5th and Lincoln

Kevin gets shot!!! 5th and Lincoln the same street he rolled his first dice. With a friend, or so he thought. He was just a kid, a normal average ordinary kid. He had a baby sister and a mom that was it. His father was mostly always deployed. Two women he had to watch over, the thing is he wasn’t old enough to take care of his mom and really didn’t know how to take care of his sister, and didn’t even want to with the constant disrespect he gets from her.
***
The main reason he didn’t know how to take care of them because his father was never around. All he knew was to get by, never let anyone see you cry and never say die. His biggest role model was himself. He knows it doesn’t make sense to anyone else but it did to him.
He was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. He never knew how to be “A MAN”. His mom failed at attempts to find him a mentor from the church. He never paid much attention to them because they always pretended they never were a kid.





***
One day Kevin is walking to school on a particularly warm day. The sun was shining even though Kevin couldn’t feel it because he was too cold on the inside. A kid yells at him “Buenos Dias”, clearly mocking his heritage. “Ugh I hate when people do that.” Kevin said to himself. He would always get called nasty names in Spanish because those are the only words the black kids knew in Spanish since the school couldn’t afford a Spanish class. One day he is just going to end it. He is going to pull that trigger, he’s going to go down the road not across the street, or maybe leave the car on in the garage. Yeah that’s it quick and painless.






***
He came home from a long day at school and witnessed his mother crying looking at a photograph, and reading a letter. There wasn’t sound coming out of her mouth just a blank expression. The life in her was depleted. He didn’t know why she was crying or what the letter had said he just knew he had to cheer his mother up. He’s not good at cheering people up, and it didn’t help that he didn’t know the reason for the salty smelling tears upon his mother’s red and yellow face. His sister obviously didn’t know what was wrong either, she was just crying with his mother consistently asking what was wrong. His mother, after reading the letter folds her arms and lets out screech of a thousand banshees. He started to tear up. He thought, “Yet another time he couldn’t take care of his family like he is supposed to”. He never knew how to cheer up someone who was crying. He was in tears trying to stay strong remembering an important part of everything he knew, “never let anyone see you cry”. He was trying to be a man but the feelings were too strong. He finally asks what was wrong with his mom, she hands him the letter and a picture, and it read.
Dear, Mrs. barbosa
Regretful news that your husband, 1st sergeant barbosa was killed in action this has been delivered to you by the secretary of war. The purpose of delivering this message is to express my deep sympathy for your loss (…)






***
He was not in the mood the next day he felt so confused and angry. He knows he didn’t really know his father, and his father was never around. How could a man he never knew make his mom cry? He was deeply confused he could care less about his father but the damage it caused to his mom was irreversible. How could someone that was never around make such a big effect? Even though it was his father how could Kevin not care. Seeing his mom like that, eyes filled with tears, but on the other hand shouldn’t he be sad? It was his own father how could he not be?






***
He walked to school that morning like usual just more indignantly. On his way to school he crosses a bully, on a cracked broken down sidewalk. This bully has been beating on him since the third grade; he hated this kid; the kid who was responsible for most of his suicidal thoughts. He had the dark brown eyes that spoke evil. Jason James. He was a black kid that was a little bigger than Kevin. He was gang affiliated with really gruesome cousins and a huge tattoo despite his young age. He just didn’t care he kept walking, they were going opposite directions moving towards each other. Kevin shoulder bumps Jason because he was not moving out of Jason’s way, not this time! “Watch where you’re going”! Jason says. “No you watch where you goin’!” Kevin screams back at Jason only to receive a shove to the ground. Jason thinking Kevin is going to just walk away like usual receives a punch right to the temple. The punch knocks Jason right to the ground. Kevin, proud of himself walks off.






***
A few days later after everyone hearing the news he was proud of himself after standing up to his bully. He wouldn’t have to get hurt and beat up every day. After a great day of school Kevin, not seeing Jason all day was feeling relieved. Walking out at 3:30. He started his original route home then notices a red Acura driving slowly but faster than he was walking creeping up. When the car gets next to him matching his speed the windows slowly rolled down, a group of black kids with red bandanas are in the car, he sees dark brown eyes that spoke evil. He then pulls a .45 out of his pocket and aims it directly at Kevin.






***
Kevin was just another kid from the ghetto. A kid with no father, just a mother. Could his life have been worst? Sure. Who would miss him? His mom? His sister? To the kids in school, he was just another kid that probably dropped out and starts selling. To Jason he was just another tattooed tear on his face. Who was to care at all? He wasn’t close to anyone except his mother and sister.