Booker T: From Prison to Promise: Life Before the Squared Circle by Booker T Huffman, Andrew William Wright Page B
Authors: Booker T Huffman, Andrew William Wright
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what those guys did to you yesterday, man. Take this.” He pulled out a nine-inch, pearl-handled buck knife.
My sweaty right hand gripped the knife, and I slipped it into my jacket pocket. When the bus came, I ran on board and waited for the next pickup, which would be the Smiths. As we approached their stop, I looked out the window and was surprised to see Riley all by himself.
That punk got on the bus and immediately talked about kicking my ass the previous day.
That was it. I jumped out of my seat, brandished the blade, and went after Riley. I lunged, trying to stab him.
Ghost white, he tried to fend me off.
I cursed at him and got my digs in. “You gonna fuck with me now, motherfucker? Huh? Now what are you gonna do when I frag your ass right here, right now?”
He shielded himself with schoolbooks and didn’t say a word.
The other kids on the bus were going nuts, yelling and screaming. It sounded like a little prison riot. Meanwhile, the bus driver just kept on driving.
Wendell and Terry got up in a panic and tried to grab me, but I was swinging wildly, like a blind man wielding a cane to fight off a robber. With the blade swinging back and forth like a lightning-fast pendulum, my boys backed off too.
Riley wasn’t such a tough guy anymore. His eyes welled with tears. Without the assistance of his little gang, he was revealed for all he was: a terrified bully. It was great to finally scare the hell out of him.
I put the knife back in my pocket and punched his left cheek. The shot was so hard I thought my hand was broken as he crashed into the rear emergency exit door.
Proud of myself, I calmly sat down. All the kids, especially Riley, must have thought I was crazy and too dangerous to be messed with.
Mission accomplished,
I mused. Surely word of what had happened would spread like wildfire throughout the school, and I would be granted permanent king-of-the-halls status.
The more I thought about it throughout the school day, however, I realized there was no way in hell Riley would let that humiliating moment merely fade away. In fact, some other kids told me to expect a swift payback the next morning.
The following day, I skipped school and went to the movies. I hoped everything would blow over and I would be good to go by the end of the week.
When I finally did return, the campus security guard immediately grabbed me and took me to the principal’s office, where both Riley and Ernest sat. I guess the bus driver had seen more than I’d thought and had gone straight to the office to tell them about the incident.
I looked at the principal, with his pasty face and gray eyes, and told him the whole story, starting with the Smiths and their friends jumping me. “I only brought the knife to defend myself by scaring them off. I’m not going to come to school every day and get beat on by anybody, let alone a whole group of punks like them.”
The principal took a good, long stare at me. “Well, it’s good you didn’t come to school yesterday, because these gentlemen had a surprise for you too.” He pulled out a long cane and showed me how the handle could pop off to reveal a short sword just like the one Alex had in
A Clockwork Orange.
It was pretty chilling to imagine what those dudes might have done with it.
Considering how very close we had come to killing each other, the punishment was appropriately severe. We were all suspended for the remaining school year, which meant I was going to have to repeat the eighth grade. Since the last day was only about two months away, I tried to tell myself it was a nice extension to summer vacation.
The chaotic and unpredictable life I was leading after my mother’s death was finally catching up with me.
5
INTO THE FIRE
Even though I didn’t have many positive role models in my life, thankfully Carolyn was still seeing Luther, the one who’d taken care of all the arrangements for Mom’s funeral. In addition to the funeral parlor, he owned a nightclub, a
My sweaty right hand gripped the knife, and I slipped it into my jacket pocket. When the bus came, I ran on board and waited for the next pickup, which would be the Smiths. As we approached their stop, I looked out the window and was surprised to see Riley all by himself.
That punk got on the bus and immediately talked about kicking my ass the previous day.
That was it. I jumped out of my seat, brandished the blade, and went after Riley. I lunged, trying to stab him.
Ghost white, he tried to fend me off.
I cursed at him and got my digs in. “You gonna fuck with me now, motherfucker? Huh? Now what are you gonna do when I frag your ass right here, right now?”
He shielded himself with schoolbooks and didn’t say a word.
The other kids on the bus were going nuts, yelling and screaming. It sounded like a little prison riot. Meanwhile, the bus driver just kept on driving.
Wendell and Terry got up in a panic and tried to grab me, but I was swinging wildly, like a blind man wielding a cane to fight off a robber. With the blade swinging back and forth like a lightning-fast pendulum, my boys backed off too.
Riley wasn’t such a tough guy anymore. His eyes welled with tears. Without the assistance of his little gang, he was revealed for all he was: a terrified bully. It was great to finally scare the hell out of him.
I put the knife back in my pocket and punched his left cheek. The shot was so hard I thought my hand was broken as he crashed into the rear emergency exit door.
Proud of myself, I calmly sat down. All the kids, especially Riley, must have thought I was crazy and too dangerous to be messed with.
Mission accomplished,
I mused. Surely word of what had happened would spread like wildfire throughout the school, and I would be granted permanent king-of-the-halls status.
The more I thought about it throughout the school day, however, I realized there was no way in hell Riley would let that humiliating moment merely fade away. In fact, some other kids told me to expect a swift payback the next morning.
The following day, I skipped school and went to the movies. I hoped everything would blow over and I would be good to go by the end of the week.
When I finally did return, the campus security guard immediately grabbed me and took me to the principal’s office, where both Riley and Ernest sat. I guess the bus driver had seen more than I’d thought and had gone straight to the office to tell them about the incident.
I looked at the principal, with his pasty face and gray eyes, and told him the whole story, starting with the Smiths and their friends jumping me. “I only brought the knife to defend myself by scaring them off. I’m not going to come to school every day and get beat on by anybody, let alone a whole group of punks like them.”
The principal took a good, long stare at me. “Well, it’s good you didn’t come to school yesterday, because these gentlemen had a surprise for you too.” He pulled out a long cane and showed me how the handle could pop off to reveal a short sword just like the one Alex had in
A Clockwork Orange.
It was pretty chilling to imagine what those dudes might have done with it.
Considering how very close we had come to killing each other, the punishment was appropriately severe. We were all suspended for the remaining school year, which meant I was going to have to repeat the eighth grade. Since the last day was only about two months away, I tried to tell myself it was a nice extension to summer vacation.
The chaotic and unpredictable life I was leading after my mother’s death was finally catching up with me.
5
INTO THE FIRE
Even though I didn’t have many positive role models in my life, thankfully Carolyn was still seeing Luther, the one who’d taken care of all the arrangements for Mom’s funeral. In addition to the funeral parlor, he owned a nightclub, a
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