Authors: Stephanie Perry Moore
Get What You Give (7 page)
When the guards handed him over to the cops, G-Dogg reached for something in his pocket. I couldn't make out what it was. But I knew it wasn't a toy.
“You need to surrender your weapon,” one of the cops said to G-Dogg.
I don't know if G-Dogg was just that crazy or just that high, but he shot his gun in the air. I grabbed Evan and tugged her out of the way. At that moment, chaos broke out. Teddi, Quisa, and Millie came to my side and hugged me. The events we witnessed next made our horrible night turn even worse.
All four white police started closing in on G-Dogg. Two came up behind him and forced him to the ground. They just started clobbering the boy with their sticks. With a bloody face and busted mouth, I personally, was satisfied. He was contained, but they started beating him some more. People came out of the store and joined us in yelling for them to stop. The cruel po-po wouldn't.
We'd called the cops on this dude so he wouldn't kill our friend, and now it seemed he was being abused. We couldn't win for losing. If Evan wasn't into this G-Dogg character enough, now she was over the top for him. What was I gonna do about all this violence galore?
6
PESKY
“
T
hat's a violation of his rights hitting him like that!” I yelled out as I charged toward the cops hitting a guy I hated defendingâyet I hated him getting beaten even more.
T
hat's a violation of his rights hitting him like that!” I yelled out as I charged toward the cops hitting a guy I hated defendingâyet I hated him getting beaten even more.
How could I have been so wrong? How could I have trusted the system to take him in and prosecute him the right way? I wanted to be a trial lawyer so I could make a difference. Was I being naive that I trusted the system would uphold justice? Evan tried to tell me that cops in this town didn't treat fairly black men who don't look a certain way. As I looked back at her helpless face, I felt horrible.
“Somebody help him! Somebody call someone!” I screamed out as Teddi and Millie held me back from getting in the middle of the hideous action.
“Why are you trying to help this criminal out?” a bystander yelled out to me. “He hit your friend!”
I'm not saying just because the assailant was black, young, and male that everyone was against him. But I thought it was very ironic that the person telling me to ignore what I was seeing was a white man who seemed happy to throw away the key on another brother.
“Do you think what they're doing to him is right?” I asked the man standing to my left.
“Do you think him discharging a gun is right!” he screamed back at me. “He could have killed someone.”
“Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it, Hailey,” Millie said with her cell pointed at everyone. “I'm recording all this on my phone. Cops, you all need to stop.”
“Get him in the back of the car now and let's take him to the station,” one of the cops said to the other. “These are just a bunch of young kids making noise, and they can't do anything.”
Teddi said, “With videotape we will do something.”
G-Dogg looked worse than Rodney King, who'd suffered police brutality in the early nineties from the Los Angeles police department. G-Dogg had swollen eyes and a distorted, bloody face. You could see in G-Dogg's pitiful, raged eyes, as they stared at the crooked cops, that he'd had his share of dealing with the tough local police department.
Evan cried out, “I hope you guys are happy! G needs to be taken to a hospital, not a precinct. We gotta go help him.”
She got no argument from any of us on that. My line sisters and I got back into the car and followed the two police cars with blue lights flashing on both. I was driving a little too fast trailing the police car, but I was upset.
Teddi said, “Slow down, Hailey. I know you're hot. I'm mad, too. The cops were clearly out of line back there. However, you can't get a ticket. Stop following their cars like this. We don't wanna go to jail, too, do we?”
“Look, if we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything,” I told her. “I'm the one who said to call the police. I'm the one who wanted justice and expected it would be done. Then those cops, who are racist and nasty for whatever reasons, who took us backward and not forward, are going to be held accountable for their actions. Calling us some kids who can't do anythingâwe'll show them. Shoot, I can't even find my cell phone.”
“It's right here in your purse,” Teddi said as she handed it to me. “What are you doing?”
I said, “We need to call everybody we know and tell them to meet us here at the station. And somebody needs to call the TV crew.”
It was two in the morning, and I felt bad waking Covin up. No, I didn't feel bad at all. I knew he had to get up. I needed his help, and when he heard what I had to say, he showed himself once again to be the man I admired. He met us at the police station with about forty students strong.
We started chanting, “The police are wrong! The police are wrong!”
Our outraged group kept getting louder and louder. When the television crew showed up we were even more boisterous and demanded a difference. We were interviewed and showed them the videotape of the beating. The news crew and reporters went inside and got answers. We waited and would not go away.
When the news crew came back out, it was evident they were with us and believed we weren't blowing smoke. There was a large fire ablaze in the police department. The anchor woman I recognized from TV admitted someone was trying to cover up what had really happened. Evan and I pleaded with her that we could not let that happen.
The TV woman, Lysa Ford, said, “I'm sure we'll see some action in our favor. This department cannot take another racial incident.”
Covin went into the station. He assured Evan everything was going to be all right. Whatever his idea was, I was moved that he cared enough to try to help.
About thirty minutes later, Covin came out of the building smiling. The police chief and the four officers who were involved followed. Ms. Ford rushed up to the chief with her microphone. The chief announced that the four officers were going to be suspended without pay, pending an investigation. The officers passed us and looked severely disturbed.
The ring leader who had called us kids looked at us and said, “We know that guy. You all want us suspended, but we're only protecting the neighborhood.”
Close enough to read his name badge, I said, “Officer Cloud, now you see we are not just some kids with no voice. I'm the first to admit that guy is no saint. But the way you treated him was not right. You are supposed to uphold the law. Now, like you wanted the guy to pay, you'll have to pay.”
He looked away. I hadn't meant to sound so cruel. Passing back to him the anger he'd made me feel wasn't healthy.
Â
An ambulance arrived, and G-Dogg came out of the precinct in handcuffs and was escorted to it. Evan fled to his side. Like a gnat that wouldn't go away, this nagging feeling told me to tell him I was sorry. Teddi and Millie saw I was headed to them. They tried to keep me back from the action, but while the news crew entertained my line sisters, I went over to see the guy who had threatened my girl's life.
“I apologize,” I told him as I looked at his face that was so unrecognizable from the earlier jerk. “You deserve to be locked upâ”
Evan said, “Haileyâ”
My voice rattled, I said, “What, Evan? He was wrong to hit you.”
“Ladies, he's under arrest,” a dark-skinned officer said to Evan and me. “He's not able to talk to anyone at this time.”
G-Dogg looked at the cop with empathy. “Hey, bro, can I have a minute?”
The officer hesitated and then nodded. He uncuffed G-Dogg and stepped to the side. Evan put her free arms around his waist.
Surprising me, G-Dogg pulled back and said, “Your girl is right, baby. I never should have touched you. Hitting you was wrong.”
Like someone who needed sense knocked into themâno pun intendedâEvan said, “I deserved it. I made you angry. Now, because of me, look at you. You're gonna need stitches.”
“Evan!” I yelled out, wishing she wasn't so gullible.
The paramedic I remembered from the fire, told us he needed to get the patient to the hospital. I backed away, and Evan held on to his neck for dear life. The officer came between Evan and G-Dogg.
I motioned for Evan to come with me. She was obviously mad at me and ran over to Millie and Quisa. I looked to the sky and needed God to help me not feel so bad, even though I felt I was just trying to help.
When the cop and paramedic were closing the door, G-Dogg said, “Please take care of my girl.” I turned and looked back at him. “I was wrong to hit her, but when the cops went too far, you stood up for me. Thank you. I'm ready to take on the judge, lawyers, and whoever else wants to throw the book at me. Tonight I learned about compassion when I looked over at your face and saw how much you were hurting for meâme, the guy who got rough with your friend. I was numb to the brutality and hate they were giving me. I owe you. You showed me goodness. I gotta change. And I'm glad Evan is in a group or sorority with you.”
When the ambulance pulled off, I sat there. I felt strong arms touching me. The rub was so soothing I knew it was Covin. He was around me taking care of things, setting the record straight. Right now I felt safe because I was in his reach. I slowly turned around, and our eyes locked. I couldn't keep it together anymore. I completely fell apart in his arms. He held me up, he told me it was gonna be okay, and he didn't leave.
Covin had told me that pledging could be brutal, but he didn't know the Betas had planned on doing it the right way. I was out in the wee hours of the morning only because my line sisters and I wanted to hang. Covin could have given me much scolding, but he told me what I wanted to hear.
“I'm so glad you're okay. I'm glad you called me,” he said as he rubbed my brow with a touch that felt so secure.
He kissed my forehead and then my cheek. When his juicy lips met mine, I did feel better. I had just gone through a nightmare. And I needed that awful feeling to go. I needed to know all men weren't jerks.
As soon as I felt relief, I was startled when I heard Teddi's voice shout, “Hailey, what is this? Why are you kissing him like this? What is going on? Covin, the guy who took everything I wantedâwhy him? You're an item, and you didn't even tell me?”
Millie, not knowing anything about the situation, pulled Teddi's arm and said, “Come on, girl. It's been a long night. Let's just let them talk.”
“No. I want her to talk to me. So the little note he left on our door asking to speak with you last week was because he wanted you to be his girl?”
“What's wrong with that?” Covin asked her. “I'll take care of her.”
“You don't even know her,” Teddi said to him.
Covin replied, “So? You don't even know me.”
There had been too much drama already for me to let the two of them go at it. I took him to the side and said, “Thank you for your help tonight.”
“You can't listen to her,” he said. “We got something.”
“I think we do, too. But understand for me that I'm gonna go back with my line sisters. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?” Though I could tell he wasn't happy, he agreed.
During the car ride home, Teddi asked a million questions. I opened my mouth not to one question. She couldn't get the hint that I didn't wanna talk about it, so I just let her vent.
Then she said, “I can't believe you're with the guy who took everything from me.”
“Teddi, that guy risked his life to save yours. He gave you everything. He gave you your future. I don't know where things are going with me and Covin, but I don't have to answer to you. So many times in my life you've come first, but right now, after tonight, after everything I've been through, I wanna be happy. And if you keep getting on my nerves like this ...”
“What? What?” she said as she hit the car window.
From the backseat, Millie said, “Calm down, Teddi. Give her some space.”
“What? What? Hailey?” Teddi asked.
“You fill in the blank,” I told her, tired of her riding me to see things her way.
Â
“Time flies when you're having fun,” Millie said two weeks later to me as we were in the holding room waiting for our final Gem ceremony to start.
Teddi was in the room, too, but she was over in the corner with Quisa. Evan was off to herself. She hadn't quit on us, but with G-Dogg released and none of us backing her to stay with him, she was with us but not with us. It really bothered me that our line was divided.
I wanted to hug Teddi and let her know I cared, but I didn't. A part of me wanted to say, “
Teddi, you can have Beta Gamma Pi.”
So many times I came close to telling her, “
If it weren't for me going to bat with the big sisters to get you on the line in the first place, you wouldn't even be here. Don't trip!”
Teddi, you can have Beta Gamma Pi.”
So many times I came close to telling her, “
If it weren't for me going to bat with the big sisters to get you on the line in the first place, you wouldn't even be here. Don't trip!”
Teddi thought I was supposed to bow down to her, say I was sorry, and give up my new little romance. We timed it so neither one of us was in the room at the same time. Whoever was asleep first at night was the first one gone before the other one woke in the morning. It was actually quite childish. I hated that it seemed we acted like we couldn't stand each other.
I was about to suggest we squash all issues and be real sisters, but my thoughts were interrupted. Cassidy came to the door and said, “All right, my five Pis, line up. It's time to get one step closer to my beloved BGP.”
As we walked into the room, our collegiate adviser, Dr. Weaver, was on the microphone saying, “Ladies, as you come in, reflect on the past four Gems.”
And I thought back to the first one on leadership. Hayden had said that ceremony was the one that got to her the most. It
was
moving, as I was certainly motivated by what they said: work what you got and give it all you can. Reflecting on it, I realized that I was a leader, and going to my line sisters to get things straight was an area I could take the lead on.
was
moving, as I was certainly motivated by what they said: work what you got and give it all you can. Reflecting on it, I realized that I was a leader, and going to my line sisters to get things straight was an area I could take the lead on.
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