chapter eight

Jimi arrived home from school to find his father in a foul mood.

good afternoon,dad ,' Jimi said.but he got no response.

Mrs Williams whispered to him, looking harassed, ' daddy's travelling later this afternoon and we're looking for his suit case.

what do you want to eat? jimi felt very hungry but now his hungry his gone, anything ,' he said and walked to his room. he lay on his bed starting at the faded Michael Jackson poster. Jackson wasn't at home,but he seemed his father was always looking for an excuse to fly into one of his rages .

' My briefcase ', he heard his father snap.where is it ? not too difficult to guess since we have a thief back here.only two weeks.

A little while later when he heard his mother call.' here it is. this is it, isn't it? Jimi came out of his room.

His father took the case and peered at it closely. ' it would seem so .

see,' she smiled ...All it needed was a little more careful searching.'

please" , he barked, it's all the same ! that boy would have taken it if he had seen it.or maybe he did and you re covering up to him.

Don't talk to her like that!, Jimi couldn't believe he had just said that.

Mr Williams stared at him.' what did you say?' he asked, and raised his hand to swipe at him. Mrs Williams grabbed his hand.

darling please,he's only a child ,' she said.

For a few moments his parents glared at each other , breathing hard.

you see, all of them...bad!' Mr Williams said and took his bag and stomped out.

" bye bye Jimi muttered under his breath and went back to his room.

A few minutes later, Jimi stared outside through the window.he saw his parents talking earnestly in front of the house.As his father entered the car,his mother gently touched his cheek, Jimi wondered why....

Later that afternoon, Jackson came into the room.

" The old lion has travelled,' Jackson said." hip hip hooray !'

in spite of himself Jimi laughed,but sobered quickly.

don't let mom hear you .'

' little brother,you are too seriousl nowadays.i know you are a genius but you need to lighten up sometimes. Anything bothering you, talk to your big brother.is it the chicks at school? let an old pro give you advice.

Jimi laughed again.then he thoughtfully. there's this new girl at school,; she's really pretty and, you know...'

Ha! trust my bro,' Jackson laughed. And Jimi thought he looked more like his old self,before bad times. he watched as Jackson changed his shirt

" where are you going"? Jimi asked.

"nowhere. Jim's,can I get some cash.?

not till you tell me where you are going."

Jackson hesitated, okay.you can come with me, but just keep your mouth shut and don't ask any questions .

it sounded rather ominous,but this was a rare opportunity to spend time with his older brother, especially while he seemed to be in such a good mood.they set off that evening and eventually arrived at a dead end with several uncompleted buildings.

presently, a man came out of one of the buildings, making furtive gestures with his hands .

wait here" Jackson said.he strolled nonchalantly towards the man. the man and Jackson spoke for a little while in whispers.

there seemed to be a quick exchange,so quick no one would have noticed it.between the man's rapidly moving of hand and Jackson's. the man gave Jackson a thumbs up and disappeared back into the building.then Jackson walked back to Jimi ,stuffing a small nylon bag into hid pocket.

what was that? jimi asked

forget it,let's go and have some fun.'

they went to a bar.it was on the ground floor of a block of cramped,evil smelling apartments. the place was dark and crowded and a hip hop music was blasting from the speakers.jackson greeted a group of young men sitting at a table..