Ethan got up the next morning, feeling refreshed and energetic, for some reason. He washed up, wore his uniform and went downstairs for breakfast. Although he still had bruises on his face, he had a happy expression. And this didn't go unnoticed by his mother.
"You look happy this morning" His mother said as she set his breakfast on the table.
"Really?" Ethan asked with a smile.
On seeing him smile, his mother paused and walked up to him and said; "don't let those kids steal this smile away from your lips, don't make all they are doing to you make you feel less of yourself. Do you understand"
"Yes mum"
She pulled him for a warm hug that lingered for a while; "I love you" she whispered to him and broke the hug.
"I love you too mum"
"Now eat your breakfast before you would be late for school"
Ethan ate hurriedly, his mother was right, he was happy. And that was all because of his friends. It's one thing to be going through a difficult time, and it's another to be have people who are willing to stay with you through your difficult times. He had good friends.
He bade his mum goodbye with a kiss and ran out of the house, so as not to miss the bus.
******
The sound of the alarm blaring non stop was what woke Ray up. He was already late so he freshened up and dressed up in his uniform. He wen downstairs, said his good morning to his mother and Andrew the packed up his breakfast, so he would eat it during lunch break at school. He left the house and rushed out.
Classes came and go, as the time went. Ray had not seen any of the twins, except Ethan whom he met in the school bus earlier this morning.
The bell rang and soon all the students left the classes and flooded outside. Ray watched as the new rich girl picked up her bag and left the class. He picked up the bag and walked behind her, she looked classy and reeked of wealth.
"Hey Ray"
He stopped and turned to see the twins walking up his him. He stopped and waited for them to catch up.
Ethan soon joined them and they went out of the building.
"How do we get the jewelry, so the Dragon brothers won't harm Ethan?" Jamie asked as soon as they stopped under a tree.
Ray gaze was fixed on the new girls as she walked over to the parking lot, she was probably waiting for her driver to come pick her up.
"What about her?" Ray finally spoke up.
They all turned their attention to her and then back to Ray; "what about her?" they replied in unison, feeling lost and confused about the point he was driving at.
"She looks rich, and I bet, she would have too many jewelries and won't feel hurt if we could take some"
"What! Ray, you've got to be kidding me. you want Us to rob her" Jamie exclaimed in disbelief.
'Shh, shh. Don't scream and draw attention to ourselves" Jenny sealed her bothers lips shut with her palm.
"I think so too. Because I don't think we have the cash to purchase any jewelry or expensive item. I think this is our only shot, I'm running out of time. I need to present it to them before 42 hours runs out and right now, I barely have 29 hours left" Ethan chirped in.
Jamie shoved his sisters hand off his mouth and spoke up; "then, what ever we are doing should be tonight then"
"But we don't even know her house, and if she's truly rich like you suggested, Ray" Jenny implored.
Ray turned his gaze back to the girl; he sighted her car approaching; "we have to follow her"
They all turned to her, Ethan dashed out, he ran towards the gate to flag down a taxi that would help them trace her till her apartment.
"Jenny, I think you will have to seat this one out, you need to leave the men to handle this" Jamie stated with a smug on his face.
Jenny scoffed and folded her hands across her chest and said sarcastically; "if the men are asked to come out, so you would come out. I am even manlier than you"
"I think your brother is right. You'd have to seat this one out"
"But Ray I want in on all the action and adventure" Jenny grumbled with her lips pouted as she gave him a pair of puppy eyes.
"I have something more important for…." Ethan drove in with a taxi and they all got in except Jenny.
The girl had already left in her ride but they still followed.
Ray pulled out his phone from his school bag and called up Jenny whom they had left back at the school.
"Hey Jenny"
"What!" she replied, obviously she was pissed off.
"Common Jenny don't be mad. I have something important I want you to do, please go over to our parents and inform them that we would be coming back a little late tonight. Please"
Jenny sighed softly and agreed before Ray hung up the call. He driver followed the girls trail closely.
"I can't believe I'm doing this" Jamie sighed
"Me too" Ethan mumbled.
The drive wasn't too far, the car drove into the best part of town, which was few blocks away from the hood or the trenches, however you choose to call it.
The car drove into mansion, surrounded with a short wooden fence.
"So, this is it" Jamie muttered
They took a good look at it before Ray told the driver to take them to the hood.
"What are we going there to do? It dangerous in the hood" Jamie and Ethan complained.
The twins and Ethan lived in the best part of town, but Raymond lived in the hood. He was just opportune to have gotten a scholarship into the Preston high, which was clearly not a school for the kid from the trenches.
"I live in the hood, and it's not that dangerous like you depict it to be. And besides, that were we are gonna get what we need for what we are gonna do tonight" Ray explained.
"I have a bad feeling about this, I shouldn't be dragging you all into my shit" Ethan muttered.
"Common, we are in this together" Jamie assured him.
The driver pulled over beside the road, Jamie paid their fare and the driver drove off.
Unlike were they lived the hood was bustling with activities, crack dealers selling drugs to someone in the alley, stolen stuff being sold out there in the open, all these seemed strange to Ethan and Jamie but not Ray, because this was his turf.
"Remind me, what we are doing here?" Jamie asked, feeling a tad intimidated by the figures he was seeing around.
"We need tools so as to have a smooth operation" Ray replied.
'what" Ethan exclaimed and stopped, pulling Ray by his arm; "do you mean guns. What the fuck do we need guns for? "
"Wait guns?" Jamie added, surprised.
"No, not guns. I mean masks so as to hide our identity and alsosome sort of master key to open every door. And I think I know just who to meet" Ray replied and starting walk forward.
"I feel like I don't even know you, Ray. How did you know all these?" Ethan muttered as he walked behind him.
"Common guys, don't you watch movies? I haven't actually done it before and none of you have, so allow me to get us out of the bullshit"
The duo nodded and walked behind Ray quietly. Clearly this was the first time Ray was doing this, but he couldn't show his anxiousness or fear of the unknown and most especially, he had to look tough, because the hood and all it inhabitants can sniff out fear and prey on that fear. And maybe, just maybe, that's the reason they are in this mess in the first place, because if Ethan had managed to conceal his fear, then those dimwits wouldn't have continued bugging him.
"Jamie" Ray called, he stopped and turned to face him.
"I think you should take off that your watch"
'Why? Common Ray, this is my lucky watch. My dad gave it to me and I have been wearing it ever since"
"I really think you should listen to Ray; this isn't the turf you come from; this is the hood. And you flashing this your golden watch may draw the attention of anybody that could mug us" Ethan advised.
"Unlike you Ethan, I can defend myself. Let's go. I'll handle my own issues"
Ray shrugged and continued in his trail; "okay, if you say so"
They turned left into an Alley. Different rugged looked gangster, dressed in hoodies and jeans hung around, smoking and doing drugs.
"hey kids. Come here you motherfuckers" the nigga's there beckoned on them. Ray knew better than to ignored them so he urged the boys to follow him as they walked up the group of boys.
The black boy that called them was popularly known as Shadow, his brother was the guy you meet for any tools you need and it was his brother that Ray came to meet. Shadow pulled down his hoodie and puffed a smoke at Ray's face.
"Watcha doing in this part of the country side. Are you lost?"
"We are actually here to see Vasco. We need something" Ray replied calmly, but with a mean demeanor. Deep down he was frightened because with this guy anything could go wrong and they could have their lives snuffed out if they noticed anything suspicious.
"Vasco ain't around now mate. So what shit do you want and I'll set your ass up" Shadow replied and drawing another smoke from his weed.
"we need masks" Ray replied. The others kept quiet behind him, but deep down they were scared to their wit.
Jamie's eyes kept locking with one of the guys behind the person Raymond was talking to, and each time their gaze locked, he would steal his glances.
Shadow laughed out loud as if something was funny about what Ray said. "what do you kids need the masks for, To Rob" he laughed and the guys behind him did too.
"what we need it for, is our own business. What's the price"
Shadow's laughed died down immediately, he looked at the boys in front of him. He now had this cold expression on his face. He turned to his guys and nodded at them and one walked away.
Ray's heart skipped a beat as soon as he nodded to his men, had something gone wrong he thought.
He returned few minutes later with the masks they asked for and warned then sternly not to rat them out to the police.
"I need the watch as a payment"
"What watch?" Raymond asked, confused, because he knew he wasn't wearing any.
Jamie slowly moved his hand to his back and looked up to Shadow; "No I can't give my watch. It's a gift from my father. Pick another form of payment"
"at least you have a father. Are you paying or what?" The guy who had been staring at Jamie said and pulled up his shirt to reveal his pistol.
"Jamie please, don't let us die in the hands of this guys. I didn't imagine myself ending like this" Ethan whispered to Jamie.
JAMIE sluggishly took out the watch and handed it to them, Shadow took it and wore it on his wrist.
"it suits me" He smiled and flashed his wrist in front of them.
The trio turned and walked away.
"I won't say I told you so, but I told you so…" Ray busted out laughing immediately they had moved out of the alley.
"Ray told you, but you insisted saying you would take care of it, we you did a good job taking care of it" Ethan added.
"but you urged me to give it to him" Jamie shot back at Ethan..
"I did because I wasn't ready to die yet, or do you want to. I'm certain and surely Ray and I still want to live and get disvirginedand also get a girlfriend"