Chapter 1
"STRAIGHT OUT OF COMPTON"
How do things turn for the worst in life? Is it our friends? Did our parents not love or play with us enough? Or do we just fall victim to our surroundings? I ask myself these same questions. Do You?
Such is the case in this story of a rising star. Someone whose stock was rising faster than the space shuttle could ever dream of. And in a brief second; in a blink of an eye, it almost vanished for Isaiah Cooley. Who is this boy? Well you’re just going to have to find out for yourself.
The year was 1992 in the city of Compton, CA. It was such a simple time back then, or so it seemed. Things were starting to look up in the neighborhood and the people were working again. Everyone seemed happy, however, the gangs had started killing each other once again and there were no signs of it stopping anytime soon.
For 15 year old Isaiah, his loyalties to the neighborhood gang were catching up with him, and they were affecting him on and off the field. It was only his sophomore year of high school and he was quickly rising up the record charts in all offensive categories. He was the starting tailback on his football team, and every college wanted him. He was on top of the world and he felt untouchable, but his involvement in the gang life was just about to take a serious turn for the worst.
“C’mon G,” yelled Jake at Isaiah as he turned up the music and revved his car. “We gotta go make this paypuh or we ain’t gonna have nuthin to take the hunnies out with.”
“Hold on son!” shouted Isaiah as he rushed out of his front door trying to put his new Kings jacket on. “I had to grab some grub. Mom’s made some biscuits.”
“For real playa?” he asked as his mouth watered. “Tell yo moms to save me some next time.”
He pulled away slowly as he hit the switches on his ride his 69 Impala on datins his older brother had left him when he was sent off to prison.
“So yo, what did yo moms say about your suspension?” he asked.
“Nuthin son,” he replied. “You know how it is. She gets mad, but nuthin happens. She know she need me and my scholarship.”
“Yeah, well anyways, old boy Jessie was trippin yesterday,” he said. “You really put a beatin’ on him. Everyone in school was clowning on him today. It was hilarious!”
They both laughed out loud as they basked in their malicious gangster activities and drove off down the neighborhood.
“So where we going?” asked Isaiah as he rolled down the window. “You been keepin it a secret all week. What chu got planned?”
Jake’s demeanor abruptly changed as he turned in to a narrow alley way.
He looked at Isaiah with a serious look on his face and said, “Why don’t you look in the back seat and see fo yoself.”
Isaiah peeked over his shoulder to look in the back seat and noticed that there were two hand guns and ski masks. He was instantly taken aback. He had been in lots of fights and sold drugs before, but he had never used a handgun or robbed anyone.
“What are those for?” he asked as he was overtaken by a strong sense of anxiety.
“Man, don’t ask those questions G,” he responded in a strong tone. “We’re gonna rob the donut shop. They’ve been open all day and have a ton of cash in the register and in the safe. Little Rob let me know about this hit. All we gotta do is give him ten percent. It’s all good my brotha. It can’t fail.”
Isaiah was scared, but he knew he couldn’t punk out if he wanted the homies to think he was legit. He paused for a second and took a deep breath. He knew it wasn’t the smartest move, but he wanted to be loyal to the set.
“Alright homie,” he said as he bit his lip.
“You gotta be ready dogg!” he said forcefully. “You can’t be scared. You gotta do this like a G. Just like a solja. And relax baby…We gonna to be alright. It’s the manager who ain’t if he tries to stop us.”
He busted out laughing, but Isaiah wasn’t too amused and just smirked.
As he pulled up a bit further in a darker part of the alley, they both got the guns from the back seat and put the ski masks on. Just as they pulled up behind the donut shop, Isaiah’s heart started pounding in his chest. The only other time he ever got this feeling was when he was evading defenders on the football field, but only in this instance, he was holding a gun and wearing mask, instead of a helmet and a ball.
Jake turned and tapped his gun against Isaiah’s to signal he was ready.
“You ready to do this homie?” he asked.
Isaiah hesitated to answer, but he nodded his head slowly and said, “Yeah G…Let’s do this!”
They both opened up their doors and stepped out in to the shadows of the night. Just as they were about to rush the back door of the donut shop, they heard a loud rustle inside.
“DON’T MOVE OR I’LL BLOW YOUR DAMN HEAD OFF! YOU UNDERSTAND!!!”
"STRAIGHT OUT OF COMPTON"
How do things turn for the worst in life? Is it our friends? Did our parents not love or play with us enough? Or do we just fall victim to our surroundings? I ask myself these same questions. Do You?
Such is the case in this story of a rising star. Someone whose stock was rising faster than the space shuttle could ever dream of. And in a brief second; in a blink of an eye, it almost vanished for Isaiah Cooley. Who is this boy? Well you’re just going to have to find out for yourself.
The year was 1992 in the city of Compton, CA. It was such a simple time back then, or so it seemed. Things were starting to look up in the neighborhood and the people were working again. Everyone seemed happy, however, the gangs had started killing each other once again and there were no signs of it stopping anytime soon.
For 15 year old Isaiah, his loyalties to the neighborhood gang were catching up with him, and they were affecting him on and off the field. It was only his sophomore year of high school and he was quickly rising up the record charts in all offensive categories. He was the starting tailback on his football team, and every college wanted him. He was on top of the world and he felt untouchable, but his involvement in the gang life was just about to take a serious turn for the worst.
“C’mon G,” yelled Jake at Isaiah as he turned up the music and revved his car. “We gotta go make this paypuh or we ain’t gonna have nuthin to take the hunnies out with.”
“Hold on son!” shouted Isaiah as he rushed out of his front door trying to put his new Kings jacket on. “I had to grab some grub. Mom’s made some biscuits.”
“For real playa?” he asked as his mouth watered. “Tell yo moms to save me some next time.”
He pulled away slowly as he hit the switches on his ride his 69 Impala on datins his older brother had left him when he was sent off to prison.
“So yo, what did yo moms say about your suspension?” he asked.
“Nuthin son,” he replied. “You know how it is. She gets mad, but nuthin happens. She know she need me and my scholarship.”
“Yeah, well anyways, old boy Jessie was trippin yesterday,” he said. “You really put a beatin’ on him. Everyone in school was clowning on him today. It was hilarious!”
They both laughed out loud as they basked in their malicious gangster activities and drove off down the neighborhood.
“So where we going?” asked Isaiah as he rolled down the window. “You been keepin it a secret all week. What chu got planned?”
Jake’s demeanor abruptly changed as he turned in to a narrow alley way.
He looked at Isaiah with a serious look on his face and said, “Why don’t you look in the back seat and see fo yoself.”
Isaiah peeked over his shoulder to look in the back seat and noticed that there were two hand guns and ski masks. He was instantly taken aback. He had been in lots of fights and sold drugs before, but he had never used a handgun or robbed anyone.
“What are those for?” he asked as he was overtaken by a strong sense of anxiety.
“Man, don’t ask those questions G,” he responded in a strong tone. “We’re gonna rob the donut shop. They’ve been open all day and have a ton of cash in the register and in the safe. Little Rob let me know about this hit. All we gotta do is give him ten percent. It’s all good my brotha. It can’t fail.”
Isaiah was scared, but he knew he couldn’t punk out if he wanted the homies to think he was legit. He paused for a second and took a deep breath. He knew it wasn’t the smartest move, but he wanted to be loyal to the set.
“Alright homie,” he said as he bit his lip.
“You gotta be ready dogg!” he said forcefully. “You can’t be scared. You gotta do this like a G. Just like a solja. And relax baby…We gonna to be alright. It’s the manager who ain’t if he tries to stop us.”
He busted out laughing, but Isaiah wasn’t too amused and just smirked.
As he pulled up a bit further in a darker part of the alley, they both got the guns from the back seat and put the ski masks on. Just as they pulled up behind the donut shop, Isaiah’s heart started pounding in his chest. The only other time he ever got this feeling was when he was evading defenders on the football field, but only in this instance, he was holding a gun and wearing mask, instead of a helmet and a ball.
Jake turned and tapped his gun against Isaiah’s to signal he was ready.
“You ready to do this homie?” he asked.
Isaiah hesitated to answer, but he nodded his head slowly and said, “Yeah G…Let’s do this!”
They both opened up their doors and stepped out in to the shadows of the night. Just as they were about to rush the back door of the donut shop, they heard a loud rustle inside.
“DON’T MOVE OR I’LL BLOW YOUR DAMN HEAD OFF! YOU UNDERSTAND!!!”