This is the longest chapter yet. I hope people like it. I was thinking of adding more to it, but I feel as though this is enough. I would really like some feedback on this.
PS. For the people who keep asking about Cindy, I am planning to have her in this story I just haven't thought of a good way to introduce her yet.
Chapter 7
Tom and the Freeman family arrived at the hill and saw that Jazmine's protest had already become the centre of the media. There were several different news crews reporting the event as it unfolded, as well as helicopters circling the area from above. The police had put barricades a yard around the tree to keep people back. The police appeared well armed with assault rifles, riot shields and tear gas at the ready.
There were also other protestors on the scene showing support for Jazmine. They mostly consisted of hippies who were either singing songs in a drum circle or selling marijuana. There were even vendors selling various merchandise, including t-shirts, hats and bobble head dolls of Jazmine.
"Huh well this escalated quickly" commented Michael. "So what exactly is your plan?" he asked Huey.
"We have to find a way to keep Wuncler from cutting the tree" Huey said. "We need to get a court to overturn the decision to destroy this area"
"I know judge who might be willing to help" said Tom. "I could give him a call"
Tom took out his phone and dialled a number, well the rest of the group walked on.
They soon spotted Ed Wuncler Sr with his construction crew. He was busy talking to the chief of police about what to do about Jamzine. Wuncler paused for a moment when he noticed Huey approach him.
"Well if isn't Huey Freeman" said Wuncler, without any hostility. "Maybe you can sort this mess out for me"
"I came here to talk with Jazmine" Huey said.
"Well, be my guest. The sooner you talk her down the sooner I can start building my new helicopter pad. I was going to put it out in my back yard, but it would clash with some my statues"
"So you're gonna renovate an area located in an urban suburb, just for something extremely extravagate and unnecessary, that benefits no one who lives here and that you will only use on rare occasions?"
"….Yes" replied Wuncler.
Huey gave him a cold look before walking past the barricades up to Jazmine, who was sitting on a thick branch.
"Hi Huey" she greeted cheerfully.
"Jazmine what are you doing?" he asked wearily.
"I'm protecting the tree. I saw this in a documentary. They can't cut down a tree if someone stays in it"
"The people who do that have to spend days or weeks in the tree before any kind of compromise can be met"
"Well I brought my blanket and some sandwiches, so I guess I could stay for a while" she said with a smile.
"Jazmine this is stupid. It's just one tree. You can't save it, so just come down"
"If I do that" she said with a little more firmness, "then I definitely won't save the tree"
"This isn't going to work" he repeated. "Come down"
"No!" She then crossed her arms and turned her head on him. Huey gave her an angry sigh and walked back passed the barricades.
"Trouble in paradise?" asked Michael, when Huey reached them.
"Shut up" said Huey in an undertone.
"Man you let her walk all over you" said Riley. "You gots to get a pimp hand on that girl"
"Okay so just spoke with the judge" said Tom, entering the scene.
"And?" asked Huey.
"He says he's willing to overturn the construction of the helicopter pad if we bring him two hundred signatures"
"Okay" said Huey. "We'll have to organise ourselves back at the house."
"I've marked several key areas around town for each of us to work in. We'll all split up and meet back here after six. We can get this done quickly if you all follow these routes exactly as I've given you. You got it?"
Granddad, Riley, Michael and Tom were all in the living room, each with a clipboard, listening to Huey's plan. "Alright" they said in unison.
"Excuse me miss, but would you mind to giving me your signature?" asked Granddad.
"My signature?" repeated the scantily dressed woman
"Yeah just write your name down on this piece of paper. See it's to save a tree"
"How much you got?" asked the woman.
"What?"
"I said how much dough you got? "
"Uh about twenty dollars"
"Mm, sorry but its twenty five if it's to save a tree"
"Wait a minute. You're charging me just for a signature?" said Granddad.
"Yeah it's right here in my price book". The woman pulled out a small note book and began to flip through it. "A signature to save a tree: twenty five. A signature to help the blind: thirty five. A signature to raise awareness of women's right: two hundred.
"You can't charge me just to get you to write your name!" said Granddad in anger.
"Sorry but these days a hoe cant so much as breath for a man unless that man is paying them"
"Well is there anything you can do for me that's free?"
The hoe quickly pulled out a small cylinder from her purse and held up to Granddad's face. For a split second Granddad just blinked in confusion until she pressed the handle and sprayed him in the face. Granddad cried out in pay as his eyes burned up and fell to the ground. The hoe put away her mace and walked on to another client.
"Yo come on man just sign yo name!" said Riley.
"I don't know" replied the young man on his bike. "I don't want to support eco terrorism"
"But you do want to support the economy don't ya?"
"I thought this was about saving a tree?"
"Yeah well what about this man?" said Riley with a smile. "The economy runs on people's money. Money is made of paper. And paper comes from trees. So that means money grows on trees. Why do think people want to save trees so bad? Its cos they know that they can get rich by growing money off of trees. If we save just this one tree, we get back at least a thousand dollars easy"
"Mm you know you right. I think I will sign"
"Yo first things first man". Riley held out his hand to the young man. "You gots to pay be upfront"
"I thought you wanted signatures?"
"We do, but first you gots to give us some money as an investment. Then when we save this tree you get back at least twice as much as you spend"
"Okay". The young man took out his wallet and gave Riley ten dollars. Riley's grin widen as he soon realised an opportunity. He spotted a woman in a fur coat walking by and ran over to stop her.
"Excuse me miss, but how would you like to become a millionaire?"
"Sir please" said Michael, while holding out a clipboard and pen. "Saving even one tree can make a huge difference in the world. It can bring us one step closer to a more stable future"
"I said fuck off" the uncouth man at the door reiterated.
"Surely you can't ignore the plight of both a tree and a helpless little girl?
"Fuck. Off".
"All you need to do is write your name down" he said in frustration. "You don't even have to take any initiative yourself"
"Okay fine" said the man. He took the clip board and pen from Michael and began to write. Michael gave him a small smile of approval as he returned the clipboard. His smile quickly faded when he saw what the man had written. It appeared to be a very crude drawing of a penis beside an ear.
"That's not a signature" Michael said with a thin air of anger.
"It's a suggestion" replied the man with a smile. "So why don't you pick one of those, find the guy with the other one and fuck away his time". The man then slammed his door shut with a ringing bang.
Michael stared straight ahead at the closed door and slowly narrowed his eyes.
The fire brigade arrived half an hour later and found the man who owned the house lying on his lawn in a Fidel passion, as his entire home had been set ablaze. He kept rocking himself back and forward in despair, illuminated by the flames. The man only stopped when he saw Michael walk up to him, holding out the clipboard and pen once again.
"Okay I got about thirty two signatures. How did the rest of you do?" Huey stood in the living room with the others, waiting to hear the results of their survey. Everybody avoided eye contact and looked very apprehensive.
"You didn't get any signatures?" asked Huey.
"I only could get seventeen" said Tom in disappointment.
"I didn't get any. The only thing I got was a lot of mace in the face" moaned Granddad, his eyes still red.
"I got ten" said Michael. "I also burned twelve houses down"
"Man you all suck" said Riley. "I got at least two hundred green"
"Riley we're were supposed to get signatures. Not money" said Huey.
"Hey I got some signatures. Got them right here on these cheques". Riley pulled out nearly a dozen cheques written for different amounts.
"You didn't follow the routes I gave you"
"Real niggas don't follow instructions"
"I followed them" said Tom.
"Me too" Michael added.
"See?" Riley said smugly, if proving a point. Huey once sighed. This would take a while.
After nearly two days and a lot more mishaps, they finally managed to get almost all the signatures they needed.
"Okay so we just need two more" said Huey.
"Well you can go out and get those yourself" replied Granddad. "I aint getting maced again"
"Me too" said Riley. "I already got enough for my new chain"
"Is there anyone we know that hasn't given us a signature yet?" Huey asked Tom.
"I don't think so. I mean I asked everyone at work, you asked everyone at school. Everyone here gave one"
Granddad and Riley shared a quick glance and looked as though there was something they didn't want to say. Huey gave them an annoyed stare when he realised what they had done.
"You two didn't give a signature did you?"
"We're we….suppose to?" asked Granddad apprehensively.
"Yes"
"Oh. Well uh….whoops"
"Just sign your names". Huey handed the clipboard over to Granddad, who wrote his name and then passed it on to Riley. With that they now had all the signatures they needed. After double checking them, Tom took all the papers and went to deliver them to the judge.
Huey sat outside of the house with Michael for nearly an hour, waiting for Tom to arrive. The sky was surprisingly clear, just as the weather reports predicted.
"So you think this going to work?" asked Michael
"It might" said Huey.
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then Jasmine will just have to come down on her own"
"What if she doesn't?"
"Then I don't know"
"What will you do then?"
"I don't know. Nothing"
"You'll defiantly do something, if it's for her anyway"
Huey remained silent at Michael's comment and just continued to watch the road. He finally could see Tom pull up to the sidewalk and step out of his car.
"Well?" asked Huey when he ran up to him.
"The judge changed his mind" replied Tom sadly. "He says he won't do anything now"
"Was he wearing a fur coat?" asked Huey.
"Um yeah"
"Did have a new car?"
"Yeah"
"Did it have a Jacuzzi for a trunk with two white women in it?"
"Yes" said Tom in amazement.
"I guess Wuncler got to him first"
"Well now what?"
"There's else we can do" stated Huey. "We'll just to wait until Jamzine gives up"
Later that evening Huey sat alone his bedroom trying to read, but for some reason he couldn't get Jazimne off his mind. He kept hoping that maybe there was a way to help her, but he just couldn't see it. He was finally brought of his thoughts when he noticed something out of the window.
"Oh no." He could see a huge black cloud gathering on the horizon, with thunder beginning to rumbling. Huey quickly grabbed his coat from his closet and then ran down to the garage to pick up a large tarp. He folded it into a small bundle and then grabbed some rope.
As soon as the rain started just about everybody at the protest went home. The construction crew, the SWAT teams, the news crew and even Jazmine's so called supporters. Apparently their interest in this event wasn't worth getting wet. The only person left was Jazmine who was huddle inside the tree with her blanket over her head, trying as she may to keep dry. Her eyes were closed in fear of the flashing lighting. She only opened them when she saw Huey run up the hill in pouring rain, carrying the rolled up tarp.
When he reached the tree, he climbed up next to Jazmine and unfolded the tarp. It now flapped furiously in the wind, as Huey tied one corner of it to a branch above their heads. He tied the next corner to another branch at the same height. He then tied the bottom of the tarp to the branch they were sitting on; making a makeshift tent that shielded them from the rain.
Once they were safe from the rain, Huey took off his jacket and handed it to Jazmine, as her blanket had become soaked.
"Thanks" said Jazmine weakly.
"Okay look Jazmine" Huey began. "This has gone far enough. You did the best you could, but this isn't going to work. No one will think less of you for quitting now"
"No" she repeated.
Huey let at a long sigh. He was beginning to get sick of this argument. "Why does this matter so much to you. Is this really worth drowning or getting hit by lighting?"
"I can't quit. Not now" she said. "Even if things get hard, you should keep going"
"And why do you think that?"
"Well…that's what you do"
"What?"
"You always try to help everyone, but they never listen to you. And it doesn't what people say about you, you still do it. You're different from everybody else"
"You shouldn't try to be like me" he said.
"Why?"
"It's not smart or healthy to just imitate someone else and do what they would do. You have to be your own person and do what you want to do"
"And I want to save this tree. I really do. I even turned down Mr Wuncler's pony" she said.
"He offered you a pony?"
"Yeah. He said he would it to me plus my own stable to keep him in, but I said no"
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't know. I mean I'd love a pony, but I just thought…. that staying in the tree was the right thing to do. I don't care if I have to stay in this tree forever. I really, really want to save it"
Huey just looked at her innocent face and to his surprise, he couldn't help but feel impressed with her resolve. Up till now he thought that she didn't know what she doing, but now he could see she was really willing to see this thing through. For a minute there was silence except for the pouring rain and wind. Suddenly there was a flash of lighting followed by some thunder. Jazmine let out a small squeak in fright.
"How about you go home for the night and I'll stay in the tree" said Huey, after the thunder had passed
"N-No. I'm fine" she replied with shiver.
"Then how about I stay here with you tonight? Till the rains over"
"Okay" she said, still shaking. Huey moved up sit beside her with his back on the trunk of the tree. Jazmine quietly edged herself closer to him. There was once again silence, except for the wind blowing on the tarp and the rumble of the thunder. It didn't seem as though the storm was going to let up.
"Oh this is awful" cried Tom as he watched as the lighting was flashing outside. He was standing in front the window in the Freeman house with Sarah and the rest of the family. "Our baby is going to catch her death out it that!"
"This is all Huey's fault" said Granddad from his chair. "He is nothing but a bad influence on that sweet little girl"
"Well that's something we can agree upon Robert"
Everyone turned around in surprise to see none other than Uncle Ruckus enter the living room.
"Ruckus!" said Granddad in shock. "I thought you died on Deadliest Catch"
"Well that's a very interesting story. You see I was tragically shipwrecked on a deserted island with nothing but sandy beaches, pam trees and big round coconuts to drink. I was all alone, save for myself and for white Jesus who I knew would send help for me. Unfortunately when I managed to flag down a rescue boat, it were full of Mexicans. No way I was getting on that boat, filled with them salsa hat dancing and disgusting paper tacos. So I remained were I was hoping for another rescue boat to come by. It did but this one was full of yellow niggas. I waited again, but the next time it were filled with Saudi Arabia bombers. The good lord finally answered my prays by sending the white man to save me. As it turned out the island I was on wasn't deserted. There was a beach condo just on the other side, run by the glorious white man. I got to relax there for a while and then I finally made my way back home"
"I wish you had died" stated Michael.
"That's when I head bout Mr Wuncler's plan to cut down that oak tree" continued Ruckus. "I tell you I sure do love and respect Mr Wuncler, but can't stand by and watch this injustice go on"
"Wow thank you Ruckus" said Tom warmly. "I didn't realise you cared so much about Jazmine"
"I aint talkin bout your half monkey daughter. Im talking about Russ Curtis, the greatest white man to ever live, cept for Ronald Regan of course"
"Russ Curtis?" Granddad repeated.
"You never heard of Russ Curtis? Oh lord he was great man. A great man of the law. A man who hunted down and lynched over a hundred niggas. He lived back the good old 1800s. No nigga could ever escape from his all-seeing, eagle eyed vision. He could shoot so fast he could hit a fly from a mile away. Hell he could even shoot a bullet mid-air, not that niggas knew how to use guns back then thank god. He had the strength of ten men or about two hundred niggas. However one day he was framed for a crime he didn't commit and rather than been lynched like the common negro, he took his own life right up at that there tree"
There was a moment of awkward silence in the room.
"Buuuuullllllllll" cried Riley
"Actually it's true" said Michael, who was now Huey's laptop.
"What?" exclaimed Granddad.
"It says here Russ Curtis was a bounty hunter. He killed about a hundred black men, but he also killed at least two hundred white men"
"Those were probably niggas in disguise" said Ruckus.
"It also says that he murdered a man for stealing his drink. He was sentenced by a mob to be executed right at that tree. Just before he was hung, he admitted to also being a serial rapist and cannibal. He to this day regarded as one of the deadliest man to ever walk the face of the earth"
"Robert what's wrong with you?" demanded Ruckus. "Letting poor Michael look up a load of bullshit on that there internet! Such a disgrace"
"Wow" said Tom. "I didn't know that tree had such a dark history"
"Yes" said Michael. "But it's a history none the less"
Huey slowly opened his eyes as light was shining in on him. When they were fully opened, he could see that the storm was finally over and the sun must have been out. He suddenly felt a weight on top of him. He looked down to see Jazmine was still asleep and was resting her head on his right shoulder. He looked at her in surprise and then tried to gently lift her off. However when he pushed her, he felt a tug on his arm. He then saw that she had put both her arms around his. He was once again caught off guard and was about to lift her off when somebody lifted the tarp up.
"Uh nigga you gay"
Once his eyes had adjusted, Huey could see Michael holding up the tarp with Riley standing behind him. Michael extended his hand back and smacked Riley in the back of the head.
"Owww!"
"Shut up Riley" said Michael. He turned back around to face Huey. "Hope we're not interrupting something, but I have good news and bad news"
"What's the good news" Huey asked.
"The good news is, we found a way to save the tree"
"And the bad news?"
"It came from Ruckus"
Later that day we informed the city council about Russ Curtis. After some deliberation they decided that due to his horrific and murderous reputation, the site where he was hanged had enough historical significance that it was worth persevering. They even agreed to place a small plaque underneath the tree so that people would always know that this was the place where one of the most evil men to ever lived, had met his end.
Jazmine finally came down from the tree and was not the least bit disheartened by the fact that the only reason this tree will keep standing is because some guy had killed hundreds of innocent people.
Huey, Jazmine and Michael all stood in front of the tree looking down at the memorial plaque that detailed the life and death of Russ Curtis. Huey felt nothing but a deep sense of disgust from the sight of it.
"They actually thought it was a good idea to leave this here as reminder of this man's presence" he said in contempt.
Michael bent down and picked up a large stone beside the tree. He dropped straight down the plaque, making it practically invisible.
"Problem solved" he said. He brushed his hands off and then left.
Huey walked away from the tree and looked out over Woodcrest. Jazmine walked up beside him.
"Are you sad?" she asked.
"No, but from now on whenever I come here, I won't be able to think of any except for what that man did"
"Well I can think of something that I'll always think about when I come here"
"What?" he asked.
"The time you stayed with me all night during the big storm. I can think about that and it'll make me happy whenever I come here"
Huey turned his head to the side and gave her a blank stare. "Good for you" he said before turning back around. Jazmine in turn gave him a warm smile.
And the she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
Huey wasn't entirely sure how to react, but he could feel his cheek become redder. Before he could say anything Jazmine walked down the hill leaving him alone. He watched her go and as soon as he was sure that she was gone he did something he rarely did. He smiled.
