BECAUSE THE INTERNET... written by Sojourner Edmonson-Sealy SEX...CIGARETTES...& SEWING MACHINES © 2014

BECAUSE THE INTERNETWRITTEN BY

SOJOURNER EDMONSON-SEALY

CHYNA

“Ohhhhhh Shit!” Chyna exclaimed in entertained amusement while en-

grossed in a recently posted video, via WorldStarHipHop.com, on her baby

pink iPhone 5. The video was recorded by a student in Compton, Califor-

nia, that contained footage of a restless group of five high school stu-

dents following home a lone fellow student; with whom they were verbally

harassing. As the targeted student began to walk faster, the clique of

students followed suit, while yelling out insulting rants like “YOU THINK

YOU TOO GOOD BITCH?” and “I WILL FUCK YA STANK ASS UP!”

The uneven cracks ran through the tar in jagged lines throughout the

dusty streets that paved the way for their crusade. The predators soon

caught up to their prey and proceeded to take turns stomping, kicking,

and spitting on the pursued.

Sixteen year-old, high school junior Chyna Montgomery was so en-

tranced in the video, she had to rewind the beat down; not because of her

disgust for these type of things, but for the entertainment value it had

to her. She would do anything to get a video of her own on “WorldStarHi-

pHop.” Chyna lived for these abusively violent videos that she watched

for comfort whenever her mother verbally violated her in a drunken rage;

which was on a daily basis. The only thing that Chyna believed her mother

was good for were the boyfriends she brought around that would buy her

nice clothes and give her money.

While brushing her jet-black, Chinese bob into place, Chyna’s phone

began to play “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” her favorite Kendrick Lamar

song that doubled as the ringtone for Dice, her partner-in-crime. Dice

was known as the reckless type, which was a benefit for Chyna; especially

for special occasions like today.

“Waddup?” Chyna exclaimed as she answered her phone.

“Yo, everything is set for the party……Ya dig?” Dice assured Chyna.

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“You sure? Y’all got all the balloons done? And all the water guns filled?”

Chyna interrogated, to ensure her plan succeeded without a flaw.

“Yeahhh, All Dat!” Dice persuaded.

“Ight, I’m gettin’ ready now. I’ll be there in thirty!”

“Ight…One!” Dice saluted.

As Chyna ended the call she began lacing up her new Jordan’s that

she cut class last Wednesday to stand in line for. She proceeded to ap-

ply her favorite M.A.C. Lip glass as she walked out her bedroom, down the

narrow and chipped hallway, towards the front door of her family’s small

and decaying apartment; settled smack dab in the middle of Queens, New

York.

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Chyna and her crew lingered around the cluttered and outdated inte-

rior of Dice’s living room; holy memorabilia was strewn crookedly along

the stained walls and atop the glass coffee table. Chyna’s left eye

aligned with the lens of the rusty peephole to the front door, as she

steadily focused on the length of the street searching for their guest

of honor.

“Yo! Get Ready She Down The Street!” Chyna warned her crew.

Once Chyna gave the word, her crew went to their specified positions—

grabbing their ammunition of choice. Dice took out his heavily scratched

Android to get his camera ready to record the festivities. The other two

members of the crew grabbed armfuls of ketchup-filled water balloons and

prepared their super-soakers that were filled to capacity with two week-

old spoiled milk.

MONA

As Mona’s tall and lanky stature reached the beginning of the drive-

way, she couldn’t mask her excitement for the party. She was a constant

target for bullies because of her straight “A” Grade Point Average and

only had one consistent friend during her past three years of high school.

But Mona was a simple girl, who obsessed over simple things like what it

would be like to be popular; especially being able to rock with a crowd

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like Chyna’s. They always wore real designer clothes like Alexander Wang

and Marc Jacobs—and they always threw the best house parties; not that

Mona had ever attended any.

The day Chyna invited her to this costume party, Mona gleefully ac-

cepted the invitation, even though she thought it was extremely weird to

have a “Veggie Themed” costume party; but she wasn’t about to ask any

questions. Mona would soon be apart of the popular crowd, so it didn’t

matter; she was the chosen one, but for reasons she didn’t fully under-

stand.

Mona was dressed in a puffy, green afro wig that she spray painted,

a forest green long-sleeve tee from H&M; an old pair of ill-fitting, high-

water corduroys, and a borrowed pair of apple-green low-rise Chuck Tay-

lors. Ready to play the role of “Broccoli” for the evening, Mona stood

in front of the house for a second, thinking to herself that this would

be the beginning of her new life as one of Chyna’s friends.

Before Mona took one step onto the oil-stained pavement of the

driveway, the front door of the house swung open and out rushed Chyna and

her crew dressed in all black yelling “GET HER!!!” Frozen in pure shock,

Mona’s body wouldn’t allow her muscles to move until the first balloon

thrown at her hit her right in-between the eyes. All Mona could do was

run, cry, and beg her pursuers to stop.

DICE

Dice videotaped the entire scene on his phone as he ran along side

the others; who were laughing uncontrollably and panting excessively as

they shot Mona with the spoiled milk and hit her with ketchup-filled bal-

loons. Gaining in on Mona, Chyna tripped Mona, causing her to land di-

rectly on her chin, which led to her biting into her tongue.

As she began to bleed into the streets, Mona screamed in pure horror

at what was happening to her. Chyna and her friends just stood in a dazed

amazement as they watched Mona bleed. Dice kept the camera rolling with

his hand covering his gapped mouth; he was partly entertained and partly

sickened by what they had done.

“OH SHIT!! YO…LET’S BOUNCE!!!” Chyna commanded in a nervous tone.

Upon hearing their directions the entire crew was about to walk away and

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abandon Mona.

“WE JUST GONNA LEAVE HER HERE???” Dice exclaimed in protest.

“YOU HEARD WHAT I SAID!! LET’S…BOUNCE!!!!AND WE STILL POSTING THAT

VIDEO!!!” Chyna yelled in irritation of the sudden rebellion Dice decided

to show.

As the crew ran off in the opposite direction of Mona, Dice took one

last look at Mona curled up in a ball covering her mouth, rocking from

side to side as blood slowly dripped from her hands. His conscience was

tearing him apart. But keeping his reputation with the crew meant more to

him than Mona at that moment, so he ran in the direction of his friends

and had to force himself to not look back.

THIS PIECE IS DEDICATED TO THE YOUTH...THINK BEFORE YOU ACT AND

KEEP YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT,YOU ARE THE LEADERS OF TODAY AND TOMMOROW...

DON’T EVER FORGET THAT!!!

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