“Son, those kids over in East Palo Alto are very rough and are street smart. I know that you think that you are tough from all the martial arts training that you have. But believe me, son, you don’t know what it is like to grow up on that side of the tracks in a rough neighborhood. I do because I grew up in Chicago. So I know that restricting you from hanging out over there while I’m gone will be the best thing for you.”
There was a moment of silence. Charles Sr. could see the disappointment in his son’s eyes. “Oh, by the way,” he said, “I have informed Maria that Dale and Douglas have my permission to stay here with you while I’m gone. I trust both of those young men, and I know that they will make sure that you get to school on time.”
“Thanks, Dad. At least that turned out cool.”
“Okay, son. Then I will see you in about three weeks.”
“See ya, Dad,” he said, shaking his father’s hand.
Charles watched as his father walked out of the house and enter the limousine. Seconds later, the limousine pulled out from the driveway.
“Señor Junior,” Maria called out. “Tu Quiere Desayuno? Would you like some breakfast?” she asked in Spanish?
“No, quiero [No, thank you,” responded Charles. “I need to get to school early.”
Charles ran up the stairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he could hear the telephone ringing in his bedroom. “Hello,” he said, picking up the telephone.
“What’s up, man?” replied the voice on the other end of the telephone. “It’s Dennis.”
“What’s up, Dennis?”
“Are we still cool for this weekend?” Dennis asked.
“This weekend?” asked Charles.
“Yeah, this weekend,” replied Dennis.
Charles thought to himself for a moment. Then it hit him. Dollar night on the Boardwalk at the Santa Cruz Beach. “Man, I don’t know how I could have forgotten.”
“Man, I don’t see how you could forget,” said Dennis. “Do you know how many beautiful females are going to be there on the beach tonight?” The excitement in his voice registering loudly over the telephone. “I’ll bet we’re going to be so busy chasing women all night long that we probably will be so tired that we won’t get up until it’s time to go to the party tomorrow night.”
“What party?” asked Charles.
“Man, have you been drinking or what?” Dennis asked playfully. “The party tomorrow night at the rec center in East Palo Alto. We’ve been planning this thing for over two weeks. I know that you are not going to fake out on me now, are you?”
“No, no. It’s not that. I’m not trying to fake out on you,” said Charles. “A few things have happened since we made these plans. First off, my father left out of town on a business trip.”
“That’s cool,” said Dennis. “That means that we have the house to ourselves this weekend. So, if we play it right, we could both end up bringing a couple of fine little honeys home with us tonight.”
“Yeah, under any other circumstance that would be cool,” said Charles, “but my father left explicit instructions that I couldn’t have anyone stay over here while he was gone, except for Dale and Doug.”
“What about me?” Dennis asked angrily. “My mother already gave me permission to kick it over at your house this weekend.”
“Yeah, I know, man. I’m sorry,” said Charles. “But my dad was very explicit in his instructions. He said, ‘No hanging out in East Palo Alto and no company other than Dale and Doug.”
“Man, that’s jacked up,” replied Dennis. “What’s wrong with your pops? Is he prejudiced or what?”
“No, he’s not prejudiced, “replied Charles. “He just knows Dale and Doug, and he trusts them.”
“But why does it always have to be those two Buddha Heads?” replied Dennis. “You always hang out with Asians. You act like you’re prejudiced toward blacks.”
“What! Don’t even come at me like that, Dennis,” Charles responded angrily. “You’re blowing this thing way out of proportion and trying to turn this into a racial issue just because you’re upset. And for the record, yeah, I mostly hang out with Asians. The two in particular, whom you called Buddha heads, just happen to be my two best friends.”
“Man, I didn’t mean it like that,” Dennis said, trying to swallow his words.
“That’s how it sounded,” Charles responded scornfully. “Dennis, I’ve known you for about one year, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve known Dale and Doug for over seven years since we were kids. We had the chicken pox and the mumps together. Man, the three of us would die for each other. Dale and Doug are my true brothers, Dennis. They’re my barkadas.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the telephone. “Man, what can I say?” said Dennis. “I’m sorry.”
“Aw, don’t trip, Dennis,” said Charles. “Those guys are my buddies. I just don’t like people talking bad about them.”
“Like I said,” apologized Dennis, “my fault.”
“Awe, it’s cool,” responded Charles. “If I were in your position, I would have been mad too. I mean, we’ve been planning this thing for the last two weeks already, right?”
“Right.”
“So, let’s do it like we planned it,” said Charles, realizing that he felt guilty for forgetting the prior commitment that he had made with Dennis. “I’ll tell you what. Meet me in the student parking lot right after school, and we’ll go to your house, pick up some extra clothes, then head out to Santa Cruz Beach. After that, you can stay over at my house for the weekend.”
“Sounds cool to me,” said Dennis. “See you after school.” They both hang up the phone.
Charles grabbed his jacket from the clothes hook and hurried out of his bedroom. Halfway down the stairs, he realized that he had forgotten to bring his backpack. He turned around and went back to his room to get it.
Entering his bedroom, he picked up his backpack. The telephone rang. “Hello,” he said after picking up the phone.
“Hi,” said the voice on the other end. “May I speak with Charles.”
“This is Charles,” he said.
“Hi, Charles. This is Sharron.”
“Sharron who?” he asked.
“Sharron Morris,” she replied. “I go to Ravenswood High School with you.”
There was a pause at Charles’s end of the phone. Sharron Morris is considered to be the most popular senior on campus. She is captain of the cheer leading squad for the Ravenswood
