Happy was surprised to see Saad standing at the doors of the last classroom before the exit. He was taking the teacher and had a CR-ROM in his hand. It was shiny so it hinted at being a burn job instead of a store-bought. Happy ducked into the bathroom to avoid his eyesight. He was unsure why he’d done that. He washed his face wondering. Maybe Ram was right. He was uncertain how genuine Saad’s offer had been. He wasn’t naive. He knew Sweety had been the catalyst for the ask, but Saad must have seen something in him that made him worthy enough to ask beyond just the request of a girl. No doubt he wanted to be in her good graces but was he just a natural flirt? And did Sweety like him? She was no fool and Happy was sure she liked Happy more. She was Punjabi and Happy was Punjabi. Saad was muslim. They couldn’t be together of their parents would kill each other.
Even if Saad was just inviting him because of Sweety, him being there would make sure a problematic match wouldn’t occur for everyone’s sake. He might get a chance to impress her, and also impress Saad and his friends. If Saad didn’t like Happy blocking him it would mean fighting him, which Happy could do if he needed to. He didn’t go to the gym but he knew deep down he possessed superhuman strength from being a turnbaned Sikh that he could call on in times of need. His people helped the helpless, so he could help save Sweety from an unwanted advice and have her in his arms.
Happy felt the burning lactic acid in his calves as he race walked down the hallway and out the back doors. He walked up the grassy incline and along the edge of the soccer pitch to avoid getting in the crossfire of the jocks already playing their peacock games. He saw Saad’s figure dipping low back onto the sidewalk on the far side. Happy brought into a near jog. Saad tapped the CD on the outside of his knee and Happy finally got within earshot.
“Yo bro,” Happy sputtered and he chugged to a near-stop behind him.
Saad turned on alert with his fist clenched. His sudden movement sent Happy trotting a couple paces back. Saad’s his face softened into mere pity when he saw Happy.
“Oh shit, I was about to deck you,” Saad said.
Saad had thrown a Toronto Raptors fitted cap over his buzzcut skull. He was only his way to Happy’s apartment with none of the other pertygoers he had promised. Happy wondered at first if the party was a lie. Then he smartened on the fact that Saad wouldn’t embarrass himself to Sweety like that. Then he must’ve been late to the party. Sweety wasn’t there to witness Saad’s response. Happy feared he might just reject him outright in this case. But it was too late to not ask.
“My bad. I just wanted to check if I can I still come to the party?” Happy said.
Saad looked confused and them amused. “I thought you were too good for us,” he said.
Happy knew he was on the backfoot and stood no chance of getting anywhere unless he bent at one knee.
“I’m so sorry man. I’m told not to go to strange kids houses without my mom meeting them first, but you seem cool,” Happy said.
“Uh, sure bud,” Saad said. Happy could see him transfigurate to a diapered baby in the reflection of his eyes.
“I don’t know if Gobind will be home though. We’re supposed to party at his place. He got suspended earlier today so we’re going to go cheer him up. We’ll see if the rest of the gang got in when we get there,” Saad said.
This acceptance signalled something pavlovian to both of them to resume walking. They were past the school, at the first big intersection, he would see his apartment building in the background a few blocks down. His balcony pointed towards the high school so he hoped Mummi wasn’t outside looking out for his patka in the distance. The sidewalk snaked past the junior school until it met a left turn that cut over the ravine in front of 10 Garfella Drive with a bridge. This was humourous as he was usually dreading to go home in middle school, wondering how crazy mum would be that particular evening. Now on the worst day of school ever, he had been rushing home. It might be getting a little better now though.
“Suspended? It’s the first day,” Happy said.
“Yeah shit goes hard. The school muhma was right behind them,
Happy tried to think on his feet for his new, increasingly dangerous sounding, friend.
“If he’s not home I can host some of the guys in my Uncle’s place. Not the girls though, but maybe like half of the guys. I would need to go ask my Auntie first thought. We just moved out of there to a nicer place so there’s lots of room and lots of places to sit.” Happy said.
“Thats not how we roll. Either we all go somewhere or none of us go,” Saad said.
Happy was skeptical of this philsophy.
“So what happens if he’s not home? Where else can you hang with girls?” Happy said.
“Maybe they’ll join us somewhere else, or another day. More girls will come, but you don’t leave your boys in the cold for anything,” Saad said.
“Why aren’t you with them?” Happy asked.
“I got the music teacher to burn me this,” he held up the CD. I told her it was sufi music. It’s Biggie’s Life After Death, bit without the songs for the bitches.
The gears snapped into place in Happy’s head and he searched for a phrase that would show his knowledge in this domain,
“The Ten Crack Commandments,” he rap-sang with a bop of his head.
“Oh you know that one eh?” Saad sounds surprised but not excited.
CONTINUE HERE
what do you know about that?
a lot
- never let no one know how much dough you hold
- never let ‘em know your next move
- never trust nobody
- never get high on your own supply
- never sell no crack where you rest at
- no credit
- keep your family and business completely separated
- never keep no weight on you
- stay the fuck from police
- consignment: Strictly for live men, not for freshmen
SAAD IS LATE LEAVING SCHOOL FOR SOME REASONS? WHAT COULD MAKE SENSE? HE NEEDS A STORY BEYOND JUST BEING PART OF HAPPY’S LIFE. HAPPY WANTS TO BE A MAN, AND SAAD DOES SOMETHING THAT HAPPY CAN RESONATE WITH. SAAD GETS A MIXTAPE OR A DVD. SAAD WANTS SWEETY BUT HE ALSO IS TRYING TO GET HIS OWN HUSTLE STARTED AS SEEN IN PART TWO.
Happy glanced up at his 5th floor balcony. They were getting close enough to enter the blind spot so Mummi could only see him if she had suspicion to lean out and down, like when she would scan for Daddi’s drunken ass passed out somewhere in the exterior lobby.
They were walking across the hilly, sprawling front lawn of the building now. Happy could place the tallest boy now, Amit, who’d made fun of Happy’s frequent runny noses in second grade. Saad placed a hand on Happy’s shoulder.
Happy felt foolish. He had never hung out with girls and guys together outside of school. Now he realized he was using his own made-up rules for a game he’d never played.
“Just come hang out, lay low and learn. Some of the other guys are less patient with newbies,” Saad said.
Amit was playing with a switchblade in front of a girl Happy knew to be Giselle. She looked amused as he whipped out and rehid the glinting blade. He tucked it again at the elevators.
They took the elevator up past the 2nd floor of his old house where his uncle lived and the 5th floor where he now lived., to the top floor of the whole building.
Most of the other boys were much taller like Happy, but they had much more muscle than him. They all wore some variation of Rocawear, Phat Farm and Nike. The girls were even more uniform, all were in faded jeans and slip-ons.
They arrived on the top floor. Gobind’s apartment was 5 floors directly above Happy’s Uncle’s place. Happy had seen Gobind being picked up by his older cousins and their friends for the last couple of years out of his balcony. They always screamed his name from the ground floor ‘Gobind! Gobind!’ until he came out or his mum told them he was not home.
After a knock from Amit, Gobind answered and everyone excitedlly filtered in.
Inside, the girls all went to the master bedroom to chat amongst themselves. Gobind pulled a case of vodka coolers out from behind the sofa, Amit turned on the subwoofer and played loud punjabi music. Then the boys started dancing bhangra and drinking while Happy awkwardly watched.
One boy had been watching ahead of the group, chainsmoking. He was the 2nd shortest after Saad, and the most poorly dressed. His clothes had the same style as the rest, just without the brand names. He’d sat down on the couch and was playing with a cigarette. He was twisting it onto the table until it’s content sprinked out onto a folded piece of paper.
Happy recognized him from his past, and placed him as Jug from his 2nd grade class. He’s always have snot hanging out of his nose for long and long enough that is slipped back inside him through his mouth. When the kids sat down for storytime, they’d all (Happy included) slowly inched further away from him until he’d secured a 4 foot perimeter for him to sick his snot back inside in peace.
Happy went over to say hello.
“Yo kiddha, remember me?” Happy said.
Jug looked up as if he’d been disturbed from a dream.
“Oh shit, Happy,” Jug said. “You used to be the goodie two shoes guy snitching on the other kids. What are you doing in this den of corruption?”
Jug looked amused.
“Saad invited me. We’re in the same class now,” Happy said.
“Shit, ok. Just don’t start getting into corruption now. Don’t drink and smoke like us. You’re a gyani,” Jug said.
Happy had never had that label thrown on him with so much vigour in one day. First Shera, now Jug. His turban had been a de facto placed on his head at 4 years old and it now earned him baseline respect without having done anything to deserve it. His biggest accomplishment was a decision his grandmother had made for him on an India trip.
“Nah I ain’t about all that. I’m focussed,” Happy said.
“Fuck yeah, you’re from a proud race. You need to stay on it. I had a turban growing up, but it’s cut now. You need to keep yours going for all of us,” Jug said.
Saad had been dancing bhangra, but with a bit less coordination than the other boys due to him being from the other side of the border. They were all Punjabi, but Saad was Pakistani and not Indian. Same ethnicity, different religion and nationality. Saad went over to the two-four and pulled out a fresh vodka cooler. He walked over to Happy and outstretched it to him.
Jug called out from the table, not energetic enough to get up and physically between them.
“You fucking sullah trying to make a gyani drink?’ Jug said.
“The fuck do you care, you fucking cut your pugh and are now an amli. I’m just offering, he can make his own decisions,” Saad said, looking at Happy.
“I don’t want it,” Happy said.
Saad shrugged and shifting his outstretched hand toward Jug. When Jug reached for it, Saad grabbed it with his other hand and started twisting. Jug started gritting his teeth in pain.
“Don’t ever call me a sullah again.” (Sullah means cockroach, a derogatory term for Muslisms.)
Happy turned away from the tension towards the other boys. The music was still blasting in the background, it was a song about the sublime effects of homemade alcohol that punjabi men brewed in their bathtubs. Amit was the first to catch Happy’s gaze, twist further to see the issue and come over to get in the middle.
He put one hand on their of Saad and Jug’s chests to push them apart firmly. His statute far outmatched theirs and it wasn’t easy for either of them to resist him without turning it into a 3 person standoff.
“Woah woah boys, let’s not fight. We’re brothers,” Amit patted Saad on the back.
“Tell this guy to never call me a sullah again,” Saad said.
“Jug, Gobind’s not gonna like finding out you’re not keeping peace in the gang,” Amit said.
Gang. That’s what this was. Ram was right.
Gobind had come over by then, the aforementioned cousin.
“What happened?”
“Saad said your cousin called him a sullah,” Amit said.
“Oh yeah, did you?” Gobind said.
“He was giving gyani a beer,” Jug said.
“But did you?” Gobind said.
Jug stood silent, more sheepish than earlier.
Gobind turnend to Happy, who was doing his best to step a bit back from the tornado.
“Gyani, you can’t lie. Did he cal him a sullah?” Gobind said.
“I don’t want to get involved,” Happy said.
“Fuck you mean, you were here. You clearly know what happened,” Gobind said.
He would have to betray one of them. The one who invited him or the one who was nice to him. He chose truth.
“He did,” Happy said, not looking at Jug.1
“Oh yeah?” Gobind said, but he was already lining up his open palm which went up and came down in a loud ringing slap on Jug’s cheek.
Gobind was in equal stature to Amit, the bash brothers.
Jug grabbed his cheek.
“What the fuck,” Jug said.
“Keep the peace. We’re going to have to clap back at the kalay soon, can’t be fighting in the gang,” Gobind said.
The punishment of an older cousin meant Jug had no one to retaliate against and Gobind’s firm rule being broken meant he had no grievance to hold against Saad. He had issued a ruling akin to Solomon.
Gobind went back to dancing as fast as he came. The remaining boys, who Happy knew to be brother Frick and Frack, inseparable since they’d followed each other in class since kindergarten, had had growth spurts and each as tall as Happy.
Jug sunk back to the couch and begin playing with his cigarette filling arounds again. Saad dipped out to the balcony to cool off, satisfiied with the justice.
Only Amit and Happy remained in the justice chamber. Amit’s look changed from amusement to suspicion.
“Yo, this is your first time here and you’re already causing my boys to fight,” Amit said.
“I was juts trying to chill. Saad invited me and you guys seem cool,” Happy said.
Amit looks amused and took a sip of his lager. The smell from his breath mingled with the cologne on his neck as he spoke.
“You’re a nerd right?” Amit said.
“I do good at school yeah,” Happy said.
“Then you can of help to us,” Amit said.
Happy liked that he had something he could offer these new friends, but was all of a sudden nervous. He hadn’t missed a day of school sine he’d chicken pox in second grade. Would he have to skip to see these guys?
“What do you mean?” Happy asked.
Amit smiled and grabbed his shoulder, playful.
“You can do our homework for us,” Amit said.
Happy’s shoulders sank. That was all?
“But it’s risky and there’s like 5 of you,” Happy said.
“Yo, you wanna hang with us you might have to deal drugs, fight motherfuckers and go to detention. You scared of homework?” Amit said.
Happy had no words. Raised his open palm but this came to a slapping rest on Happy’s shoulder.
“If you wanted gangster friends you have to become a bit of a gangster yourself,” Amit said.2
Happy digested his new role, but he didn’t have long before the next curveball was thrown.
Amit looked over at Jug, in the dumps.
“Yo Jug, I got the perfect thing to cheer you up,” Amit said. He turned to Happy.
“And gyani can help,” Amit said.
“How?” Happy said.
“Go ask the girls that Jug wants to chat with Giselle,” Amit said, with a slight shove to Happy.
Jug light up.
“Yo this gyani’s pretty tall, can he scrap?” Frick said.
“We’ll find out,” Amit said.
Happy was only an inch shorter than Amit, the tallest guy there.
Happy went into master bedroom and the girls were seated around Gobind’s mum’s bed, chatting. The bed had a phulkari bedsheet. There was Sweety, Giselle and Dilmit. Giselle and Sweety had been handed over a vodka cooler each, while Dilmit still had her puffy jacket on with her hands in her pockets.
Happy’s lower lip quivered as he began to spoke.
“Yo, uh, Jug wants to chat with you,” Happy said.
“What does he want?” Giselle said.
“Uh, he just wants to chat, that’s it,” Happy said.
“No…,” Giselle’s voice trailed off , but she was looking at Sweety and pleading instead of Happy.
Sweety tilted her head to the side in a motion that signalled for her to reconsider.
“Come on, just hear him out,” Sweety said.2
“Alright,” Giselle said, getting up slowly. Dilmit looked curious.
Giselle came out of the room with Happy in the lead. He turned to the living room but Amit’s voice called him the opposite direction down the hall. Jug was standing at the door to the washroom smiling. Happy and Giselle reversed course.
When Giselle got to the door, she was standing at the threshold. Amit was walking back down the hall past Happy. Then Frick pushed Giselle gently into the bathroom and closed the door. The brothers started oohing at the two of them in there. Once the voices quieter down, Giselle called gently from behind the door to let her out. She didn’t sound in distress but did sound displeased.
Happy looked back to Saad to see what he thought of this. Saad and Gobind were each holding beers and looking down the hall surveying. But Saad’s eyes didn’t meet Happy, or beyond him to the bathroom. Instead they stopped short at Amit at the door to the girls’ hideout, steeling a moment to flirt with Sweety, who was into it. He’d used the commotion to chop her discreetly.
“Yo I think you should let her out,” Happy said.
Frick and Frack looked at him like a pussy.
“What are you a jealous pussy,” Frack said?
Frick looked to have been triggered into a bit more awareness so he finally opened the door, but it was Jug who walked out with a strut. He received high fives from Frick and Frack. Giselle came out sheepishly after, not acknowledging them as she went back to the room. Sweety stopped entertaining Saad and tended to Giselle, who all of sudden wanted to go. Sweety had her back and got the girls ready to leave.
Happy contemplated leaving too, but the boys were in no rush. The party was carrying on and Happy was worried he would be late for home. He was worried about his new friends and their decisions.
Happy sat in the stairwell just outside his apartment. The party had been overwhelming. These were boys different from the ones he’d called friends over the years. They were closer to men, if not all the way there. They were brave and outspoken, but prone to violence. Happy was scared if he’d want to be a part of their world.
But who could he ask for help in deciding? He couldn’t ask his Mummi since she wasn’t a man and wouldn’t understand. He couldn’t ask Daddi because he wasn’t a man and wouldn’t understand2.
Daddi couldn’t even be bothered to help his only child build a computer desk to better himself. He’d had to invite Babbu and Mummi had blocked that for a Daddi that would continue to disappoint.
Babbu.
He would call Babbu himself from the cordless and whisper invite him on the balcony while Mummi was in the bathroom.
Happy got up and walked to the door, it was two hours past the closing bell and Mummi would be expecting him.