Life Of A Gentleman (COMPLETED)

[Preview to High School]

Summer of eight grade didn't start off to good. James had his last seizure just two days after school let out. I cried mostly because I had promised him that we would get into high school, and make the freshman football team together.

Brandon finally came out to James just weeks before he died. James didn't even care he just told Brandon to own up to who he really is.

Things were just starting to get back to normal weeks after the funeral. I never got to see Quincy again. Kimi's Mom, and Quincy's Dad had gotten a divorce. Quincy no longer lived in North Carolina. The last thing Quincy texted me was "Ay Shawn, protect Kimi for me, Imma come back one day."

I responded back to him, but he never said anything back.

Brandon eventually came out to his parents just weeks before high school was about to start. They didn't kick him out, they didn't throw him out. He instead was banned from ever entering his house hold again.

They justified their decision by putting all of his belongings outside. They didn't tolerate homosexuality in their house hold, and they told Brandon they he'd brought "evil" into their home, He had tainted the house with his "disease."

Lucky for him his grandparents agreed to take him in till he graduated -- hen he was to go to college, or get a job so that he could move out.

Somewhere during the summer I started to grow up, and out.

I started getting in the gym, doing sit ups before, and after bed. I was jogging around the block early in the morning. I started getting cut. Kayla and Olivia started calling me "troublesome." because I no longer looked like a little kid no more. I instead was "jailbait."

For my fifteen birthday. I was allowed one tattoo, but instead of one I got a few, and an ass whooping. It was worth it though. That sting in my ass was gonna subside, but my tatoo was here to stay.

I'm a little nervous about high school. I really didn't know what to expect. I'm not really worried about grades, or nothing I can get straight A's, but I'm worried about what it gonna happen. I'm  getting real close to making my own choices, and I really don't know how to determine whats a mistake sometimes.

What makes it a little better is the fact that I wasn't losing no friends this year. Nuke, C, Monae, Kimi, Brandon, and Ebony were all going to the same high school as me; "Dushane High."

I was real tight with C, and Nuke. Damon seemed to drop from the group since I had met them. We'd see him around Metro but that was all, we had just "seen" him.  Kayla, and Olivia actually liked C, Nuke, Brandon, and Me together better than they had liked me with James, and Quincy.

I guess its because we stayed outta trouble.

C was a fool when it came to his mouth, but he was serious about school. He had good grades, he just a had a mouth that wouldn't quit. Nuke on the other hand was really quiet, unless he was cool with you, and Bradon was steady tryna fight somebody, I think the fact that he way gay, and he'd gotten BANNED from his own house was heavy on him.

He wasn't planning to come out the closet again to anybody else till he graduated highschool. He no longer had a crush on me though, Brandon was now feeling C a lot more than he had ever claimed to like me.

C finally told me that he was feeling Ebony though, but at the same time he was feeling her he wasn't tryna commit to no girl because high school was just around the corner, and he didn't wanna be tied down having to avoid all the fine girls at Dushan all because he had a girl.

I guess I could understand that though.

If Kimi still liked me, I didn't know because she never told me. She had plently of chances to tell me too. I spent a lot of time texting her, and getting to know her. Shes the last person I talked to at night. We even was falling asleep on the phone together. I was learning a lot about her. She even confided in me and told that she liked Quincy, even now, and it broke her heart when he left. They had kissed, and all that.

I was wondering if she wasn't telling me because she felt like she now had a chance to get with Quincy, or if she just honestly didnt anymore.

Ontop of getting cooler with Kimi  I was getting real cool with Monae too. If I wasn't talking to Kimi I was talking to Monae. I agreed to be her "slave" finally because I thought she was gonna give me some, but after being hopeful for so long, she still didn't give me none.

Soon after that though we just got cool as bestfriends.

Kayla and Olivia liked her too. They even let her chill up in my room. I use to think about getting her up to my room all the time for other reasons, but now that she was in there we just sat around watching TV or talking, and laughing.

Monae had a special place in my heart just like Kimi did.

Kimi was all mouth, while Monae was really sweet, and timid. She takes care of her little sister JuJu a lot because her Mom is always MIA, Monae calls it "man-hunting" because with all the hours the her Mom is gone she never brings back anything for them, just men.

Monae didn't seem upset about it though, she said she was use to it. I kinda felt bad for her so I told her she could adopted Kayla or Olivia as her guardian, she adopted Kayla, and Kayla had recently adopted her back saying Monae was her babygirl.

I don't know what had happened between them to make them so close. 

At the point though, just seeing Monae so cool with my two sisters who had done a lot for me, made me really start to like her, and I mean really start to like her.  Maybe something could happen between us while we in highschool for the next four years....

- Shawn

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pic; Shawn, Brandon, C, Monae, Kimi, & Nuke