I dreamt of familiar territory: an empty, foggy setting occupied by invisible people and hollow voices. That is, until the demon manifested.

That demon being a gun held by a hooded figure. The words of my dad trying to reconcile with the individual were distorted and faded, with only cries of a child being coherent.

If only those screams could stop the gunshot that followed.

The blast of the weapon woke me out of my nightmare and into a hyperventilating reality. My first sight was the chalkboard in a vacant classroom before I saw my headphones around my neck. I placed them on my ears and took deep breaths, letting the music sink in. It took about two minutes before I returned to normal.

Tory poked his head into the room just as I paused the song. “Yo, you good, Z? What’chu still doin’ sittin’ here? Class ‘bout to start next door.”

“Yeah, hol’ up. I’m comin’.”

Tory went on ahead while I got out my seat and walked into the hallway. Marcus stopped me before I could step into the classroom next door.

“Hey, Zayn. You seen Ashanti today?”

“Nah, actually. It’s weird since I always spot her in the mornin’.”

He looked a little worried. “Yeah, same. I was ‘pose to drive her home from school, but I ain’t seen her all day. I tried textin’ her and—”

“You got her number?”

“Yeah, don’t you? I mean, what’chu thought I only hit her up on social media?”

He laughed after his question, annoying me to the max. I was getting too caught up in my feelings about him and her getting close, where I should’ve been more concerned about Ashanti’s whereabouts. Did those men in black find her? I needed to know.

“Aight, well, let her know I’m looking for her if you see her,” he said, putting his hand out for a dap.

“Yeah, I got’chu.” We dapped and separated, with him walking down the hall and me stepping into the classroom.

Inside, a small group of students were surrounding Tory, who had been wearing a new pair of red and white sneakers that recently came out.

“Those drippy as hell, cuh,” one of the students said louder than the others gassing Tory up. Not everyone was feeling his drip, though, as another student decided to question the rest of his attire.

“Why you got on a blue shirt with them shoes, though? What’chu gettin’ ready for, the Fourth of July?”

Others, including Tory, laughed at the student’s joke. A roast session was inevitable.

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“Bruh, I know you ain’t tryin’ to clown me with that ketchup and mustard outfit you got on,” Tory clapped back. “Ol’ hotdog lookin’ ass. The hell was you thinkin’ in the mornin’ when you got dressed?”

Everyone was enjoying the back and forth as it went on for a minute or two, but the vibe in the room shifted once CJ stormed in with some of his football buddies like a pack of bloodthirsty hounds.

“Where them lames at?” he questioned the senior drug dealer sitting in the back of the class, who appeared high as hell and couldn’t comprehend the question. “I know you roll with those pussies who run up in my house Friday night.”

The guy looked up at CJ with a half-smile. Dude was clearly stoned and high off his own supply, which is crazy seeing as he was probably only a year older than me. He slurred his words with a sluggish demeanor. “Ion know what’chu talm ‘bout, blood.”

CJ snatched him out of his seat and pinned him against the bookshelf in the room. “Stop playin’ with me. Where they at?”

Everyone else in the room watched with some pulling out their cell phones to record the interrogation. The drug dealer laughed before saying, “Aight, I’m gon’ tell you if you lemme go. Damn.”

CJ, however, kept his grip and sneered with gritted teeth. It wasn’t until Jasmine walked in the room seconds later and demanded he let go that the heat in the room simmered.

“You ain’t have to do all that,” the dealer complained. “But aight, they’d be in The Heights ‘til ‘round four or five today. You tryin’ to get some bullet holes in ya whole team, that’s on you, bro. Just don’t tell’em I gave the spot up, ya heard?”

To be honest, everything about this was messy. I could understand CJ’s pride was broken after what happened, but the dudes him and his pack wanted to go to war with had guns. CJ and the other players may have been fit and strong, but none of that matters when a glock is pointed at you.

“You really doin’ this?” I questioned CJ. “Throwin’ ya whole life away over some stupid beef? What about playin’ college football next year?”

He approached me. “You realize they in my hood, right? I ain’t gonna be disrespected. That’s my hood.”

“Bro, forget all that nonsense. Why you blowin’ your chances over this? Let it slide.”

He backed up and waved me off. “You ain’t ‘bout this life, Zayn. You wouldn’t understand.”

Jasmine shook her head in disgust before sitting at her desk. “You’re so damn stupid.”

“What?” CJ cupped his hand over his ear. “I thought a hoe said somethin’.”

“Excuse me?” Jasmine jumped out her seat and got in CJ’s face. “What did you call me? What the hell is wrong with you?”

CJ turned his head away from her. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with me. You the reason I’m in this situation in the first place. All ‘cause you out here being a thot.”

Jasmine’s sudden slap swung CJ’s face in her direction. “We’re done.” She then marched out of the room past the teacher, who was walking inside with his usual mean-mug.

“Sit down, everyone,” the teacher demanded, his face appearing even uglier with speech. We did as we were told, with Tory asking the male student who sits next to me if they could swap seats for the day. He obliged, and Tory took out his textbook before whispering to me.

“We gotta help CJ.”

We?

He continued, “You told me those thugs had Shadows on them at the party, right? They might have some wild powers like that old dude. We gotta back CJ and the squad up.”

Again, we?

Despite the danger, I was gonna go with CJ and the football team, but Tory being there was a problem. He was a liability, as much as I hated to admit.

“You really wanna be there?” I had to ask him. “You said it yourself, bro. It’s gonna get wild. You could get hurt.”

His lips pursed as he turned to the front of the room. “Yeah. Right. Never mind. I must’ve got caught up in the moment and forgot I can’t do nothin’.”

I was just looking out for him, and he needed to know that, but the teacher glared at us for some reason as if he was finally ready to do his damn job. I stayed quiet for the remainder of the class with thoughts of what could go wrong once the bell rung.

This wasn’t gonna be a happy afternoon.