"Darius Kincaid!"
I woke up to the sound of a deep feminine voice. My mind was a bit hazy.
The harsh light above me stabbed at my eyes, blinding me. I could hear a cacophony of voices in the room, and when I sat up I realized I was crammed in a room full of strangers my age.
Then, it came back to me. Yesterday the officers had brought my siblings and me to this juvenile detention center.
"Darius Kincaid! Is anyone in here named Darius Kincaid?!"
I shifted my gaze toward the voice. My eyes-landed on a mean looking lady, standing with Josh at the door.
She noticed me staring and asked, "Are you Darius Kincaid?!"
She wouldn't have heard me if I'd spoken, so I nodded instead. She then gestured for me to come with a swing of her hand.
I left the uncomfortable bench I'd slept on and pushed through the kids until I reached her.
Not long after we started walking down the hallway, Josh fell into step beside me and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, and you?"
We'd slept in different rooms, so it felt natural to return the question.
"Same. I'm just wondering how Kyra's doing."
My eyes drifted across the hallway, but I didn't find her, "Where is she, anyway?"
"I don't know. After leaving my room, that lady came to you."
We were already past the detention rooms. Either Kyra was in an adult holding cell or my father wasn't planning on releasing her soon.
I was outside now. Thanks to the harsh light I'd slept under, I wasn't affected by the sun's rays.
I saw my uncle by the sidewalk in a black short-sleeved button-up, tucked into blue denim. Next to him was a skinny man in a grey suit. Behind them was an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser—our family car. One of its windows was down, and Kyra sat there.
She looked pissed, like she'd just had an argument with both men.
"Boys! Are you okay?" my uncle asked.
"We're okay," I replied.
Just then, Josh walked past me to go talk to Kyra. His fixation on her caught me off guard. I didn't say anything and got in the car with the men.
The car pulled away from the juvenile detention center. It was noisier than I expected. Uncle Elroy had his disco playing, Josh was complaining, and the only quiet ones were me and Kyra. I looked her way wondering why, but I didn't ask.
Eventually we were on the good side of Bronzeville; a few mansions here and there—not too big, not too small.
On the stairs of one house sat a seven-year-old, pigtailed girl. "Daddy! They're back!" she shouted, without even looking our way. She was the weird one in the family.
The car came to a stop across the streets. I would've preferred staying inside, but that would only add to the list of problems I had. So I got out with the them anyways.
"Josh! Darius!"
I turned around. It was Chris, one of Josh's friends.
He continued, "I have news, dudes. Rick was arrested."
I ignored him. Josh started to leave when my uncle pulled him back.
"Ignore him," he said.
"I'll be back soon, I promise."
"No. That's not your problem right now. We need to—"
Josh broke free of his grip and left, ignoring him. "I'll be back soon!"
He was already halfway down the block. He didn't hear a thing because his priorities were set elsewhere, forgetting we still had to meet with our father.