Thug Life

Come on Will, it'll be easy, we said. You know where it is, just take it and we'll do it, we said. So Willie took it and we went to the convenience store.

In the car we talked about how badass we were and took turns holding it and posing like we were criminals. We played Notorious B.I.G. and the streets looked real gritty and tough to me. I imagined standing on a corner and looking hard at everyone who passed by. Bobby drove the car like a real gangster, with the seat reclined real far back and with one hand on the wheel. We blasted our music and yelled at the passing cars. We all laughed at them because we were crazy tough. There were five of us, and I sat in the back with Will in the middle.

When we rolled up we talked real loud about what we would do once we were in there. We let Will have the gun since it was his and all. Will was such a wimp anyway, we thought we ought to give him a chance once in a while. Yeah Will, you can do it, we said. Just point it at that guy and tell him to give you the money, we said. You'll be a real gangster. So Willie put his dad's gun in his pants and we went with Willie into the convenience store.

When we got into the store, Willie actually waited on line while we stood guard near the exit. Can you believe it? He actually waited on line to rob a convenience store. When he finally got to the front of the line, Willie talked real low and lifted his shirt up to show the guy his dad's gun. Gimme the money man, he said. Boy, we ran out of there as fast as we could and jumped into Bobby's car. That guy's nuts, we said. Pulling a gun on somebody like that.

After Bobby dropped me off and I had gotten inside, I ran to the window and looked all night at the house across the street to see if Willie would come home. After a while I went over and asked his mom if she had seen him at all that night. When she said no, I walked slowly across the street back to my house. I shivered. It had gotten cold; I could feel a drizzle coming down.