new kid in the 'hood

[franceslievens]

Maybe he's twelve, but I reckon he's only ten, the black kid I cross when riding my bike to the school where they teach me music. Like the real cool dudes he has got one earphone in and the other one is swaying across his chest. I don't know what he's listening to, but I can guess when he's mouthing along, striding like a gangsta straight from the Bronx. With his hands and fingers he imitates the gestures that P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg do in their videos. "Yeah man," they say, "Don't mess with me, man!" A true kid from the ghetto, which we don't really have (at least not in this part of town). His little brother is slouching along, carrying the grocery bags, and firmly not paying attention to his older brother, who he clearly thinks lost his mind years ago.