Page 73 of Mr. Calloway

“I’m still learning this sign language shit, but I need your help.”

He nodded. I then turned to Stutter Man. “I want to open a rink in Covana.”

He looked at his brother, and his hands began to move. I turned to Streets. “Nigga, what he say?”

“He said he’s listening.”

I nodded. “Alright. Yeah, I mean, you love this shit as much as I do, Stutter Man, and I think we should do it together. Think about it. Money gone be crazy, gang.”

I could see his wheels turning. Since he was going to be attending TSU in the fall, it only made sense, and I needed to keep my mind on things other than school.

Stutter Man’s head nodded. “I-I’m with i-i-i-it,” he said.

I damn near jumped up and down because the nigga sounded good. Right then, I knew he had been seeing a speech therapist or the pussy was making him talk straight. Either way, he was growing.

The girls came over as we all stood around, and the idea of what Mars said stood out. Could I be the next king of the Zoo? Was I fully capable of handling such a task as big as running a crew on my own and leading these niggas the same way Chev did? While everyone started to be all boo’d up, Mars and I stood on opposite sides of each other. They all looked at us.

“We broke up,” we said in unison.

It was as if jaws hit the floor, and the music that was loud as hell went silent.

Morgan pointed. “Wait, y’all for real!”

Scooter sat there with wide eyes. “Damn, so what now?”

I shrugged. “Ain’t shit changed. We’re still friends, and the gang remains the same.”

It was crazy how out of all of them, it was me who ended up like Preach. The only difference was Mars and I still had a solid friendship, which made things just a little easier—so I hoped.

Everyone went back to what they were doing while I made my way toward the restroom. I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I spun around to be greeted with a pretty face. I’d seen her before at TSU.

“Sup?”

I knew all my friends were staring, especially Mars.

The girl gave me a wide smile. “I’ve seen you here a few times and at school. Dio, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’m Heaven.” She smiled.

“A’ight.”

“You want to skate or what?”

I glanced over her shoulder to see Mars pull her eyes away. Even though I shouldn’t have felt bad for wanting to say yes, I did, but the reality was, I was still a muhfuckin’ Jackson. I chased Samara, begged for her, and even put a ring on it, and still, it wasn’t enough. Being in a relationship just wasn’t for me, and that was cool, but for now, I was going to have fun.

“Yeah, we can skate.”

She grabbed my hand and led the way.

Zaria

I tossed my phone in my hand as I debated whether to call my mother. I had been sitting on the idea for weeks, wondering if calling her was worth it, but knowing I hadn’t talked to Navi, I decided to bite the bullet. I needed peace knowing that she was at least still breathing.

I went to my mother’s number and hit call. The phone rang a few times before she picked up. “Zaria, you called,” she said softly.

“Uh, hey, ma.”