Neurotic Noir: Part 7 -- "Coming Into Focus" (571 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 2 on 9 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by RyuFu (View user info) at 2005-09-28 16:43:50 EDT
Part 1 - "Hole in the Head": http://www.ubersite.com/m/75075
Part 2 - "Perceptive Goth": http://www.ubersite.com/m/75152
Part 3 - "Sex and Tattoos": http://www.ubersite.com/m/75460
Part 4 - "Shpatë Dragua": http://www.ubersite.com/m/75602
Part 5 - "A Kiss for Each": http://www.ubersite.com/m/75721
Part 6 - "Cracked Safe/Broken Levee": http://www.ubersite.com/m/75913
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"Lil, I think I'm gonna be sick."
"No, Jack, it's okay."
"It's all starting to come back to me now. ALL of it at once!"
"Just let it happen. I'd like to know the whole story myself..."
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"And NOOWWW...your starting five for YOUR...RRRRRED CITY DEVIIIILLS!!! At the point and shooting guard positions--you know them as the Twin Jays, Jimmy Robinson and James Coooole!!!"
Of course they were always together! They're fucking fags. No, seriously! I don't know how many people know it, but they're fucking gay. Nice guys, though.
"At small forward, the rhyme-spitting, hoop-smashing wonder himself, Jack--Deshiroj!!!"
That fucking name! My intro was flawless except for that last part...
"At power forward, the rabid rebounder, Ronzell Lllaurent!!!"
Pretty much all he could do on the court. Pretty much all he could ever do in life. He just thrived on other people's missed shots...literally and figuratively. He was born to take orders from whomever suited his needs best. Scumbag...
"Aaaand at center, last year's runner-up for State Player of the Year, Mr. Muscle the Mammoth, Vvvviiiiincent Nezaj!!!!"
Yup. That's Vin, alright. His paternal grandfather was Albanian. He's 3/4 black, but his surname exposed his 1/4 non-blackness. Well, that and the fact that he's not particularly dark. I remember growing up thinking it was tough being the only white guy in the mix. It turns out Vin had an even rougher go of it when his family moved in to the area in 7th grade.
"And Jack is WIDE open--no, Vincent takes it himself--OHH, brick! And that's the game, folks--AND JACK TAKES A SWING AT VIN!! VIN PUNCHES BACK..."
Okay, that's enough of that memory. The motherfucker didn't pass the rock and cost us the chance to advance to the semi-finals. No, he didn't like me at all. I tried to befriend him, though. I tried welcoming him in to our little clique when he first arrived. The three J's and Vin. He called Jimmy and James 'gay-ass sellouts.' But I was patient with him.
"Come on, yo! What's your fucking problem?"
"You! I can't stand to see you hangin' with us black folk!"
"Oh, come ON, yo! It's the nineteen-fuckin'-90's! How you gonna be racist like that? A little mixing of the drinks never hurt anyone."
"Fuck you!! Look at me! Look at ME!!! My nose is fucked up! My hair's fucked up! My skin is all kinds of fucked up!! My name is fucked up!"
"What's wrong with 'Vincent?'"
"Nezaj!! What kind of last name is Nezaj for a nigga like me? Huh?!?"
"Oh, I didn't know...hey, that sounds Albanian. Just like my--"
"Just like your what? My grandma went and fucked around and got pregnant from some Albanian bitch. She took his last name to try to be more white and so did my dad. It got her lynched. My dad struggled through worse beatings than other niggas 'cuz he was a 'mutt.' He was lucky enough to find a good job and a pure beautiful black woman for himself, though."
"Hey man, I'm sorry, I--"
"Man, fuck you!! You don't know! The only reason no one's fucked wit' me is 'cuz I've always been the biggest mothafucka around. I know what people are saying behind my back. I know why those rocks keep flying through our windows at home, now matter how many times we move! Fuck that shit. One day people are gonna find out."
"Find out what?"
"They'll just find out. I'm out, bitches."
That's more or less the abridged version of how it happened. We were definitely enemies from then on, though. He wouldn't have anything to do with me. His only real friend before he became Mr. Basketball was Ronzell. We made fun of Ronzell--a lot. Not because he was black, but because how funny he looked. He had long arms, walked hunched over, was dark as pitch...we called him 'Gorilla.' Needless to say, he never took a liking to the 3 Jays.
The snowstorm. Oh God, all this shit is coming to me so fast! It was barely visible out, but I was driving. I think I stayed late in the school gym to take some extra jumpshots. Yeah, I had just made varsity and I wanted to be extra sharp. Vin didn't want to be upstaged, so he stayed as well. How the coach trusted two sophomores that hated each other to stay alone in the gym, I don't know.
But I wish he didn't.
I didn't know the snow would be so bad--I mean, the skies were a little gray throughout the day, but none of the forecasts predicted the blizzard would be so bad. Since he didn't have a car, I offered Vin a ride home. I really wasn't trying to be nice. He was the team's best player, and I didn't want him slipping on ice or getting sick. He accepted only after I assured him I wasn't trying to do him any favors.
He accepted.
"Yo, you drive like my grandma."
"Shut the fuck up, the ground is icy."
"My dead granmda."
"Fuck you, you fucking faggot!"
"You should pull over so I can show you how its done."
"How would you know? You don't have a car OR a license."
"And I still know I can drive better than this. You suck at driving and you suck at basketball."
It was already pissing me off that he was busting out the insults after I offered the ride. But now he was insulting my basketball skills? That set me off. I sped up dramatically, rocking Vin's head back. After about a minute I slowed down to normal. As we approached his house, I turned my head just a bit to look at his pissed off face and laugh at him.
"JACK, WATCH OUT!"
In an instant, a pair of silhouettes had appeared out of nowhere. I tried to put on the brakes, but the black ice patch I was on was having none of it. For all the good the brakes did, I might as well have sped up. I swerved slightly, but the car hit both of them pretty hard. The smaller one got knocked a few yards to the side on the side walk. The larger one got knocked straight back.
When the car finally came to a halt, I rushed to the larger silhouette. It was a big middle-aged white dude. No. It was a light-skinned middle-aged black dude. Uh oh. One of the legs was bent the wrong way, blood was streaming in various areas. He was out, if not...well, dead. I guessed that he hit the back of his head pretty hard when he landed.
I had a hunch who the other silhouette was. Vin's reaction after I stooped over the lifeless black woman confirmed my hypothesis.
"YOU SONAFABITCH!!!"
He tackled me and started unleashing his fury on me. I tried to console him, to explain myself to him--anything to get him to stop. On a good day back then, I might have been able to hold him off for a minute or two. Caught off guard, I was no match for an adrenaline-fueled, angst-ridden Vin.
I don't remember much else from that night. I couldn't have any memories of it. I didn't wake up until a week later.
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"But it wasn't your fault, Jack! He was egging you on! Besides, you slowed down."
"Yeah. But I still killed his parents."
User Reviews
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-23 11:26:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Despite the mis-definition of angst, still awesome.
Submitted by Ditka (user info) at 2005-12-27 23:16:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2005-09-30 06:13:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-09-29 11:43:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I reposted all of my Survivor stuff there (PH) as well as a few other things and liked the response/reception I got but it tends to be just a tad too slow for me, not many posts in a day. I still check in from time to time though.
Submitted by RyuFu (user info) at 2005-09-29 08:25:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
LadyPlural: Shit, good call on that one. I just looked "angst" up on merriamwebster.com..."a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity." That's my bad on that one. I thought it meant something more harsh.
Kaos: Okay, I heard that name a long time ago. I just never had the inclination to check it out until I read your stories. I'll be testing the waters soon enough.
Submitted by LamRoKi (user info) at 2005-09-29 02:17:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-09-29 00:23:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Uhm, dude? If you just killed both of my parents, I think that I'd be feeling a little bit more than 'angst' when I jumped on the person who did it. Just a thought. :)
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-09-29 00:22:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Obviously a +2. I'm really digging this tale. Thanks for going back an checking out all my earlier work, man.
PulseHEAD, (or pH) is the bastard step-child of Ubersite. It's much smaller with a much lower tolerance of silliness. I started posting on there months before I came to Uber. I feel both have their rewards, but most Uberites hate the place because it's so strict and so small. I have over 140 posts on pH, but most of them I've either already posted here or are gay-ass poetry. If you're interested... http://www.pulseHEAD.com
Submitted by morontian (user info) at 2005-09-28 22:41:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Still going well. I'm really into this.