Maalik drained the last of his milk and threw the empty carton into the trashcan. He grabbed an apple from the bowl and walked to the former butler pantry/library. The wall separating the two rooms had been knocked down, and the combined room was now the study hall. Some of the books from the old library, a few of which were almost a hundred years old, were squeezed tight into a bookshelf built into the wall. To protect the books, the temperature in the room was kept low even in the winter, which gave the room a hint of the authentic dankness of an old bookstore.
Maalik didn’t acknowledge the other boy sitting at the table. Instead, he grabbed his math workbook, a notebook, and a pencil from his book bag and sat down at the opposite end of the table. With his eyes fixedly on his workbook, he felt the other boy’s eyes on him.
After a few moments of awkward silence, the other boy got up and moved to the chair across the table from Maalik. “It’s been two weeks man. How long are you going to keep this up?”
Maalik didn’t look up. “Keep what up?”
“This, the silent treatment.”
“Dude, I ain’t being silent. I just ain’t got nuthin’ to say.”
“Is that right?” The other boy said. “I know you got busted by the police. I know Uncle Mayo picked you up from the station. I know you were punished somehow. And now you’re acting strange. It’s like you’re in some sort of fog. What did he do to you?”
“I ain’t buying that,” Prodegee said. “Something happened. I see who you’ve been hanging with now too. What if I want to get down?”
Maalik smirked. “Get down. You? Man, please. You’re just a kid.”
“A kid? I’m the same age as you.”
Maalik looked up at Prodegee for the first time. He licked his lips and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m telling you this for your own good. Stay away from me. Stay away from Nathan. And stay away from Joe-Joe. Cain knows what’s up and he’ll tell you the same thing. Just be a kid.”
“Nah, man,” Prodegee said. “I want to….”
“What the fuck are you doing?” The angry voice rushed into the room from the hallway. Prodegee looked in that direction. “Cain, what’s up?”
“Don’t what's up me,” Cain said. “I told you to stay away from him.” He faced Maalik. “What’re you doing Maalik?”
“I ain’t doing nuthin’, man,” Maalik said. “You need to check your boy.”
Cain glared at Maalik. “Get your stuff Prodegee.” And then to Maalik, “Stay away from him.”
Maalik went back to his workbook. “Whatever,” he mumbled.
Outside the study hall, Cain jacked up Prodegee by his shirt. “Either you down with him or you’re down with me.”
“But I see ya’ll hanging out. You down with him,” Prodegee charged accusingly.
Cain ignored that. “I’m serious Prodegee. If you’re going to kick this music thing with me, you can’t hang with him, or with me when I’m hanging with him. And I ain’t got to explain it to you. You got a choice. What’s it going to be?”
“Alright, man. Damn. I’m with you. Alright.”
“Good. Meet me at my house at about six-thirty.”
“You’re staying at your house tonight?”
“Yeah,” Cain said.
“Your old man’s not going to be there?”
“He’s not my old man. He’s my mother’s boyfriend. And no, he’s not there.”
“Well bet, let’s go kick some music now.”
“I can’t right now,” Cain said. “I got to go downtown and handle some business.”