End of an Era
"Aye!, Niko wazz happin' my man?" said Donnie to me as I was getting my books out my locker. I couldn't help but notice that the big goombah didn't have his shoes tied, so I had to the knucklehead to tie them.
"Yo Donnie tie ya fuckin' shoes weez ain't in 1st grade anymores, we're 2nd graders now it's time to start actin' like it." I kindly said my friend
"Oh shit my bad Niko, anyways weez gotta job from the boss. Ummm lets talk about it outside." quietly said Donnie
We left outside to take a walk to discuss "politics" and yeah we where skippin' class.
"So we gotta get our cut from Frankie and deal with Jake, sounds simple enough." I said as walked back into the school.
"We'll get em' at recess." replied Donnie
"Over we will you big gaboosh." I said back
After some school stuff it was time for recess, we went over to the basketball court were Francis normally does his business. We had to push aside some of his regular clients in order to have a chat with him.
"Hey Niko and Donnie my buddies how's it going?" said the wise guy nervously
"Cut the shit Frank we ain't got time to waste. Give us our cut." I said to the hustler kid.
"Alright, alright just be cool" he pleaded as he handed over some money to us. It was about 7.00 dollars as I recall, but aye it could've been more or less then that. After we were done with that clown we went to the Jungle Gym to find our good acquaintance of ours, Officer Numbnuts aka Jeremy of the Safety Patrol. See now that King Bob is leaving and the position of king is going to be filled by the push-over Phillip we have expanded our "business" in the central playground and have settled in the large Jungle Gym, but Numbnuts has been a thorn in our side for awhile now. The Don has asked us to make him an offer that he simply can't refuse.
"Hey Jeremy we need to talk to ya." said Donnie very loudly
"What the hell do you troublemakers want?" he said very aggressively as he clenched his fist.
"Whoa whoa calm down there Jeremy...we're just here to talk." I said to try to calm him down. It seemed that Jeremy still carried a grudge ever since he recieved a wedgie from Donnie last year.
"What do you want with me?" asked Jeremy as he began to calm down.
"Alright the Don wants to make an offer to you...he wants you to retire from Safety Patrol and in exchange we'll pay you 50 dollars a week. " I explained to the goody to shoes.
"That's all of money." he said in a shocked voice. He stood there contemplating on his decision and after about five minutes he decided to take our offer. Later before recess finished we went to go see the Don. The Don Marlon aka Marlie was a sixth grader who by the end of the year was to leave his position as Don to go to a private middle school. His right-hand man and Donnie's older brother Vinnie is the most likely candidate to take up the position, one thing though Vinnie is a fucking snake. A 5th grader with no loyalty to his friends, a kiss ass who would rather sell one of out in order to save his own ass, but unforunately he was next in line. Donnie and I walked into our hide out, an old rusty jungle gym at the eastern side of the playground near thoughs damn savage kindergarteners. There we were greated by the Family. Isabelle(my girl) a four grader, Tony a 5th grader, Roman a big ass 4th grader, and of course douche-nozzle Vinnie. They told me that the Don wanted to speak to me in confidential so Donnie waited outside with our family.
"Good afternoon sir" I greeted him with confidence
"A very good afternoon to you as well Nikolaus" he replied back as he sat in his rolley-chair looking out towards the neighborhood outside the school's fences. He stared for a few more minutes until he finally turned towards me.
"Listen here Nikolaus as you know I'm leaving this school... and I need to name a successor to head this family. And now on this first day of my finally week here at 3rd Street Elementary School I'm naming you as the next don of the Falcone Family." he said as stared back out the to the neighborhood as I stood there speechless in disbelief at the annoucement he made.
"Most of you thought I was going to choose Vinnie to head this family and although he is a very good friend of mine, he's just too selfish to understand what loyalty means. So starting next week you'll be the known as Don Nikolaus Falcone. Understood?" he asked
"Yes sir I'm truly honored." I replied
"There are some request I'd like to ask of you Nikolaus." he replied
"Yes sir?" I asked
"I want you to run this family with as much care as I did. Make sure you treat the family and Vinnie right. I built an unseen empire here I'd like for it to keep on living when I'm gone. Be sure to keep the family safe and also treat our payroll subordinates with respect so our partnerships with them can stay strong. Keep an eye on Detweiler and his crew there influence on the playground has been growing stronger, they could become an important ally or enemy. But most of all keep our legacy alive." he ordered
"Yes sir I will" I replied
"Good go tell everyone the news, I'll deal with Vinnie." he commanded
"Yes sir" I replied
I walked out of the Don's room and stared at my family with pride and a sense of responsibility. They just simply stared at me waiting for me to say something. Finally I spoke up.
"As an offical decree by Don Marlon Falcone...starting next week I Nikolaus J. Russo will be the new head of the Falcone family." I annouced which was met with suspenseful silence until finally it was broken by the sound of Donnie clapping, right after everyone else expect for Vinnie began to clap. Vinnie rushed towards the Don's room while Isabelle ran into my arms with excitement. This was the end of the 3rd Street Elementary School's Shadow era and the beginning of it's Power Era and for the next three years it became a mix of heaven and hell for the kids of this school.
