Raising the stakes

Adrianna’s P.O.V

Everything was different here. I’d heard stories about this place. It wasn’t nearly as big as
San Francisco, but I’d never had to walk through this part of a neighborhood. It was more
dreary than where I used to live, certainly much poorer. There was graffiti and broken
windows. Trash littered the alleys, and the main streets. The buildings were drab, and there
were groups of Hoodlums on every corner. Some were girls, most were guys. They dressed
in many different assortments of colors, and they were quite beautiful in an. . .odd way.

There was one group in particular that intrigued me, but when they caught me staring-the
girls especially-scowled and made a face of such disdain that I nearly physically flinched.

“Aye! Don’t be looking at none of my nigga’s like that!! If you gonna wear that color get off our
block!” One of the girls yelled immediately showing that she wasn’t afraid to tell someone
how it was.

“I-I’m sorry.” I stuttered quickly looking down at the ground.

Even though she didn’t look black nobody seemed offended or taken aback by her use
of the racial term.

“Go over to the G block. They take to your kind more nicely.” The same girl sneered.

“Aye, Kota, don’t be so hard on her. She’s not from around here.” One of the guys said laying
his hand on her lower back in an intimate way.

“I don’t care where she’s from. Everett. . .since when do you care at all about outsiders?”
The girl-Kota-wondered.

She didn’t seem angry, honestly curious.

“Aye, little girl! You gonna talk, or you just gonna ignore what she’s saying to you?” One of
the other girls said.

This one made me feel slightly more welcome. Her voice wasn’t as openly hostile, but it
was demanding, and it didn’t hold any friendliness.

“Valary, what is wrong with you girls today? Are you PMS-ing?” Another guy demanded to the
white girl.

She seemed to be the outcast, with her white skin. All of them had brown skin, but there was
another odd ball too. Except he was black, when the majority were a pretty tan color, all
natural. They didn’t seem strictly like they stuck to their race, but they certainly preferred it
that way.

“Bennett’s big stunt has got us all on edge. Cops aren’t anything we need bothering us right
now, not with a large portion of us on run. If we get questioned and are forced to make a
statement, we have to tell them our names. I ain’t getting caught up. I’m dippin’ outta
Murderapolis as soon as Brayden comes back with my car.” A girl explained something that
seemed completely complex to me.

“Yeah, well. . .some of have got more to worry about. . .Like being found guilty.” Kota
murmured her eyes traveling from Everett, to Iris, to a select other few that were in the group.

Kota’s P.O.V.

I was extremely worried about Bennett, but as much as he was part of my Mob that I had to
take care of, there were a select few that I would protect more. Everett, and Iris especially. If I
had to leave Bennett here to fend for himself while I got those two out, I’d do it. Hell, I’d risk
him shooting at my ass, too.

“Come over here, I don’t bite.” I snapped at the white girl in the 7-4 colors.

Well obviously if that were true, then my bark would be worse. . .but unfortunately it wasn’t.

Not something I wasn’t about to point out, though. Bennett looked like he wouldn’t mind
pointing it out. Just for a good laugh. Would be his explanation, then he’d chuckle under
his breath, shaking his head.

She slowly, bashfully, approached what-to her-must seem like a scary, very rude group of
people wearing red and black. An engine zooming down the block suddenly took my
attention, and I turned to see a blue mini-van. My president is black, my mini-van is
blue, and I be got damned if my chains ain’t, too. . .

“Everett, get going. Get them out of here.” I hissed as I ran towards the white girl.

“What’s your name?” I demanded grabbing her arm.

“I’m. . .Adrianna.” She stuttered.

“Mind if I call you Dri?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “Dri, I need you to follow them, now. Don’t
slow down, don’t stop for anyone that’s not Everett. Just. Keep. RUNNING.”

I shoved her towards the group, and Blaze quickly caught her. I nodded to them, and they
ran, except Everett. . .who hesitated. A gun shot sliced through the air, and we both ducked
reflexively. The next second, I’d lifted my shirt to whip my gun out of the waistband of my
sweatpants. I shot 4 times at the van, and didn’t wait long enough to see if I actually hit
anyone. I took Everett by his hand and we ran.

“Can’t you ever listen?” I demanded as we cut through back alleys.

“Nope.” He shrugged.

“I wanted you to take care of that girl. Valary won’t.” I pointed out.

I unlocked the doors to my Durango, where everyone was standing waiting. As I started the
vehicle everyone piled in. The music was turned up almost as loud as it could go, and the
whole interior of the car shook with the bass system I’d installed.

“Where do you need to go, and how old are you?” I asked looking at Dri through the rearview
mirror.

“I live on Lexington.” She murmured.

I could visibly see the shooting had taken a toll on her. She was shaking, and Justyn kept
looking at her irritably as she shook against him. I could tell why she was shaken though.
None of us would even get near Lexington. It was too. . .non-ghetto. There was nothing
exciting going on there except maybe someone buying a new Mercedes.

“And how old are you?” I repeated.

“I’m 13.” She murmured.

“What the fuck are you doing walking around Southside when your 13?” I demanded.

“You walked around Southside when you were 13.” Everett pointed out dryly.

“I was exploring. I’m new around here. I’m from San Francisco.”

“If your not ready to deal with this don’t ever come around here again. It’s dangerous, and I
don’t encourage this lifestyle.” I murmured backing out of the parking lot.

Val tried to hold back a laugh, and a snort. Of course I encouraged this lifestyle. Just. . .not to
most white kids. I’m not racist, I swear.

“Do you wanna go home?” I asked.

“Not really. But I don’t really feel. . .” She trailed off as she took in the sight of all us.

“Comfortable? Welcome? Like you fit in? Most people don’t. There’s a reason that we’re the
select few that stick with each other. We just don’t relate to most other people.” I smiled.

“You guys are. . .certainly something.” She said unsurely.

“We know. It doesn’t offend us. Except Kellie. Almost everything offends her. She’s the one behind you.” I informed her.

Slowly she turned around, and her eyes widened at the sight of the girl who was just
glowering at the back of her head.

“She won’t do anything unless you directly insult her, though. So try to stay on her good side
or. . .just completely stay away from her.” Val explained to Dri warming up to her since I was
obviously on alright terms with her.

“Well. . .I. . .how do I do that?” She asked.

“Let’s put it this way. If you don’t want to get beat so bad that you’ll be that 5’2” for the rest of
your life you’ll stay away from her. The only girls that have ever taken her down are Val and
me. We take pride in that, it’s quite an accomplishment.” I commented.

The rest of the ride was made in complete silence. Everett holding my hand loosely as his
thumb rubbed the top of it. I glanced down at our hands and smiled. I pulled up to my house
on 280th street and sighed. It wasn’t nice, but it wasn’t small. That doesn’t mean that the
outside wasn’t shabby and slightly savvy.

I felt ashamed to live here. Not because of where it was. I loved that part. I hated how it
looked. I wanted it to be nice. Somewhere my friends would love to hang out. If it seemed
like it went with the same person that drove the 2010 Dodge Durango, I would be proud. If it
seemed like I had half the income the Durango made it seem like I had I’d be happy.

Sure, my friends loved the house. We’d made a lot of memories here. It was somewhere we
were safe, and having it, we didn’t have to worry about where we were gonna sleep at night,
but I wish I could be proud of it. I was proud I had a house, sure. I’d never really had an
actual job in my life, but I made it by. Making it by just. . .wasn’t really making me happy,
though.

Everett’s P.O.V.

As everyone piled out of the Durango Kota didn’t move. I turned to see what was wrong, and
saw her looking at her house in disgust. She did that a lot lately. She didn’t feel like the
house was good enough. She wanted something better for us. Not even her, just
somewhere everyone else loved. She was just fine with the house when she got it, and so
was everyone else. We still were, but she wanted something more. It always had to fit her
standards, and now it was making her miserable.

“Kota. C’mon. We’re missing all the fun.” I murmured.

“How can you guys have fun in that house? Don’t you feel uncomfortable being seen in it? I
wouldn’t blame you if you did.” She murmured looking at her hands.

“We love the house. All of us. It’s home to us. We don’t care what other people think, we’re
safe here. As long as it’s your house, we know we don’t have to worry. That’s all that
matters. We have somewhere we can go when we need to. We’re always welcome here,
and you make that perfectly clear. Beggars can’t be choosers, baby.” I reminded her.

“You guys will never have to be beggars. Not as long as there’s something I can do
about it.” She said determinedly.

I smiled with a genuine shine in my eyes. This girl really did care too much for her own
good. Something we didn’t get very often. We don’t call ourselves rejects, but we aren’t
exactly the top of the social ladder, either. We were right in between, where nobody paid too
much attention.

Kota finally smiled back, genuinely, and followed me back to the house. Everyone had
sprawled themselves across her mismatching furniture, comfortable as can be. They all
lounged around with beers in their hands as the music played and they discussed what we
would do for the rest of the day until Brayden returned. Obviously nobody really planned on
sticking around, and that was probably a good thing. All we were waiting for were Kellie’s
car, and Brayden.

Then I got myself the perfect idea. A project for while we were gone, and a present for when
we came back. I slipped off to go to the bathroom, and hid there while I dug through Kota’s
bag to find her cell phone.

The phone ran 3 times before a smooth voice answered.

“Hello?” Kota’s mom answered.

“Hello, Donna?” I replied kindly.

“Everett? Is that you?” She asked.

“Yeah. I need to ask you a favor.” I said with a growing smile.

Kota’s P.O.V.

We all wondered where Everett had gone as we looked around, but our attention was
quickly taken from him when Brayden walked in.

“It’s time to go.” Val said climbing to her feet.

Everyone had already packed bags of things, and none of us knew when we would come
back to the Twin Cities. It’d been a while since I’d left them to see the rest of my family.
Probably about 5 years. It’s been a long time, and I wondered if they’d remember me.

We all slung our bags over our shoulder, and turned off every light, and electronic that was
on. I came to my bedroom and glanced around at my surroundings. Unlike the outside at
least it wasn’t savy. At least it was somewhat cleanly and organized. I smiled softly to
myself as I grabbed all my pictures off the desk. Only the ones that were out held any
significance for me, so there was really no point in digging out photo albums and big boxes
of pictures. Not that I had any anyways. I didn’t take the time to capture all my memories. I
just kept them memorized in my head, and hoped that all the ones that were very important
to me would never be forgotten.

I didn’t believe that I had to share my memories with anyone else except the people that had
been there to experience them with me.

“Ready to go?” A voice asked startling me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be a while till I see this place again.” I said looking around.

Everett just nodded and reached his hand out towards mine to twine our fingers together.
Much like earlier today I looked down at our hands joined together and smiled. His hand
was warm around mind, and I reveled in the feel of his hand against mine.

Val was waiting by my Durango, just proving-once again-just how impatient she was. I
shook my head and unlocked the car for her. Everett got into the passenger’s seat, Bennett
got into the back seat, then Drake, Jagger, and Justyn got in.

Val laid her head on Bennett’s shoulder and leaned heavily on him as she got comfortable
enough to sleep. I smiled and shook my head at them. Just 2 years ago we had been
complete opposites. Everett had been the gang member, and me and Val had walked around acting like they were lower then us. Now it seemed completely trivial, and now I realized nobody was better than anybody else.

‘I don’t feel right, ain’t got enough haters, somebody send me some, so I can
aggravate ‘em. Getting m-’

“Whaddup, where my nigga’s at?” I asked answering my phone taking my hand off the
wheel.

Everett laughed and shook his head at the fact that I would let go of the steering wheel,
before I would let go of his hand. So he took the liberty to disentangle our fingers so I could
maneuver through the busy streets of Minneapolis.

“Shit, nigga, damn, we be up, chillin’ at the Casino right now.” Sage said automatically.

“Well, damn, when ain’t you at the casino? Which one you at though? We’ll meet you up
there in 2 hours.” I promised turning onto one of the many freeway ramps.

“We’re up at the Grand. Up in H-town, you know. Shit, we didn’t plan on being here at 5
though.” He said conflicted.

“Nah, just till 4:30.” I snapped rolling my eyes.

He always did this. He could never come and hang with us down here, but when we came
up to chill with him, he was too busy, or couldn’t meet up with us. We weren’t important
enough for him.

“Nah, it ain’t even like that. Don’t be trippin’ on me.” Sage said offended.

“Nah, nigga. You’re my motherfuckin’ brother. I ain’t seen you in a year. I’m tired of this wack
shit. Quit lyin’. You don’t wanna see me tell me. I’ve got more people to see anyway, I don’t
needa be wastin’ me time on someone who don’t want me.” I growled wishing more than
anything that my eyes weren’t pricking with unshed tears.

Everett took a deep breath and tried not to take the phone and scream at him. Everyone
remembers when the LaSarge family were all the best of friends. Now Breanna-my big
sister-lives in Red Lake with some wack nigga’s, my little brother, Jared was living in Cass
Lake with my dad, and I lived down by my mom in the cities, while Sage stayed in Hinckley
with my Aunty Jean.

“I never said I didn’t want you. Damn, bitch, why do you always gotta be like this?”

“Motherfucker, don’t call me a bitch. You’re the one always changing shit cause you “don’t
gotta whip”, or “DJ don’t want nobody over at his house”. Man, fuck this.” I said clicking the
end button.

I dropped my phone into the cup holder and ran my free hand over my face.

“Well. . .” A voice I still didn’t have committed to memory spoke up.

“Holy shit, do you need me to bring you home?” I asked jumping.

“No, I’m fine. My parents don’t care where I go.” She shrugged.

“That’s wack.” I muttered then added. “Do you care where you go? I can turn around,
nobodies expecting m-”

‘I don’t feel right, ain’t got enough haters somebody get me so-’ I reached for my phone,
but Everett snatched it away and put it on speaker phone.

“Why the fuck do you always gotta be like that? Ain’t nobody here that don’t wanna see you.
Damn, if it makes you feel better we’ll all be here waiting for you.” He spoke without waiting
for a greeting.

“Nigga please. Do you think that I didn’t know that? Everybody loves me.” Everett said in his
cocky way.

I tried to stifle my laugh as he looked at me and winked.

“Who’s this?” Sage asked instantly wary.

“St. John. Everett St. John.” He smirked.

“Everett? What the hell are you doin on Dakota’s phone?”

“Defending my girl. Why do you always gotta be such a dick to her?” He demanded.

“Woah, woah, woah, calm down tiger.” I said taking the phone and taking it off speaker
phone.

“Do you promise that you’ll be there in an hour and a half?” I asked.

“I promise. I miss you, Kota. I’m just scared to see how my little sister turned out. You’re
grown up now, and it’ll be weird seeing you again.” He mumbled.

“Not as weird as not seeing your family for a year. I’m at Wyoming. I’ll be there soon. I’m
going as fast as I can.” I promised hanging up.

“Are you?” Val asked leaning forward.

“I am now.” I said pushing the Durango up to 115.

$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$!$

I pulled up to the valet parking and parked right in front of the lobby doors. Everyone piled out of my car as Kellie’s pulled up behind me. I reached into one of my duffel bags and pulled out my red and black TC hat. I placed it on my head, tilting it to the left much like everyone else was doing. We all adjusted our red and black bandanas in our pockets and strolled into the casino.

There were 9 people walking through the casino with me, all dressed in red and
black. . .except Adrianna, who was still wearing blue. We passed a group of guys all
dressed in red and black and we nodded with a smile. They turned and watched us walk a
little farther away before they got up to follow us.

“Hey, uh, I’m Sage.” A tall, skinny one said, who I immediately recognized as my brother.

“Hey, uh, Sage. I’m Dakota.” I laughed taking my brother’s outstretched hand