Page 71 of Stay Dangerous

Tryouts

Rico, age 17

Mychestwasaching,but I wasn’t stopping. I just kept pumping my arms and legs, running as fast as I could with a heavy ass backpack full of shit no minor should have.

I shouldn’t have even been running. A cop could have picked us up, and we fasho would have been going to adult jail.

But Peanut man. That muthafucka Peanut. He thought of everything.

Including having Shad hack into the Kenton Police Department and infecting their entire network with malware.

It was day two of mayhem all around the city. Which coincided with Labor Day weekend, a long weekend.

And the Tryouts that Peanut had been planning all fucking year.

Tryouts into that dumb ass secret club he, Set, Shad, and Turkey were in. Opening it up to every high schooler in South Kenton, somehow getting flyers posted online and in person.

Fifty niggas showed up to the Birch courts the afternoon before, most of them from our neighborhood. Once he explained niggas would likely die, half of them left right then. Four left after Peanut took pictures of us, in case we came up missing, leaving twenty-one niggas dumb enough to entertain Peanut.

By the next morning, only fourteen niggas made it back to the community center. Most of us were bloodied. Shad was clutching his stomach like the baby he was, while Sean couldn’t stop shaking.

So it was day two. And we were onto our next task. KPD had issued mandatory curfews, but no one was listening.

The city was lawless. And by the way Peanut was cackling as we ran out of Filipino Town, I figured that was just what he wanted.

“There it is!” he yelled, and pointed at some stairs leading to the underground metro station.

We booked it across the street, damn near flying and we jumped down the stairs. I couldn’t focus on the group of Manila Boys who were gunning for us, ready to split our heads open.

I mean, we did steal something important from them, but still.

We made it to the train, going through the cars until we got to the front.

We only sat down when it pulled off, and only then did I let myself take a full fucking breath.

“Nigga… you’re… a nut,” I pushed out.

Peanut folded his fingers on top of his head, smushing his wild ass hair. He pushed out a laugh before wiping his head with his shirt.

“And you looney, on Baby. Where should we get off?”

“This the blue line, so Proctor and Zelkova. It’s an arcade we can stop at, and we can call someone to come get us, unless yo ass gotanothertest up yo sleeve.”

I arched my brow at my Ace, but he just waved me off. “Nah. Shad’s virus only lasted until six, so one time prolly up and at ‘em. Besides, I plan on drilling whoever survives anyway, so fuck it.”

“You a wild one. Do Turkey’s Granddad know you bringing his tests to life?”

Peanut shrugged, before he grinned. “He not dumb, and he knows Turkey gon’ be straight, just like I know all my day ones gon’ be straight. The wild cards are the stragglers wanting to be down with P-Nutty.”

I shook my head and leaned back in that hard ass seat. “When we get to the arcade, we can see where everybody at.”

“Fasho.”

Thirty minutes later, we were seated in the corner of the arcade with some chips.

The arcade itself was closed, for the curfew, but I’d fucked with one of the managers, so I knew how to get inside the backdoor.

We were huddled in the booth, praying the cameras were for show, grateful we had somewhere semi safe to regroup.