Jocks Are Stupid - Liu

Once I was free of the crowd, I moved from the block and came off of the main roads. I took a few smaller side streets and then when I had a minute, I plopped myself down on a set of two steps behind a daycare that was closed for the day. I flipped open the phone and checked the message. Lixin was a trip sometimes. Glancing around at the road and just sort of keeping my eyes open after being held hostage, I sent her a text message asking her what she thought of the pictures.

Then with a sigh, I called work and decided to just call off for the night anyway.

The man killed the camera and looked at you "What?" He was calling after you, but his words got lost in the din of the quickly gathering crowd. Already you could hear the police ordering everyone to clear out.

Another three minutes of pushing through the flock of people hoping to see a shootem up scene, and you were free. You had your phone, but no Resident Evil 5... But you were alive, something 20 minutes ago you thought was not going to be the case.

I immediately ran my hand back and forth across my throat when he mentioned going live and tried to bring up the camera. "Nah. No way dude. That shit was crazy. I got pictures and video and stuff from my cellphone but I ain't doin' no live stuff on TV. I don't want to be on tv man." I shook my head again. It was a rapid, left-right right-left motion. With that large of a crowd of people, and the others coming out of the place, I moved away, making sure I still had my phone...thankful I already emailed it to myself.

The guy looked at you "Will putting you on TV be enough? I'm shooting live, and they always recap live segments at night." He grinned, clearly he knew what you were looking for. Before you could reply he fell into his rapport, he positioned himself near you and in front of the camera, did a flip thing with his microphone and looked all serious.

"This is Jason Moore with NBC News here outside of a GameStop in upper Manhattan where New York City's SWAT Teams have just shot a gunman who had taken the entire store hostage! Here live with me right now, is one of those hostages." He turned to you, "Sir, what was it like in there with a gunman?"

I was shaken, that was for sure. I was happy to get out of there too, but I made sure to get my copy of some kind of documentation! I wasn't going to get fired because I missed work over some shit like this. I knew it sounded stupid but that's how the boss, Lori, worked things. Fuckin' bitch. For some strange reason, the reality of it all hadn't exactly sunk in. Well, it didn't sink in until I was on my way down the road. I wanted my game damnit! Fiddling with my phone, I emailed all of my pictures to myself. Then I sent them to Lixin, along with a text message telling her to check it out. I saved the video footage for later.

Coming around the corner, I looked up at the street signs to see exactly where I was, and then headed towards the nearest place I knew was selling video games. That's when the reporters bombarded me. "Dude!" I said to the nearest one. "Dude! Yea I answer some questions if someone can give me something that gets me out of work for the night."

"Cool. Head outside and let an EMT look at that burn on the back of your neck. Sorry about the casing." He half helped half hauled you to your feet while the rest of the team came in. Paramedics were around the gunman. Apparantly he was barely alive. They were trying to save him. He looked dead to you, but then again, you weren't a trained medical professional.

Outside the paramedic looked at your burn, rubbed some white cream on it and covered it with gauze. The cops got a statement from you about what had happened and within another hour you were on your merry way. Shaken, and a little confused. Once you made it out of the cordoned area reporters approached, asking you to answer a few questions...

Damn! Holy Fuck! When hot lead rained on me I thought maybe it was glass from a light or something and I reached behind my head trying to swat it away. It wasn't glass. It was bullet casings. Ok! Whew! And then it was over.

Awww. Fuck. I missed the cool shots too! When I peered around to see the dead guy, I made sure my camera got to see something. Unfortunately I was cut off before I could see what I got. I looked at the police dude with a blank look on my face. I was in shock because I was just being held hostage (though I didn't realize it at the time) and I was looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Scratching my head, I nodded twice. "Uh...uh...uh..." Fuck I couldn't think of anything to say.

Then it dawned on me. It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was that giant light bulb going off beside my head that's how awesome it was. I responded with the best line ever. "Uh...yeah dude. I'm good."

You heard the guy arguing with the negotiator and his voice got more and more panicked. There was a rustle and the sound of foot steps near you as father and son were reunited. The man was still talking to the negotiator, demanding a car and a helicopter to take him to the airport...

That was when all hell broke loose. You heard the man start screaming at the negotiator to get the SWAT Team away from the windows and then a loud explosion. The rear door, which was locked to customers, suddenly burst in and you heard lots of shouting. Men yelling 'Drop the weapon! Drop the weapon now!" The man argued and yelled. A final scream of rage. There were several quick bursts of gunfire from over your head. Hot casings landed on your neck and rolled to the floor. You could smell the thin commercial's waxy plastic smell as the casings melted it.

"Send in the EMT. Suspect is down. Repeat, suspect is down. No civilians appear injured."

Someone touched your shoulder. "Hey, you okay man?" You looked up to see a black man clad in black body armor with a riot helmet on crouched beside you. His name tag read "DOUGLAS" in large embroidered letters. His MP5 as strung across his back and there was a look of concern on his face as he looked at you.

I... I...uh, I wasn't sure really what to think about this mess. I knew that if the police didn't do something soon that kid would probably get shot. I knew the terrorist would probably get shot too. I wasn't really trying to look around because if I did then I would probably get shot. That would suck. Being shot at would suck. Actually, being in this current situation sucked.

While I was on the ground trying to stay hidden and use my phone to record what video I could and to take what pictures I could, I realized that yes, the police were about to make their move. It was about time. I really had to piss right now and I was about tired of holding it. But then they backed off. Crap. No wait. I had played enough video games. I knew what was about to happen. Keeping my phone aimed sort of in the direction of the terrorist, I made sure to close my eyes and keep my head down. Flashbangs were a bitch.

Thirty minutes passed and then the circus showed up. SWAT Teams, who immediately set about erecting curtains so nobody could see into the "crime scene" and news vans, a negotiator showed up and after a few minutes the phone rang...and rang, and rang and rang...
Finally the gunman ordered the clerk to answer it. Who then offered it timidly to the gunman. The gunman took it, still holding the gun to the kid's head. "H-Hello?"

"I want you all to go away! I've told you, I'm not going back to them!"

"They ruined my life! They took my kids, they killed my wife. I had a family!"

"What do you mean who? Those fucking leeches you work for! Everyone keeps telling me they don't exist! But I know their game. I was one of you until they took everything from me, and- and I'm not the only one! Theres more just like me!"

"I'm not going to calm down! They're trying to kill me!"

The man was hysterical. From your vantage point you coul see clear across the street. The man had ducked the boy and himself behind the counter away from the view of the police. On the roof of the other building you seen four people lay down in pairs.

"You think you're smart! Don't lie to me. As soon as I show myself you're going to have me shot. I'm not stupid!"

A SWAT Team charged up the left hand side of your view before disappearing out of your field of vision thanks to the walls. You figured they were stacking up on the left side of the building out of view. Then you seen a muzzle for just half a second. It was pulled back, out of view, and you didn't see it again.

"Quit telling me you don't know who they are! The vampires! Who the hell do you think I'm talking about?"

When people started freaking out and doing shit, I hit the ground. I scampered behind a shelf full of stuff in an isle and kept on the ground. I seen all of the movies. The black dude gets shot first. Then the asian dude gets shot when he does some cool kung-fu shit. Fuck all of that. Damnit if this cool ass day didn't just decide to suck!

While you were inside watching a demo for Super Smash Bros., some kid was getting his ass handed to him by a flying zombie thing, you had just broken away to go find your own copy for your Xbox 360 when there was a panic outside. You turned to look and seen the door burst in and a man wearing a brown trenchcoat covered in blood was standing there. He had it all over his chest and splatters on his cheek. With a quick flurry he sent people flying as he withdrew a MAC 10. "Everyone get down! Don't look at me!" People threw themselves to the floor immediately as the gunman ordered. He was clearly panicky and scared. Two things you knew did not bode well for you nor any of your now fellow hostages.

Three of New York's finest ran towards the door but stopped as he turned and let loose with a quick burst, blowing the door out. One cop was thrown back a solid ten feet and landed hard on the pavement outside. You could tell his vest had protected him. But the guy reached out in the small game store and snatched up the kid who sucked at Smash Bros. and pressed the MAC 10 to his temple.

The boy cried out, "Daadddyy!" The kid was maybe six, and it only served to make the gunman look more desperate.

"Shut up!" The guy screamed at the kid, who started to sob as the man wrenched him around, pressing the barrel into his temple. "Get back! Get back! I swear I'll blow his fucking brains all over the place! you're not taking me back to them! You hear me!? I'm not going back!"

"Don't kill my son. Please." A voice to your left called out weakly. You turned your head and seen one of the biggest dudes you had ever seen. He had a painful helpless expression on his face. In a bar fight, you would've worried about taking this guy on, and here he was, red faced and terrified for his son.

The guy turned and looked, pointed the gun vaguely in the father's direction, which with the way it was shaking could have easily been yours. "Shut the fuck up! Are you working for them?! You are aren't you? I should fucking kill you now, you're just gonna kill me anyway. They ruined my life! I've got nothing now! Are you happy!? You ruined my life!"

This man was seriously desperate. More cops were building up outside. Every few seconds another squad car showed up... Blue lights were everywhere. It dawned on you that if you had been with Lamont for your entire scheduled session, you would be walking past this mess right now.

Happy to be done and still have time to get other fun in before work, I checked my phone one last time for messages before plopping it in my pocket. I probably wouldn't look at it again until I put it on the charger. Taking Lamont's money I stuffed it in my other pocket and immediately headed across campus. I didn't stay more then three blocks away but the whole landscape seemed to change from busy bustling school to downtown urban chaos.

It was chaos if you didn't know your way around. Thankfully I did. I cut behind the church, past the graveyard and on through the alley that opened up into the back entrance for the Virgin Records store or to the garbage dump for the McDonald's next to it. I was originally going to pass by the place but I stopped and did a double take when I looked in the window. "Shit that's right," I thought to myself. Double checking my pockets I shimmied on in through the front doors after glancing at the giant poster for Resident Evil 5 one last time I redetermined myself for the task ahead. Fuck Yeah. Rent was paid for the month and I just had 500 bucks in my pocket.

Without a second thought for hesitation I slipped past a pair of dudes checking out a guitar on the front wall. Then I sidestepped a little kid while his mother and miscreant older sister came after him. Finally I paused just long enough to notice a display full of those clearance DVDs. I reminded myself to check them out before I bagged and tagged my game, but for now I made my way to the games to find my prize.

Resident Evil 5 would be mine. Oh yes. It would be mine.

That worked. Lamont not only got it, but he got excited about getting it. Within another 30 minutes you had him summing up every Ammendment and getting them right by saying a number. It was a brilliant play, and it paid off in dividends.

Forty-five minutes later, after ten of Lamont thanking you and paying you for your work, you were out of the library and on your way home to get your bike. The bulk of your afternoon was free and you had plenty of time to do whatever it was you needed to do before work tonight.

I checked my phone, saw the message and then responded to it, telling her I was stuck with an idiot who was too dumb to remember basic junior high history stuff. I added a pouty face too it and then told her if I could get out early enough I was going to take my bike out. While Lamont did his best to make me resent him even more, I flipped the phone closed and put it back in my pocket.

"Yo dude." I said quietly, though my tone revealed agitation. "Nobody is askin' you to remember all the extra shit on the side...man. Just get the simple shit." Then I got an idea. I leaned forward

"You know all the jersey numbers on your team, right? Let's think of it like this. Each one of the Amendments is one of the dudes on your team. Let's give each one, one of your dudes names." I decided to see if he could get the association down. If I could have him spitting out one of the Amendments every time he saw the name from one of the dudes on his team, maybe he would remember the Amendment and thus, what it was. Quickly making a series of flashcards, I hoped my trick would work. It would be nice to get out of here early...

Your client today was one of those jocks, basketball player, who needed his C in History to avoid being kicked out of the school, and thus vanquishing his hopes of going pro. Sometimes, you hated tutoring, but it helped pay the bills. So, you struggled through with it, and so did Lamont Walker.

"What the fuck yo, when do you use this shit in the real world?" Lamont exasperated over the current subject matter. His professor had taken an unusual turn for the test he had coming up. It was entirely focused on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Amendments, and for the life of him, Lamont could not keep straight which Ammendment was which. "I can't get this..." He whispered after a passing librarian glared at him for his outburst.

You looked outside. It was a beautiful day. The sun was nice in the air, and you knew the breeze coming in off the ocean would do a good bit to blow all the garbage in the air from car exhaust away. It might actually smell like sea salt and water outside. Might, but it was doubtful. Either way, it was a beautiful day in New York City. Outside you could see other students lounging, biking, and laughing as they passed the window. A lot of them were on cellphones, which made you check yours. It had been silent for a long time, but you had a text from Madisen, your new girl-ish. Just a simple text telling you she had been thinking about you. She had closed it off with the universal smiley face.