Rosemont - A novella written by Jaron Ikner Part 1 (Upvote for part 2!)
Rosemont
Normal
Jay lies in bed; it’s almost noon. He slept in late again, not unusual but still annoying to him nonetheless. Jay likes to think of himself as a morning person, except when he has been out partying, which is fairly often these days. After an extended struggle between mind a body, Jay finally rolls out of bed. He walks across his clothing filled tile floor and takes a look in the dresser mirror. The bloodshot eyes and heavy bags are undoubtedly the result of the copious amount of alcohol he drank at Ray’s party the night before. Maybe he went a little too hard last night, but nothing out of the ordinary. He reaches over, grabs the first shirt his hand lands on and puts it on. It’s his old, black graphic print T-shirt, one of his favorites and it looks like it is clean enough to face the day. After throwing on some shorts and his trusty black and red Jordan Cement Three’s, Jay grabs his phone with the cracked screen and heads out of his room.
Jay slogs his way to the kitchen, opens the fridge to find it empty—no surprise. On the counter next to the sink is a pile of mail, on top is an electricity bill left by his roommate. The amount owed is circled in red ink with the words “YOU NEED TO PAY THIS, FUCKER” scrawled in capital letters across the entire bill. Jay shakes his head and continues to sift through the pile of mail: bills, bills, bills . . . ads, credit card application, collection letters; the usual pile of junk that he has come to expect. He lets out a deep sigh and looks toward the living room when his eyes meet his trusty bong sitting on the coffee table. All he wants to do is smoke, but with empty pockets he is going to have to hit the streets to make enough dough to cop a bag, and then maybe pay the electric bill. Before he can continue the thought, his mind jumps back to smoke, maybe he could swing by Raymond’s for a quick sec; in the back of his mind he knows that’s where he’ll end up anyway. He looks to the corner of the living room to see his well-worn backpack lying there. He figures that he could hit the block and slang some work for a couple of hours, he has nothing else to do. Jay grabs the backpack and heads out the door.
Jay walks outside to a blistering sun which is typical this time of the year in the city. The heat never really bothered him; in fact, he is a big fan of the summer nights. He puts on his headphones and presses play, the first song on his “Rosemont” playlist jolts his ear drums to life. Immediately, Jay begins to see the colors: rhythmic pulses of light flashing through the air. The colors swirl into the sky, trailing off into nothingness. This is something that Jay has experienced since he was a kid, but he never really told anyone about, not even her. It seems to be innocuous, but nonetheless it adds a certain level of “cool” to his music experience. He smiles to himself as he steps on to his skateboard and begins to push himself down the street, admiring the neatly trimmed lawns and unique architecture of the homes in the upper middle class neighborhood. Jay always found it weird that just on the other side of Rosemont, past Speedway, things became a little more ghetto, just a few blocks away. This includes a strip club and liquor store on the corner of the two streets, or maybe that’s why it’s ghetto. It’s here that he normally goes to push his “work”. Customers often come from across the city to meet Jay at the corner to get some product—it is considered to be some of the best in the state.
Jay arrives on the corner with his backpack strapped and one of his favorite songs, “Dreams" bumpin’ loudly in his headphones; the colors and light swirling around flowing to the rhythm of the beat. He will probably go deaf at an early age for how loud he plays his music. By the look of things, he could tell it was going to be a slow day. It was already over 100 degrees outside and he didn’t have any text messages or inboxes from anyone asking for product. Suddenly, he phone chimed with a text from his roommate:
Where is the money for the electric bill?!?
Jay shakes his head and deletes the text. He knows that he has to get that money today…he’ll have to figure something out.
After about 20 minutes, Jay gets another text, this time from Ray:
Hey, you want to smoke?
Jay’s eyes light up. He hasn’t puffed all day. He immediately replies back:
FUCK YES.
Jay hops on his skateboard and heads towards the Block House. Getting the money for the electric bill would just have to wait.
******
Jay knocks loudly on #23 at the Block House Apartments. As Ray answers the door, Jay is instantly hit with the familiar smell of weed.
“What’s up, my nigga,” yells Raymond. His 5’7” skinny frame moves aside as Jay walks into the house. “You look like you had fun last night,” laughs Raymond as they move into the main living room. The room is filled with the sounds of “Block My Cool,” a track by a local artist that Jay had shown Ray. Jay sees a series of blue and white energy pulses barreling out of the speaker.
“YOU AIN’T FIN TO BLOCK MY COOOOL,” sings Raymond as he dances across the messy living room to the table in the kitchen. A couple of Raymond’s homies are sitting on the couch playing Titan Fall on his Xbox One. There is also an attractive brunette sitting on the couch, but clearly still trying to recover from last night. She smiles as she makes eye contact with Jay as he walks over to the table across the room. Jay remembers her from last night; she was giving him the eye then too. The girl stands up and walks over to the table where Jay is sitting and has a seat in the chair next to him. She proceeds to grab the weed tray on the table and starts to roll a blunt. She says nothing as she occasionally looks up at Jay.
Jay’s phone buzzes, he reaches in his pocket, pulls out his phone and glances at it. It’s a text from his mother:
Did you find a job today?
Jay shakes his head as he replies back:
No, no luck today mom.
Did you even look, Jay?
Jay looks at the text and deletes it. He has a habit of doing that when people ask him dumb questions. Besides, this girl was taking up most of Jay’s attention right now. Another text comes through from his mother:
Damn it Jay, why can’t you just be normal?
Jay smirks to himself as he reads it. Ray sees his twisted smile, “what’s good my dude?” Jay flashes his phone at Raymond, showing him the text. Ray mumbles to himself as he reads the text out loud, “why can’t you be normal?”
He smirks. “Man, fuck that hoe, what the fuck is normal these days anyway?” “A 9-5 job, a college education?” “Shit, most of us are just trying to survive these days, by any means necessary.” “What’s normal for cats like me and you might not be normal that hoe, feel me?” “And if we are going by what she’s talking about, then I ain’t tryin’ a be normal.”
Jay stares at Ray for a moment, absorbing what he said, his trance his broken by the sound of the girl’s voice, “it’s your hit Jay,” she says seductively. Jay hesitates for a moment then grabs the blunt. He looks at the text again focusing on the words:
Why can’t you be normal?
Jay shakes his head again and deletes the text.
“No Worries”
Jay is higher than elephant ass. The weed keeps coming though as Raymond rolls blunt after blunt. “We puffing that Hindu Kush tonight, my brother,” he proclaims as he licks the newly finished Dutch encased blunt. Ray stares at it admiringly for a few moments before blurting out, “yo, nigga, go to the fridge and get that bottle of Jack Daniels.” Jay hesitates for a brief moment, it is early afternoon still and he knows that if he starts drinking now, there would be no turning back. He shrugs, he probably isn’t going to push any work today anyways, it is too fucking hot on the corner—in more ways than one and no one is out. He might as well get a little buzz going. Jay hops off the sofa and walks into the kitchen. The smell of old trash and dirty dishes hits him immediately, it’s clear that Raymond hasn’t done any house cleaning in a while, not that he gives a shit. He grabs the bottle from the fridge and returns to the living room.
Raymond already has the blunt lit, the smell of the burned kush fills the air. He is on the computer again, something of an addiction to him. He likes to post his music to his blog and then share it various social networks, especially to online forums. Apparently he is in a “rap beef” with another rapper in the area. The funny thing is that they know each other. Stank is a rapper from the “Money Up Click”, a crew that Raymond actually use to be in. The details are unknown but Raymond “left” M.U.C. and went solo. Jay is pretty much the only other artist that Ray fucks with these days. Stank and Ray have proceeded to not only release “diss tracks” but go on the forums and make threats. This isn’t the first time this has happened, the two have even been in a scuffle recently. “This dude said his going to pound my face to the pavement” laughs Raymond. He takes another puff of the blunt. “These niggas are HILARIOUS, like…Nick Cannon HILARIOUS.” He states through exhaling the blunt smoke. Jay smirks to himself at the outdated Dave Chappelle reference, Raymond was the type to find a “catch phrase” and stick to it. Recently, his cable went out so he has been watching Dave Chappelle DVDs non-stop. He must have just watched that episode. “These dudes are mad because they can’t spit like me…I get it, I would be mad, too” continues Ray as he passes the blunt to the girl across the table who looks WAY too high. “They are ALWAYS trying to hate on me, but then I get mad likes on my page and comments and shit and they shut up”. Ray types something on the keyboard speaking every word out loud as he typed “Nigga..I..Will…see..u..Tomorrow Night!”. He hits the enter button with extra force then turns to Jay. “Tomorrow is going to be sooo turnt up, nigga! Are you ready?” Jay takes a swig of the bottle and grimaces as he hands it to Raymond. Ray smiles “I Take that as a yes, lil’ nigga”. He grabs the bottle, takes a long draw, and then sets it on the computer desk next to the keyboard. “5000 dollar prize and a distribution deal, my nigga? That’s that shit right there! We need that. Plus we can son those punk ass M.U.C. niggas” Raymond’s intensity increasing.
Jay is nervous; this would be his first time on stage…ever. He knows he can rap. All of his homies said that he is probably one of the best they have ever heard, but he has never been good at talking in front of crowds. The whole city is going to be there and he knows that his song will do well….maybe even win, he just needs the chance. What bothers Jay the most however is that anytime Raymond gets into “internet beef” it often leads to trouble. Ray looks over Jay and as if though he is reading his mind and speaks with a slightly more serious tone “look, I know last time was wild, but trust me when I say that those niggas will NEVER fuck with us again”. Jay glances across the table towards the girl, who is rolling her eyes as she hands him the blunt. “You said that shit the last time…and the time before that” she smirks. “Shut up, hoe!” Ray snaps back. “I ain’t worried about no punk ass bitch, trying to fuck up my buzz. Let some motherfucka roll up on me and see what happens. These niggas think that I’m just some hood ass nigga from the block house, until I kick they ass and smash on they girl”.
Jay laughs to himself, it is true that Raymond did seem a little hood and he is from the Block House, an apartment complex in the center of the city. In fact, the Block House is where Jay met Raymond, they use to be roommates. Apparently, Raymond has lived in the Block House Apartments his entire life. His mother raised him there and when she died, he took over the apartment that apparently his mother outright purchased. Raymond rents out the extra room to pay for whatever he needs although he also sells weed, so it’s hard to say how his income worked exactly. “Girl on the couch” is his latest “roommate” although Jay is pretty sure they are fucking. Jay lived here for about two years, during that time he had some of the craziest times of his life. He also met some special people there…including “Her”. It was also here that Jay also got involved in music. Jay wouldn’t call Raymond a mentor…at all but he certainly opened the doors for Jay, including show him how to record and spreading the word of his talent. Raymond also recruited Jay to push “Work” of two different kinds: Either bags of weed or Raymond’s newest mixtape, which includes a feature from jay, both of which sold surprisingly well. Jay was able to save up enough money to move in a “nicer” area on the eastside on the better side of Rosemont. Jay continues to push work for Ray while he keeps working on music, waiting for the day that he can push his own music in the streets.
This show tomorrow is going to big, he knows that it will give the buzz he needs to drop his almost finished first album. Jay’s thoughts are broken by his phone buzzing. It is a text message that says ”Where are You?”. Jay’s eyes widen: he forgot that he has some where he has to be. He takes a huge draw from the blunt, passes it to Raymond and heads for the door. “Hey, where are you going?” asks Raymond. Jay ignores Raymond as he bolts for the door. “HEY!” yells Raymond. Jay stops and turns quickly to look at Raymond. Ray smiles “Remember man…No Worries”. Jay smirks and quickly runs out the door.
(“No Worries” featuring People From The Sun)
https://bencloak.bandcamp.com/track/chapter-2-no-worries-featuring-people-from-the-sun
“Fuck Gravity”
Jay arrives to a White house with a well groomed lawn. He is in the “Northern Hills” now. This is considered to be the nicest area of town where all the richest people in the city live. Jay doesn’t like to come out here but this is where “She” stays. He walks up to the neatly trimmed porch towards the door, as he is about to knock he sees that the door is slightly open. Jay pushes open the door slightly to see “Her” laying on the couch in the living room. She has her headphones on, eyes closed. She is singing loudly, as if she was the only person in the world. “YOU TAKE THE HIGH ROAD, I TAKE THE LOW ROAD, AND WE’LL BOTH GO STRAIGHT TO HELL”. She was singing that damn Diversity Higher song again. Diversity Higher was a local group that “She” was obsessed with. “They are next to blow”, She would always say. Apparently, She had a pretty good hunch about these things. When She isn’t in school, She spends a lot her time scouring the internet looking for the hottest and latest trends. She prides herself on being ahead of the curve when it came to…well everything.
Jay creeps into the house slowly and sneaks over to the couch. He stands over her for a moment, admiring her long dark hair, her tanned, almost almond color skin and her long legs. Jay feels that he is lucky he she was even into him. They met at the Block House a little after Jay moved in with Raymond at a party that he was throwing. She stood out like a sore thumb, especially at that party. While she is considered to be a “Northern Hills” kid, she loves nothing more than to slum it in the city. She is attending college still, so her parents let her stay in the guest house on their property as they aren’t going to let their precious daughter live on campus in the city. Of course, she has to keep up a front, as her parents aren’t aware of her party life style, although they know she is friends with Jay. Her parents actually like Jay, they think that he is different from all the other “hood” kids that she brings in. For this reason alone, Jay is allowed to come and hang out with her on a regular basis. Maybe they think that she will bring a change in him.
“She” always tells jay that there was something “special” about him. Being that she is the trendy type, it only made sense that she keep him around…so that she could be ahead of the curve, of course. Their partnership evolved over time and after Jay moved to Rosemont, their relationship actually seemed to get stronger as he was now closer to her. Jay wouldn’t say they are dating, although they have hooked up few times her and there, mostly in between her relationships or when she is lonely. Things have gotten pretty heavy at various points in their friendship. She has feelings for him, but often feels that Jay is not a “Safe” choice for her right now. This is probably why she keeps him on a leash, he is who she really wants…but the kid is broke. Jay doesn’t really mind, though. He doesn’t really have anyone else in his life, she is one of the only people that truly cares for him, something that he is forever appreciative of.
Her light brown eyes flutter open, making contact with Jay. “Finally” she says as she gives a broad smile. She sits up, removes her headphones and wipes a wisp of hair from her face. “You smell like blunts, you were over at Raymond’s, huh?” Jay blinks a few times before sitting down on the couch next to her. She doesn’t really like Raymond. He tried to hook up with her on multiple occasions, even after Jay stepped into the picture. She knows that Jay hangs out with him often and she doesn’t really mind, except when it interferes with their hanging out time. “Whatever” She scoffs “I don’t own you”. She reaches over to the coffee tab and grabs the half burned joint from the ashtray, puts it in her mouth and lights it. A silence washes over the room. This is something that they are used to; they often sit together in silence and just enjoy each other’s presence and energy. She passes the joint over to Jay. He shakes his head as he turns down the offer. She might come from money but for some reason the weed she smokes most of the time is horrible and she refuses to cop that bomb from Raymond, probably because he would try and hit on her. She shrugs to herself, her weed might not be the best but it did the trick. She doesn’t smoke too often so pretty much everything gets her high. It’s the summertime now though, so she has been increasing her intake.
After a few moments of silence, She puts the rest of the joint out in the ashtray. She sits back on the the couch and sighs heavily. “I had a dream about you last night” She says, breaking the silence. Jay, who was staring off into infinity, breaks his trance and turns to her. “It was really weird” She continues. “You and I were in it, I think it took place way in the future because we looked much older. Things were…different. Almost kind of a post-apocalyptic dystopia or some shit, but you were some kind of leader or something, and I was your girl” she says somewhat excitedly. “It was kind of like a Mad Max movie, or that Tupac video from the 90’s”. Jay blinks at her, She always tells him weird dreams like this, but never anything about him and her being “together”. She looks down for a moment as she continues. “There was another part…We had a child…a little boy to be exact”. She looks up and tries to gauge Jay’s reaction to her statement. Jay stares back at her, but he is more looking “through her” than “at her”. He doesn’t really have much of a reaction.
“Would you ever want a kid?” She asks. Jay’s eyes go wide as he thinks about the question for a moment: He would probably be a good father. Although his died at an early age, he could see himself taking care of his own like a man should. He is too young to concern himself with all of that right now. He wants…and needs to focus on his music and nothing more. As if though she reads his mind, she quickly follows up “I think you would be a great father…if you didn’t smoke so much weed”. Jay finds it funny and hypocritical that she is talking shit about him smoking weed after JUST smoking her shitty ass bunk weed moments ago. He keeps the thought to himself, though…he didn’t want to argue right now. She sighs heavily and cuddles up against Jay, burrowing herself into the crook of his shoulder. “I would have a baby with you” she continues. “I think that we would make some dope looking kids”. Jay begins to stroke her hair. She is in between relationships right now, the last dude being some college bro douchebag with a lot of money. She is attracted to wealth, she likes to be pampered and taken care of. Jay wants to fill that role but he is barely scraping by with rent and bills. He knows that he is destined for great things, or at least that what everyone keeps telling him.
She is his muse, though. Often times, she gives him little bits of inspiration for songs here and there, and she really does enjoy all of his music. In fact, she is the only one that has his “album” that he is working on. As if almost on queue She chimes in “I’ve been listening to your album, it’s coming along very well”. She pauses for a moment then follows up “ I think something is hold you back, though…something is weighing you down.” Jay stops stroking her hair and he thinks about what she said. “When I look at you, I see great things. You are destined to fly, but you have to have to defy the laws of natures in order to do so. You can’t let weight of the world hold you down anymore” She rambles on, something that she tends to do when she is high. “FUCK gravity”. She sits up and stares directly into Jay’s eyes. “I believe in you, Jay. But sometimes I think that you don’t believe in yourself.” Jay returns the intensity of the stare, he know she is right…she normally is. “This show tomorrow will be the beginning of something beautiful and hopefully the end of some the things that have been holding you back”. She pauses for a moment “If you can’t believe in yourself, this will all be for nothing”. Jay grabs Her face and kisses her deeply. He wanted to do that since he got there…he also wants her to stop talking. She returns the kiss for a moment then breaks away “Ha, I was talking too much wasn’t I” she laughs. “You always try to kiss me when I ramble on”. Jay laughs to himself, she knows him pretty well. “Well” She continues “Let’s go to the bedroom and…take a nap”. She stands up and walks towards the hall, taking her shirt off in the process and tossing it aside. As she goes around the corner towards the bedroom door, she turns and gives Jay one of the most seductive stares Jay has seen in a while then proceeds to go into the bedroom. Jay quickly stands up, takes off his shoes and runs after Her. She laughs as he swoops her up and carries her into the bedroom, her infectious laugh causing them both to chuckle as they head into the bedroom. The laughs trail off as they close the door behind them, replaced by the sound of pleasure.
(Fuck Gravity Featuring ShoNuff and E-Fresh)