The Ferocious Five

CHAPTER ONE

Sean Turner

Ain’t nothing like a kid like me, huh? Think again. Just got suspended again for gettin’ into another fight; got into an argument with my pops; what more could you ask for?

“Boy, you got suspended again?!” Pops was furious, “I should beat the daylight outta you!” He didn’t, but I ended up getting my phone taken away again. What can I say? I’m one bad kid.

“Sean, you need to learn how to control your anger,” said my therapist, “if you keep getting into fights like this, you’re going to get expelled.”

“Honestly, once I get angry, Miss, I can’t really control it.” I said.

She nods, writing something down. “Well, I recommend doing some coping skills before that anger gets the best of you.” She ends up doing some breathing exercises with me. I left that office with a thought. Where did I get my anger from? My pops drove me home; we lived in a strange neighborhood. Gangs with guns and intentions to steal and hurt us; others on drugs and weed asking for money from door to door; and then there’s us: me and my pops trying to live a normal life. My mama died when I was young.

When I got home, I went straight to my room and thought for a moment. What was the root of my anger? I went back to school a week later. I wore ripped jeans, a black hoodie, blue Air Jordan’s, and a black backpack. I let my dreadlocks droop down to my shoulders. Middle school…I don’t know what to say about it. It’s a weird experience. One of my boys greeted me with our secret handshake. “Sean! Wassup, my man?!” His name was Jeremiah.

“Not much, man,” I chuckle, “Tryin’ to get my crap together.”

“Man, I dunno what got you into that fight, but that was crazy!” he says as we walk to class.

The day went by kind of fast. There goes my first day back; so far, it ain’t that bad.