Family Over Everything (26 page)

“Are you listening to me, son?” He stood up and got closer.

“Yes . . .yes.” I was still thinking about Yvette. She was probably one of the most beautiful girls in the whole damn world. She was my cover girl and totally out of my league.

“See, that's what wrong with you,” Pops said angrily. “And that's what wrong with most black boys and that's why they will not get anywhere in this world.”

“That's not going to happen to me,” I protested. “I've got potential. That's what everybody says. I'm not like most black boys.”

“But hear me out. You must learn how to hustle.”

In my mind's eye, I imagined how I would seduce Yvette when I finally got her alone. I almost had her alone on Valentine's Day but one of her lovelies came over to her place. Damn, she was a gorgeous female. Plus Joyce wasn't putting out. She wanted to remain a virgin until we got married. She was dull as shit.

Now, my old man was standing over me, shouting at me like I
was deaf. “If you're soft, you're gonna screw up. I think you're soft. I don't think you have what it takes.”

I didn't like him looking down on me.

“Just because you're messed up in your life, Pops, that don't mean I'll do the same,” I snapped back at him. “I'll be big one day and you'll see.”

I hopped up from the couch and went to the fridge for a glass of Coke. Judging from his expression, I'd rattled his cage and put something on his mind to think about.

Paige Green is a high school senior from Pittsburgh, PA, where she grew up in the Northview Heights area. Since the age of 10, she has written plays, short stories, and eventually
Family Over Everything.
Motivated by her surroundings, she pushed herself to always strive for a more. Paige plans to attend college in one of the Southern states where she will major in Literature. Her main goal in life is to help young, at-risk females who are trying to find their way in life. Paige lives with her mother, two older brothers, and twin sister, Paris Green, in the Atlanta area.

STREBOR BOOKS INTERNATIONAL

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

SimonandSchuster.com

Facebook.com/AtriaBooks
@AtriaBooks

Strebor Books

P.O. Box 6505

Largo, MD 20792

http://www.streborbooks.com
www.SimonSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

© 2013 by Paige Green

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792.

ISBN 978-1-59309-501-7

ISBN 978-1-4767-1158-4 (ebook)

LCCN 2012951573

First Strebor Books trade paperback edition May 2013

Cover design:
www.mariondesigns.com

Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders/Marion Designs

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.