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I give her a little shove. “His boys call me the pretty bandit. I’m the first one to steal his heart.” “I think he did the stealing.”
I
glare at her. I don’t like that response, and I don’t like her making me sound like a thirst bot. “You are my friend. My friend, my side.” LaShunda lets out a long sigh. “I stand on the side of truth, and the truth is, you can be a gnat.”
“I said no! I’m not gettin’ anywhere near them po po.” “They’re not going to bother us. We didn’t do anything.” “They ain’t gonna bother you, maybe! They look at you and see a poodle. They look at me and all they see is a pit bull.”
“Campbell,” I push out, breathing heavy. She stops, face all flushed and puts her hand on her chest. “Who knew you was a gangsta?” I gasp. “That man had me like he was gonna run off with me, but he wasn’t no match for the Campbell Soup!” She giggles, while she’s bent over, panting and all. “I can’t believe I did that!” “Believe it. You whooped a homeless man ass!” Though she’s shaking her head, we’re both laughing. “Girl, you always move like your ass is on fire or just when a homeless dude’s chasin’ you?” “I ran track at my old school. I’m a sprinter.”
A few weeks back, those paramedics wouldn’t go into the projects and they let that little boy die. Then, they reelected that racist governor who called us “colored” in a speech. And then, when we demonstrated because that ain’t no way to talk, and blocked the highway, they arrested like forty people and called us thugs.
Not to mention all the cops around the country acting like it’s open season on black folks.
“Hey, Campbell Soup. You good?” “I’m fine.” Her words do not match up with her face. “Listen, this big-top circus crew might look shady, but don’t worry,” I say. “They’re all soft as gummy bears. That one over there—the big guy? Look at his arm when we get up close. He got a Hufflepuff tattoo.”
“We are only as good as the five people around us,” Marcus says, up in his pulpit now. “Mostly because we share the same value system as those five. So he with them, then he made a choice on livin’ like them. He can be an eagle, but if he choose to flock with pigeons, he gon’ have pigeon ways.”
It didn’t start out about looting or all that. Did them news people show up before, when they was having a peaceful protest? Was anybody listening when they tried to approach things in a civil manner? No. But when shops start burning down, here they come. I’m not defending looters, but you’re not even trying to understand. When you push people to their breaking point, and they ain’t got no power, they’ll find a way to take it.
