“Yeah,” Koric agreed, eyes never leaving the kid. After a few seconds of a menacing stare down, he gestured toward the building.
“Look, Koric, I’m well aware that you have these young boys out here marching to the beat of your drum, but when it comes to KJ, he has rules, and I have standards,” I expressed once we separated from the group. “I don’t want my son out on the block getting involved in shit he knows nothing about. I don’t understand why I gotta tell you that as his uncle.”
“You ain’t gotta tell me that though, Thyri. I don’t involve KJ in shit I got going on. You came out here late cause you wanted to. He wit’ his people. You know we ain’t gon’ let shit happen to him. You be stressin’ over shit that ain’t that deep.”
“Ain’t that deep?” I repeated. “No, everything is that deep when it comes to my child. And the fact that it’s after two in the morning and I’m standing in front of the projects going back-and-forth witchu makes it deep as fuck. Call my son downstairs so I can go please.”
“Aight, Thyri. I’m not ‘bout to be out here arguing with my brother’s wife. Lemme call up there.”
“Yeah. You do that. And I’m not your brother’s wife.”
“Yeah, well, tell that nigga that,” he countered before placing a call to whoever on his phone.
A few minutes later, KJ suddenly appeared with his bookbag on his back, rubbing his tired eyes. His face fell when he saw me. He already knew what time it was.
“Ma…”
“The car,” I said, turning away from him and walking back down the steps. I wanted to say so much more, but I wasn’t a fan of embarrassing my child – no matter how bad I wanted to go across his shit.
I could hear him and Koric exchange goodbyes before he followed me to the curb. As I reached the driver’s side, I caught him trying to hop in the backseat.
“Nah.” I stopped him. “Get yo ass right in the front. You did the crime, now you gon’ hear my mouth thee whole way home.”
With a look full of disdain, he pulled the passenger door open and plopped down in the seat. Seeing the look on his face, I warned him before he closed the door.
“If you slam my door, you gon’ have an even bigger problem than you have now. Close it the fuck soft,” I warned through clenched teeth, mimicking the social media influencer, Supa Cent. Had the situation not been serious, I would’ve cracked up laughing at myself.
Taking heed to my warning, he did just that. Snapping his seatbelt, he turned to the window, as I sped off from the curb.
“Ma,” he called out after the couple minutes of silence I let him stew in.
“KJ,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the road.
“I’m so…”
“No,” I cut him off, “you don’t get toI’m sorryyour way out of this one. Tonight, you played yourself. I give you a chance to prove to me that you can be responsible, and you just showed me the reason I gotta stay on yo’ ass. It ain’t no way you got me out my bed at this time to come and look for you!”
“I ain’t even do nuffin’,” he muttered.
“You right. You ain’t do nuffin’,” I repeated the same way he had. “You ain’t do nuffin’ I told yo’ ass to do.”
“Ma, I was chillin’. We played basketball for a few then went upstairs to play the game. I ate and fell asleep. At some point, my phone died, and I didn’t realize it. You can ask Uncle Koric.”
“I’m not asking Koric shit. I’m not responsible for Koric. Koric don’t live under my roof. KJ does. Koric don’t have to follow my rules. KJ does. And what is the number one rule when you’re out, Kaleb Maurice Smith?”
“Don’t let my phone die,” he grumbled.
“And your phone is currently what?”
“Dead.”
“Exactly. Hence the reason we’re here.”
Slouching deeper into his seat, he sucked his teeth. “I told you I fell asleep when the phone died.”
Slamming on the brakes at a red light, I reached over and grabbed a fistful of his coat. “First of all, you ain’ttellin’me shit. Watch your tone and posture when you talkin’ to me, KJ. Don’t let me being an understanding mother fool you. We can box.”
“Aight, Ma. My bad.”
