Notes

“Why Me” a story by John Kennedy
Hey, My name is James, everyone knows me by J.C., growing in the streets of St. Louis isn’t for the weak, I learned you have to become a man at an early age. Growing without no father because he got shot by some gangbangers, and your mother is working trying to feed a family of 3, the only thing for me to do was to grow up. I had some obstacles and I overcame most but I’m going to tell you about my life and how I lost everything I ever had.
Chapter one: Freshman Year
August 16, 2014. I was fourthteen when this guy came to me while I was hooping at fairground park. I was out late working on my shot for the first game of JV season. “Yo, lil nigga you want to do me a favor?” he asked. He had one gold teeth, a pair of some new all white 5 Jordans, and all white clothes to match. With a pinky ring the size of my nose. Two of his goons stood behind him mugging me, I knew they had heat on them because they had the look on their face that if I tried something, then it would be the last thing I ever done. “Momma told me I have to be home soon” I said with a shaky voice. “Lil nigga that wasn’t no fucking question.” One of his goons stated. I looked at him having the urge to run but I know a bullet is way faster. “Yeah, what you want me to do then?” I asked. He said “You see that house over there with that porch light on I want you to go ring the doorbell and ask for some water.” “That’s it” I thought, I dropped the ball and started to run, but he grabbed me and said “Don’t forget your ball, look tired too.” “Ight, I gotchu” I said. I got to the door and rung the bell, some dude came to the door and asked me “what you want man?” Yo, man Im tired can I get a cup of --- before I can finish I heard a gunshot and blood was all over me. The two goons, had went through the back door to come shoot the guy in the back of the head. They ran out the front door, while it was a car that pulled up and rushed off. I was stuck frozen because I always heard of deaths but never seen it in person. Lights begin to come on, I started to run home. A lot of shit was going through my mind at the time, I stopped in a near cut before my house, crying and shaking. I hear police sirens and see the police cars flying pass me. I continue to run home and hopped my back fence. I took off my shirt to wipe the blood off my face. I went on the side of the house to find a shovel to burry the shirt, because its no walking in the house with a shirt full of blood and brains. At this time I heard my phone ringing, I couldn’t stop digging because I was afraid of getting caught. I dug and dug as my phone kept ringing back to back. I finished ran to the water faucet and washed the rest off of my skin. I then ran to the front porch where I saw my mother and my baby brother, sister and mother. My mother start crying and hitting me asking where I was at, she heard a shot fired and knew I was at the park so she was scared. I told her “im alright, I heard the shot and I ran momma.” She said, ”You never going to that park again you hear me” After tonight I was sure that was my last time going there ever. We all went in the house, my mother notice I didn’t have a shirt on, she asked “Boy where the hell is your shirt?” I said “I heard the shots and ran momma, you wanted me to worry about the shirt and pick it up?” She said “You manage to hold on to the ball, and not your damn shirt I should smack you, that shirt was 15 dollars, money don’t grow on no damn trees, should’ve kept that shirt on boy. Now go to take a shower and go to sleep, you still got school tomorrow.” I knew where she was coming from most things these days was expensive and she had 2 jobs and three kids to worry about. The next morning my momma came to wake me up, she told me whatever you say tell the truth, I didn’t know what she meant by that but she told me to put some shorts on and a shirt and come down stairs. I was walking down the stairs and seen two guys with some suits on. They greeted me with a firm hand shake showed me their badges and said “We have a few questions to ask you about yesterday shooting, we were informed you was at the basketball court around the time the shooting occurred. Did you see or hear anything ?” My palms started to get sweaty and my legs started to shake. Ofcourse, I saw every fucking thing I was right there. I screamed in my head. But the words that came out of my mouth was, “No, sir ran as soon as I heard the shot.” They stood up and gave me a card and said to call them if I find out anything. My momma still worrying about the damn shirt asked the police, If they seen it laying at the basketball court. The detectives haven’t seen no shirt. About two hours later