[hr] [center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240609/d625980e9dca94f3decbe4e59afd3548.png[/img] [hr] [i][color=83BF00]“Drown me in the sea, Set me on fire, Listen to my cadence, you know I’m no liar. Stabbed in the street, doth the same tale repeat. Pansies at my feet, withered at the gleam, Where are they now, the glory and the dream? Another man ‘o’color, took down in his prime by another woulda coulda. A badge and a gun, that don’t mean you got courage Brother any death you can give me, is better than bondage.”[/color][/i][/center] [color=9F668E]“That doesn’t rhyme.”[/color] Isaiah almost threw himself out of his seat on the wall at the voice from behind him. It was a familiar voice, soft, almost whisper-like and just a touch gravelly. He turned, hand held against his chest to gaze upon its origins. Standing behind him, with messy blonde hair hiding most of his face, dirt and oil staining his white t-shirt and blue Levi’s and a hot dog in hand, stood Zay’s closest friend, [url=https://boysbygirls.co.uk/uploads/imager/7681476736d9ab414299ee4ad98d9925/12048/Charlie12_e8e1ce839bd011c68a329d921ab7814c.jpg]Spencer Kesar.[/url] Like him, Spence was another child of adoption. Though unlike him, his friend was not taken in by his forever family until he was much older. Isaiah joined the Stricklands when he was still in diapers. He didn’t know anything beyond the safety of the four walls that his fathers Richie and Tony, as well as his sister Peri had provided for him. Isaiah counted his blessings every day for the luck he had at finding a family that wanted him. Spencer had never had that luxury, having been adopted as a teenager. The Kesar’s were good people; with Spencer’s Mom working for an animal shelter and his Father a tattoo artist. They also adopted a crazy little girl called Flora alongside Spence. He would lay his life down for his little Flo. The two boys met in freshman year, in the library of all places. Zay loved the sanctity of the bookshelves, it was a perfect reprieve from the overwhelming anxiety that came with trying to even say hello to people and it gave him protection from the likes of Theo Van Cise and Malcolm Richardson shoving him into lockers and calling him the….N word. Isaiah found Spencer alone in a corner, reading a book about aeronautics. Spence loved planes, as the boys grew closer as friends, Zay learned that his new buddy was so utterly desperate to become a pilot. First, he would serve a few years in the air force, as a test pilot for super secret aircraft’s obviously, then he’d fly commercial flights and finally he would open up his own tiny touring company out in the wilderness where he’d fly adrenaline junkies to their destinations. Spence had a plan, which was far more than Isaiah ever did. [color=83BF00]“You scared the hell out of me! Man what you be doing creeping like that?!”[/color] [color=9F668E]“I didn’t creep. You were rapping to yourself again.”[/color] Spencer took a savage bite from his mustard smothered treat and with a mouthful continued. [color=9F668E]“And courage and bondage still don’t rhyme.”[/color] He hopped the wall and parked himself next to Isaiah before shoving the last of the hot dog into his mouth. He held out his index finger to pause any potential conversation whilst he continued to chow down. After finally swallowing the mass produced pile of crap, Spence slid his hands into his jeans and turned to face the rapper. [color=9F668E]”You still flying the politics route? Risky. The last crowd at Dolla ate up your last set but you don’t want to end up a one trick pony.”[/color] Isaiah knew that his friend wasn’t wrong. Not everyone wanted to hear him wax political and speak about racism. The crowds that usually gathered at the infamous Dolla Lounge were a mixed bag; for some like him or Yani Fujimori, it was a throwback to bygone days of true music. For the rest, it was a cheap Friday night with some decent tunes ringing out where they would be able to score some drugs and try to fuck. Some appreciated his commentary but taking any kind of praise was difficult for Zay. Hell, even being on stage was difficult for him. Having any eyes on him was new, let alone all of them. Spencer was a good friend but even Isaiah was hard pressed to choose if his support alone was enough. [color=9F668E]”But that’s by the by. I come with an ulterior motive.”[/color] Spencer placed his hand on Zay’s shoulder and through his nose released a large exhale of air. [color=9F668E]”Peri text me. She wanted me to ask about the letter?”[/color] God, she was a busy body. Isaiah’s adopted sister always had a tendency to put her nose in the business of others. Giving a fuck when it wasn’t her turn to give a fuck. Before she graduated a year earlier she served as a mentor to some of the aspiring journo’s at BHHS and now was taking a gap year citing burnout. Zay believed there was more to it but unlike Peri, he didn’t like to butt in. All the same, he knew that she had his best interests at heart, she always did. She may have been annoying but she was a good person. He couldn’t really ask for a better sister. Isaiah placed his pen and paper down on the far side of the wall and reached into his inside jacket pocket. [color=83BF00]”Here, read it.”[/color] He handed a beautifully decorated envelope to his long haired friend and sat in silence as it was read aloud. [hr] [color=9F668E]“Isaiah, I hope this letter finds you in good health and in a happy place. By now, your fathers, Richie and Tony, will have told you that I recently reached out to them about maybe making contact with you. The last time we spoke I know you were hesitant so now, let me be transparent. I understand that asking to even see a glimpse of you and your life is a big ask, probably too much to ask really and I would completely understand if you chose not to respond to this letter at all. Yet I couldn’t in good conscience at least try to speak to you, Isaiah. You don’t know me from a stranger on the street but perhaps shedding a little light might give you something you’ve been missing or at the very least gives you some information you may have been looking for. Your mother and I met at the worst possible time in our lives. She was in the throes of addiction and I wasn’t far behind her. I’d like to tell you that we were in love and that circumstance and fate kept us apart but that would be a lie. We were barely a couple, we were a casual escape for two lost people to find some solace in. I was arrested and locked up pretty quickly after meeting your Mom and by the time I got out, she was already gone and I didn’t even give her a second thought. As soon as I was released I packed up my things and left Compton, I had zero inclination that you even existed. Had I shown but an ounce of humanity, I could’ve gone to your grandma then and she would’ve told me about you but I didn’t and I’ve been regretting that since I found out you existed. Earlier this year, my daughter got really interested in our family history. Yes that’s right, you have a sister. Long story short, this is how we found you. I reached out to your Grandma Alice and she told me everything that happened to you and your mom while I was locked up. It was heartbreaking. She also told me that your Mom named you Demetrius before you were adopted; that’s my fathers name. From her, I managed to get a hold of your fathers details and I made contact. They seem like really good people and it does warm my heart to know that you landed in a place of love considering the place you came from was anything but. My priority is to make sure that you want to do this as much as I do. If you don’t and you want to leave the past in the past, then I can support that decision because it was yours and I’ll just say that the door is always open if you want to get to know me and mine. Selfishly I have to say, we’re all very excited now that we know you’re out there, Isaiah and we really want you to meet your family. You’ve got all my information if you want to use it. All the best; Montez Demetrius Bell”[/color] [hr] Spencer turned his head to look at his best friend, whose face was sour and frowned, staring at the floor with dark eyes filled with tears likely held in for years. He and Isaiah shared this pain, they shared the questions that came with abandonment and a feverish childhood want to belong to something greater than themselves. Unlike Zay, Spence didn’t have an opportunity to meet his birth parents and undoubtedly there was a large part of him that was infinitely jealous. However, if there was anything that the aspiring pilot had learned over the years, it was that family was not blood, family was those you choose to surround yourself with and give your entire being to. They were the backs you’d always have and the ones that would always have yours. [color=9F668E]”Don’t feel forced to meet this guy, Zay.”[/color] Spence began. [color=9F668E]”Even if what he’s saying is legit and he didn’t even know you were around, you had two guys who raised you into one of the most badass people I’ve ever met. You owe him, nothing.”[/color] Isaiah appreciated his friends candour, if anyone knew anything close to how he was feeling it was Spencer. [color=83BF00]”I mean you know how hard it is, Spenny; the not knowing about where you come from. Not knowing who you are. I struggle at the best of times to convince the world I even exist and I pride myself on being an orator. Yet when I look in the mirror, I know my name isn’t my name and the life I have wasn’t meant to be mine. What am I supposed to do with that?”[/color] The activist raised a hand behind his head to grab hold of the back of his neck, a half hearted attempt to stop the goosebumps from creeping up on him. [color=83BF00]”At least if I meet this guy, then I’ll at least get some answers before the questions are changed again.”[/color] Before Spencer could respond, the lingering veil of silence was penetrated by the thumping of Doc Martens. Lifting their heads up from the sombre tide they were wading through, Isaiah and Spencer watched as a tiny ball of manic blonde energy sprinted towards them from the parking lot. With hurry in her voice and speed on her mind, Adelaide Davies Jones sprinted as quickly as a little legs would take her across the street towards the wall where the duo were sitting, [color=C1473E]”WADDUP?!”[/color] She exclaimed as she swiftly made her way past them and darted towards the monstrous school for the definition of nepotism. [color=83BF00]”Hi Addie.”[/color] [color=9F668E]”Hi Addie”[/color] The boys said in unison whilst the drug dealer staid her course and never broke her stride towards the double doors. When the manic pixie vanished into the abyss, Spencer continued his initial thoughts. [color=9F668E]”This is some deep shit, man. No one is ever truly gonna know the right thing to do except you. It’s your life brother.”[/color] If there was one thing that he had learned about Isaiah after years of friendship, it was that he always knew what he was going to do. Zay could not be told anything, he had to learn it for himself. That wasn’t the way it was, his thirst for knowledge was unquenchable. [color=9F668E]”I always got you, no matter what you do.”[/color]. Spencer brushed his dirty blonde bangs away from his face and slapped his thighs as he brought his hands down. [color=9F668E]”Maybe we should actually just go to the game and desensitise ourselves watching the Neanderthals run around hitting each other and carrying a ball?”[/color] [color=83BF00]”Or we could go to the diner and you can try and flirt with that Russian girl again?”[/color] For the first time all day, Isaiah smiled. For his lack of confidence in most other areas, Zay was pretty happy with his smile. Everyone always told him it lit up a room. It made him feel human when they said that and helped to drain away the negative thoughts of being a nothing, a footnote in someone else’s story, Spencer raised his finger up in defiance. [color=9F668E]“Don’t be talking about my future wife like that.”[/color] It was true that the aspiring pilot had been drooling over the waitress with the thick accent since the moment he had laid eyes on her. Then again he could say that about half the school, he was surrounded by pretty people and unlike Zay. He had the foolhardiness to chase after what he wanted. [color=9F668E]Come on dipshit, let me get you a shake?”[/color] Isaiah shook his head. [color=83BF00]“Nah man, I’m good. I wanna get a few more lyrics down.”[/color] He motioned to the paper in his hand. Soon he would be surrounded by quiet again when the game started and the crowd that he would hear would act like white noise, tuning out the thoughts of finding love, finding friends and finding a lost father. Spencer shrugged his shoulders before he leapt from the wall. He had done all that he could for Isaiah. He knew now that even with the seeds now planted, the rest was truly up to his friend. [color=9F668E]“All good brother.”[/color] He straightened himself out, brushing away the creases and left her hot dog on his shirt before turning himself before slapping five with Zay. [color=9F668E]” I’mma see you?”[/color] [color=83BF00]“Most def. Catch you later, Spenny.”[/color] As he watched his brother from another mother deeper for brighter skies, Isaiah returned his hazelnut gaze to the papers in his now trembling hands. This was meant to be his year, this was meant to be his time. Could that be true if he didn’t even know who he really was?