Katrina Will Pay
Chapter 1 – Surprise Death
It was as fast as lightning. The Rohnda family was playing “Monkey in the Middle”. The youngest son, Sidu Rohnda, who was 9 years old, and the oldest son, Ty'reedsoo Rohnda, who was thirteen,
were passing the ball around their mother, Mia Rohnda. Then…a huge wave
came over them. Sidu just stood there.
Ty’reedsoo ran for Sidu and the wave just got closer.
“Come on!” Ty’reedsoo yelled. He pushed himself to the left of Sidu who stumbled to the ground.
Ty’reedsoo ran after him and lifted him to his feet. It did not
take long to know – to get the message - that he had to run. Then everything went blank. When Ty’reedsoo and Sidu
woke up from being unconscious, both of their shirts were ripped and their bare chests could be seen. A couple of paces from them, their mom lay there lifeless covered with water.
“Mom!” Ty’reedsoo yelled over and over. He ran to her. Ty’reedsoo felt for her pulse. He didn’t feel a heart beat. Sidu had just appeared
right next to Ty’reedsoo. They just sat there for a while.
“I think she’s dead bro’,” Ty'reedsoo whispered.
“No, she can’t be!” Sidu cried.
“Yeah…” Tyreedsoo mumbled, holding back tears.
Chapter 2
– Saved But Angry
Hours later, “Dr.! Dr.! Dr.! Dr.! Dr.!” Helicopters flew over Ty’reedsoo and Sidu. They let
down a cage tied up to some rope. Ty’reedsoo and Sidu got into the cage
and were yanked up into mid-air. In a few minutes they were in the helicopter. Ty’reedsoo and Sidu climbed out of the cage onto the cold gray floor of the
helicopter.
“Are we safe now?” Sidu asked.
“Safer than you were,” a sergeant in the helicopter replied. From
New
Orleans to South Bronx, New York was a long ride from home. The
ride was boring but scary. But before they arrived, they came to an army base
in South Carolina.
There were dozens of soldiers walking people into the building.
“Why are they holding us like prisoners?” Sidu asked Ty’reedsoo.
“Shhhh…” Ty’reedsoo snapped. “You could still be in New Orleans
next to your dead mama.
“Shut up! How could you talk about Mama like that!” Sidu yelled painfully. He then punched Ty’reedsoo in
the stomach. After Ty’reedsoo felt the blow, he punched his brother back
in the jaw. Sidu spit out a tooth and kicked Ty’reedsoo in the shins.
“Hey, hey, break it up!” a soldier screamed coming between
them. “Now walk spread apart, about a yard from each other” he directed.
The brothers were finally in the building. Ty’reedsoo just wanted
Sidu to accept and appreciate that these people came for them. But really, Ty’reedsoo
was very mad. His mom was dead and it hurt more than anything. Sidu just hated it when Ty’reedsoo acted like he was a stranger.
Especially now.
Chapter 3
– Never a Good Relationship
Ty’reedsoo and Sidu were never good at being good brothers, but their mom always scolded them about being the
only friends each other had.
“That’s your closest friend,” she would always remind them.
“Your brother comes before anything.” But they never listened. They were always cruel to each other. Once,
their mom told them to get some eggs and orange juice from the store. Ty’reedoo
pinched Sidu in the neck all the way home because Sidu was rude to the cashier – but Sidu didn’t know what taxes
were and he was only asking why the total didn’t add up.
Ty’reedsoo was always angry about something. One day he came home from school and threw all his things in his book bag against
the wall. He got a good whoopin’ for that.
He made a bad dent in the wall and it cost his mom $1,000.00 for the landlord to fix it.
Mia Rohnda – her sons called her “Mommy” - was a very pretty woman. Prettier than most. She loved her boys so much and even though Ty’reedsoo’s
behavior couldn’t always be explained, she always supported him. Maybe
it was because his father wasn’t around…maybe it was because he couldn’t explain his pain sometimes…
Chapter 4
– Parent to Teacher
As they got into the building, the soldiers walked them into an office. They
sat down in leather chairs.
“I understand your house was torn into pieces by Katrina,” a man said.
“Now your name is Ty’reedsoo and your 18 years old – Ty’reedsoo was surprised at the mistake
but didn’t say anything. After all, his height made him look older than
15. “Did you ever have a job?”
the man asked.
“Yes, I worked at a fast food restaurant?” Ty’reedsoo
whispered.
“How much did you get paid on pay day?” the man asked.
“One-hundred thirty-four dollars,” Ty’reedsoo replied.
“Are you up for taking, well, raising your little brother – you know being a parent?” he asked. Ty’reedsoo thought for a minute of all the sacrifices his mother made for him. He wanted to do the same for Sidu.
“Sure,” said Ty’reedsoo.
“Well then sign this. “ Ty’reedsoo took the pen from
the man’s hand and signed it. The two brothers walked out of the building. They got on a plane and it took them to South Bronx
in New York City. When
they got there, Ty’reedsoo saw an apartment perfect enough for the both of them.
They paid all the money Ty’reedsoo got from his paychecks from work. Since
their things in the house had been washed away, the soldiers and the pilot gave them money for furniture. The brothers also received money so they could buy food for themselves.
Chapter 5--Life
in Bronx
Ty’reedsoo and Sidu couldn’t
thank everyone enough for all that they received. Ty’reedsoo bought one
bed and a couch. Ty’reedsoo would sleep on the couch. He bought comforters and sheets for Sidu. They would have
to share a bike. Unfortunately, Ty’reedsoo couldn’t afford a car
– not that he was old enough to drive anyway. It was the summer so Ty’reedsoo
started saving money so Sidu could go to a private school. Ty’reedsoo soon
found a job as a waiter at Pizza Palace. There, he was paid $6.50 an hour and the way rent was - $650.00 a month - Ty’reedsoo
started working all the time. Rent was getting hard to pay and sometimes he couldn’t
pay it. He would work 24 hours if he had to. He had to look out for Sidu. He had to pay the rent. But it was still
hard.
Sidu started making friends with the people in their neighborhood. Ty’reedsoo
noticed a change in his brother’s attitude. Sidu was angry and he started
asking about weapons and other stuff you hear in the streets. One day, Ty’reedsoo
overheard, “Yo, what up dog. My name is Lil’ Bad Boy,” the
gangbanger said to his brother. The thug had a long, black shirt, black pants, white Nikes and a New York Yankees baseball
cap on.
“Yo, I know you and your bro strugglin’ and we goin’ to help you,” said Lil’ Bad Boy.
“How?” Sidu questioned.
“Simple rules. You rob that snack store over there and you can be
in the gang. Then we’ll help you out.
Or, you can live in that broke-down apartment,” offered Lil’ Bad Boy.
Sidu thought for a minute. He questioned
out loud, “What would my brother think?”
“Don’t worry ‘bout him. We’re your new family.
My gang and I got it all planned out…”
Chapter 6: Sidu’s Choice
“Since you my new family, if I do it will I get caught?” Sidu
asked.
A smile came over Lil’ Bad Boy’s face and then he said,
“Naw, nothin’s going to happen, lil’ man,” said Lil’ Bad Boy convincingly. Then Lil’
Bad Boy told Sidu the plan. After giving the directions, Lil’ Bad Boy gave
Sidu a black bandana. When Sidu felt the bandana, it felt as if something was
in it, kind of in a half “T” shape. All of a sudden it struck him
that it may be a gun.
“Don’t open it now. Meet me at the store at 9:00.” Sidu checked his watch. It was 5:00 then. They walked to Sidu’s apartment.
“Peace,” Lil’ Bad Boy said.
“Peace, man.” When Sidu came through the door Ty’reedsoo
said,
“Where’ve you been?”
“Out.”
“Out, huh?”
“You were supposed to be back by 4:00. It’s now 5:00.”
“Can you stop hassling me!”
“What?”
“You’re not Dad…he left a long time ago. And you’re
not Mama. You’re just my older brother.” There was a moment of silence in the room. Sidu could see
that Ty’reedsoo was holding himself back from grabbing him by the throat to make those little skin lines come out like
on a piece of paper.
“Well, I got paid today and I bought you some curry chicken and I got myself jerk chicken. Here,” Ty’reedsoo said giving him the meal. They
ate at the table not speaking to each other.
Sidu was enjoying every part and morsel of the food. The chicken, rice
and beans, and cabbage hit the spot. He was getting tired of eating the pizza
from where his brother worked all the time anyway. When Sidu was on his last
chicken wing when Ty’reedsoo whispered, “Look Sidu, I’m sorry I just don’t want you to turn out like
a zero and unsuccessful, a nothing, a –“
“Look, I’m going to wrap this up and put it in the refrigerator,” Sidu snapped. Sidu closed up his meal and put it in the empty refrigerator. Sidu
sighed thinking about the plan.
“Yo Sidu, your show, Sanford and Son, is on! It’s a marathon!”
“I’m good. I’m just going to go to bed. I’m real tired,” Sidu yawned.
“Well, okay, I love you.”
“Love you too, bro’.”
Sidu set his alarm clock for a 9:00. He put a towel over it to muffle
the sound while Ty’reedsoo was watching TV. Ty’reedsoo would hear
it and suspect something. Sidu, soon after hearing the third episode of Sanford and Son, fell asleep. Later, Sidu woke up to the alarm ringing. He turned it off. Sidu put on some black
clothes: a black sweatshirt and black pants.
Sidu bent down to get the bandana from under his bed. He unwrapped it. There was the gun! “Aw man!”
Sidu whispered. He wrapped the bandana around his mouth.
“Screeeeech!” went the old window as Sidu slid out. He met
Lil’ Bad Boy at the store. Sidu greeted him, “What’s up Lil’
Bad Boy.”
“Yo lil’ man, I want you to meet some people.” Some
other people started coming out of the darkness. Sidu pulled out his gun.
“Yo lil’ man, no need to be alarmed. Everything is cool. This is Killa’ Ricky, Crazy Mike,
and this is Gangsta Kid. Now, everybody knows everybody. Let’s get this thing goin’. Lead the way, lil’
man,” Lil’ Bad Boy instructed. They walked and walked until they
got to the store. Hyped, Sidu rushed in and pointed his gun at the old man. He was sweaty and scared. He had to shake
off any memory of Mama. Shake off his unsaid promises to Ty’reedsoo.
“Give me the money! Move! Move! Move!” Sidu yelled. He didn’t know he could do it. He felt like he was looking
at himself. The man did as he was ordered and gave him a small bag full of money.
“Please don’t hurt me,” the man begged. Lil’ Bad
Boy and the rest of the gang backed out of the store quickly. Sidu was still
pointing his gun at the man. He just couldn’t move.
“C’mon man!” Lil’ Bad Boy yelled out to Sidu. Sidu
finally ran. They all ran to the corner behind a garage. “That was good,
lil’ man,” Lil Bad Boy complimented him with a smile. But since that
was a success, we got to hit somethin’ bigger…banks…”
Na’im
(age 10)
P.S.
19, Albany
