16

I woke up the next morning, the sun falling on my face. As I stretched out on my bed, I actually felt different. When I glanced in the mirror, I even looked a little different. My skin kind of glowed. Or maybe it was just because I couldn’t stop smiling.

All day at school, I kept thinking of Kalvin. Destiny had heard rumors and tried interrogating me, but it got her nowhere.

I interrogated her back about her mystery call at the park, but she just said it was a family thing. She’d heard about the Metal Detector Man. “I guess you one of us now.” She didn’t seem too pleased about it, though.

After school, I had some errands I had to run for Mom, but I knew I’d make a pit stop at a certain person’s apartment.

Kalvin lived across from an old brick church. The neighborhood was not bad, all lawns and charming houses. K lived in a small yellow-bricked apartment complex on the corner. When I spotted him, he was standing on the stoop of his building. Prince and some of the crew were standing on the steps talking to some older white guy wearing a bright red shirt. The man was in his fifties, with sad but intense eyes. He was also pointing a bulky old video camera at K.

As I got closer, I realized the guy wasn’t exactly talking. More like yelling. At them.

His red T-shirt sported the phrase, “We Are Watching” in big letters over a giant eye. They reminded me of the graffiti Eyez I had seen painted around the neighborhoods, always watching.

The first thing I heard him saying was: “You need to educate yourself!” He was hiding behind his camera, his free hand waving in the air. “You people are trapped in the prison mindset of self-hatred. Knock out your ignorance and not the people who can’t defend themselves.”

K stood there with his arms crossed and a slightly amused look on his face. “What do you mean ‘you people’?” Boner snapped at the man. The Tokers circled him—hyenas ready to pounce.

The man ignored them. “I was with the Marines, man. I’ve been around; I know what conflict is. But those people fought for a cause. You’re just wasting time. I know you are smarter than that. You’re the leader here, I can see. And I see you. The camera sees you. Why not teach these young people to fight with their minds instead of their fists? Otherwise, you’re just a racist thug.”

I took out my camera. This is not something you see every day, so I wanted to document it. K noticed me, then whispered something to Prince, who called his boys back into the house.

“Racist? What the fuck are you talking about? I’m black.” He poked his finger into the guy’s shoulder.

The man didn’t care. He kept railing at Kalvin. “Racism cuts both ways, brother. There’s a race war going on in this country. You’re targeting white people, and that’s what we call a hate crime.”

“Whoa, whoa—” said Kalvin. “We don’t target white people, brother. Because we haven’t done anything. And even if I did, I wouldn’t hit a white person just ‘cause they’re white. I got nothing against white people. Some of my best friends are white. He snuck a quick glance at me.

So how ’bout we look at you instead?” Kalvin took a step toward him. “You’re just like the cops—profiling us ‘cause we’re black. You see a black teen and you think oh, he’s out to get me! But really, it’s you, creating paranoia and hate.”

The man wouldn’t back down. “Don’t try to put some spin on your thuggery. You’re targeting white people and taking out your hate on them! Can’t you see that?”

Kalvin eyed him coldly. “I see a white man who knows he’s the minority now. Who’s afraid, now that the power’s out of his hands, from the White House to the streets. Maybe when you were young, this neighborhood was all-white, and you had your way. Well, I’m the president here and you and your little club with your red shirts surveilling us like we’re a bunch of dogs to be kept down, that ain’t gonna fly. Not anymore.”

Even from here, I could see the man’s face turning red. If he was a cartoon, he’d have steam coming out of his ears. He had to fight to regain his calm.

“Your time . . . will come,” he spat. “Sooner or later, we’ll get you in action on tape and that’ll be it. All your fancy rationale will mean squat and all that will speak is the violence you and your homies lay on the rest of us. The whole neighborhood is watching you, whether you like it or not. We’re not going away.” He held up his camera. “I’m not going away. We already have tape of all of you looking for targets.”

K had heard enough. “Them’s big words.” He grabbed the camera right out of the man’s hands. He had very fast hands, boxer’s hands. The man was shocked and stammered on as K popped the tape out of the camera, using his body to keep the man from grabbing it back. “By the way, videotape’s kinda outdated. You might consider joining us here in the future.” He cracked the cassette on the railing and unspooled the tape. Then he smiled and tossed the camera back at the man.

“Don’t you know about backing up your work? Otherwise you might accidentally delete it.” K threw a handful of discarded tape in the air and let it rain down on the man before tossing the cassette to the side. He turned and went inside, shutting the door in the guy’s face.

The man pulled the tape off his head angrily. I almost laughed, but then he just stood there for a few seconds, fuming. He was about to bang on the door then stopped, his fist frozen in midair. Finally, he flipped off the door in frustration and stormed back to the street.

He saw me with my camera. I quickly turned it off and shoved it in the pocket of my hoodie.

“Did you see that? Idiots and thugs. Just walking all over us without fear of prosecution.”

He reached into his bag, pulled out a flyer and handed one to me. “I’m running the neighborhood watch group. We need more people on the streets to keep us safe. Come to the rally. We need your support.” He pointed to my camera. “I see you have one too. Good. The more eyes out there, the better. Together, we’ll make a difference.”

I watched him walk away. “Check out our website!” he said over his shoulder. I studied the flyer.

It was for a rally tomorrow in front of the church here. Knockout Violence! it said.

I watched him hurry down the street handing out flyers to anyone who’d stop to talk. Then he turned and walked up to a small brick house. An older lady with long graying hair and round glasses was planting sunflowers in the front yard. When they kissed, I recognized her: Mrs. Lee.

“Don’t worry about him,” said Kalvin, leaning out a second-story window. “Just an old crank getting in people’s business. Got turned down by the cops, kicked out of the war. Now he thinks he’s a vigilante taking on the young punks who fuck everything up.”

“You mean you?”

“Smartass. That includes you too, don’t forget that. And did you notice how in his eyes, a white girl gets a pass every time?”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

“So, you just gonna stand there, or are you coming up?”

I stared down at the flyer, folded it up, and pocketed it. That man got me a little rattled. “I got some stuff to do. I just . . . wanted to stop by.”

“What for?”

“I don’t know. Just . . . to say hi.”

“Oh. . . hey.”

I waved. “Hi.”

He shook his head, laughing. “You’re funny, Fish. You’re looking pretty good, though. You dress up for me?”

I shuffled my feet. Maybe, a little.

“Mm-mmm,” he said smiling. “You sure you don’t wanna come up for a bit?”

I did but . . . “Maybe later?”

He shrugged. “OK, then. Text me; I got something coming up you should come to.”

He waved and disappeared from sight.

I could feel that flyer burning a hole in my pocket. It made me uneasy; the bruises on my knuckles began to ache.

I started walking the other way. I needed to clear my mind. I glanced back at Kalvin’s apartment. I thought I saw Destiny peeking out the window, but I could’ve been wrong.