The Diary of Aaliyah Anderson Page 3
His family lives on the eastside and he admitted to killing the guy that started the gang that most people from east Willowsfield claim. This is another perfect case of people not using common sense.
The Rydahz’s reply to his confession was shooting up his house in Scanton, a neighborhood where most white families on the eastside live. Fortunately no one was hurt in the shooting, but the Rydahz also jumped his sixteen-year-old son, who happened to go to Booker T, the high school that most people on the eastside go to unless they go to Howard-Jones.
Everybody from around Willowsfield goes to Howard-Jones because of its reputation as one of the top public schools in Georgia. Everybody from around Willowsfield ends up going to Howard-Jones for at least a year. It’s located in the middle of the city, which is considered neutral ground for all the gangs. Law enforcement is always heavy down there because that’s a major tourist spot.
Booker T is known as “Gangsta High”, mostly because of all the fights and drama that goes on in that school. The funny thing is that most people that pass on to 9th grade from Clarkson usually go to Booker T.
That explains why it’s so ratchet…
Really, how could ten freshman boys drag a student out the lunchroom, take him to the bathroom, and almost kill him without anybody seeing it? Wouldn’t that look suspicious? Then again, that’s normal down here in Willowsfield. That’s why most people wanna go to Howard-Jones. It seems like the only good school left.
I went through all that just to say this: even though the street war between the Rydahz and King Street was a devastating time for Willowsfield, they were fighting over something in a way. Now, it’s just pathetic. The major conflict that goes on between the Rydahz and King Street is one that’s been going on it the community forever: Black vs. Brown, Mexicans vs. African Americans. It’s a civil war for no reason! Innocent people are getting hurt because of the ignorance of my generation in this city. Forget the whole entire gang beef! We’re on the same team!
The craziest thing is that Clarkson is like the only school with this major problem. Usually at other schools there’s tension between different Black and Mexican crews, but they just leave each other alone.
Not at Clarkson!
They were about to start a riot over a dime sack of weed that was misplaced. Really, a dime sack of weed? That shouldn’t even be at school. Instead of worrying about smoking and getting high, they should be trying to get an education so they can get out the ‘hood.
But again, not everyone thinks like me.
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Split Priorities
To make things even worse, we went back to homeroom after the whole entire almost riot during 4th period where we got some uncomfortable news that’d definitely change the landscape of both Howard-Jones and even Clarkson. It’s messed up that my class had to hear it from Mrs. Conner. She made the whole situation sound even more horrible!
When Allison and I walked in, the whole class was talking about the almost-riot. It’s funny how happy we get over things that even sound like a fight. The riot didn’t even go down and everybody was still excited.
Mrs. Conner wasn’t sharing the excitement though. She slammed the door and shouted, “Shut up! I can barely even hear myself think!”
Everybody got quiet quick.
“I’ve gotten tired of how you young people champion violence over learning! Why is it that fighting is more exciting to you than learning where you came from? Why is it that violence is the only way to get your attention? Out of the history pretest I’ve graded, nobody has passed yet! But instead you wanna fight like savages! My generation marched and fought for you to be treated equally. How you animalistic children are acting, things are worse than they were back then. Maybe if we had a fighting test, all of you will pass!”
Dang, I hoped I passed that pretest! I thought to myself.
Even though Mrs. Conner is a major pain, I sort of agreed with her. We really need to change our behavior. Why are we always fighting each other? Do we even know? Why can’t we sit down like true brothers and sisters and squash our beef? Why is it that violence is the only way for us as black people, or even people in general, to unite?
A perfect example is the Trayvon Martin case earlier this year. This man chased down and killed an unarmed teenager for walking in a white neighborhood and wearing a hoodie! Nobody was even worried about getting along before that horrible event happened. After Zimmerman was close to getting away with it, everybody was predicting Rodney King 2.0. People in Florida even put a price on his head!
Even though I hate to say it, Mrs. Conner is right. We need to clean up our acts for real! One of my favorite quotes is, “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” We need to get more interested in where we came from and our rights, especially outside of our subjects in school. The public education system is garbage for black people anyway. This is real talk that people don’t wanna get into. Instead, we wanna stay ignorant. This is exactly why I don’t share or talk about my dreams, career goals, or ambitions much. It’s sad!
Even though Mrs. Conner actually said something true that we need to think about in the long run, she quickly changed it up and said something stupid to balance it out.
“If I was the person in charge, all you unruly kids would have it real hard! If it was up to me, I’d take your little disrespectful behinds to the back of the school and beat some sense into you! That’s how it used to be done back when I was in school. All those boys that were trying to fight would get their little behinds tore up. As a matter of fact, I wish they’d let us start doing that again. You wouldn’t even be able to sit down if they allowed me to just put my hands on you!”
Everybody in the class was laughing at this dumb hypocrite. We’re not stupid! We were probably all thinking the same thing. This lady went from talking about how violent we are to saying that teachers should use violence on students to get us to listen. Crazy old woman!
“Now I don’t know if this is good news or bad news how you children act, but nevertheless, it will affect us in the long run. After many meetings and hearings, the Willowsfield Board of Education has voted for the new alternative school to be placed at Howard-Jones, effective Tuesday.”
What? Are they crazy? They’re honestly gonna put all those bad kids in a high school that has over seven hundred students enrolled there? Not to mention that Howard-Jones is, like I said, the best school in the city. They must want something to pop off! After she told us that news, I started to worry about D and how them coming over was gonna affect him. Even though he’s cool and always stays out of trouble, anything can happen. Plus, Clarkson students ride the bus with Howard-Jones students. That means all of us are gonna be riding with these future criminals. What are they thinking about?
It seems like the Board of Education, and more importantly the new superintendent Dr. Salvadorian, wants something to happen. Really, does he even care about the safety of students or is he just there for that fat check? How do you come to a vote to put kids that got kicked out of their own school for some crazy reason into a high school with over seven hundred students enrolled there? How tight is the security gonna be? That’s just some things to think about.
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Tay
These same Rydahz that were about to fight over a lost dime sack of weed also boosted up a fight between an eastside girl and a southside girl in the gym before the assembly where they introduced Clarkson’s new principal. They literally were fighting for no reason! When asked by teachers why they started fighting, both of them shrugged their shoulders.
One of the Rydahz named Tay even had the nerve to come up and try to spit game at me.
“Dang, Liyah, you ain’t sayin’ nothin’ to a thug no more?” he said to me as I ignored him. Last year, he was trying to get at me hard, but I didn’t even want to hear it. He’s cute and really smart, but that whole gangster act just isn’t cool to me. He honestly could be the smartest person in 8th grade if he wanted too, but li
ke always, he got captured by the Willowsfield street life and started getting in trouble and slacking off.
I guess he could tell that I was trying my best to ignore him, but he kept trying to get my attention. “So it’s like that? I thought we were cool. Why you gon’ flex on me in front of your homegirl like that?”
After he said that, I instantly got annoyed and told him about himself. “Boy, nobody is trying to flex on your li’l childish behind! You like playing with females’ emotions, but I’m not the one! Grow up and maybe you’ll pull a real girl like me.”
His boys were clowning him as he stood there looking stupid. Allison smiled and shook her head. We then moved to another bleacher.
As we walked away, I heard him say to the other Rydahz, “Whatever! I know she likes me. That’s why she was flexing like that.”
I just shook my head. The egos of some of these guys are insane!
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The New Principal
Things were starting to look up when our new school principal was introduced at the assembly. There were a lot of rumors going around about who our new principal would be after our old principal Dr. Wittamore, left to become the principal of Howard-Jones, left. On the last day of school when he announced that he was getting transferred, everybody was disappointed. Dr. Wittamore had been at Clarkson for ten years and made a definite impact on the school environment.
Everybody loved Dr. Wittamore! I mean, what other principal could get Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and the other Miami Heat players to come to Willowsfield and stop by the school to talk to the 8th graders about how to be successful during the NBA season while they were on a road trip in Atlanta? What other principal could get Nicki Minaj to come down to Clarkson and do a spirit week concert during her world tour? Dr. Wittamore was amazing and it was hard to see him leave. But we will definitely get over our disappointment with our new principal: superstar award-winning singer, songwriter, and actress Brianna Carter!
When she made her entrance after our old principal Dr. Wittamore introduced her, everybody in the gym was going crazy. You couldn’t hear anything!
At first, I thought it was a joke. Why would an award-winning, successful, multi-million dollar entertainer wanna be the principal of a ghetto, seemingly hopeless school like Clarkson? Didn’t she wanna be a singer so she could get away from the hood? But in her opening speech, she explained why.
When she was our age, Brianna Carter didn’t wanna be a singer. She really wanted to be a high school principal. Her high school principal, the late Dr. Ella Spencer, made a definite impact on her life. Dr. Spencer’s whole entire career was dedicated to getting kids to be motivated to learn and ready for college and life in general. It’s safe to say that she was successful, with Brianna Carter being a perfect example of her vision. She graduated from Spellman College with a degree in Human Services and Child Development in 2006. Shortly after she graduated, she was discovered by big time producer Bryan Harper and signed to his label, Lamont Records, in Atlanta.
The thing that really shocked me is how young she is! She’s only twenty-seven and she has all these different accomplishments and awards. She’s a perfect example that a young black woman can make some major noise in this world.
Brianna Carter, who now wants to be called Miss Carter, vows to put Clarkson on top any way she can. I believe she means business, too. With the team up of her and Dr. Wittamore, who’s gonna look out for her and make sure she does her best, things really could get better for us.
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Pushing Through
Overall, this day was hectic. This is definitely not how I wanted to start off the year. Yeah, Miss Carter being announced as the principal definitely made me happy, but everything else that happened today overshadowed that. ‘Kiyah is already starting that drama junk and is probably gonna find herself in some trouble that I have to bail her out of, I gotta deal with Mrs. Conner’s ugly, rude self the rest of this year, this alternative school thing has me worried, plus my classes are full of all these childish, immature people who can’t act their age.
But I gotta find some way to overcome. This is day one of what’s going to be a long school year. I have to make it so I can go to high school and get one step closer to my dreams.
I definitely need to de-stress so I’m gonna call Allison, my human diary, and see if she wants to play some tennis. Tennis is a good way to stay in shape and it takes away your anger. The harder you hit that ball, the less frustrated you feel! Plus, we need to go on and practice if we wanna win the team tournament this year. Allison and I are great together, but we always seem to get nervous come tournament time.
They just opened up a new recreational center on the north side of Willowsfield a few months ago and, from what I heard, it’s the nicest one in the city. I wanna live with my mom on the north side so bad! She lives in Brentwood, which is like the safest neighborhood in the city. That’s where all the businessmen and real moneymakers live. I even think a few big name celebrities have houses down there.
I know for a fact Allison’s family lives in Brentwood. Her mom is a popular fitness instructor and businesswoman while her dad is a psychologist and professor at Willowsfield University. I wish my family was more like Allison’s. Her parents love each other, she gets along really well with her older brother and sister, and they get pretty much anything they want. I’m not jealous or anything; it just would be nice to not have all the drama that my family goes through on a daily basis.
In addition to all that, I hate living in east Willowsfield. Even in the upscale neighborhoods down here, it’s ignorant and ghetto. It seems like there’s more gang activity in Hillyard (my current neighborhood) then there is in Riverstone Creek (the most ghetto, ratchet, violent neighborhood in Willowsfield that is also on the east side) and it’s supposed to be where hard-working, educated, middle-class people live. It even has a stupid name tied to it
Really, what’s a Hillyard?
Compared to the rest of the city, north Willowsfield is like a different town. They have everything down there! There is one gang, Bernard Street, but they have no street credibility. They’re just a group of rich boys that wanna be ghetto. They’re trying their best to steal the notorious drug gang BMF’s swag.
They swear they’re ballin’ because they make and grow their own products and everything. Yeah, there are getting a lot of money but they’re stupid with it. They’re always wasting their money overspending to try and impress people and make the illusion that they just got the hood dream: money, cars, clothes, and girls.
Bernard Street is far from gangster, though! Every other major gang in Willowsfield hates them. They swear they got beef with the Rydahz, but they always fold up when it’s time to fight. Then, when they actually do try and fight, it’s always a huge group of them jumping one person. It’ll be like one Rydah vs. about twenty different Bernard Street guys. And they actually have the nerve to film it and post it on the internet!
When someone actually catches them one-on-one and knocks them out, instead of just getting their round two, they immediately bring out the guns! Where I’m from, that’s called being a coward.
All I know is that I desperately want to move in with Momma. We’re basically forced to live down in Hillyard with our “father” - and I use the term “father” very lightly. He probably has us living with him just for legal reasons or something like that. He would probably prefer us to live somewhere else. It’ll make it easier for him to creep with all these different women.
D’s right, this writing thing is pretty fun! I don’t feel half as bad as I did in school. But let me go on and call Allison so we can do this tennis thing before it gets too late. I don’t like being out past nine-thirty. Crazy things happen in Willowsfield during the night and I don’t wanna get caught up in it…
Still pushing on,
Aaliyah Anderson
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Mental Toughness
/> August 15, 2012, 11:45 p.m.
It’s after eleven o’clock and I still can’t sleep. With all the stuff I gotta deal with at school first thing in the morning, I definitely need some rest, but since I’m already up, I might as well keep this diary thing going!
Allison and I actually got to go down to the new fitness center on the north side. It’s really nice too! They have iPads built into the walls of every room that have apps that specifically assist you in whatever exercise you’re trying to do. We used the iPads that were outside by the tennis courts to keep score as we played the game and monitor how hard we were working. There are sensors built into the courts that measure your body temperature, the amount of calories you burn, and the total amount of steps you take while you’re doing the workout.
Allison and I played two quick games and we both won one. Whenever Allison and I play, we really go at it. We’re like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova! Since I hadn’t touched a racket in about six months and Allison had been training all summer, I thought I’d get murdered! But I guess my tennis game comes naturally since I managed to beat her.
Other than basketball, tennis has to be the best sport ever created. Anyone can play the game, no matter how short, tall, large, or small you are. Tennis is a game of speed, focus, and skill. It’s a great way to get your mind off the difficulties of life. When you play tennis, you get in a zone.
When you’re in your personal zone, you focus on only two things: the ball and the person you’re facing. You can’t afford to think about other things while you’re on the court. You might get knocked out by a tennis ball going about ninety miles per hour. Trust me, getting hit with a tennis ball going at full speed isn’t fun! It looks like it won’t hurt since the outside of the ball is so soft, but that li’l thing will lay you out, especially if it hits you right!