"Damn, I knew that was you!".
I turned around to see a face I hadn't seen in a while.
"Eric! You had me trippin', man. I almost didn't recognise you".
"Andrey?".
Right now I'm back in my hometown. I was getting some ingredients and groceries for my meals. I've been keeping track of my diet, so even at home, I was still cooking for myself. My mom told me to just eat her food instead. I still eat her food, but sometimes it doesn't have enough protein or fill me up, which is weird because there were times I couldn't even finish her food.
"How did you recognise me?".
"You're eyes, dawg", Andrey said, pointing at his own. "You've got those happy, cheerful eyes. Full of life, type shit".
Happy eyes? If anyone had happy eyes, it was Andrey. He's always smiling and upbeat. My eyes aren't like his.
"Once I saw those, I knew it was you. You've always had those eyes", Andrey continued with a grin. "How you been though? You've let your hair grow", he said, gazing at my hair in awe.
"Heh, yeah", I smirked, picking my hair.
"What'd yo momma say? If this were high school, you'd be dead. She would've whooped your ass", Andrey chuckled. "I'm surprised you're still here".
I smiled, remembering how my mom ranted and said that my hair should be kept short.
"At first she hated it", I said. "But I think she likes it now. She won't admit it though".
"Your hair ain't the only thing that's changed. You're massive now", Andrey said, squeezing my bicep.
I looked at him, surprised, "You can tell?"
I was wearing an oversized hoodie and joggers. My physique was hidden, so I don't know how he picked up on it.
"Your shoulders, bruh", Andrey said, tapping my left shoulder. "Your shoulders are wiiiide. I remember you were like this in high school", he said, squishing his body together to make fun of me.
"Hahaha", I laughed at how funny he looked. "I'm not massive. I have been going to the gym, but I'm not where I wanna be yet".
"Damn, bro. You're putting me to shame", he said, patting his stomach. "We need to go gym together sometime. You need to motivate me".
"Yeah, I'd love that. Let's go", I excitedly replied.
Going to the gym with a friend. That would be so fun. I've always gone alone.
"Daaamn bro. We have so much to catch up on", he said, excitedly moving around on the spot. "Ah, bro. How could I forget? How's Sasha?".
A little shock went through my heart after that question. My body stopped. A question I wasn't prepared for right now.
Oh right. I didn't tell him. I only told my family.
"We uuh… broke up", I awkwardly said, not knowing where to look.
…
After hearing no response, I forced myself to look at him and saw him staring at me. It was like his body had stopped.
"You're messing with me, right?" he asked, not believing me. "You two are like a Disney couple. Stop playing", he nervously smiled.
Heh Disney couple.
"Nope. We're not together anymore", I told him, struggling to hold eye contact. "I thought you would've known".
"How was I supposed to know? You haven't texted me in months", he said, a little frustrated.
"Yeah, but I thought you might've heard something from Sasha's friends-".
Shit, I'm just making excuses.
"Fuck no. I don't talk to them", he cut in. "Bro, from what I know, you and Sasha have been off the grid as soon as you joined that academy. I haven't heard anything about you two. The other guys haven't heard anything, too".
I hung my head, rubbing the back of my neck.
Damn, I thought it would be easy to talk about this with my friends.
"Sorry… I wanted to text you guys, but I didn't feel like it", I admitted. "A lot happened".
"Did she cheat?" he asked cautiously.
"No, no", I said, quickly raising my head to look at him. "No one cheated. It just... wasn't meant to be. I guess".
Silence was introduced again. There was a halt in the conversation. The background noise of everyone else shopping around was still present, but the silence between us was louder to me. I looked at Andrey's face, and from his expression, I could tell a thousand things.
I could tell a part of him didn't believe me.
I could tell he was trying not to believe it.
I could tell that this was making no sense to him.
I could tell he was trying to process this.
I could tell he desperately wanted to know what happened.
I could tell he was annoyed I didn't tell him.
This silence is killing me. I need to say something.
"Andrey, I'm sorry. My head's been a mess the past couple of months".
"Nah, you're good", he said, casually. "You wanna get your hair braided or you gonna leave it out like that?".
"...What?" I blinked.
"My older sister can braid your hair. She got her own little side hustle. I could tell her to braid your hair".
What's going on?
"Umm... Nah, I'm good. I don't want to bother your sister".
"It's fine. You don't have to pay. I got you. It's on the house", he smiled.
"Y-you sure?"
"Yeah, bro. You don't gotta pay a thing".
"What about your sister? Are you sure she'll be okay with this?".
"Bro, don't worry, it's fine. I got you".
I grinned and looked down.
Yep, that's Andrey. Hates a sad mood.
"Andrey, I'm sorry. I should've told you and kept in touch. I feel bad about not replying to your messages.".
"I told you it's fine. You don't need to apologise", he said. "But if you feel bad and wanna apologise, then you're gonna have to tell me what you've been through the past couple of months", he smiled at me, holding out his hand.
I smiled back and dapped him up,
"Sounds good".
"What's good, Benji?".
"Tev!".
Benjamin was scrolling through his phone, sitting outside on the porch of his house.
"I've been here for two weeks and this is the first time I've seen you", Benjamin said, getting up and pocketing his phone.
"I've been outta town", Tevon replied, walking towards him.
"Yeah, I heard everyone was gone. When I asked when you'd be back, no one knew".
"Business. You know how it is", Tevon replied, shrugging and putting his hand out.
"Business, yeah?" Benjamin smirked, dapping him up and knowing what he meant.
After seeing Tevon close up, Benjamin noticed something.
"When did you get this?" Benjamin asked, tugging Tevon's hoodie.
Tevon's hoodie was a brand-new designer hoodie. He proudly grinned with his grills out.
"Even the kicks. You never had those in your wardrobe", Benjamin added, pointing to Tevon's feet.
"Heh heh. Life's changed", Tevon simply answered, patting Benjamin's shoulder.
Benjamin smiled, happy for his friend, but he knew what kind of money bought those clothes.
"Come with me. The rest of the guys wanna see you", Tevon said, walking away.
"Where?".
"They're at the crib".
"Whose crib?".
Tevon turned his head and looked at Benjamin,
"THE crib".
Benjamin looked at him, confused. He had no idea what he was talking about. He followed him nonetheless as he had nothing else to do.
After a twenty-minute walk, they reached a house that Benjamin had never seen before. They even took a route Benjamin was unfamiliar with. The whole time Benjamin was on edge, despite it being his area.
The two stood in front of the house. The house looked like a standard two-story house. It looked better than the houses that Benjamin and his friends were used to, but it was nothing crazy. Benjamin thought he would see a mansion, based on the way Tevon was talking about it.
"So whose crib is this?" Benjamin asked, gazing at the house.
"Everyone's", Tevon replied. "Yours too", he added, patting Benjamin's chest before walking to the door.
Benjamin took another look at the house, questioning whether this was real or not. He didn't know if Tevon was playing with him or not.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"YO!" Tevon shouted.
After a few short moments, the door opened.
"T, you're back!".
"Yeah. And look who else I bought", Tevon replied, moving out of the way.
"Benji!".
"J!" Benjamin happily replied with his face lit up.
Jamar was the one who opened the door. Benjamin went closer to Jamar and embraced him.
"You good, homie?" Jamar asked, getting out of the hug.
"Yeah. I'm all good", Benjamin replied, smiling.
"Come in, bro", Jamar said, making space for Benjamin.
Benjamin stepped inside, "Honey, I'm home- Whoa…".
When he walked in, Benjamin was surprised at how nice everything looked. Modern, clean, stylish. He expected something a little rundown and old-fashioned like his house, but this aesthetic didn't match his neighbourhood.
"What's that look for?" Tevon asked, picking up on Benjamin's expression.
"It's a nice crib", Benjamin replied. "You sure you bought it?" he joked.
"Yeah. Up front", Tevon said. "Straight cash".
Benjamin kept his mouth shut. He was speechless at how much money they made in a few months. They made enough to have a house like this. He kept in touch with them after the Halloween party, and he'd ask how their business was going, but he'd never ask how much they made. He was curious, however, he didn't want to know at the same time.
The guys walked into the living room, and that's where Benjamin saw the rest of his friends. The guys he saw at the Halloween party and a couple more.
"Benji! My boy!" Monty said, getting up from the couch. He had a blunt in his right hand, but he put his blunt in his left hand to shake Benjamin's hand.
"Monty, you good!?" Benjamin replied, shaking his hand.
"Look at me. Better than ever", Monty said. "Here. You can smoke, how good I'm feeling", he continued, passing his blunt to Benjamin.
"Nope, no smoke for him", Tevon interfered, blocking Monty's hand. "My boy's studious. He needs to be on his A game".
Benjamin smiled and looked down.
"He's here for a few more weeks. One puff won't do shit", Monty said, trying to persuade him. "A blunt once in a while ain't hurt nobody".
"M, I'm good. Don't worry about it", Benjamin said. "I'm quitting".
"Quitting? Hehe. Bro, I can count the amount of blunts you smoked in your life on one hand", Monty replied, holding up his right hand. "You don't need to quit. You barely started".
Benjamin laughed a little. Benjamin was nowhere near addicted, but he did smoke a couple of joints out of curiosity. He was surrounded by weed constantly, so it was hard for him to avoid it. It might not have been the best weed, but he could still get high off it.
"M, he ain't gonna smoke", Tevon told Monty, not budging.
"Fine. More for me", Monty replied, smirking before taking a puff. "Go show him the bag".
"Yeah, I'm gonna do that now", Tevon replied, walking ahead of Benjamin.
"Benji, don't get too excited", Monty teased, patting Benjamin's back and slightly pushing him ahead.
"In a bit, M".
Before Tevon could lead him away, Benjamin spotted someone else,
"D, what you drinking?" Benjamin asked, seeing Dante sitting at a table, sipping from a cup.
"Hehehe, look", Dante lazily said, showing him inside the cup.
Benjamin leaned over and looked inside the cup. "What's that? Did you mix alcohol with Kool-Aid or something?" he asked, seeing a purple colour inside the cup.
"Haha", Dante cracked up. "This ain't kool-aid, gang. It's lean".
Benjamin flinched for a second, staring at Dante, then looked inside the cup again.
"You playing?".
"Naaah, gang. We can afford this shit now, hehe", Dante said, swirling his cup a little. "You want some? It's some good shit, Benji".
Benjamin's eyes were fixated on the cup. Lean was something all his friends wanted. Most of them had tried it before, but none of them had frequent access to it, as it was expensive. Benjamin heard about lean from multiple rap songs and even heard stuff from his friends. He was curious, and he definitely wanted to try it. The influences around him would instantly make him fold under a bit of peer pressure. Temptation didn't have to do much to pull him in.
"Nah, Benji's staying sober", Tevon said, throwing an arm around Benjamin.
"Cmon, T, let him have something", Dante replied.
"Don't worry, I got something for him", Tevon said, smirking.
"Pause", Benjamin joked.
"Why you making it weird?" Tevon said, tightening his grip around Benjamin and headlocking him.
"Okay, okay", Benjamin smiled, tapping Tevon's arm to make him let go.
"Haha", Tevon laughed, letting him go. "Benji, follow me. You'll talk to them after", he said, walking ahead.
"Aye, Benji", Dante called out. "Your eyes are gonna explode out of your head when you see it".
"We'll see", Benjamin replied, smirking, not taking him seriously. "See you in a bit", he said, holding out his fist.
"In a bit", Dante replied, fist bumping him.
Benjamin left the room and followed Tevon. They went upstairs and continued to a bedroom at the end of the hall. When Benjamin entered the room, it was an ordinary room. Nothing out of the sort. Tevon quietly walked to a wardrobe and opened it. Benjamin peered over his shoulder and saw a messy wardrobe, filled with clothes, but somehow Tevon pulled a duffel bag out of the mess. Tevon turned around, holding the duffel bag, and saw the shocked look on Benjamin's face.
"Look at this", Tevon coolly said, putting the duffel bag on the bed.
Tevon waited for Benjamin to stand next to him before he unzipped it. Once the bag was unzipped, Benjamin couldn't believe it. His jaw dropped.
Money. Dollars. Paper. Racks. Stacks. Bands.
The bag was filled to the brim with cash wrapped with elastic bands. Benjamin stared at it, mesmerised. The stuff he'd seen on TV was in front of him. Real stacks of money was in front of him. He wanted to touch it to see if it was real or prop money. He wanted to know if he was dreaming.
"Stop staring. Grab a band", Tevon said, smiling, knowing Benjamin too well.
Benjamin slowly turned his head to Tevon to get that verification nod and get the green light. After the green light was given, Benjamin looked at the bag again. He didn't grab one stack. He grabbed a couple with both his hands. Benjamin took a closer look at the stacks to see how much was in each stack.
"Each stack is five thousand", Tevon told him.
Benjamin looked at him in awe, not saying anything until,
"H-how much?".
"Five thousand", Tevon repeated, nodding his head.
"Nah, I meant", Benjamin nodded to the bag. He was too stunned to barely finish his sentences. "How much is in the bag?".
"Oh. Hehe", Tevon chuckled. "Like 250 to 300 thousand. We've given a few stacks away, so it's somewhere between there".
Benjamin didn't waste time. He spun his head around and glanced around the room.
"What?" Tevon asked, seeing him spinning his head round
"Where's the other bag?" Benjamin asked back.
"What other bag?"
"The bag with the… stuff".
Tevon smirked.
"Cmon, Benji. You think we'll keep the bag with the goods here? That shits in another place", Tevon replied, "The cops won't find anything if they raid this house".
"Why would the cops raid here? They wouldn't raid a house like this", Benjamin said.
"Benji, I thought you were smart", Tevon replied, giving him a look. "A bunch of young black guys in a house like this. The cops are gonna be more than suspicious. They'll know something's going on. If they saw an old white couple in this house, that's a different story. They wouldn't question it".
"But you've got this bag", Benjamin said, pointing to the bag "If they see this much cash-".
"This bag ain't staying here", Tevon cut in. "It's going where the food (drugs) is. We just came back, bro. We had to do a bit of donating before stashing it away", he smirked. "Benji, you worry too much. It's a good thing you're at that academy", he said, shaking his shoulder.
Benjamin was looking down at the money in his hands, and then switching his view to the bag. His thoughts tangled.
"What's wrong?" Tevon asked, sensing something in Benjamin's silence.
"Nothing", Benjamin replied, shaking his head. "It's a lot of money, you know", he lightly smiled.
"Yeah", Tevon said. "Three times the amount you get from winning at that academy".
Benjamin's eyelids flickered, and his light smile faded.
"Ha, I knew it".
Benjamin turned to him, caught off guard.
"There's a part of you that's thinking, why are you at that academy?" Tevon said.
"No", Benjamin quickly denied.
"Benji, cmon, man".
"...Tch, fine. I was", Benjamin admitted, drifting his eyes away. "You guys made this much in a couple of months, but I'm gonna be at the academy for three years and get no money".
"What do you mean, no money?" Tevon asked, brow raised.
"I'm not winning that 100k", Benjamin said, being realistic. "Do you know the people I'm competing against? It's insane".
"You still leave there with something, though".
"Yeah, a certificate", Benjamin muttered, brushing over that fact.
"Exactly", Tevon said, tapping Benjamin's chest. "When I was gone, I talked about you, you know. One of the guys I was selling to said he had a cousin who went to that academy a couple years back".
"Where did he finish?" Benjamin curiously asked, interested.
"He didn't graduate", Tevon replied. "He didn't make it to the final year".
Benjamin's face dropped. He thought he was about to hear a success story.
"But he still got something from that academy, and he ended up with an alright job in the end. He's living good", Tevon continued. "Now imagine you get that graduation certificate. The guy told me, if you get that, your career's comfortable. Money won't be an issue".
"Yeah, but by the time I graduate, you guys will be multimillionaires", Benjamin said, looking at the cash.
"Bro, if we're millionaires, you're a millionaire", Tevon said, lightly punching Benjamin's arm to get him to look at him. "All of us are one big family. There's no competition here".
Benjamin understood his point and could see the long-term goal, but short-term success in front of him was tempting. He wanted that large amount of cash now. Working hard for a graduation certificate and then working hard at a job was making less sense to him. The money was clouding his vision.
"Benjamin. What you have going on for you is special. No other guy in this neighbourhood could do what you're doing. If you graduate from that academy, you more or less completed life", Tevon said. "But all of us? Imma be real, this ain't safe. A lot of shit could happen to us. You even told us at that Halloween party. You said what we're doing is fucked up and dangerous".
"I still think it's fucked up and dangerous", Benjamin interrupted, not forgetting.
"Yet you ain't told us off, tried to convince us to stop or said shit", Tevon said. "You saw the money and started second-guessing yourself", he tapped his temple.
Benjamin looked away because Tevon got it spot on. Seeing the money clouded his vision and made him forget about the process and consequences of how that money was acquired.
"I was like you, bro. I wasn't on selling cocaine when it was first mentioned. But when I saw the money that I could make right in front of my eyes, I gave in", Tevon shrugged. "I know I've said this a million times, but you're different, Benjamin. I'm happy we don't have the same problems to worry about. If we had the same problems, that would be more stress for me", he smiled.
Benjamin couldn't look at Tevon. There was nothing he could say because Tevon was making sense. There was no room to argue.
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. You're too good for this shit, bro. Any of us could get killed or thrown in prison playing this game. And I'm glad you ain't playing", Tevon said with a hand on Benjamin's shoulder.
Benjamin swallowed, still staring at the stacks. It was one of those situations where whatever Benjamin said was a losing argument. Even though his friends were in the wrong, whatever Benjamin said to them was wrong. He couldn't win by joining them or saving them. All he could do was walk his path and watch them from afar.
"I don't blame you for second-guessing yourself", Tevon said. "We all grew up broke as shit. Seeing this much money would make anyone go crazy".
"I ain't second-guessing myself anymore", Benjamin lied, throwing the cash back into the bag.
"Yeah, right", Tevon said, seeing through him. "Don't worry, dawg. You're gonna graduate and get the certificate and live the high life. And bro, I don't know why you're doubting yourself, but you're gonna win that 100k too".
Benjamin smiled and shook his head. He wasn't as optimistic. "Let's go", he said, turning around and starting to walk away.
"Yo, holdup".
Benjamin turned around to see stacks of cash flying towards him. He managed to catch them all with both hands.
"Here, take some more", Tevon said, throwing him a couple more.
"Yo relax!" Benjamin replied with his hands full. "What am I gonna do with all this?".
"What do you mean? It's money. Spend it", Tevon said, looking at him funny.
"We don't use real money at the academy. I told you we use credits".
"Oh shit yeah", Tevon remembered. "It doesn't matter, keep it. I haven't seen anyone ever complain about keeping thousands", he grinned.
Benjamin looked down at his arms and counted the stacks. He was holding around 30k in his arms.
"You don't need to give any to your fam. We already sorted them out", Tevon told him.
"Even my older brother and sister?".
"And your little bro", Tevon smirked.
"What?!".
"Yep. He sent me a pic of bands stacked under his bed".
"He never told me this", Benjamin said, looking a little betrayed.
"Why do you think? We told your fam not to tell you", Tevon smiled, finding it hilarious.
Benjamin joined him, smiling, "So this is all for me?".
"Yeah", Tevon nodded. "Keep it in your dorm room. You never know when you'll need it".
Benjamin once again looked down at the cash. His hands trembled, but not from fear. Excitement was rushing through him. This was his.
A desire came over him. He split the stacks between both hands and then pressed the stacks to his ears like a phone and smiled with every tooth showing.
"Haha, what are you doing, bro?" Tevon laughed.
"I've always wanted to do this", Benjamin said with joy. "Life's about experiences".
"Hehe. I can't say shit, cuz I did the same thing you did when I got the first bag", Tevon laughed, smiling with his teeth out like Benjamin.
Benjamin's chest tightened. He hadn't seen Tevon smile like that in forever. In that moment, it hit him,
"Life's changed".