Hi, my name is Huey P. Freeman, I'm 16 years old and I'm currently living in Baltimore, Maryland. I go to school at Woodcrest High School where I'm the club leader of the A.F.R.O Association. We strive to rehabilitate black people in our community through our club. When I'm older, I'm going to do it all over the world.
I believe it is a better method for our people to have a fresh start in this society. The system is broken, and our purpose is to break through it in order to improve ourselves and our community.
In my club, there are just ten people, who try to resist the system and serve our community. One of those individuals was myself. This was a great number for me because not everyone in our area felt strongly about helping the community. I didn't like being around a lot of people, so this worked out great for me.
Michael Ceasar, my best friend, would be the one I would approach if I ever needed to talk to someone in my club. Everyone who knows him refers to him as Ceasar since he despises being addressed as Michael. His parents and teachers who don't like him are the only ones who call him by his first name.
I could care less about what he wants to be called, but I respectfully call him Ceasar. We've been best friends since he moved here his first year at middle school. He was a cool and laid-back guy who shared my views on politics and the black community, so we got along pretty smoothly.
Ceasar was a good friend and nice guy, but the only thing I didn't agree with him upon was how he carelessly slept with females that found him attractive. This has been happening since the 8th-grade year when he slept with a girl from the 9th grade. I remember she broke up with him because her friends laughed at her for dating someone younger than her.
Ceasar isn't the only one of my close friends. Hiro, Ming, and Jazmine are all present. Hiro was a Japanese-American who wanted to become a DJ. I listened to some of his remixes and thought he was decent. I admired how he pursued his aspirations by landing gigs and receiving requests to do remixes for celebrities. That demonstrates how far someone will go to achieve a goal.
Then there's Ming, who I admit I didn't like when I first met her since she was being very manipulative during the kickball game, and her team purposefully damaged all of the players. Then they all laughed at me, which didn't sit well with me, so I ejected them all. We ended up winning because I tagged her out at the end of the game.
She left Woodcrest and didn't return until middle school year after her parents thought she'd be able to receive better opportunities here. We became good friends that really don't talk a lot. She has a complete understanding of my part and I have a complete understanding of her part.
Last but not least, there's Jazmine Dubois, I don't know what to say about Jazmine. When I first met her she got on my fucking nerves, she still does after six years of us knowing each other. She was very naive and she cried about almost everything. Half that stuff I blame on Tom and Sarah since they never exposed Jazmine to the truth of reality.
I still have a feeling she believes in Santa Clause because every year when it's Christmas she still goes to the mall and takes a picture with him. I don't know if it's because her parents force her to or if it's because she wants to.
Jazmine is the captain of the Woodcrest High School dance team as well as a social media influencer. It turns out that the videos she created as a child had a lasting impact on her. She was paid for wearing and posting other people's products. Despite the fact that everyone in our friend group, including myself, is well-known on social media, Jazmine is the wealthiest and most well-known out of us all.
Jazmine was the person everyone liked to hang out with and aspired to be. She was well-liked by all; she was wealthy, talented, intelligent, attractive, and had matured well. Almost every girl wished to be Jazmine, while others covetously looked up to her.
Even though Jazmine was a nuisance to be around when I was younger, she was still a nice person to be around. She didn't discriminate based on race, and she adhered to all ethical standards. She even studied a few languages throughout the years in order to help people feel at ease in the area. She backed up the majority of my thoughts and pushed me to be a better person in both myself and others.
She was the one who suggested that the A.F.R.O Association Club at school be started. I didn't want to, but it was the only option to make it a little bigger. Nobody wanted to join my club the first year, but she did so so that I could keep it going.
I didn't know how to repay her in any manner because simply saying thank you wasn't enough for how much she had helped me, so I decided to take her out to a vegan restaurant for dinner.
She assumed we'd be celebrating other people joining the club, so she told the gang, and they all agreed to come. My troublesome younger brother then caused a commotion since there was nothing on the menu that he wanted to eat.
When additional members joined the club, Jazmine didn't stay since she wanted to do dance and other things. I couldn't blame her; even though Jazmine was a strong supporter of the community, she didn't devote her full attention to it. She has often stated that she is not interested in politics or taking action in the same way that I am.
That is something I understand about her. Jazmine has been influenced over the years to believe that we are close friends, which we are, but I have always had a different feeling for her. I had a deep feeling for her that I couldn't quite put into words. I wasn't sure if Jazmine had felt the same way about me.
She appeared to be interested in men in her own way. Most of her relationships were short-lived since the men she dated were either older or in a higher grade level than she was. I didn't care too much to get involved in that.
I was in my room doing my morning workouts, which I do almost every other morning. I prefer to meditate most of the time since it helps me to relax, but today I needed to focus on my body in order to keep it in good shape.
I could hear a lot of noise and sense a lot of movement from upstairs. I had my earplugs in to drown out the noise, but I remained alert. I even detect a presence in my room. I finished my push-ups and stood up, only to find Jazmine looking for something in my bathroom.
I don't know why she came into my room without permission so I went to go see what she was looking for. I just stood at the entrance of my bathroom door with my arms crossed as she had no idea I was behind her.
"Can I help you with something?" I asked snapping her out of her attention. She looked up at me in guilt and then tried to play it off, "Umm yes!" she said as asked, "With what?"
She answered, "Riley's hair stuff you got him." I knew exactly what she was referring to because Riley had begged me to get him these products. Jazmine brought her own and would use it on Riley's hair, but after he found how much Jazmine's products were he didn't want her guilt-tripping him to pay her money, so he bought his own.
I went to go look for Riley's products I bought him but I was interrupted when Jazmine sniffed me. "Eww Huey!" she said in disgust while covering her nose. "What?" I turned around and glared at her. "You smell!" she exclaimed as I looked at her like she was dumb.
"Jazmine, I was working out, what makes you think I'm not going to smell?" I asked pitching the bridge of my nose. First, she sneaks into my room and she is complaining about the smell.
"Not you, well yes you, but what I mean is your hair," she blabbered. My hair? That's never been an issue when I'm working out. "When's the last time you washed it?" she asked as I started to think about it. My hair has always been manageable so I never had worried that much about it. Sure it had its bad days but I always kept it in check.
"About like a couple of months ago. I spray water and put moisturizer on it sometimes," I told her. That's how I get it to the size and form I find manageable for myself. Many complain about how big my afro is and how I need to cut all of it off.
When I'm at school my teacher always sits me at the back of the class because many of the students complain the reason they fail their classes is because they can't see past my afro. I find that to be bullshit because some of the kids I don't sit near in class and others just don't pay attention. They only say it so the teacher can give them a higher grade.
"You know what you're going to give me Riley's products and then after I get done doing his hair, I'm going to wash yours," she sternly said scowling at me.
There were only a few occasions where Jazmine would match my energy and scowl at me. I was one to never back down so I kept my energy. Eventually, she broke eye contact with me and just walked around me to grab the products that were on my nightstand.
For some odd reason when Jazmine would get mad and match my energy it always turned me on in a way I didn't like. Or in a way, I didn't want her to see me in. I could feel my erection about to come and I was hoping she would leave with the products before it became visible.
She was about to leave until she stopped and looked back at me. "That's it, I'm washing your hair whether you like it or not," she hissed at me. She grabbed my wrist which did not sit right with me. I hate it when people put their hands on me, so out of muscle memory, I swung her onto the bed.
Normally, I would break my enemy's wrist, but since it was Jazmine and she wasn't a threat I just stood over her and held both of her wrists together. I needed her to calm down and not force me to do something.
I was going to wash my hair, but I didn't want her touching it. I have never been too full on people touching my hair since I was five. Someone at the salon put the wrong chemicals in my head and it caused me to lose some of my natural hair.
From that day forward I learned how to do my hair and never let anyone touch it. Not even in this area where we live because we mostly live around white people that can't manage hair.
I looked into Jazmine's eyes and they looked beautiful. I never told her this but I admired them. It always showed how she found everything beautiful in the world.
"Aye Jazmine, can you do my hair before you start having sex with Huey's gay ass?" I heard Riley yell from my door. Riley always found some type of way to ruin the moment and tease Jazmine and me.
I always had the idea that he knew how I felt about Jazmine which is why he constantly teased me. I let go of Jazmine as she got up off the bed and left with the products. I could hear her and Riley fussing down the hallway as they both left.
Because my boner was now visible, it was the perfect opportunity to take a cold shower. I didn't want anyone to see it, so I went straight to it. I had to consider whether I really wanted Jazmine to do my hair while I was in the shower. She wasn't as awful as the majority of individuals. She genuinely knew how to style and manage hair.
Once I got done in the shower I decided to only put on my joggers and bring a towel because I didn't want to get my shirt wet. I headed downstairs to be met with Jazmine who came from the kitchen.
"You get done showering?" she asked me as I sighed. "I change my mind!" I told her. "About what?" she started to smirk because she knew she was right in this situation. "With you washing my hair," I gritted through my teeth.
"Okay, I'll do your hair after I get done with Riley's hair," she patted my shoulder as she began to skip to the living room couch.
I sighed and walked up to the chair where my granddad had sat. I sat in his chair because he wasn't in the living room. I grabbed my book about Malcolm X and started flipping to the page I left off on. Riley was sitting between Jazmine's legs when I looked over at them. This made me tighten my grip on my towel because I knew Riley had a dirty mind when it came to Jazmine.
When he made sexual remarks towards her, everyone would think he was joking, but he was being dead serious. Even though they had a brotherly and sisterly relationship, it still irritated me when he made those remarks towards her.
His girlfriend, Cindy, a.k.a. Jazmine's best friend, would never call him out on it, much to my surprise. She'd crack jokes, but she and Jazmine were at a level where it was okay to do so. You might be wondering why Cindy wasn't included as one of my friends, and the answer is that she wasn't.
I only tolerated Cindy because she was with Riley and she was everybody's friend in the group. It would look wrong if I messed that up for everybody. She was basically a male version of Riley but white. Although she lived this rich life where she could get anything she wanted in a drop of a dime, she, like Riley, had a longing for the gangsta lifestyle.
"Hey Jazmine, I was at the basketball court today before I came over here and somebody was asking about you," Cindy chanted. The one thing I can say that was good about Cindy was that she had a sweet side towards Jazmine.
"Really who?" Jazmine asked of course interested. Anytime some guy was interested in Jazmine she would always give them a shot. "So you know Austin?" Cindy asked smiling at her.
"Yeah, the 6'2 carmel man that's in study hall with me?" Jazmine quickly put it out into detail. "Yeah him, he was asking about you," Cindy said playfully poking at her.
Let me break this down for you. Austin was basically a light-skinned version of Ceasar. He was a kind person who was easy to talk to, but when it came to women, things didn't go so smoothly. He'd go out with a female and then dump them once he'd gotten what he wanted.
"Doesn't he know I barely come to the court?" Jazmine asked Cindy causing her to shrug her shoulders. Then my nonfiltered brother decided to add in his response: "Bitch you go to the basketball court all the time just to socialize."
"Riley language!" I warned before I had to throw something at him. "Nigga shut yo gay ass up, she knows damn well she be there all the time. I'm about surprised you don't know how to play a little basketball," Riley mumbled the last part.
I couldn't argue with him on this one. Jazmine did go to the basketball court to socialize. Other times were to help her dad out with the basketball team when he couldn't make it to practice.
In my opinion, he should have disbanded the team a long time ago. Most of those kids can't play and I think their parents made them join the team.
"Hey, I know a little basketball," she defended. "You do?" Cindy asked not believing it. I'm not surprised she should have picked up a few tricks along the way of learning. If anything she should at least know how to dribble and shoot a three-pointer.
"Yes, like I know there can be five players from each team on the court, then you can do things like a free throw, you can't just hold the ball while you're running you have to dribble, and other stuff," she tried to explain.
"Well it's good you know a little basketball rule," Riley said in relief. I even agreed with that because everybody knows those basic rules.
"I'm honestly not that into basketball, the only reason I know a little about it is that my dad coached basketball, then when I was a cheerleader I went to a bunch of games, and you two talk about it all the time," she clarified. See, told you, she picked it up from learning the basics of watching and listening.
I heard nothing but silence indicating Riley and Cindy were looking at her funny. "Okay let's switch the subject back to Austin," Jazmine pleaded out of desperation in the silence.
"Okay, Austin was asking about you and I know you might get upset or excited but I gave him your phone number," Cindy said a bit too excited.
"You know you could have just given him my Instagram?" Jazmine simply stated. I guess she didn't fully agree with Cindy giving Austin her number.
"He already has it and he tried to text you, but you don't respond to none of your messages," Cindy defended. She wasn't wrong on that part, I have seen Jazmine's unread messages on Instagram and she had a lot. Half the reason I think most of those messages are unread is that they're from her fans or people that try to troll her.
"I don't be on social media that much. The only time I go on my account is if I want to post something," she simply said. We all then had heard Riley giggling for some odd reason which meant he was about to say something smart.
"That nigga is a fuckboy," Riley had cursed. "What makes you say that, have you been checking him out or something Riley," Cindy had teased him. "Girl I'm not gay, I'm just tryna say that a bunch of girls throw themselves at him," he hissed.
"Yeah and I'm not ready to lose my purity," Jazmine nervously added in. "What the fuck is a purity?" Riley hissed at her. "She's saying that she doesn't want to lose her virginity," I said simplifying it out for Riley.
"Oh, then just say that nobody not gonna understand them innocent words of yours Jazmine," Riley kinda threw his hands up in the air. Jazmine did have a habit of not cursing. Most teens around our age cuss all they want but Jazmine had self-control over what she said.
"I don't like using the terms most of you guys use," she mumbled. "Bless your innocent soul Jazzy," Cindy patted her shoulder while giggling. "Thank you Cindy even though I can sense your sarcasm," Jazmine told her as she laughed some more.
She was finally finished braiding Riley's hair and tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm done!" he had used her legs to lift himself off the ground then started to stretch.
"Thanks, Jazmine," he thanked her as she smiled. He left upstairs while Cindy had followed after him. She looked at me and smiled: "It's your turn to get your hair washed," she chanted. I rolled my eyes as I got up off the couch and set my book down on the table.
She skipped over to the sink and turned the faucet on. We waited a couple of minutes as she gave me her cocky smile. That was one of the things that also got on my nerves. Whenever she knew she was right about something she always liked to hold it over my head.
"Are you that happy to wash my hair?" I asked pinching the bridge of my nose. "Yes!" she happily answered nodding her head. With the way she was nodding her head you would thought she was special but not in a good way.
"Geez!" I mumbled. "You never let me touch your hair," she tried to defend. I'm starting to change my mind.
"Yeah and I'm allowing you to touch it since you offered to wash it," I said. "I don't care whatever reason you're allowing me to touch your hair, but I'm grateful," she said turning a little pink.
The one thing about white people that I find sometimes satisfying is how they change colors bases on their emotions. When Jazmine is happy or nervous she turns pink, but when she gets mad she's red.
She checked the water to see if the temper was good enough for me and she gestured to put my head down. I dipped my head in and felt the warm water hit my scalp. She soaked all of my hair and it was relaxing when she started to moisturize it with the shampoo.
Afterward, she rinsed it all out and put conditioner in my hair. I knew it had to sit in for a couple of minutes. Jazmine went and grabbed her pink shower camp that was easily able to fit my set of hair.
"Jazmine, I'm not wearing that," I said referring to my pink shower cap. "Nobody's going to see you with a pink shower cap," she told me as she tried to put it on me. I just moved away from her because I didn't want to have a pink shower cap on my head.
If Riley, Cindy, or even my granddad came from upstairs and saw me wearing a pink shower cap they would say all the most annoying things to me. "Fine, okay!" she said as went to go put it back in her bag.
She then checked her phone when she got a message from somebody. She started mumbling to herself as she typing on her phone screen.
"Oh my God what do I do?" she said freaking out while grabbing her hair. I scowled at her because now she was about to get whiny. I crossed my arms and shook my head. I was about to head into the living room when all of a sudden she stood right in front of me and asked: "Huey, what do I do?"
"Jazmine let me see your phone?" I requested as she gave it to me with no questions asked. I looked at her screen to see it was Austin texting her and out of the goodness of my heart, I turned off her ringer and shut off her phone.
"What the-" she was about to say before she covered her mouth. "You'll thank me later," I said walking away back into the kitchen for some odd reason. She was blocking my way towards the living room.
"Come on Huey, you were supposed to be helping me," she whined. "I did, you don't need to be wasting your time with niggas like that," I told her. She really didn't need to be wasting her time with Austin or some other.
They really didn't deserve Jazmine. She was too good for most of them who wanted her. I will admit Jazmine physically matured over the years giving her a small waist and big ass. She might didn't have much in the chest area, but that seemed to be ideal for most of the guys.
Out of respect, I tried not to look, but at times she made that extremely hard!
"But Austin is smart, athletic, and he doesn't seem to get into that much trouble," she tried to defend. "Okay Jazmine if you say so," I rolled my eyes. Just because he's like that doesn't mean his personality can match up to his social profile.
The rest of the time we had she decided to finish up doing my hair. In the end, it smelt good like she wanted it to. She cleaned up her area and packed up all of her products and left. I know she's mad at me, but she'll get over it!
Thank you for reading the first chapter of The Fallen Mind!