Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with The Boondocks, though I read every comic strip and watched every cartoon.

The characters in this story are mainly based on the comic strip except for Cindy, who plays basketball in the same league as Riley. My biggest gripe about the comic strip is how Cindy was written out soon after Caesar debuted, and my biggest gripe about the cartoon is how Caesar never appeared. They and Jazmine will appear in the second part.

Riley Freeman had frequently acted without thinking. But Riley had never performed an act anything like the one he did the previous day. An act that everyone, including Riley, thought was completely out of character for him and would never try, but nevertheless had indeed occurred. And now his lifelong plan to become a notorious gangster thug to be feared by everyone had been utterly destroyed.

For the past year Riley had done an outstanding job at establishing his reputation. Changing all the street signs in town to names of his favorite rappers during his first month in Woodcrest got him started off on a high note. His aggressive tactics as a census taker certainly added to the rep he was cultivating. He demolished the record for being sent to the principal's office and detention by his third-grade teacher, Ms. Peterson. There was the graffiti, involvement in robberies and attempted kidnappings, and that unfortunate episode as the Santa Stalker. While he avoided court many times due to his age, he had endured a large number of beatings from his Granddad's belt, none of which apparently had any influence on his future behavior.

It was September and the new school year had started with Riley now in fourth grade. His academic performance the previous year certainly could have warranted him being held back, but the main reason he was promoted was that all of the third-grade teachers refused to have him in their class this year. There was a discussion to find excuses to move him along. He had more talent in math than he let on, and was well above average at using a computer, particularly in matters involving money. He clearly could understand words at a year or two above his grade level, though the sentences he used himself were frequently grammatically incorrect and often vulgar. His writing left a lot to be desired, consistently failing to use proper English and generally showing a lack of effort. Yet he displayed some ability to think critically and form logical arguments, even if the logic was frequently twisted. Officially it was determined he could succeed in fourth grade if he tried, though no one expected a serious effort.

Now, the day after his incredible act, Riley lay motionless in his hospital bed, attached to several monitoring devices. His eyes were closed, his breathing and pulse were steady and slow, and he was unresponsive to everything, the condition he had been in for the past twenty-four hours.

Riley's grandfather Robert was pacing the hospital corridor, occasionally popping in to Riley's room to see if there was any change and say, "Come on boy, wake up!" but there was no reaction. Robert had been pacing for hours, and now it was mid-afternoon. Soon Huey would be here, coming directly from school.

Once again, Robert thought back to the previous day to what he told Riley when he found out what happened. Riley had been rather normal for the circumstances, lying on the hospital bed and gazing at the cast on his right foot. Robert handed Riley a phone on which a certain video was set up to play.

"Hey Boy, look at this. The video of you got a virus. Over a million views already."

"Granddad, it's called 'going viral'." Riley spoke in a typical sarcastic voice, but those were the last words he had spoken. After he watched it and handed the phone back, Robert said,

"I've never been so proud of you, Riley. What you did was amazing. I always thought you had it in you, and were putting on an act with this gangster thug nonsense. And now however gangster you act everyone will know that's not really you. The real you is a hero."

Riley's reaction was completely unexpected to Robert. In a few seconds Riley was thinking, Hero? No, Huey is supposed to be the hero. I'm supposed to be gangsta, but now … Riley's body convulsed and his face contorted as if he just realized something horrible had happened, and then his face went blank. He then collapsed, lying perfectly still.

Robert screamed for the doctors. A nurse with a nametag of Regina arrived within a few seconds, and noted Riley's vital signs.

"What happening?" Robert's voice was rather loud.

"He is probably in a state of shock." The nurse waved her hand in front of Riley's face, but he didn't blink or show any reaction. "Keep calm, and tell me what he was doing before this happened."

"I was just talking to him, and … he started shaking, and collapsed."

"Just talking? Did you say something upsetting?"

"No, I was praising him, telling him that he wasn't going to be known as a thug … oh no, I did this to him! Is he going to be okay?"

"I'm sure he will be. A specialist will be here momentarily."

A moment later Dr. Witherspoon did arrive. He agreed that it was shock, but then one of the monitors started beeping. An indicator arrow was moving to the left, toward a zero on a scale.

"I don't like this. This shouldn't be possible; it was only a broken foot. His vital signs were fine a few minutes ago, but his brain activity is decreasing, rather rapidly."

He made a call on his pager, and soon more doctors and nurses rushed in, shooing Robert away and bringing in and adjusting some machines. Several minutes later Dr. Witherspoon went into the hallway where Robert was pacing.

"Tell me what's happening!" implored Robert.

"Please brace yourself. I don't understand how, but it looks like your grandson has slipped into a coma. He is showing minimal brain activity, enough to keep breathing and his heart beating, but he isn't responding to other stimuli. He can't see, hear, or feel anything."

Regina spoke up. "The boy may have heard some upsetting news. Could that be a reason?"

"I've never heard of that being a cause, but it is theoretically possible if it was extraordinarily upsetting. What did he hear?"

Robert stuttered, "I – I only said that he was a hero. And that ... he'd never be a true thug or gangster. And a few seconds after that, he … he … this happened." Robert collapsed into a chair.

Dr. Witherspoon tried to console Robert. "You mustn't blame yourself for putting Riley in this state. There was no way anyone could anticipate this reaction. Your grandson should have been a lot more concerned about his broken foot than what you said."

"But … but … I … should have known how much his heart was set on that. I … I …"

"Someone else eventually would have said something similar, and there would be the same reaction."

Robert wasn't satisfied, but he got something else to think about when Huey showed up, school having ended for the day.

"How's Riley?" asked Huey excitedly. "I heard he was taken here by ambulance. And did he really …?"

Robert found it difficult to speak. He handed Huey the phone so he could watch the video. Huey was shocked at what he saw. "Riley did that?! Did he break his leg?"

"He broke his foot, but it's a lot worse now." Robert pointed to Riley's hospital room. Huey looked inside, and asked, "Is Riley sleeping?"

"No, he … they said he's in a coma."

Huey was shocked. "What? For a broken foot?"

"No, because I told him he's a hero, and …"

"And what? I would have said the same thing."

"And … that from now on he'll never be known as a true thug rapper gangster or whatever he calls it. Right after I said that, he went into shock, and then this … coma. I should have been more careful with what I said."

"You can't blame yourself. I never heard of someone going into a coma over something like that."

"But I saw it happen! The doctors said they had never seen it, but it could be possible. Riley is … unique."

Huey found this development hard to believe. He went into Riley's room and practically yelled,

"Come on Riley, quit clowning and wake up." Huey gave Riley a little shove and there was absolutely no reaction. Huey returned to his grandfather. "Nothing. I can't believe it."

"You have to."

They sat mostly in silence for an hour, when a blonde girl, perhaps ten years old, and her parents showed up. The Freemans didn't know them, but the girl looked a little familiar. Then Huey realized, "You're the girl in the video that Riley… "

"Saved." The girl completed the sentence. "Hello, my name is Jennifer, I'm in fifth grade in your school, and I want to thank Riley in person."

Robert stammered, and let Huey talk. "Riley's in here, but … he can't be wakened now. You can look at him and thank him, but he won't hear you."

Jennifer cautiously stepped inside the room, and winced at all the wires and tubes connected to him.

"Thank you, Riley, for saving my life."

Jennifer was weeping when she came back out. She asked, "He's hurt really bad, isn't he? When will he be better?"

Huey answered, "The doctors don't know. Everything was quite a shock to his system. Uh, we'll let you know when he's better."

Jennifer ran and hugged her mother, and her father spoke to Robert. "Your grandson must be rewarded for this. We have decided to pay all his medical bills fully fund his college education to whatever college he can get into."

Like so many families in Woodcrest, Jennifer's parents were wealthy. However, they did not know that college was not in Riley's plans. In fact, Riley was planning on dropping out of school as soon as it was legal or when Granddad was too feeble to stop him, whichever came first. Well, there were several years to go before that would be decided.

Robert finally managed to say something. "Uh, thank you, that's very generous. But my lawyer, Tom Dubois, already made sure the town will pay the medical bills. They should have been aware that tree could go any time. But college … Riley … uh, thanks again."

Robert didn't know what to say, so he stopped talking. Jennifer's family left, and soon after some reporters arrived. Robert had spent a large portion of the past year apologizing for the antics of his grandsons, and ninety percent of that was for Riley. He welcomed the chance to say something positive, but still wasn't comfortable talking. When asked what caused the change, he said,

"I always knew he had some good in him. I raised him better than he's been acting up to yesterday. It, uh, just takes some kids longer to mature than others."

Robert patted Huey's head, which made the older brother grimace. Not wanting to talk anymore, the grandfather continued, "Say something, Huey."

Huey had a blank expression on his face. "Well, Riley likes to show off, and has a lot of practice running fast – running from the cops, running from Granddad's belt …"

"Huey!"

"Okay, running from me. We play fight a lot, with toy light sabers and … "

There was a cough from Robert. Huey added, "Okay, some of the fights were real." That still wasn't accurate enough. "Fine, most of our fights were real. Riley wasn't good at first, but his reflexes really improved and he got very quick. Let's just say that we helped each other become better athletes and fighters."

Granddad sniffled. He had to say something nice in front of the reporters. "That's the nicest thing you said about you brother. You were awfully hard on the house though … but it was worth it."

Huey was done talking, and seeing that the Freemans had nothing more to say, the reporters left. Robert and Huey stayed at the hospital until visiting hours were over, and then reluctantly went home to an unusually quiet house.

Robert shook himself back to the present day. He was waiting for Huey to arrive when Dr. Witherspoon came by so he told the doctor, "Nothing. He hasn't moved, heard anything I said, nothing."

"Talking won't hurt, but until there's some more brain activity your grandson won't understand or sense anything. You have to accept the fact that he's been in a coma for a whole day now. We can keep him alive, but coming out of that … it's really up to him – he has to find the will to live."

"Will to live?" Riley had always enthusiastic about living his gangster lifestyle, but now? Fortunately, Huey arrived a minute later to give Robert someone else to talk with.

"Any news, Granddad?"

"No change. Doc says there won't be until he finds the will to live."

Huey looked in on Riley and then sat next down to Robert on a couch in the hallway. He pulled a book out of his backpack, but didn't feel at all like doing homework. Most of the material he had learned months or even years ago, and he had a significant difference of opinion with the author of a history text. He wasn't focusing much at all, when there was a sudden beeping coming from Riley's room.

Robert and Huey both jumped up, and Huey quickly pushed a call button. Nurse Regina arrived within a minute.

"What is that?" asked Robert excitedly.