Snitch by van Diepen Allison

Author:van Diepen, Allison [van Diepen, Allison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 2013-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

LIFE CHANGES FAST

I walked back into the school one week later.

Eric held my hand. With him, I could face anyone or anything.

Even enter a war zone.

I wasn’t under any illusions. I knew who my friends were now. They weren’t who they used to be.

There were no calls from my girls asking how I was doing. Not even a text or an e-mail.

Years of friendship gone to hell.

But Eric had been over every night. And Black Chuck had stopped by a bunch of times. They were there for me. They took care of me.

“They’re here,” Eric said.

“Who?”

“You know who. Be nice, okay?”

“I’m always nice.”

Sarah Stanley and Nessa Henriquez came up to us. Sarah was tall and dark-skinned, with perfect makeup and a curvy figure. Nessa was a small, fiery Dominican with glossy black curls. They threw their arms around Eric, kissing his cheeks. I felt a stab of jealousy. What did I expect? They called themselves family, didn’t they?

“Sarah, Nessa, this is my girl, Julia.”

“We kicked some fat ass for you last week,” Nessa said. “Bet you’re sorry you ever hung around with Marie.”

“Yeah. Thanks for . . . helping out.”

“It’s cool,” Sarah said. “You’re family, after all. Well, not officially family yet.”

* * *

The school was the same, but for me it was totally different. My ex-friends looked away or gave hesitant smiles in the hallway. I didn’t smile back. Why bother?

I could hardly walk two steps without running into a Crip. They seemed to be everywhere. Eric and Black Chuck must have had something to do with it. They wanted to make sure I was protected.

At lunch, I sat with Eric and his blue crew. Despite their thuggish reputation, they were really warm and friendly. There was:

Rolo—whose name was Dexter, then became Rolo Dex, then just Rolo.

French—a right-off-the-boat Haitian.

Snoopy—not to be mistaken for another more senior member of the FJC called Snoop.

And Hex—whose mama cursed him every day.

As for girls, I met:

Apple Jax—aka Jackie.

Sly—aka Celine.

Jazz—aka Jasmine.

And of course, Sarah and Nessa.

Sitting with the Crips was like sitting with any other group in the caf, except that they wore a lot of blue and everybody was careful not to bump their table.

What did I expect—that they’d only talk about heinous ways to maim and humiliate Bloods? They were just regular people who talked about sports, parties, and love triangles. Maybe, without realizing it, Marie’s constant Crip-bashing had gotten to me. They were nothing like the Blood-thirsty vampires she’d described.

Some Crips were obvious, rocking their colors in the hallways. But others dressed like everybody else, not wanting to flaunt gang gear in the faces of other gangbangers—or teachers and deans.

“We call them Sleepers,” Nessa explained as she picked over her food. “They don’t show themselves in school, but we call on them when we need them. Teachers usually think they’re angels. Sleepers get stuff done, son.”

Eric walked me to my dance class, giving me a kiss before I went in. His lips were cool from his soda, and soft.

“I’ll be right outside the change room ten minutes before the end of your class.

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