Untitled so far

He took a breath and stepped outside into a brand new world. Away from his family, his friends, his life. It was a chance for him to start over. An opportunity to start with a new beginning. His experiences over the past few weeks had startled him into a new view upon people and upon himself. It all started the day of the accident.1

It was a foggy morning and he had been out all night with friends. Recently graduated, they had all decided to do some expected partying and experience more of the world. Smoking cigarettes and drinking had always been an asset to his repertoire but hard drugs were never his thing. He had been at a friends' house and they had invited everyone they knew over for a good time. After about an hour of harmless drinking and simple drags on his cigarette he was introduced to a friend of his friend. 2

"What's up, man? I'm Kaya," the friend of his friend said. It was a harmless introduction but it caught a nerve with the boy as he calmly sucked more smoke from his cigarette. He gave his friend a look, which everyone knew all too well.3

"You got a problem with me?" Kaya asked when he saw the look, "Let me guess. You don't like niggers right? Is that it? You think I should go back to fucking Africa and join my slave brothers? Fuck you, man. I was trying to help you enjoy yourself tonight and you gonna go and be a little bitch about shit. Fuck this. I'm leaving."4

"Why'd you bring him over here?" the racist asked his friend.5

"You a punk. I didn't think you were that fucking bad, man. I knew you didn't like black people that much but I didn't think you were a fucking Klan bitch. You need to fucking leave. Just get out of here."6

"Fuck you too, Blake, you nigger lover," he called as he walked out of the house. Rain pattered on the sidewalk outside of the house and he pulled his hood over his head and walked towards his car. There was a dark figure standing near it. He recognized him immediately.7

"Back up from my car, boy. You don't have any business around here anyways. You know your kind ain't welcome."8

"Fuck man, what the hell did I do to you? Why you so pissed at me when I didn't do shit to you?" Kaya asked without moving from his position. 9

"Look, boy, I don't like your kind. I don't like your face. I don't like your music or your clothes and I don't like your fucking skin. Now get out of my way and step the fuck away from my car."10

"What you gonna do if I don't? You gonna hang me or something? We both know you won't do anything. You'll just wait until I leave like all the rest of your racist friends. I really don't want to fight you but I will. Oh, and cut out the boy shit. You ain't my father," Kaya spoke with certainty. He knew the boy wouldn't do anything to him because of the fear of embarrassment of being beaten by a black man. The boy took a step towards him and then turned away and started to walk back towards the house.11

"Where you going? I thought you were leaving. I never tried to stop you. I was just standing out of the rain," Kaya called to him with a smirk. The boy turned and stared for a moment before walking sheepishly towards his car and getting in. Kaya stared at him as he pulled away and drove off down the driveway. He looked up towards the sky as the rain began to give way and headed back into the party.12

"Yo, Blake, what's up with your boy? Why he hate me so much already and I ain't said nothing to him hardly?"13

"I don't know, man. I'm real fucking sorry about that. I didn't think he'd be like that at all. I thought he'd be cool with hanging out since it's a party and all. I don't think he'll be coming back here for a while though. Probably be too afraid or just too proud to show his face after what he said," Blake replied.14

"What's his name by the way? If he's going to bitch at me for being black whenever I see him, I'd might as well know what his name is."15

"His name's Graham. I don't know how often you'll see him around here though. He doesn't really hang out around here much. Too busy down in hickville."16

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I don't go down to his neighborhood too much then and I don't expect to see him down in mine. Boy got a fucking rebel flag hanging from his mirror. True redneck," Kaya laughed. Blake joined in and the two of them went back to enjoying the party.17

The next day went on as usual. Blake and Kaya slept in from their hangovers and Graham went to church with his mother and sister. His father had to work early in the morning so he rarely made it to church. It had become more of a chore than an enjoyment to join his mother in worship of the Lord but he couldn't bring himself to tell her that. He knew that it would break his mother's heart to know that he had started to lose his faith a long time ago. The thought of religion bored him after he learned of cigarettes and alcohol. The sins of the flesh had filled the space where God had been. At first he felt wrong and strange about it but as he realized that he was not alone, his nerves calmed and he knew that it was normal for him to smoke, drink, and forget about church. It wasn't like he hated God. He had come to a point in his life where he just didn't care. 18

Church let out a little later than usual and the rain had returned from the night before. He had parked near the back of the lot because he had arrived later than usual this morning. His mother allowed him to drive his own car in case he had plans for after church. On this particular afternoon, he had planned to drive over to Blake's house and apologize for his behavior at the party. He knew he shouldn't have been such a nuisance but his ego stood between him and his judgment at times. This happened especially if he had been drinking. Blake had moved out on his own earlier than most of the kids his age. He turned 18 over 4 months before graduation and had saved enough money to move out on his own. His family had given him quite a bit of money for graduation, which he used to help move himself into a house instead of an apartment. The party had been partially set up to celebrate but mostly just for fun. 19

Graham pulled into Blake's driveway and saw a few cars were still present. 20

"They must all still be passed out," he thought to himself as he continued up to the door. It was slightly open and he creeped in, trying not to wake anyone besides Blake. There was laughter in the next room and he turned the corner to see who all had stayed. Sitting on the couch were Blake and a girl he had seen around but never talked to. Reclining casually next to the couch was Kaya. The laughter faded and the three stared as he walked into the room.21

"What's up Graham?" asked Blake.22

"Can I talk to you for a minute, man?"23

"Can't say it here?"24

"I'd rather not," he said as he let his eyes wander over the girl and onto Kaya before returning to his feet. He scratched his head and stepped back into the hallway. Blake entered and leaned against the wall.25

"So what's up? Everything all right?" he questioned.26

"Yeah, it's all good. I just wanted to come by and apologize for messing things up last night. I got carried away and should have just dropped things. I said shit I shouldn't have. So, yeah, sorry."27

"It's cool with me but you should be saying this to Kaya. He's the one you were talking to and about."28

"I didn't come here to say nothing to him. I was hoping he was already gone. Why's he still here anyway?" he demanded.29

"This is my house, man. Kaya's my friend just like you are. Him and Tasha were just hanging out for a while before taking off. They helped me clean up from last night and we've just been sitting around smoking for a while. You're welcome to join if you think you can apologize and be civil to everyone." Graham looked at the ground and then into the room with Tasha and Kaya. They were talking and laughing. It was obvious that they were enjoying themselves. He wanted that as well but was not sure that he could talk to Kaya without getting into an argument.30

"So you gonna be cool?" Blake asked and gestured to the living room.31

"I'll be fine," he said as he followed him back in.32