Chapter One: Cabe

I had band practice, on a Sunday, and I was walking back home from the Brooklyn Arts, and Science High School with only two things on my mind, my terrible fourth position vibrato in New World Symphony, and Van Halen's album release tomorrow. I wish I had hair like David Lee Roth or Eddie Van Halen, but my hair is jet black, and there's nothing I can do to change it. I also have deep blues eye that my friends are all jealous of. Mick said that I could get any girl just by looking them in the eye, and smiling. I don't see what the big deal is about them, they're just eyes, and their mine.

Ohh how I should've asked Mick to walk me home. In my neighborhood you need to be a part of a gang in order to get from one place to the other safely, and you needed to walk home with someone. The last time I forgot to ask Mick, or Lenny to walk me home I was lucky that my timing was perfect, and the Whitebacks were not around in our part of the hood. Now I just had to pray to God that they would not come around here, before I got to Mick.

I really should've gone to church today, maybe if I did God would bail me out.

As I walked down the street, I noticed a dark red convertible Porsche.

Ohh, dear God, it's the Whitebacks.

I had to hide, it was just a question of how. I couldn't hide behind my cello, they would attack me just for that, even if I wasn't a Snake.

They noticed me, and stopped the car a good five feet away from me, got out, and locked it up, which was really stupid since the roof was down, and it's January.

"Hey, take a look at this, a snake with a cello. Ha, I'll be damned if that's not the funniest thing that I've ever seen."The main Whiteback of that small group said as his buddies stood by, and laughed.

I just stood there, and tried to intimidate them, but there are three of them, and I'm only fourteen plus, I'm not the tallest fourteen year old boy in the world, and I don't have the biggest build either.

He then smiled, an evil grin, and tried to snatch my cello.

As soon as he tried to lay his hand on it, I did what Mick had taught me to do, and gave him a palm-heel to the nose, and kneed him in the groin.

He nearly fell to the ground in pain, but instead toppled over, and stumbled back towards his buddies. He put his hand on his nose, and when he brought it back to see if there was blood on it, his hand was nearly covered in it.

I put my left fist up by my face, and my right foot back, and reached into my back pocket, grabbed my switch blade, and opened it.

"Damn, you mean business kid."He said with pain written all over his voice as he was hunched over, and had one of his hands on his nose to catch the blood, and the other over his groin.

"I think we should leave."One of his buddies said.

"No, I have to get him, he's young, and small, were older, and bigger."The head Whiteback said.

Then he stood up, and went to give me a hook punch when I blocked it with my left hand, and grabbed the back of his neck, and put my switch over his throat.

"I told you we should've left."That guy said.

"Would you not just stand around, and help me you dumb fuckheads!"He yelled.

The other one tried to punch me in the face when I blocked it, and countered with a few kicks to the stomach, and ribs. He backed off, and the guy who told him not fight me tried to punch me in the gut when I blocked it, and kicked him in the groin, and ribs.

"See, I told you, not to, fight him."He said in a weak voice, as he hunched over, and the other guy got sick.

"Now, will you mess with me fuckhead?"I asked the Whiteback I had in my grip.

"Maybe you dumb ass son of a bitc…"He began when I made a small cut with my switch on the skin above his throat.

I didn't get it far enough beneath the skin to kill him, but enough to scare him, and get him to bleed.

He looked at the blood on my switch with a scared look in his eyes.

"I can go deeper if you want."I told him with an evil grin on my face.

I guess Mick, and Jay had trained me enough, I did know how to fight.

"Okay, okay, okay, you win."He said then I let him out my grip.

He stood up, and put his hand on the cut above his throat, and he took it off to look at it he saw the decent amount of blood on his hand. He looked back at me with an evil look in his eyes.

"Next time, I'll bring my gun."He said then I paused in my tracks for just a second, but he didn't notice.

I should really go to church next Sunday. I watched them drive away, and I picked up my backpack.

I couldn't believe that through that whole ordeal that I had kept my cello on my back.

As I walked around the corner onto my street, I saw Mick waiting there for me.

Mick was about seven years older than me, he was twenty-one, if you don't feel like doing math, but he could pass for twenty-five. He was pretty tall, he had silky brown hair that was long on the top, and short on the sides, and back, just likely everybody else in my gang. He combed it back on the top, and gelled it. He had dark brown eyes, that could tell the story of his life in a just a galre. He always had his leather jacket on, or his leather vest, and a sometimes a button down shirt, but other times, he didn't, but his golden snake necklace was always on.

Everybody in our gang had a snake necklace, some of them were golden, other's were silver, and some of us even had snake pins that we would pin to the collar of our jackets, or to our shirts.

I had a silver necklace, and a pin on my jacket.

When I saw him as I turned around the corner, his arms were crossed, and he had an angry look in his eyes.

I knew that I was in for a lecture.

"You should've told me that you had band rehearsal today."Mick told me in a deep tone that made me jump out of my skin.

I shrugged my shoulders, and grinned like a helpless child who was hearing about something from his mom.

"Sorry, I forgot about it until it was about fifteen minutes 'til I had to be there."I explained as Mick sighed, and put his hand over his mouth, and nodded his head.

Sometimes Mick could be more of a father to me than a friend, or the guy I looked up to as my "older brother figure".

"Next time, be sure to tell me Cabe, I don't wanna see ya get hurt by a Whiteback."He told me.

As soon as I heard him say "hurt by a Whiteback" I grinned.

"What's that smile for kid?"He asked.

"Ohh, some Whitebacks tried to attack me, but I kicked their asses."I told him with an even bigger grin.

"Are you makein' up some shit 'cause I don't believe it."Mick said with a slight grin.

I reached into my back pocket, and took out my switch that had the main Whiteback guy's blood on it.

"Whoa, Cabe, you did this?"He asked in disbelief.

"You shoulda seen the other guys. Man, one of them was sayin' for him to back off, but he wouldn't so I kicked that fuckhead's ass."I told him

He shook his head, and smiled.

"Let's show this to the other guys, maybe I can get Lenny to steal you some new headphones."Mick said as he put his hand on my back, and we walked over to our gang's hangout.