This is a story that I wrote for a Creative Writing Class in high school, I hope you enjoy it as it not a normal Odyssey Post and this is only Part 1...Thank You.

Mad World for the Good Kid

By Elandra Gilmore

“Khayari! Wake up!” I shook her with tears rushing down “You gotta wake up!” Her blood was running through my fingers, and then I finally realized, I just lost my best friend. All of our neighbors came out of their homes and shook their heads as if to say, “Ain’t nothing new”. “CALL THE AMBULANCE!!!!” I screamed “ANYBODY!!!! PLEASE!!!!” Ms. Payton, Khayari’s mom, pushed through the crowd to then give out a blood curling scream and dropped to her knees when she saw the sight of her daughter’s blood all over my hands and shirt. “Deloncé”, she crawled to us “Please tell me, that’s not my baby” I looked at her and her daughter’s pale face and when I stroked Khayari’s face, “Yeah”, I slowly nodded my head with the tears coming again, “It is”. Her mother screamed again louder as my father, David, was restraining her, “LET ME GO, DAVID!!! I WANT MY BABY GIRL!!!!!!” she pushed him off and looked at me with pleading eyes, “Deloncé, can I?” I slowly lifted Khayari’s lifeless body to her and stood up, “I’m so sorry, Ms. Payton”. Ms. Payton stroked Khayari’s face like a baby and said, “Del, I know you always protected her. I know this isn’t your fault” and she silently cried, while our neighbors started to circle around her, “Stay strong for momma, Khayari. Stay up for me”. I couldn’t move away from the scene, my dad stood behind me as the ambulance came up to me, “What happened?” the lady asked me as I shifted uncomfortably, trying to be strong, “My friend got shot in the heart in the street here” and the lady nodded her head and ran over to Ms. Payton. “I think you need to talk to the police over there”, my dad said “They need to know what you saw” “I don’t like the police, Dad. You know this” “But they still need to know, so they could try to find out who killed her”, he held my shoulders “Do it for her, please”…That’s all I remember from earlier”, I slid down the chair with my hands in my pockets “That’s it?” the officer asked. “You should be very lucky that I’m even talking to you”, I sucked my teeth “Cops are not my favorite people” “Not all cops are bad, you know”, he shrugged “Oh I know, but you don’t know where Officer Jones is, so that’s all I’m giving up”, I stared into his eyes “I’ll call to see if he’s here now”, the officer said as he got up to leave the interrogation room. I stared around the room and shivered, this sucks. I looked down at my white shirt to see Khayari’s blood drying up, and I started to tear up. Why Khayari? She’s not like a hood rat like some of these girls out here, but I had to remember where I lived: Chicago, IL, where anybody could just get shot for no reason at all. My phone started vibrating, and I knew it was Antoine, my big brother, because he was somewhere at a friend’s house, when everything went down:

BigBroAntoine: WTF HAPPENED???? I came 2 tha crib & pops said you were @ the station becuz someone shot KHAYARI??!!! Iz she cool???? What’s tha verdict?

Me: Bro, Yari’s gone….

BigBroAntoine: Yo…. L. Man, I can’t believe, g. Not little bit….not her.

I sat in silence as I remembered how me and Yari first met…I was six years old, crying on my porch because I just found out that my mom left us for good, then I heard my gate swing open and I looked up to find this little girl with big pigtails, staring at me. I sniffed, “Hi” “Why are you crying?” She said, showing her lost two front teeth “My mommy left us”, I started to tear up “She’s never coming back!” I cried even harder “Stop crying”, the little girl wiped my tears “You can’t be crying” “But…”I protested, but she put her little index finger over my lips “My name is Khayari Alexandria Payton. What’s your name?” she smiled, holding out her hand. “I’m Deloncé Anderson”, I shook her hand “Do you want to play catch with me, Del?” she asked “Your name is hard to say, soooo I gave you a nickname!” she smiled her toothless grin “Okay”, I smiled and we both ran to her house to play catch…A tear slowly came out. Officer Jones came through the door, “What’s up, Del?” I stood up to give him dap “What’s up, Officer Jones?” “They said that you wouldn’t talk much until you talked to me about…” He was searching through the files “Oh my god, little Khayari was the one who got shot over there on 95^th & Eggleston?! Damn, Del. I’m so sorry” “It’s cool”, I stared at my shirt “I noticed a lot of stuff is happening over there lately”, he crossed his fingers “Some gang is brewing; you know what’s up with that?” “I wished”, I shrugged “All I knew was that when Khayari walked out my house after hanging out, the bullet just came out and got her in the heart, then I saw her drop on the street and ran out there to hold her, to keep her stable. The rest I told that dude that was in here” Officer Jones shook his head, “How you getting home?” “Bus, sir”, I kept staring at my shirt “Let me take you home, man”, he said “You’ve had a long night” “That’s cool” “Del, I know you miss her because you keep staring at that shirt, hoping for a miracle”, he said “Shit, I thought miracles were real”, I looked at him. Officer Jones sighed, “Come on, I’ll call your dad and tell him, I’m taking you home”. I grabbed my jacket and followed right behind him.

Officer Jones was the realest guy I ever met, he knew my dad back when they were kids, and as a cop, he never tried to forget where he came from, which I really respected him for. As we got to his car, he unlocked it for me and told me to get in the car, while he was going to call my dad. I got in and my phone started to vibrate again, but this time, it was a phone call from my friend, Jabreel. “What’s up, man?” I clearly wanted this whole day to be a nightmare “Del? G, we heard what happened”, Jabreel’s voice was strained “Yonci over here at my crib, still crying” I chuckled, remember how sensitive Yonci is “Hey, how Ms. Payton doing?” “She was okay when we left from your house. Diana called Khalil and Karina to tell them, now they’re trying to get the first-train smoking out of Jackson”, Jabreel paused “How you doing, man? You were the closest to her” I had to pause to think of response, then I told him, “Khayari wouldn’t want me to cry”…

After I said my goodbyes to Officer Jones, I came into my house with my sister and dad waiting for me on the couch. Diana’s eyes were bloodshot red with her hair all frazzled around and my dad’s shirt was soaked of Ms. Payton’s tears, plus his sweat. “Oh god”, Diana hugged me as I came near her “How was it?” “It was okay, a regular talk among some folks”, I looked at my dad “Where’s Antoine?” My dad stared at the TV and took a sip from his beer, “He left” “He said he was going to Anya’s house”, Diana finished “I’m going to bed, so I could help the Paytons with the funeral arrangements after school. Night” “Night”, my dad and I said together. My dad laid back on the couch, “Your brother is full of shit, you know that right?” I looked at him, “He means well” “Not enough”, he began to get up “Antoine, literally, came into the house asked what happened and just left like he didn’t see Kristen on the floor, crying her eyes out! I can’t with him, Del.” I stood and look at him, but I couldn’t even try to defend Antoine this time. “I’m going to bed, Dad”, I gave up; I’m tired trying to defend Antoine. “Night, son”, my dad sighed “I’ll see you in the morning” and I ran up the stairs to end this crazy night.

At 4 A.M., I woke up to a tall figure standing over my bed. “Shit!” I yelled, falling out my bed “Ssssh!!!” Antoine put his finger over my mouth, “Shut the hell up, bro! I can’t get caught, now whisper” “Nigga, you were just looking at me sleep and I gotta be quiet?!” I whispered loudly, while slowly getting up from the floor “Get the fuck out of here, Toine” “My bad, bro” “Where were you?” “Out with some of the guys” “I know it wasn’t Jabreel or Yonci” “Naw”, Antoine said, looking at an old picture of me and Khayari on my dresser “Some guys that I know” “Aw. Dad’s pissed that you left” “Hell yeah, I couldn’t stay here with all of them, crying and wheezing”, Antoine paced back and forth “I needed to get away from that, you know? I mean, I loved Khayari, but that was not a good scene to be in, especially how I was feeling” “How you were feeling?” I asked him “I can’t tell you all that”, he stopped and looked at my clock “Shit” “What?” “Go to bed, Del. I’ll catch you in the morning” and he just left.

“Yo, Del!!!!!” I heard Jabreel’s voice, outside of the living room window, while I was eating breakfast “Let’s go!!!!!” My dad was reading his newspaper, “Jabreel’s here” “Thanks, Pops”, I smiled, then got my book bag “Di, come on!” We both ran outside to see Jabreel outside of his dark blue Chevy Impala, bumping a new C.D. “Yo, J? Is that ‘good kid. m.A.A.d. city’?!” I asked, while Diana got in the car “Hell yeah, brogod”, he laughed “Had to get it, Kendrick is really spitting bars” “Nice”, I said, getting in the car. As we were driving to our school, Abraham Lincoln High, Jabreel lowered the volume, “Y’all know everybody going to be in our face about Khayari, right?” Diana and I nodded our heads “We going to be cool, J”, I said “Is Yonci going to be okay?” “Yeah, Yonc is cool”, he laughed, then sighed “It’s so damn weird without little bit in the car with us, you know?” “Yeah, it is”, Diana sighed “Are you okay, Del?” I sat quietly to myself as Antoine’s words, “I can’t tell you all that”. Why he couldn’t? We always told each our secrets, so why is he hiding this time?

The whole school was in the auditorium for Khayari’s Memorial Service and almost every student gave me condolences and pep talk, I received them, but not well, it annoyed me how I felt that this service was too soon. “Hey Deloncé”, Aubrey St. James came up to me and swear I could faint, she is that beautiful with her light hazel eyes, long natural hair, and bless it body, like goddamn, she was a dream… “Hey, Aubrey”, I choked out “I came over here to tell you how sorry I am for your loss”, she shook her head “Sweet girl, she was” “Yeah, she was. Thanks”, I nodded “You’re welcome”, she said, digging in her purse “Here’s my number if you need someone to talk to” I grabbed the piece of paper, I’m melting on the inside, “A’ight, I will” “Okay”, she smiled and walked back to her seat. “G, did I just see Aubrey over there?” Jabreel came to sit down next to me with Yonci following him. “Yeah, man,” I kept staring at the piece of paper “Bonanza, right?” “Very”, Yonci looked too “Aubrey is very sophisticated, I’m surprised she looked your way” “Damn, Yonc?! What are you a fucking dream killer?!” Jabreel said, shaking his head “If Aubrey wants to holla at Del, she can. God, man” “My bad, it’s just fascinating how sh--” “Fascinate these nu--” Principal Hall came on the mic, “Good morning, students and teachers. We are here to celebrate the life of a fallen student, Khayari A. Payton. Ms. Payton was…” I tuned out from his speech about Khayari’s accomplishments, I couldn’t sit still until I knew what Antoine’s secret was and when I turned around, and I saw Antoine’s lanky body just sneaking in. That’s odd… “We would like to have Deloncé Anderson to come to the stage to share some words about his beloved friend”, I heard Principal Hall say and everyone’s eyes turned to me “Shit”, I seethed and got up to the stage, “Good morning, everyone. Khayari was known as ‘Little Bit’ to me because of her height, 4’11”, but her heart and mind was as big is ever. She was my best friend, my heroine, my savior, and my sanity. I just miss her so” I stood at the podium and tried to hide my tears from the audience, then “EVERYBODY STOP!!!!” a voice rang out of nowhere and people were lowering down to the floor. Principal Hall brought me down, “What’s going on?” I asked “The police said there’s a student in here, responsible for Ms. Payton’s death,” he said. My eyes got wide, “Wha-” and as I got up, I couldn’t believe it: Antoine Anderson was put in handcuffs.

“Mr. D. Anderson,” the police clerk called, I sat in the police station with my red bloodshot red. Antoine? My brother? He didn’t, did he? I got up and she pointed me to the room, where Antoine would be and Officer Jones was waiting for me there, folding his arms. “I got to go in there with you, you know that right?” he said “I can’t have you murdering a fugitive” “I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do”; I clenched my teeth and balled my fists. Antoine better pray to God. As Officer Jones opened the door, I saw Antoine sitting in the chair, playing with his shirt. “Del”, he looked up “Man, I got to tal-” “SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!” I yelled “YOU DON’T HAVE NO POSITION TO TALK TO ME! REALLY, TOINE? WHY KHAYARI? WHY HER?!” I took a step back to keep me from killing him, and I looked at him with my tears, steaming out “Was she worth to murder?” “I didn’t murder her”, Antoine said with pleading eyes “Del, why would I kill Little Bit?” “Then why are you here?” Officer Jones, walked to the chair in front of Antoine, “Toine, why are you here?” “I don’t know”, he shrugged, and then quickly looked away. I knew something was up; he only does that when he’s lying. “Antoine, man”, I took a deep breath “Answer him”. Antoine looked at me and Officer Jones hung his head, and sighed, “I’ve been framed for the murder of Khayari”……