tone.
“What!?” I screamed.
“Shush. Calm down.”
“Why’d you say that then?” I finally quieted down.
“Ty, I’m sorry,” he whimpered.
“Just get it out.”
“Ty. Jackson’s dead.”
“What?” I wanted to sprint outside again and jump. My body was way too weak, so I burst into tears. “How could he do this to me. Why? God, why? Two deaths in 1 month. Why me? Why us? What about the other kids? There are 7 billion other kids on the planet, Why me?” I cracked.  “Why me?”

I stayed in that disgusting hospital bed for the next 10 days. The food was terrible. The doctors don’t know squat. I want to get out of there so badly. All I did was think. Thinking about how Will is doing. Thinking about where my dad is (By the way he left when I was 5). I needed someone to comfort me. Finally, a doctor came in and said, “Ok Tyrone, you are ready to leave. Remember, keep that cast on for two more months.”
I yelped, “Yes!! Let’s go De.”
We rushed outside and went straight to the Downtown Diner; my favorite breakfast place. Before we arrived, I ran over to Will’s house to pick him up. I walked in. Dead. He was lying on the floor dead. I sprinted out. Legs swinging. Knees wobbling. Heart racing. Face burning. Eyes crying. I needed to put an end to these gangs.
This made me more than upset. I was angry. I stomped over to the police station. We were about to put an end to these gangs. I no longer wanted to be the rich old guy that was always high. I wanted to change my city. The plan. I made this plan when my mother died. Gangs were disgusting. I needed to save the city before the walls crumbled down. My plan was brilliant and all the officers loved it. It was happening in 30 min, and I couldn’t wait. Three deaths. Gangs caused me three deaths. There were about to be much more. I was not about to let my brother die too. My adrenaline was pumping. But, I wasn’t nervous. I was excited. Even if I die tonight, I know I’ll be doing it for my brothers. The ones who stayed with me while I was down. The ones who were always by my side. The ones who would die for me. The police and I were about to make the gangs pay. Pay for what they did for me. Pay for how they made me feel. They were about to feel the same way. I was ready. I walked into the amusement park and saw my mother. I knew she would be with me this whole time. I yelled out, “I love you, mom!” I raised my gun.